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Show HB"" IRWIN MYEItX V ggggggl ff 1c,,i BP gH A Copyrigrt A.C.McClwrf and Company H J (Continued from last week) H' The answer Is easy, Dejah Thorls," H I refilled, smiling. "It wns nut I who Bgggm fAI gsrJrlri igBsW TmyJgggj gggsssfl I ffgflgfigggssKvuMliipggflRjRlattHlBgggB H I Took Htr In My Arms and Kissed H H ,Id It, It was love, love for Dejali H jThoris, a power that would work H . greater miracles than thta you have H laeen. I have done many strange H things In my life, many things that H wlBcr men would not have dared, but 1 never In my wildest fancies have 1 H dreamed of winning n Dejah Thorls H, ,fir,titKtdf for never had I dreamed t tin t in nil I In- universe dwelt such a ' 'In- plItlccKH of Helium. H n iiut'oM iIooh not'abasb H ' me. but that yon ore you Is enough H to make me doubt my sanity us I ask H you, my princess, to bo mine." H "Ho does not need to bo nbnshcd H -who so well knew tho answer to his H plea before the plea were made," she H replied, rising and placing her dear H Hands upon my shoulders, and so I B took her In my arms nnd kissed her. H And thus In the midst of a city of gfffffl wild conflict, filled with the alarms of H war; with death and destruction reap- H tag their terrible harvest around her, H 414 Dcjah Thorls, princess of Helium, H trae-daughter of Mars, the god of war, H yromlso herself In roarrlago to John H i Garter, Gentleman of Virginia. H Some time later Tars Tnrkns and H Santos Knn returned to report that H Xodanga had been completely reduced. H Her forces were entirely destroyed or H captured, and no further resistance H was to be expected from within. Sev- H tral battleships bad escuped, but there I H were tliousundu of war and mcrchnnt H vessels under guard of Thark war- H rlors. H Tho lesser hordes had commenced H looting and quarreling umong them- H selves, so It was decided that we col- H lect what warriors wo could, mnn as H many vessels as possible with Zodnn- H gan prisoners and make for Helium H without further loss of time. Hj Five hours later we sailed from the H roofs of tho dock buildings with a fleet H of two hundred and fifty battleships, H carrying nearly one hundred thousand H green warriors, followed by a fleet of H transports with our thonts. H In the middle of the afternoon wo H sighted tho scarlet and yellow towers H of Helium, and a short time later a H great fleet of Zodangan battleships H rose from the camps of the besiegers H without the city and advanced to meet Hj The banners of nellum had been H strung from stem to stern of each of H mt mighty craft, but the ZodanganB H tld not need this sign to realise that H we were enemies, for our green Mar- H (tan warriors had opened Are upon H them almost as they left tho ground. H Willi their uucanny marksmanship H they raked the oncoming Ihjf t wltli vol- H ley after volley. H The twin cities of Helium, percclv- Hj tog that we were friends, sent out hun- H , feeds of vessels to aid us, and then H ,Ugan the first real air battle I bad H ever witnessed. H At first the two fQrcea circled at the H same altitude, pouring broadside after H broadside Into each other. Presently H a great hole was torn In the hull of H e of the Immense battle craft from H . ,,fJfee Zodangan camp; with a lurch she H , teraed completely over, the little fig- B r of her crew plunging, turning and H twisting toward Uio ground a thousand B fset below; then with sickening ve- H VKltx slut tare, after yiem, almost comptotely burying herself In the soft loam of the ancient sea bottom. A wild cry of cxultntlon arose from tho Hcllumlto' squadron, and with redoubled re-doubled ferocity they fell upon the Zodangan Zo-dangan fleet. By a pretty maneuver two of the vessels of Helium gained a position' abovo their adversaries, from which they poured upon them from their keel bomb batteries a perfect torrent of exploding bombs. Within but llttlo moro than an hour from the moment the victorious Zodan-can Zodan-can uauadron had risen to moot us from tho camp of the besiegers tho battlo was over, and the remaining vessels of tho conquered Zodangans wore headed toward tho cities of Helium Heli-um under prUo crews. Wo now signaled