CHAPTER XXVI
THROUGH CARNAGE TO JOY
Sometime later Tars Tarkas and Kantos Kan returned to report thatZodanga had been completely reduced. Her forces were entirelydestroyed or captured, and no further resistance was to be expectedfrom within. Several battleships had escaped, but there were thousandsof war and merchant vessels under guard of Thark warriors.
The lesser hordes had commenced looting and quarreling amongthemselves, so it was decided that we collect what warriors we could,man as many vessels as possible with Zodangan prisoners and make forHelium without further loss of time.
Five hours later we sailed from the roofs of the dock buildings with afleet of two hundred and fifty battleships, carrying nearly one hundredthousand green warriors, followed by a fleet of transports with ourthoats.
Behind us we left the stricken city in the fierce and brutal clutchesof some forty thousand green warriors of the lesser hordes. They werelooting, murdering, and fighting amongst themselves. In a hundredplaces they had applied the torch, and columns of dense smoke wererising above the city as though to blot out from the eye of heaven thehorrid sights beneath.
In the middle of the afternoon we sighted the scarlet and yellow towersof Helium, and a short time later a great fleet of Zodangan battleshipsrose from the camps of the besiegers without the city, and advanced tomeet us.
The banners of Helium had been strung from stem to stern of each of ourmighty craft, but the Zodangans did not need this sign to realize thatwe were enemies, for our green Martian warriors had opened fire uponthem almost as they left the ground. With their uncanny marksmanshipthey raked the on-coming fleet with volley after volley.
The twin cities of Helium, perceiving that we were friends, sent outhundreds of vessels to aid us, and then began the first real air battleI had ever witnessed.
The vessels carrying our green warriors were kept circling above thecontending fleets of Helium and Zodanga, since their batteries wereuseless in the hands of the Tharks who, having no navy, have no skillin naval gunnery. Their small-arm fire, however, was most effective,and the final outcome of the engagement was strongly influenced, if notwholly determined, by their presence.
At first the two forces circled at the same altitude, pouring broadsideafter broadside into each other. Presently a great hole was torn inthe hull of one of the immense battle craft from the Zodangan camp;with a lurch she turned completely over, the little figures of her crewplunging, turning and twisting toward the ground a thousand feet below;then with sickening velocity she tore after them, almost completelyburying herself in the soft loam of the ancient sea bottom.
A wild cry of exultation arose from the Heliumite squadron, and withredoubled ferocity they fell upon the Zodangan fleet. By a prettymaneuver two of the vessels of Helium gained a position above theiradversaries, from which they poured upon them from their keel bombbatteries a perfect torrent of exploding bombs.
Then, one by one, the battleships of Helium succeeded in rising abovethe Zodangans, and in a short time a number of the beleagueringbattleships were drifting hopeless wrecks toward the high scarlet towerof greater Helium. Several others attempted to escape, but they weresoon surrounded by thousands of tiny individual fliers, and above eachhung a monster battleship of Helium ready to drop boarding parties upontheir decks.
Within but little more than an hour from the moment the victoriousZodangan squadron had risen to meet us from the camp of the besiegersthe battle was over, and the remaining vessels of the conqueredZodangans were headed toward the cities of Helium under prize crews.
There was an extremely pathetic side to the surrender of these mightyfliers, the result of an age-old custom which demanded that surrendershould be signalized by the voluntary plunging to earth of thecommander of the vanquished vessel. One after another the bravefellows, holding their colors high above their heads, leaped from thetowering bows of their mighty craft to an awful death.
Not until the commander of the entire fleet took the fearful plunge,thus indicating the surrender of the remaining vessels, did thefighting cease, and the useless sacrifice of brave men come to an end.
We now signaled the flagship of Helium's navy to approach, and when shewas within hailing distance I called out that we had the Princess DejahThoris on board, and that we wished to transfer her to the flagshipthat she might be taken immediately to the city.
As the full import of my announcement bore in upon them a great cryarose from the decks of the flagship, and a moment later the colors ofthe Princess of Helium broke from a hundred points upon her upperworks. When the other vessels of the squadron caught the meaning ofthe signals flashed them they took up the wild acclaim and unfurled hercolors in the gleaming sunlight.
The flagship bore down upon us, and as she swung gracefully to andtouched our side a dozen officers sprang upon our decks. As theirastonished gaze fell upon the hundreds of green warriors, who now cameforth from the fighting shelters, they stopped aghast, but at sight ofKantos Kan, who advanced to meet them, they came forward, crowdingabout him.
Dejah Thoris and I then advanced, and they had no eyes for other thanher. She received them gracefully, calling each by name, for they weremen high in the esteem and service of her grandfather, and she knewthem well.
"Lay your hands upon the shoulder of John Carter," she said to them,turning toward me, "the man to whom Helium owes her princess as well asher victory today."
They were very courteous to me and said many kind and complimentarythings, but what seemed to impress them most was that I had won the aidof the fierce Tharks in my campaign for the liberation of Dejah Thoris,and the relief of Helium.
"You owe your thanks more to another man than to me," I said, "and herehe is; meet one of Barsoom's greatest soldiers and statesmen, TarsTarkas, Jeddak of Thark."
