"Vir -i myfm
EVE Nil
LEDGER PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 1916
. 5
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UNDER THE MOONS OF MAR5
BY EDGAR RICB BURROUGHS
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RELATIVE to Captain Carter's Mrangc storv a few words concerning this
. remarkable personality aVo tint out of place.
At tlio time of Ills ilcmlsc, .John Carter was :i man of uncertain nRC nml
vast experiences, lionornhlo and abounding with (run fellowship, lie stood n
good two inches over six feet, was broad of shoulder and narrow of Iiip, with
tlio carriage of the trained lighting man. Ills features were regular and clear
cut, his ejes steel gray, reflecting n strong ami lojnl character. Ho was n
Southerner of tlio lilclic.it type. Ho liad cnlisicd at (lie outbreak of (lie war,
fought through (tie four years, and had been honorably discharged. Then for
moro (han a decade lie was gone from (ho sight of his fellows. When he re
turned ho had changed, (here was a hind of wistful longing and liopclcss
misery hi his eyes, and hn would sit for hour at night, staring up into tlio
slarlll heavens.
His death occurred upon a winter's night. He wan discovered by the
watchman of Ids little place on the Hudson, full length hi (he snow, his arms
outstretched above Ills head (ouanl (ho edge of (ho bluff. Death had conic lo
him upon (he spot tthcrc curious villagers had sn ofleu, on other night, seen
him standing rigid tils arms raised in supplication lo the sides.
Kditor's Note.
CHAPTER I
In the Mountains
I AM a very old man; how old, 1 do not
know. Possibly I am u hundred, pos
sl4Uy more ; but I cannot tell, becnusc I
have neor nged ns other men, nor Uo I
remember my childhood. Ko far ns t can
recollect, I have always been n man, a
man of about 30. I appear today au I
did 40 years and tnoic ago, and yet 1 feel t
that I cannot bo im living forever; that
some day I shall die the rent death fiom '
which there Is no return.
I do not know why 1 jhoulil fear death, ,
1 who have died twice and am still alive,
yet I have tlio same honor of It ns you
who have never died, nnd It Is because of
this terror of dentil, I believe, that 1 am
no convinced of my mottallty.
1 have never told this sloty. nor shall
man see this manuscript until after 1 have
passed over for eternity.
I know that the average mind will not
believe what It cannot grasp, nnd f do not
purpose being pilloried by the public, the
pulpit nnd tlio pi ess and held up ns a
liar, when I am but telling the simple
truths, which some day sclonco will sub
stantiate. My name Is John Carter.
At the close of the Civil War I found
myself possessed of several hundred thou
sand dollars, Confederate, and a captain's
commission in tlio cavalry arm of nn army
which no longer existed ; the servant of a
cause which hnd vanished.
Masterless, penniless and with my only
means of livelihood fighting gone, I de
termined to work my way to tlio South
west and nttempt to retrieve my fallen
fortunes In a search for gold.
I spent nearly n year prospecting In
company with another Confederate officer,
Captain James K. Powell, of Richmond.
Wo were extremely fortunnte, ns, late In
Ihe winter of 186B-186G, nftcr many hard
ships and privations, wo located tlio most
remarkable gold-bearing quartz vein that
out wildest dreams had over pictured.
Our equipment being crude, we decided
that ono of us must return to civilization,
purchase the necessary machinery and re
turn with a sufficient force of men prop
erly to work the mine.
Powell was familiar with tlio country,
as well as with the mechanical rcqulro-
ments of mining, nnd wo determined that
he should make the trip, vvhllo I held down
our claim against It being Jumped by some
wandering prospector.
On March 3, lSCil. Powell and I packed
hla provisions on two of our burros, and,
bidding mo good-by, bo mounted his horse
and started down the mountain side to
ward the valley, across which led tho first
stage of his Journey.