tho flagship of Helium's navy to approach, and when sho was within hailing dlstnnco I called out that wo had tho Trlncess Dcjah Thorls on hoard, and that wo wished to transfer her to tho flagship that sho might bo taken Immediately to the city. As the full Import of my announcement announce-ment bore In upon them a grcnt cry aroso from tho decks of tho flagship, nnd a moment Inter tho colors of tho princess of nellum broke from n hundred hun-dred points upon her upper works. When tho other vessels of tho squadron squad-ron caught tho meaning of tho signals flashed them they took up tho wild acclaim ac-claim and unfurled her colors In tho gleaming sunlight. Tho flagship bore down upon us, and as Bhe swung gracefully to nnd touched our sldo a dozen officers sprang upon our decks. As their ns-tonlshed ns-tonlshed gaze fell upon tho hundreds of green warriors, who now camo forth from the fighting shelters, they Btopped aghast, but at sight of KnntoB Kan, who advanced to meet them, they camo forward, crowding nbout him. Dcjah Thorls and I then advanced, and they hnd no eyes for other than her. Bhe received them gracefully, calling each by name, for they were men high In the esteem and service of her grandfather, and she know thctn well. "Lay your hands upon the shoulder of John Carter," she said to them, turning tnwnrd mo, ''tho man to whom Helium owes her princess iib well as her victory toduy." They were very courteous to mo and Bald mnny kind nnd complimentary things, but what seemed to impress ,lhcin most was that I had won the aid of tho fierce Tharks In my campaign for the liberation of Dejah Thorls, and the relief of Helium. Dcjah Thorls went aboard the flagship, flag-ship, and wns much put out that I would not follow, but, as I explained to her, the battle was but partly won ; we still had the land forces of the besieging be-sieging Zodangans to account for, and I would not leavo Tars Tarkas until that had been accomplished. The commander of tho naval forces" of Helium promised to arrange to have , the armies of Helium attnek from the city In conjunction with our land attack, at-tack, and to the vessels separated and Dejah Thorls was borne In triumph back to tho court of her grandfather, Tardos Mors, Jeddnk of Helium. In the dlstnnco lay our fleet of transports, with the thoats of the green warriors, where they had remained re-mained during tho battle. Without landing stages It was to bo a dlftlcult matter to unload these beasts upon tho open plain, but there was nothing else for It, nnd so wo put out for a point about ten miles from the city and be-gan be-gan tho task. As soon as the last thoat was unloaded un-loaded Tare Turkns gavo tho command to ndvancc, and In three parties wo crept upon tho Zodungan camp from tho north, the south and the cast About a mile from tho main camp wo encountered their outposts and, as had been prearranged, accepted this ns the signni to charge. With wild, ferocious cries and amidst the nnsty equeallng of battle-enraged thoats we bore down upon the Zodai:ans. We did not catch them napping, but found a well-entrenched bnttlo line confronting us. Time ufter time we wcro repulsed until, toward noon, I began to fear for the result of the bat tie. The forces from Helium had not arrived, nor could wo rocelvo any word from them. Just at noon we heard heavy firing all along tho line between the Zodangans Zodan-gans and the cities, and we knew then that our much-needed reinforcements had comn. Again Tars Tarkas ordered the charge, and once moro the mighty thoats bore their terrible riders against tho ratnpnrts of tho enemy. At the samo moment the battle line of Helium surged over the opposite breastworks of the Zodangans and In another moment mo-ment they were being crushed as between be-tween two millstones. Nobly they fought, but la vain. Tho plnfn before the city became a crltablo shambles ere tho last Zodan gnn surrendered, but finally tho carnage car-nage ceased, Uio prisoners were marched back to Helium, and we entered en-tered the greater city's gates, n huge triumphal procession of conquering heroes. Tho broad avenues were lined with women and children, among which wcro tho few men whose duties necessitated neces-sitated