Part 7 (2/2)
His orders were being followed implicitly.
The rats would soon be landing among Pew Mogel's entrenched troops.
Now, however, John Carter's attention returned to his own immediate peril.
Pew Mogel swung viciously at the earthman. The blade nicked his shoulder, the blood flowed down his bronzed arm.
Carter stole another glance down. Those rats would need support when they landed in the trenches.
Good! Tars Tarkas's green warriors were again racing out of the hills, unhindered now by scathing fire from an enemy above.
True, the rats when they landed would attack anything in their path; but the green Tharks were mounted on fleet thoats the apes had no mounts. No malagor would stay within sight of its most hated enemy.
Pew Mogel was backing up now once more near the window. Out of the corner of his eye, Carter caught sight of Kantos Kan's air fleet zooming down toward Pew Mogel's ape legions far below.
Pew Mogel suddenly reached down with his free hand.
His fingers clutched the microphone that Carter had dropped when Pew Mogel had first rushed at him.
Now the creature held it to his lips and before the earthman could prevent he shouted into it.
”Joog!” he cried. ”Kill! Kill! Kill!”
The next second, John Carter's blade had severed Pew Mogel's head from his shoulders.
The earthman dived for the microphone as it fell from the creature's hands; but he was met by Pew Mogel's headless body as it lunged blindly around the room still wielding its gleaming weapon.
Pew Mogel's head rolled about the floor, shrieking wildly as Joog charged forward to obey his master's last command to kill!
Joog's head jerked back and forth with each enormous stride. John Carter was hurled roughly about the narrow compartment with each step.
Pew Mogel's headless body floundered across the floor, still striking out madly with the sword in its hand.
”You can't kill me. You can't kill me,” shrieked Pew Mogel's head, as it bounced about. ”I am Ras Thavas' synthetic man. I never die. I never die!”
The narrow entrance door to the howdah had flopped open as some flying object hit against its bolt.
Pew Mogel's body walked vacantly through the opening and went hurtling down to the ground far below.
Pew Mogel's head saw and shrieked in dismay; then Carter managed to grab it by the ear and hurl the head out after the body.
He could hear the thing shrieking, all the way down; then its cries ceased suddenly.
Joog was now fighting furiously with the weapon he had just uprooted.
”I kill! I kill!” he bellowed as he smacked the huge club against the Helium planes as they drove down over the trenches.
Although the howdah was rocking violently, Carter clung to the window. He could see the rats landing now by the scores, hurling themselves viciously at the apes in the trenches.
And Tars Tarkas' green warriors were there now, also. They were fighting gloriously beside their great, four-armed leader.
But Joog's mighty club was mowing down a hundred fighters at a time as he swept it close above the ground.
Joog had to be stopped somehow!
John Carter dove for the microphone that was sliding around the floor. He missed it, dove again. This time his fingers held it.
”Joog stop! Stop!” Carter shouted into the microphone. Panting and growling, the great creature ceased his ruthless slaughter. He stood hunched over, the sullen, glaring hatred slowly dying away in his eyes, as the battle continued to rage at his feet.
The apes were now completely disbanded. They broke over the trenches and ran toward the mountains, pursued by the vicious, snarling rats and the green warriors of Tars Tarkas.
John Carter could see Kantos Kan's flags.h.i.+p hovering near Joog's head.
Fearing that Joog might aim an irritated blow at the craft with its precious cargo, the earthman signalled the s.h.i.+p to remain aloof.
Then his command once again rang into the microphone.
Joog lie down. Lie down!”
Like some tired beast of prey, Joog settled down on the ground amid the bodies of those he had killed.
John Carter leaped out of the howdah onto the ground. He still retained hold of the microphone that was tuned to the shortwave receiving set in Joog's ear.
Joog shouted Carter again. ”Go to Korvas. Go to Korvas.”
The monster glared at the earthman, not ten feet from his face, and snarled.
Fourteen.
ADVENTURE'S END.
ONCE AGAIN THE EARTHMAN repeated his command to Joog the giant. Now the snarl faded from his lips and from the brute's chest came a sound not unlike a sigh as he rose to his feet once again.
Turning slowly, Joog ambled off across the plain toward Korvas.
It was not until ten minutes later after the Heliumite soldiers had stormed from their city and surrounded the earthman and their princess that John Carter, holding Dejah Thoris tightly in his arms, saw Joog's head disappear over the mountains in the distance.
”Why did you let him go, John Carter?” asked Tars Tarkas, as he wiped the blood from his blade on the hide of his sweating thoat.
”Yes, why,” repeated Kantos Kan, ”when you had him in your power?”
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