"Who says that A-Kor is dead?" demanded one of the chiefs.
"Where is he then?" asked I-Gos. "Have not others disappeared whom O-Tar thought too well beloved for men so near the throne as they?"
The chief shook his head. "And I thought that, or knew it, rather; I'd join U-Thor at The Gate of Enemies."
"S-s-st," cautioned one; "here comes the licker of feet," and all eyes were turned upon the approaching E-Thas.
"Kaor, friends!" he exclaimed as he stopped among them, but his friendly greeting elicited3 naught4 but a few surly nods. "Have you heard the news?" he continued, unabashed by treatment to which he was becoming accustomed.
"Men have died for less than that, ancient one," E-Thas reminded him.
"I am safe," retorted I-Gos, "for I am not a brave and popular son of the jeddak of Manator."
This was indeed open treason, but E-Thas feigned6 not to hear it. He ignored I-Gos and turned to the others. "O-Tar goes to the chamber1 of O-Mai this night in search of Turan the slave," he said. "He sorrows that his warriors7 have not the courage for so mean a duty and that their jeddak is thus compelled to arrest a common slave," with which taunt9 E-Thas passed on to spread the word in other parts of the palace. As a matter of fact the latter part of his message was purely10 original with himself, and he took great delight in delivering it to the discomfiture11 of his enemies. As he was leaving the little group of men I-Gos called after him. "At what hour does O-Tar intend visiting the chambers of O-Mai?" he asked.
"Toward the end of the eighth zode*," replied the major-domo, and went his way.
* About 1:00 A. M. Earth Time.
"We shall see," stated I-Gos.
"We shall see whether O-Tar visits the chamber of O-Mai."
"How?"
"I shall be there myself and if I see him I will know that he has been there. If I don't see him I will know that he has not," explained the old taxidermist.
"Is there anything there to fill an honest man with fear?" asked a chieftain. "What have you seen?"
"It was not so much what I saw, though that was bad enough, as what I heard," said I-Gos.
"Tell us! What heard and saw you?"
"And you went not mad?" they asked.
"Am I mad?" retorted I-Gos.
"And you will go again?"
"Yes."
"Then indeed you are mad," cried one.
"You saw the dead O-Mai; but what heard you that was worse?" whispered another.
"I saw the dead O-Mai lying upon the floor of his sleeping chamber with one foot tangled13 in the sleeping silks and furs upon his couch. I heard horrid14 moans and frightful15 screams."
"And you are not afraid to go there again?" demanded several.
"The dead cannot harm me," said I-Gos. "He has lain thus for five thousand years. Nor can a sound harm me. I heard it once and live—I can hear it again. It came from almost at my side where I hid behind the hangings and watched the slave Turan before I snatched the woman away from him."
"I-Gos, you are a very brave man," said a chieftain.
"O-Tar called me 'doddering fool' and I would face worse dangers than lie in the forbidden chambers of O-Mai to know it if he does not visit the chamber of O-Mai. Then indeed shall O-Tar fall!"
The night came and the zodes dragged and the time approached when O-Tar, Jeddak of Manator, was to visit the chamber of O-Mai in search of the slave Turan. To us, who may doubt the existence of malignant16 spirits, his fear may seem unbelievable, for he was a strong man, an excellent swordsman, and a warrior of great repute; but the fact remained that O-Tar of Manator was nervous with apprehension17 as he strode the corridors of his palace toward the deserted18 halls of O-Mai and when he stood at last with his hand upon the door that opened from the dusty corridor to the very apartments themselves he was almost paralyzed with terror. He had come alone for two very excellent reasons, the first of which was that thus none might note his terror-stricken state nor his defection should he fail at the last moment, and the other was that should he accomplish the thing alone or be able to make his chiefs believe that he had, the credit would be far greater than were he to be accompanied by warriors.
But though he had started alone he had become aware that he was being followed, and he knew that it was because his people had no faith in either his courage or his veracity20. He did not believe that he would find the slave Turan. He did not very much want to find him, for though O-Tar was an excellent swordsman and a brave warrior in physical combat, he had seen how Turan had played with U-Dor and he had no stomach for a passage at arms with one whom he knew outclassed him.
And so O-Tar stood with his hand upon the door—afraid to enter; afraid not to. But at last his fear of his own warriors, watching behind him, grew greater than the fear of the unknown behind the ancient door and he pushed the heavy skeel aside and entered.