The morning, like nearly all Arizona
mornings, was clear and beautiful. I
j"puldsee lilm and his llttlo pack animals
King their way down toward tlio valley.
vor hours I would catch occasional
glimpses of them as they topped a 'hog
back" or canto out upon a level plateau.
My last sight of them was about 3 In
the afternoon, as they entered the shadows
of the range on the opposite sldo of the
valley.
Some half hour later I happened to
glance casually ncross the valley and was
much surprised to nolo thrco llttlo dots In
about the same place I had last seen
Powell nnd his two pack animals.
I nm not given to needless worrying,
hut the moio I tried to convince myself
that all was well with Powell, and that
the dots I bad seen on Wa trail were ante
lopes or wild horses, the less I was able
to assure myself.
Since we had entered the territory we
had not seen n hostile Indian, nnd we had,
therefore, become careless nnd were wont
to ridicule tho stories of the great num
bers of these vicious marauders that
haunted their trails, taking their toll In
lives and torture of overy white party
which fell into their merciless clutches.
Finally, however, I could not longer en
dure the suspense, and, arming myself
with my two revolvers and a carbine, I
btrapped two belts of cartridges about
me, and. catching my horse, started down
thd trail,
I followed rapidly until, darkness shut
ting down, I was forced to await tho ris
ing of the moon, and given an opportunity
to speculate on tho question of the wisdom
of my chase.
About 3 o'clock the moon was suf
ficiently bright for me to proceed, and I
had no difficulty In following the trail
until about midnight I reached the water
hole where Powell had expected to camp.
1 came upon tho spot unexpectedly, find
ing It entirely deserted, with no signs of
having been recently occupied.
I noted that the tracks of the pursuing
horsemen, for such I was convinced they
jnust be, continued after Powell with only
' a brief stop at tho hole for water, and al
ways at the same rate of speed as his.
was positive now that the trailers
ftfi Apaches and that they wlshd to
l capture Powell alive for the fiendish
aleasure of the torture, so I urged my
I horse onward, hoping against hope that I
would catch up with the red rascals be
fore they attacked him.
' Further speculation was suddenly cut
short by the faint report of two shots far
ahead of me. I knew that Powell would
.need raa now. If ever, and I spurred ray
horse to bis utmost up the narrow trail.
I had forged ahead for perhaps a mile
.'or moro. without hearing further sounds,
when the trail suddenly debouched on to a
small, open plateau near the summit ot
the pass.
I had passed through a narrow, over
hanging gorge just before entering upon
this tableland, and the sight which met my
eyes filled me with consternation and dis
may. ,
The little stretch of level land was white
With Indian tepees, and there were prob
ably bait a thousand red warriors clus
tered round some object near the centre of
the camp, Their attention was so wholly
riveted to this point of interest that they
did not notice me.
J. was, of course, positive that Powell
was the centre of attraction, and within
an Instant front the moment the aceua
broke upon,tny Mew 1 bad whipped out
I
my revolvers and was charging down upon
the entiro army of warriors, shooting and
whooping at the top of my lungs
Single-handed. I could not have pur
sued better tactics, for the led men. con
vinced by sudden surprise that not less
than a tegiment of legulars wns upon
them, turned and tied In every direction
for their bows, arrows and rllles
t'nder the clear rays of the Arizona
moon lay Powell, his body fairly bristling
with the hostile arrows of the braves
He was already dead surely; yet 1
would have saved his body from mutlla- '
tlon at the bauds of the Apnuhca as
quickly as r would have saved the man
himself from death.
Hiding close to Him t i cached from the ,
saddle, nnd gtasping ills cartridge-belt '
drew him up ncross tlio withers of mj
mount.
To return by the way I had come would
have been moie hazaulous than to con
tinue ncross the plateau, so. putting
spurs to my poor beast, I made a dash
for the opening to the pass, which t
could distinguish on the fnr side of the
tableland.
