The brilliantly lighted apartments of the first floor told me where first to seek, and advancing to the windows I peered within. I soon discovered that my approach was not to be the easy thing I had hoped, for the rear rooms bordering the court were filled with warriors3 and women. I then glanced up at the stories above, discovering that the third was apparently5 unlighted, and so decided6 to make my entrance to the building from that point. It was the work of but a moment for me to reach the windows above, and soon I had drawn7 myself within the sheltering shadows of the unlighted third floor.
Fortunately the room I had selected was untenanted, and creeping noiselessly to the corridor beyond I discovered a light in the apartments ahead of me. Reaching what appeared to be a doorway8 I discovered that it was but an opening upon an immense inner chamber9 which towered from the first floor, two stories below me, to the dome-like roof of the building, high above my head. The floor of this great circular hall was thronged10 with chieftains, warriors and women, and at one end was a great raised platform upon which squatted11 the most hideous12 beast I had ever put my eyes upon. He had all the cold, hard, cruel, terrible features of the green warriors, but accentuated13 and debased by the animal passions to which he had given himself over for many years. There was not a mark of dignity or pride upon his bestial14 countenance15, while his enormous bulk spread itself out upon the platform where he squatted like some huge devil fish, his six limbs accentuating16 the similarity in a horrible and startling manner.
But the sight that froze me with apprehension17 was that of Dejah Thoris and Sola standing there before him, and the fiendish leer of him as he let his great protruding18 eyes gloat upon the lines of her beautiful figure. She was speaking, but I could not hear what she said, nor could I make out the low grumbling19 of his reply. She stood there erect20 before him, her head high held, and even at the distance I was from them I could read the scorn and disgust upon her face as she let her haughty21 glance rest without sign of fear upon him. She was indeed the proud daughter of a thousand jeddaks, every inch of her dear, precious little body; so small, so frail22 beside the towering warriors around her, but in her majesty23 dwarfing24 them into insignificance25; she was the mightiest26 figure among them and I verily believe that they felt it.
Presently Tal Hajus made a sign that the chamber be cleared, and that the prisoners be left alone before him. Slowly the chieftains, the warriors and the women melted away into the shadows of the surrounding chambers27, and Dejah Thoris and Sola stood alone before the jeddak of the Tharks.
One chieftain alone had hesitated before departing; I saw him standing in the shadows of a mighty28 column, his fingers nervously29 toying with the hilt of his great-sword and his cruel eyes bent30 in implacable hatred31 upon Tal Hajus. It was Tars32 Tarkas, and I could read his thoughts as they were an open book for the undisguised loathing33 upon his face. He was thinking of that other woman who, forty years ago, had stood before this beast, and could I have spoken a word into his ear at that moment the reign34 of Tal Hajus would have been over; but finally he also strode from the room, not knowing that he left his own daughter at the mercy of the creature he most loathed35.
Tal Hajus arose, and I, half fearing, half anticipating his intentions, hurried to the winding36 runway which led to the floors below. No one was near to intercept37 me, and I reached the main floor of the chamber unobserved, taking my station in the shadow of the same column that Tars Tarkas had but just deserted38. As I reached the floor Tal Hajus was speaking.
"Princess of Helium, I might wring39 a mighty ransom40 from your people would I but return you to them unharmed, but a thousand times rather would I watch that beautiful face writhe41 in the agony of torture; it shall be long drawn out, that I promise you; ten days of pleasure were all too short to show the love I harbor for your race. The terrors of your death shall haunt the slumbers42 of the red men through all the ages to come; they will shudder43 in the shadows of the night as their fathers tell them of the awful vengeance44 of the green men; of the power and might and hate and cruelty of Tal Hajus. But before the torture you shall be mine for one short hour, and word of that too shall go forth45 to Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium, your grandfather, that he may grovel46 upon the ground in the agony of his sorrow. Tomorrow the torture will commence; tonight thou art Tal Hajus'; come!"
He sprang down from the platform and grasped her roughly by the arm, but scarcely had he touched her than I leaped between them. My short-sword, sharp and gleaming was in my right hand; I could have plunged47 it into his putrid48 heart before he realized that I was upon him; but as I raised my arm to strike I thought of Tars Tarkas, and, with all my rage, with all my hatred, I could not rob him of that sweet moment for which he had lived and hoped all these long, weary years, and so, instead, I swung my good right fist full upon the point of his jaw49. Without a sound he slipped to the floor as one dead.
In the same deathly silence I grasped Dejah Thoris by the hand, and motioning Sola to follow we sped noiselessly from the chamber and to the floor above. Unseen we reached a rear window and with the straps50 and leather of my trappings I lowered, first Sola and then Dejah Thoris to the ground below. Dropping lightly after them I drew them rapidly around the court in the shadows of the buildings, and thus we returned over the same course I had so recently followed from the distant boundary of the city.