that they remain within the cltj during the battle. Wo were greeted greet-ed with nn endless round of applause nnd showered with ornaments of gold, platinum, sliver and precious Jewels. The city had gono mad with Joy. My fierce Tharks caused the wildest excitement nnd enthusiasm. Never bo-fore bo-fore had an armed body of green warriors war-riors entered the gates of Helium, and that they camo now as friends and allies al-lies filled the red men with rejoicing. That my poor services to Dejah Thorls Tho-rls hod become known to the Helium-Itcs Helium-Itcs was evidenced by tho loud crying of my name, and by the loads of ornaments orna-ments that were fastened upon me and my hugo thoat as we passed up the avenues to tho palace, for even in tho face of tho ferocious appearanco of Woola Uio populace pressed closo about me. At tho top of the great steps leading lead-ing up to tho main portals of the pal-aco pal-aco stood tho royal party, and as we reached tho lower steps one of their number descended to meet us. Ho was an almost perfect specimen of manhood; man-hood; tall, straight as nn arrow, su perbly muscled and with tho carriage nnd bearing of a ruler of men. I did not need to be told that ho was Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium. Tho first member of our party ho met was Tars Tarkas and his first words scaled forever the new friendship friend-ship between the races. "That Tardoe Mors," ho said, earnestly, earn-estly, "may meet tho greatest living warrior of Darsoom Is a priceless honor, but that he may lay his hand on the shoulder of a friend and ally Is n far greater boon." "Jeddak of Helium," returned Tars Tarkas, "It lias rcmnlncd for n mnn of another world to tench the green warriors war-riors of Barsoom tho meaning of friendship; to him we owo thp fact that tho hordes of Thark can understand under-stand you; that they can appreciate nnd rcclprocnto tho sentiments so graciously expressed." Tardos Mors then greeted each of tho green jeddaks and jeds, and to each spoko words of friendship nnd appreciation. Ai he approached me he laid both hands upon my shoulders. "Welcome, my 6on," he said; "that you are granted, gladly, and without one word of opposition, the roost precious Jewel In all Helium, yes, In all Barsoom, Is sufficient earnest of my esteem." I Wo were then presented to Mors I Kajak, Jed of lesser Helium, nnd father fa-ther of Dejah Thorls. He had followed close bphlnd Tnrdos Mors nnd seemed even moro affected by the meeting than had his father. He tried a dozen times to express his gratltudo to me, but his voice choked with emotion and he could not speak, and yet he had, as I was to Inter learn, a reputation for ferocity and fearlessness as a fighter that was remarkable oven upon warlike Bar-sooin. Bar-sooin. In common with nil Helium he worshiped his daughter, nor could he think of what she had,, escaped without with-out deep emotion. CHAPTER XVII. From Joy to Death. For ten days the hordes of Thark and their wild allies were feasted and entertained, and, then, loaded with costly presents and escorted by ten thousand soldiers of Helium commanded command-ed by Mors Kajak, they started on the return Journey to their own lnnds. The Jed of Lesser Helium with a small party of nobles accompanied them all the way to Thark to cement more closely the new boats of peace and friendship. Sola nlso accompanied Tars TnrkoB, her father, who before all his chieftains chief-tains tiad acknowledged her as his daughter. Three weeks later, Mors Kajak and his officers accompanied by Tars Tarkas Tar-kas and Sola, returned upon a battleship battle-ship that had been dlsputched to Thark to fetch them In time for the ceremony which made Dejah Thorls and John Carter one. For nine years I served In the councils coun-cils and fought In the armies of Helium as n prlnco of the house of Tardot? Mors. Tho people seemed never to tiro of heaping honors upon me, and no day passed that did not bring some new proof of their love for their princess, prin-cess, the Incomparable Dejah Thorls. In a golden tncuhiitor upon the roof of our palace lay a snow-white egg. For nearly five years ten soldiers of the jeddak's Guard had constantly stood over It, and not