Tlio Indians had .by this time discovered
tlie puny numerical strength of tho res
cuing regiment, and 1 was being showered
with Imprecations, at rows nnd rltte balls.
Tlio fact that It is dllllcult to ulm any
thing but Inipiccations accurately bv
moonlight, that they were upset by the
sudden and unexpected manner of my ad
vent, and that I was a rather rapidly
moving target saved me fiom the various
deadly projectiles of the enemy and per
mitted me to rench tlio shadows of the
surrounding peaks hefote an oiderly pur
sulteould be organized.
My horse was traveling virtually im
gtlldcd, nu 1 know that I had probably less
knowledge of the exact location of the
ti nil to tho pass than he, and thus it
happened that ho entered a defile which
led to the summit of tho rango and not
to the pass which t had hoped would
carry me to tho valley nnd to safety.
My first knowledge that I was on the
wrong trail enme when I heard the yells
ot the savages suddenly grow fainter and
far to my left. I knew then that they had
passed to the left of the Jagged rock for
mation at the edge of the plateau, to the
right of which my horse had borne me
nnd the body of Powell.
1 drew I pIii on a little level promontory
overlooking the trail below and to my loft,
and saw my pursuers disappearing round
tho point of a neighboring peak.
I knew the Indians would soon discover
that they weio on tho wrong trail, and
that the search for me would be re
newed in the right direction as soon us
they located my tracks.
1 pushed ahead, however, for perhaps
a hundred yards; when a sharp turn to
the right brought me to the mouth of n
large cave. Tho opening wns about four
feet In height nnd three to four feet wide,
and at this opening the trail ended.
It was now morning, nnd, with the cus
tomary lack of dawn which Is a startling
characteristic of Arizona It had become
daylight almost without warning.
Dismounting. I laid Powell upon the
ground; but the most painstaking exam
ination failed to reveal tho faintest spark
of life. I foiced water from my canteen
between his cold lips, bathed his face and
rubbed his hands, working over him con
tinuously for tho better part of an hour
in tho faco of tho fact that t knew him to
ho dead.
I was very fond of Powell; he was a
thorough man in every lespect; a polished
gentleman, a stanch and true friend, nnd
it was with deepest grief that I finally
gave tip.
Leaving the body where It lay on the
ledge, l crept Into the cave to reconnoi
tre X found a large chamber, possibly a
hundred feet in diameter, and 30 or 40
feet hi height ; a smooth and well-worn
floor and many other evidences that the
cave had at some remote period been
inhabited. The back of the cave was so
lost in dense shadow that t could not dis
tinguish whether there were openings into
other apartments or not.
As I was continuing my examination I
commenced to feel a pleasant drowsiness
creeping over me, which 1 attributed to
the fatigue of my long and strenuous ride
and the reaction from the excitement of
the fight and the pursuit.
I felt comparatively safe In my present
location, as I knew that one man could
defend the trail to the cave against au
army.
I soon became so drowsy that I could
scarcely resist the strong desire to throw
myself on the ttoor of the cave for u few
momenta' rest, but I knew that this would
never do, as It would mean certain death
at the hatids ot my red friends, who
might be upon me at any moment.
With an effort I started toward the
opening of the cave, only to reel drunkenly
against a side wall, and from thero slip
upon the floor.
CHAPTER II
Across the Void
A SENSE of delicious dreaminess over
came me, my muscles relaxed and I
was on the point of giving away to my
desire to sleep jphen the sound of ap
proaching horses reached my ears.
I attempted to spring to my feet, but
was horrified to discover that my muscles
refused to respond to my will. I was
now thoroughly awake, as though turned
to stone.
It was then, for the first time, thatM
noticed a Blight vapor filling the cave. It
was extremely tenuous and only noticeable
against the opening, which led to day
light There also came to my nostrils a
faintly pungent odor, and I could only
assume that I had been overcome by soma
poisonous gas, but why I should retain my
mental faculties and yet be unable to
move I could not fathom.
