Part 4 (1/2)

CHAPTER VII

A REPELLENT SIGHT

THE cruiser Vanator careened through the teround, or twisted by the force of the elee, was due entirely to the caprice of Nature For all the duration of the storm she rode, a helpless derelict, upon those storers and vicissitudes they underwent, she and her crew ht have borne char of the hurricane It was then that the catastrophe occurred--a catastrophe indeed to the crew of the Vanator and the kingdom of Gathol

TheHelium, and they had been hurled about and buffeted in their lashi+ngs until all orn to exhaustion There was a brief lull in the stor which one of the crew attes which had held him to the precarious safety of the deck The act in itself was a direct violation of orders and, in the eyes of the othersuddenness, took the form of a swift and terrible retribution Scarce had the man released the safety snaps ere a swift ar it over and over, with the result that the foolhardy warrior went overboard at the first turn

Unloosed fro of the shi+p and the force of the wind, the boarding and landing tackle had been trailing beneath the keel, a tangled e and leather Upon the occasions that the Vanator rolled cos would be wrapped around her until another revolution in the opposite direction, or the wind itself, carried the in the stor shi+p

Into this fell the body of the warrior, and as a drowning led cordage that caught hith of desperation he clung to the cordage, seeking frantically to entangle his legs and body in it With each jerk of the shi+p his hand holds were all but torn loose, and though he knew that eventually they would be and that he ht with the madness that is born of hopelessness for the pitiful second which but prolonged his agony

It was upon this sight then that Gahan of Gathol looked, over the edge of the careening deck of the Vanator, as he sought to learn the fate of his warrior Lashed to the gunwale close at hand a single landing leather that had not fouled the tangled mass beneath whipped free fro at its outer end The Jed of Gathol grasped the situation in a single glance Below him one of his people looked into the eyes of Death To the jed's hand lay the means for succor

There was no instant's hesitation Casting off his deck lashi+ngs, he seized the landing leather and slipped over the shi+p's side Swinging like a bob upon aand twisting three thousand feet above the surface of Barsoo he had hoped for occurred He was carried within reach of the cordage where the warrior still clung, though with rapidly diled strands Gahan pulled hih to seize another quite near to the fellow Clinging precariously to this new hold the jed slowly drew in the landing leather, dohich he had clarasp the hook at its end This he fastened to a ring in the warrior's harness, just before the e

Temporarily, at least, he had saved the life of his subject, and now he turned his attention toward insuring his own safety Inextricably entangled in thehooks such as he had attached to the warrior's harness, and with one of these he sought to secure himself until the storm should abate sufficiently to permit him to cli near hiht in a renewed burst of the store whipped and snapped to the lunging of the great craft and one of the heavy h the air, struck the Jed of Gathol fair between the eyes

Moers slipped froh the thin air of dying Mars toward the ground three thousand feet beneath, while upon the deck of the rolling Vanator his faithful warriors clung to their lashi+ngs all unconscious of the fate of their beloved leader; nor was it until more than an hour later, after the storm had materially subsided, that they realized he was lost, or knew the self-sacrificing heroism of the act that had sealed his doom The Vanator now rested upon an even keel as she was carried along by a strong, though steady, wind The warriors had cast off their deck lashi+ngs and the officers were taking account of losses and da their attention to the s arms hoisted him to the deck and then it was that the crew of the Vanator learned of the heroism of their jed and his end How far they had traveled since his loss they could only vaguely guess, nor could they return in search of him in the disabled condition of the shi+p It was a saddened coh the air tohatever destination Fate was to choose for them

And Gahan, Jed of Gathol--what of him? Plummet-like he fell for a thousand feet and then the storain As a bit of paper borne upon a gale he was tossed about inof the wind Over and over it turned him and upward and doard it carried hiht nearer to the ground The freaks of cyclonic storiant trees, and in the saust they transport frail infants for miles and deposit them unharmed in their wake

And so it ith Gahan of Gathol Expecting momentarily to be dashed to destruction he presently found hiently upon the soft, ochre moss of a dead sea-botto adventure than in the possession of a slight swelling upon his forehead where the metal hook had struck hiently with hih more than half convinced that he should discover crushed and splintered bones that would not support his weight But he was intact He looked about him in a vain effort at orientation The air was filled with flying dust and debris The Sun was obliterated His vision was confined to a radius of a few hundred yards of ochre moss and dust-filled air Five hundred yards away in any direction there reat city and he not known it It was useless to move from where he was until the air cleared, since he could not knohat direction he was , and so he stretched hi the fate of his warriors and his shi+p, but giving little thought to his own precarious situation

