CHAPTER XVI

A Princess of Mars

by Edgar R. Burroughs

CHAPTER XVI, A PRINCESS OF MARS by Edgar R. Burroughs
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WE PLAN ESCAPE


The remainder of our journey to Thark was uneventful.
We were twenty days upon the road, crossing two sea bottoms
and passing through or around a number of ruined cities,
mostly smaller than Korad. Twice we crossed the famous
Martian waterways, or canals, so-called by our earthly
astronomers. When we approached these points a warrior
would be sent far ahead with a powerful field glass, and if
no great body of red Martian troops was in sight we would
advance as close as possible without chance of being seen and
then camp until dark, when we would slowly approach the
cultivated tract, and, locating one of the numerous, broad
highways which cross these areas at regular intervals, creep
silently and stealthily across to the arid lands upon the other
side. It required five hours to make one of these crossings
without a single halt, and the other consumed the entire night,
so that we were just leaving the confines of the high-walled
fields when the sun broke out 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 through the Barsoomian heavens, lit up
little patches of the landscape from time to time, disclosing
walled fields and low, rambling buildings, presenting much
the appearance of earthly farms. There were many trees,
methodically arranged, and some of them were of enormous height;
there were animals in some of the enclosures, and they announced
their presence by terrified squealings and snortings as they
scented our queer, wild beasts and wilder human beings.

Only once did I perceive a human being, and that was
at the intersection of our crossroad with the wide, white
turnpike which cuts each cultivated district longitudinally
at its exact center. The fellow must have been sleeping
beside the road, for, as I came abreast of him, he raised upon
one elbow and after a single glance at the approaching caravan
leaped shrieking to his feet and fled madly down the road,
scaling a nearby wall with the agility of a scared cat.
The Tharks paid him not the slightest attention; they were
not out upon the warpath, and the only sign that I had
that they had seen him was a quickening of the pace of the
caravan as we hastened toward the bordering 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 me that I would be welcome at her chariot,
and my foolish pride kept me from making any advances.
I verily believe that a man's way with women is in inverse
ratio to his prowess among men. The weakling and the saphead
have often great ability to charm the fair sex, while the
fighting man who can face a thousand real dangers unafraid,
sits hiding in the shadows like some frightened child.

Just thirty days after my advent upon Barsoom we entered
the ancient city of Thark, from whose long-forgotten
people this horde of green men have stolen even their name.
The hordes of Thark number some thirty thousand souls,
and are divided into twenty-five communities. Each community
has its own jed and lesser chieftains, but all are under
the rule of Tal Hajus, Jeddak of Thark. Five communities
make their headquarters at the city of Thark, and the
balance are scattered among other deserted cities of
ancient Mars throughout the district claimed by Tal Hajus.

We made our entry into the great central plaza early in
the afternoon. There were no enthusiastic friendly greetings
for the returned expedition. Those who chanced to be in
sight spoke the names of warriors or women with whom
they came in direct contact, in the formal greeting of their
kind, but when it was discovered that they brought two
captives a greater interest was aroused, and Dejah Thoris
and I were the centers of inquiring groups.

We were soon assigned to new quarters, and the balance
of the day was devoted to settling ourselves to the changed
conditions. My home now was upon an avenue leading into
the plaza from the south, the main artery down which we
had marched from the gates of the city. I was at the far
end of the square and had an entire building to myself. The
same grandeur of architecture which was so noticeable
a characteristic of Korad was in evidence here, only, if
that were possible, on a larger and richer scale. My quarters
would have been suitable for housing the greatest of earthly
emperors, but to these queer creatures nothing about a building
appealed to them but its size and the enormity of its chambers;
the larger the building, the more desirable; and so Tal Hajus
occupied what must have been an enormous public building, the
largest in the city, but entirely unfitted for residence purposes;
the next largest was reserved for Lorquas Ptomel, the next for the
jed of a lesser rank, and so on to the bottom of the list of five jeds.
The warriors occupied the buildings with the chieftains to whose
retinues they belonged; or, if they preferred, sought shelter
among any of the thousands of untenanted buildings in their own
quarter of town; each community being assigned a certain
section of the city. The selection of building had to be made
in accordance with these divisions, except in so far as the
jeds were concerned, they all occupying edifices which
fronted upon the plaza.

