BOOK 2. THE BLACK PIRATES OF BARSOOMChapter 1In my former life on earth I spent more time in the saddle than I didon foot, and since I have been here on the Planet of Barsoom I havespent much time in the saddle or on the swift fliers of the Navy ofHelium; so naturally I did not look forward with any great amount ofpleasure to walking fifteen hundred miles.However, it had to be done; and when a thing has to be done the bestplan is to get at it, stick to it, and get it over with as quickly aspossible.Gathol is southwest of Horz; but, having no compass and no landmarks, Iwent, as I discovered later, a little too far to the West. Had I notdone so we might have been saved some very harrowing experiences.Although, if my past life is any criterion, we would have found plentyof other adventures.We had covered some two thousand five hundred haads of the fourthousand we had to travel, or at least as nearly as I could compute it,with a minimum of untoward incidents. On two occasions we had beenattacked by banths but had managed to kill them before they could harmus; and we had been attacked by a band of wild calots, but fortunatelywe had met no human beings--of all the creatures of Barsoom the mostdangerous. For here, outside of your own country or the countries ofyour allies, every man is your enemy and bent upon destroying you; noris it strange upon a dying world the natural resources of which havedwindled almost to the vanishing point and even air and water are onlybarely sufficient to meet the requirements of the present population.The vast stretches of dead sea bottom, covered with its ochervegetation, which we traversed were broken only occasionally by lowhills. Here in shaded ravines we sometimes found edible roots andtubers. But for the most part we subsisted upon the milk-like sap ofthe mantalia bush, which grows on the dead sea bottom, though in nogreat profusion.We had tried to keep track of the days, and it was on thethirty-seventh day that we encountered really serious trouble. It wasthe fourth zode, which is roughly about one P.M. Earth time, that wesaw in the distance and to our left what I instantly recognized as acaravan of green Martians.As no fate can be worse than falling into the hands of these cruelmonsters, we hurried on in the hope of crossing their path before wewere discovered. We took advantage of what cover the sea bottomafforded us, which was very little; oftentimes compelling us to wormour way along on our bellies, an art which I had learned from theApaches of Arizona. I was in the lead, when I came upon a humanskeleton. It was crumbling to dust, an indication that it must havelain there for many years, for so low is the humidity on Mars thatdisintegration of bony structures is extremely slow. Within fifty yardsI came upon another skeleton and after that we saw many of them. It wasa gruesome sight, and what it portended I could not guess. At first Ithought that perhaps a battle had once been fought here, but when I sawthat some of these skeletons were fresh and well preserved and thatothers had already started to disintegrate I realized that these menhad died many years apart.At last I felt that we had crossed the line of march of the caravan andthat as soon as we had found a hiding place we would be comparativelysafe, and just then I came to the edge of a yawning chasm.Except for the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, I had never seen anythinglike it.It was a great rift valley that appeared to be about ten miles wide andperhaps two miles deep, extending for miles in either direction.There were outcroppings of rock at the rim of the rift, and behindthese we hid.Scattered about us were more human skeletons than we had seen before.Perhaps they were a warning; but at least they could not harm us, andso we turned our attention to the approaching caravan, which had nowchanged its direction a little and was coming straight toward us.Hoping against hope that they would again change their direction andpass us, we lay there watching them.When I had been first miraculously transported to Mars I had beencaptured by a horde of green men, and I had lived with them for a longtime; so that I learned to know their customs well. Therefore, I wasquite positive that this caravan was making the quinquennial pilgrimageof the horde to its hidden incubator.Each adult Martian female brings forth about thirteen eggs each year;and those which reach the correct size, weight and specific gravity arehidden in the recesses of some subterranean vault where the temperatureis too low for incubation. Every year these eggs are carefully examinedby a counsel of twenty chieftains, and all but about one hundred of themost perfect are destroyed out of each yearly supply. At the end offive years about five hundred almost perfect eggs have been chosen fromthe thousands brought forth. These are then placed in the almostair-tight incubators to be hatched by the sun's rays after a period ofanother five years.All but about one per cent of the eggs hatch, and these are left behindwhen the horde departs from the incubator. If these eggs hatch, thefate of those abandoned little Martians is unknown. They are notwanted, as their offspring might inherit and transmit the tendency toprolonged incubation and thus upset the system which has beenmaintained for ages and which permits the adult Martians to figure theproper time for return to the incubator almost to an hour.The incubators are built in remote fastnesses where there is little orno likelihood of their being discovered by other tribes. The result ofsuch a catastrophe would mean no children in the community for anotherfive years.The green Martians' caravan is a gorgeous and barbaric thing to see. Inthis one were some two hundred and fifty enormous three wheeledchariots drawn by huge mastodonian animals known as zitidars, any oneof which from their appearance might easily have drawn the entire trainwhen fully loaded.The chariots themselves were large, commodious and gorgeouslydecorated; in each was seated a female Martian loaded with ornaments ofmetal, with jewels and silks and furs; and upon the back of each of thezitidars a young Martian driver was perched on top of gorgeoustrappings.At the head of the caravan rode some two hundred warriors, fiveabreast; and a like number brought up the rear. About twenty-five orthirty out-riders flanked the chariots on either side.The mounts of the warriors defy description in earthly words. Theytowered ten feet at the shoulder, had four legs on either side, a broadflat tail, larger at the tip than at the root, which they held straightout behind while running; a gaping mouth which splits the head from thesnout to the long, massive neck.Like their huge masters, they are entirely devoid of hair, but are adark slate color and are exceedingly smooth and glossy. Their belliesare white and their legs shaded from the slate of the shoulders andhips to a vivid yellow at the feet. The feet themselves are heavilypadded and nailless. Like the zitidars they wear neither bit norbridle, but are guided entirely by telepathic means.As we watched this truly magnificent and impressive cortege, it changeddirection again; and I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw that theywere going to pass us. Evidently, from the backs of their lofty mounts,they had seen the rift and were now moving parallel with it.My relief was to be short-lived, for as the rear of the caravan wasabout to pass us one of the flankers spied us.Chapter 2Instantly the fellow wheeled his thoat and, shouting to his companions,came galloping toward us. We sprang to our feet with drawn swords,expecting to die; but ready to sell our lives dearly.A moment after we had gained our feet, Llana exclaimed, "Look! Here isa trail down into the valley."I looked around. Sure enough, now that we were standing erect, I couldsee the head of a narrow, precipitous trail leading down over the edgeof the cliff. If we could but reach it, we would be safe, for the greatthoats and zitidars of the green men could not possibly negotiate it.It was very possible that the green men were not even aware of thepresence of the rift before they had come suddenly upon it, and this isentirely possible; because they build their incubators in uninhabitedand unexplored wildernesses sometimes as much as a thousand miles fromtheir own stamping grounds.As the three of us, Llana, Pan Dan Chee, and I, ran for the trail, Iglanced over my shoulder and saw that the leading warrior was almost ontop of us and that we could not all reach the trail. So I called to PanDan Chee to hurry down it with Llana. They both stopped and turnedtoward me."It is a command," I told them. Reluctantly they turned and continuedon toward the end of the trail, while I wheeled and faced the warrior.He had stopped his thoat and dismounted, evidently intent uponcapturing me rather than killing me; but I had no mind to be capturedfor torture and eventual death. It was far better to die now.He drew his long-sword as he came toward me and I did likewise. Hadthere not been six of his fellows galloping up on their huge thoats Ishould not have worried greatly, for with a sword I am a match for anygreen Martian that was ever hatched. Even their great size gives themno advantage. Perhaps it handicaps them, for their movements are slowand ponderous by comparison with my earthly agility; and though theyare twice my size, I am fully as strong as they. The muscles of earthlyman have not contended with the force of gravity since the dawn ofhumanity for nothing. It has developed and hardened muscles; becauseevery move we make is contested by gravity.My antagonist was so terribly cock-sure of himself, when facing such aseemingly puny creature as I, that he left himself wide open, as hecharged down upon me like a wild bull.I saw by the way he held his sword that he intended to strike me on thehead with the flat of it, rendering me unconscious, so that he couldmore easily capture me; but when the sword fell I was not there; I hadstepped to the right out of his way, and simultaneously I thrust forhis heart. I would have punctured it, too, had not one of his four armshappened to swing against the point of my blade before it reached hisbody. As it was, I gave him a severe wound; and, roaring with rage, heturned and came at me again.This time he was more careful; but it made no difference; he wasdoomed, for he was testing his skill against the best swordsman of twoworlds.The other six warriors were almost upon me now. This was no time forthe sport of fencing. I feinted once, and ran him through the heart.Then, seeing that Llana was safe, I turned and ran along the edge ofthe rift; and the six green warriors did just what I had expected themto do. They had probably detached themselves from the rear guard forthe sport of catching a red man for torture or for their savage games.Bunched close together they came after me, the nailless, padded feet oftheir ponderous mounts making no sound upon the ocher, moss-likevegetation of the dead sea bottom. Their spears couched, they came forme, each trying to make the kill or the capture. I felt much as a foxmust feel at a fox hunt.Suddenly I stopped, turned, and ran toward them. They must have thoughtthat I had gone mad with fear, for they certainly couldn't have knownwhat I had in mind and that I had run from them merely to lure themaway from the head of the trail leading down into the valley. They werealmost upon me when I leaped high into the air and completely overthem. My great strength and agility and the lesser gravity of Mars hadonce again come to my aid in an emergency.When I alighted, I dashed for the head of the trail. And when thewarriors could stop their mounts they turned and raced after me, butthey were too late. I can out-run any thoat that was ever foaled. Theonly trouble with me is that I am too proud to run; but, like thefellow that was too proud to fight, I sometimes have to, as in thiscase where the safety of others was at stake.I reached the head of the trail in plenty of time and hurried downafter Llana and Pan Dan Chee, whom I found waiting for me when I caughtup with them.As we descended, I looked up and saw the green warriors at the edge ofthe rift looking at us; and, guessing what would happen, I draggedLlana into the shelter of an overhanging ledge. Pan Dan Chee followedjust as radium bullets commenced to explode close to us.The rifles with which the green men of Mars are armed are of a whitemetal, stocked with wood; a very light and intensely hard growth muchprized on Mars and entirely unknown to us denizens of Earth. The metalof the barrel is an alloy composed principally of aluminum and steel,which they have learned to temper to a hardness far exceeding that ofthe steel with which we are familiar.The weight of these rifles is comparatively little; and with the smallcaliber, explosive radium projectiles which they use and the greatlength of the barrel, they are deadly in the extreme and at rangeswhich would be unthinkable on Earth.The projectiles which they use explode when they strike an object, forthey have an opaque outer coating which is broken by the impact,exposing a glass cylinder, almost solid, in the forward end of which isa minute particle of radium powder.