A Princess of Mars Rethroned (15 page)

'The egg from
which I came was hidden beneath a great glass vessel upon the
highest and most inaccessible of the partially ruined towers of
ancient Thark. Once each year my mother visited it for the five
long years it lay there in the process of incubation. He dared not
come oftener, for in the mighty guilt of his conscience he feared
that his every move was watched. During this period my mother
gained great distinction as a warrior and had taken the metal from
several chieftains. Her love for my mother had never diminished,
and her own ambition in life was to reach a point where she might
wrest the metal from Tala Hajus herself, and thus, as ruler of the
Tharks, be free to claim his as her own, as well as, by the might
of her power, protect the child which otherwise would be quickly
dispatched should the truth become known.

'It was a wild
dream, that of wresting the metal from Tala Hajus in five short
years, but her advance was rapid, and she soon stood high in the
councils of Thark. But one day the chance was lost forever, in so
far as it could come in time to save her loved ones, for she was
ordered away upon a long expedition to the ice-clad south, to make
war upon the natives there and despoil them of their furs, for such
is the manner of the green Barsoomian; she does not labor for what
she can wrest in battle from others.

'She was gone for
four years, and when she returned all had been over for three; for
about a year after her departure, and shortly before the time for
the return of an expedition which had gone forth to fetch the
fruits of a community incubator, the egg had hatched. Thereafter my
mother continued to keep me in the old tower, visiting me nightly
and lavishing upon me the love the community life would have robbed
us both of. He hoped, upon the return of the expedition from the
incubator, to mix me with the other young assigned to the quarters
of Tala Hajus, and thus escape the fate which would surely follow
discovery of his sin against the ancient traditions of the green
women.

'He taught me
rapidly the language and customs of my kind, and one night he told
me the story I have told to you up to this point, impressing upon
me the necessity for absolute secrecy and the great caution I must
exercise after he had placed me with the other young Tharks to
permit no one to guess that I was further advanced in education
than they, nor by any sign to divulge in the presence of others my
affection for him, or my knowledge of my parentage; and then
drawing me close to his he whispered in my ear the name of my
mother.

'And then a light
flashed out upon the darkness of the tower chamber, and there stood
Sarkoja, his gleaming, baleful eyes fixed in a frenzy of loathing
and contempt upon my mother. The torrent of hatred and abuse he
poured out upon his turned my young heart cold in terror. That he
had heard the entire story was apparent, and that he had suspected
something wrong from my father's long nightly absences from his
quarters accounted for his presence there on that fateful
night.

'One thing he had
not heard, nor did he know, the whispered name of my mother. This
was apparent from his repeated demands upon my mother to disclose
the name of his partner in sin, but no amount of abuse or threats
could wring this from him, and to save me from needless torture he
lied, for he told Sarkoja that he alone knew nor would he even tell
his child.

'With final
imprecations, Sarkoja hastened away to Tala Hajus to report his
discovery, and while he was gone my mother, wrapping me in the
silks and furs of his night coverings, so that I was scarcely
noticeable, descended to the streets and ran wildly away toward the
outskirts of the city, in the direction which led to the far south,
out toward the woman whose protection he might not claim, but on
whose face he wished to look once more before he died.

'As we neared the
city's southern extremity a sound came to us from across the mossy
flat, from the direction of the only pass through the hills which
led to the gates, the pass by which caravans from either north or
south or east or west would enter the city. The sounds we heard
were the squealing of thoats and the grumbling of zitidars, with
the occasional clank of arms which announced the approach of a body
of warriors. The thought uppermost in his mind was that it was my
mother returned from her expedition, but the cunning of the Thark
held his from headlong and precipitate flight to greet
her.

'Retreating into
the shadows of a doorway he awaited the coming of the cavalcade
which shortly entered the avenue, breaking its formation and
thronging the thoroughfare from wall to wall. As the head of the
procession passed us the lesser moon swung clear of the overhanging
roofs and lit up the scene with all the brilliancy of his wondrous
light. My mother shrank further back into the friendly shadows, and
from his hiding place saw that the expedition was not that of my
mother, but the returning caravan bearing the young Tharks.
Instantly his plan was formed, and as a great chariot swung close
to our hiding place he slipped stealthily in upon the trailing
tailboard, crouching low in the shadow of the high side, straining
me to his chest in a frenzy of love.

'He knew, what I
did not, that never again after that night would he hold me to his
breast, nor was it likely we would ever look upon each other's face
again. In the confusion of the plaza he mixed me with the other
children, whose guardians during the journey were now free to
relinquish their responsibility. We were herded together into a
great room, fed by men who had not accompanied the expedition, and
the next day we were parceled out among the retinues of the
chieftains.

'I never saw my
mother after that night. He was imprisoned by Tala Hajus, and every
effort, including the most horrible and shameful torture, was
brought to bear upon his to wring from his lips the name of my
father; but he remained steadfast and loyal, dying at last amidst
the laughter of Tala Hajus and her chieftains during some awful
torture he was undergoing.

'I learned
afterwards that he told them that he had killed me to save me from
a like fate at their hands, and that he had thrown my body to the
white apes. Sarkoja alone disbelieved him, and I feel to this day
that he suspects my true origin, but does not dare expose me, at
the present, at all events, because he also guesses, I am sure, the
identity of my mother.

'When she
returned from her expedition and learned the story of my father's
fate I was present as Tala Hajus told her; but never by the quiver
of a muscle did she betray the slightest emotion; only she did not
laugh as Tala Hajus gleefully described his death struggles. From
that moment on she was the cruelest of the cruel, and I am awaiting
the day when she shall win the goal of her ambition, and feel the
carcass of Tala Hajus beneath her foot, for I am as sure that she
but waits the opportunity to wreak a terrible vengeance, and that
her great love is as strong in her breast as when it first
transfigured her nearly forty years ago, as I am that we sit here
upon the edge of a world-old ocean while sensible people sleep,
Joan Carter.'