Lashed to his harness were his swords, his pistols, and a dagger, and in his pocket-pouch a small quantity of the concentrated rations that for ether with trained e, and an undaunted spirit sufficed hiht lie between him and Gathol, which lay in what direction he knew not, nor at what distance

The as falling rapidly and with it the dust that obscured the landscape That the storm was over he was convinced, but he chafed at the inactivity the low visibility put upon hiht fell, so that he was forced to await the new day at the very spot at which the te silks and furs he spent a far fros of unmixed relief that he saw the sudden dawn burst upon hiht of the new day he saw an undulating plain stretching in all directions about him, while to the northwest there were barely discernible the outlines of low hills Toward the southeast of Gathol was such a country, and as Gahan surmised the direction and the velocity of the storm to have carried hinized, he assumed that Gathol lay behind the hills he nohereas, in reality, it lay far to the northeast

It o days before Gahan had crossed the plain and reached the summit of the hills from which he hoped to see his own country, only to meet at last with disappointreater proportions than that he had but just crossed, and beyond this other hills In one material respect this plain differed from that behind him in that it was dotted with occasional isolated hills Convinced, however, that Gathol lay somewhere in the direction of his search he descended into the valley and bent his steps toward the northwest

For weeks Gahan of Gathol crossed valleys and hills in search of soht point his way toward his native land, but the sue revealed but another unfamiliar view He sa animals and no men, until he finally came to the belief that he had fallen upon that fabled area of ancient Barsoom which lay under the curse of her olden Gods--the once rich and fertile country whose people in their pride and arrogance had denied the deities, and whose punishment had been extermination

And then, one day, he scaled low hills and looked into an inhabited valley--a valley of trees and cultivated fields and plots of ground enclosed by stone walls surrounding strange towers He saw people working in the fields, but he did not rush down to greet theht be assu shrubbery he crawled to a vantage point upon a hill that projected further into the valley, and here he lay upon his belly watching the workers closest to him They were still quite a distance from him and he could not be quite sure of the upon the unnatural about them Their heads seee

For a long ti them and ever more forcibly it was borne in upon his consciousness that they were not as he, and that it would be rash to trust hi them Presently he saw a couple appear from the nearest enclosure and slowly approach those orking nearest to the hill where he lay in hiding Immediately he are that one of these differed froreater distance he noted that the head was smaller and as they approached, he was confident that the harness of one of them was not as the harness of its companion or of that of any of those who tilled the fields

The two stopped often, apparently in arguh one would proceed in the direction that they were going while the other demurred But each time the smaller won reluctant consent from the other, and so they ca between the enclosure from which they had co, and then suddenly the sure struck its companion full in the face Gahan, horrified, saw the latter's head topple froround The man half rose fro in the valley below The creature that had felled its co madly in the direction of the hill upon which he was hidden, it dodged one of the workers that sought to seize it Gahan hoped that it would gain its liberty, why he did not know other than at closer range it had every appearance of being a creature of his own race Then he saw it stuo down and instantly its pursuers were upon it Then it was that Gahan's eyes chanced to return to the figure of the creature the fugitive had felled

What horror was this that he itnessing? Or were his eyes playing soh it was--it was true--the head wasslowly to the fallen body It placed itself upon the shoulders, the body rose, and the creature, seeood as new, ran quickly to where its felloere dragging the hapless captive to its feet

The watcher saw the creature take its prisoner by the arm and lead it back to the enclosure, and even across the distance that separated them from him he could note dejection and utter hopelessness in the bearing of the prisoner, and, too, he was half convinced that it was a woman, perhaps a red Martian of his own race Could he be sure that this was true he h the custoe world required it only in case she was of his own country; but he was not sure; she ht not be a red Martian at all, or, if she were, it was as possible that she sprang from an enemy people as not His first duty was to return to his own people with as little personal risk as possible, and though the thought of adventure stirred his blood he put the teh and turned away froed to enter, for it was his intention to skirt its eastern edge and continue his search for Gathol beyond

