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EVENING LEDGER-PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 1016.
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by EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS, author of tarzan,themoonOF mars, etc
FOREWORD
TWELVE years had passed since I had
laid the body of Captain John Carter, of
Virginia, away from thb sight of men In
that strango mausoleum In tho old cemetery
at Richmond.
Often had I pondered on the odd Instruc
tions he had left mo governing the con
struction of his mighty tomb, and especially
those parts wherein ho directed that ho bo
laid In an open casket, and that tho ponder
ous mechanism which controlled the bolts
of the vault's huge door bo accessible only
from the Inside,
Twelve years had passed since I had
read the remarkable manuscript of this
remarkable man; this man who remem
bered no childhood and who could not
even offer a vaguo guess as to his ago;
who waa always young, and yet who had
so ho claimed dandled my grandfather's
great-grandfather upon his knee; this man
who ihad spent ten years upon the planet
Mars; who had fought for the green men
of Barsoom and fought against thorn; who
had fought for and against tho red men,
and who won the over-beautiful Dejah
unoris, i-nncess ot neuum, for his wife,
" and for nearly ten years had been a prttico
of tho house of Tardos Mors, Jeddalt of
Helium.
Twelve years had passed since his body
had been found upon the bluff before his
cottage overlooking the Hudson. Oft
times durlnir the long years I had won
dered If John Carter were really dead,
Or If he again roamed the dead sea-bottoms
of that dying planet. Had he returned
to Barsoom to find that ho had opened
tho frowning portals of tho mighty atmos
phere plant In time to save tho countless
millions who were' dying of asphyxiation
on that far-gone day that had seen him
hurtled ruthlessly through 48,000,000 miles
of space back to Earth onco more?
I had wondered If ho had found his
black-haired princess and the slender son
be had dreamed wa3 with her In the royal
gardens of Tardos Mors, awaiting his re
turn, j
Or had ho found that ho had been too
late, and thus gone back to living death
upon a dead wora? Or was he really
dead after all, never to return either to his
mother Earth or his gloved Mars?
Thus was I lost In useless speculation
one sultry August evening when old Ben,
jny body servant, handed mo a telegram.
Tearing It open, I read:
Meet mo tomorrow hotel Richmond.
JOHN CARTER.
Early the next morning I took tho first
train for Richmond, arjd within two hours
was being ushered Into the room occupied
by John Carter.
As I entered, he rose to greet me, his
old-tlnie smile of welcome lighting his
hahdsome face. Apparently he had not
aged a minute, but was still the straight,
clean-limbed fighting man of 30.
Hla keen gray eye3 were undimmed, and
the only lines upon hla face were the lines
of character and determination that always
had been there since first I remembered
him. nearly 35 years before.
"Well, nephew," he greeted me, "do you
feel as though you were seeing a ghost, or
suffering from tha effects of too many of
Uncle Ben's Juleps?"
"Juleps, I reckon." I renlleri. "fnr T ,--
talnly feel mighty good. But maybe It's
just the sight of yctn again that affects me.
You havo been back to Mars? Tell me.
And Dojah Thoris? You found her well
end awaiting you?"
"Yes, I have been to Barsoom again,
and but it's a long story, too long to tell
In the limited time have before I must
return. I have learned the secret, nephew,
and I may traverse the trackless void at my
will, coming and going between tho "count
less planets as I wish. But my heart Is
always In Barsoom, and I doubt that I shall
ever again leave the dying world- that holds
Ijjy dearest memories
"I have come now because my affection
for you prompted me to see you once more
before you paBS over forever Into that other
life that I shall never know, and which,
though I have died thrice and shall die
again tonight, as you know death, I am aa
unable to fathom as are you.
"Even the wise and mysterious therns
of Barsoom. that ancient cult which for
countless ages has been credited with hold
ing the secret ot Ufa and deaah In their Im
pregnable fastness upon tha hither slope
of the mountains of Otz, are as Ignorant as
we.
"I,.-av.e P"ved )t, though I nearly lost
myJV? '.? ,the doln5 of u- But vo" shall
read it all in the notea I have been making
flurlnar the last three months that I have
been bask upon earth."
He patted a swelling portfolio that lay on
the table at his elbow.
