CHAPTER XVI
WE PLAN ESCAPE
The remainder of our journey to Thark was uneventful. We were twentydays upon the road, crossing two sea bottoms and passing through oraround a number of ruined cities, mostly smaller than Korad. Twice wecrossed the famous Martian waterways, or canals, so-called by ourearthly astronomers. When we approached these points a warrior wouldbe sent far ahead with a powerful field glass, and if no great body ofred Martian troops was in sight we would advance as close as possiblewithout chance of being seen and then camp until dark, when we wouldslowly approach the cultivated tract, and, locating one of thenumerous, broad highways which cross these areas at regular intervals,creep silently and stealthily across to the arid lands upon the otherside. It required five hours to make one of these crossings without asingle halt, and the other consumed the entire night, so that we werejust leaving the confines of the high-walled fields when the sun brokeout upon us.
Crossing in the darkness, as we did, I was unable to see but little,except as the nearer moon, in her wild and ceaseless hurtling throughthe Barsoomian heavens, lit up little patches of the landscape fromtime to time, disclosing walled fields and low, rambling buildings,presenting much the appearance of earthly farms. There were manytrees, methodically arranged, and some of them were of enormous height;there were animals in some of the enclosures, and they announced theirpresence by terrified squealings and snortings as they scented ourqueer, wild beasts and wilder human beings.
Only once did I perceive a human being, and that was at theintersection of our crossroad with the wide, white turnpike which cutseach cultivated district longitudinally at its exact center. Thefellow must have been sleeping beside the road, for, as I came abreastof him, he raised upon one elbow and after a single glance at theapproaching caravan leaped shrieking to his feet and fled madly downthe road, scaling a nearby wall with the agility of a scared cat. TheTharks paid him not the slightest attention; they were not out upon thewarpath, and the only sign that I had that they had seen him was aquickening of the pace of the caravan as we hastened toward thebordering desert which marked our entrance into the realm of Tal Hajus.
Not once did I have speech with Dejah Thoris, as she sent no word to methat I would be welcome at her chariot, and my foolish pride kept mefrom making any advances. I verily believe that a man's way with womenis in inverse ratio to his prowess among men. The weakling and thesaphead have often great ability to charm the fair sex, while thefighting man who can face a thousand real dangers unafraid, sits hidingin the shadows like some frightened child.
Just thirty days after my advent upon Barsoom we entered the ancientcity of Thark, from whose long-forgotten people this horde of green menhave stolen even their name. The hordes of Thark number some thirtythousand souls, and are divided into twenty-five communities. Eachcommunity has its own jed and lesser chieftains, but all are under therule of Tal Hajus, Jeddak of Thark. Five communities make theirheadquarters at the city of Thark, and the balance are scattered amongother deserted cities of ancient Mars throughout the district claimedby Tal Hajus.
We made our entry into the great central plaza early in the afternoon.There were no enthusiastic friendly greetings for the returnedexpedition. Those who chanced to be in sight spoke the names ofwarriors or women with whom they came in direct contact, in the formalgreeting of their kind, but when it was discovered that they broughttwo captives a greater interest was aroused, and Dejah Thoris and Iwere the centers of inquiring groups.
We were soon assigned to new quarters, and the balance of the day wasdevoted to settling ourselves to the changed conditions. My home nowwas upon an avenue leading into the plaza from the south, the mainartery down which we had marched from the gates of the city. I was atthe far end of the square and had an entire building to myself. Thesame grandeur of architecture which was so noticeable a characteristicof Korad was in evidence here, only, if that were possible, on a largerand richer scale. My quarters would have been suitable for housing thegreatest of earthly emperors, but to these queer creatures nothingabout a building appealed to them but its size and the enormity of itschambers; the larger the building, the more desirable; and so Tal Hajusoccupied what must have been an enormous public building, the largestin the city, but entirely unfitted for residence purposes; the nextlargest was reserved for Lorquas Ptomel, the next for the jed of alesser rank, and so on to the bottom of the list of five jeds. Thewarriors occupied the buildings with the chieftains to whose retinuesthey belonged; or, if they preferred, sought shelter among any of thethousands of untenanted buildings in their own quarter of town; eachcommunity being assigned a certain section of the city. The selectionof building had to be made in accordance with these divisions, exceptin so far as the jeds were concerned, they all occupying edifices whichfronted upon the plaza.
