IN DURANCE
The public houses of Barsoom, I have found, vary but little. Thereis no privacy for other than married couples.
Men without their wives are escorted to a large chamber, the floorof which is usually of white marble or heavy glass, kept scrupulouslyclean. Here are many small, raised platforms for the guest's sleepingsilks and furs, and if he have none of his own clean, fresh onesare furnished at a nominal charge.
Once a man's belongings have been deposited upon one of theseplatforms he is a guest of the house, and that platform his ownuntil he leaves. No one will disturb or molest his belongings, asthere are no thieves upon Mars.
As assassination is the one thing to be feared, the proprietorsof the hostelries furnish armed guards, who pace back and forththrough the sleeping-rooms day and night. The number of guards andgorgeousness of their trappings quite usually denote the status ofthe hotel.
No meals are served in these houses, but generally a public eatingplace adjoins them. Baths are connected with the sleeping chambers,and each guest is required to bathe daily or depart from the hotel.
Usually on a second or third floor there is a large sleeping-roomfor single women guests, but its appointments do not vary materiallyfrom the chamber occupied by men. The guards who watch the womenremain in the corridor outside the sleeping chamber, while femaleslaves pace back and forth among the sleepers within, ready tonotify the warriors should their presence be required.
I was surprised to note that all the guards with the hotel at whichwe stopped were red men, and on inquiring of one of them I learnedthat they were slaves purchased by the proprietors of the hotels fromthe government. The man whose post was past my sleeping platformhad been commander of the navy of a great Martian nation; but fatehad carried his flagship across the ice-barrier within the radiusof power of the magnetic shaft, and now for many tedious years hehad been a slave of the yellow men.
He told me that princes, jeds, and even jeddaks of the outerworld, were among the menials who served the yellow race; but whenI asked him if he had heard of the fate of Mors Kajak or Tardos Morshe shook his head, saying that he never had heard of their beingprisoners here, though he was very familiar with the reputationsand fame they bore in the outer world.
Neither had he heard any rumor of the coming of the Father of Thernsand the black dator of the First Born, but he hastened to explainthat he knew little of what took place within the palace. I couldsee that he wondered not a little that a yellow man should be soinquisitive about certain red prisoners from beyond the ice-barrier,and that I should be so ignorant of customs and conditions amongmy own race.
In fact, I had forgotten my disguise upon discovering a red manpacing before my sleeping platform; but his growing expression ofsurprise warned me in time, for I had no mind to reveal my identityto any unless some good could come of it, and I did not see howthis poor fellow could serve me yet, though I had it in my mindthat later I might be the means of serving him and all the otherthousands of prisoners who do the bidding of their stern mastersin Kadabra.
Thuvan Dihn and I discussed our plans as we sat together among oursleeping silks and furs that night in the midst of the hundredsof yellow men who occupied the apartment with us. We spoke in lowwhispers, but, as that is only what courtesy demands in a publicsleeping place, we roused no suspicion.
At last, determining that all must be but idle speculation untilafter we had had a chance to explore the city and attempt to putinto execution the plan Talu had suggested, we bade each other goodnight and turned to sleep.
After breakfasting the following morning we set out to see Kadabra,and as, through the generosity of the prince of Marentina, we werewell supplied with the funds current in Okar we purchased a handsomeground flier. Having learned to drive them while in Marentina, wespent a delightful and profitable day exploring the city, and latein the afternoon at the hour Talu told us we would find governmentofficials in their offices, we stopped before a magnificent buildingon the plaza opposite the royal grounds and the palace.
Here we walked boldly in past the armed guard at the door, to bemet by a red slave within who asked our wishes.
"Tell Sorav, your master, that two warriors from Illall wish totake service in the palace guard," I said.
Sorav, Talu had told us, was the commander of the forces of thepalace, and as men from the further cities of Okar--and especiallyIllall--were less likely to be tainted with the germ of intriguewhich had for years infected the household of Salensus Oll, he wassure that we would be welcomed and few questions asked us.
He had primed us with such general information as he thought wouldbe necessary for us to pass muster before Sorav, after which we wouldhave to undergo a further examination before Salensus Oll that hemight determine our physical fitness and our ability as warriors.
The little experience we had had with the strange hooked sword ofthe yellow man and his cuplike shield made it seem rather unlikelythat either of us could pass this final test, but there was thechance that we might be quartered in the palace of Salensus Ollfor several days after being accepted by Sorav before the Jeddakof Jeddaks would find time to put us to the final test.
After a wait of several minutes in an ante-chamber we were summonedinto the private office of Sorav, where we were courteously greetedby this ferocious-appearing, black-bearded officer. He asked usour names and stations in our own city, and having received repliesthat were evidently satisfactory to him, he put certain questionsto us that Talu had foreseen and prepared us for.
The interview could not have lasted over ten minutes when Soravsummoned an aid whom he instructed to record us properly, and thenescort us to the quarters in the palace which are set aside foraspirants to membership in the palace guard.