"I know that you are Interested and
that you believe, and ' I know that the
World, too, la Interested, though they, will
not believe for many years: yes, for many
ages, since they cannot understand. Earth
in iiavo noi yn progressed tq a point
where they can comprehend the things that
I -have written In these notes.
.t,"9lve.m what you.wW t It. whafyou
think will not harm them; but do not feel
aggrieved If they laugh at you."
. That..f?'5t r walket aown t0 e ceme
tery with him. At tha door of his vault ha
turned and pressed, my hand.
'flood-by, nephew." he said. "I may
never see you again."
4 enured the vault. The great door
2.. lit" 'f '".n8 Pwerpiia bots
!"!! latojlJSCS XhtUocli clicked.
vfVT" ".n Capta,n Jo Carter.
.5.-1
JraAWsth9 story of his return tn
,. i-r-;t. - . ' - ------ t
vmrnUimimsiuer qceasiao, aa J have
?8Hl& J?- thf ' V notes
which fsf left for roe upon the table of his
jfc&om m tha hnft at T)lrhmnn4 T
JSIuK" wWeh "ve Ie out;
Juch vbish have not dared to tell : but
you will find the ory of Ws second search
far DJh Thoris, Princess of Helium, even
Wore wnwrkabla than was bis first manu.
fWlpt. which J gave td an unbelieving world
a short tune since, ana through which we
Jsjlowad. the Oghtlns Virginian under the
boobs, q Mara.
CHAPTER I
The Plant Mm
Mt-t toel upon Uw nu befop y.cof
Jti, togs pu that !" J4 lgb.t. in- the
mnx vn,m warcn. jm, tnn noMe, .ttndggn
w JtoaHpt spectra of d5ad rher
fciktw mm T ?lt igaltj the stmngu, com-
ladito immom of Iks uUMy aaA f War,
jm bwa Krt wkJafc for- tj tontunt
T; l-XMM I twii Ian! with wMMnrtehsd
: fgmt to winy n to toss love.
JJi mmM umk o&m wum msbt in mt
i a aj W)ysit wm Ati-tm i
lay wrapped in tho similitude of earthly
death, had I felt tho Irresistible attraction
of tho god of my profession.
W(th nrms outstretched toward the red
eye of the great star, I stood praying for a
return of that strange power which twice
had drawn me through the Immensity of
space ; praying as I had prayed on a thou
sand nights before during tho years that
t had waited and hjped.
Suddenly "a qualm of nausea swept over
me, my senses swam, my knees gavo be
nenrth me and I pitched headlong to the
ground upon the very edgo of the dizzy
bluff.
Instantly my brain cleared, and there
swept back across the threshold of my
memory tho vivid picture of the horrors of
that ghostly Arizona caye ; again as on that
rargono night my muscles refused to re
epond to my wilt, and again as though
een here upon tho banks of the placid
Hudson I could hear the awful monns and
rustling of the fearsome thing which had
lurked and threatened me from the dark
recesses of the cave.
I made tho same mighty and superhuman
effort to break tho bonds of tho strango
nnesthesla which held mo, and again camo
the sharp click as of tho BUdden parting of
n taut wlro, and IBtood naked and freo
beside tho Btartng, lifeless thing Hint had
so recently pulsed with the warm llfeblood
Of John Cnrter.
With scarcely a parting glance, I turned
my eyes again toward Mars, lifted my
hands toward his lurid rays, and waited.
Nor did I havo long to wnlt; for scarce
had I turned ere I shot with tho rapidity
of thought Into the awful void boforo mo.
There was tho samo Instant of unthink
able cold and utter darkness that I had ex
perienced 20 years before and then I
opened my eyes In another world, beneath
tho burning rays of a hot sun, which beat
through a tiny opening In the dome of tho
mighty forest In which I lay.
The scone that met my eyes was so un
martlan that my heart sprang to my throat
as tho sudden fear swept through mo that
I had been nlmlessly tossed upon somo
strange planet by a cruel fate.
Why not?
What guldo had I through Iho trackless
wasto of Interplanetary space? What as
surance that I might not as well be hurtled
to somo far-distant star of another solar
system as to Mara7
I lay upon a close-cropped sward of red
grasslike vegetation, and about mo strotched
a groio of strange and beautiful trees, cov
ered with huge and gorgeous blossoms and
filled with brilliant, voiceless birds. I call
them birds since they wero winged, but
mortal eye never rested on such unearthly
shapes.