(Editor's Note) I have used the word radium in describing this powderbecause in the light of recent discoveries on earth I believe it to bea mixture of which radium is the base. In Captain Carter's manuscriptsit is mentioned always by the name used in the written language ofHelium and is spelled in hieroglyphics which it would be difficult anduseless to reproduce.The moment the sunlight, even though diffused, strikes this powder itexplodes with a violence which nothing can withstand. In night battlesone notices the absence of these explosions, while the followingmorning will be filled at sunrise with the sharp detonations ofexploding missiles fired the preceding night. As a rule, however,non-exploding projectiles are used after dark.I felt it safer to remain where we were rather than to expose ourselvesby attempting to descend, as I doubted very much that the huge greenwarriors would follow us down that steep declivity on foot, for thetrail was too narrow for their great bodies and they hate goinganywhere on foot.After a few minutes I investigated and found that they apparently haddeparted.Then we started on down into the valley, not wishing to risk anotherencounter with that great horde of cruel and ruthless creatures.Chapter 3The trail was steep and oftentimes dangerous for it zig-zagged down theface of an almost perpendicular cliff. Occasionally on a ledge we wouldhave to step over the skeleton of a man, and we passed three newly deadbodies in various stages of decomposition."What do you make of these skeletons and bodies?" asked Pan Dan Chee."I am puzzled," I replied; "there must be a great many more who died onthe trail than those whose remains we have seen here. You will notethat these all lie on ledges where the bodies could have lodged whenthey fell. Many more must have pitched to the foot of the cliff.""But how do you suppose they met their death?" asked Llana."There might have been an epidemic of disease in the valley," suggestedPan Dan Chee, "and these poor devils died while trying to escape.""I am sure I haven't the slightest idea of what the explanation canbe," I replied. "You see the remains of harness on most of them, but noweapons. I am inclined to think that Pan Dan Chee is right in assumingthat they were trying to escape, but whether from an epidemic ofsickness or something else we may never know."From our dizzy footing on that precarious trail we had an excellentview of the valley below. It was level and well watered and themonotony of the scarlet grass which grows on Mars where there is water,was broken by forests, the whole making an amazing sight for onefamiliar with this dying planet.There are crops and trees and other vegetation along the canals; thereare lawns and gardens in the cities where irrigation is available; butnever have I seen a sight like this except in the Valley Dor at theSouth Pole, where lies the Lost Sea of Korus. For here there was notonly a vast expanse of fertile valley but there were rivers and atleast one lake which I could see in the distance; and then Llana calledour attention to a city, gleaming white, with lofty towers."What a beautiful city," she said. "I wonder what sort of people livethere?""Probably somebody who would love nothing better than to slit ourthroats," I said."We Orovars are not like that," said Pan Dan Chee, "we hate to killpeople. Why do all the other races on Mars hate each other so?""I don't think that it is hate that makes them want to kill eachother," I said."It is that is has become a custom. Since the drying up of the seasages ago, survival has become more and more difficult; and in all thoseages they have become so accustomed to battling for existence that nowit has become second nature to kill all aliens.""I'd still like to see the inside of that city," said Llana of Gathol."Your curiosity will probably never be satisfied," I said.We stood for some time on a ledge looking down upon that beautifulvalley, probably one of the most beautiful sights on all of Mars. Wesaw several herds of the small thoats used by the red Martians asriding animals and for food.There is a little difference in the saddle and butchering species, butat this distance we could not tell which these were. We saw gameanimals down there, too, and we who had been so long without good meatwere tempted."Let's go down," said Llana; "we haven't seen any human beings and wedon't need to go near the city; it is a long way off. I should like somuch to see the beauties of that valley closer.""And I would like to get some good red meat," I said."And I, too," said Pan Dan Chee."My better judgment tells me it would be a foolish thing to do," Isaid, "but if I had followed my better judgment always, my life wouldhave been a very dull one.""Anyway," said Llana, "we don't know that it is any more dangerous downon the floor of the valley than it was up on the edge of the rim. Wecertainly barely missed a lot of trouble up there, and it may still behanging around."I didn't think so; although I have known green Martians to hunt acouple of red men for days at a time. Anyway, the outcome of ourdiscussion was that we continued on down to the floor of the valley.Around the foot of the cliff, where the trail ended, there was a jumbleof human bones and a couple of badly mangled bodies--poor devils whohad either died on the trail above or fallen to their death here at thebottom. I wondered how and why.Fortunately for us, the city was at such a distance that I was surethat no one could have seen us from there; and, knowing Martiancustoms, we had no intention of approaching it; nor would we haveparticularly cared to had it been safe, for the floor of the valley wasso entrancingly beautiful in its natural state that the sights andsounds of a city would have proved a discordant note.A short distance from us was a little river; and, beyond it, a forestcame down to its edge. We crossed to the river on the scarlet sward,close-cropped by grazing herds and starred by many flowers of unearthlybeauty.A short distance down the river a herd of thoats was grazing. They werethe beef variety, which is exceptionally good eating; and Pan Dan Cheesuggested that we cross the river so that he could take advantage ofthe concealment of the forest to approach close enough to make a kill.The river was simply alive with fish, and as we waded across I spearedseveral with my long sword."At least we shall have fish for dinner," I said, "and if Pan Dan Cheeis lucky, we shall have a steak.""And in the forest I see fruits and nuts," said Llana. "What a banquetwe shall have!""Wish me luck," said Pan Dan Chee, as he entered the forest to work hisway down toward the thoats.Llana and I were watching, but we did not see the young Orovaran againuntil he leaped from the forest and hurled something at the nearestthoat, a young bull.The beast screamed, ran a few feet, staggered and fell, while the restof the herd galloped off."How did he do that?" asked Llana."I don't know," I said, "he did it so quickly that I couldn't see whatit was he threw. It was certainly not a spear because he hasn't one,and if it had been his sword we could have seen it.""It looked like a little stick," said Llana.We saw Pan Dan Chee cutting steaks from his kill; and presently he wasback with us, carrying enough meat for a dozen men."How did you kill that thoat?" demanded Llana."With my dagger," replied Pan Dan Chee."It was marvellous," I said, "but where did you learn it?""Dagger throwing is a form of sport in Horz. We are all good at it, butI happen to have won the Jeddak's trophy for the last three years; so Iwas pretty sure of my ground when I offered to get you a thoat,although I had never before used it to kill game. Very, very rarely isthere a duel in Horz; and when there is, the contestants usually choosedaggers, unless one of them is far more proficient than the other."While Pan Dan Chee and I were making fire and cooking the fish andsteaks, Llana gathered fruits and nuts; so that we had a deliciousmeal, and when night came we lay down on the soft sward and slept.Chapter 4We slept late, for we had been very tired the night before. I spearedsome fresh fish, and we had fish and steaks and fruit and nuts againfor breakfast. Then we started toward the trail that leads out of thevalley."It is going to be an awful climb," said Pan Dan Chee."Oh, I wish we didn't have to make it," said Llana; "I hate to leavethis beautiful spot."My attention was suddenly attracted toward the lower end of the valley."Maybe you won't have to leave it, Llana," I said. "Look!"Both she and Pan Dan Chee turned and looked in the direction I hadindicated, to see two hundred warriors mounted on thoats. The men wereebony black, and I wondered if they could be the notorious BlackPirates of Barsoom that I had first met and fought many years ago atthe South Pole--the people who called themselves the First Born.They galloped up and surrounded us; their spears couched, ready for anyemergency."Who are you?" demanded their leader. "What are you doing in the Valleyof the First Born?""We came down the trail to avoid a horde of green men," I replied. "Wewere just leaving. We came in peace; we do not want war, but we arestill three swords ready to give a good account of ourselves.""You will have to come to Kamtol with us," said the leader."The city?" I asked. He nodded.I whipped my sword from its scabbard."Stop!" he said. "We are two hundred; you are three. If you come to thecity there would be at least a chance that you won't be killed; if youstay here and fight you will be killed."I shrugged. "It is immaterial to me," I said. "Llana of Gathol wishesto see the city, and I would just as leave fight. Pan Dan Chee, what doyou and Llana say?""I would like to see the city," said Llana, "but I will fight if youfight. Perhaps," she added, "they will not be unkind to us.""You will have to give up your arms," said the leader.I didn't like that and I hesitated."It is that or death," said the leader. "Come! I can't stand here allday."Well, resistance was futile; and it seemed foolish to sacrifice ourlives if there were the remotest hope that we might be well received inKamtol, and so we were taken on the backs of three thoats behind theirriders and started for the beautiful white city.The ride to the city was uneventful, but it gave me an excellentopportunity to examine our captors more closely. They wereunquestionably of the same race as Xodar, Dator of the First Born ofBarsoom, to give him his full title, who had been first my enemy andthen my friend during my strange adventures among the Holy Therns. Theyare an exceptionally handsome race, clean-limbed and powerful, withintelligent faces and features of such exquisite chiseling that Adonishimself might have envied them. I am a Virginian; and it may seemstrange for me to say so, but their black skins, resembling polishedebony, add greatly to their beauty. The harness and metal of ourcaptors was identical with that worn by the Black Pirates whoseacquaintance I had made upon the Golden Cliffs above the Valley Dor.My admiration of these people did not blind me to the fact that theyare a cruel and ruthless race and that our life expectancy was reducedto a minimum by our capture.Kamtol did not belie its promise. It was as beautiful on closerinspection as it had been at a distance. Its pure white outer wall iselaborately carved, as are the facades on many of its buildings.Graceful towers rise above its broad avenues, which, when we enteredthe city, were filled with people. Among the blacks, we saw a number ofred men performing menial tasks. It was evident that they were slaves,and their presence suggested the fate which might await us.I cannot say that I looked forward with any great amount of enthusiasmto the possibility that John Carter, Prince of Helium, Warlord of Mars,might become a street cleaner or a garbage collector. One thing that Inoticed particularly in Kamtol was that the residences could not beraised on cylindrical columns, as is the case in most modern Martiancities, where assassination has been developed to a fine art and whereassassins' guilds flourish openly, and their members swagger throughthe streets like gangsters once did in Chicago.Heavily guarded, we were taken to a large building and there we wereseparated.I was taken to an apartment and seated in a chair with my back toward astrange