A Princess of Mars Rethroned (26 page)

At one end of the
chamber, upon massive golden thrones encrusted with diamonds, sat
Thana Kosis and her consort, surrounded by officers and dignitaries
of state. Before them stretched a broad aisle lined on either side
with soldiery, and as I looked there entered this aisle at the far
end of the hall, the head of a procession which advanced to the
foot of the throne.

First there
marched four officers of the jeddak's Guard bearing a huge salver
on which reposed, upon a cushion of scarlet silk, a great golden
chain with a collar and padlock at each end. Directly behind these
officers came four others carrying a similar salver which supported
the magnificent ornaments of a princess and prince of the reigning
house of Zodanga.

At the foot of
the throne these two parties separated and halted, facing each
other at opposite sides of the aisle. Then came more dignitaries,
and the officers of the palace and of the army, and finally two
figures entirely muffled in scarlet silk, so that not a feature of
eithers was discernible. These two stopped at the foot of the
throne, facing Thana Kosis. When the balance of the procession had
entered and assumed their stations Thana Kosis addressed the couple
standing before her. I could not hear her words, but presently two
officers advanced and removed the scarlet robe from one of the
figures, and I saw that Kantoa Kan had failed in her mission, for
it was Saba Than, Princess of Zodanga, who stood revealed before
me.

Thana Kosis now
took a set of the ornaments from one of the salvers and placed one
of the collars of gold about her daughter's neck, springing the
padlock fast. After a few more words addressed to Saba Than she
turned to the other figure, from which the officers now removed the
enshrouding silks, disclosing to my now comprehending view Dejar
Thoris, Prince of Helium.

The object of the
ceremony was clear to me; in another moment Dejar Thoris would be
joined forever to the Princess of Zodanga. It was an impressive and
beautiful ceremony, I presume, but to me it seemed the most
fiendish sight I had ever witnessed, and as the ornaments were
adjusted upon his beautiful figure and his collar of gold swung
open in the hands of Thana Kosis I raised my long-sword above my
head, and, with the heavy hilt, I shattered the glass of the great
window and sprang into the midst of the astonished assemblage. With
a bound I was on the steps of the platform beside Thana Kosis, and
as she stood riveted with surprise I brought my long-sword down
upon the golden chain that would have bound Dejar Thoris to
another.

In an instant all
was confusion; a thousand drawn swords menaced me from every
quarter, and Saba Than sprang upon me with a jeweled dagger she had
drawn from her nuptial ornaments. I could have killed her as easily
as I might a fly, but the age-old custom of Barsoom stayed my hand,
and grasping her wrist as the dagger flew toward my heart I held
her as though in a vise and with my long-sword pointed to the far
end of the hall.

'Zodanga has
fallen,' I cried. 'Look!'

All eyes turned
in the direction I had indicated, and there, forging through the
portals of the entranceway rode Tara Tarkas and her fifty warriors
on their great thoats.

A cry of alarm
and amazement broke from the assemblage, but no word of fear, and
in a moment the soldiers and nobles of Zodanga were hurling
themselves upon the advancing Tharks.

Thrusting Saba
Than headlong from the platform, I drew Dejar Thoris to my side.
Behind the throne was a narrow doorway and in this Thana Kosis now
stood facing me, with drawn long-sword. In an instant we were
engaged, and I found no mean antagonist.

As we circled
upon the broad platform I saw Saba Than rushing up the steps to aid
her mother, but, as she raised her hand to strike, Dejar Thoris
sprang before her and then my sword found the spot that made Saba
Than jeddak of Zodanga. As her mother rolled dead upon the floor
the new jeddak tore herself free from Dejar Thoris' grasp, and
again we faced each other. She was soon joined by a quartet of
officers, and, with my back against a golden throne, I fought once
again for Dejar Thoris. I was hard pressed to defend myself and yet
not strike down Saba Than and, with her, my last chance to win the
man I loved. My blade was swinging with the rapidity of lightning
as I sought to parry the thrusts and cuts of my opponents. Two I
had disarmed, and one was down, when several more rushed to the aid
of their new ruler, and to avenge the death of the old.