Tho vegetation was similar to that which
covers the lawns of the red Martians of tho
great waterways, but the trees and birds
wero unllko anything that I had ever seen
upon Mars, and then through tho farther
trees I could see that most unmartian of
all sights an open sea, its blue waters
shimmering beneath the brazen sun.
As I rose to Investigate further I ex
perienced the samo ridiculous catastrophe
that had met my first attempt to walk
under Martian conditions.
The lesser attraction of this smaller
planet and tho reduced nlr pressure of Its
greatly rarlfled atmosphere afforded so little
rtsistanco to my earthly muscles that tho
ordinary exertion of tho mere act of risine
sent me seeral feet Into the air and
precipitated mo upon my face In tho soft
and brilliant grass of this strange world.
This experience, however, gavo mo some
slightly Increased assurance that, after nil.
j. miKiu inaeea ne in some, to mo, unknown
corner of Mars, and this was very pos
sible, since during my ten years' residence
upon the planet I had explored but a com
paratively tiny area of Its vast expanse.
I rose again, laughing at my forgetful
ness, and soon I had mastered onco more
tho art of attuning my earthly sinews to
these changed conditions.
As I walked slowly down tha Impercep
tible slope toward tho sea I could not help
but note tho parklllco nnncarnnrn nt th.
sward and trees.
Tha grass was as close-cropped and car
petlike aa some old English lawn, and the
trees themselves showed evidence of care
ful pruning to a uniform height of about
15 feet, so that ns one turned his glance
In any direction the forest had the appear
anco at a little 'distance of a vast, high
celled chamber.
All these evidences of careful and sys
tematic cultivation convinced me ''that I
had been fortunate enough to make my en
try Into ainrs on this second occasion
through the domain of a civilized people,
apd that when I should find them I would
bo accorded the courtesy and protection
that my rank as a prince of the house
of Tardos Mors entitled mo to.
The trees of the forest attracted my deep
admiration as I proceeded toward the sea
Their great trunks, some of them fully JO0
feet In diameter, attested th'jfr prodigious
height, which I could only guess at, since
at no point could I penetrate their dense
foliage above me to more than 60 or 80
Bo far aloft as I could see, the stems
and branches and twigs were as smooth and
as highly polished as the newest of Amert-can-made
pianos. Tho wood of some of the
trees was as black as ebony, while their
nearest neighbors might perhaps gleam In
the subdued light of the forest as clear and
white as 'the finest china, or, again, they
were azure, Bcarlet, yellow, or deepest pur
ple. And In the same way was tha foliage
as gay and varlegated.as the trunks, while
the blossoms that clustered thick upon them
may not be described In any earthly tongue,
and Indeed might challenge the language of
me goas.
As J neared the confines of the forest
I beheld before me and between the grove
and the open sea a broad expanse of
meadow land, and as I was about to emerge
from the shadows of the trees a sight met
my eyes that banished all romantic and
poetlo reflection.
To my left the sea extended as far as
the eye could reach, before me only a vague,
dim line Indicated Its farther shore; while
at my right a mighty river, broad, placid
and majestic, floed between scarlet banks
to empty Into tha quiet sea before me.
At a little distance up the river rose
mighty, perpendicular bluffs, from the very
base of which the great river seemed to rise.
But It was not the grandeur that took
roy Immediate attention from the beauties
of the forest. It was tha sight of a score
of figures moving slowly about the
meadow near the bank of the mighty river.
Odd, grotesque shapes they wore, unlike
am thing that I had ever seen upon Mars
and yet. at a distance, most manlike In ap
pearance. , Tha larger, specimens appeared
to be about 10 or 12 feet In height when
they stood erect, and to be proportioned as
to torso and lower extremities precisely as
is earthly man.
Their arms, however, were very short
and from where I stood seemed as though
fashioned much .after the manner of an
elaphanfs trunk, in that they moved In
slnous and tntkelike undulations, as though
entirely without bony structure, or If there
were bose3, they must pa vertebral in
nature.