looking machine, the face of which was covered with innumerabledials. A number of heavily insulated cables ran from various parts ofthe apparatus; metal bands at the ends of these cables were clampedabout my wrists, my ankles, and my neck, the latter clamp pressingagainst the base of my skull; then something like a strait-jacket wasbuckled tightly around me, and I had a sensation as of countlessneedles touching my spine for almost its full length. I thought that Iwas to be electrocuted, but it seemed to me that they took a great dealof unnecessary pains to destroy me. A simple sword thrust would havedone it much more quickly.An officer, who was evidently in charge of the proceedings, came andstood in front of me. "You are about to be examined," he said, "youwill answer all questions truthfully;" then he signalled to anattendant who threw a switch on the apparatus.So I was not to be electrocuted, but examined. For what, I could notimagine. I felt a very gentle tingling throughout my entire body, andthen they commenced to hurl questions at me.There were six men. Sometimes they questioned me singly and sometimesall at once. At such times, of course, I could not answer veryintelligently because I could not hear the questions fully. Sometimesthey spoke soothingly to me, and again they shouted at me angrily;often they heaped insults upon me. They let me rest for a few moments,and then a slave entered the apartment with a tray of very temptingfood which he offered to me. As I was about to take it, it was snatchedaway; and my tormentors laughed at me. They jabbed me with sharpinstruments until the blood flowed, and then they rubbed the woundswith a burning caustic, after which they applied a salve that instantlyrelieved the pain. Again I rested and again food was offered me. When Imade no move to attempt to take it, they insisted; and, much to mysurprise, let me eat it.By this time I had come to the conclusion that we had been captured bya race of sadistic maniacs, and what happened next assured me that Iwas right, My torturers all left the apartment. I sat there for severalminutes wondering at the whole procedure and why they couldn't havetortured me without attaching me to that amazing contraption. I wasfacing a door in the opposite wall, and suddenly the door flew open anda huge banth leaped into the room with a horrid roar.This, I thought, is the end, as the great carnivore came racing at me.As suddenly as he had entered the room, he came to a stop a few feetfrom me, and so instantly that he was thrown to the floor at my feet.It was then that I saw that he was secured by a chain just a little tooshort to permit him to reach me. I had had all the sensations ofimpending death--a most refined form of torture. However, if that hadbeen their purpose they had failed, for I do not fear death.The banth was dragged out of the apartment by his chain and the doorclosed; then the examining board re-entered smiling at me in the mostkindly way."That is all," said the officer in charge; "the examination is over."Chapter 5After the paraphernalia had been removed from me, I was turned over tomy guard and taken to the pits, such as are to be found in everyMartian city, ancient or modern. These labyrinthine corridors andchambers are used for storage purposes and for the incarceration ofprisoners, their only other tenants being the repulsive ulsio.I was chained to the wall in a large cell in which there was anotherprisoner, a red Martian; and it was not long until Llana of Gathol andPan Dan Chee were brought in and chained near me."I see you survived the examination," I said."What in the world do they expect to learn from such an examination asthat?" demanded Llana. "It was stupid and silly.""Perhaps they wanted to find out if they could scare us to death,"suggested Pan Dan Chee."I wonder how long they will keep us in these pits," said Llana."I have been here a year," said the red man. "Occasionally I have beentaken out and put to work with other slaves belonging to the jeddak,but until someone buys me I shall remain here.""Buys you! What do you mean?" asked Pan Dan Chee."All prisoners belong to the jeddak," replied the red man, "but hisnobles or officers may buy them if they wish another slave. I think heis holding me at too high a price, for a number of nobles have lookedat me and said that they would like to have me."He was silent for a moment and then he said, "You will pardon mycuriosity, but two of you do not look like Barsoomians at all, and I amwondering from what part of the world you come. Only the woman istypical of Barsoom; both you men have white skin and one of you blackhair and the other yellow.""You have heard of the Orovars?" I asked."Certainly," he replied, "but they have been extinct for ages."Nevertheless, Pan Dan Chee here is an Orovar. There is a small colonyof them that has survived in a deserted Orovar city."And you?" he asked; "you are no Orovar, with that black hair.""No," I said, "I am from another world--Jasoom.""Oh," he exclaimed, "can it be that you are John Carter?""Yes; and you?""My name is Jad-han. I am from Amhor.""Amhor?" I said. "I know a girl from Amhor. Her name is Janai.""What do you know of Janai?" he demanded."You knew her?" I asked."She was my sister; she has been dead for years. While I was out of thecountry on a long trip, Jal Had, Prince of Amhor, employed Ganturn Gur,the assassin, to kill my father because he objected to Jal Had as asuitor for Janai's hand. Then I returned to Amhor, Janai had fled; andlater I learned of her death. In order to escape assassination myself,I was forced to leave the city; and after wandering about for some timeI was captured by the First Born. But tell me, what did you know ofJanai?""I know that she is not dead," I replied. "She is mated with one of mymost trusted officers and is safe in Helium."Jad-han was overcome with happiness when he learned that his sisterstill lived."Now," he said, "if I could escape from here and return to Amhor toavenge my father, I would die happy.""Your father has been avenged," I told him. "Jal Had is dead.""I am sorry that it was not given to me to kill him," said Jad-han."You have been here a year," I said, "and you must know something ofthe customs of the people. Can you tell us what fate may lie in storefor us?""There are several possibilities," he replied. "You may be worked asslaves, in which event you will be treated badly, but may be permittedto live for years; or you may be saved solely for the games which areheld in a great stadium. There you will fight with men or beasts for theedification of the First Born. On the other hand, you may be summarilyexecuted at any moment. All depends upon the mental vagaries of Doxus,Jeddak of The First Born, who I think is a little mad.""If the silly examination they gave us is any criterion," said Llana,"they are all mad.""Don't be too sure of that," Jad-han advised. "If you realized thepurpose of that examination, you would understand that it was neverdevised by any unsound mind. Did you see the dead men as you enteredthe valley?""Yes, but what have they to do with the examination?""They took that same examination; that is why they lie dead out there.""I do not understand," I said. "Please explain.""The machines to which you were connected recorded hundreds of yourreflexes; and automatically recorded your own individual nerve index,which is unlike that of any other creature in the world."The master machine, which you did not see and never will, generatesshort wave vibrations which can be keyed exactly to your individualnerve index. When that is done you have such a severe paralytic strokethat you die almost instantly.""But why all that just to destroy a few slaves?" demanded Pan Dan Chee."It is not for that alone," explained Jad-han. "Perhaps that was one ofthe initial purposes to prevent prisoners from escaping and spreadingword of this beautiful valley on a dying planet. You can imagine thatalmost any country would wish to possess it. But it has anotherpurpose; it keeps Doxus supreme."Every adult in the valley has had his nerve index recorded, and is atthe mercy of his jeddak. You don't have to leave the valley to beexterminated. An enemy of the jeddak might be sitting in his own homesome day, when the thing would find him out and destroy him. Doxus isthe only adult in Kamtol whose index has not been recorded; and he andone other man, Myr-lo, are the only ones who know exactly where themaster machine is located, or how to operate it. It is said to be verydelicate and that it can be irreparably damaged in an instant--and cannever be replaced.""Why couldn't it be replaced?" asked Llana."The inventor of it is dead," replied Jad-han. "It is said that hehated Doxus because of the purpose to which the jeddak had put hisinvention and that Doxus had him assassinated through fear of him.Myr-lo, who succeeded him, has not the genius to design another suchmachine."Chapter 6That night, after Llana had fallen asleep, Jad-han, Pan Dan Chee, and Iwere conversing in whispers; so as not to disturb her."It is too bad," said Jad-han, who had been looking at the sleepinggirl; "it is too bad that she is so beautiful.""What do you mean?" asked Pan Dan Chee."This afternoon you asked me what your fate might be; and I told youwhat the possibilities might be, but those were the possibilities foryou two men. For the girl-" He looked sorrowfully at Llana and shookhis head; he did not need to say more.The next day a number of the First Born came down into our cell toexamine us, as one might examine cattle that one purposed buying. Amongthem was one of the jeddak's officers, upon whom developed the duty ofselling prisoners into slavery for the highest amounts he could obtain.One of the nobles immediately took a fancy to Llana and made an offerfor her.They haggled over the price for some time, but in the end the noble gother.Pan Dan Chee and I were grief-stricken as they led Llana of Gatholaway, for we knew that we should never see her again. Although herfather is Jed of Gathol, in her veins flows the blood of Helium; andthe women of Helium know how to act when an unkind Providence reservesfor them the fate for which we knew Llana of Gathol was intended."Oh! to be chained to a wall and without a sword when a thing like thishappens," exclaimed Pan Dan Chee."I know how you feel," I said; "but we are not dead yet, Pan Dan Chee;and our chance may come yet.""If it does, we will make them pay," he said.Two nobles were bidding for me, and at last I was knocked down to adator named Xaxak. My fetters were removed, and the jeddak's agentwarned me to be a good and docile slave.Xaxak had a couple of warriors with him, and they walked on either sideof me as we left the pits. I was the object of considerable curiosity,as we made our way toward Xaxak's palace, which stood near that of thejeddak. My white skin and gray eyes always arouse comment in citieswhere I am not known. Of course, I am bronzed by exposure to the sun,but even so my skin is not the copper red of the red men of Barsoom.Before I was to be taken to the slaves' quarters of the palace, Xaxakquestioned me. "What is your name?" he asked."Dotar Sojat," I replied. It is the name given me by the green Martianswho captured me when I first came to Mars, being the names of the firsttwo green Martians I had killed in duels; and is in the nature of anhonorable title. A man with one name, an o-mad, is not considered veryhighly. I was always glad that they stopped with two names, for had Ihad to assume the name of every green Martian warrior I had killed in aduel it would have taken an hour to pronounce them all."Did you say dator?" asked Xaxak. "Don't tell me that you are aprince!""I said Dotar," I replied. I hadn't given my real name; because I hadreason to believe that it was well known to the First Born, who hadgood reason to hate me for what I had done to them in the Valley Dor."Where are you from?" he asked."I have no country," I said; "I am a panthan."As these soldiers of fortune have no fixed abode, wandering about fromcity to city offering their services and their swords to whomever willemploy them, they are the only men who can go with impunity into almostany Martian city."Oh, a panthan," he said. "I suppose you think you are pretty good witha sword.""I have met worse," I replied."If I thought you were any good, I would enter you in the lessergames," he said; but you cost me a lot of money, and I'd hate to takethe chance of your being killed.""I don't think you need worry about that," I told him."You are pretty sure of yourself," he said. "Well, let's see what youcan do. Take him out into the garden," he directed the two warriors.Xaxak followed us out to an open patch of sand."Give him your sword," he said to one of the warriors; and, to theother, "Engage him, Ptang; but not to