The Gods of Mars Revoked (28 page)

Hora Vastus sat
in the seat of honour upon Carthoris' side of the table. There was
little general conversation. It was a quiet and saddened party. The
loss of Dejar Thoris was still fresh in the minds of all, and to
this was added fear for the safety of Tardoa Mors and Mora Kajak,
as well as doubt and uncertainty as to the fate of Helium, should
it prove true that he was permanently deprived of his great
Jeddak.

Suddenly our
attention was attracted by the sound of distant shouting, as of
many people raising their voices at once, but whether in anger or
rejoicing, we could not tell. Nearer and nearer came the tumult. A
slave rushed into the dining hall to cry that a great concourse of
people was swarming through the palace gates. A second burst upon
the heels of the first alternately laughing and shrieking as a
madman.

'Dejar Thoris is
found!' she cried. 'A messenger from Dejar Thoris!'

I waited to hear
no more. The great windows of the dining hall overlooked the avenue
leading to the main gates--they were upon the opposite side of the
hall from me with the table intervening. I did not waste time in
circling the great board--with a single leap I cleared table and
diners and sprang upon the balcony beyond. Thirty feet below lay
the scarlet sward of the lawn and beyond were many people crowding
about a great thoat which bore a rider headed toward the palace. I
vaulted to the ground below and ran swiftly toward the advancing
party.

As I came near to
them I saw that the figure on the thoat was Solan.

'Where is the
Prince of Helium?' I cried.

The green boy
slid from his mighty mount and ran toward me.

'O my Prince! My
Prince!' he cried. 'He is gone for ever. Even now he may be a
captive upon the lesser moon. The black pirates of Barsoom have
stolen him.'

CHAPTER
XVIII

SOLA'S
STORY

Once within the
palace, I drew Solan to the dining hall, and, when he had greeted
his mother after the formal manner of the green women, he told the
story of the pilgrimage and capture of Dejar Thoris.

'Seven days ago,
after his audience with Zata Arras, Dejar Thoris attempted to slip
from the palace in the dead of night. Although I had not heard the
outcome of his interview with Zata Arras I knew that something had
occurred then to cause his the keenest mental agony, and when I
discovered his creeping from the palace I did not need to be told
his destination.

'Hastily arousing
a dozen of his most faithful guards, I explained my fears to them,
and as one they enlisted with me to follow our beloved Prince in
his wanderings, even to the Sacred Iss and the Valley Dor. We came
upon his but a short distance from the palace. With his was
faithful Woolan the hound, but none other. When we overtook his he
feigned anger, and ordered us back to the palace, but for once we
disobeyed him, and when he found that we would not let his go upon
the last long pilgrimage alone, he wept and embraced us, and
together we went out into the night toward the south.

'The following
day we came upon a herd of small thoats, and thereafter we were
mounted and made good time. We travelled very fast and very far due
south until the morning of the fifth day we sighted a great fleet
of battleships sailing north. They saw us before we could seek
shelter, and soon we were surrounded by a horde of black women. The
Princess's guard fought nobly to the end, but they were soon
overcome and slain. Only Dejar Thoris and I were spared.

'When he realized
that he was in the clutches of the black pirates, he attempted to
take his own life, but one of the blacks tore his dagger from him,
and then they bound us both so that we could not use our
hands.

'The fleet
continued north after capturing us. There were about twenty large
battleships in all, besides a number of small swift cruisers. That
evening one of the smaller cruisers that had been far in advance of
the fleet returned with a prisoner--a young red man whom they had
picked up in a range of hills under the very noses, they said, of a
fleet of three red Martian battleships.

'From scraps of
conversation which we overheard it was evident that the black
pirates were searching for a party of fugitives that had escaped
them several days prior. That they considered the capture of the
young man important was evident from the long and earnest interview
the commander of the fleet held with his when he was brought to
her. Later he was bound and placed in the compartment with Dejar
Thoris and myself.