We finally came upon my thoats in the courtyard where I had left them, and placing the trappings upon them we hastened through the building to the avenue beyond. Mounting, Sola upon one beast, and Dejah Thoris behind me upon the other, we rode from the city of Thark through the hills to the south.
Instead of circling back around the city to the northwest and toward the nearest waterway which lay so short a distance from us, we turned to the northeast and struck out upon the mossy waste across which, for two hundred dangerous and weary miles, lay another main artery52 leading to Helium.
No word was spoken until we had left the city far behind, but I could hear the quiet sobbing53 of Dejah Thoris as she clung to me with her dear head resting against my shoulder.
"If we make it, my chieftain, the debt of Helium will be a mighty one; greater than she can ever pay you; and should we not make it," she continued, "the debt is no less, though Helium will never know, for you have saved the last of our line from worse than death."
I did not answer, but instead reached to my side and pressed the little fingers of her I loved where they clung to me for support, and then, in unbroken silence, we sped over the yellow, moonlit moss51; each of us occupied with his own thoughts. For my part I could not be other than joyful54 had I tried, with Dejah Thoris' warm body pressed close to mine, and with all our unpassed danger my heart was singing as gaily55 as though we were already entering the gates of Helium.
Our earlier plans had been so sadly upset that we now found ourselves without food or drink, and I alone was armed. We therefore urged our beasts to a speed that must tell on them sorely before we could hope to sight the ending of the first stage of our journey.
We rode all night and all the following day with only a few short rests. On the second night both we and our animals were completely fagged, and so we lay down upon the moss and slept for some five or six hours, taking up the journey once more before daylight. All the following day we rode, and when, late in the afternoon we had sighted no distant trees, the mark of the great waterways throughout all Barsoom, the terrible truth flashed upon us—we were lost.
Evidently we had circled, but which way it was difficult to say, nor did it seem possible with the sun to guide us by day and the moons and stars by night. At any rate no waterway was in sight, and the entire party was almost ready to drop from hunger, thirst and fatigue56. Far ahead of us and a trifle to the right we could distinguish the outlines of low mountains. These we decided to attempt to reach in the hope that from some ridge57 we might discern the missing waterway. Night fell upon us before we reached our goal, and, almost fainting from weariness and weakness, we lay down and slept.
I was awakened58 early in the morning by some huge body pressing close to mine, and opening my eyes with a start I beheld59 my blessed old Woola snuggling close to me; the faithful brute60 had followed us across that trackless waste to share our fate, whatever it might be. Putting my arms about his neck I pressed my cheek close to his, nor am I ashamed that I did it, nor of the tears that came to my eyes as I thought of his love for me. Shortly after this Dejah Thoris and Sola awakened, and it was decided that we push on at once in an effort to gain the hills.
We had gone scarcely a mile when I noticed that my thoat was commencing to stumble and stagger in a most pitiful manner, although we had not attempted to force them out of a walk since about noon of the preceding day. Suddenly he lurched wildly to one side and pitched violently to the ground. Dejah Thoris and I were thrown clear of him and fell upon the soft moss with scarcely a jar; but the poor beast was in a pitiable condition, not even being able to rise, although relieved of our weight. Sola told me that the coolness of the night, when it fell, together with the rest would doubtless revive him, and so I decided not to kill him, as was my first intention, as I had thought it cruel to leave him alone there to die of hunger and thirst. Relieving him of his trappings, which I flung down beside him, we left the poor fellow to his fate, and pushed on with the one thoat as best we could. Sola and I walked, making Dejah Thoris ride, much against her will. In this way we had progressed to within about a mile of the hills we were endeavoring to reach when Dejah Thoris, from her point of vantage upon the thoat, cried out that she saw a great party of mounted men filing down from a pass in the hills several miles away. Sola and I both looked in the direction she indicated, and there, plainly discernible, were several hundred mounted warriors. They seemed to be headed in a southwesterly direction, which would take them away from us.
They doubtless were Thark warriors who had been sent out to capture us, and we breathed a great sigh of relief that they were traveling in the opposite direction. Quickly lifting Dejah Thoris from the thoat, I commanded the animal to lie down and we three did the same, presenting as small an object as possible for fear of attracting the attention of the warriors toward us.
We could see them as they filed out of the pass, just for an instant, before they were lost to view behind a friendly ridge; to us a most providential ridge; since, had they been in view for any great length of time, they scarcely could have failed to discover us. As what proved to be the last warrior4 came into view from the pass, he halted and, to our consternation61, threw his small but powerful fieldglass to his eye and scanned the sea bottom in all directions. Evidently he was a chieftain, for in certain marching formations among the green men a chieftain brings up the extreme rear of the column. As his glass swung toward us our hearts stopped in our breasts, and I could feel the cold sweat start from every pore in my body.