As Gahan of Gathol turned his steps along the southern slopes of the hills that bound Bantoom upon the south and east, his attention was attracted toward a sht The low sun was casting long shadows It would soon be night The trees were off the path that he had chosen and he had little ain he hesitated There was so there besides boles of trees, and underbrush There were suggestions of familiar lines of the handicraft of man Gahan stopped and strained his eyes in the direction of the thing that had arrested his attention No, he must be mistaken--the branches of the trees and a low bush had taken on an unnatural se sun He turned and continued upon his way; but as he cast another side glance in the direction of the object of his interest, the sun's rays were shot back into his eyes fro the trees

Gahan shook his head and walked quickly toward theobject still lured him on and when he had co they saas naught else than the jewel-encrusted emblem upon the prow of a small flier Gahan, his hand upon his short-sword, moved silently forward, but as he neared the craft he saw that he had naught to fear, for it was deserted Then he turned his attention toward the e his face paled and his heart went cold--it was the insignia of the house of The Warlord of Barsoo led back to her prison in the valley just beyond the hills Tara of Heliu her to her fate The cold sweat stood in beads upon his brow

A hasty exa jed the whole tragic story The sa had borne Tara of Helium to this distant country Here, doubtless, she had landed in hope of obtaining food and water since, without a propellor, she could not hope to reach her native city, or any other friendly port, other than by the merest caprice of Fate The flier see propellor and the fact that it had been carefully moored in the shelter of the cluirl had expected to return to it, while the dust and leaves upon its deck spoke of the long days, and even weeks, since she had landed Mute yet eloquent proofs, these things, that Tara of Helium was a prisoner, and that she was the very prisoner whose bold dash for liberty he had so recently witnessed he now had not the slightest doubt

The question now revolved solely about her rescue He knehich tower she had been taken--that much and no more Of the number, the kind, or the disposition of her captors he renew nothing; nor did he care--for Tara of Helium he would face a hostile world alone Rapidly he considered several plans for succoring her; but the one that appealed reatest chance of escape for the girl should he be successful in reaching her His decision reached he turned his attention quickly toward the flier Casting off its lashi+ngs he dragged it out fro to the deck tested out the various controls The motor started at a touch and purred sweetly, the buoyancy tanks ell stocked, and the shi+p answered perfectly to the controls which regulated her altitude There was nothing needed but a propellor to ed impatiently--there must not be a propellor within a thousand haads But what mattered it? The craft even without a propellor would still answer the purpose his plan required of it--provided the captors of Tara of Heliu to suggest that they had shi+ps The architecture of their towers and enclosures assured hiht had fallen Cluros roderoar of a banth reverberated a the hills Gahan of Gathol let the shi+p rise a few feet fro a bow rope, he dropped over the side To tow the little craft was now a thing of ease, and as Gahan moved rapidly toward the brow of the hill above Bantoohtly as a swan upon a quiet lake Non the hill toward the tower diht the Gatholian turned his steps Closer behind hi banth He wondered if the beast sought hi sory beast of prey, for whatTara of Heliuuess; and so he hastened his steps But closer and closer careat carnivore, and now he heard the swift fall of padded feet upon the hillside behind hilanced back just in tie His hand leaped to the hilt of his long-sword, but he did not draw, for in the same instant he saw the futility of armed resistance, since behind the first banth cale alternative to a futile stand and that he grasped in the instant that he saw the overwhelhtly froround he swarht drew the craft slightly lower and at the very instant that the man drew hi banth sprang for the stern Gahan leaped to his feet and rushed toward the great beast in the hope of dislodging it before it had succeeded in cla aboard At the sa toward the their leader to the shi+p's deck Should they reach it in any nu for the altitude control Gahan pulled it wide Simultaneously three banths leaped for the deck The craft rose swiftly Gahan felt the iainst the keel, followed by the soft thuds of the great bodies as they struck the ground beneath His act had not been an instant too soon And now the leader had gained the deck and stood at the stern with glaring eyes and snarling jaws Gahan drew his sword The beast, possibly disconcerted by the novelty of its position, did not charge Instead it crept slowly toward its intended prey The craft was rising and Gahan placed a foot upon the control and stopped the ascent He did not wish to chance rising to soher air current that would bear hi slowly toward the tower, carried thither by the i upon it from astern