As I watched them from behind tha trunk
of a huge tree, on of the creatures moved
slowly la my direction, engaged In the oc
cupation that seemed to b the principal
pMU4i , v lucut iiuu wnicn con-
X 1
HM&iA&aj 3Mmm jemm & -- Hi' finMIHHHSB3i88 1
"In that instant the green warrior rose to the occasion, and springing to my side lay to tho right and left of him,"
qualnted with his kind, I may say that that
single cursory examination of this awful
-travesty of nature would havo proved quite
sufficient to my desires had I beeri a free
agent.
Tho fastest filer of tho Hellumetic navy
could not quickly enough hae carried mo
far from this hideous creaturo
Us hairless body was of u strango and
ghoulish blue, excep.t for a broad band
of white which encircled its protruding,
single eye ; an eye that was all dead white
pupil. Iris and ball.
Its nose was a ragged. Inflamed, circular
hole In the centro of Its blank face ; a
hole that resembled more closely nothing
that I could think of other than a fresh
bullet wound which has not yet commenced
to bleed.
Below this repulsive orifice the face was
quite blank to the chin, for the thing had
no mouth that I could discover.
The head, with tho exception of the
face, was covered by a tangled mass of
Jet black hair some 8 or 10 Inches In
length. Each hair was about the bigness
of a large angleworm, ana as the thing
moved the muscles of Its scalp this awful
head-covering seemed to writhe and wriggle
and crawl about tho fearsome face as
though Indeed each separate hair was en
dowed with Independent life.
The body and legs were ns symmetrically
human as nature could have fashioned
thm, and the feet, too, were human In
shape, but of monstrous proportions. From
heel to toe they were fully three, feet long,
and very fiat and very broad.
As It came quite close to me I discovered
that Its strange movements, running Its
odd hands over the surface of the turf,
were the result of its peculiar method of
feeding, which conBlsts tn cropping off the
tender vegetation with Its razorlike talons
and sucking It up from Its two mouths,
which lie one In the palm of each hand,
through Its armlike throats.
In addition to the features which I have
already described, tha beasj. was equipped
with a massive tall about six feet In length,
quite round where it joined tho body, but
tapering to a flat, thin blade toward the,
end, which trailed at right angles to the
ground.
By far the most remarkable feature of
this most remarkable creature, however,
were the two tiny replicas of It. each about
six Inches In length, which dangled, one on
either side, from its armpits, They were
suspended by a small stem, which seemed
to grow from the exact tops of their heads
to where It connected them with the body
of the adult.
Whether they were the young, or merely
portions of a composite creature, I did not
know.
As I had been scrutinizing this weird
monstrosity th? balance of the herd had
fed quite close to me, and I now saw (hat
while many ha4 the smaller specimens
dangling from them, not all were thus
equipped, and I further noted that the lit
tle fnes varied In size from what appeared
to be but tiny, unopened buds an Inch In
Slamater through various stages ot de
velopment to the full-fledged and perfectly
formed creature of 10 to IS Inches In length.
Feeding with th herd were mapy of the
little fellows not much larger than 'those
which remained attached to their parents,
and from the young of that size the herd
graded up to tha Immense adults.
"-'eareome looking as they wera, I did not
know whether n fear them or not, for they
did not seem to be particularly well equipped
for fighting
I was. to fact, on the polpt of stepping
frommy biding place and rave ajlog myself
to tm ta note tha, effect noon them nt th-.
sight .of a man. when my rash resolve wp,s,
ttemoitte,7d tS Lrnd ortu""y '" we, mpiM4 la tha bud. by
- JU ho iMWhJ ftult, cJM. to me. I l -" w"-s--u-1 w Biua,
nbtaiutd aa X0ell(lt view lit him - .J, -j .
r whi.JS.a, mtti mxtt ttfcfaao, t; f Iui.n t H,n tat., kIC. " u"T. "f - "? -i M M. IBS
- - - md - i -,-,. . ktwhm ww s i pw4 m,v & Jtfc weedy nod fcorriMf I
at tho hnnds of these cruel creatures, but
at tho moment of the shriek each member
of tho herd turned in tne direction of the
sound, and at tho same Instant every par
ticular snakollke hair upon their heads rose
stiffly perpendicular, as It each had been a
sentient organism looking or listening for
tho souyco or meaning of tho wall.