the death;" then he turned to me."It is not to the death, slave, you understand. I merely wish to seehow good you are. Either one of you may draw blood, but don't kill."Ptang, like all the other Black Pirates of Barsoom whom I have met, wasan excellent swordsman--cool, quick, and deadly. He came toward mewith a faint, supercilious smile on his lips."It is scarcely fair, my prince," he said to Xaxak, "to pit him againstone of the best swordsmen in Kamtol.""That is the only way in which I can tell whether he is any good atall, or not," replied Xaxak. "If he extends you, he will certainly begood enough to enter in the Lesser Games. He might even win his priceback for me.""We shall see," said Ptang, crossing swords with me.Before he realized what was happening, I had pricked him in theshoulder. He looked very much surprised, and the smile left his lips."An accident," he said; "it will not occur again;" and then I pinkedhim in the other shoulder. Now, he made a fatal mistake; he becameangry. While anger may stiffen a man's offense, it weakens his defense.I have seen it happen a thousand times, and when I am anxious todispatch an antagonist quickly I always try to make him angry."Come, come! Ptang," said Xaxak; "can't you make a better showing thanthat against a slave?"With that, Ptang came for me with blood in his eye, and I didn't seeanything there that looked like a desire to pink--Ptang was out tokill me."Ptang!" snapped Xaxak; "don't kill him."At that, I laughed; and drew blood from Ptang's breast. "Have you noreal swordsmen in Kamtol?" I asked, tauntingly.Xaxak and his other warrior were very quiet. I caught glimpses of theirfaces occasionally, and they looked a bit glum. Ptang was furious, andnow he came for me like a mad bull with a cut that would have loppedoff my head had it connected. However, it didn't connect; and I ran himthrough the muscles of his left arm."Hadn't we better stop," I asked Xaxak, "before your man bleeds todeath?"Xaxak did not reply; but I was getting bored with the whole affair andwanted to end it; so I drew Ptang into a lunge and sent his swordflying across the garden."Is that enough now?" I asked.Xaxak nodded. "Yes," he said, "that is enough."Ptang was one of the most surprised and crestfallen men I have everseen. He just stood there staring at me, making no move to retrieve hisblade. I felt very sorry for him."You have nothing to be ashamed of, Ptang," I told him. "You are asplendid swordsman, but what I did to you I can do to any man inKamtol.""I believe it," he said. "You may be a slave, but I am proud to havecrossed swords with you. The world has never seen a better swordsman.""I am convinced of that," said Xaxak, "and I can see where you aregoing to make a lot of money for me, Dotar Sojat."Chapter 7Xaxak treated me much as a wealthy horse owner on Earth would treat aprospective Derby winner. I was quartered in the barracks of hispersonal guard, where I was treated as an equal. He detailed Ptang tosee that I had the proper amount of exercise and sword play; and also,I presume, to see that I did not try to escape. And now my only concernwas the fate of Llana of Gathol and Pan Dan Chee, of whose whereaboutsand state I was totally ignorant.Somewhat of a friendship developed between Ptang and myself. He admiredmy swordsmanship, and used to brag about it to the other warriors. Atfirst they had been inclined to criticize and ridicule him because hehad been bested by a slave; so I suggested that he offer to let hiscritics see if they could do any better with me."I can't do that," he said, "without Xaxak's permission; for ifanything happened to you, I should be held responsible.""Nothing will happen to me," I told him; "no one should know thatbetter than you."He smiled a bit ruefully. "You are right," he said, "but still I mustask Xaxak;" and this he did the next time that he saw the dator.In order to win Ptang's greater friendship, I had been teaching himsome of the finer points of swordsmanship which I had learned in twoworlds and in a thousand duels and battles; but by no means did I teachhim all of my tricks, nor could I impart to him the strength andagility which my earthly muscles give me on Mars.Xaxak was watching us at swordplay when Ptang asked him if I might takeon some of his critics. Xaxak shook his head. "I am afraid that DotarSojat might be injured," he said."I will guarantee that I shall not be," I told him."Well," he said; "then I am afraid that you may kill some of mywarriors.""I promise not to. I will simply show them that they cannot last aslong as Ptang did.""It might be good sport," said Xaxak. "Who are those who criticizedyou, Ptang?"Ptang gave him the names of five warriors who had been particularlyvenomous in their ridicule and criticism, and Xaxak immediately sentfor them."I understand," said Xaxak, when they had assembled, "that you havecondemned Ptang because he was bested in a duel with this slave. Do anyof you think that you could do better than Ptang did? If so, here isyour chance."They assured him, almost in chorus, that they could do very muchbetter."We shall see," he said, "but you must all understand that no one is tobe killed and that you are to stop when I give the word. It is anorder."They assured him that they would not kill me, and then the first ofthem swaggered out to meet me. One after another, in rapid succession,I pinked each in the right shoulder and disarmed him.I must say they took it very decently; all except one of them--afellow named Ban-tor, who had been Ptang's most violent critic."He tricked me," he grumbled. "Let me at him again, my dator; and Iwill kill him." He was so angry that his voice trembled."No," said Xaxak; "he has drawn your blood and he has disarmed you,demonstrating that he is the better swordsman. If it were due to atrick, it was a trick of swordsmanship which you might do well tomaster before you attempt to kill Dotar Sojat."The fellow was still scowling and grumbling as he walked away with theother four; and I realized that while all of these First Born were mynominal enemies, this fellow, Ban-tor, was an active one. However, Igave the matter little thought as I was too valuable to Xaxak foranybody to risk his displeasure by harming me; nor could I see thatthere was any way in which the fellow could injure me."Ban-tor has always disliked me," said Ptang, after they had all leftus. "He dislikes me; because I have always bested him in swordsmanshipand feats of strength; and, in addition to this, he is a natural borntrouble maker. If it were not for the fact that he is related toXaxak's wife, the dator would not have him around."Since I have already compared myself to a prospective Derby winner, Imight as well carry out the analogy by describing their Lesser Games asminor race meets.They are held about once a week in a stadium inside the city, and herethe rich nobles pit their warriors or their slaves against those ofother nobles in feats of strength, in boxing, in wrestling, and indueling. Large sums of money are wagered, and the excitement runs high.The duels are not always to the death, the nobles deciding beforehandprecisely upon what they will place their bets.Usually it is for first blood or disarming; but there is always atleast one duel to the death, which might be compared to the featurerace of a race meet, or the main event of a boxing tournament.Kamtol has a population of about two hundred thousand, of whichpossibly five thousand are slaves. As I was allowed considerablefreedom, I got around the city quite a bit; though Ptang alwaysaccompanied me, and I was so impressed with the scarcity of childrenthat I asked Ptang what accounted for it."The Valley of the First Born will only comfortably support about twohundred thousand population," he replied; "so only sufficient childrenare permitted to replace the death losses. As you may have guessed, bylooking at our people, the old and otherwise unfit are destroyed; sothat we have about sixty-five thousand fighting men and about twice asmany healthy women and children. There are two factions here, one ofwhich maintains that the number of women should be greatly decreased;so that the number of fighting men may be increased, while the otherfaction insists that, as we are not menaced by any powerful enemies,sixty-five thousand fighting men are sufficient."Strange as it may seem, most of the women belong to the first faction;notwithstanding the fact that this faction which believes in decreasingthe number of females would do so by permitting a far greater number ofeggs to incubate, killing all the females which hatched and as many ofthe adult women as there were males in the hatching. This is probablydue to the fact that each woman thinks that she is too desirable to bedestroyed and that that fate will fall to some other woman. Doxusbelieves in maintaining the status quo, but some future jeddak maybelieve differently; and even Doxus may change his mind, which,confidentially, is most vacillating."My fame as a swordsman soon spread among the sixty-five thousandfighting men of Kamtol, and opinion was most unevenly divided as to myability. Perhaps a dozen men of Kamtol had seen my swordplay; and theywere willing to back me against anyone; but all the remainder of thesixty-five thousand felt that they could best me in individual combat;for this is a race of fighting men, all extremely proud of their skilland their valor.I was exercising in the garden with Ptang one day, when Xaxak came withanother dator, whom he called Nastor. When Ptang saw them coming, hewhistled. "I never saw Nastor here before," he said in a low tone ofvoice. "Xaxak has no use for him, and he hates Xaxak. Wait!" heexclaimed; "I have an idea why he is here. If they ask for swordplay,let me disarm you. I will tell you why, later.""Very well," I said, "and I hope it will do you some good.""It is not for me," he said; "it is for Dator Xaxak."As the two approached us, I heard Nastor say, "So this is your greatswordsman! I should like to wager that I have men who could best himany day.""You have excellent men," said Xaxak; "still, I think my man would givea good account of himself. How much of a wager do you want to lay?""You have seen my men fight," said Nastor, "but I have never seen thisfellow at work. I would like to see him in action; then I shall knowwhether to ask or give odds.""Very well," said Xaxak, "that is fair enough," then he turned to us."You will give the Dator Nastor an exhibition of your swordsmanship,Dotar Sojat; but not to the death--you understand?"Ptang and I drew our swords and faced one another. "Don't forget what Iasked of you," he said, and then we were at it.I not only remembered what he had asked, but I now realized why he hadasked it; and so I put up an exhibition of quite ordinaryswordsmanship, just good enough to hold my own until I let Ptang disarmme."He is an excellent swordsman," said Nastor, knowing that he was lying,but not knowing that we knew it; "but I will bet even money that my mancan kill him.""You mean a duel to the death?" demanded Xaxak. "Then I shall demandodds; as I did not desire my man to fight to the death the first timehe fought.""I will give you two to one," said Nastor; "are those oddssatisfactory?""Perfectly," said Xaxak. "How much do you wish to wager?""A thousand tanpi to your five hundred," replied Nastor. A tanpi isequivalent to about $1 in United States money."I want to make more than enough to feed my wife's sorak," repliedXaxak.Now, a sorak is a little six-legged, cat-like animal, kept as a pet bymany Martian women; so what Xaxak had said was equivalent to tellingNastor that we didn't care to fight for chicken feed. I could see thatXaxak was trying to anger Nastor; so that he would bet recklessly, andI knew then that he must have guessed that Ptang and I were putting ona show when I let Ptang disarm me so easily.Nastor was scowling angrily. "I did not wish to rob you," he said; "butif you wish to throw your money away, you may name the amount of thewager.""Just to make it interesting," said Xaxak, "I'll bet you fifty thousandtanpi against your hundred thousand."This staggered Nastor for a moment; but he must have got to thinkinghow easily Ptang had disarmed me, for eventually he rose to the bait."Done!" he said; "and I am sorry for both you and your man," with whichpolite hypocrisy he turned on his heel and left without another word.Xaxak looked after him with a half smile on his lips; and when he hadgone, turned to us. "I hope you were just playing a little game," hesaid, "for if you were not you may have lost me fifty thousand tanpi.""You need not worry, my prince," said Ptang."I shall not worry unless Dotar Sojat worries," replied the dator."There is always a gamble in such an enterprise as this," I replied;"but I think that you got very much the best of the