I Uy facing the opening of the cave,
and I could see the short stretch, of trail
which lay between the cave and the, turn
of the cliff Th noise, of th approaching
horsaa had cesed. and I Judged the In
dians wer creeping stealthily upon mo
along the little ledge which led to my
living tomb.
I remember thnt I hoped they would
make short work of me, ns I did not par
ticularly icllsh tho thought of tho Innu
merable things they might do to me If tho
spirit prompted them.
I had not long to wait boforo a stealthy
sound apprised mo of their nearness,
nnd then a vvnr-bonnetcd, paint-streaked,
faco was thrust cautiously around tlio
cliff nnd savago eyes looked Into mine.
Tho fellow. Instead of appronching,
moroly stood and stared ; his eyes bulged
and his Jaw dropped. And then another
savago fnce appeared, and n third and
fourth and fifth, craning their necks over
tho shoulders of their fellows whom they
could not pass upon the narrow ledge.
Kach faco was the picture of awo and
fear.
Suddenly a low but distinct moaning
sound Issued from the recesses of tho
cavo behind me. and ns It tenched tho
ears of tho Indians they turned nnd tied
in terror.
Tlio sound which had frightened them
was not repeated, but It had been sufll
clent ns It was to start mo speculating on
the thing that lurked In the shadows at
my back.
Fear Is a relative term, and so I can
only measure my feelings In previous posi
tions of danger nnd by those I havo
passed through since ; but I can say with
out shame that if the sensations I en
dured during the next few minutes were
fear, then may Heaven help tho coward,
for cowardice Is of a surety Its own pun
ishment. To be held paralyzed, with one's back
toward a horrible, unknown danger from
which tho ferocious Apache warriors
turned In wild stnmpede !
Several times I thought I heard faint
sounds behind me us of somebody mov
ing cautiously, but eventually even these
censed, and I was left to the contemplation
of my position. I could but vaguely con
jecture tho cause of my paralysis and
my only hope lay In that It might pass off
as suddenly as It had fallen upon me.
I-ate in the afternoon my horse, which
had been standing with dragging rein be
fore tho cave, started slowly down the
trail, evidently In tearch of food and
water, and I was left alone with my un
known companion and the dead body of
my friend, which lay Just within my range
of vision upon tho ledge where I had
placed It In the early morning.
From then until possible midnight all
was silence, the silence of the dead.
Then suddenly the awful moan of tho
morning broke upon my startled ears, and
there came again from the black shadows
the bound of a moving thing and u faint
rustling as of dead leaves. The shock
to my already overstrained nervous sys
tem was terrible in the extreme, and with
a superhuman effort I strove to break
my awful bonds.
It was an effort of the mind, of the
will, of the nerves; not muscular, for I
could not movo even so much as my little
linger, but none the less mighty for all
that.
Something gave there was a momentary
feeling of nausea, a sharp click as of the
snapping of a steel wire, and I stood with
my back against the wall of the cava fac
ing my unknown foe.
The moonlight flooded the cave and
there before me lay my own body as It had
been lying all those hours, with the eyes
staring toward the open ledge and the
hands resting limply upon tho ground.
I looked first at my lifeless clay there
upon the floor ot the cave, and then down
at myself In utter bewilderment ; for there
I lay clothed, und yet here I stood, but
naked as at the minute of my birth.
The transition had been uo sudden and
so unexpected that It left mo for a mo
ment forgetful of aught else than my
strange metamorphosis.
My first thought was: Is this then
death? Have I, Indeed, passed over for
ever into that other life?
Hut I could not well believe this, as I
could feel my heart pounding against my
rlba from the exertion of my efforts to re
lease myself from the anesthesia which
bad held me. My breath was coming in
quick, short gasps; cold sweat stood out
from every pore of my body, and the an
cient experiment of pinching revealed the
fact that I was anything other than a
wraith.
