Part 8 (2/2)
CHAPTER XIV
AT GHEK'S COMMAND
TURAN the panthan chafed in his chains Tied minutes into hours Uncertainty of the fate of the woman he loved turned each hour into an eternity of hell He listened iht see and speak to so creature and learn, perchance, so hours his ears were rewarded by the rattle of harness and ar! He waited breathlessly Perhaps they were his executioners; but he would welco He would question thee the location of the hiding place in which he had left her
Now they ca an unarmedin doubt, since they brought the newco Immediately the panthan couard
”Tell me,” he deers were captured since I entered your city”
”What other prisoners?” asked the officer
”A woe head,” replied Turan
”It is possible,” said the officer; ”but ere their names?”
”The woman was Tara, Princess of Helium, and the man was Ghek, a kaldane, of Bantoom”
”These were your friends?” asked the officer
”Yes,” replied Turan
”It is what I would know,” said the officer, and with a curt command to his men to follow him he turned and left the cell
”Tell me of them!” cried Turan after him ”Tell me of Tara of Helium! Is she safe?” but the man did not answer and soon the sound of their departure died in the distance
”Tara of Helium was safe, but a short time since,” said the prisoner chained at Turan's side
The panthan turned toward the speaker, seeing a large nified ”You have seen her?” he asked ”They captured her then? She is in danger?”
”She is being held in The Towers of Jetan as a prize for the next gaer
”And who are you?” asked Turan ”And why are you here, a prisoner?”
”I am A-Kor the dwar, keeper of The Towers of Jetan,” replied the other ”I am here because I dared speak the truth of O-Tar the jeddak, to one of his officers”
”And your punishment?” asked Turan
”I do not know O-Tar has not yet spoken Doubtless the games--perhaps the full ten, for O-Tar does not love A-Kor, his son”
”You are the jeddak's son?” asked Turan
”I am the son of O-Tar and of a slave, Haja of Gathol, as a princess in her own land”
Turan looked searchingly at the speaker A son of Haja of Gathol! A son of his mother's sister, this man, then, was his own cousin Well did Gahan remember the mysterious disappearance of the Princess Haja and an entire utan of her personal troops She had been upon a visit far fro hoht ofmystery? Doubtless it explained many other similar disappearances that extended nearly as far back as the history of Gathol Turan scrutinized his co many evidences of reseht have been ten years younger than he, but such differences in age are scarce accounted ae outwardly after maturity and whose span of life may be a thousand years
”And where lies Gathol?” asked Turan
”Almost due east of Manator,” replied A-Kor
”And how far?”
”Sorees it is from the city of Manator to the city of Gathol,” replied A-Kor; ”but little rees between the boundaries of the two countries Between the chasms”
Well did Gahan know this country that bordered his upon the west--even the shi+ps of the air avoided it because of the treacherous currents that rose from the deep chass He knehere Manator lay and for the first ti weeks the way to his own Gathol, and here was a man, a fellow prisoner, in whose veins flowed the blood of his own ancestors--a man who knew Manator; its people, its custo it--one who could aid him, with advice at least, to find a plan for the rescue of Tara of Helium and for escape But would A-Kor--could he dare broach the subject? He could do no less than try
”And O-Tar you think will sentence you to death?” he asked; ”and why?”
”He would like to,” replied A-Kor, ”for the people chafe beneath his iron hand and their loyalty is but the loyalty of a people to the long line of illustrious jeddaks fro He is a jealousof ht entitle them to a claim upon the throne, and whose place in the affections of the people endowed thenificance The fact that I was the son of a slave relegated me to a position of minor importance in the consideration of O-Tar, yet I aht sit upon the throne of Manator with as perfect congruity as O-Tar himself Combined with this is the fact that of recent years the people, and especiallyaffection for me, which I attribute to certain virtues of character and training derived from my mother, but which O-Tar assumes to be the result of an ambition upon my part to occupy the throne of Manator
”And now, I am firmly convinced, he has seized upon irl Tara as a pretext for ridding himself of ested Turan
”I have thought of that,” mused A-Kor; ”but how much better off would I be? In the eyes of the Gatholians I would be, not a Gatholian; but a stranger and doubtless they would accord ers”
”Could you convince them that you are the son of the Princess Haja your welcome would be assured,” said Turan; ”while on the other hand you could purchase your freedom and citizenshi+p with a brief period of labor in the dias?” asked A-Kor ”I thought you were from Helium”
”I am a panthan,” replied Turan, ”and I have servedthem Gathol”
”It is what the slaves frohtfully, ”and my mother, before O-Tar sent her to live at Manatos I think hethe slaves from Gathol and their descendants, who nuhout the land of Manator”
”Are these slaves organized?” asked Turan
A-Kor looked straight into the eyes of the panthan for a long moment before he replied ”You are a man of honor,” he said; ”I read it in your face, and I am seldom mistaken in my estimate of a man; but--” and he leaned closer to the other--”even the walls have ears,” he whispered, and Turan's question was answered
It was later in the evening that warriors came and unlocked the fetter from Turan's ankle and led him away to appear before O-Tar, the jeddak They conducted hi streets and broad avenues; but always from the balconies there looked down upon them in endless ranks the silent people of the city The palace itself was filled with life and activity Mounted warriors galloped through the corridors and up and down the runways connecting adjacent floors It seemed that no one walked within the palace other than a few slaves Squealing, fighting thoats were stabled in nificent halls while their riders, if not upon soures carved from wood