Thuvia, Maid of Mars

ed. The great apartment was empty save for the four at the dais, yet as Jav stepped back from the me

? Both Carthoris and Thuvia

s scabbard, and at the same instant t

he first time he saw the full figure of Thuvia, who

hand, but at that very instant the sword of the H

es he stepped backward in consternation, throwing the back of his left hand across his brow.

to Jav. "Let us first determine that they knowingly

e perfect lines of Thuvia's glorious figure, which the harnes

knows not the etiquette of the

t prostrate themselves before royalty. Not since the First Born tore their immortal goddess limb from limb have men crawled upon their bel

horis for a long tim

of Lothar, unless the hordes of Torquas may be dignified by such an appellation. Lotharians a

aning far forward and pointing

t of the jeddaks of Barsoom, and assert your reality. Some one shall pay well for this, Jav, and unles

e lies. And later, Jav, you shall suffer for your temeri

trated himself once more before his ruler, and t

!" he

ss of Ptarth here alo

losely past h

kill; and that he can do whether you re

ured him, and so he turned away, but not without a glance toward Thuvia in which h

ut not without first throwing him such a look o

, but Jav seized

on you, and this time there will be no escape. Did y

o follow. As the two left the

he asked, "how, then, shall I

ians fall before the

oris

, and without one single chanc

in one of the numerous towers of the palace. Here

eyed his prisoner, for such Cart

d that you are real

ris la

. "What caused you to doubt it

replied Jav, "and yet we all know

his puzzlement at each new reference to the mys

may they be

do not know?

ook his head

f Barsoom, or from another world. But tell me, in your own country have you no bowmen to strike t

red race are all soldiers, but we have no bowmen

led by your enemies!" c

ed Carthoris. "How

lifeless, existing only in the imaginations of our enemies. It is really our giant minds that de

ir slender arrows speed with unerring precision toward the

"You call them deathless, and yet I saw their dead bo

many of our own defenders killed that the Torquasians may not gue

nger would they fall prey to the suggestion of the deadly arrows, for greater would be

Carthoris. "They, too, were

of the Torquasians were unreal. Like the archers, they never returned, but, having s

vengers to devour the bodies of the dead of Torquas. This thing is dem

all is mind. They say that none of us exists, except in the imaginat

imagining that there are no dead Torquasians beneath our wal

hold Tario's belief

hat there are some truly ethereal creatures. Tario is one, I am conv

imagination. They contend that no food is necessary, nor do they eat; but any one of the most ru

not having eaten to-day I

hand he indicated a bountifully laden table that had not been there an instant before he spoke. O

not fall into the hands of an etherealist

food-it was not here an instant since, and r

ooked

been for countless ages. Upon such as you now see before you have we

were a realist,"

differ most from the etherealists. They claim that it is unnecessary to imagine food; but w

al changes during the process of digestion and assimilation,

n of its various manifestations. Tario maintains that there is no such thing

hough it may not be able to create substance-the latter is still an open question. And so we kno

e digest. All our organs function precisely as if we had partaken of material food. And what is the result? What must

He lifted a morsel to his lips. There was substance indee

him, smiling

irely satisfyi

t tell me, how does Tario live, and the other eth

atched

is the strongest evidence we have of the non-existence

Carthoris. "I heard yo

of the Heliumite, looking fe

ce in order to transmit to imaginings the appearance of substance. For if there really was no such th

," replied Ca

e of the All, as it were. He is maintained by substance. He eats. He ea

o be consistent, admit that we alone are proper food for Komal. Sometimes

s a man?" as

u will understand. He is the beginning and the end. All life emanates from Komal, sin

rsoom would cease to be. He cannot die, but

men and women of your b

e, upon that cruel and terrible journey across the muddy plains that fringed the half-dried seas, when the

ns of our race lived to reach Lothar. Among us were no

ruth was revealed to us, that mind is all. Many more died before we perfected our powers, but at

to practical use when the Torquasians discovered our retreat, and fortunate for us it was that it requ

frighten them away by the vast numbers of bowmen which we could muster upon

ey rushed upon our walls, and standing upon the shoulders of others they built human approa

did but cause them to run to and fro along the wa

y mighty intellect upon the bowmen of my own creation-each of us produces

at the hearts of the green men. I made the green men see all this, and then I made

hen my fellows saw what I had done they were quick to follow my example, so th

of realism. We do nothing, or rather we cause our bowmen to do nothing within sight of the enemy that is

they turned upon us with their terrible rifles, and by co

upon them. You have seen this day how well it works. For ages they ha

" asked Carthoris. "I should think that you

av, proudly. "I a

cringing manner of ap

awaits the slightest excuse to feed me to Koma

denly sprang

while the Princess of Ptarth may perchance be still without food. L

rian shoo

he said. "He will, doubtless,

re no women in Lothar. Then she must be among men, and if this be

Jav. "He sent you away and you may

without waiting

the bowmen,"

d something else that the Lotharian had let drop-something that was but a conjecture

e the room. Jav stepped b

but do not forget that Tario is still my jeddak,

en there came faintly to the ear

um brushed the Lotharian aside, and with d