a day passed when I was tn the city that Dejuh Thorls and I did not stand hand In hand before our little shrine planning for tho future, when the delicate shell should break. Vivid In my memory Is the picture of the last night as we wit there talking talk-ing In low tones of tho strange romance ro-mance which hnd woven our lives together to-gether and of this wonder which was coming to augment our happiness and fulfill our hopva. In the distance we saw the bright-white bright-white light of an. approaching alrsliln, but we attached no special significance to so common a .sight. Like a bolt of lightning It raced tnwnrd Helium until Its very speed bespoke the unusual. I Flashing the slgnnls which proclaimed pro-claimed It a dispatch bearer for the jpddajk It clcclwl Impatiently awaiting il 0 I ttfll gjv - wm ggKlMfttr"11- m Pm In a Golden Incubator Upon tho Roof of Our Palace Lay a Snow-Whlto Eao- tho tardy patrol boat which must convoy con-voy It to the palace docks. Ten minutes after It touched at the palace a messago called mo to tho council chnmber, which I found filling with tho members of that body. On the raised platform of tho throne was Tardos Mors, pacing back and forth with tense-drawn face. When all wcro In their scats bo turned toward to-ward us. "This morning," ho said, "word reached tho several governments of Barsoom that the keeper of tho atmosphere atmos-phere plant had mado no wireless report re-port for two dnyB, nor hnd almost ceaseless calls upon him from a score of capitals elicited a sign of response. All dny a thousand cruisers hnvc been scorching for him until, Just now, one of them returns bearing his dead body, which wob found In tho pits beneath his house horribly mutilated by some assassin. "I do not need to tell you what this means to Barsoom. It would take months to penetrnto thoso mighty walls, In fact tho work has already commenced, and there would be little to fear were the englno of tho pumping plant to run as It should and as they all have for hundreds of yenrs; but the worst, we fear, has happened. The Instruments show n rapidly decreasing air pressure on nil parts of Bnrsoom-r the englno has stopped. "My gentlemen," ho concluded, "we have at best three days to live." There was absolute silence for several sev-eral minutes, and then a young noble arose, nnd with his drawn sword held high above his head addressed Tardos Mors. "Tho men of Helium have prided themselves that they luivo ever shown nnrsonin how a nation of red men should live, now Is our opportunity to show them how they should die. Let us go nbout our duties ns though a thousand useful years still lay before us." The chamber rang with applause nnd as there wob nothing better to do than to allay the fears of the people by our example we went our ways with smiles upon our faces und sorrow gnawing at our hearts. When I returned to my palace 1 found that tho rumor already had reached Dejah Thorls, so I told her all that I had heard. "We have been very happy, John Carter," she said, "and I thank whatever what-ever fate overtakes us that It permits us to die together." The next two days brought no noticeable no-ticeable change In the supply of air, but on the morning of the third day breathing became difficult at the higher high-er altitudes of the roof tops. The nve-nnes nve-nnes nnd plazas of Helium were filled with people. All business hnd censed. For the most part the people looked bravely Into the face of their unalterable unalter-able doom. Here nnd there, however, men nnd women gavo way to quiet grief. Toward the middle of tho dny mnny of the weaker commenced to succumb nnd within an hour the people of Barsoom Bar-soom were sinking by thousands Into the unconBclousnesfl which precedes death by asphyxiation. Dejah ThorlB nnd I with tho other members of the royal family had collected col-lected In a Biinkcn garden within an Inner courtyard of the palace. The little Incubator had been brought from tho roof of our palace at request of Dejah Thorls and she sut gazing longingly long-ingly upon the unknown little life that now Bhe would never know. As It wns becoming perceptibly difficult dif-ficult to breathe Tardos Mors arose, saying: i "Let us bid each other