And Indeed tho latter proved to bo tho
truth, for this strange growth upon tho
omniums of the plant-men of Barsoom rei
resents the thousand ears of these hideous
creatures, tho last remnant of the strango
race which sprung from the oiiglnal' Tree
of Life.
Instantly every eye turned toward ono
member of the herd, a large fellow who
evidently wa3 tho leader A strange pur
ring sound Issued from the mouth In the
palm of one of his hands, and at the same
time he started rapidly toward the bluff.
followed by the entire herd
Their speed and method ot locomotion
were both remarkable, springing as they
did In great leaps of 20 or 30 feet, much
after tho manner of a kangaroo.
They wero rapidly disappearing when It
occurred to mo to follow them, and so, hurl
ing caution to the winds, I sprang across
the meadqw In their wake with leaps and
bound3 een more prodigious than their
own, for the muscles ot nn athletic earth
man produce remarkable results when pitted
against the lesser gravity and air pressure
of Mars.
Their way led directly toward the ap
parent source of the rler at the base of
the cliffs, and as I neared this point I found
the meadow dotted with huge boulders dls.
lodged from the towering crags above.
For this reason I came qulto close to the
cause of the disturbance bofore tha scene
bioke upon jny horrified gaze.
As I topped p. great boulder I saw the
herd of plant-men surrounding a little
group of perhaps five or six green men and
women of Barsoom.
That I was Indeed, upon Mars I now
had no doubt, for here were members of
the wild hordes that people the dead sea
bottoms and deserted cities of that dying
planet.
Here were the great males towering In
all the majesty of their Imposing height;
here were the gleaming white tusks pro
truding from their missive lower Jaws to
a point near the centre of their foreheads;
the laterally placed, protruding eyes with
which they could Iook iorwara or backward,
or to either elde, without turning their
heads; here the strange antennaelike ears
rising frorq the tops of their foreheads; and
the additional pair qf arms extending' from
midway between the shoulders and the
hips.
Even without the glossy green hide and
the metal ornaments which denoted the
tribes to which they belonged I would havo
known them on he Instant for what they
were, for where else n all the universe is
their like duplicated?
There wera two men and four females
Jn the party, and their ornaments denoted
them as members ot different hordes.
The fact puzzled, me, tlnce the various
hordes of green men of Barsoom are
eternally at war with one another, and
never had I seen green Martians of differ
ent hordes associated in; other than mortal
combat, save oa that htetorla instance
when the great Tars Tarkas of Thark
gathered n hundred mid fljty thousand
green warripra from savenal hordes to
march upon tho doomed city of Zodanga
and rescue ReJah Tporls, Princess of
Helium, from the dutches ot Than Kosls.
But now they stood back to back, fac
ing in wdyed amazement the -ery evi
dently hoitile demoMtraUons of a common
enemy
Both, men and women were armed with
Ion if award And daggers, but no firearm a
wera In evidence, ! It had been Shor
snri(t IOP int, $r3yMJ v'w-raen or sir,
soom.
charged the little party, and his method
of attack was as romarkablo as it was
effective, and by Its very strangeness was
tho more potent, since in tho science of
tho green warrriors there was no defenso
for this singular manner of attack.
The plant-man charged to within a dozen
feet of the party, and then, with a bound,
rose as though to pass directly above their
heads. His powerful tall was raised high
to one bide, and as he passed closo above
them ho brought it down in ono terrific
sweep that crushed a green warrior's Bkull
as though it had been an eggshell. '
Tho remainder of tho frightful herd was
now circling rapidly and with bewildering
ipeed about tho little knqt of lctlms. Their
prodigious bounds and tha bhrlll bcreech
Ing purr of thoir uncanny mouths 'were
well calculated to confuse and terrorize
thoir prey, so that as two of them leaped
blmultaneously from either side the mighty
sweep of those awful talis met with no
resistance, and two more green Martians
went down to an Ignoble death.
There wore now but one warrior and. two
females left, and it seemed that it could
be but a matter of seconds ere theso also
lay dead upon the sward
But as two more of the plant-men
charged, the warrior, who as now pre
pared by the experiences of the last few
minutes, Bwung his mighty longsword aott
and met the hurtling bulk with a clean
cut that clove one of the Dlant.mnn fmm
chin to groin.
Tho other, however, dealt a single blow
with his cruel tall that laid both of the
females crushed corpes upon the ground.