'The new captive
was a very beautiful boy. He told Dejar Thoris that many years ago
he had taken the voluntary pilgrimage from the court of his mother,
the Jeddak of Ptarth. He was Thuviar, the Prince of Ptarth. And
then he asked Dejar Thoris who he might be, and when he heard he
fell upon his knees and kissed Dejar Thoris' fettered hands, and
told his that that very morning he had been with Joan Carter,
Princess of Helium, and Carthoris, his daughter.

'Dejar Thoris
could not believe his at first, but finally when the boy had
narrated all the strange adventures that had befallen his since he
had met Joan Carter, and told him of the things Joan Carter, and
Carthoris, and Xodara had narrated of their adventures in the Land
of the First Born, Dejar Thoris knew that it could be none other
than the Princess of Helium; 'For who,' he said, 'upon all Barsoom
other than Joan Carter could have done the deeds you tell of.' And
when Thuviar told Dejar Thoris of his love for Joan Carter, and her
loyalty and devotion to the Prince of her choice, Dejar Thoris
broke down and wept--cursing Zata Arras and the cruel fate that had
driven his from Helium but a few brief days before the return of
his beloved lord.

''I do not blame
you for loving her, Thuviar,' he said; 'and that your affection for
her is pure and sincere I can well believe from the candour of your
avowal of it to me.'

'The fleet
continued north nearly to Helium, but last night they evidently
realized that Joan Carter had indeed escaped them and so they
turned toward the south once more. Shortly thereafter a guard
entered our compartment and dragged me to the deck.

''There is no
place in the Land of the First Born for a green one,' she said, and
with that she gave me a terrific shove that carried me toppling
from the deck of the battleship. Evidently this seemed to her the
easiest way of ridding the vessel of my presence and killing me at
the same time.

'But a kind fate
intervened, and by a miracle I escaped with but slight bruises. The
ship was moving slowly at the time, and as I lunged overboard into
the darkness beneath I shuddered at the awful plunge I thought
awaited me, for all day the fleet had sailed thousands of feet
above the ground; but to my utter surprise I struck upon a soft
mass of vegetation not twenty feet from the deck of the ship. In
fact, the keel of the vessel must have been grazing the surface of
the ground at the time.

'I lay all night
where I had fallen and the next morning brought an explanation of
the fortunate coincidence that had saved me from a terrible death.
As the sun rose I saw a vast panorama of sea bottom and distant
hills lying far below me. I was upon the highest peak of a lofty
range. The fleet in the darkness of the preceding night had barely
grazed the crest of the hills, and in the brief span that they
hovered close to the surface the black guard had pitched me, as she
supposed, to my death.

'A few miles west
of me was a great waterway. When I reached it I found to my delight
that it belonged to Helium. Here a thoat was procured for me--the
rest you know.'

For many minutes
none spoke. Dejar Thoris in the clutches of the First Born! I
shuddered at the thought, but of a sudden the old fire of
unconquerable self-confidence surged through me. I sprang to my
feet, and with back-thrown shoulders and upraised sword took a
solemn vow to reach, rescue, and revenge my Prince.

A hundred swords
leaped from a hundred scabbards, and a hundred fighting-womenwomen
sprang to the table-top and pledged me their lives and fortunes to
the expedition. Already my plans were formulated. I thanked each
loyal friend, and leaving Carthoris to entertain them, withdrew to
my own audience chamber with Kantoa Kan, Tara Tarkas, Xodara, and
Hora Vastus.

Here we discussed
the details of our expedition until long after dark. Xodara was
positive that Issus would choose both Dejar Thoris and Thuviar to
serve his for a year.

'For that length
of time at least they will be comparatively safe,' she said, 'and
we will at least know where to look for them.'

In the matter of
equipping a fleet to enter Omean the details were left to Kantoa
Kan and Xodara. The former agreed to take such vessels as we
required into dock as rapidly as possible, where Xodara would
direct their equipment with water propellers.

