CHAPTER XIX
BATTLING IN THE ARENA
Slowly I regained my composure and finally essayed again to attempt toremove the keys from the dead body of my former jailer. But as Ireached out into the darkness to locate it I found to my horror that itwas gone. Then the truth flashed on me; the owners of those gleamingeyes had dragged my prize away from me to be devoured in theirneighboring lair; as they had been waiting for days, for weeks, formonths, through all this awful eternity of my imprisonment to drag mydead carcass to their feast.
For two days no food was brought me, but then a new messenger appearedand my incarceration went on as before, but not again did I allow myreason to be submerged by the horror of my position.
Shortly after this episode another prisoner was brought in and chainednear me. By the dim torch light I saw that he was a red Martian and Icould scarcely await the departure of his guards to address him. Astheir retreating footsteps died away in the distance, I called outsoftly the Martian word of greeting, kaor.
"Who are you who speaks out of the darkness?" he answered
"John Carter, a friend of the red men of Helium."
"I am of Helium," he said, "but I do not recall your name."
And then I told him my story as I have written it here, omitting onlyany reference to my love for Dejah Thoris. He was much excited by thenews of Helium's princess and seemed quite positive that she and Solacould easily have reached a point of safety from where they left me.He said that he knew the place well because the defile through whichthe Warhoon warriors had passed when they discovered us was the onlyone ever used by them when marching to the south.
"Dejah Thoris and Sola entered the hills not five miles from a greatwaterway and are now probably quite safe," he assured me.
My fellow prisoner was Kantos Kan, a padwar (lieutenant) in the navy ofHelium. He had been a member of the ill-fated expedition which hadfallen into the hands of the Tharks at the time of Dejah Thoris'capture, and he briefly related the events which followed the defeat ofthe battleships.
Badly injured and only partially manned they had limped slowly towardHelium, but while passing near the city of Zodanga, the capital ofHelium's hereditary enemies among the red men of Barsoom, they had beenattacked by a great body of war vessels and all but the craft to whichKantos Kan belonged were either destroyed or captured. His vessel waschased for days by three of the Zodangan war ships but finally escapedduring the darkness of a moonless night.
Thirty days after the capture of Dejah Thoris, or about the time of ourcoming to Thark, his vessel had reached Helium with about ten survivorsof the original crew of seven hundred officers and men. Immediatelyseven great fleets, each of one hundred mighty war ships, had beendispatched to search for Dejah Thoris, and from these vessels twothousand smaller craft had been kept out continuously in futile searchfor the missing princess.
Two green Martian communities had been wiped off the face of Barsoom bythe avenging fleets, but no trace of Dejah Thoris had been found. Theyhad been searching among the northern hordes, and only within the pastfew days had they extended their quest to the south.
Kantos Kan had been detailed to one of the small one-man fliers and hadhad the misfortune to be discovered by the Warhoons while exploringtheir city. The bravery and daring of the man won my greatest respectand admiration. Alone he had landed at the city's boundary and on foothad penetrated to the buildings surrounding the plaza. For two daysand nights he had explored their quarters and their dungeons in searchof his beloved princess only to fall into the hands of a party ofWarhoons as he was about to leave, after assuring himself that DejahThoris was not a captive there.
During the period of our incarceration Kantos Kan and I became wellacquainted, and formed a warm personal friendship. A few days onlyelapsed, however, before we were dragged forth from our dungeon for thegreat games. We were conducted early one morning to an enormousamphitheater, which instead of having been built upon the surface ofthe ground was excavated below the surface. It had partially filledwith debris so that how large it had originally been was difficult tosay. In its present condition it held the entire twenty thousandWarhoons of the assembled hordes.
The arena was immense but extremely uneven and unkempt. Around it theWarhoons had piled building stone from some of the ruined edifices ofthe ancient city to prevent the animals and the captives from escapinginto the audience, and at each end had been constructed cages to holdthem until their turns came to meet some horrible death upon the arena.