The aid took us to his own office first, where he measured andweighed and photographed us simultaneously with a machine ingeniouslydevised for that purpose, five copies being instantly reproduced infive different offices of the government, two of which are locatedin other cities miles distant. Then he led us through the palacegrounds to the main guardroom of the palace, there turning us overto the officer in charge.
This individual again questioned us briefly, and finally despatcheda soldier to guide us to our quarters. These we found located uponthe second floor of the palace in a semi-detached tower at the rearof the edifice.
When we asked our guide why we were quartered so far from theguardroom he replied that the custom of the older members of theguard of picking quarrels with aspirants to try their metal hadresulted in so many deaths that it was found difficult to maintainthe guard at its full strength while this custom prevailed. SalensusOll had, therefore, set apart these quarters for aspirants, and herethey were securely locked against the danger of attack by membersof the guard.
This unwelcome information put a sudden check to all our well-laidplans, for it meant that we should virtually be prisoners in thepalace of Salensus Oll until the time that he should see fit togive us the final examination for efficiency.
As it was this interval upon which we had banked to accomplishso much in our search for Dejah Thoris and Thuvia of Ptarth, ourchagrin was unbounded when we heard the great lock click behind ourguide as he had quitted us after ushering us into the chambers wewere to occupy.
With a wry face I turned to Thuvan Dihn. My companion but shookhis head disconsolately and walked to one of the windows upon thefar side of the apartment.
Scarcely had he gazed beyond them than he called to me in a toneof suppressed excitement and surprise. In an instant I was by hisside.
"Look!" said Thuvan Dihn, pointing toward the courtyard below.
As my eyes followed the direction indicated I saw two women pacingback and forth in an enclosed garden.
At the same moment I recognized them--they were Dejah Thoris andThuvia of Ptarth!
There were they whom I had trailed from one pole to another, thelength of a world. Only ten feet of space and a few metal barsseparated me from them.
r /> With a cry I attracted their attention, and as Dejah Thoris lookedup full into my eyes I made the sign of love that the men of Barsoommake to their women.
To my astonishment and horror her head went high, and as a lookof utter contempt touched her finely chiseled features she turnedher back full upon me. My body is covered with the scars of athousand conflicts, but never in all my long life have I sufferedsuch anguish from a wound, for this time the steel of a woman'slook had entered my heart.
With a groan I turned away and buried my face in my arms. Iheard Thuvan Dihn call aloud to Thuvia, but an instant later hisexclamation of surprise betokened that he, too, had been repulsedby his own daughter.
"They will not even listen," he cried to me. "They have put theirhands over their ears and walked to the farther end of the garden.Ever heard you of such mad work, John Carter? The two must bebewitched."
Presently I mustered the courage to return to the window, foreven though she spurned me I loved her, and could not keep my eyesfrom feasting upon her divine face and figure, but when she saw melooking she again turned away.
I was at my wit's end to account for her strange actions, and thatThuvia, too, had turned against her father seemed incredible. Couldit be that my incomparable princess still clung to the hideous faithfrom which I had rescued her world? Could it be that she lookedupon me with loathing and contempt because I had returned from theValley Dor, or because I had desecrated the temples and persons ofthe Holy Therns?
To naught else could I ascribe her strange deportment, yet it seemedfar from possible that such could be the case, for the love ofDejah Thoris for John Carter had been a great and wondrous love--farabove racial distinctions, creed, or religion.
As I gazed ruefully at the back of her haughty, royal head a gateat the opposite end of the garden opened and a man entered. As hedid so he turned and slipped something into the hand of the yellowguardsman beyond the gate, nor was the distance too great that Imight not see that money had passed between them.
Instantly I knew that this newcomer had bribed his way within thegarden. Then he turned in the direction of the two women, andI saw that he was none other than Thurid, the black dator of theFirst Born.
He approached quite close to them before he spoke, and as they turnedat the sound of his voice I saw Dejah Thoris shrink from him.
There was a nasty leer upon his face as he stepped close to herand spoke again. I could not hear his words, but her answer cameclearly.
"The granddaughter of Tardos Mors can always die," she said, "butshe could never live at the price you name."
Then I saw the black scoundrel go upon his knees beside her, fairlygroveling in the dirt, pleading with her. Only part of what he saidcame to me, for though he was evidently laboring under the stressof passion and excitement, it was equally apparent that he did notdare raise his voice for fear of detection.
"I would save you from Matai Shang," I heard him say. "You knowthe fate that awaits you at his hands. Would you not choose merather than the other?"
"I would choose neither," replied Dejah Thoris, "even were I freeto choose, as you know well I am not."
"You ARE free!" he cried. "John Carter, Prince of Helium, is dead."
"I know better than that; but even were he dead, and I must needschoose another mate, it should be a plant man or a great whiteape in preference to either Matai Shang or you, black calot," sheanswered with a sneer of contempt.