Silence and gloom and the dust of centuries lay heavy upon the chamber. From his warriors he knew the route that he must take to the horrid chamber of O-Mai and so he forced his unwilling21 feet across the room before him, across the room where the jetan players sat at their eternal game, and came to the short corridor that led into the room of O-Mai. His naked sword trembled in his grasp. He paused after each forward step to listen and when he was almost at the door of the ghost-haunted chamber, his heart stood still within his breast and the cold sweat broke from the clammy skin of his forehead, for from within there came to his affrighted ears the sound of muffled22 breathing. Then it was that O-Tar of Manator came near to fleeing from the nameless horror that he could not see, but that he knew lay waiting for him in that chamber just ahead. But again came the fear of the wrath23 and contempt of his warriors and his chiefs. They would degrade him and they would slay24 him into the bargain. There was no doubt of what his fate would be should he flee the apartments of O-Mai in terror. His only hope, therefore, lay in daring the unknown in preference to the known.
He moved forward. A few steps took him to the doorway25. The chamber before him was darker than the corridor, so that he could just indistinctly make out the objects in the room. He saw a sleeping dais near the center, with a darker blotch26 of something lying on the marble floor beside it. He moved a step farther into the doorway and the scabbard of his sword scraped against the stone frame. To his horror he saw the sleeping silks and furs upon the central dais move. He saw a figure slowly arising to a sitting posture27 from the death bed of O-Mai the Cruel. His knees shook, but he gathered all his moral forces, and gripping his sword more tightly in his trembling fingers prepared to leap across the chamber upon the horrid apparition28. He hesitated just a moment. He felt eyes upon him—ghoulish eyes that bored through the darkness into his withering29 heart—eyes that he could not see. He gathered himself for the rush—and then there broke from the thing upon the couch an awful shriek30, and O-Tar sank senseless to the floor.
Gahan rose from the couch of O-Mai, smiling, only to swing quickly about with drawn31 sword as the shadow of a noise impinged upon his keen ears from the shadows behind him. Between the parted hangings he saw a bent32 and wrinkled figure. It was I-Gos.
"What do you here?" demanded Gahan.
"I came to make sure that the great coward did not cheat us. Ey, and he called me 'doddering fool;' but look at him now! Stricken insensible by terror, but, ey, one might forgive him that who had heard your uncanny scream. It all but blasted my own courage. And it was you, then, who moaned and screamed when the chiefs came the day that I stole Tara from you?"
"It was you, then, old scoundrel?" demanded Gahan, moving threateningly toward I-Gos.
"Come, come!" expostulated the old man; "it was I, but then I was your enemy. I would not do it now. Conditions have changed."
"How have they changed? What has changed them?" asked Gahan.
"Then I did not fully34 realize the cowardice35 of my jeddak, or the bravery of you and the girl. I am an old man from another age and I love courage. At first I resented the girl's attack upon me, but later I came to see the bravery of it and it won my admiration36, as have all her acts. She feared not O-Tar, she feared not me, she feared not all the warriors of Manator. And you! Blood of a million sires! how you fight! I am sorry that I exposed you at The Fields of Jetan. I am sorry that I dragged the girl Tara back to O-Tar. I would make amends37. I would be your friend. Here is my sword at your feet," and drawing his weapon I-Gos cast it to the floor in front of Gahan.
The Gatholian knew that scarce the most abandoned of knaves38 would repudiate39 this solemn pledge, and so he stooped, and picking up the old man's sword returned it to him, hilt first, in acceptance of his friendship.
"Where is the Princess Tara of Helium?" asked Gahan. "Is she safe?"
"She is confined in the tower of the women's quarters awaiting the ceremony that is to make her Jeddara of Manator," replied I-Gos.
"This thing dared think that Tara of Helium would mate with him?" growled40 Gahan. "I will make short work of him if he is not already dead from fright," and he stepped toward the fallen O-Tar to run his sword through the jeddak's heart.
"No!" cried I-Gos. "Slay him not and pray that he be not dead if you would save your princess."
"How is that?" asked Gahan.