bargain, for theodds should have been the other way.""At least you have more faith than I have," said Xaxak the dator.Chapter 8Ptang told me that he had never known more interest to be displayed ina duel to the death than followed the announcement of the wager betweenXaxak and Nastor."No common warrior is to represent Nastor," he said. "He has persuadeda dator to fight for him, a man who is considered the best swordsman inKamtol. His name is Nolat. I have never before known of a princefighting a slave; but they say that Nolat owes Nastor a great deal ofmoney and that Nastor will cancel the debt if Nolat wins, which Nolatis sure that he will--he is so sure that he has pledged his palace toraise money to bet upon himself.""Not such a stupid thing for him to do, after all," I said; "for if heloses he won't need a palace."Ptang laughed. "I hope he doesn't need it," he said; "but don't beover-confident, for he is rated the best swordsman among the FirstBorn; and there are supposed to be no better swordsmen in all Barsoom."Before the day arrived that I was to fight Nolat, Xaxak and Ptang grewmore and more nervous; as did all of Xaxak's warriors, who seemed tofeel a personal interest in me--that is, with the exception ofBan-tor, whose enmity I had aroused by disarming him.Ban-tor had placed a number of wagers against me; and he kept braggingabout this, insisting that I was no match for Nolat and that I shouldbe killed in short order.I slept in a small room by myself on old, discarded furs, as befitted aslave.My room connected with that occupied by Ptang; and had only one door,which opened into Ptang's room. It was on the second floor of thepalace and overlooked the lower end of the garden.The night before the encounter I was awakened by a noise in my room,and as I opened my eyes I saw a man leap out of the window with a swordin his hand; but, as neither of Mars' two moons was in the sky, it wasnot light enough for me to be sure that I could recognize him; yetthere was something very familiar about him.The next morning I told Ptang about my nocturnal visitor. Neither ofus, however, could imagine why anyone would want to enter my room instealth, as I had nothing to steal."It might have been an assassin who wanted to stop the fight,"suggested Ptang."I doubt that," I said; "for he had plenty of opportunity to kill me,as I didn't awaken until he was leaping through the window.""You missed nothing?" asked Ptang."I had nothing to miss," I replied, "except my harness and weapons, andI am wearing them now."Ptang finally suggested that the fellow may have thought that a femaleslave slept in the room; and when he found out his error, took hisdeparture; and with that we dropped the matter from our minds.We went to the stadium about the fourth zode, and we went in style--infact it was a regular pageant. There were Xaxak and his wife, with herfemale slaves, and Xaxak's officers and warriors. We were all mountedon gaily caparisoned thoats; pennants waved above us, and mountedtrumpeters preceded us. Nastor was there with the same sort of retinue.We all paraded around the arena to the accompaniment of "Kaors!" andgrowls--the kaors were applause and the growls were boos. I received agreat many more growls than kaors, for after all I was a slave pittedagainst a prince, a man of their own blood.There were some wrestling and boxing matches and a number of duels forfirst blood only, but what the people were waiting for was the duel tothe death.People are very much alike everywhere. On Earth, they go to boxingmatches hoping for blood and a knockout; they go to the wrestlingmatches hoping to see someone thrown out of the ring and crippled; andwhen they go to automobile races they hope to see somebody killed. Theywill not admit these things, but without the element of danger and therisk of death these sports wouldn't draw a hatful of people.At last the moment came for me to enter the arena, and I did so beforea most distinguished audience. Doxus, Jeddak of the First Born, wasthere with his Jeddara. The loges and boxes were crowded with thenobility of Kamtol. It was a gorgeous spectacle; the harnesses of themen and women were resplendent with precious metals and jewels, andfrom every vantage point flew pennants and banners.Nolat was escorted to the jeddak's box and presented; then to the boxof Xaxak, where he bowed; and last of all to the box of Nastor, forwhom he was fighting a stranger to the death.I, being a slave, was not presented to the jeddak; but I was takenbefore Nastor; so that he could identify me as the individual againstwhom he had placed his wagers. It was, of course, a mere formality; butin accordance with the rules of the Games.I had caught only a brief glimpse of Nastor's entourage as we hadparaded around the arena; as they had been behind us; but now I got agood look at them, as I stood in the arena before Nastor, and I sawLlana of Gathol sitting there beside the dator. Now, indeed, would Ikill Nastor's man!Llana of Gathol gasped and started to speak to me; but I shook my head,for I was afraid she would call me by name, which might, here among theFirst Born, have been the equivalent of a death sentence. It was alwaysa surprise to me that none of these men recognized me; for my whiteskin and gray eyes make me a marked man, and if any of them had been inthe Valley Dor when I was there they must have remembered me. I was tolearn later why none of these Black Pirates of Barsoom knew me."Why did you do that, slave?" demanded Nastor."Do what?" I asked."Shake your head," he replied."Perhaps I am nervous," I said."And well you may be, slave, for you are about to die," he snapped,nastily.I was taken then to a point in the arena opposite the jeddak's box.Ptang was with me, as a sort of a second, I suppose. They let us standthere alone for several minutes, presumably to shake my nerves; thenNolat approached, accompanied by another noble dator. There was a fifthman; possibly he might have been called a referee; although he didn'thave much to do besides giving the signal for the duel to commence.Nolat was a large, powerful man; and built like a fighter. He was avery handsome man, but with a haughty, supercilious expression. Ptanghad told me that we were supposed to salute each other with our swordsbefore we engaged; and as soon as I got in position, I saluted; butNolat merely sneered and said, "Come, slave! You are about to die.""You made a mistake, Nolat," I said, as we engaged."What do you mean?" he demanded, lunging at me."You should have saluted your better," I said, parrying his lunge. "Nowit will go harder with you--unless you would like to stop and saluteme as you should have at first.""Insolent calot!" he growled, and thrust viciously at me.For reply, I cut a gash in his left cheek. "I told you you should havesaluted,"I mocked.Nolat became furious, then, and came at me with the evident intentionof ending the encounter immediately. I sliced him along the othercheek, then; and a moment later I carved a bloody cross upon his leftbreast, a difficult maneuver requiring exceptional agility and skill,since his right side was always presented to me; or always should havebeen had he been quick enough to follow my foot work.That audience was as silent as a tomb, except for the kaors fromXaxak's contingent. Nolat was bleeding profusely, and he had sloweddown considerably.Suddenly somebody shouted, "Death!" Then other voices took it up. Theywanted the kill; and as it was quite evident that Nolat couldn't killme, I assumed that they wished me to kill him. Instead, I disarmed him,sending his blade flying halfway across the arena. The referee ranafter it; at last I had given him something to do.I turned to Nolat's second. "I offer the man his life," I said in atone of voice loud enough to have been heard in any part of thestadium.Immediately there were shots of "Kaor!" and "Death!" The "Deaths" werein the majority."He offers you your life, Nolat," said the second."But the wagers must be paid precisely as though I had killed you," Isaid."It is to the death," said Nolat. "I shall fight."Well, he was a brave man; and because of that I hated to kill him.His sword was returned to him by now, and we fell to it again. Thistime Nolat did not smile nor sneer, and he had no nasty remarks to maketo me. He was in deadly earnest, fighting for his life like a corneredrat. He was an excellent swordsman; but I do not think that he was thebest swordsman among the First Born; for I had seen many of them fightbefore, and I could have named a dozen who could have killed himoffhand.I could have killed him myself any time that I had wished to, butsomehow I couldn't bring myself to do it. It seemed a shame to killsuch a good swordsman and such a brave man; so I pricked him a fewtimes and disarmed him again. I did the same thing three more times;and then, while the referee was running after Nolat's sword again, Istepped to the jeddak's loge and saluted."What are you doing here, slave?" demanded an officer of the jeddak'sguard."I come to ask for the life of Nolat," I replied. "He is a goodswordsman and a brave man--and I am not a murderer; and it would bemurder to kill him now.""It is a strange request," said Doxus; "the duel was to the death; itmust go on.""I am a stranger here," I said, "but where I come from if a contestantcan show fraud or chicanery he is awarded the decision without havingto finish the contest.""Do you mean to imply that there has been fraud or chicanery on thepart of either the Dator Nastor or the Dator Nolat?" demanded Doxus."I mean to say that a man entered my room last night while I slept,took my sword, and left a shorter one in the scabbard. This sword isseveral inches shorter than Nolat's; I noticed it when we firstengaged. It is not my sword, as Xaxak and Ptang can testify if theywill examine it."Doxus summoned Xaxak and Ptang and asked them if they could identifythe sword.Xaxak said that he could only identify it as coming from his armory;that he did not know the sword that had been issued to me, but thatPtang did; then Doxus turned to Ptang."Is this the sword that was issued to the slave, Dotar Sojat?" hedemanded."No; it is not," replied Ptang."Do you recognize it?""I do.""To whom did it belong?""It is the sword of a warrior named Ban-tor," replied Ptang.Chapter 9There was nothing for Doxus to do but award the contest to me; and healso ordered that all bets be paid, just as though I had killed Nolat.That didn't set very well with Nastor, nor did the fact that Doxus madehim pay over to Xaxak one hundred thousand tanpi in the jeddak'spresence; then he sent for Ban-tor.Doxus was furious; for the First Born hold their honor as fighting menvery high, and the thing that had been done was a blot upon theescutcheons of them all."Is this the man who entered your room last night?" he asked me."It was dark; and I only saw his back; there was something familiarabout the fellow, but I couldn't identify him positively.""Did you lay any wagers on this contest?" he asked Ban-tor."A few little ones, Jeddak," replied the man."On whom?""On Nolat."Doxus turned to one of his officers, "Summon all those with whomBan-tor wagered on this contest."A slave was sent around the arena, shouting out the summons; and soonthere were fifty warriors gathered before Doxus' loge. Ban-tor appearedmost unhappy; as, from each of the fifty, Doxus gleaned the informationthat Ban-tor had wagered large sums with each, in some instances givingextremely big odds."You thought that you were betting on a sure thing, didn't you?"demanded Doxus."I thought that Nolat would win," replied Ban-tor; "there is no betterswordsman in Kamtol.""And you were sure that he would win against an antagonist with ashorter sword. You are a disgrace; you have dishonored the First Born.For punishment you will fight now with Dotar Sojat;" then he turned to me."You may kill him; and before you engage him, I, myself, will see thatyour sword is as long as his; although it would be only fair were he to becompelled to fight with the shorter sword he gave to you.""I shall not kill him," I replied, "but I shall put a mark upon himthat he will carry through life to remind all men that he is a knave."As we started to take our places before the loge of the jeddak, I heardbets being offered with odds as high as a hundred to one that I wouldwin, and later I learned that even a thousand to one was offeredwithout any takers; then, as we faced one another, I heard Nastorshout, "I will lay no wager, but I'll give Ban-tor fifty thousand tanpiif he kills the slave." It appeared that the noble dator was wroth atme.Ban-tor was no mean antagonist; for he was not only a good swordsman,but he was fighting for his life and fifty thousand tanpi. He didn'ttry any rushing tactics this time; but fought carefully, mostly on thedefensive, waiting