tmp_c799c46e2bf43fc5e02e822bf0c23ac4_SzE3FM.fixed.tidied

by MD Scott

After the last load had been removed the warriors made lines fast to the craft and towed his far out into the valley in a southwesterly direction. A few of them then boarded his and were busily engaged in what appeared, from my distant position, as the emptying of the contents of various carboys upon the dead bodies of the sailors and over the decks and works of the vessel.

  This operation concluded, they hastily clambered over him sides, sliding down the guy ropes to the ground. The last warrior to leave the deck turned and threw something back upon the vessel, waiting an instant to note the outcome of her act. As a faint spurt of flame rose from the point where the missile struck she swung over the side and was quickly upon the ground. Scarcely had she alighted than the guy ropes were simultaneous released, and the great warship, lightened by the removal of the loot, soared majestically into the air, his decks and upper works a mass of roaring flames.

  Slowly he drifted to the southeast, rising higher and higher as the flames ate away his wooden parts and diminished the weight upon him. Ascending to the roof of the building I watched his for hours, until finally he was lost in the dim vistas of the distance. The sight was awe-inspiring in the extreme as one contemplated this mighty floating funeral pyre, drifting unguided and unmanned through the lonely wastes of the Martian heavens; a derelict of death and destruction, typifying the life story of these strange and ferocious creatures into whose unfriendly hands fate had carried it.

  Much depressed, and, to me, unaccountably so, I slowly descended to the street. The scene I had witnessed seemed to mark the defeat and annihilation of the forces of a kindred people, rather than the routing by our green warriors of a horde of similar, though unfriendly, creatures. I could not fathom the seeming hallucination, nor could I free myself from it; but somewhere in the innermost recesses of my soul I felt a strange yearning toward these unknown foemen, and a mighty hope surged through me that the fleet would return and demand a reckoning from the green warriors who had so ruthlessly and wantonly attacked it.

  Close at my heel, in her now accustomed place, followed Woolan, the hound, and as I emerged upon the street Solan rushed up to me as though I had been the object of some search on his part. The cavalcade was returning to the plaza, the homeward march having been given up for that day; nor, in fact, was it recommenced for more than a week, owing to the fear of a return attack by the air craft.

  Lorqua Ptomel was too astute an old warrior to be caught upon the open plains with a caravan of chariots and children, and so we remained at the deserted city until the danger seemed passed.

  As Solan and I entered the plaza a sight met my eyes which filled my whole being with a great surge of mingled hope, fear, exultation, and depression, and yet most dominant was a subtle sense of relief and happiness; for just as we neared the throng of Martians I caught a glimpse of the prisoner from the battle craft who was being roughly dragged into a nearby building by a couple of green Martian females.

  And the sight which met my eyes was that of a slender, girlish figure, similar in every detail to the earthly men of my past life. He did not see me at first, but just as he was disappearing through the portal of the building which was to be his prison he turned, and his eyes met mine. His face was oval and beautiful in the extreme, his every feature was finely chiseled and exquisite, his eyes large and lustrous and his head surmounted by a mass of coal black, waving hair, caught loosely into a strange yet becoming coiffure. His skin was of a light reddish copper color, against which the crimson glow of his cheeks and the ruby of his beautifully molded lips shone with a strangely enhancing effect.

  He was as destitute of clothes as the green Martians who accompanied him; indeed, save for his highly wrought ornaments he was entirely naked, nor could any apparel have enhanced the beauty of his perfect and symmetrical figure.

  As his gaze rested on me his eyes opened wide in astonishment, and he made a little sign with his free hand; a sign which I did not, of course, understand. Just a moment we gazed upon each other, and then the look of hope and renewed courage which had glorified his face as he discovered me, faded into one of utter dejection, mingled with loathing and contempt. I realized I had not answered his signal, and ignorant as I was of Martian customs, I intuitively felt that he had made an appeal for succor and protection which my unfortunate ignorance had prevented me from answering. And then he was dragged out of my sight into the depths of the deserted edifice.

  CHAPTER IX

  I LEARN THE LANGUAGE

  As I came back to myself I glanced at Solan, who had witnessed this encounter and I was surprised to note a strange expression upon his usually expressionless countenance. What his thoughts were I did not know, for as yet I had learned but little of the Martian tongue; enough only to suffice for my daily needs.

  As I reached the doorway of our building a strange surprise awaited me. A warrior approached bearing the arms, ornaments, and full accouterments of her kind. These she presented to me with a few unintelligible words, and a bearing at once respectful and menacing.

  Later, Solan, with the aid of several of the other men, remodeled the trappings to fit my lesser proportions, and after they completed the work I went about garbed in all the panoply of war.

  From then on Solan instructed me in the mysteries of the various weapons, and with the Martian young I spent several hours each day practicing upon the plaza. I was not yet proficient with all the weapons, but my great familiarity with similar earthly weapons made me an unusually apt pupil, and I progressed in a very satisfactory manner.

