The Gods of Mars

of the storeroom I do not know,

et sufficiently collected my wits to quite realize where I was, when a fusillade of shots

of the storeroom from which we had entered. About me lay the bodies of my companions, with the exception of T

ir wicked rifles, their faces distorted in

rose to th

s of fierce anger. "Is Sator Throg

lows, while the others edged toward the doorway as though to at

ion here," whispered

here, fello

hem at the command of the Father of Therns. One was white with black hair, the other a

s left for Sator Throg and his poor slaves to accomplish what the lesser therns of the guard were unable to do-we have killed one and captured the other; for this

very sheepish a

the plant men and then return to their qu

Thuvia bids

ate Sator Throg started as his closer scrutiny fell upon the upturned face, and then

have sworn; but that it was only a suspicion which

l once more upon the bald and shiny dome of the dead man in his arms. The last fleeting glimpse that I obtained

of the therns had snatched from our companions whatever slender ch

rocession had disappeared the girl ur

ioning attitude of the thern

ared not chance accusing you in error, there be those above with power suffic

p, but still weak from loss of blood. My wounds were painful. No medicinal aid seemed possible. How I longed for the almost mi

e over me in the face of danger. Then the long flowing, yellow locks

acted in time, might we not even yet escape before t

uvia?" I asked. "How long will it

t for an audience, but since he is very high among the lesser therns, in fact as

story, another hour will see the galleries and cham

hour. What is the best way, Thuvia, the

From there our way will lie within the temples of the therns and across them to the outer court. Then the ram

ns been ever adding to the defences of their stronghold. A continuous line of

lion fighting-men are ever ready. The courts and garde

stone's throw w

ia, why dwell upon the difficul

after dark?" asked Tars Tarkas. "The

he ramparts are well guarded; possibly better than by day. There

the hour?

r we reached the storeroom. There you slept for fourteen hours. It must now be near

orridors until at a sudden turn we came upon

mosphere of Mars that it absorbs very little heat from the sun. During the daylight hours it is always extremely hot; at night it is intensely cold. Nor does the thin atmosphere refract the sun's rays or diffuse its light as upon Earth. There is no twilight on Mars. When the great orb of day disappears

men. The adults stood aloft upon their toes and their mighty tails, their talons pruning every available leaf and twig. It was then that I understood the caref

Presently there emerged from the mountain a canoe laden with lost souls from the outer world. There were

d ours. He raised his head and leaning far out over the low rail that rimmed his dizzy perc

rs, then they poured from the grove toward the river's

brief and futile effort of defence. Then silence as the huge, repulsive shapes covered the bodi

away in

t white apes get the flesh when the plant men hav

the great white monsters running across the valley toward the river bank.

winds back and forth up through the cliffs toward the surf

locked our progress, but in each instance Thuvia spoke a low

master these fierce brutes I can see no difficulties in

d, and the

me to be thrown into one of the great pits in the inner gardens. It was filled with banths. In my own country I had

sight that they kept me to train and handle the terrible creatures. I know them all by name. There are many of them wandering through these lowe

e therns fear them. It is because of the banths that they s

e, suggested by what

nths and set them loose befo

a lau

attention from us,

alf purr. She continued this as we wound our tedious way

aw a pair of great, green eyes shining in the dark shadows at our rear.

ery side as we hastened on and one by one the feroc

paced the corridors with us, but I could not help but note the lathering j

ce; the almost noiseless passage of naked human feet and padded paws; the golden walls splashed with precious stones; the dim light cast by the tiny radium bulbs set at considerable distances along the roof; the huge, m

ot soon f

an the corridors. Thuvia halted us. Quietly she stole toward the

derworld; a heterogeneous collection of hybrids-the offspring of the prisoner

kins. They more resemble corpses than living beings. Many are deforme

uggested instantly to me the grotesque illustrations that I had seen in copies of Dante's INFERNO, and what more

chamber, the great banths sniffing hungrily at the tempting prey

arly peopled, and twice again we were compelled to cross dire

e see no therns?"

erns fear the awful denizens of this cruel and hopeless world that they have fostered and allowed to grow beneath their feet. The pris

and storerooms. All is life then. You did not see it because I led you not in the beaten tracks, but through roundabout passages seldom used. Yet it is possible t

ut detection and presently Thuvia halted

here on for four miles to the outer ramparts our way will be beset by countless dangers. Guards patrol th

tery and superstition that not a soul upon Barsoom would have dared to approach it even had they known its exa

doorway now and Thu

oom, O Prince," she said, "from whom

ainst my cheek. The great banths sniffed the unfamiliar odours, and then with a rush they broke

rning that, taken up from point to point, ran off to the east and to the west,

eaped from its scabbard; Thuvi