for me to make one little false move that would givehim an opening; but I do not make false moves. It was he who made thefalse move; he thrust, following a feint, thinking to find me offbalance.I am never off balance. My blade moved twice with the swiftness oflight, leaving an X cut deep in the center of Ban-tor's forehead; thenI disarmed him.Without even glancing at him again, I walked to Doxus' loge. "I amsatisfied," I said. "To bear the scar of that cross through life ispunishment enough. To me, it would be worse than death."Doxus nodded assent; and then caused the trumpets to be blown toannounce that the Games were over, after which he again turned to me."What country are you from?" he asked."I have no country; I am a panthan," I replied; "my sword is for saleto the highest bidder.""I shall buy you, and thereby acquire your sword also," said thejeddak. "What did you pay for this slave, Xaxak?""One hundred tanpi," replied my owner."You got him too cheap," said Doxus; "I shall give you fifty tanpi forhim."There is nothing like being a jeddak!"It is my pleasure to present him to you," said Xaxak, magnanimously; Ihad already netted him a hundred thousand tanpi, and he must haverealized that it would be impossible ever to get another wager placedagainst me.I welcomed this change of masters; because it would take me into thepalace of the jeddak, and I had been harboring a hare-brained scheme topave the way for our eventual escape, that could only be successful ifI were to have entry to the palace--that is, if my deductions werecorrect.So John Carter, Prince of Helium, Warlord of Barsoom, came into thepalace of Doxus, Jeddak of the First Born, as a slave; but a slave witha reputation. The warriors of the jeddak's guard treated me withrespect; I was given a decent room; and one of Doxus' trustedunder-officers was made responsible for me, just as Ptang had been inthe palace of Xaxak.I was at something of a loss to know why Doxus had purchased me. Hemust have known that he couldn't arrange a money duel for me, for whowould be fool enough to place a man or a wager against one who had madeseveral of the best swordsmen of Kamtol look like novices?The next day I found out. Doxus sent for me. He was alone in a smallroom when I was escorted in, and he immediately dismissed the warriorwho had accompanied me."When you entered the valley," he commenced, "you saw many skeletons,did you not?""Yes," I replied."Those men died trying to escape," he said. "It would be impossible foryou to succeed any better than they. I am telling you this so that youwon't make the attempt. You might think that by killing me you mightescape in the confusion which would ensue; but you could not; you cannever escape from the Valley of the First Born. However, you may liveon here in comfort, if you wish. All that you have to do is teach methe tricks of swordsmanship with which you bested the finest swordsmanof all the First Born. I wish you to make me that, but I wish theinstruction given in secret and no word of it ever to pass your lips onpain of instant death--and a most unpleasant death, I can assure you.What do you say?""I can promise the utmost discretion," I said, "but I cannot promise tomake you the greatest swordsman among the First Born; the achievementof that will depend somewhat upon your own native ability. I willinstruct you, however.""You do not talk much like a poor panthan," he said. "You speak to memuch as would a man who had been accustomed to speaking with jeddaks--and as an equal.""You may have much to learn about being a swordsman," I said, "but Ihave even more to learn about being a slave."He grunted at that, and then arose and told me to follow him. We passedthrough a little door behind the desk at which he had been sitting, anddown a ramp which led to the pits below the palace. At the foot of theramp we entered a large, well lighted room in which were filing cases,a couch, several benches, and a table strewn with writing materials anddrawing instruments."This is a secret apartment," said Doxus. "Only one person other thanmyself has access to it. We shall not be disturbed here. This other manof whom I spoke is my most trusted servant. He may come inoccasionally, but he will not divulge our little secret. Let us get towork. I can scarcely wait until the day that I shall cross swords withsome of those egotistical nobles who think that they are really greatswordsmen. Won't they be surprised!"Chapter 10Now, I had no intention of revealing all of my tricks of swordsmanshipto Doxus; although I might have as far as any danger to myself wasconcerned, for he could never equal me; because he could never match mystrength or agility.I had been practicing him in disarming an opponent, when a dooropposite that from which we had entered the room opened; and a man camein. During the brief time that the door remained open, I saw beyond ita brilliantly lighted room; and caught a glimpse of what appeared to bean amazingly complicated machine.Its face was covered with dials, buttons, and other gadgets--allreminiscent of the machine to which I had been attached during theweird examination I had received upon entry to the city.At sight of me, the newcomer looked surprised. Here was I, a totalstranger and evidently a slave, facing the Jeddak of the First Bornwith a naked blade in my hand. Instantly, the fellow whipped out aradium pistol; but Doxus forestalled a tragedy."It is all right, Myr-lo," he said. "I am just taking some instructionin the finer points of swordsmanship from this slave. His name is DotarSojat; you will see him down here with me daily. What are you doingdown here now? Anything wrong?""A slave escaped last night," said Myr-lo."You got him, of course?""Just now. He was about half way up the escarpment, I think.""Good!" said Doxus. "Resume, Dotar Sojat."I was so full of what I had just heard and seen and what I thought thatit all connoted that I had hard work keeping my mind on my work; sothat I inadvertently let Doxus prick me. He was as pleased as Punch."Wonderful!" he exclaimed. "In one lesson I have been so improved thatI have been able to touch you! Not even Nolat could do that. We willstop now. I give you the freedom of the city. Do not go beyond thegates." He went to the table and wrote for a minute; then he handed mewhat he had written. "Take this," he said; "it will permit you to gowhere you will in all public places and return to the palace."He had written:Dotar Sojat, the slave, is granted the freedom of the palace and thecity.  Doxus,  Jeddak.As I returned to my quarters, I determined to let Doxus prick me everyday. I found Man-lat, the under-officer who had been detailed to lookafter me, alone in his room, which adjoined mine."Your duties are going to be lessened," I told him."What do you mean?" he asked.I showed him the pass."Doxus must have taken a liking to you," he said. "I never knew beforeof a slave being given that much freedom, but don't try to escape.""I know better than to try that. I saw the skeletons from the top tothe bottom of the escarpment.""We call them Myr-lo's babies," said Man-lat; "he's so proud of them.""Who is Myr-lo?" I asked."Somebody you'll probably never see," replied Man-lat. "He sticks tohis pots and his kettles, his lathes and drills and his drawinginstruments.""Does he live in the palace?" I asked."Nobody knows where he lives, unless it be the jeddak. They say he hasa secret apartment in the palace, but I don't know about that. What Ido know is that he's the most powerful man in Kamtol, next to Doxus;and that he has the power of life and death over every man and woman inthe Valley of the First Born. Why, he could strike either one of usdead right while we are sitting here talking; and we'd never see whatkilled us."I was even more convinced now than I had been before that I had foundwhat I had hoped to in that secret room beneath the palace but how toutilize the knowledge!I immediately took advantage of my freedom to go out into the city,only a part of which I had seen during the short time that I had beenout with Ptang. The guards at the palace gate were as surprised whenthey read my pass as Man-lat had been. Of course, pass or no pass, Iwas still an enemy and a slave--a person to be viewed with suspicionand contempt; but in my case the contempt was tempered by the knowledgethat I had bested their best at swordsmanship. I doubt that you canrealize in what high esteem a great swordsman is held everywhere onMars. In his own country he is worshipped, as might be a Juan Belmontein Spain or a Jack Dempsey in America.I had not gone far from the palace, when I chanced to look up; and, tomy surprise, saw a number of fliers dropping down toward the city. TheFirst Born I had seen in the Valley Dor had all been flying men; but Ihad not before seen any fliers over the valley, and I had wondered.Martian aeroplanes, being lighter than air, or in effect so; because ofthe utilization of that marvellous discovery, the ray of repulsion,which tends to push them away from the planet, can land vertically in aspace but little larger in area than themselves; and I saw that theplanes I was watching were coming down into the city at no greatdistance from the palace.Fliers! I think that my heart beat a little faster at the sight ofthem. Fliers! A means of escape from the Valley of the First Born. Itmight take a great deal of scheming; and would certainly entail enormousrisks; but if all went well with the other part of my plan, I would finda way--and a flier.I made my way toward the point at which I had seen the fliers disappearbehind the roofs of the buildings near me, and at last my search wasrewarded. I came to an enormous building some three stories high, onthe roof of which I could just see a part of a flier. Practically allhangars to Barsoom are on the roofs of buildings, usually to conservespace in crowded, walled cities; so I was not surprised to find ahangar in Kamtol thus located.I approached the entrance to the building, determined to inspect it andsome of the ships if I could get in. As I stepped through the entrance,a warrior barred my way with drawn sword."Where do you think you're going, slave?" he demanded.I showed him my pass.He looked equally as surprised as the others had who had read it. "Thissays the freedom of the palace and the city," he said; "it doesn't saythe freedom of the hangars.""They're in the city, aren't they?" I demanded.He shook his head. "They may be in the city, but I won't admit you.I'll call the officer."He did so, and presently the officer appeared. "So!" he exclaimed, whenhe saw me; "you're the slave who could have killed Nolat, but sparedhis life. What do you want here?"I handed him my pass. He read it carefully a couple of times. "Itdoesn't seem possible," he said, "but then your swordsmanship didn'tseem possible either. It is hard for me to believe it yet. Why, Nolatwas considered the best swordsman in Kamtol; and you made him look likean old woman with one leg. Why do you want to come in here?""I want to learn to fly," I said, naively.He slapped his thighs and laughed at that. "Either you are foolish, oryou think we First Born are, if you have an idea that we would teach aslave to fly.""Well, I'd like to come in and look at the fliers anyway," I said."That wouldn't do any harm. I've always been interested in them."He thought a moment; then he said, "Nolat is my best friend; you mighthave killed him, but you refused. For that I am going to let you comein.""Thank you," I said.The first floor of the building was largely given over to shops wherefliers were being built or repaired. The second and third floors werepacked with fliers, mostly the small, swift ones for which the BlackPirates of Barsoom are noted. On the roof were four large battleships;and, parked under them, were a number of small fliers for which therewas evidently no room on the floors below.The building must have covered several acres; so there were an enormousnumber of planes hangared there. I could see them now, as I had seenthem years before, swarming like angry mosquitoes over the GoldenCliffs of the Holy Therns; but what were they doing here? I hadsupposed that the First Born lived only in the Valley Dor, although themajority of Barsoomians still believe that they come from Thuria, thenearer moon. That theory I had seen refuted the time that Xodar, aBlack Pirate, had nearly succumbed from lack of oxygen when I had flowntoo high while escaping from them, that time that Thuvia and I hadescaped the Therns, during their battle with the Black Pirates. If aman can't live without oxygen, he can't fly back and forth betweenThuria and Barsoom in an open flier.The officer had sent a warrior along, with me, as a precaution againstsabotage, I suppose; and I asked this fellow why I had seen no ships inthe air since I had