CHAPTER XVIII
SOLA'S STORY
Once within the palace, I drew Sola to the dining hall, and, when shehad greeted her father after the formal manner of the green men, shetold the story of the pilgrimage and capture of Dejah Thoris.
"Seven days ago, after her audience with Zat Arrras, Dejah Thorisattempted to slip from the palace in the dead of night. Although I hadnot heard the outcome of her interview with Zat Arrras I knew thatsomething had occurred then to cause her the keenest mental agony, andwhen I discovered her creeping from the palace I did not need to betold her destination.
"Hastily arousing a dozen of her most faithful guards, I explained myfears to them, and as one they enlisted with me to follow our belovedPrincess in her wanderings, even to the Sacred Iss and the Valley Dor.We came upon her but a short distance from the palace. With her wasfaithful Woola the hound, but none other. When we overtook her shefeigned anger, and ordered us back to the palace, but for once wedisobeyed her, and when she found that we would not let her go upon thelast long pilgrimage alone, she wept and embraced us, and together wewent out into the night toward the south.
"The following day we came upon a herd of small thoats, and thereafterwe were mounted and made good time. We travelled very fast and veryfar due south until the morning of the fifth day we sighted a greatfleet of battleships sailing north. They saw us before we could seekshelter, and soon we were surrounded by a horde of black men. ThePrincess's guard fought nobly to the end, but they were soon overcomeand slain. Only Dejah Thoris and I were spared.
"When she realized that she was in the clutches of the black pirates,she attempted to take her own life, but one of the blacks tore herdagger from her, and then they bound us both so that we could not useour hands.
"The fleet continued north after capturing us. There were about twentylarge battleships in all, besides a number of small swift cruisers.That evening one of the smaller cruisers that had been far in advanceof the fleet returned with a prisoner--a young red woman whom they hadpicked up in a range of hills under the very noses, they said, of afleet of three red Martian battleships.
"From scraps of conversation which we overheard it was evident that theblack pirates were searching for a party of fugitives that had escapedthem several days prior. That they considered the capture of the youngwoman important was evident from the long and earnest interview thecommander of the fleet held with her when she was brought to him.Later she was bound and placed in the compartment with Dejah Thoris andmyself.
"The new captive was a very beautiful girl. She told Dejah Thoris thatmany years ago she had taken the voluntary pilgrimage from the court ofher father, the Jeddak of Ptarth. She was Thuvia, the Princess ofPtarth. And then she asked Dejah Thoris who she might be, and when sheheard she fell upon her knees and kissed Dejah Thoris' fettered hands,and told her that that very morning she had been with John Carter,Prince of Helium, and Carthoris, her son.
"Dejah Thoris could not believe her at first, but finally when the girlhad narrated all the strange adventures that had befallen her since shehad met John Carter, and told her of the things John Carter, andCarthoris, and Xodar had narrated of their adventures in the Land ofthe First Born, Dejah Thoris knew that it could be none other than thePrince of Helium; 'For who,' she said, 'upon all Barsoom other thanJohn Carter could have done the deeds you tell of.' And when Thuviatold Dejah Thoris of her love for John Carter, and his loyalty anddevotion to the Princess of his choice, Dejah Thoris broke down andwept--cursing Zat Arrras and the cruel fate that had driven her fromHelium but a few brief days before the return of her beloved lord.
"'I do not blame you for loving him, Thuvia,' she said; 'and that youraffection for him is pure and sincere I can well believe from thecandour of your avowal of it to me.'
"The fleet continued north nearly to Helium, but last night theyevidently realized that John Carter had indeed escaped them and so theyturned toward the south once more. Shortly thereafter a guard enteredour compartment and dragged me to the deck.
"'There is no place in the Land of the First Born for a green one,' hesaid, and with that he gave me a terrific shove that carried metoppling from the deck of the battleship. Evidently this seemed to himthe easiest way of ridding the vessel of my presence and killing me atthe same time.