farewell. The days of the greatness of Barsoom arc over. Tomorrow's Bun will look down upon a dead world which through all eternity must go swinging through the heavens peopled not even by memories. mem-ories. It Is the end." I He stooped and kissed the women ' of His family, and laid his strong baud upon the shoulders of the men. As I turned sadly from him my eyes fell upon Dejah Thorls. Her head was drooping upon her breast, to all appearances ap-pearances she was lifeless. With a cry I sprang to her and raised her In my arms. Her eyes opened and looked Into mine. "Kiss me. John Carter," she mur- " inured. "I love you I I love you I It lj cruel thnt we must be torn npnrt who were Just starting upon a life of love nnd happiness." As I pressed her dear lips to mine the old feeling of unconquerable power pow-er and authority rose In me. The fighting fight-ing blood of Virginia sprang to life In my veins. "It shall not be, my princess." 1 cried. "There Is, there must be some way, and John Carter, who has fought bis way through a strango world for love of you, will And it." And with my words there crept abovo the threshold of my conscious mind a scries of nine long forgotten sounds. Like ft flash of lightning In tho darkness their full purport dawned upon mo the key to tho three great doors of the atmosphere plant t Turning suddenly toward Tardos Mors as I still clasped my dying love to my breast I cried: "A flyer, Jeddnk I Quick I Order your swiftest flyer to tho palaco top. I can savo Barsoom yet" He did not wait to question, but In an Instant a guard was racing to tho nearest dock and though tho air was thin and almost gone at the rooftop they managed to launch the fastest one-man. alrscout machine that the skill of Barsoom had ever produced. Kissing Dejah ThorlB a dozen times and commondlng Woola, who would have followed mo, to remain and guard her, I bounded with my old agility and strength to tho high ramparts of the palace, and In another moment I was headed toward the goal of the hopes of all Barsoom. I had to fly low to get sufficient air to breathe, but I took a straight course across an old sea bottom and so had to rise only n few feet above the ground. I traveled with awful velocity, for my errand wns a race against time with denth. The face of Dejah Thorls hung always before me. An I turned for a last look as I left tho palace garden gar-den I hnd seen her 'stagger nnd Blnk upon the ground beside the little Incu-bntor. Incu-bntor. Thnt she hnd dropped Into the Inst comn which would end n death, If the nlr supply rcmnlncd unreplen-Ished, unreplen-Ished, I well knew, nnd 6o. throwing caution to the winds. I flung overboard over-board everything but the engine nnd compass, even to my ornnments, nnd lying on my belly ulong the deck with one linnd on the steering wheel nnd the other pushing the speed lever to Its Inst notch I split the thin air of dying MnrR with the speed or a meteor. An hour before dark the great wall of tho ntmosphere plnnt loomed suddenly sud-denly before me, nnd with n slckonlnp thud 1 plunged to the ground before the small door which wns withholding the spark of life from the Inhabitants of an entire planet. Beside the door a great crew of men, lind tieon tailoring to pierce the wall, 'mt they hail scarcely scratched the lllutlllte Mirfnce, nnd now most ol hem lay In tho last sleep from which not even nlr would awnken them. Conditions teemed much worse here than at Helium, and It wns with difficulty diffi-culty thnt I breathed nt nil. There ' ven few men still rousclous, and tn one nf these I spoke. "If I can open these doors Is there a mall who enn mart the engines?" I nsKed. "I enn." he replied. "If you open inlekly. I can Inst hut a few moment? nore. Hut It is useless, they are both dead nnd no fine else upon BarHoom knew the secret of these nwful locks: For three days men crazed with feiu have surged nbout this porlnl In vnln nttijnipts to solve Its mystery." I hnd no time to talk, 1 was becoming becom-ing very weak and It was with dlffl cutty thnt I controlled my mind at all. But with a final effort, us I sank weakly to my knees I hurled the nine thought wnves at that awful thing before be-fore me. The Martian had crawled