Part 10 (1/2)
”That it does,” replied the oldI am quicker than most; but mine are the most natural Why, I would defy the wife of that warrior to say that insofar as appearances are concerned he does not live,” and he pointed at the ht here wasted or badly wounded and these I have to repair That is where great skill is required, for everyone wants his dead to look as they did at their best in life; but you shall learn--to mount thely one look beautiful And it will be a great comfort to be able to mount your own Why, for fifteen hundred years no one has mounted my own dead but myself
”I have reat room for my wives I have the I spend with thes and very pleasant And then the pleasure of preparing the them even more beautiful than in life partially reco for a new one while I a on the old When I a her to the chamber where my wives are, and coreat satisfaction at such ti that they will not object I love harmony”
”Did you prepare all the warriors in The Hall of Chiefs?” asked Turan
”Yes, I prepare them and repair them,” replied the old man ”O-Tar will trust no other Even now I have two in another rooht down to , since it leaves two riderless thoats in the Hall; but I shall have them ready presently He wants them all there in the event any ree, or do not agree with O-Tar Such questions he carries to the jeds in The Hall of Chiefs There he shuts hireat chiefs who have attained wisdoh death It is an excellent plan and there is never any friction or s O-Tar has said that it is the finest deliberative body upon Barsoo jeds But coet to work; coin your instruction”
He led the way into the chamber in which lay the several corpses upon their e spectacles and commenced to select various tools froain toward his two pupils
”Now let me have a look at you,” he said ”My eyes are not what they once were, and I need these powerful lenses for my work, or to see distinctly the features of those around me”
He turned his eyes upon the two before him Turan held his breath for he knew that now the nia of Manator He had wondered before why the old fellow had not noticed it, for he had not known that he was half blind The other exa upon the beauty of Tara of Helium, and then they drifted to the harness of the two Turan thought that he noted an appreciable start of surprise on the part of the taxider his next words did not reveal it
”Come with I-Gos,” he said to Turan, ”I have materials in the next room that I would have you fetch hither Reone but a moment”
He led the way to one of the nu into the chamber and entered ahead of Turan Just inside the door he stopped, and pointing to a bundle of silks and furs upon the opposite side of the room directed Turan to fetch the to raise the bundle when he heard the click of a lock behind hi instantly he saw that he was alone in the roo rapidly to it he strove to open it, only to find that he was a prisoner
I-Gos, stepping out and locking the door behind him, turned toward Tara
”Your leather betrayed you,” he said, laughing his cackling laugh ”You sought to deceive old I-Gos, but you found that though his eyes are weak his brain is not But it shall not go ill with you You are beautiful and I-Gos loves beautiful woht not have you elsewhere in Manator, but here there is none to deny old I-Gos Few co the dead and they hasten away as fast as they can No one will know that I-Gos has a beautiful woman locked with his dead I shall ask you no questions and then I will not have to give you up, for I will not knoho, eh? And when you die I shall mount you beautifully and place you in the chamber with my other women Will not that be fine, eh?” He had approached until he stood close beside the horrified girl ”Co her by the wrist ”Come to I-Gos!”
CHAPTER XVI
ANOTHER CHANGE OF NAME
TURAN dashed hiainst the door of his prison in a vain effort to break through the solid skeel to the side of Tara whoer, but the heavy panels held and he succeeded only in bruising his shoulders and his ar his prison for so in the stone walls, but his search revealed a heterogeneous collection of odds and ends of arnia, and sleeping silks and furs in great quantities There were swords and spears and several large, two-bladed battle-axes, the heads of which bore a striking rese one of these he attacked the door oncefrom I-Gos at this ruthless destruction, but no sound caht, too thick for the huered much that I-Gos heard him Bits of the hard wood splintered at each impact of the heavy axe, but it was sloork and heavy Presently he was co al for a few h he could see nothing of the interior of the roo that I-Gos had drawn across it after he had locked Turan within
At last, however, the panthan had hewn an opening through which his body could pass, and seizing a long-sword that he had brought close to the door for the purpose he crawled through into the next roo aside the arras he stood ready, sword in hand, to fight his way to the side of Tara of Helium--but she was not there In the center of the room lay I-Gos, dead upon the floor; but Tara of Helium was nowhere to be seen
Turan was nonplussed It must have been her hand that had struck down the old man, yet she had made no effort to release Turan froht of those last words of hers: ”I do not want your love! I hate you,” and the truth dawned upon him--she had seized upon this first opportunity to escape him With downcast heart Turan turned away What should he do? There could be but one answer While he lived and she lived he must still leave no stone unturned to effect her escape and safe return to the land of her people But hoas he even to find his way froain? He walked to the nearest doorway It chanced to be that which led into the roo transportation to balcony or grim room or whatever place was to receive thereat, painted warrior on the thoat and as they ran over the splendid trappings and the serviceable arht came into the pain-dulled eyes of the panthan With a quick step he crossed to the side of the dead warrior and dragged him from his mount With equal celerity he stripped hi off his own, donned the regalia of the dead man Then he hastened back to the room in which he had been trapped, for there he had seen that which he needed to uise complete In a cabinet he found them--pots of paint that the old taxidermist had used to place the war-paint in its wide bands across the cold faces of dead warriors