As the green warrior saw the last of his
companions go down, and at tho same time
perceived that the entire herd was charg
ing him In a body, he rushed boldly to meet
them, swinging his longsword In the ter
rlflo manner that I had bo often Been the
men of his kind wield It In their ferocious
and nlmost continual warfare among their
uwii ruce,
Cutting and hewing to right and left, he
laid an open path straight through the
advancing plant-men, and then commenced
a mad race for the forest, in tha shelter
of which he evidently hoped ha might find
a haven of refuge.
He had turnedi for that portion of the
forest which anuUed on the cliffs, and thus
the flight was taking the entire party fur
ther and further from the boulder where
I lay concealed
As I had watched the fight which the
great warrior had made against, such odds
my heart had swelled for him, 'and actjng
as I am wont to do, mora upon Impulse
than after mature deliberation. I sprang
from my sheltering rock and bounded
quickly toward the bo4les of the dead
green Martians, a well-defined plan of ac
tion already formed
Half a dozen great leaps brought me
to tha spot, and another Instant saw me
again In my stride In rapid pursuit of the
hideous monsters that wera rapidly gain
ing on the fleeing warrior.
But this time I gtasped mighty long
sword In roy hand, and in my heart was
the old blood lust of the fighting man.
A red mist swam before my eyes and
I felt toy lips respond to my heart in the
old sinlla that b"S marked me In ' the
midst of the Joy of battle.
Though swltt, I was none too soon,
for the green warrior had been over
taken before he made half the distance to
the forest, and now he stood with hla back
to a. boulder, while the herd, temporarily
balked, hissed and screeched about him.
With their single eye In the center of
their head, and every ya turned upon their
prey. thy did Jiot note my soundless
approach so lhatJ was upon them with
my great Jongtword, And fourn of them
lay dsad bfora they knew that I ww
among them.
For it Instant thy ecoi!il before my
terrifto onalurfft and in Up, initnnt th
grtn wwr,tr ri tq th occasion, nd,
springing to my side, lay-to tho right and
left of him as I had never seen but one
wnrrlor do. With circling strokes that
formed a figure eight about him, ho did
not stop until none stood living to oppose
fllm, his keen blade passing through ilesh
and 'bono as though each had been, alike,
thin air.
As wo bent to tha slaughter, far above
us rose that shrill, weird cry which I had
heard onco before, and which had called
tho herd to the attack upon their victims.
Again and again It roso, but a woio too
much engaged with the fierce, powerful
creatures about us to attempt to search
out een with our eyes the autlior ot the
horrid no'tes.
Great tails lashed In frenzied unger
about us, razorllko talons cut our limbs and
bodies, und a green and Btlcky sirup, tmch
as oozes from a crushed caterpillar)
smeared us from head to foot, for every
cut and thrust of our longswords brought
spurts of this stuff upon us .from the
severed arteries of the plant men, through
AUllch It courses In Its sluggish viscidity In
lieu of blood..
Once I felt the great weight of one of
the monsters upon my back, and as keen
talons sank into myJlesh I experienced the
frightful sensation of moist lips sucking
tho blood from the wounds to which the
claws still clung.
I was very much engaged with a ferocious
fellow who was endeayorlng to reach my
throat from In front, while two more, one
on either side, were lashing viciously at mo
with theMr talis,
The green warrior "was much put to It
to hold his own, and I felt that the upeqdal
struggle could last but a moment longer
whon tha huge fellow discolored my plight,
and tearing himself from those 'that sur?
rounded h'm, he raked the assailant from
my back with n sweep of hla b)ade, "and
thus relieved I bad little difficulty with the
others. ' '
Once together we stood almost back to
back against tha great boulder, -and thus
f the creatures were prevented from soaring
uuuya us io ueiiver meir aeaniv mows, as
we were easily their match while they re
maliKid upon the ground, we were makintr
great headway. In dispatching what re?
malned of them when our attention was
u$ttm unrucieq py me enrni wan bt the
caller above our heads, ' ,w ,
This time, I glanced up, and. far above
us upon" a' little natural balcony on tha
face of the cliff stood a strange ,ngurs
of a man shrleklpg out his shrill signal,
while he waved a hand lq the direction of
the river's mouth, as though beckoning to
some one there. WJththe other he pointed
and gesticulated toward us.