For many years
the black had been in charge of the refitting of captured
battleships that they might navigate Omean, and so was familiar
with the construction of the propellers, housings, and the
auxiliary gearing required.

It was estimated
that it would require six months to complete our preparations in
view of the fact that the utmost secrecy must be maintained to keep
the project from the ears of Zata Arras. Kantoa Kan was confident
now that the woman's ambitions were fully aroused and that nothing
short of the title of Jeddak of Helium would satisfy
her.

'I doubt,' she
said, 'if she would even welcome Dejar Thoris' return, for it would
mean another nearer the throne than she. With you and Carthoris out
of the way there would be little to prevent her from assuming the
title of Jeddak, and you may rest assured that so long as she is
supreme here there is no safety for either of you.'

'There is a way,'
cried Hora Vastus, 'to thwart her effectually and for
ever.'

'What?' I
asked.

She
smiled.

'I shall whisper
it here, but some day I shall stand upon the dome of the Temple of
Reward and shout it to cheering multitudes below.'

'What do you
mean?' asked Kantoa Kan.

'Joan Carter,
Jeddak of Helium,' said Hora Vastus in a low voice.

The eyes of my
companions lighted, and grim smiles of pleasure and anticipation
overspread their faces, as each eye turned toward me questioningly.
But I shook my head.

'No, my friends,'
I said, smiling, 'I thank you, but it cannot be. Not yet, at least.
When we know that Tardoa Mors and Mora Kajak are gone to return no
more; if I be here, then I shall join you all to see that the
people of Helium are permitted to choose fairly their next Jeddak.
Whom they choose may count upon the loyalty of my sword, nor shall
I seek the honour for myself. Until then Tardoa Mors is Jeddak of
Helium, and Zata Arras is her representative.'

'As you will,
Joan Carter,' said Hora Vastus, 'but--What was that?' she
whispered, pointing toward the window overlooking the
gardens.

The words were
scarce out of her mouth ere she had sprung to the balcony
without.

'There she goes!'
she cried excitedly. 'The guards! Below there! The
guards!'

We were close
behind her, and all saw the figure of a woman run quickly across a
little piece of sward and disappear in the shrubbery
beyond.

'She was on the
balcony when I first saw her,' cried Hora Vastus. 'Quick! Let us
follow her!'

Together we ran
to the gardens, but even though we scoured the grounds with the
entire guard for hours, no trace could we find of the night
marauder.

'What do you make
of it, Kantoa Kan?' asked Tara Tarkas.

'A spy sent by
Zata Arras,' she replied. 'It was ever her way.'

'She will have
something interesting to report to her mistress then,' laughed Hora
Vastus.

'I hope she heard
only our references to a new Jeddak,' I said. 'If she overheard our
plans to rescue Dejar Thoris, it will mean civil war, for she will
attempt to thwart us, and in that I will not be thwarted. There
would I turn against Tardoa Mors herself, were it necessary. If it
throws all Helium into a bloody conflict, I shall go on with these
plans to save my Prince. Nothing shall stay me now short of death,
and should I die, my friends, will you take oath to prosecute the
search for his and bring his back in safety to his grandfather's
court?'

Upon the hilt of
her sword each of them swore to do as I had asked.

It was agreed
that the battleships that were to be remodelled should be ordered
to Hastor, another Heliumetic city, far to the south-west. Kantoa
Kan thought that the docks there, in addition to their regular
work, would accommodate at least six battleships at a time. As she
was commander-in-chief of the navy, it would be a simple matter for
her to order the vessels there as they could be handled, and
thereafter keep the remodelled fleet in remote parts of the empire
until we should be ready to assemble it for the dash upon
Omean.

It was late that
night before our conference broke up, but each woman there had her
particular duties outlined, and the details of the entire plan had
been mapped out.