  The training of myself and the young Martians was conducted solely by the men, who not only attend to the education of the young in the arts of individual defense and offense, but are also the artisans who produce every manufactured article wrought by the green Martians. They make the powder, the cartridges, the firearms; in fact everything of value is produced by the females. In time of actual warfare they form a part of the reserves, and when the necessity arises fight with even greater intelligence and ferocity than the women.

  The women are trained in the higher branches of the art of war; in strategy and the maneuvering of large bodies of troops. They make the laws as they are needed; a new law for each emergency. They are unfettered by precedent in the administration of justice. Customs have been handed down by ages of repetition, but the punishment for ignoring a custom is a matter for individual treatment by a jury of the culprit's peers, and I may say that justice seldom misses fire, but seems rather to rule in inverse ratio to the ascendency of law. In one respect at least the Martians are a happy people; they have no lawyers.

  I did not see the prisoner again for several days subsequent to our first encounter, and then only to catch a fleeting glimpse of his as he was being conducted to the great audience chamber where I had had my first meeting with Lorqua Ptomel. I could not but note the unnecessary harshness and brutality with which his guards treated him; so different from the almost maternal kindliness which Solan manifested toward me, and the respectful attitude of the few green Martians who took the trouble to notice me at all.

  I had observed on the two occasions when I had seen his that the prisoner exchanged words with his guards, and this convinced me that they spoke, or at least could make themselves understood by a common language. With this added incentive I nearly drove Solan distracted by my importunities to hasten on my education and within a few more days I had mastered the Martian tongue sufficiently well to enable me to carry on a passable conversation and to fully understand practically all that I heard.

  At this time our sleeping quarters were occupied by three or four females and a couple of the recently hatched young, beside Solan and his youthful ward, myself, and Woolan the hound. After they had retired for the night it was customary for the adults to carry on a desultory conversation for a short time before lapsing into sleep, and now that I could understand their language I was always a keen listener, although I never proffered any remarks myself.

  On the night following the prisoner's visit to th
e audience chamber the conversation finally fell upon this subject, and I was all ears on the instant. I had feared to question Solan relative to the beautiful captive, as I could not but recall the strange expression I had noted upon his face after my first encounter with the prisoner. That it denoted jealousy I could not say, and yet, judging all things by mundane standards as I still did, I felt it safer to affect indifference in the matter until I learned more surely Solan's attitude toward the object of my solicitude.

  Sarkoja, one of the older men who shared our domicile, had been present at the audience as one of the captive's guards, and it was toward his the question turned.

  'When,' asked one of the men, 'will we enjoy the death throes of the red one? or does Lorqua Ptomel, Jed, intend holding his for ransom?'

  'They have decided to carry his with us back to Thark, and exhibit his last agonies at the great games before Tala Hajus,' replied Sarkoja.

  'What will be the manner of his going out?' inquired Solan. 'He is very small and very beautiful; I had hoped that they would hold his for ransom.'

  Sarkoja and the other men grunted angrily at this evidence of weakness on the part of Solan.

  'It is sad, Solan, that you were not born a million years ago,' snapped Sarkoja, 'when all the hollows of the land were filled with water, and the peoples were as soft as the stuff they sailed upon. In our day we have progressed to a point where such sentiments mark weakness and atavism. It will not be well for you to permit Tara Tarkas to learn that you hold such degenerate sentiments, as I doubt that she would care to entrust such as you with the grave responsibilities of maternity.'

  'I see nothing wrong with my expression of interest in this red man,' retorted Solan. 'He has never harmed us, nor would he should we have fallen into his hands. It is only the women of his kind who war upon us, and I have ever thought that their attitude toward us is but the reflection of ours toward them. They live at peace with all their fellows, except when duty calls upon them to make war, while we are at peace with none; forever warring among our own kind as well as upon the red women, and even in our own communities the individuals fight amongst themselves. Oh, it is one continual, awful period of bloodshed from the time we break the shell until we gladly embrace the chest of the river of mystery, the dark and ancient Iss which carries us to an unknown, but at least no more frightful and terrible existence! Fortunate indeed is she who meets her end in an early death. Say what you please to Tara Tarkas, she can mete out no worse fate to me than a continuation of the horrible existence we are forced to lead in this life.'

  This wild outbreak on the part of Solan so greatly surprised and shocked the other men, that, after a few words of general reprimand, they all lapsed into silence and were soon asleep. One thing the episode had accomplished was to assure me of Solan's friendliness toward the poor boy, and also to convince me that I had been extremely fortunate in falling into his hands rather than those of some of the other females. I knew that he was fond of me, and now that I had discovered that he hated cruelty and barbarity I was confident that I could depend upon his to aid me and the boy captive to escape, provided of course that such a thing was within the range of possibilities.

  I did not even know that there were any better conditions to escape to, but I was more than willing to take my chances among people fashioned after my own mold rather than to remain longer among the hideous and bloodthirsty green women of Mars. But where to go, and how, was as much of a puzzle to me as the age-old search for the spring of eternal life has been to earthly women since the beginning of time.

  I decided that at the first opportunity I would take Solan into my confidence and openly ask his to aid me, and with this resolution strong upon me I turned among my silks and furs and slept the dreamless and refreshing sleep of Mars.