Again was I suddenly recalled to my im
mediate surroundings by a repetition of
the weird moan from the depths of the
cave.
Mated and unarmed as I was. I hid
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I looked first at my lifeless clay there upon tho floor of the cave, anil then down at myself in utter be
wilderment; for there I lay clothed, and yet here I stood, but naked as at the minute of my birth.
no desire to face the unseen thing which
menaced me.
My revolvers wero strnpped to my life
less body which, for somo unfathomable
reason, I could not bring myself to touch.
My carbine was In Its boot, strapped to
my saddle, and as my horse had wandered
oft I was left without means of defense.
My only alternative seemed to lie In
flight, nnd my decision was crystallized
by a recurrence of the rustling sound
front the thing which now seemed. In the
darkness of the cave and to my distorted
Imagination, to bo creeping stealthily upon
me.
Pnable longer to resist the temptation
to escape this horrible place, I leaped
quickly through the opening into tho star
light of a clear Arizona night.
The crisp, fresh mountain air outside
the cavo acted as an Immediate tonic, and
I felt new life und new courage coursing
through me. Pausing upon tho brink of
h teil,?, I linhralrtpf! mvsplf fnr what
j now seemed to ma wholly unwarranted ap
prehension
I reasoned to myself that I had lain
helpless for many hours within the cave,
yet nothing had molested me; and my
better Judgment, when permitted the di
rection of clear and logical reasoning, con
vinced me that the noises I bad heard
must havo resulted front purely natural
and harmless causes ; probably tho con
formation of the cave was such that a
slight breeze had caused the sounds I
heard.
( decided to investigate, but first I lifted
my head to fill my lungs with the pure,
invigorating night utr of the mountains.
As I did so I saw stretching far below
me the beautiful vista of rocky gorgo and
level, cactus-studded flat, wrought by the
moonlight Into a miracle of boft splendor.
Nothing is more Inspiring than the
beauties of an Arizona moonlight land
scape; the silvered mountains In the dis
tance, the strange lights and shadows
upon "hog back" and arroyo.
As I stood thus mediating I turned ray
gaze from the landscape to the heavens
where tho myriad stars formed a gorgeous
and fitting canopy for the wonders of the
earthly scene.
My attention was quickly riveted by a.
large red star close to the distant horizon.
As I gazed upon It I left a spell ot over
powering fascination.
It was Mars, the god of war; and for
me. the fighting-man. It had always held
the power of Irresistible enchantment.
As I gazed at It on that far-gone night
it seemed to call across the unthinkable
void ; to lure me to It ; to draw me as the
lodestone attracts a particle of Iron.
My longing was beyond the power of
opposition.
I closed my eyes, stretched out my arms
toward the god of my vocation and felt
myself drawn with the suddenness of
thought through the tracklesa Immensity
of space.
Thero was an Instant of extreme cold
and utter darkness and then 1 opened ni.,
eyes upotja strange ud weird lands-.ape
CHAPTER III
On a Strange Planet
IKNIJW that I was on Mars; not once
dlil I question cither my sanity or my
wakefulness. I was not asleep, no need
for pinching hero ; my Inner consciousness
told me ns plainly that I was upon Mais
ns your conscious mind tells you that you
aro upon earth. You do not question the
fact; neither did I.
I found myself lying prone upon a bed
of yellowish, mosslike vegetation which
stretched round me In nil directions for
Interminable miles. I seemed to bo lying
in n deep circular basin, along tho outer
vergo of which I could distinguish the Ir
regularities of low hills.
It was midday, the sun was shining
full upon me, and tho heat of it wns rather
Intense upon my body, yet no greater than
would havo been true under similar con
ditions on nn Arizona desert.
Here and thero were slight outcropplngs
ot quartz-bearing ruck which glistened In
tho sunlight ; nnd a llttlo to my left, per
haps too yards, appeared u low, walled
Inclosure about four feet in height.