As they advanced
there were cries of 'The man! The man! Strike his down; it is his
plot. Kill him! Kill him!'

Calling to Dejar
Thoris to get behind me I worked my way toward the little doorway
back of the throne, but the officers realized my intentions, and
three of them sprang in behind me and blocked my chances for
gaining a position where I could have defended Dejar Thoris against
any army of swordswomen.

The Tharks were
having their hands full in the center of the room, and I began to
realize that nothing short of a miracle could save Dejar Thoris and
myself, when I saw Tara Tarkas surging through the crowd of pygmies
that swarmed about her. With one swing of her mighty longsword she
laid a dozen corpses at her feet, and so she hewed a pathway before
her until in another moment she stood upon the platform beside me,
dealing death and destruction right and left.

The bravery of
the Zodangans was awe-inspiring, not one attempted to escape, and
when the fighting ceased it was because only Tharks remained alive
in the great hall, other than Dejar Thoris and myself.

Saba Than lay
dead beside her mother, and the corpses of the flower of Zodangan
nobility and chivalry covered the floor of the bloody
shambles.

My first thought
when the battle was over was for Kantoa Kan, and leaving Dejar
Thoris in charge of Tara Tarkas I took a dozen warriors and
hastened to the dungeons beneath the palace. The jailers had all
left to join the fighters in the throne room, so we searched the
labyrinthine prison without opposition.

I called Kantoa
Kan's name aloud in each new corridor and compartment, and finally
I was rewarded by hearing a faint response. Guided by the sound, we
soon found her helpless in a dark recess.

She was overjoyed
at seeing me, and to know the meaning of the fight, faint echoes of
which had reached her prison cell. She told me that the air patrol
had captured her before she reached the high tower of the palace,
so that she had not even seen Saba Than.

We discovered
that it would be futile to attempt to cut away the bars and chains
which held her prisoner, so, at her suggestion I returned to search
the bodies on the floor above for keys to open the padlocks of her
cell and of her chains.

Fortunately among
the first I examined I found her jailer, and soon we had Kantoa Kan
with us in the throne room.

The sounds of
heavy firing, mingled with shouts and cries, came to us from the
city's streets, and Tara Tarkas hastened away to direct the
fighting without. Kantoa Kan accompanied her to act as guide, the
green warriors commencing a thorough search of the palace for other
Zodangans and for loot, and Dejar Thoris and I were left
alone.

He had sunk into
one of the golden thrones, and as I turned to his he greeted me
with a wan smile.

'Was there ever
such a woman!' he exclaimed. 'I know that Barsoom has never before
seen your like. Can it be that all Earth women are as you? Alone, a
stranger, hunted, threatened, persecuted, you have done in a few
short months what in all the past ages of Barsoom no woman has ever
done: joined together the wild hordes of the sea bottoms and
brought them to fight as allies of a red Martian
people.'

'The answer is
easy, Dejar Thoris,' I replied smiling. 'It was not I who did it,
it was love, love for Dejar Thoris, a power that would work greater
miracles than this you have seen.'

A pretty flush
overspread his face and he answered,

'You may say that
now, Joan Carter, and I may listen, for I am free.'

'And more still I
have to say, ere it is again too late,' I returned. 'I have done
many strange things in my life, many things that wiser women would
not have dared, but never in my wildest fancies have I dreamed of
winning a Dejar Thoris for myself--for never had I dreamed that in
all the universe dwelt such a man as the Prince of Helium. That you
are a prince does not abash me, but that you are you is enough to
make me doubt my sanity as I ask you, my prince, to be
mine.'

'She does not
need to be abashed who so well knew the answer to her plea before
the plea were made,' he replied, rising and placing his dear hands
upon my shoulders, and so I took his in my arms and kissed
him.