to my side and with staring eyes fixed on tho single panel .before us we waited In the silence of death. Slowly tho mighty door receded before be-fore us. I attempted to rise and follow fol-low It but I was too weak. "After It," I cried to my companion, "and If you reach the pumproom tun lease all the pumps. It Is the onlj chance Barsoom has to exist tomorrow tomor-row I" From where I lay I opened the second sec-ond door, and then the third, and hb I saw the hope of Barsoom crawling weakly on hands and knees through the last doorway I sank' unconscious upon the ground. CHAPTER XVIII. At the Arizona Cave. It wns dark when I opened, my eyes again. Strange, stiff garments were upon my body; garments thnt cracked and powdered away from me ob I roso to a sitting posture. I felt myself over from bend to foot and from head to foot I wns clothed, though whpn I fell unconscious at the little doorway I had been naked. Be fore me was a small patch of moonlr sky which showed through a ragged aperture. As my hands passed over my bod) they came in contact with pockets am In one of these a small parcel at matches wrapped la oiled paper. Oni of these matches I struck, and its din flajne lighted up what appeared to b a huge cave, toward the iack of whlcl I discovered a strange, still flgun huddled, over a tiny bench. As I ap preached It I saw that It was the dea and mummified remains of a little ol woman with long black hair, and tht thing It leaned over was a small char coal burner upon which rested i round copper vessel containing i small guantlty of greenish powder. WkM . ' I Sank Unconscious Upon tho Uroun4 Behind her, depending from the root upon rowhldo thongs, nnd stretchlni ,( entirely across tho cave, was a row oi , human skeletons. From the thoni which held them stretched another ti the dead hand of the little old woman as I touched the cord tho skeleton swung to the motion with n noise ns a the rustling of dry leaves. j It wns a most grotesque and horrlt ,' tableau nnd I hastened out Into thi , fresh nlr; glad to escape from so grue some a place. ( The sight that met my eyes as stepped out upon a small ledge whlcl ran before tho entrance of tho cav-filled cav-filled me with consternation. A new heaven and n new landscnp l' met my guze. The silvered mountain r In the distance, tho almost stationary moon hanging In tho sky, the cacti ; studded valley below me were not o i Mars. I could scarce believe my eyci r but tho truth slowly forced Itself upoi j me I was looking upon Arizona froa " the same ledge from which ten yean j before I hnd gnzed with longing upm . i Mnrs. 1 Burying my head In my urras - turned, broken, nnd sorrowful, dowj J the trail from the cave. 1 Abovo me shone the red eye of Mar jj holding her nwful secret, forty-elgh million miles away. p Did the Martian reach the pun , room? Did the vitalizing air read S the people of that distant planet li v- tlrao to save them? Was my Deja! " R Thorls alive, or did her beautiful' bod; lie cold iu death beside tho tiny goldq Incubator In the sunken garden of th '; Inner courtyard of the palaco of Tai I dos Mors, tho Jeddak of Helium? For ten years I have waited am 'i prayed for an answer to my question! t For ten years I have waited an prayed to be taken back to tho wort: ' of my lost love. I would rather 11 V dead beside her there than llvo oj earth all those millions of terribl miles from her. ' Tho old mine, which I found ut touched, has made me fabulous) wealthy; but what care I for wealth ! As I sit here tonight tn my llttl I study overlooking the Hudson, jui twenty years have elapsed since I fin opened my eyes upon Mars. I can seo her shining In tho sk L through the llttlo window by my deal and tonight sho seems calling to m again as she has not called befor f since thnt long dead night, and I thin 'j I can sec, across that awful abyss j u space, a beautiful blnck-hnlrcd woran ff standing In the garden of n palace, an I at her sldo Is a little boy who puts hi jj arm around her ns she points Into th I sky toward the planet Earth, while s their feet Is a hugo and hideous crei f turo with a heart of gotd. I believe that they are waiting fo i me, and something tells me that 1 aha! aeon know. ITHK END. ! |