"But a kind fate intervened, and by a miracle I escaped with but slightbruises. The ship was moving slowly at the time, and as I lungedoverboard into the darkness beneath I shuddered at the awful plunge Ithought awaited me, for all day the fleet had sailed thousands of feetabove the ground; but to my utter surprise I struck upon a soft mass ofvegetation not twenty feet from the deck of the ship. In fact, thekeel of the vessel must have been grazing the surface of the ground atthe time.
"I lay all night where I had fallen and the next morning brought anexplanation of the fortunate coincidence that had saved me from aterrible death. As the sun rose I saw a vast panorama of sea bottomand distant hills lying far below me. I was upon the highest peak of alofty range. The fleet in the darkness of the preceding night hadbarely grazed the crest of the hills, and in the brief span that theyhovered close to the surface the black guard had pitched me, as hesupposed, to my death.
"A few miles west of me was a great waterway. When I reached it Ifound to my delight that it belonged to Helium. Here a thoat wasprocured for me--the rest you know."
For many minutes none spoke. Dejah Thoris in the clutches of the FirstBorn! I shuddered at the thought, but of a sudden the old fire ofunconquerable self-confidence surged through me. I sprang to my feet,and with back-thrown shoulders and upraised sword took a solemn vow toreach, rescue, and revenge my Princess.
A hundred swords leaped from a hundred scabbards, and a hundredfighting-men sprang to the table-top and pledged me their lives andfortunes to the expedition. Already my plans were formulated. Ithanked each loyal friend, and leaving Carthoris to entertain them,withdrew to my own audience chamber with Kantos Kan, Tars Tarkas,Xodar, and Hor Vastus.
Here we discussed the details of our expedition until long after dark.Xodar was positive that Issus would choose both Dejah Thoris and Thuviato serve her for a year.
"For that length of time at least they will be comparatively safe," hesaid, "and we will at least know where to look for them."
In the matter of equipping a fleet to enter Omean the details were leftto Kantos Kan and Xodar. The former agreed to take such vessels as werequired into dock as rapidly as possible, where Xodar would directtheir equipment with water propellers.
For many years the black had been in charge of the refitting ofcaptured battleships that they might navigate Omean, and so wasfamiliar with the construction of the propellers, housings, and theauxiliary gearing required.
It was estimated that it would require six months to complete ourpreparations in view of the fact that the utmost secrecy must bemaintained to keep the project from the ears of Zat Arrras. Kantos Kanwas confident now that the man's ambitions were fully aroused and thatnothing short of the title of Jeddak of Helium would satisfy him.
"I doubt," he said, "if he would even welcome Dejah Thoris' return, forit would mean another nearer the throne than he. With you andCarthoris out of the way there would be little to prevent him fromassuming the title of Jeddak, and you may rest assured that so long ashe is supreme here there is no safety for either of you."
"There is a way," cried Hor Vastus, "to thwart him effectually and forever."
"What?" I asked.
He smiled.
"I shall whisper it here, but some day I shall stand upon the dome ofthe Temple of Reward and shout it to cheering multitudes below."
"What do you mean?" asked Kantos Kan.
"John Carter, Jeddak of Helium," said Hor Vastus in a low voice.
The eyes of my companions lighted, and grim smiles of pleasure andanticipation overspread their faces, as each eye turned toward mequestioningly. But I shook my head.
"No, my friends," I said, smiling, "I thank
you, but it cannot be. Notyet, at least. When we know that Tardos Mors and Mors Kajak are goneto return no more; if I be here, then I shall join you all to see thatthe people of Helium are permitted to choose fairly their next Jeddak.Whom they choose may count upon the loyalty of my sword, nor shall Iseek the honour for myself. Until then Tardos Mors is Jeddak ofHelium, and Zat Arrras is his representative."
"As you will, John Carter," said Hor Vastus, "but--What was that?" hewhispered, pointing toward the window overlooking the gardens.
The words were scarce out of his mouth ere he had sprung to the balconywithout.