No water, and no other vegetation than
the inosH was In evidence ; and as I was
suffering slightly from thirst I determined
to do a little exploring.
Springing to my feet. I received my
first Martian surprise, for the effort, which
on earth would have brought me stand
ing upright, carried me Into the Martian
air to tho height of about three yards.
I alighted softly upon tho ground, how
ever, without appreciable shock or Jar.
Now commenced a series of evolutions
which even then seemed ludicrous In the
extreme. I found that I must learn to
walk all over again, as the muscular ex
ertion which carried me easily and safely
upon earth played strange antics with
me upon Mars.
Instead of progressing In a sane and
dignified manner, my attempts to walk
resulted In a variety of hops which took
me clear of the ground a couple of feet
at each step and landed me sprawling
upon my face or back at the end of each
second or third hop.'
My muscles, perfectly attuned and ac
customed to the force of gravity on earth,
played tho mischief with me In attempting
for the first time to cope with the lesser
gravitation and lower air pressure on
Mars.
I wa3 determined, however, to explore
tha low structure, which was the only
evidence of habitation in sight, and so I
hit upon the unique plan of reverting to
first principles In locomotion, creeping. I
did fairly well at this, and In a few mo
ments had reached the low, encircling wall
of the Inclosure.
There appeared to be no door or win
dows upon the side nearest me; but. as
the wall was but about four feet high, I
rjiuttouslv ealned my feet and peered ovee
the top upon the strangest sight it had
ever bi,en gUen me to see
Tit rj-jf of the u tiosuri was of solid ,
gla&s apuut four or five inches la tbick-
ness. and beneath this wero several hun
dred large eggs, perfectly round nnd
snowy white. They were nearly uniform
In size, being nbotit two and a half feet In
diameter.
Five or six hnd nlready hatched, and
trto grotesquo caricatures which sat blink
ing In the sunlight wero enough to cause
me to doubt my sanity.
They seemed mostly head, with little
scrawny bodies, long necks nnd six legs,
or, as 1 afterward learned, two legs and
two arms, with an Intermediary pair of
limbs which could be used at will either
as arms or legs.
Their eyes were set at the extreme sides
of their heads, a ttlflc above the centre,
nnd protruded In such a manner that they
eoutd bo directed cither forward or back,
and also Independently of ench other, thus
permitting this queer animal to look In
any direction, or In two directions at once,
without the necessity of turning his head.
Tho cars, which were slightly above
the eves, nnd closer togother, wero small
cup-shaped antennae, protruding not more
than nn Inch on these young specimens.
Their noses were but longitudinal silts
In the Centre of their faces, midway be
tween their mouths nnd cars.
There was no hair on their bodies, which
were of a very light yellowish-green color.
In the ndults, as I was to learn quite soon,
this color deepens to nn ollvo green, and Is
darker in the male than In tho female.
Further, the heads of the adults aro not
fo out of proportion to their bodies as Is
truo of the young.
Tho Iris of the eyes is blood-red, as In
albinos, while tho pupil Is dark. Tho
eyeball Itself Is very white, as are tho
teeth.
Theso latter add a most ferocious op
pcainnce to on otherwise fearsome and
terriblo countennnco, as the lower tusks
cuivo upward to sharp points, which end
about where the eyes of earthy humans
aro located. Tho whiteness of the teeth
Is not that of Ivory, but of the snowiest
and most gleaming of china.
Against the dark background of their
olive skins their tusks stand out In a most
striking manner, making these weapons
present a singularly formidable appear
ance. Most of these details I noted later, for I
was given but little time to speculate on
the wonders of my new discovery.
I had seen that the eggs were In process
of hatching, and as I stood watching the
hideous llttlo monsters break from their
shells I failed to note tho approach of a
scoro of full-grown Martians from behind
me.
Coming, as they did, over the soft and
soundless moss, which covers virtually
the entire surfaco of Mars, with the ex
ception of tho frozen areas at the poles
and the scattered cultivated districts, they
might have captured me easily, but their
Intentions were far more sinister.