When I had finally put my house in order, or rather seen
that I had been done, it was nearing sunset, and I hastened
out with the intention of locating Sola and her charges, as
I had determined upon having speech with Dejah Thoris
and trying to impress on her the necessity of our at least
patching up a truce until I could find some way of aiding
her to escape. I searched in vain until the upper rim of the
great red sun was just disappearing behind the horizon and
then I spied the ugly head of Woola peering from a second-
story window on the opposite side of the very street where
I was quartered, but nearer the plaza.

Without waiting for a further invitation I bolted up the
winding runway which led to the second floor, and entering
a great chamber at the front of the building was greeted
by the frenzied Woola, who threw his great carcass upon
me, nearly hurling me to the floor; the poor old fellow was
so glad to see me that I thought he would devour me, his
head split from ear to ear, showing his three rows of tusks
in his hobgoblin smile.

Quieting him with a word of command and a caress, I
looked hurriedly through the approaching gloom for a sign
of Dejah Thoris, and then, not seeing her, I called her name.
There was an answering murmur from the far corner of the
apartment, and with a couple of quick strides I was standing
beside her where she crouched among the furs and silks
upon an ancient carved wooden seat. As I waited she rose
to her full height and 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 furtherest from my desire to hurt or offend you,
whom I had hoped to protect and comfort. Have none of
me if it is your will, but that you must aid me in effecting
your escape, if such a thing be possible, is not my request,
but my command. When you are safe once more at your
father's court you may do with me as you please, but from
now on until that day I am your master, and you must
obey and aid me."

She looked at me long and earnestly and I thought that
she was softening toward me.

"I understand your words, Dotar Sojat," she replied, "but
you I do not understand. You are a queer mixture of child
and man, of brute and noble. I only wish that I might read
your heart."

"Look down at your feet, Dejah Thoris; it lies there now
where it has lain since that other night at Korad, and where
it will ever lie beating alone for you until death stills it
forever."

She took a little step toward me, her beautiful hands
outstretched in a strange, groping gesture.

"What do you mean, John Carter?" she whispered.
"What are you saying to me?"

"I am saying what I had promised myself that I would
not say to you, at least until you were no longer a captive
among the green men; what from your attitude toward me
for the past twenty days I had thought never to say 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 I ask of you in return, and that is that you make
no sign, either of condemnation or of approbation of my
words until you are safe among your own people, and that
whatever sentiments you harbor toward me they be not
influenced or colored by gratitude; whatever I may do to
serve you will be prompted solely from selfish motives,
since it gives me more pleasure to serve you than not."

"I will respect your wishes, John Carter, because I
understand the motives which prompt them, and I accept
your service no more willingly than I bow to your authority;
your word shall be my law. I have twice wronged you
in my thoughts and again I ask your forgiveness."

Further conversation of a personal nature was prevented
by the entrance of Sola, who was much agitated and wholly
unlike her usual calm and possessed self.

"That horrible Sarkoja has been before Tal Hajus," she
cried, "and from what 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 arena as soon as the hordes have assembled for
the yearly games."

"Sola," I said, "you are a Thark, but you hate and loathe
the customs of your people as much as we do. Will you
not accompany us in one supreme effort to escape? I am
sure that Dejah Thoris can offer you a home and protection
among her people, and your fate can be no worse among
them than it must ever be here."