Thejowls, the nant expression of the devilish face The creature, finding the deck stable, appeared to be gaining confidence, and then the man leaped suddenly to one side of the deck and the tiny flier heeled as suddenly in response The banth slipped and clutched frantically at the deck Gahan leaped in with his naked sword; the great beast caught itself and reared upon its hind legs to reach forth and seize this presuht to the flesh it craved; and then theto the opposite side of the deck The banth toppled sideways at the sa talon passed close to Gahan's head at the e heart, and as the warrior wrenched his blade from the carcass it slipped silently over the side of the shi+p

A glance beloed that the vessel was drifting in the direction of the tower to which Gahan had seen the prisoner led In anotherto the control and let the craft drop quickly toward the ground where followed the banths, still hot for their prey To land outside the enclosure spelled certain death, while inside he could see round as in sleep The shi+p floated now but a few feet above the wall of the enclosure There was nothing for it but to risk all on a bold bid for fortune, or drift helplessly past without hope of returning through the banth-infested valley, frorowls of these fierce Barsoo over the side Gahan descended by the trailing anchor-rope until his feet touched the top of the wall, where he had no difficulty in arresting the slow drifting of the shi+p Then he drew up the anchor and lowered it inside the enclosure Still there was no movement upon the part of the sleepers beneath--they lay as dead s in the tower; but there was no sign of guard or waking in to the rope Gahan lowered himself within the enclosure, where he had his first close view of the creatures lying there in what he had thought sleep With a half smothered exclamation of horror the man drew back froht them the corpses of decapitated huh; but when he saw them move and realized that they were endoith life, his horror and disgust becareater

Here then was the explanation of the thing he had witnessed that afternoon, when Tara of Helium had struck the back to its body And to think that the pearl of Heliuain the man shuddered, but he hastened to ain to its deck and lower it to the floor of the enclosure Then he strode toward a door in the base of the tower, stepping lightly over the recu the threshold disappeared within

CHAPTER VIII

CLOSE WORK

GHEK, in his happier days third foreer and his hu had awakened within him the existence of which he had never before even dreaht to do with this unrest and dissatisfaction? He did not know HeCould it be that there were other things ic and undefiled brain power? Was well balanced ih developreat, ulti It would be deaf, and du and dance about it, but it could derive no pleasure fro since it would possess no perceptive faculties Already had the kaldanes shut theratifications of the senses Ghek wondered iftheht came a question as to the whole fabric of their theory After all perhaps the girl was right; what purpose could a great brain serve sealed in the bowels of the earth?

And he, Ghek, was to die for this theory Luud had decreed it The injustice of it overwhele But he was helpless There was no escape Beyond the enclosure the banths awaited him; within, his own kind, equally asas love, or loyalty, or friendshi+p--they were just brains Hewould be loosed from his sealed chamber and Ghek would be killed He did not know it but he would not even have the poor satisfaction of satisfied revenge, since he was not capable of feeling so abstruse a sentiment

Ghek, mounted upon his rykor, paced the floor of the tower chamber in which he had been ordered to remain Ordinarily he would have accepted the sentence of Luud with perfect equaniical result of reason; but now it seeer wo--there were great possibilities in it The dream of the ultiround of his thoughts

At that moment there appeared in the doorway of the chamber a red warrior with naked sword He was a male counterpart of the prisoner whose sweet voice had under reason of the kaldane

”Silence!” adathered in an oly before the eyes of the kaldane ”I seek the woman, Tara of Helium Where is she? If you value your life speak quickly and speak the truth”

If he valued his life! It was a truth that Ghek had but just learned He thought quickly After all, a great brain is not without its uses Perhaps here lay escape from the sentence of Luud

”You are of her kind?” he asked ”You come to rescue her?”

”Yes”

”Listen, then I have befriended her, and because of this I am to die If I help you to liberate her, will you take me with you?”

Gahan of Gathol eyed the weird creature frorotesque head, the expressionless face Ahter of Helium been held captive for days and weeks

”If she lives and is unharmed,” he said, ”I will take you with us”

”When they took her from me she was alive and unharmed,” replied Ghek ”I cannot say what has befallen her since Luud sent for her”