It was the rattling ot the accouterments
of the foremost warrior which warned me.
On such a little thing my life hung that
I often marvel that I escaped so easily.
Had not the rifle of the leader of that
rescue party swung from Its fastenings be
side his saddlo In such a way as to strike
against the butt of his great metal-shod
spear, I should have been snuffed out
without ever knowing that death was near
me.
But the little sound caused me to turn,
and there, upon me, not 10 feet from my
breast, was the point of that huge spear,
a spear 40 feet long, tipped with gleaming
metal, and held low at the side of a
mounted replica of the little fiends I had
been watching.
But how puny and harmless they now
looked bes'de this huge and terrific In
carnation 'of hate, of vengeance and of
death. The man himself, for such I may
call htm, was fully 15 feet In height, and,
on earth, would have weighed some 400
pounds.
He sat his mount as we sit a horse,
grasping the animal's barrel with his lower
limbs, while the hands of his two right
arms held his Immense spear low at the
Bide of his mount ; his two left arms were
outstretched laterally to help preserve his
balance, the thing he rode having neither
bridle nor reins of any description for
guidance.
And his mount J How can earthly words
describe it)
It towered 10 feet at the shoulder, had
four legs on either side, a broad, flat tall,
larger at the tip than at the root, which
It held straight out behind while running ;
a gaping mouth, which split its head from
Its snout to Its long, massive neck.
Like its master. It was entirely devoid
of hair, but was of a dark-slate color, and
exceeding smooth and glossy. Its belly
was white, and Its legs shaded from the
slate of Its shoulders and hips to a vivid
yellow at tha feet.
The feat themselves were heavily pad
ded and nailless, which fact had also
contributed to the noiseiessness of their
approach, and in common with a multl.
pliclty of legs, Is a characteristic feature
of the fauna of Mara. The highest type
of man and one other animal, tho only
animal existing on Mars, alone have well
formed nails, and there are absolutely no
hoofed animals In existence there.
Behind this first chnrgtng demon trailed
19 others, similar In nil respects, but, as
I learned later, bearing Individual characy
tcrlstlcs peculiar to themselves, precisely
as no two of us nre Identical,, although
we nre all cast In a similar mold.
This picture, or rather materialized
nlghtmnre, which I have described at
length, made but one terrible and swift
impression on me as I turned to meet It.
Unarmed and naked as I was, the first
taw of nature manifested Itself In the only
possible solution of my Immedlato problem,
and that was to get out of the vicinity ot
the point of the charging spear.
Consequently, I gavo a very earthly and
at the same time superhuman leap to
reach the top of tho Martian Incubator,
for such I had determined It must be.
My effort was crowned with A success
which appalled mo no less than It seemed
to surprise the Martian warriors, for It
carried mo fully 30 feet Into the air and
landed mo a hundred feet from my pur
suers, and on the opposite sldo ot the In
closure. I nlighted upon the soft moss easily and
without mishap, nnd turning, saw my ene
mies lined up along tho further wall.
Somo wero surveying mo with expres
sions which I afterward discovered
marked extreme astonishment, and tho
others were evidently oatlsfying them
selves that I had not molested their
young.
They were conversing together In low
tones, and gesticulating and pointing
toward me.
Their discovery that I had not harmed
the llttlo Martians nnd thnt I was un
armed must havo caused them to look
upon me with less ferocity: but, ns I
was to learn later, tho thing which
weighed most In my favor was my ex
hibition ot hurdling.
Whllo the Martians are immense, their
bones nro very large and they are mus
cled only lit proportion to the gravita
tion which they must overcome.
Tho result Is that they aro Infinitely
less agile and less powerful, lit proportion
to their weight, than nn Karth man, and
I doubt that, wero or..- of them suddenly
to bo transplanted to Karth. he could lift
his own weight from the ground ; In fact,
I am sure that he could not do so.