Kantos Kan and I were confined together in one of the cages. In theothers were wild calots, thoats, mad zitidars, green warriors, andwomen of other hordes, and many strange and ferocious wild beasts ofBarsoom which I had never before seen. The din of their roaring,growling and squealing was deafening and the formidable appearance ofany one of them was enough to make the stoutest heart feel graveforebodings.
Kantos Kan explained to me that at the end of the day one of theseprisoners would gain freedom and the others would lie dead about thearena. The winners in the various contests of the day would be pittedagainst each other until only two remained alive; the victor in thelast encounter being set free, whether animal or man. The followingmorning the cages would be filled with a new consignment of victims,and so on throughout the ten days of the games.
Shortly after we had been caged the amphitheater began to fill andwithin an hour every available part of the seating space was occupied.Dak Kova, with his jeds and chieftains, sat at the center of one sideof the arena upon a large raised platform.
At a signal from Dak Kova the doors of two cages were thrown open and adozen green Martian females were driven to the center of the arena.Each was given a dagger and then, at the far end, a pack of twelvecalots, or wild dogs were loosed upon them.
As the brutes, growling and foaming, rushed upon the almost defenselesswomen I turned my head that I might not see the horrid sight. Theyells and laughter of the green horde bore witness to the excellentquality of the sport and when I turned back to the arena, as Kantos Kantold me it was over, I saw three victorious calots, snarling andgrowling over the bodies of their prey. The women had given a goodaccount of themselves.
Next a mad zitidar was loosed among the remaining dogs, and so it wentthroughout the long, hot, horrible day.
During the day I was pitted against first men and then beasts, but as Iwas armed with a long-sword and always outclassed my adversary inagility and generally in strength as well, it proved but child's playto me. Time and time again I won the applause of the bloodthirstymultitude, and toward the end there were cries that I be taken from thearena and be made a member of the hordes of Warhoon.
Finally there were but three of us left, a great green warrior of somefar northern horde, Kantos Kan, and myself.
The other two were to battle and then I to fight the conqueror for theliberty which was accorded the final winner.
Kantos Kan had fought several times during the day and like myself hadalways proven victorious, but occasionally by the smallest of margins,especially when pitted against the green warriors. I had little hopethat he could best his giant adversary who had mowed down all beforehim during the day. The fellow towered nearly sixteen feet in height,while Kantos Kan was some inches under six feet. As they advanced tomeet one another I saw for the first time a trick of Martianswordsmanship which centered Kantos Kan's every hope of victory andlife on one cast of the dice, for, as he came to within about twentyfeet of the huge fellow he threw his sword arm far behind him over hisshoulder and with a mighty sweep hurled his weapon point foremost atthe green warrior. It flew true as an arrow and piercing the poordevil's heart laid him dead upon the arena.
Kantos Kan and I were now pitted against each other but as weapproached to the encounter I whispered to him to prolong the battleuntil nearly dark in the hope that we might find some means of escape.The horde evidently guessed that we had no hearts to fight each otherand so they howled in rage as neither of us placed a fatal
thrust.Just as I saw the sudden coming of dark I whispered to Kantos Kan tothrust his sword between my left arm and my body. As he did so Istaggered back clasping the sword tightly with my arm and thus fell tothe ground with his weapon apparently protruding from my chest. KantosKan perceived my coup and stepping quickly to my side he placed hisfoot upon my neck and withdrawing his sword from my body gave me thefinal death blow through the neck which is supposed to sever thejugular vein, but in this instance the cold blade slipped harmlesslyinto the sand of the arena. In the darkness which had now fallen nonecould tell but that he had really finished me. I whispered to him togo and claim his freedom and then look for me in the hills east of thecity, and so he left me.
When the amphitheater had cleared I crept stealthily to the top and asthe great excavation lay far from the plaza and in an untenantedportion of the great dead city I had little trouble in reaching thehills beyond.