come, except the few I had seen this day."We fly mostly at night," he replied, "so that our enemies cannot seewhere we take off from, nor where we land. Those that you saw coming ina few minutes ago were visitors from Dor. That may mean that we aregoing to war, and I hope so. We haven't raided any cities for a long time.If it's to be a big raid, those from Dor and from Kamtol band together."Some Black Pirates from the Valley Dor! Now, indeed, I might berecognized.Chapter 11As I walked away from the hangar building, I turned and looked back,studying every detail of the architecture; then I walked around theentire building, which covered a whole square, with avenues on all foursides. Like nearly all Martian buildings, this one was highlyornamented with deep carvings. It stood in a rather poor section of thecity, although not far from the palace; and was surrounded by small andmodest homes. They were probably the homes of the artisans employedaround the hangar. A little farther from the hangar a section of smallshops began; and as I passed along, looking at the wares displayed, Isaw something which brought me to a sudden stop, for it suggested a newaccessory to my rapidly formulating plans for escape from the Valley ofthe First Born--from which none ever escaped. It is sometimes well notto be too greatly constrained by precedent.I entered the shop and asked the proprietor the price of the article Iwished.It was only three teepi, the equivalent of about thirty cents in UnitedStates money; but with the information came the realization that I hadnone of the money of the First Born.The medium of exchange upon Mars is not dissimilar to our own, exceptthat the coins are oval; and there are only three; the pi, pronouncedpi; worth about one cent; the teepi, ten cents; and the tanpi, onedollar. These coins are oval; one of bronze, one of silver, and one ofgold. Paper money is issued by individuals, much as we write a check,and is redeemed by the individual twice yearly. If a man issues morethan he can redeem, the government pays his creditors in full; and thedebtor works out the amount upon the farms, or in the mines, which aregovernment owned.I had with me money of Helium to the value of some fifty tanpi, and Iasked the proprietor if he would accept a larger amount than the valueof the article in foreign coin. As the value of the metal is equal tothe value of the coin, he gladly accepted one dollar in gold for whatwas worth thirty cents in silver; and I placed my purchase in my pocketpouch and departed.As I approached the palace, I saw a white-skinned man ahead of mecarrying a heavy burden on his back. Now, as far as I knew, there wasonly one other white-skinned man in Kamtol; and that was Pan Dan Chee;so I hastened to overtake him.Sure enough, it was the Orovar from Horz; and when I came up behind himand called him by name, he almost dropped his burden, so surprised washe."John Carter!" he exclaimed."Hush!" I cautioned; "my name is Dotar Sojat. If the First Born knewthat John Carter was in Kamtol I hate to think what would happen tohim. Tell me about yourself. What has happened to you since I last sawyou?""I was purchased by Dator Nastor, who has the reputation of being thehardest master in Kamtol. He is also the meanest; he bought me onlybecause he could buy me cheap, and he made them throw in Jad-han forgood measure. He works us day and night, and feeds us very little--andpoor food at that. Since he lost a hundred thousand tanpi to Xaxak, ithas been almost like working for a maniac."By my first ancestor!" he exclaimed suddenly; "so it was you whodefeated Nolat and caused Nastor to lose all that money! I didn'trealize it until just now. They said the slave who won the contest wasnamed Dotar Sojat, and that meant nothing to me until now--and I was alittle slow in getting it, at that.""Have you seen Llana of Gathol?" I asked him. "She was in Nastor's logeat the Games; so I, presume she was purchased by him.""Yes, but I have not seen her," replied Pan Dan Chee; "however, I haveheard gossip in the slaves' quarters; and I am much worried by what isbeing whispered about the palace.""What have you heard? I felt that she was in danger when I saw her inNastor's loge. She is too beautiful to be safe.""She was safe enough at first," said Pan Dan Chee, "as she wasoriginally purchased by Nastor's principal wife. Everything wascomparatively well for her until Nastor got a good look at her at theGames; then he tried to buy her from his wife. But she, Van-tija,refused to sell. Nastor was furious, and told Van-tija that he wouldtake Llana anyway, so Van-tija has locked her in an apartment at thetop of the tower of her own part of the palace, and has placed herpersonal guards at the only entrance. There is the tower, there," hesaid, pointing; "perhaps Llana of Gathol is looking down at us now."As I looked up at the tower, I saw that it rose above a palace whichstood directly across the large central plaza from that of the jeddak;and I saw something else--I saw the windows of Llana's apartments werenot barred."Do you think that Llana is in any immediate danger?" asked."Yes," he replied, "I do. It is rumored in the palace that Nastor isgoing to lead warriors to Van-tija's section of the palace and attemptto take the tower by storm.""Then we have no time to lose, Pan Dan Chee. We must act tonight.""But what can we two slaves do?" he demanded. "Even if we succeeded ingetting Llana out of the tower, we could never escape from the Valleyof the First Born. Do not forget the skeletons, John Carter.""Trust me," I said, "and don't call me John Carter. Can you get out ofthe palace of Nastor after dark?""I think so; they are very lax; because assassination and theft arepractically unknown here, and the secret machine of the jeddak makesescape from the valley impossible. I am quite sure that I can get out.In fact, I have been sent out on errands every night since I waspurchased.""Good!" I said. "Now listen carefully: Come out of the palace andloiter in the shadows near Nastor's palace at about twenty-five xatsafter the eighth zode.* Bring Jad-han with you, if he wishes to escape.If my plan succeeds, a flier will land here in the plaza near you; runfor it and climb aboard. It will be piloted by a Black Pirate, butdon't let that deter you. If you and Jad-han can arm yourselves, do so;there may be fighting. If the flier does not come, you will know that Ihave failed; and you can go back to your quarters and be no worse off.If I do not come, it will be because I am dead, or about to die."*Midnight, Earth time."And Llana?" he asked. "What of her?""My plans all center around the rescue of Llana of Gathol," I assuredhim. "If I fail in that, I fail in all; for I will not leave without her.""I wish you could tell me how you expect to accomplish the impossible,"he said."I should feel very much surer of the outcome, I know, if you wouldtell me at least something of your plans.""Certainly," I said. "In the first place-""What are you two slaves doing loitering here?" demanded a gruff voicebehind us. I turned to see a burly warrior at my shoulder. For answer,I showed him my pass from the jeddak.Even after he read it, he looked as though he didn't believe it; butpresently he handed it back to me and said, "That's all right for you,but how about this other one? Has he got a pass from the jeddak, too?""The fault is mine," I said. "I knew him before we were captured, and Istopped him to ask how he was faring. I am sure that if the jeddakknew, he would say that it was all right for me to talk with a friend.The jeddak has been very kind to me." I was trying to impress thefellow with the fact that his jeddak was very kindly disposed towardme. I think that I succeeded."Very well," he said, "but get on your way now--the Great Plaza is noplace for slaves to visit with one another."Pan Dan Chee picked up his burden and departed, and I was about toleave when the warrior detained me. "I saw you defeat Nolat and Ban-torat the Games," he said. "We were talking about it a little while agowith some of our friends from the Valley Dor. They said that there wasonce a warrior came there who was just such a marvellous swordsman. Hisname was John Carter, and he had a white skin and gray eyes! Could yourname, by any chance, be John Carter?""My name is Dotar Sojat," I replied."Our friends from the Valley Dor would like to get hold of JohnCarter," he said; and then, with a rather nasty little smile, he turnedon his heel and left me.Chapter 12Now indeed was the occasion for haste increased a hundredfold. If oneman in Kamtol suspected that I might be John Carter, Prince of Helium,I should be lost by the morrow at the latest--perhaps before themorrow. Even as I entered the palace I feared arrest, but I reached myroom without incident. Presently Man-lat came in; and at sight of him Iexpected the worst, for he had never visited me before. My sword wasready to leap from its scabbard, for I had determined to die fightingrather than let them arrest and disarm me. Even now, if Man-lat made afalse move, I could kill him; and there might still be a chance that myplan could move on to successful fruition.But Man-lat was in a friendly, almost jovial mood. "It is too bad thatyou are a slave," he said, "for there are going to be great doings inthe palace tonight. Doxus is entertaining the visitors from Dor. Therewill be much to eat and much to drink, and there will be entertainment.Doxus will probably have you give an exhibition of sword play with one ofour best swordsmen--not to the death, you understand, but just for firstblood. Then there will be dancing by slave girls; the nobles will entertheir most beautiful. Doxus has commanded Nastor to bring a new purchaseof his whose beauty has been the talk of Kamtol since the last games. Yes,it is too bad that you are not a First Born; so that you might enjoythe evening to the full.""I am sure I shall enjoy the evening," I said."How's that?" he demanded."Didn't you say that I was going to be there?""Oh, yes; but only, as an entertainer. You will not eat nor drink withus, and you will not see the slave girls. It is really too bad that youare not a First Born; you would have been a credit to us.""I feel that I am quite the equal of any of the First Born," I said,for I was pretty well fed up with their arrogance and conceit.Man-lat looked at me in pained surprise. "You are presumptuous, slave,"he said."Do you not know that the First Born of Barsoom, sometimes known to youlesser creatures as The Black Pirates of Barsoom, are of the oldestrace on the planet. We trace our lineage, unbroken, direct to the Tree ofLife which flourished in the Valley Dor twenty-three million years ago."For countless ages the fruit of this tree underwent the gradualchanges of evolution, passing by degrees from the true plant life to acombination of plant and animal. In the first stages of this phase, thefruit of the tree possessed only the power of independent muscularaction, while the stem remained attached to the parent plant; later, abrain developed in the fruit; so that, hanging there by their longstems, they thought and moved as individuals."Then, with the development of perceptions, came a comparison of them;judgments were reached and compared, and thus reason and the power toreason were born upon Barsoom."Ages passed. Many forms of life came and went upon the Tree of Life,but still all were attached to the parent plant by stems of varyinglengths. In time the fruit upon the tree consisted of tiny plant men,such as we now see reproduced in such huge dimensions in the ValleyDor; but still hanging to the limbs and branches of the Tree by thestems which grew from the tops of their heads."The buds from which the plant men blossomed resembled large nuts abouta sofad* in diameter, divided by double partition walls into foursections. In one section grew the plant man; in another asixteen-legged worm; in the third the progenitor of the white ape; andin the fourth, the primeval black man of Barsoom."