My fent, then, was as marvelous upon
Mars as It would havo been upon Earth,
and from desiring to annlhllato mo they
suddenly looked upon mo ns a wonderful
discovery, to be captured and exhibited
among their follows. ,
Tho respite my unexpected agility had
given me permitted mo to formulate plans
for the Immediate futuro and to note
moro closely tho appearance of the war
riors, for I could not disassociate these
pooplo In my mind from those other war
riors who, only tho day before, had been
pursuing me.
I noted that each was armed with sev
eral other weapons In addition to the
huge spear which I have described.
Tho weapon which caused me to de
cide against an attempt at escape by
flight wns what was evidently a rlflo of
some description, and which, I felt, for
some reason. they were peculiarly effi
cient In handling.
Theso rifles' were of a white metal,
stocked with wood, which I learned later
was a very light and Intensely hard
growth much prized on Mnrs and en
tirely unknown to us of Earth.
The metal of the barrel Is an alloy, com
posed principally of aluminum and steel,
which they have learned to temper to n
hardness far exceeding that of the steel
with which we are familiar.
Tho weight of the rlflo Is comparatively
little, and with the small calibre, explo
sive radium projectiles which they use,
and tho great length of the barrel, they
aro deadly In the extreme, and at ranges
which would be unthinkable on Earth.
The theoretic effective radius of this
weapon Is 300 miles, but tho best they can
do In actual service, when equlpp'ed with
their wireless finders and slghters. Is but
a trifle over 200 miles.
This was quite far enough to Imbue me
with great respect for the Martian fire
arm, and somo telepathic force must havo
warned mo against an attempt to escape
In broad daylight from under the muzzles
of 20 of these death-dealing machines.
The Martians, after conversing for a
short time, turned nnd rode away In the
direction from which they had come, leav
ing one of their number alone by the In
closure. When they had covered perhaps 200
yards they halted, and, turning their
mounts toward us, sat watching the war
rior by the Inclosure.
lie was the one whose spear had so
nearly transfixed me, and was evidently
the leader of the band, as I had noted that
they seemed to havo moved to their pres
ent position at his direction.
When his force hod come to a halt he
dismounted, threw down his spear and
small arms and came round the end ot the
Incubator toward me, entirely unarmed
and unclothed as I, except for the orna
ments strapped upon his head, limbs and
breast.
When he was within about SO feet ot
me he unclasped an enormous metal arm
let, and. holding it toward me In the open
palm of his hand, addresed me In a clear,
resonant voice, but In a language, It Is
needless to say, I could not understand.
He then topped, as though waiting for
my reply, pricking up his antennalike ears
and cocking his strange-looking eyes still
further toward me.
As tho silence became painful I con
cluded to hazard a little conversation on
my own part, as I had guessed that he
was making overtures of peace. The
throwing down of his weapons, and tha
withdrawing of hla troop before his ad
vance toward ma would have signified a,
peaceful mission anywhere on Earth; so
why not, then, on Mars?
Placing my hand over my heart, I bowed
low to the Martian, and explained to him
that, whllo I did not understand his lan
guage, his actions spoke for the peace and
friendship that at the present moment
were most dear to my heart.
Of course, I might have been a babbling
brook, for all the Intelligence my speech
carried to him ; but he understood the
actiou with which I Immediately followed
ray words.
Stretching my hand toward him I ad
vanced and tool: the armlet from hU
open palm, clasping It about my arm
above tha elbow, smiled at him, and stood
waiting. His wide mouth spread into an
answering smile, and locking one of hla
intermediary arms In mine, wa turned
and walked back toward his mount
At the same time he motioned his fol
lowers to advance. They started toward
us on a wild run, but were checked by a
signal from him. Evidently he feared
that were I to be really frightened again
I might Jump entirely out of the landscape.
Continued in Monday's
Evening Ledger '
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