The Chessmen of Mars

ess body lay upon the floor-a body that had been partially devoured-while over and upon it crawled a half a dozen heads upon their short, spider leg

rror and turning away cover

r captor. "What

h of the woman," she whis

e? Ah, no. They are delicious when kept and fattened. Fortunate, too, are thos

deous!" s

hich she turned away her eyes. Lying about the floor near the walls were half a dozen headless bodies in harness. These she guessed had been abandoned temporarily by the feasting heads until th

antly illuminated. Within were several of the creatures with heads and bodies assembled, while many headle

ing to Luud a creature that I

s and fastened itself in place. Immediately the bodies reacted to the intelligent direction of the heads. They arose, the hands adjusted the leather collars and put the balance of the harness in order, then the creatures crossed the room to where Tara of Helium stood. She noted that their lea

their hands. "Do not touch me!" she cried, imperiously, for was she not a princess of Helium? The expression on those terrible faces did not change. She

to be fattened

turned upon her captor. "Do these frightful

alled song pleased me," he whispered, "and I will repay you by warning you not to antagonize these kaldanes. They are very powerful.

"You called them kaldan

kaldanes,"

d at him, her slim finger

he indicated his body, "is nothing. It is not so much even as the jewels upon our harness; no, not so much as the harness itself. It carries us about. It is true that we would find difficulty getti

" replied one. "Where did you find this rykor wit

ruding eyes simply stared and occasionally the muscles of their mouths opened and closed. Familiarity did not lessen the horror the girl felt for them. The more she saw of them the more repulsive they seemed. Often her body was shaken by convulsive shudders as she looked at the kaldanes, but when her eyes wandered to the beautiful bodies and she could for a moment expunge the heads from her consciousness the effect was soothing and

and turned toward a door opposite that through which Tara of Helium had entered

reman of the fields

d h

not

no differe

It made no difference, indeed! She, a princess of

nducting me into the presence of your jed you may announce The Princ

ed Sept. "Speak when you a

a short, S-shaped passageway into a chamber entirely lined with the white, tile-like material with which the interior of the light wall was faced. Close to the base of the walls were numerous smaller apertures, circular in shape, but

a heavily armed warrior, with drawn sword. For perhaps five minutes the three waited and then something appeared in the opening. It was a pair of large chelae and immediately thereafter there crawled forth a hideous kaldane of enormous proportions. He was h

nd one of scarlet extended outward

and affixed itself to the neck. Then the two rose as one and app

oreman of the fields

; I am cal

of this," and he nodded

bid and then Luud

within the borders

ight for food and drink. The banths came and drove me to the safety of a tree, and then your people caught me as I was tryin

Bantoom ever leav

randfather is a jeddak; my grandfather a jed; and my father is Warlord of all B

some fat upon it, Sept. I tire of rykor. Perhaps this will have a different flavor. The banths are too rank and it is seldom that any other creature enters the valley. And you, Ghek; you shall be rewarded. I shall promote you from the fields to the burrows. Hereafter you shall remain underground as every Bantoomia

, Luud," repl

!" commanded

from which it seemed, there was no escape. It was only too evident that these creatures possessed no gentle or chivalric sentiments

h Ghek for a brief period, then her keeper led her through a conf

will probably not be fattened-he will use you for another purpose." It was fortunate for the g

escape if given the opportunity and if she could win the friendship of one of the creatures, her chances would be increase

ell Luud about it. Had he known, he would have had you sing to him and that would have resulted in your

e would like my si

f I like a thing he has to like it,

do not all like the sam

things. If I discover something new and like it I know that all kaldanes will like it.

look like Luud

ed; but otherwise he and I are identical, and why no

he girl; "I do no

e from Luud's eggs, just as all the

gly; "you mean that Luud has many wives and

. "Luud has no wife. He lays the eg

m admitted th

," said Ghek, "if you will p

ise," s

ery thousand eggs is another king egg, from which a king is hatched. Did you notice the sealed openings in the room where you saw Luud? Sealed in each of those is another king. If one of them escaped he would fall upon Luud and try to kill him and if he succeeded we should have

more than one?"

s that a swarm has saved are killed. When this happens the s

the children of

eceding king, as was Luud; but Luud has lived a

g time, or shor

y long

, too; they liv

nd useful. When they can no longer be of service to us, either through age or s

ble!" she

If we did not bring them food they would starve to death. They are less deserving of thought than our leather. All that they can do for themselves is to take food from

d Tara of Helium. "I do

e of them is injured or becomes sick we desert it for another. As we would suffer the pains of their physical injuries, similarly do we enjoy the physical pleasures of the rykors. When your body becomes fatigued you are comparatively useless; it is sick, you are sick; if it is killed, you die. You are the slave of a mass of stupid flesh and bone and blood. There is nothing more wonderful about your carcass than there is about the carcass of a banth. It is only your brain that makes you superior to the banth, but your brain is bound by the limitations of your body. Not so, ours. With us brain is everything. Ninety per centum of our volume is brain. We have only the simplest of vital organs and they are very small for they do not have to assist in the support of a c

ou serve when that time

th no brain. Gradually rudimentary nervous systems and minute brains evolved. Evolution proceeded. The brains became larger and more powerful. In us you see the highest development; but there are those of us who believe that there is yet another step-that some time in the far future our race shall develop into the super-t

lie there and think?"

laimed. "Could augh

hink of a number of things that w