Part 4 (1/2)

Joro said: ”He isn't hurt. We will simply send him back to his valley, and you, my dear princess, will do your duty to your subjects!”

And there, though he probably did not know it, Prince Joro harked back to the youth of the human race--the compensatory, atavistic principle that G.o.ds, rulers, kings, must hold themselves in readiness as sacrifices for the good of their subjects. Joro might have been a tribal high priest invoking their dread rule in the dawn of time. The Martians were, for all their scientific advancement, still the descendants of those prehistoric human savages. Sira knew, instinctively, that the people who loved her would nevertheless approve of Joro's judgment.

CHAPTER IV

_Torture_

When Sime awoke it was to the rattling of the door. Murray stirred.

The light was even weaker than before.

”If they offer you a drink, drink hearty!” Murray muttered, sitting up. ”I've got an idea it's going to be a hard day.”

But they were not offered any water. Instead they were again conducted before Scar Balta, who looked at them morosely. At last he remarked gruffly:

”If you tin sojers weren't so cursed stubborn, you could get yourself a nice berth in the Martian army. Ever consider that?”

”Talk sense!” Sime said contemptously. ”If I threw down the service how could you trust me?”

”That'd be easy,” Balta rejoined. ”Once the I. F. P. finds out you joined us you'd have to stick with us to save your skin.”

He laughed at his prisoners' look of surprise.

”Come, come!” he bantered. ”You didn't think that I was ignorant of your purpose here? You, Murray; your spying was excellent, I'll admit.

You were the first to give away certain plans of ours. Well, well! We don't hold that against you. Wheels within wheels, eh? It would perhaps astonish certain braided gentleman of our high command to learn that I, a mere colonel, control their destinies. As our ancestors would say, it's dog eat dog.

”Now, how about it? I can make a place for you in my organization. It seems to run to secret service, oddly enough. You will be rewarded far beyond anything you could expect in your present career of chasing petty crooks from Mercury to Pluto and back again.”

”Is that all?” Murray asked softly, with a bearded grin.

”Oh no. You will turn over to me all the information you can about the I. F. P. helio code. You will name and describe to me each and every plainclothes operative of the service--and you should have an extensive acquaintance.”

”Before you answer,” Murray said quietly at Sime's side, ”let me suggest that you consider what's in store for us--or you--if you don't take up this offer.”

”Why, you--” Sime whirled in astonished fury upon his companion.

”Didn't you--”

But he did not complete his reference to last night's surrept.i.tious conversation. It seemed that he saw the merest ghost of a flicker in Murray's left eye.

”--Didn't you say you'd stick no matter what they did?” he finished lamely.

Murray hung his head.

”I'm getting along,” he muttered. ”Not as young as I used to be. This life is getting me nowhere. Why be a fool? Come along with me!”