"If word of O-Tar's death reached the quarters of the women the Princess Tara would be lost. They know O-Tar's intention of taking her to wife and making her Jeddara of Manator, so you may rest assured that they all hate her with the hate of jealous women. Only O-Tar's power protects her now from harm. Should O-Tar die they would turn her over to the warriors and the male slaves, for there would be none to avenge41 her."
"Leave him where he lies," counseled I-Gos. "He is not dead. When he revives he will return to his quarters with a fine tale of his bravery and there will be none to impugn43 his boasts—none but I-Gos. Come! he may revive at any moment and he must not find us here."
I-Gos crossed to the body of his jeddak, knelt beside it for an instant, and then returned past the couch to Gahan. The two quit the chamber of O-Mai and took their way toward the spiral runway. Here I-Gos led Gahan to a higher level and out upon the roof of that portion of the palace from where he pointed44 to a high tower quite close by. "There," he said, "lies the Princess of Helium, and quite safe she will be until the time of the ceremony."
"Safe, possibly, from other hands, but not from her own," said Gahan. "She will never become Jeddara of Manator—first will she destroy herself."
"She would do that?" asked I-Gos.
"She will, unless you can get word to her that I still live and that there is yet hope," replied Gahan.
"I cannot get word to her," said I-Gos. "The quarters of his women O-Tar guards with jealous hand. Here are his most trusted slaves and warriors, yet even so, thick among them are countless45 spies, so that no man knows which be which. No shadow falls within those chambers that is not marked by a hundred eyes."
Gahan stood gazing at the lighted windows of the high tower in the upper chambers of which Tara of Helium was confined. "I will find a way, I-Gos," he said.
"There is no way," replied the old man.
For some time they stood upon the roof beneath the brilliant stars and hurtling moons of dying Mars, laying their plans against the time that Tara of Helium should be brought from the high tower to the throne room of O-Tar. It was then, and then alone, argued I-Gos, that any hope of rescuing her might be entertained. Just how far he might trust the other Gahan did not know, and so he kept to himself the knowledge of the plan that he had forwarded to Floran and Val Dor by Ghek, but he assured the ancient taxidermist that if he were sincere in his oft-repeated declaration that O-Tar should be denounced and superseded46 he would have his opportunity on the night that the jeddak sought to wed19 the Heliumetic princess.
"Your time shall come then, I-Gos," Gahan assured the other, "and if you have any party that thinks as you do, prepare them for the eventuality that will succeed O-Tar's presumptuous47 attempt to wed the daughter of The Warlord. Where shall I see you again, and when? I go now to speak with Tara, Princess of Helium."
"I like your boldness," said I-Gos; "but it will avail you naught. You will not speak with Tara, Princess of Helium, though doubtless the blood of many Manatorians will drench48 the floors of the women's quarters before you are slain49."
Gahan smiled. "I shall not be slain. Where and when shall we meet? But you may find me in O-Mai's chamber at night. That seems the safest retreat in all Manator for an enemy of the jeddak in whose palace it lies. I go!"
"And may the spirits of your ancestors surround you," said I-Gos.
After the old man had left him Gahan made his way across the roof to the high tower, which appeared to have been constructed of concrete and afterward50 elaborately carved, its entire surface being covered with intricate designs cut deep into the stone-like material of which it was composed. Though wrought51 ages since, it was but little weather-worn owing to the aridity52 of the Martian atmosphere, the infrequency of rains, and the rarity of dust storms. To scale it, though, presented difficulties and danger that might have deterred53 the bravest of men—that would, doubtless, have deterred Gahan, had he not felt that the life of the woman he loved depended upon his accomplishing the hazardous54 feat55.
Removing his sandals and laying aside all of his harness and weapons other than a single belt supporting a dagger56, the Gatholian essayed the dangerous ascent57. Clinging to the carvings58 with hands and feet he worked himself slowly aloft, avoiding the windows and keeping upon the shadowy side of the tower, away from the light of Thuria and Cluros. The tower rose some fifty feet above the roof of the adjacent part of the palace, comprising five levels or floors with windows looking in every direction. A few of the windows were balconied, and these more than the others he sought to avoid, although, it being now near the close of the ninth zode, there was little likelihood that many were awake within the tower.