Presently it swung full upon us and—stopped. The tension on our nerves was near the breaking point, and I doubt if any of us breathed for the few moments he held us covered by his glass; and then he lowered it and we could see him shout a command to the warriors who had passed from our sight behind the ridge. He did not wait for them to join him, however, instead he wheeled his thoat and came tearing madly in our direction.
There was but one slight chance and that we must take quickly. Raising my strange Martian rifle to my shoulder I sighted and touched the button which controlled the trigger; there was a sharp explosion as the missile reached its goal, and the charging chieftain pitched backward from his flying mount.
Springing to my feet I urged the thoat to rise, and directed Sola to take Dejah Thoris with her upon him and make a mighty effort to reach the hills before the green warriors were upon us. I knew that in the ravines and gullies they might find a temporary hiding place, and even though they died there of hunger and thirst it would be better so than that they fell into the hands of the Tharks. Forcing my two revolvers upon them as a slight means of protection, and, as a last resort, as an escape for themselves from the horrid62 death which recapture would surely mean, I lifted Dejah Thoris in my arms and placed her upon the thoat behind Sola, who had already mounted at my command.
"Good-bye, my princess," I whispered, "we may meet in Helium yet. I have escaped from worse plights63 than this," and I tried to smile as I lied.
"What," she cried, "are you not coming with us?"
"How may I, Dejah Thoris? Someone must hold these fellows off for a while, and I can better escape them alone than could the three of us together."
She sprang quickly from the thoat and, throwing her dear arms about my neck, turned to Sola, saying with quiet dignity: "Fly, Sola! Dejah Thoris remains64 to die with the man she loves."
Those words are engraved65 upon my heart. Ah, gladly would I give up my life a thousand times could I only hear them once again; but I could not then give even a second to the rapture66 of her sweet embrace, and pressing my lips to hers for the first time, I picked her up bodily and tossed her to her seat behind Sola again, commanding the latter in peremptory67 tones to hold her there by force, and then, slapping the thoat upon the flank, I saw them borne away; Dejah Thoris struggling to the last to free herself from Sola's grasp.
Turning, I beheld the green warriors mounting the ridge and looking for their chieftain. In a moment they saw him, and then me; but scarcely had they discovered me than I commenced firing, lying flat upon my belly68 in the moss. I had an even hundred rounds in the magazine of my rifle, and another hundred in the belt at my back, and I kept up a continuous stream of fire until I saw all of the warriors who had been first to return from behind the ridge either dead or scurrying69 to cover.
My respite70 was short-lived however, for soon the entire party, numbering some thousand men, came charging into view, racing71 madly toward me. I fired until my rifle was empty and they were almost upon me, and then a glance showing me that Dejah Thoris and Sola had disappeared among the hills, I sprang up, throwing down my useless gun, and started away in the direction opposite to that taken by Sola and her charge.
If ever Martians had an exhibition of jumping, it was granted those astonished warriors on that day long years ago, but while it led them away from Dejah Thoris it did not distract their attention from endeavoring to capture me.
They raced wildly after me until, finally, my foot struck a projecting piece of quartz72, and down I went sprawling73 upon the moss. As I looked up they were upon me, and although I drew my long-sword in an attempt to sell my life as dearly as possible, it was soon over. I reeled beneath their blows which fell upon me in perfect torrents74; my head swam; all was black, and I went down beneath them to oblivion.
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1
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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3
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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4
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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5
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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6
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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7
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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8
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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9
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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10
thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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12
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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13
accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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14
bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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15
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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16
accentuating
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| v.重读( accentuate的现在分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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17
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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18
protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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19
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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21
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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22
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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24
dwarfing
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| n.矮化病 | |
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25
insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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26
mightiest
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| adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的 | |
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27
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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28
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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29
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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30
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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31
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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32
tars
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| 焦油，沥青，柏油( tar的名词复数 ) | |
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33
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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34
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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35
loathed
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| v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢 | |
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36
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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38
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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39
wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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40
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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41
writhe
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| vt.挣扎，痛苦地扭曲；vi.扭曲，翻腾，受苦；n.翻腾，苦恼 | |
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42
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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43
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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44
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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45
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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46
grovel
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| vi.卑躬屈膝，奴颜婢膝 | |
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47
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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48
putrid
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| adj.腐臭的；有毒的；已腐烂的；卑劣的 | |
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49
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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50
straps
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| n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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51
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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52
artery
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| n.干线，要道；动脉 | |
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53
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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54
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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55
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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56
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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57
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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58
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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59
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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60
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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61
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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62
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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63
plights
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| n.境况，困境( plight的名词复数 ) | |
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64
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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65
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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66
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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67
peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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68
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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69
scurrying
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| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 ) | |
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70
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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71
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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72
quartz
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| n.石英 | |
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73
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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74
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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