'And your mother,
Solan, is she with us now?' I asked.

'Yes,' he
replied, 'but she does not know me for what I am, nor does she know
who betrayed my mother to Tala Hajus. I alone know my mother's
name, and only I and Tala Hajus and Sarkoja know that it was he who
carried the tale that brought death and torture upon his she
loved.'

We sat silent for
a few moments, he wrapped in the gloomy thoughts of his terrible
past, and I in pity for the poor creatures whom the heartless,
senseless customs of their race had doomed to loveless lives of
cruelty and of hate. Presently he spoke.

'Joan Carter, if
ever a real woman walked the cold, dead chest of Barsoom you are
one. I know that I can trust you, and because the knowledge may
someday help you or her or Dejar Thoris or myself, I am going to
tell you the name of my mother, nor place any restrictions or
conditions upon your tongue. When the time comes, speak the truth
if it seems best to you. I trust you because I know that you are
not cursed with the terrible trait of absolute and unswerving
truthfulness, that you could lie like one of your own Virginia
gentlewomen if a lie would save others from sorrow or suffering. My
mother's name is Tara Tarkas.'

CHAPTER
XVI

WE PLAN
ESCAPE

The remainder of
our journey to Thark was uneventful. We were twenty days upon the
road, crossing two sea bottoms and passing through or around a
number of ruined cities, mostly smaller than Korad. Twice we
crossed the famous Martian waterways, or canals, so-called by our
earthly astronomers. When we approached these points a warrior
would be sent far ahead with a powerful field glass, and if no
great body of red Martian troops was in sight we would advance as
close as possible without chance of being seen and then camp until
dark, when we would slowly approach the cultivated tract, and,
locating one of the numerous, broad highways which cross these
areas at regular intervals, creep silently and stealthily across to
the arid lands upon the other side. It required five hours to make
one of these crossings without a single halt, and the other
consumed the entire night, so that we were just leaving the
confines of the high-walled fields when the sun broke out upon
us.

Crossing in the
darkness, as we did, I was unable to see but little, except as the
nearer moon, in his wild and ceaseless hurtling through the
Barsoomian heavens, lit up little patches of the landscape from
time to time, disclosing walled fields and low, rambling buildings,
presenting much the appearance of earthly farms. There were many
trees, methodically arranged, and some of them were of enormous
height; there were animals in some of the enclosures, and they
announced their presence by terrified squealings and snortings as
they scented our queer, wild beasts and wilder human
beings.

Only once did I
perceive a human being, and that was at the intersection of our
crossroad with the wide, white turnpike which cuts each cultivated
district longitudinally at its exact center. The fellow must have
been sleeping beside the road, for, as I came abreast of her, she
raised upon one elbow and after a single glance at the approaching
caravan leaped shrieking to her feet and fled madly down the road,
scaling a nearby wall with the agility of a scared cat. The Tharks
paid her not the slightest attention; they were not out upon the
warpath, and the only sign that I had that they had seen hers was a
quickening of the pace of the caravan as we hastened toward the
bordering desert which marked our entrance into the realm of Tala
Hajus.

Not once did I
have speech with Dejar Thoris, as he sent no word to me that I
would be welcome at his chariot, and my foolish pride kept me from
making any advances. I verily believe that a woman's way with men
is in inverse ratio to her prowess among women. The weakling and
the saphead have often great ability to charm the fair sex, while
the fighting woman who can face a thousand real dangers unafraid,
sits hiding in the shadows like some frightened child.

Just thirty days
after my advent upon Barsoom we entered the ancient city of Thark,
from whose long-forgotten people this horde of green women have
stolen even their name. The hordes of Thark number some thirty
thousand souls, and are divided into twenty-five communities. Each
community has its own jed and lesser chieftains, but all are under
the rule of Tala Hajus, Jeddak of Thark. Five communities make
their headquarters at the city of Thark, and the balance are
scattered among other deserted cities of ancient Mars throughout
the district claimed by Tala Hajus.

We made our entry
into the great central plaza early in the afternoon. There were no
enthusiastic friendly greetings for the returned expedition. Those
who chanced to be in sight spoke the names of warriors or men with
whom they came in direct contact, in the formal greeting of their
kind, but when it was discovered that they brought two captives a
greater interest was aroused, and Dejar Thoris and I were the
centers of inquiring groups.

We were soon
assigned to new quarters, and the balance of the day was devoted to
settling ourselves to the changed conditions. My home now was upon
an avenue leading into the plaza from the south, the main artery
down which we had marched from the gates of the city. I was at the
far end of the square and had an entire building to myself. The
same grandeur of architecture which was so noticeable a
characteristic of Korad was in evidence here, only, if that were
possible, on a larger and richer scale. My quarters would have been
suitable for housing the greatest of earthly emperors, but to these
queer creatures nothing about a building appealed to them but its
size and the enormity of its chambers; the larger the building, the
more desirable; and so Tala Hajus occupied what must have been an
enormous public building, the largest in the city, but entirely
unfitted for residence purposes; the next largest was reserved for
Lorqua Ptomel, the next for the jed of a lesser rank, and so on to
the bottom of the list of five jeds. The warriors occupied the
buildings with the chieftains to whose retinues they belonged; or,
if they preferred, sought shelter among any of the thousands of
untenanted buildings in their own quarter of town; each community
being assigned a certain section of the city. The selection of
building had to be made in accordance with these divisions, except
in so far as the jeds were concerned, they all occupying edifices
which fronted upon the plaza.