With the same polished courtesy that had marked their manner toward methey extended their greetings to the great Thark, nor, to my surprise,was he much behind them in ease of bearing or in courtly speech.Though not a garrulous race, the Tharks are extremely formal, and theirways lend themselves amazingly to dignified and courtly manners.
Dejah Thoris went aboard the flagship, and was much put out that Iwould not follow, but, as I explained to her, the battle was but partlywon; we still had the land forces of the besieging Zodangans to accountfor, and I would not leave Tars Tarkas until that had been accomplished.
The commander of the naval forces of Helium promised to arrange to havethe armies of Helium attack from the city in conjunction with our landattack, and so the vessels separated and Dejah Thoris was borne intriumph back to the court of her grandfather, Tardos Mors, Jeddak ofHelium.
In the distance lay our fleet of transports, with the thoats of thegreen warriors, where they had remained during the battle. Withoutlanding stages it was to be a difficult matter to unload these beastsupon the open plain, but there was nothing else for it, and so we putout for a point about ten miles from the city and began the task.
It was necessary to lower the animals to the ground in slings and thiswork occupied the remainder of the day and half the night. Twice wewere attacked by parties of Zodangan cavalry, but with little loss,however, and after darkness shut down they withdrew.
As soon as the last thoat was unloaded Tars Tarkas gave the command toadvance, and in three parties we crept upon the Zodangan camp from thenorth, the south and the east.
About a mile from the main camp we encountered their outposts and, ashad been prearranged, accepted this as the signal to charge. Withwild, ferocious cries and amidst the nasty squealing of battle-enragedthoats we bore down upon the Zodangans.
We did not catch them napping, but found a well-entrenched battle lineconfronting us. Time after time we were repulsed until, toward noon, Ibegan to fear for the result of the battle.
The Zodangans numbered nearly a million fighting men, gathered frompole to pole, wherever stretched their ribbon-like waterways, whilepitted against them were less than a hundred thousand
green warriors.The forces from Helium had not arrived, nor could we receive any wordfrom them.
Just at noon we heard heavy firing all along the line between theZodangans and the cities, and we knew then that our much-neededreinforcements had come.
Again Tars Tarkas ordered the charge, and once more the mighty thoatsbore their terrible riders against the ramparts of the enemy. At thesame moment the battle line of Helium surged over the oppositebreastworks of the Zodangans and in another moment they were beingcrushed as between two millstones. Nobly they fought, but in vain.
The plain before the city became a veritable shambles ere the lastZodangan surrendered, but finally the carnage ceased, the prisonerswere marched back to Helium, and we entered the greater city's gates, ahuge triumphal procession of conquering heroes.
The broad avenues were lined with women and children, among which werethe few men whose duties necessitated that they remain within the cityduring the battle. We were greeted with an endless round of applauseand showered with ornaments of gold, platinum, silver, and preciousjewels. The city had gone mad with joy.
My fierce Tharks caused the wildest excitement and enthusiasm. Neverbefore had an armed body of green warriors entered the gates of Helium,and that they came now as friends and allies filled the red men withrejoicing.
That my poor services to Dejah Thoris had become known to theHeliumites was evidenced by the loud crying of my name, and by theloads of ornaments that were fastened upon me and my huge thoat as wepassed up the avenues to the palace, for even in the face of theferocious appearance of Woola the populace pressed close about me.
As we approached this magnificent pile we were met by a party ofofficers who greeted us warmly and requested that Tars Tarkas and hisjeds with the jeddaks and jeds of his wild allies, together withmyself, dismount and accompany them to receive from Tardos Mors anexpression of his gratitude for our services.
At the top of the great steps leading up to the main portals of thepalace stood the royal party, and as we reached the lower steps one oftheir number descended to meet us.
He was an almost perfect specimen of manhood; tall, straight as anarrow, superbly muscled and with the carriage and bearing of a ruler ofmen. I did not need to be told that he was Tardos Mors, Jeddak ofHelium.
The first member of our party he met was Tars Tarkas and his firstwords sealed forever the new friendship between the races.
"That Tardos Mors," he said, earnestly, "may meet the greatest livingwarrior of Barsoom is a priceless honor, but that he may lay his handon the shoulder of a friend and ally is a far greater boon."
"Jeddak of Helium," returned Tars Tarkas, "it has remained for a man ofanother world to teach the green warriors of Barsoom the meaning offriendship; to him we owe the fact that the hordes of Thark canunderstand you; that they can appreciate and reciprocate the sentimentsso graciously expressed."
Tardos Mors then greeted each of the green jeddaks and jeds, and toeach spoke words of friendship and appreciation.
As he approached me he laid both hands upon my shoulders.
"Welcome, my son," he said; "that you are granted, gladly, and withoutone word of opposition, the most precious jewel in all Helium, yes, onall Barsoom, is sufficient earnest of my esteem."
We were then presented to Mors Kajak, Jed of lesser Helium, and fatherof Dejah Thoris. He had followed close behind Tardos Mors and seemedeven more affected by the meeting than had his father.
He tried a dozen times to express his gratitude to me, but his voicechoked with emotion and he could not speak, and yet he had, as I was tolater learn, a reputation for ferocity and fearlessness as a fighterthat was remarkable even upon warlike Barsoom. In common with allHelium he worshiped his daughter, nor could he think of what she hadescaped without deep emotion.
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