"Yes," cried Dejah Thoris, "come with us, Sola, you will
be better off among the red men of Helium than you are
here, and I can promise you not only a home with us, but
the love and affection your nature craves and 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 be terrible if they thought you had connived to
aid us. I know that even that fear would not tempt you to
interfere in our escape, but we want you 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
of gratitude. Say that you will, Sola; tell me that you will."

"The great waterway which leads to Helium is but fifty
miles to the south," murmured Sola, half to herself; "a
swift thoat might make it in three hours; and then to
Helium it is five hundred miles, most of the way through
thinly settled districts. They would know and they would
follow us. We might hide among the great trees for a time,
but the chances are small indeed for escape. They would
follow us to the very gates of Helium, and they would take
toll of life at every step; you do not know them."

"Is there no other way we might reach Helium?" I asked.
"Can you not draw me a rough map of the country we
must traverse, Dejah Thoris?"

"Yes," she replied, and taking a great diamond from
her hair she drew upon the marble floor the first map of
Barsoomian territory I had ever seen. It was crisscrossed in
every direction with long straight lines, sometimes running
parallel and sometimes converging toward some great circle.
The lines, she said, were waterways; the circles, cities; and
one far to the northwest of us she pointed out as Helium.
There were other cities closer, but she said she feared to
enter many of them, as they were not all friendly toward Helium.

Finally, after studying the map carefully in the moonlight
which now flooded the room, I pointed out a waterway far
to the north of us which also 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 is one 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 our escape."

Sola agreed with me, and it was decided that we should
leave Thark this same night; just as quickly, in fact, as I
could find and saddle my thoats. Sola was to ride one and
Dejah Thoris and I the other; each of us carrying sufficient
food and drink to last us for two days, since the animals
could not be urged too rapidly for so long a distance.

I directed Sola to proceed with Dejah Thoris along one
of the less frequented avenues to the southern boundary of
the city, where I would overtake them with the thoats as
quickly as possible; then, leaving them to gather what food,
silks, and furs we were to need, I slipped quietly 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 the Martian moons moved the great herd of thoats and
zitidars, the latter grunting their low gutturals and
the former occasionally emitting the sharp squeal which
denotes the almost habitual state of rage in which these
creatures passed their existence. They were quieter now,
owing to the absence of man, but as they scented me they became
more restless and their hideous noise increased. It was risky
business, this entering a paddock of thoats alone and at night;
first, because their increasing noisiness might warn the nearby
warriors that something was amiss, and also because for the
slightest cause, or for no cause at all some great bull thoat
might take it upon himself to lead a charge upon me.

Having no desire to awaken their nasty tempers upon such
a night as this, where so much depended upon secrecy and
dispatch, I hugged the shadows of the buildings, ready at
an instant's warning to leap into the safety of a nearby
door or window. Thus I moved silently to the great gates
which opened upon the street at the back of the court, and
as I neared the exit I called softly to my two animals. How
I thanked the kind providence which had given me the foresight
to win the love and confidence of these wild dumb brutes, for
presently from the far side of the court I saw two huge bulks
forcing their way toward me through the surging mountains of flesh.

They came quite close to me, rubbing their muzzles
against my body and nosing for the bits of food it was
always my practice to reward them with. 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 quietly in the shadows of the buildings toward an
unfrequented avenue which led toward the point I had arranged
to meet Dejah Thoris and Sola. With the noiselessness
of disembodied spirits we moved stealthily along the
deserted streets, but not until we were within sight of
the plain beyond the city did I commence to breathe freely.
I was sure that Sola and Dejah Thoris would find no difficulty
in reaching our rendezvous undetected, but with my great thoats
I was not so sure for myself, as it was quite unusual for warriors
to leave the city after dark; in fact there was no place for them
to go within any but a long ride.