When I had finally put my house in order, or rather seen that it hadbeen done, it was nearing sunset, and I hastened out with the intentionof locating Sola and her charges, as I had determined upon havingspeech with Dejah Thoris and trying to impress on her the necessity ofour at least patching up a truce until I could find some way of aidingher to escape. I searched in vain until the upper rim of the great redsun was just disappearing behind the horizon and then I spied the uglyhead of Woola peering from a second-story window on the opposite sideof the very street where I was quartered, but nearer the plaza.
Without waiting for a further invitation I bolted up the winding runwaywhich led to the second floor, and entering a great chamber at thefront of the building was greeted by the frenzied Woola, who threw hisgreat carcass upon me, nearly hurling me to the floor; the poor oldfellow was so glad to see me that I thought he would devour me, hishead split from ear to ear, showing his three rows of tusks in hishobgoblin smile.
Quieting him with a word of command and a caress, I looked hurriedlythrough the approaching gloom for a sign of Dejah Thoris, and then, notseeing her, I called her name. There was an answering murmur from thefar corner of the apartment, and with a couple of quick strides I wasstanding beside her where she crouched among the furs and silks upon anancient carved wooden seat. As I waited she rose to her full heightand looking me straight in the eye said:
"What would Dotar Sojat, Thark, of Dejah Thoris his captive?"
"Dejah Thoris, I do not know how I have angered you. It was furtherestfrom my desire to hurt or offend you, whom I had hoped to protect andcomfort. Have none of me if it is your will, but that you must aid mein effecting your escape, if such a thing be possible, is not myrequest, but my command. When you are safe once more at your father'scourt you may do with me as you please, but from now on until that dayI am your master, and you must obey and aid me."
She looked at me long and earnestly and I thought that she wassoftening toward me.
"I understand your words, Dotar Sojat," she replied, "but you I do notunderstand. You are a queer mixture of child and man, of brute andnoble. I only wish that I might read your heart."
"Look down at your feet, Dejah Thoris; it lies there now where it haslain since that other night at Korad, and where it will ever liebeating alone for you until death stills it forever."
She took a little step toward me, her beautiful hands outstretched in astrange, groping gesture.
"What do you mean, John Carter?" she whispered. "What are you sayingto me?"
"I am saying what I had promised myself that I would not say to you, atleast until you were no longer a captive among the green men; what fromyour attitude toward me for the past twenty days I had thought never tosay to you; I am saying, Dejah Thoris, that I am yours, body and soul,to serve you, to fight for you, and to die for you. Only one thing Iask of you in return, and that is that you make no sign, either ofcondemnation or of approbation of my words until you are safe amongyour own people, and that whatever sentiments you harbor toward me theybe not influenced or colored by gratitude; whatever I may do to serveyou will be prompted solely from selfish motives, since it gives memore pleasure to serv
e you than not."
"I will respect your wishes, John Carter, because I understand themotives which prompt them, and I accept your service no more willinglythan I bow to your authority; your word shall be my law. I have twicewronged you in my thoughts and again I ask your forgiveness."
Further conversation of a personal nature was prevented by the entranceof Sola, who was much agitated and wholly unlike her usual calm andpossessed self.
"That horrible Sarkoja has been before Tal Hajus," she cried, "and fromwhat I heard upon the plaza there is little hope for either of you."
"What do they say?" inquired Dejah Thoris.
"That you will be thrown to the wild calots [dogs] in the great arenaas soon as the hordes have assembled for the yearly games."
"Sola," I said, "you are a Thark, but you hate and loathe the customsof your people as much as we do. Will you not accompany us in onesupreme effort to escape? I am sure that Dejah Thoris can offer you ahome and protection among her people, and your fate can be no worseamong them than it must ever be here."
"Yes," cried Dejah Thoris, "come with us, Sola, you will be better offamong the red men of Helium than you are here, and I can promise younot only a home with us, but the love and affection your nature cravesand which must always be denied you by the customs of your own race.Come with us, Sola; we might go without you, but your fate would beterrible if they thought you had connived to aid us. I know that eventhat fear would not tempt you to interfere in our escape, but we wantyou with us, we want you to come to a land of sunshine and happiness,amongst a people who know the meaning of love, of sympathy, and ofgratitude. Say that you will, Sola; tell me that you will."