Of a sudden the vicious beast lost all control of himself, as witha vile oath he leaped at the slender woman, gripping her tenderthroat in his brute clutch. Thuvia screamed and sprang to aid herfellow-prisoner, and at the same instant I, too, went mad, andtearing at the bars that spanned my window I ripped them from theirsockets as they had been but copper wire.
Hurling myself through the aperture I reached the garden, but ahundred feet from where the black was choking the life from my DejahThoris, and with a single great bound I was upon him. I spoke noword as I tore his defiling fingers from that beautiful throat,nor did I utter a sound as I hurled him twenty feet from me.
Foaming with rage, Thurid regained his feet and charged me like amad bull.
"Yellow man," he shrieked, "you knew not upon whom you had laidyour vile hands, but ere I am done with you, you will know wellwhat it means to offend the person of a First Born."
Then he was upon me, reaching for my throat, and precisely as I haddone that day in the courtyard of the Temple of Issus I did herein the garden of the palace of Salensus Oll. I ducked beneath hisoutstretched arms, and as he lunged past me I planted a terrificright upon the side of his jaw.
Just as he had done upon that other occasion he did now. Like atop he spun round, his knees gave beneath him, and he crumpled tothe ground at my feet. Then I heard a voice behind me.
It was the deep voice of authority that marks the ruler of men,and when I turned to face the resplendent figure of a giant yellowman I did not need to ask to know that it was Salensus Oll. Athis right stood Matai Shang, and behind them a score of guardsmen.
"Who are you," he cried, "and what means this intrusion within theprecincts of the women's garden? I do not recall your face. Howcame you here?"
But for his last words I should have forgotten my disguise entirelyand told him outright that I was John Carter, Prince of Helium;but his question recalled me to myself. I pointed to the dislodgedbars of the window above.
"I am an aspirant to membership in the palace guard," I said, "andfrom yonder window in the tower where I was confined awaiting thefinal test for fitness I saw this brute attack the--this woman. Icould not stand idly by, O Jeddak, and see this thing done withinthe very palace grounds, and yet feel that I was fit to serve andguard your royal person."
I had evidently made an impression upon the ruler of Okar by myfair words, and when he had turned to Dejah Thoris and Thuvia ofPtarth, and both had corroborated my statements it began to lookpretty dark for Thurid.
I saw the ugly gleam in Matai Shang's evil eyes as Dejah Thorisnarrated all that had passed between Thurid and herself, and whenshe came to that part which dealt with my interference with thedator of the First Born her gratitude was quite apparent, thoughI could see by her eyes that something puzzled her strangely.
I did not wonder at her attitude toward me while others were present;but that she should have denied me while she and Thuvia were theonly occupants of the garden still cut me sorely.
As the examination proceeded I cast a glance at Thurid and startledhim looking wide-eyed and wonderingly at me, and then of a suddenhe laughed full in my face.
A moment later Salensus Oll turned toward the black.
"What have you to say in explanation of these charges?" he askedin a deep and terrible voice. "Dare you aspire to one whom theFather of Therns has chosen--one who might even be a fit mate forthe Jeddak of Jeddaks himself?"
And then the black-bearded tyrant turned and cast a sudden greedylook upon Dejah Thoris, as though with the words a new thought anda new desire had sprung up within his mind and breast.
Thurid had been about to reply and, with a malicious grin upon hisface, was pointing an accusing finger at me, when Salensus Oll'swords and the expression of his face cut him short.
A cunning look crept into his eyes, and I knew from the expressionof his face that his next words were not the ones he had intendedto speak.
"O Mightiest of Jeddaks," he said, "the man and the women do notspeak the truth. The fellow had come into the garden to assistthem to escape. I was beyond and overheard their conversation,and when I entered, the woman screamed and the man sprang upon meand would have killed me.
"What know you of this man? He is a stranger to you, and I daresay that you will find him an enemy and a spy. Let him be put ontrial, Salensus Oll, rather than your friend and guest, Thurid,Dator of the First Born."
Salensus Oll looked puzzled. He turned again and looked upon DejahThoris, and then Thurid stepped quite close to him and whisperedsomething in his ear--
what, I know not.
Presently the yellow ruler turned to one of his officers.
"See that this man be securely confined until we have time to godeeper into this affair," he commanded, "and as bars alone seeminadequate to restrain him, let chains be added."
Then he turned and left the garden, taking Dejah Thoris with him--hishand upon her shoulder. Thurid and Matai Shang went also, and asthey reached the gateway the black turned and laughed again aloudin my face.
What could be the meaning of his sudden change toward me? Couldhe suspect my true identity? It must be that, and the thing thathad betrayed me was the trick and blow that had laid him low forthe second time.
As the guards dragged me away my heart was very sad and bitterindeed, for now to the two relentless enemies that had hounded herfor so long another and a more powerful one had been added, forI would have been but a fool had I not recognized the sudden lovefor Dejah Thoris that had just been born in the terrible breast ofSalensus Oll, Jeddak of Jeddaks, ruler of Okar.