A few ed from the room a warrior of Manator in every detail of harness, equipment, and ornamentation He had renia of his house and rank so that hesuspicion, as a common warrior
To search for Tara of Helium in the vast, dim labyrinth of the pits of O-Tar seemed to the Gatholian a hopeless quest, foredoomed to failure It would be wiser to seek the streets of Manator where he ht hope to learn first if she had been recaptured and, if not, then he could return to the pits and pursue the hunt for her To find egress from the h the winding corridors and chambers, since he had no idea as to the location or direction of any exit In fact, he could not have retraced his steps a hundred yards toward the point at which he and Tara had entered the glooht find by accident either Tara of Helium or a way to the street level above
For a tily preserved dead of Manator, many of which were piled in tiers after the h corridor and chalyphics painted upon the walls above every opening and at each fork or crossing of corridors, until by observation he reached the conclusion that these indicated the designations of passageways, so that one who understood theh the pits; but Turan did not understand theht not materially have aided one unfamiliar with the city; but he could not read thee upon Barsooes as there are nations One thing, however, soon becalyphic of a corridor remained the sa before Turan realized from the distance that he had traveled that the pits were part of a vast syste, possibly, the entire city At least he was convinced that he had passed beyond the precincts of the palace The corridors and chambers varied in appearance and architecture froh usually quite dins of life other than an occasional ulsio, then quite suddenly he cas The fellow looked at hih of relief as he realized that his disguise was effective, but he was caught in the middle of it by a hail from the warrior who had stopped and turned toward hilad too that they were buried in the dile antagonist, for time was precious
”Heard you any word of the other?” called the warrior to him
”No,” replied Turan, who had not the faintest idea to whom or what the fellow referred
”He cannot escape,” continued the warrior ”The woman ran directly into our arht be found”
”They took her back to O-Tar?” asked Turan, for now he knehom the other meant, and he would know more
”They took her back to The Towers of Jetan,” replied the warrior ”Toah I doubt if any wants her, beautiful as she is She fears not even O-Tar By Cluros! but she would ular she-banth she is Not forhis head
Turan hurried on searching for an avenue that led to the level of the streets above when suddenly he came to the open doorway of a small chamber in which sat a man as chained to the wall Turan voiced a low exclanized that the man was A-Kor, and that he had stumbled by accident upon the very cell in which he had been ily It was evident that he did not recognize his fellow prisoner Turan crossed to the table and leaning close to the other whispered to him
”I am Turan the panthan,” he said, ”as chained beside you”
A-Kor looked at him closely ”Your own mother would never know you!” he said; ”but tell me, what has transpired since they took you away?”
Turan recounted his experiences in the throne room of O-Tar and in the pits beneath, ”and now,” he continued, ”I must find these Towers of Jetan and see whatthe Princess of Heliu was I dwar of the Towers,” he said, ”and I can say to you, stranger, that you le handed, as to rescue a prisoner from The Towers of Jetan”
”But I ood swordsman?” asked A-Kor presently
”I am accounted so,” replied Turan
”Then there is a way--sst!” he was suddenly silent and pointing toward the base of the wall at the end of the rooer indicated, to see projecting froe chelae and a pair of protruding eyes
”Ghek!” he cried and immediately the hideous kaldane crawled out upon the floor and approached the table A-Kor drew back with a half-stifled ejaculation of repulsion ”Do not fear,” Turan reassured him ”It is my friend--he whom I told you held O-Tar while Tara and I escaped”
Ghek climbed to the table top and squatted between the tarriors ”You are safe in assu A-Kor, ”that Turan the panthan has no master in all Manator where the art of sword-play is concerned I overheard your conversation--go on”
”You are his friend,” continued A-Kor, ”and so I may explain safely in your presence the only plan I knohereby he may hope to rescue the Princess of Heliuames and it is O-Tar's desire that she be won by slaves and common warriors, since she repulsed hileside are to possess her With ame That you could do, and if your side won and you survived she would becoitive acconize you You will go toa the keeper that you are from Manataj, the farthest city of Manator If he questions you, you ht into the city after her capture If you win her, you will find thoats stabled at my palace and you will carry from me a token that will place all that is mine at your disposal”
”But how can I buy off the others in the game without money?” asked Turan ”I have none--not even of my own country”
A-Kor opened his pocket-pouch and drew forth a packet of Manatorian money
”Here is sufficient to buy the a portion of it to Turan
”But why do you do this for a stranger?” asked the panthan
”My mother was a captive princess here,” replied A-Kor ”I but do for the Princess of Helium what my mother would have me do”
”Under the circumstances, then, Manatorian,” replied Turan, ”I cannot but accept your generosity on behalf of Tara of Heliu in return”
”Now you uard may come and discover you here Go directly to the Avenue of Gates, which circles the city just within the outer wall There you will find ers You will know them by the thoat's head carved above the doors Say that you are here froames Take the name of U-Kal--it will arouse no suspicion, nor will you if you can avoid conversation Early in the th and fortune of all your ancestors be with you!”
Bidding good-bye to Ghek and A-Kor, the panthan, following directions given him by A-Kor, set out to find his way to the Avenue of Gates, nor had he any great difficulty On the way he ave hi place where there were ers from other cities of Manator As he had had no sleep since the previous night he threw hiain the rest which he ive the best possible account of hi day