"There he goes!" he cried excitedly. "The guards! Below there! Theguards!"
We were close behind him, and all saw the figure of a man run quicklyacross a little piece of sward and disappear in the shrubbery beyond.
"He was on the balcony when I first saw him," cried Hor Vastus."Quick! Let us follow him!"
Together we ran to the gardens, but even though we scoured the groundswith the entire guard for hours, no trace could we find of the nightmarauder.
"What do you make of it, Kantos Kan?" asked Tars Tarkas.
"A spy sent by Zat Arrras," he replied. "It was ever his way."
"He will have something interesting to report to his master then,"laughed Hor Vastus.
"I hope he heard only our references to a new Jeddak," I said. "If heoverheard our plans to rescue Dejah Thoris, it will mean civil war, forhe will attempt to thwart us, and in that I will not be thwarted.There would I turn against Tardos Mors himself, were it necessary. Ifit throws all Helium into a bloody conflict, I shall go on with theseplans to save my Princess. Nothing shall stay me now short of death,and should I die, my friends, will you take oath to prosecute thesearch for her and bring her back in safety to her grandfather's court?"
Upon the hilt of his sword each of them swore to do as I had asked.
It was agreed that the battleships that were to be remodelled should beordered to Hastor, another Heliumetic city, far to the south-west.Kantos Kan thought that the docks there, in addition to their regularwork, would accommodate at least six battleships at a time. As he wascommander-in-chief of the navy, it would be a simple matter for him toorder the vessels there as they could be handled, and thereafter keepthe remodelled fleet in remote parts of the empire until we should beready to assemble it for the dash upon Omean.
It was late that night before our conference broke up, but each manthere had his particular duties outlined, and the details of the entireplan had been mapped out.
Kantos Kan and Xodar were to attend to the remodelling of the ships.Tars Tarkas was to get into communication with Thark and learn thesentiments of his people toward his return from Dor. If favourable, hewas to repair immediately to Thark and devote his time to theassembling of a great horde of green warriors whom it was our plan tosend in transports directly to the Valley Dor and the Temple of Issus,while the fleet entered Omean and destroyed the vessels of the FirstBorn.
Upon Hor Vastus devolved the delicate mission of organising a secretforce of fighting-men sworn to follow John Carter wherever he mightlead. As we estimated that it would require over a million men to manthe thousand great battleships we intended to use on Omean and thetransports for the green men as well as the ships that were to convoythe transports, it was no trifling job that Hor Vastus had before him.
After they had left I bid Carthoris good-night, for I was very tired,and going to my own apartments, bathed and lay down upon my sleepingsilks and furs for the first good night's sleep I had had anopportunity to look forward to since I had returned to Barsoom. Buteven now I was to be disappointed.
How long I slept I do not know. When I awoke suddenly it was to find ahalf-dozen powerful men upon me, a gag already in my mouth, and amoment later my arms and legs securely bound. So quickly had theyworked and to such good purpose, that I was utterly beyond the power toresist them by the time I was fully awake.
Never a word spoke they, and the gag effectually prevented me speaking.Silently they lifted me and bore me toward the door of my chamber. Asthey passed the window through which the farther moon was casting itsbrilliant beams, I saw that each of the party had his face swathed inlayers of silk--I could not recognize one of them.
When they had come into the corridor with me, they turned toward asecret panel in the wall which led to the passage that terminated inthe pits beneath the palace. That any knew of this panel outside myown household, I was doubtful. Yet the leader of the band did nothesitate a moment. He stepped directly to the panel, touched theconcealed button, and as the door swung open he stood aside while hiscompanions entered with me. Then he closed the panel behind him andfollowed us.
Down through the passageways to the pits we went. The leader rappedupon it with the hilt of his sword--three quick, sharp blows, a pause,then three more, another pause, and then two. A second later the wallswung in, and I was pushed within a brilliantly lighted chamber inwhich sat three richly trapped men.
One of them turned toward me with a sardonic smile upon his thin, cruellips--it was Zat Arrras.