And thus in the
midst of a city of wild conflict, filled with the alarms of war;
with death and destruction reaping their terrible harvest around
him, did Dejar Thoris, Prince of Helium, true son of Mars, the God
of War, promise himself in marriage to Joan Carter, Gentleman of
Virginia.

CHAPTER
XXVI

THROUGH CARNAGE
TO JOY

Sometime later
Tara Tarkas and Kantoa Kan returned to report that Zodanga had been
completely reduced. His forces were entirely destroyed or captured,
and no further resistance was to be expected from within. Several
battleships had escaped, but there were thousands of war and
merchant vessels under guard of Thark warriors.

The lesser hordes
had commenced looting and quarreling among themselves, so it was
decided that we collect what warriors we could, woman as many
vessels as possible with Zodangan prisoners and make for Helium
without further loss of time.

Five hours later
we sailed from the roofs of the dock buildings with a fleet of two
hundred and fifty battleships, carrying nearly one hundred thousand
green warriors, followed by a fleet of transports with our
thoats.

Behind us we left
the stricken city in the fierce and brutal clutches of some forty
thousand green warriors of the lesser hordes. They were looting,
murdering, and fighting amongst themselves. In a hundred places
they had applied the torch, and columns of dense smoke were rising
above the city as though to blot out from the eye of heaven the
horrid sights beneath.

In the middle of
the afternoon we sighted the scarlet and yellow towers of Helium,
and a short time later a great fleet of Zodangan battleships rose
from the camps of the besiegers without the city, and advanced to
meet us.

The banners of
Helium had been strung from stem to stern of each of our mighty
craft, but the Zodangans did not need this sign to realize that we
were enemies, for our green Martian warriors had opened fire upon
them almost as they left the ground. With their uncanny
marksmanship they raked the on-coming fleet with volley after
volley.

The twin cities
of Helium, perceiving that we were friends, sent out hundreds of
vessels to aid us, and then began the first real air battle I had
ever witnessed.

The vessels
carrying our green warriors were kept circling above the contending
fleets of Helium and Zodanga, since their batteries were useless in
the hands of the Tharks who, having no navy, have no skill in naval
gunnery. Their small-arm fire, however, was most effective, and the
final outcome of the engagement was strongly influenced, if not
wholly determined, by their presence.

At first the two
forces circled at the same altitude, pouring broadside after
broadside into each other. Presently a great hole was torn in the
hull of one of the immense battle craft from the Zodangan camp;
with a lurch he turned completely over, the little figures of his
crew plunging, turning and twisting toward the ground a thousand
feet below; then with sickening velocity he tore after them, almost
completely burying himself in the soft loam of the ancient sea
bottom.

A wild cry of
exultation arose from the Heliumite squadron, and with redoubled
ferocity they fell upon the Zodangan fleet. By a pretty maneuver
two of the vessels of Helium gained a position above their
adversaries, from which they poured upon them from their keel bomb
batteries a perfect torrent of exploding bombs.

Then, one by one,
the battleships of Helium succeeded in rising above the Zodangans,
and in a short time a number of the beleaguering battleships were
drifting hopeless wrecks toward the high scarlet tower of greater
Helium. Several others attempted to escape, but they were soon
surrounded by thousands of tiny individual fliers, and above each
hung a monster battleship of Helium ready to drop boarding parties
upon their decks.

Within but little
more than an hour from the moment the victorious Zodangan squadron
had risen to meet us from the camp of the besiegers the battle was
over, and the remaining vessels of the conquered Zodangans were
headed toward the cities of Helium under prize crews.

There was an
extremely pathetic side to the surrender of these mighty fliers,
the result of an age-old custom which demanded that surrender
should be signalized by the voluntary plunging to earth of the
commander of the vanquished vessel. One after another the brave
fellows, holding their colors high above their heads, leaped from
the towering bows of their mighty craft to an awful
death.