tunnel, for such Carthoris was now convinced was the
banth, and presently from behind came a similar uncanny n
arkness even to the distinguishing of his hand before his face, while the
the dismal, bloodthirsty moanings of
neath the side of the rock furthest from the unscaleable cli
t level, and presently h
close upon the heels of the beast in front. Presently he should hav
he banth at his heels. Not for much
the opposite side of the barrier, and he had hoped that he might reach the
now reigned upon the world without. He glanced behind him. Blazing out of the darkness, seemingly not ten paces behind
us fangs that he knew were bared in slavering blood-thirstiness, though he could not s
sword hand of his mighty sire, his guided the keen point to on
wing, past him. Then it turned to charge once more; but this time Cart
of the stricken beast reverberated through the rocky tunnel, shocki
his point. He heard the scraping of the padded feet upon the rocky floor. He k
s antagonist, neither could
eady on a line with the beast's chest. It was all that he could do, hoping that chan
the mighty body rushed madly past him. Either he had not placed himself in the
the creature continued on down the tunnel as th
s it long before his heart was gladdened by the sig
s dotted with enormous trees, a strange sight so far from a Martian waterway. The ground itself wa
the scene was one of indescribable loveliness,
s outspread before him. Almost immediately they were riveted upon the fi
his eyes fixed upon another banth that charged erratically hither and t
blinded during the fight in the tunnel, but it was the dead thoat t
and Carthoris could not doubt but that this was the very anim
rince of Helium shuddered as he thought upon the
arsoomian lion, whose great carcass and giant thews
n the green man and the red girl seemed only too likely to Carthoris. He had left the carcass of
harging, had passed beyond the kill of its fellow, and there the light
rged straight as an arrow, for the body of the thoat and the mighty creature of dest
d thoat the killer gave vent to its hideous challenge
blood-stained beasts held him in the paralysis of fascination, and when it was over and the two creatures, their heads and shoulders torn to
aces of the girl he feared had shared the thoat's fate, bu
valley, but scarce a dozen steps had he taken when the glist
it was a woman's hair ornament, and emblazoned upo
, still wet, splotched the mag
ch the thing suggested presented themselves to his
ld have met so hideous an end. It was incredible
beneath which beat his loyal heart, Carthoris, Prince of Helium, fastened the gleami
his way into the hear
ght glimpses of the towering hills that bounded the valley upon every side, and though they stood out clear be
until presently he was brought to a sudden h
h the trees until at last he came upon a level, treeless plain, in the centre
iors of the dead sea-bottoms, and as he let his eyes rove carefully over
arsoom the fierce tribe of Torquasian green men ruled supreme, and that as yet no red man had s
ip had permitted them to repulse the few determined efforts that near-by red n
the past even hinted at such a possibility, for the Torquasians were known to live, as did the other green men of Mars, within the deserted cities that dotted the
s no semblance of breastwork or other protection against rifle or cannon fire; yet distinctly now in the light of th
though they were at too great distance from hi
o Carthoris' surprise the fire was not returned, but presently the last of the city's inhabitants had sought
circling the rear of the besiegers' line, hoping against hope that somewhere he would
orth from the camp into the forest; but the long day wore on and still he continued his seemingl
re a great platform had been erected whereon Carthoris could see
old ogre of the south-western hemisphere, as only for a jeddak are platforms
d the rostrum. Beside him he dragged a captive, and as the surrounding warriors
rejoicing. Thuvia of
ian princess; but in the end his better judgment prevailed, for in the face of such odds he knew that
creature's words, nor Thuvia's reply; but it must have angered the green monster, for Carthoris saBarsoom, went mad. The old, blood-red haze through which hi
will, sent him in enormous leaps and bounds toward t
e figures of the girl and their jeddak, and loud was the hideous laughter that rang out in
rest and the green warriors, when a new factor succeeded in
series of frightful shrieks; uncanny shrieks that swept, shrill and terrifying, across the city's wal
he listening green men and then far, far off across the broad w
se similar savage cries, until the world
y knew not fear, as Earth men may know it; but in the face
ever had witnessed, though at the moment he had time to cast but a single fleeting glance at the tall bowmen emerging through the portal behind
to Thuvia of Ptarth, whose startled eyes were the first to fall upon him, it seemed that she was look
inian was the resemblance true. And the sword
backs of their restive, squealing thoats. Calots were growling out the
ming of Carthoris, and it was with them he battled for possession of the red girl
reach the side of the hideous Hortan Gur that he mi
had turned to join Thar Ban and his companion in repulsing this adventurous r
ing upon them from the city, and upon the savage banths that paced beside the
p beside him, and then he turned upon the departing
at the same instant two of his chieftains called to him to hasten, for the charge of the fair-skinned
ention after he had disposed of the presumptuous citizens of the walled city, an
d their jeddak, leaving Thuvia and
and a kind of short-handled war-axe, were almost helpless beneath the savage mounted green men at close quarte
two lines come together when hundreds of these appalling creatures had leaped among the Torquasians, dragging wa
med that scarce a warrior fell but his place was taken by a score mor
owmen, that at last the Torquasians fell back, until presently the platform u
ely past them, so that they were alone between the fighters and the city, except for the dying and the dead, and
bowmen with their relatively puny weapons. Nowhere that he could see was there a singl
owman's arrow, nor apparently did one ever miss its goal. Ther
t reigned, broken only by the growling of the devouring banths. C
we, Thuvia?
med to proclaim a guilty knowledge of her abduction. How else m
of Helium?" she asked in return. "Did
ho had stolen you, Thuvia," he replied; "but from the time I left H
ddak, your father, to convince him of the falsity of the charge, and to give my service to your recovery. Before I left He
they took me they were trapped in Dusarian harness. There seemed but a single explanation. Whoever dared the outrage wished to put the onus upI did this thing,
t wish to believe it; but when everything poi
othed, as well as I know the frightful consequences that must have followed such an act of mine, hurling into war, as it would, three of the greatest nations of
n yours, and in the service of the man to whom you are promised, to save you for
rising and falling as though to some resistless emotion. She half took a s
nquered whateve
m," she said coldly, "must constitute t
ne, as much as by the doubt as to h
le-certainly there was due him at least a little gratitude for his re
The girl noted it, and the little smile that touc
nything to encourage him! But he need not have made his indifference quite so palpable. The men of Helium w
that the smile upon his lips was the fighting smile of his father with which the son gave outward evidence of the determination he had r
to his origi
" he asked. "I
lves of Aaanthor, so that I thought it possible that the ancient city to whic
be? Only in the most ancient of our legends and in the mural paintings of the deserted cities of the dead sea-bottoms are depicted such a race of aub
n and the pursuing bowmen had disappeared. From a great dist
t they do not retu
k to the city," replied Carthoris, with a puzzled frown. "But how
d between them and the walled city, wh
, still growling abou
a in astonishment. Then h
pered. "WHAT HAS BECOME O