Part 10 (1/2)
Immediately Carthoris saw that he was in the power of a tribe of the great white apes of Barsoom All that had caused him doubt before as to the identity of his attackers was the hairiness of their breasts, for the white apes are entirely hairless except for a great shock bristling from their heads
Now he saw the cause of that which had deceived him--across the chest of each of them were strips of hairy hide, usually of banth, in ireen warriors who so often camped at their deserted city
Carthoris had read of the existence of tribes of apes that seeher standards of intelligence Into the hands of such, he realized, he had fallen; but--ere their intentions toward hilanced about the courtyard, he saw fully fifty of the hideous beasts, squatting on their haunches, and at a little distance frouarded
As his eyes met those of his fellow-captive a smile lit the other's face, and: ”Kaor, red man!” burst from his lips It was Kar Komak, the bowman
”Kaor!” cried Carthoris, in response ”How came you here, and what befell the princess?”
”Red hty shi+ps that sailed the air, even as the great shi+ps of my distant day sailed the five seas,” replied Kar Koreen ht they were your friends, and I was glad when finally those of theirl to one of the shi+ps and sailed aith her into the safety of the high air
”Then the green reat, empty city, where they chained ed me hither And what of you, red man?”
Carthoris related all that had befallen hireat apes squatted about the them intently
”What are we to do now?” asked the bowman
”Our case looks rather hopeless,” replied Carthoris ruefully ”These creatures are born man-eaters Why they have not already devoured us I cannot i”
Kar Koe ape advancing with a eon
”It is thus they like best to kill their prey,” said Carthoris
”Must we die without a struggle?” asked Kar Koh I kno futile our best defence -sword!”
”Or a good bow,” added Kar Komak, ”and a utan of bow to his feet, only to be dragged roughly down by his guard
”Kar Komak!” he cried ”Why cannot you do what Tario and Jav did? They had no bowmen other than those of their own creation You must know the secret of their power Call forth your own utan, Kar Komak!”
The Lotharian looked at Carthoris in wide-eyed astonishestion bore in upon his understanding
”Why not?” he eon was slinking toward Carthoris The Heliu as he kept his eyes upon his executioner Kar Koly upon the apes The effort of his mind was evidenced in the sweat upon his contracted brows
The creature that was to slay the red man was almost within arm's reach of his prey when Carthoris heard a hoarse shout from the opposite side of the courtyard In co apes and the demon with the club he turned in the direction of the sound, to see a co froe the apes leaped to their feet toa dozen rolling lifeless to the ground Then the apes closed with their adversaries All their attention was occupied by the attackers--even the guard had deserted the prisoners to join in the battle
”Come!” whispered Kar Komak ”Now may we escape while their attention is diverted from us by my bowmen”
”And leave those brave fellows leaderless?” cried Carthoris, whose loyal nature revolted at the hed
”You forget,” he said, ”that they are but thin air--figments of my brain They will vanish, unscathed, e have no further need for theht of this chance in tiht wield the saht,” said Carthoris ”Still, I hate to leave theht else to do,” and so the two turned fro their way into one of the broad avenues, crept stealthily in the shadows of the building toward the great central plaza upon which were the buildings occupied by the green warriors when they visited the deserted city
When they had coe Carthoris halted
”Wait here,” he whispered ”I go to fetch thoats, since on foot we reen fiends”
To reach the courtyard where the thoats were kept it was necessary for Carthoris to pass through one of the buildings which surrounded the square Which were occupied and which not he could not even guess, so he was coain the enclosure in which he could hear the restless beasts squealing and quarrelling ah a dark doorway into a large chareen warriors wrapped in their sleeping silks and furs Scarce had Carthoris passed through the short hallway that connected the door of the building and the great roo or soh which he had but just passed
He heard a ure of a sentry rise fro himself resume his wakeful watchfulness
Carthoris realized that he must have passed within a foot of the warrior, doubtless rousing him from his sluh that roo warriors seemed almost equally beyond the pale of possibility
Carthoris shrugged his broad shoulders and chose the lesser evil Warily he entered the rooainst the wall, leaned several swords and rifles and spears--extra weapons which the warriors had stacked here ready to their hands should there be a night alar them suddenly from slumber Beside each sleeper lay his weapon--these were never far froht of the swordstwo short-swords--one for Kar Kos for his naked comrade
Then he started directly across the centre of the apart Torquasians
Not a man of them moved until Carthoris had coerous journey Then a fellow directly in his path turned restlessly upon his sleeping silks and furs
The Heliumite paused above him, one of the short-swords in readiness should the warrior awaken For what seereen h actuated by springs, he leaped to his feet and faced the red e grunt escaped the other's lips In an instant the roo their weapons as they rose, and shouting to one another for an explanation of the disturbance
To Carthoris all within the rooht reflected from without, for the further moon stood directly at zenith; but to the eyes of the neakened green men objects as yet had not taken on faures of warriors ainst the corpse of him whom Carthoris had slain The fellow stooped and his hand caiant figures of other green men, and so he jumped to the only conclusion that was open to him
”The Thurds!” he cried ”The Thurds are upon us! Rise, warriors of Torquas, and drive home your swords within the hearts of Torquas' ancient enean to fall upon one another with naked swords Their savage lust of battle was aroused To fight, to kill, to die with cold steel buried in their vitals! Ah, that to theuess their error and take advantage of it He knew that in the pleasure of killing theyafter they had discovered their ht of the real cause of the altercation, and so he lost no ti across the room to the doorway upon the opposite side, which opened into the inner court, where the savage thoats were squealing and fighting a themselves
Once here he had no easy task before hieful and intractable beasts was no child's play under the best of conditions; but nohen silence and tiht well have seemed quite hopeless to a less resourceful and optireat warlord
Fro the traits of these hty beasts, and froreen jeddak a his horde at Thark So now he centred upon the work in hand all that he had ever learned about them from others and from his own experience, for he, too, had ridden and handled them many times
The temper of the thoats of Torquas appeared even shorter than their vicious cousins a the Tharks and Warhoons, and for a tie on the part of a couple of old bulls that circled, squealing, about hih to one of them to touch the beast With the feel of his hand upon the sleek hide the creature quieted, and in answer to the telepathic command of the red man sank to its knees
In a reat gate that leads fro at one end into an avenue beyond