"The great waterway which leads to Helium is but fifty miles to thesouth," murmured Sola, half to herself; "a swift thoat might make it inthree hours; and then to Helium it is five hundred miles, most of theway through thinly settled districts. They would know and they wouldfollow us. We might hide among the great trees for a time, but thechances are small indeed for escape. They would follow us to the verygates of Helium, and they would take toll of life at every step; you donot know them."
"Is there no other way we might reach Helium?" I asked. "Can you notdraw me a rough map of the country we must traverse, Dejah Thoris?"
"Yes," she replied, and taking a great diamond from her hair she drewupon the marble floor the first map of Barsoomian territory I had everseen. It was crisscrossed in every direction with long straight lines,sometimes running parallel and sometimes converging toward some greatcircle. The lines, she said, were waterways; the circles, cities; andone far to the northwest of us she pointed out as Helium. There wereother cities closer, but she said she feared to enter many of them, asthey were not all friendly toward Helium.
She drew upon the marble floor the first map of theBarsoomian territory I had ever seen.]
Finally, after studying the map carefully in the moonlight which nowflooded the room, I pointed out a waterway far to the north of us whichalso seemed to lead to Helium.
"Does not this pierce your grandfather's territory?" I asked.
"Yes," she answered, "but it is two hundred miles north of us; it isone of the waterways we crossed on the trip to Thark."
"They would never suspect that we would try for that distant waterway,"I answered, "and that is why I think that it is the best route for ourescape."
Sola agreed with me, and it was decided that we should leave Thark thissame night; just as quickly, in fact, as I could find and saddle mythoats. Sola was to ride one and Dejah Thoris and I the other; each ofus carrying sufficient food and drink to last us for two days, sincethe animals could not be urged too rapidly for so long a distance.
I directed Sola to proceed with Dejah Thoris along one of the lessfrequented avenues to the southern boundary of the city, where I wouldovertake them with the thoats as quickly as possible; then, leavingthem to gather what food, silks, and furs we were to need, I slippedquietly to the rear of the first floor, and entered the courtyard,where our animals were moving restlessly about, as was their habit,before settling down for the night.
In the shadows of the buildings and out beneath the radiance of theMartian moons moved the great herd of thoats and zitidars, the lattergrunting their low gutturals and the former occasionally emitting thesharp squeal which denotes the almost habitual state of rage in whichthese creatures passed their existence. They were quieter now, owingto the absence of man, but as they scented me they became more restlessand their hideous noise increased. It was risky business, thisentering a paddock of thoats alone and at night; first, because theirincreasing noisiness might warn the nearby warriors that something wasamiss, and also because for the slightest cause, or for no cause at allsome great bull thoat might take it upon himself to lead a charge uponme.
Having no desire to awaken their nasty tempers upon such a night asthis, where so much depended upon secrecy and dispatch, I hugged theshadows of the buildings, ready at an instant's warning to leap intothe safety of a nearby door or window. Thus I moved silently to thegreat gates which opened upon the street at the back of the court, andas I neared the exit I called softly to my two animals. How I thankedthe kind providence which had given me the foresight to win the loveand confidence of these wild dumb brutes, for presently from the farside of the court I saw two huge bulks forcing their way toward methrough the surging mountains of flesh.
They came quite close to me, rubbing their muzzles against my body andnosing for the bits of food it was always my practice to reward themwith. Opening the gates I ordered the two great beasts to pass out,and then slipping quietly after them I closed the portals behind me.
I did not saddle or mount the animals there, but instead walked quietlyin the shadows of the buildings toward an unfrequented avenue which ledtoward the point I had arranged to meet Dejah Thoris and Sola. Withthe noiselessness of disembodied spirits we moved stealthily along thedeserted streets, but not until we were within sight of the plainbeyond the city did I commence to breathe freely. I was sure that Solaand Dejah Thoris would find no difficulty in reaching our rendezvousundetected, but with my great thoats I was not so sure for myself, asit was quite unusual for warriors to leave the city after dark; in factthere was no place for them to go within any but a long ride.