His progress was noiseless and he came at last, undetected, to the windows of the upper level. These, like several of the others he had passed at lower levels, were heavily barred, so that there was no possibility of his gaining ingress to the apartment where Tara was confined. Darkness hid the interior behind the first window that he approached. The second opened upon a lighted chamber where he could see a guard sleeping at his post outside a door. Here also was the top of the runway leading to the next level below. Passing still farther around the tower Gahan approached another window, but now he clung to that side of the tower which ended in a courtyard a hundred feet below and in a short time the light of Thuria would reach him. He realized that he must hasten and he prayed that behind the window he now approached he would find Tara of Helium.
Coming to the opening he looked in upon a small chamber dimly lighted. In the center was a sleeping dais upon which a human form lay beneath silks and furs. A bare arm, protruding59 from the coverings, lay exposed against a black and yellow striped orluk skin—an arm of wondrous60 beauty about which was clasped an armlet that Gahan knew. No other creature was visible within the chamber, all of which was exposed to Gahan's view. Pressing his face to the bars the Gatholian whispered her dear name. The girl stirred, but did not awaken61. Again he called, but this time louder. Tara sat up and looked about and at the same instant a huge eunuch leaped to his feet from where he had been lying on the floor close by that side of the dais farthest from Gahan. Simultaneously62 the brilliant light of Thuria flashed full upon the window where Gahan clung silhouetting63 him plainly to the two within.
Both sprang to their feet. The eunuch drew his sword and leaped for the window where the helpless Gahan would have fallen an easy victim to a single thrust of the murderous weapon the fellow bore, had not Tara of Helium leaped upon her guard dragging him back. At the same time she drew the slim dagger from its hiding place in her harness and even as the eunuch sought to hurl64 her aside its keen point found his heart. Without a sound he died and lunged forward to the floor. Then Tara ran to the window.
"Turan, my chief!" she cried. "What awful risk is this you take to seek me here, where even your brave heart is powerless to aid me."
"Be not so sure of that, heart of my heart," he replied. "While I bring but words to my love, they be the forerunner65 of deeds, I hope, that will give her back to me forever. I feared that you might destroy yourself, Tara of Helium, to escape the dishonor that O-Tar would do you, and so I came to give you new hope and to beg that you live for me through whatever may transpire66, in the knowledge that there is yet a way and that if all goes well we shall be freed at last. Look for me in the throne room of O-Tar the night that he would wed you. And now, how may we dispose of this fellow?" He pointed to the dead eunuch upon the floor.
"We need not concern ourselves about that," she replied. "None dares harm me for fear of the wrath of O-Tar—otherwise I should have been dead so soon as ever I entered this portion of the palace, for the women hate me. O-Tar alone may punish me, and what cares O-Tar for the life of a eunuch? No, fear not upon this score."
Their hands were clasped between the bars and now Gahan drew her nearer to him.
"One kiss," he said, "before I go, my princess," and the proud daughter of Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, and The Warlord of Barsoom whispered: "My chieftain!" and pressed her lips to the lips of Turan, the common panthan.
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1
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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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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elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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taunt
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| n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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13
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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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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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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wed
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| v.娶，嫁，与…结婚 | |
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veracity
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| n.诚实 | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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blotch
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| n.大斑点；红斑点；v.使沾上污渍，弄脏 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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withering
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| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
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shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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sheathe
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| v.（将刀剑）插入鞘；包，覆盖 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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amends
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| n. 赔偿 | |
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knaves
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| n.恶棍，无赖( knave的名词复数 )；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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repudiate
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| v.拒绝，拒付，拒绝履行 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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41
avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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sheathed
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| adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的；覆盖的；铠装的；装鞘了的v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 )；包，覆盖 | |
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impugn
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| v.指责，对…表示怀疑 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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45
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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46
superseded
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| [医]被代替的，废弃的 | |
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47
presumptuous
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| adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的 | |
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48
drench
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| v.使淋透，使湿透 | |
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49
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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51
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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52
aridity
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| n.干旱，乏味；干燥性；荒芜 | |
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53
deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
hazardous
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| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
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feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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56
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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57
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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58
carvings
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| n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物 | |
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59
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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60
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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61
awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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62
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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63
silhouetting
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| 使呈现影子（silhouette的现在分词形式） | |
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64
hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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65
forerunner
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| n.前身，先驱（者），预兆，祖先 | |
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66
transpire
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| v.(使)蒸发，(使)排出 ；泄露，公开 | |
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