*11.17 Earth inches."When the bud burst, the plant man remained dangling at the end of hisstem; but the three other sections fell to the ground, where theefforts of their imprisoned occupants to escape sent them hopping aboutin all directions."Thus, as time went on, all Barsoom, was covered by these imprisonedcreatures. For countless ages they lived their long lives within theirhard shells, hopping and skipping about the broad planet; falling intorivers, takes, and seas to be still farther spread about the surface ofthe new world."Countless billions died before the first black man broke through hisprison walls into the light of day. Prompted by curiosity, he brokeopen other shells; and the peopling of Barsoom commenced."The pure strain of the blood of this first black man has remaineduntainted by admixture with that of other creatures; but from thesixteen legged worm, the first white ape, and renegade black men hassprung every other form of life upon Barsoom."I hoped he was through, for I had beard all this many times before;but, of course, I didn't dare tell him so. I wished he would go away--not that I could do anything until after dark, but I just wanted to bealone and re-plan every minutest detail of the night's work that laybefore me.At last he went; and at long last night came, but I must still remaininactive until about two hours before the time that I had told Pan DanChee to be prepared to climb aboard a flier piloted by a Black Pirate.I was betting that he was still puzzling over that.The evening wore on. I heard sounds of revelry coming from the firstfloor of the palace through the garden upon which my window opened--the jeddak's banquet was in full swing. The zero hour was approaching--and then malign Fate struck.A warrior came, summoning me to the banquet hall!I should have killed him and gone on about my business, but suddenly aspirit of bravado possessed me. I would face them all, let them seeonce more the greatest swordsman of two worlds, and let them realize,when I had escaped them, that I was greater in all ways than thegreatest of the First Born. I knew it was foolish; but now I wasfollowing the warrior toward the banquet hall; the die was cast, and itwas too late to turn back.No one paid any attention to me as I entered the great room--I wasonly a slave. Four tables, forming a hollow square, were filled withmen and women, gorgeously trapped. They were talking and laughing; andwine was flowing, and a small army of slaves was bearing more food andmore wine. Some of the guests were already a little bit high, and itwas evident that Doxus was holding his own with the best of them. Hehad his arm about his wife, on one side; but he was kissing anotherman's wife on the other.The warrior who had fetched me went and whispered in the jeddak's ear,and Doxus banged a huge gong for silence. When they had quieted down,he spoke to them:"For long the First Born of the Valley Dor have boasted of theirswordsmanship; and, in contests, I admit that they have proved thatthey possess some slight superiority over us; but I have in my palace aslave, a common slave, who can best the best swordsman from Dor. He ishere now to give an exhibition of his marvellous ability in a contestwith one of my nobles; not to the death, but for first blood only--unless there be one from Dor who believes that he can best this slaveof mine."A noble arose. "It is a challenge," he said. "Dator Zithad is the bestswordsman here from Dor tonight; but if he will not meet a slave, Iwill for the honor of Dor. We have heard of this slave since we arrivedin Kamtol, how he bested your best swordsmen; and I for one shall beglad to draw his blood."Then Zithad arose, haughty and arrogant. "I have never sullied my swordwith the blood of a slave," he said, "but I shall be glad to expungethe shame of Kamtol. Where is the knave?"Zithad! He had been Dator of the Guards of Issus at the time of therevolt of the slaves and the overthrow of Issus. He had good reason toremember me and to hate me.When we faced each other in the center of that hollow square in thebanquet hall of Doxus, Jeddak of the First Born of Kamtol, he lookedpuzzled for a moment, and then stepped back. He opened his mouth tospeak."So, you are afraid to meet a slave!" I taunted him. "Come! they wantto see you spill my blood; let's not disappoint them." I touched himlightly with my point."Calot!" he growled, and came for me.He was a better swordsman than Nolat, but I made a monkey of him. Ibacked him around the square, keeping him always on the defensive; butI drew no blood--yet. He was furious--and he was afraid. The audiencesat in breathless silence.Suddenly he screamed: "Fools! Don't you know who this slave is? He is-"Then I ran him through the heart.Instantly pandemonium reigned. A hundred swords sprang from theirscabbards, but I waited to see no more--I'd seen plenty! With drawnsword, I ran straight for the center of one of the tables; a womanscreamed. In a single bound I cleared the table and the diners, andbolted through the door behind them into the garden.Of course, they were after me instantly; but I dodged into theshrubbery, and made my way to a point beneath my window at the lowerend of the garden. It was scarcely a fifteen foot jump to the sill; anda second later I had passed through my room and down a ramp to thefloor below.It was dark, but I knew every inch of the way to my goal. I hadprepared for just some such eventuality. I reached the room in whichDoxus had first interviewed me, and passed through the doorway behindthe desk and down the ramp to the secret chamber below.I knew that no one would guess where I had gone; and as Myr-lo wasdoubtless at the banquet, I should be able to accomplish with ease thatwhich I had come here to do.As I opened the door into the larger room, Myr-lo arose from the couchand faced me."What are you doing here, slave?" he demanded.Chapter 13Here was a pretty pass! Everything seemed to be going wrong; first, thesummons to the banquet hall; then Zithad; and now Myr-lo. I hated to doit, but there was no other way."Draw!" I said. I am no murderer; so I couldn't kill him unless he hada sword in his hand; but Myr-lo was not so ethical--he reached for theradium pistol at his hip. Fatal error! I crossed the intervening spacein a single bound; and ran Myr-lo, the inventor of Kamtol, through theheart.Without even waiting to wipe the blood from my blade, I ran into thesmaller room. There was the master mechanism that held two hundredthousand souls in thrall, the hideous invention that had strewn the rimof the great rift with mouldering skeletons.I looked about and found a heavy piece of metal; then I went for thatinsensate monster with all the strength and enthusiasm that I possess.In a few minutes it was an indescribable jumble of bent and brokenparts--a total wreck.Quickly I ran back into the next room, stripped Myr-lo's harness andweapons from his corpse and removed my own; then from my pocket pouch Itook the article that I had purchased in the little shop. It was a jarof the ebony black cream with which the women of the First Born arewont to conceal the blemishes upon their glossy skins.In ten minutes I was as black as the blackest Black Pirate that everbroke a shell. I donned Myr-lo's harness and weapons; and, except formy gray eyes, I was a noble of the First Born. I was glad now thatMyr-lo. had not been at the banquet, for his harness would help to passme through the palace and out of it, an ordeal that I had not beenlooking forward to with much relish; for I had been wearing the harnessof the commonest of common warriors, and I very much doubted that theypassed in and out of the palace late at night without being questioned--and I had no answers.I got through the palace without encountering anyone, and when Iapproached the gate I commenced to stagger. I wanted them to think thata slightly inebriated guest was leaving early. I held my breath as Iapproached the warriors on guard; but they only saluted merespectfully, and I passed out into the avenues of Kamtol.My plan had been to climb the facade of the hangar building, which Icould have done because of the deep carving of its ornamentation; butthat would probably have meant a fight with the guard on the roof as Iclambered over the cornice.Now, I determined to try another, if no less hazardous, plan.I walked straight to the entrance. There was but a single warrior onguard there. I paid no attention to him, but strode in. He hesitated;then he saluted, and I passed on and up the ramp. He had been impressedby the gorgeous trappings of Myr-lo, the noble.My greatest obstacle to overcome now was the guard on the roof, where Ihad no doubt but that I should find several warriors. It might bedifficult to convince them that even a noble would go flying alone atthis time of night, but when I reached the roof there was not a singlewarrior in sight.It took me but a moment to find the flier I had selected for theadventure when I had been there before, and but another moment to climbto its controls and start the smooth, silent motor.The night was dark; neither moon was in the sky, and for that I wasthankful. I rose in a steep spiral until I was high above the city;then I headed for the tower of Nastor's palace where Llana of Gatholwas imprisoned.The black hull of the flier rendered me invisible, I was sure, from theavenues below on a dark night such as this; and I came to the towerwith every assurance that my whole plan had worked out with amazingsuccess, even in spite of the untoward incidents that had seemed aboutto wreck it in its initial stages.As I drew slowly closer to the windows of Llana's apartment, I heard awoman's muffled scream and a man's voice raised in anger. A momentlater the prow of my ship touched the wall just below the window; and,seizing the bow line, I leaped across the sill into the chamber,Myr-lo's sword in my hand.Across the room, a man was forcing Llana of Gathol back upon a couch.She was striking at him, and he was cursing her."Enough!" I cried, and the man dropped Llana and turned toward me. Itwas Nastor, the dator."Who are you?" he demanded. "What are you doing here?""I am John Carter, Prince of Helium," I replied; "and I am here to killyou."He had already drawn, and our swords crossed even as I spoke."Perhaps you will recall me better as Dotar Sojat, the slave who costyou one hundred thousand tanpi," I said; "the prince who is going tocost you your life."He commenced to shout for the guard, and I heard the sound of runningfootsteps which seemed to be coming up a ramp outside the door. I sawthat I must finish Nastor quickly; but he proved a better swordsmanthan I had expected, although the encounter quickly developed into afoot race about the chamber.The guard was coming closer when Llana darted to the door and pushed aheavy bolt into place; and not a moment too soon, for almostimmediately I heard pounding on the door and the shouts of the warriorsoutside; and then I tripped upon a fur that had fallen from the couchduring the struggle between Llana and Nastor, and I went down upon myback. Instantly Nastor leaped for me to run me through the heart. Mysword was pointed up toward him, but he had all the advantage. I wasabout to die.Only Llana's quick wit saved me. She leaped for Nastor from the rearand seized him about the ankles. He pitched forward on top of me, andmy sword went through his heart, two feet of the blade protruding fromhis back. It took all my strength to wrest it free."Come, Llana!" I said."Where to?" she asked. "The corridor is full of warriors.""The window," I said. "Come!"As I turned toward the window, I saw the end of my line, that I haddropped during the fight, disappear over the edge of the sill. My shiphad drifted away, and we were trapped.I ran to the window. Twenty-five feet away, and a few feet below thelevel of the sill, floated escape and freedom, floated life for Llanaof Gathol, for Pan Dan Chee, for Jad-han, and for me.There was but a single hope. I stepped to the sill, measured thedistance again with my eyes--and jumped. That I am narrating thisadventure must assure you that I landed on the deck of that flier. Amoment later it was beside the sill again, and Llana was aboard."Pan Dan Chee!" she said. "What has become of him? It seems cruel toabandon him to his fate."Pan Dan Chee would have been the happiest man in the world could hehave known that her first thought was for him, but I knew that thechances were that she would snub or insult him the first opportunityshe had--women are peculiar that way.I dropped swiftly toward the plaza. "Where are you going?" demandedLlana."Aren't you afraid we'll be captured down there?""I am going for Pan Dan Chee," I said, and a moment later I landedclose to Nastor's palace, and two men dashed from the shadows towardthe ship. They were Pan Dan Chee and Jad-han.As soon as they were aboard, I rose swiftly; and headed for Gathol. Icould feel Pan Dan Chee looking at me. Finally he could contain himselfno longer. "Who are you?" he demanded; "and where is John Carter?""I am now Myr-lo, the inventor," I said; "a short time ago I was DotarSojat the slave; but always I am John Carter.""We are all together again," he said, "and alive; but for how long?Have you forgotten the skeletons on the rim of the rift?""You need not worry," I assured him. "The mechanism that laid themthere has been destroyed."He turned to Llana. "Llana of Gathol," he said, "we have been throughmuch together; and there is no telling what the future holds for us.Once again I lay my heart at your feet.""You may pick it up," said Llana of Gathol; "I am tired and wish tosleep."