I reached the appointed meeting place safely, but as Dejah Thoris andSola were not there I led my animals into the entrance hall of one ofthe large buildings. Presuming that one of the other women of the samehousehold may have come in to speak to Sola, and so delayed theirdeparture, I did not feel any undue apprehension until nearly an hourhad passed without a sign of them, and by the time another half hourhad crawled away I was becoming filled with grave anxiety. Then therebroke upon the stillness of the night the sound of an approachingparty, which, from the noise, I knew could be no fugitives creepingstealthily toward liberty. Soon the party was near me, and from theblack shadows of my entranceway I perceived a score of mountedwarriors, who, in passing, dropped a dozen words that fetched my heartclean into the top of my head.
"He would likely have arranged to meet them just without the city, andso--" I heard no more, they had passed on; but it was enough. Ourplan had been discovered, and the chances for escape from now on to thefearful end would be small indeed. My one hope now was to returnundetected to the quarters of Dejah Thoris and learn what fate hadovertaken her, but how to do it with these great monstrous thoats uponmy hands, now that the city probably was aroused by the knowledge of myescape was a problem of no mean proportions.
Suddenly an idea occurred to me, and acting on my knowledge of theconstruction of the buildings of these ancient Martian cities with ahollow court within the center of each square, I groped my way blindlythrough the dark chambers, calling the great thoats after me. They haddifficulty in negotiating some of the doorways, but as the buildingsfronting the city's principal exposures were all designed upon amagnificent scale, they were able to wriggle through without stickingfast; and thus we finally made the in
ner court where I found, as I hadexpected, the usual carpet of moss-like vegetation which would providetheir food and drink until I could return them to their own enclosure.That they would be as quiet and contented here as elsewhere I wasconfident, nor was there but the remotest possibility that they wouldbe discovered, as the green men had no great desire to enter theseoutlying buildings, which were frequented by the only thing, I believe,which caused them the sensation of fear--the great white apes ofBarsoom.
Removing the saddle trappings, I hid them just within the rear doorwayof the building through which we had entered the court, and, turningthe beasts loose, quickly made my way across the court to the rear ofthe buildings upon the further side, and thence to the avenue beyond.Waiting in the doorway of the building until I was assured that no onewas approaching, I hurried across to the opposite side and through thefirst doorway to the court beyond; thus, crossing through court aftercourt with only the slight chance of detection which the necessarycrossing of the avenues entailed, I made my way in safety to thecourtyard in the rear of Dejah Thoris' quarters.
Here, of course, I found the beasts of the warriors who quartered inthe adjacent buildings, and the warriors themselves I might expect tomeet within if I entered; but, fortunately for me, I had another andsafer method of reaching the upper story where Dejah Thoris should befound, and, after first determining as nearly as possible which of thebuildings she occupied, for I had never observed them before from thecourt side, I took advantage of my relatively great strength andagility and sprang upward until I grasped the sill of a second-storywindow which I thought to be in the rear of her apartment. Drawingmyself inside the room I moved stealthily toward the front of thebuilding, and not until I had quite reached the doorway of her room wasI made aware by voices that it was occupied.
I did not rush headlong in, but listened without to assure myself thatit was Dejah Thoris and that it was safe to venture within. It waswell indeed that I took this precaution, for the conversation I heardwas in the low gutturals of men, and the words which finally came to meproved a most timely warning. The speaker was a chieftain and he wasgiving orders to four of his warriors.
"And when he returns to this chamber," he was saying, "as he surelywill when he finds she does not meet him at the city's edge, you fourare to spring upon him and disarm him. It will require the combinedstrength of all of you to do it if the reports they bring back fromKorad are correct. When you have him fast bound bear him to the vaultsbeneath the jeddak's quarters and chain him securely where he may befound when Tal Hajus wishes him. Allow him to speak with none, norpermit any other to enter this apartment before he comes. There willbe no danger of the girl returning, for by this time she is safe in thearms of Tal Hajus, and may all her ancestors have pity upon her, forTal Hajus will have none; the great Sarkoja has done a noble night'swork. I go, and if you fail to capture him when he comes, I commendyour carcasses to the cold bosom of Iss."