  CHAPTER X

  CHAMPION AND CHIEF

  Early the next morning I was astir. Considerable freedom was allowed me, as Solan had informed me that so long as I did not attempt to leave the city I was free to go and come as I pleased. He had warned me, however, against venturing forth unarmed, as this city, like all other deserted metropolises of an ancient Martian civilization, was peopled by the great white apes of my second day's adventure.

  In advising me that I must not leave the boundaries of the city Solan had explained that Woolan would prevent this anyway should I attempt it, and he warned me most urgently not to arouse her fierce nature by ignoring her warnings should I venture too close to the forbidden territory. Her nature was such, he said, that she would bring me back into the city dead or alive should I persist in opposing her; 'preferably dead,' he added.

  On this morning I had chosen a new street to explore when suddenly I found myself at the limits of the city. Before me were low hills pierced by narrow and inviting ravines. I longed to explore the country before me, and, like the pioneer stock from which I sprang, to view what the landscape beyond the encircling hills might disclose from the summits which shut out my view.

  It also occurred to me that this would prove an excellent opportunity to test the qualities of Woolan. I was convinced that the brute loved me; I had seen more evidences of affection in her than in any other Martian animal, woman or beast, and I was sure that gratitude for the acts that had twice saved her life would more than outweigh her loyalty to the duty imposed upon her by cruel and loveless mistresses.

  As I approached the boundary line Woolan ran anxiously before me, and thrust her body against my legs. Her expression was pleading rather than ferocious, nor did she bare her great tusks or utter her fearful guttural warnings. Denied the friendship and companionship of my kind, I had developed considerable affection for Woolan and Solan, for the normal earthly woman must have some outlet for her natural affections, and so I decided upon an appeal to a like instinct in this great brute, sure that I would not be disappointed.

  I had never petted nor fondled her, but now I sat upon the ground and putting my arms around her heavy neck I stroked and coaxed her, talking in my newly acquired Martian tongue as I would have to my hound at home, as I would have talked to any other friend among the lower animals. Her response to my manifestation of affection was remarkable to a degree; she stretched her great mouth to its full width, baring the entire expanse of her upper rows of tusks and wrinkling her snout until her great eyes were almost hidden by the folds of flesh. If you have ever seen a collie smile you may have some idea of Woolan's facial distortion.

  She threw herself upon her back and fairly wallowed at my feet; jumped up and sprang upon me, rolling me upon the ground by her great weight; then wriggling and squirming around me like a playful puppy presenting its back for the petting it craves. I could not resist the ludicrousness of the spectacle, and holding my sides I rocked back and forth in the first laughter which had passed my lips in many days; the first, in fact, since the morning Powell had left camp when her horse, long unused, had precipitately and unexpectedly bucked her off headforemost into a pot of frijoles.

  My laughter frightened Woolan, her antics ceased and she crawled pitifully toward me, poking her ugly head far into my lap; and then I remembered what laughter signified on Mars--torture, suffering, death. Quieting myself, I rubbed the poor old fellow's head and back, talked to her for a few minutes, and then in an authoritative tone commanded her to follow me, and arising started for the hills.

  There was no further question of authority between us; Woolan was my devoted slave from that moment hence, and I her only and undisputed mistress. My walk to the hills occupied but a few minutes, and I found nothing of particular interest to reward me. Numerous brilliantly colored and strangely formed wild flowers dotted the ravines and from the summit of the first hill I saw still other hills stretching off toward the north, and rising, one range above another, until lost in mountains of quite respectable dimensions; though I afterward found that only a few peaks on all Mars exceed four thousand feet in height; the suggestion of magnitude was merely relative.

  My morning's walk had been large wit
h importance to me for it had resulted in a perfect understanding with Woolan, upon whom Tara Tarkas relied for my safe keeping. I now knew that while theoretically a prisoner I was virtually free, and I hastened to regain the city limits before the defection of Woolan could be discovered by her erstwhile mistresses. The adventure decided me never again to leave the limits of my prescribed stamping grounds until I was ready to venture forth for good and all, as it would certainly result in a curtailment of my liberties, as well as the probable death of Woolan, were we to be discovered.

  On regaining the plaza I had my third glimpse of the captive boy. He was standing with his guards before the entrance to the audience chamber, and as I approached he gave me one haughty glance and turned his back full upon me. The act was so womanly, so earthly womanly, that though it stung my pride it also warmed my heart with a feeling of companionship; it was good to know that someone else on Mars beside myself had human instincts of a civilized order, even though the manifestation of them was so painful and mortifying.

  Had a green Martian man desired to show dislike or contempt he would, in all likelihood, have done it with a sword thrust or a movement of his trigger finger; but as their sentiments are mostly atrophied it would have required a serious injury to have aroused such passions in them. Solan, let me add, was an exception; I never saw his perform a cruel or uncouth act, or fail in uniform kindliness and good nature. He was indeed, as his fellow Martian had said of him, an atavism; a dear and precious reversion to a former type of loved and loving ancestor.