I reached the appointed meeting place safely, but as Dejah
Thoris and Sola were not there I led my animals into the
entrance hall of one of the large buildings. Presuming that
one of the other women of the same household may have
come in to speak to Sola, and so delayed their departure,
I did not feel any undue apprehension until nearly an hour
had passed without a sign of them, and by the time another
half hour had crawled away I was becoming filled with grave
anxiety. Then there broke upon the stillness of the night
the sound of an approaching party, which, from the noise, I
knew could be no fugitives creeping stealthily toward liberty.
Soon the party was near me, and from the black shadows of my
entranceway I perceived a score of mounted warriors, who,
in passing, dropped a dozen words that fetched my heart clean
into the top of my head.

"He would likely have arranged to meet them just without
the city, and so--" I heard no more, they had passed on;
but it was enough. Our plan had been discovered, and
the chances for escape from now on to the fearful end
would be small indeed. My one hope now was to return
undetected to the quarters of Dejah Thoris and learn what
fate had overtaken her, but how to do it with these great
monstrous thoats upon my hands, now that the city probably
was aroused by the knowledge of my escape was a problem
of no mean proportions.

Suddenly an idea occurred to me, and acting on my knowledge
of the construction of the buildings of these ancient
Martian cities with a hollow court within the center of each
square, I groped my way blindly through the dark chambers,
calling the great thoats after me. They had difficulty in
negotiating some of the doorways, but as the buildings fronting
the city's principal exposures were all designed upon a
magnificent scale, they were able to wriggle through without
sticking fast; and thus we finally made the inner court where
I found, as I had expected, the usual carpet of moss-like
vegetation which would prove their food and drink until I
could return them to their own enclosure. That they would
be as quiet and contented here as elsewhere I was confident,
nor was there but the remotest possibility that they would
be discovered, as the green men had no great desire to enter
these outlying buildings, which were frequented by the
only thing, I believe, which caused them the sensation of
fear--the great white apes of Barsoom.

Removing the saddle trappings, I hid them just within
the rear doorway of the building through which we had
entered the court, and, turning the beasts loose, quickly
made my way across the court to the rear of the buildings
upon the further side, and thence to the avenue beyond.
Waiting in the doorway of the building until I was assured
that no one was approaching, I hurried across to the opposite
side and through the first doorway to the court beyond;
thus, crossing through court after court with only the slight
chance of detection which the necessary crossing of the
avenues entailed, I made my way in safety to the courtyard
in the rear of Dejah Thoris' quarters.

Here, of course, I found the beasts of the warriors who
quartered in the adjacent buildings, and the warriors
themselves I might expect to meet within if I entered; but,
fortunately for me, I had another and safer method of reaching
the upper story where Dejah Thoris should be found, and,
after first determining as nearly as possible which of the
buildings she occupied, for I had never observed them before
from the court side, I took advantage of my relatively great
strength and agility and sprang upward until I grasped the
sill of a second-story window which I thought to be in the
rear of her apartment. Drawing myself inside the room I
moved stealthily toward the front of the building, and not
until I had quite reached the doorway of her room was I
made aware by voices that it was occupied.

I did not rush headlong in, but listened without to assure
myself that it was Dejah Thoris and that it was safe to
venture within. It was well indeed that I took this precaution,
for the conversation I heard was in the low gutturals of men,
and the words which finally came to me proved a most timely warning.
The speaker was a chieftain and he was giving orders to four of
his warriors.

"And when he returns to this chamber," he was saying, "as he
surely will when he finds she does not meet him at the city's edge,
you four are to spring upon him and disarm him. It will require
the combined strength of all of you to do it if the reports they
bring back from Korad are correct. When you have him fast bound
bear him to the vaults beneath the jeddak's quarters and chain
him securely where he may be found when Tal Hajus wishes him.
Allow him to speak with none, nor permit any other to enter
this apartment before he comes. There will be no danger of
the girl returning, for by this time she is safe in the arms
of Tal Hajus, and may all her ancestors have pity upon her,
for Tal Hajus will have none; the great Sarkoja has done a
noble night's work. I go, and if you fail to capture him when
he comes, I commend your carcasses to the cold bosom of Iss."