,A glance In tha direction toward which
he was lodklng was sufficient to'apprlse ma
of his arms, and at the same time tq fill
ma with the dread of dire apprehension
Streaming In from all directions across
the meadow, from out of the forest and
from the far distance of the flat land across
the river. I uld sea converging upon Us
a hundred different lines of wildly leaping
creaturea uch as we ware nov engaged
w ith. and wHb them spm strange new mon
sters which ran wttmgreat swiftnessnow
erect and. now .upon all fours,
It will be a great death," J said to my
companion, "liook."
A he sHot a. flulck glance Jn the direction
I Indicated he sralbJi.
"We may at least die lighting and as:
grat warriors should, John Carter," he
replied.
We had Just finished tha last of our
Immediate antagonist -as he spoke, apif
I turned Jn surprlwd wonderment at tha
sound of my name,
And there, before my astonished eyes I
veutu b;. m? green men
uj-rEuyip ipeF inreiwasse sc&twnen.
amoiKBl Esuen-iiir great snq
,. . ,B0& fiiMV wit j nary.
yes r
en off
thtir
So4
CHAPTER If
A Forest Battle
TARS TARICAS and I found no tlm fcg
an oxchango ofr experiences as we ktojUl
thcro beforo tho groat boulder, BurroUnJrtl
by tho corpscs0f our grotesque assalUntS
From nil directions down tho broad yillerJ
wns streaming n perfect torrent of Urrif.J
Ing creatures in response to tho welrf bipl
of tho strango flcuro far nhnv , "as
'Come." cried Tnra Tarkas, ",ve inlwl
mako for tho cliffs. There lies our onSl
hope of oven temporary csenpo. Ther"il
two may defend forever against this m!l
Ifilf 1lnnmAH Imvln M -
Together wo raced across tho scarm
ovuiu, i uming my speed that I might notJ
outdistance my slower companion. Wa hat"
perhaps. 300 yardu to rnv.r h.t.L- Z!
boulder and tho cliffs, and then to eearch'3
out n suitablo shelter for our atnmi oi-Vhl
tho terrifying things that were pursulniii!
They wero rapidly overhauling us wheal
Tars Tarkas cried to me to hasten ahead 1
and discover. If jossible, tho sanctuary
nuMon, xnu nuiisauuii was a good OIKi'i
for thus many rtlunblo mlnutus m,. .!
-. put w I
savod to us, and, throwing every ounco of
ui,r uumiiy inuscies inio me ertort, I cleared .
tho remaining distance between myself sni
tho cliffs In great leaps that put mo at thefr
uubo in a moment.
Tho cliffs rose perpendicularly directly'
from the almost levnl Rw.irri nt th ,,-tt... '
There was no accumulation of fallen debriiHl
forming a mora or loss rough ascent to thtin
aa Is tho case with nearly all other cliffs M
havo even seen. , J
Tho scattering boulders that had fallu '
from above and lay upon or partly buried
In tho turf wero tho only Indication that'
any disintegration of the massive, towering
nln nt rnera at.n tin., ,. , ..
,.. w- u.,w ...vj. u lunuji ymce.
My first cursory inspection of tho fe'
of tho cliffs flllod my heart with foreboding, y
flitce nowhere could I discern, except where i
me weiru nerpiu stood still shrieking hl
shrill summons, tho faintest Indication pf
even a bare foothold upon tho lofty escarp-'
To my right the bottom of the 'cliff war
lost In the dense foliage of the forest which
terminated at Its very foot, rearing Its ror.
geous plumage hundreds of feet against Its
stern nnd forbidding neighbor.
To tho left tho cllft ran, apparently un
brokon, ncfossitho head of the brpad val
ley, -to bo lost In tho outlines of what 'ap
peared to bo n rango of mighty mountains,
that skirted and confined tho talley laevtry
direction,
4-ciuuija u. utuuflunu leei. irom mo we
river broke, as It seerocd directly from tha f
oaso oi iner cints on" as mere seemea not $1
uiq .remotest .cnanco ior oscape in inai.
"direction, I turned my attention again V
ward tho forest. ' "If
The. cliffs towered above roe a good lntSr
tnousana leot. atie sun was not quite Wj
mem ana mcy ioomea a aun yeuow m UW
own shade. Hero and there they were
'broken with streaks and patches of dujr.
reu, green anu occasional areas ot ,wi
quartz. -
AJtopother, they wero very beautiful, tpt
I fear that I did nqt regard them with I
particularly appreciative eye on this r.f
first Inspection df them.
JUBt then T was absorbed In them palf,
as a medium of escape, and so as my U
ran quickly, time and again, oer their vait
expanso In search qf somo cranny ot
....... .tn,. T ..in.. DlMilantu ... Inilh. tn.ffl-
as the prisoner must loathe the Wlllj
his dungeon.
Tars Tarkas was approaching me rplW;
and still moreT rapidly camo the awful Will
at his heels.
it seemed the forest now or noUiinp
and I was Just on tho point of motlonip
Tars Tailtaa to follow mo In that directs
when tho sun passed tho cliff's zanltfc.ana'
na tho brlcht ravs touched tho dull aunaca.
It burst out into a million bclntlilant 1WJ
of burnished gold, of naming rea, t-F
green, and gleaming whites a more r,
geous ana inspiring Bpectacie nuniwi
has never rested upon,,
rrha tnntCnt Ihn antff-A ctt was. 89 lattfi
Inspection conoluBUely proved, so shot wits. J
veins and patches or toiw gom a iy ty:
wot the appearance, of a solid wan . V""
metal except where It was broken by ,
cropplngs of ruby, emerald and dlamowj
1..1, Amu nn nllurlne Inillriltlon of the ftll
and unguesabla riches which lay deeplfi
burled behind tins magninceni sur
nn, whit ,-niii-M mv moat interested '
(.nMnn nt th mnmpnt that the EUO'fl 111
sat the oWt faca-ashimmer w lh" WJw
eral btack spots which now appear jw
plainly In evidence high across the SOK?
wall close to the f Brest's top and eW
apparently below and behind tne r'-s
Almost Immediately I recognised vm
for What they were, tha dark opemnoa
caves entering the solid walls possible-ay,
pues q escape or, "temporary" shelter p
we but reach them. . AJ
There was but a single way, a" "
led through the mighty, toweling treef-upM
our right. That I could scale tbero
iiit Ail -.., nn m-i..s wlti htft mlFDIT
hulL- an anArmmiQ wAlirht. WOUld fl&S
n task possibly qulto beyond his proweMFi
ins skiii.
1r..,u nHA t K,t V,t nnhr r.llmMf
TrnAn tha .ntt,. a,na nt that SnClfPi,
pla.net l, before never had eeen a bljl ;
mountain mat exceeaeq iuuu reei hi r"r
above tha dead sea bottoms, sm,,.,Ti
ascent" was usually gradual, nearly 0 g
summits they present but few opportunity
for Jha nracttoa of. clfmblnar -t-:
Jldwever.'ihere was nothing elw to aj
elder than an attempt tq pcala tn? J6
contiguous to the ejlff. In an effort b Ift.
n eavee aoove. f
Thejffhatk grasped, tha posalblW If
th? difficulties bt tie plan at once, but
Vas no. alternative, and so we set vut "
to us, so close tha It seemed that U W
be an utter Imno.sjlbllllv for the JedWf il
Thark to roach the foest in. advM
them nor was there any consi4vtf
will in the effoua that Tars. Tarkas t
fnr 1 Via frcAAn iiiun nonnnm da SGt
Isa flight, nov ever before had I , J
fl.B'ni- frnm rienth In whatsoever foTtn J
mlsbt have confronted htm j.
But that Tat Tarkas Was tte W5ig
jf the bravo he had proved thottfswM j
limes, yeh, tens q ttiou.-saiias ta ""jrj?,
roonai comoats wiin men poa vrz
And so I knew that there wa -:
reason than fear of death behind el pjlg
asThe knew that a greater ppjC ff
pride, or honor spurred me to escaja f
nerce aestroy-KSj . ,
In my ca.se H w love -laVfr W
Thark's sraat and sudden fova rf wjS
"nilM r,ftt thnm n It I. tlitULStf W
thpy set death, than liff-tk" rW:,
cruet, jovaiesa, uniyuw pespw-
I
tei
(Continued m MmtM
Avenmg jueggvrj