A princess of Mars
cruelties of their kind, for the hideous, loveless lives they must ever
lead, and then she waited for the storm of denunciation to break from
his cold, hard lips; but instead he took her in his arms and kissed
her.
“They kept their love a secret for six long years. She, my mother, was
of the retinue of the great Tal Hajus, while her lover was a simple
warrior, wearing only his own metal. Had their defection from the
traditions of the Tharks been discovered both would have paid the
penalty in the great arena before Tal Hajus and the assembled hordes.
“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. She dared not come
oftener, for in the mighty guilt of her conscience she feared that her
every move was watched. During this period my father gained great
distinction as a warrior and had taken the metal from several
chieftains. His love for my mother had never diminished, and his own
ambition in life was to reach a point where he might wrest the metal
from Tal Hajus himself, and thus, as ruler of the Tharks, be free to
claim her as his own, as well as, by the might of his 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 Tal Hajus in five
short years, but his advance was rapid, and he 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 his loved ones, for he 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; he does not labor for what he can wrest in battle
from others.
“He was gone for four years, and when he returned all had been over for
three; for about a year after his 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. She hoped, upon the return of the expedition from the incubator, to
mix me with the other young assigned to the quarters of Tal Hajus, and
thus escape the fate which would surely follow discovery of her sin
against the ancient traditions of the green men.
“She taught me rapidly the language and customs of my kind, and one
night she 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 she 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 her, or my knowledge of my parentage; and then
drawing me close to her she whispered in my ear the name of my father.
“And then a light flashed out upon the darkness of the tower chamber,
and there stood Sarkoja, her gleaming, baleful eyes fixed in a frenzy
of loathing and contempt upon my mother. The torrent of hatred and
abuse she poured out upon her turned my young heart cold in terror.
That she had heard the entire story was apparent, and that she had
suspected something wrong from my mother’s long nightly absences from
her quarters accounted for her presence there on that fateful night.
“One thing she had not heard, nor did she know, the whispered name of
my father. This was apparent from her repeated demands upon my mother
to disclose the name of her partner in sin, but no amount of abuse or
threats could wring this from her, and to save me from needless torture
she lied, for she told Sarkoja that she alone knew nor would she ever
tell her child.
“With final imprecations, Sarkoja hastened away to Tal Hajus to report
her discovery, and while she was gone my mother, wrapping me in the
silks and furs of her 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 man whose protection she might not claim, but on whose face
she wished to look once more before she 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 her mind was that it was my father
returned from his expedition, but the cunning of the Thark held her
from headlong and precipitate flight to greet him.
“Retreating into the shadows of a doorway she 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 her wondrous
light. My mother shrank further back into the friendly shadows, and
from her hiding place saw that the expedition was not that of my
father, but the returning caravan bearing the young Tharks. Instantly
her plan was formed, and as a great chariot swung close to our hiding
place she slipped stealthily in upon the trailing tailboard, crouching
low in the shadow of the high side, straining me to her bosom in a
frenzy of love.
“She knew, what I did not, that never again after that night would she
hold me to her breast, nor was it likely we would ever look upon each
other’s face again. In the confusion of the plaza she 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 women 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. She was imprisoned by Tal
Hajus, and every effort, including the most horrible and shameful
torture, was brought to bear upon her to wring from her lips the name
of my father; but she remained steadfast and loyal, dying at last
amidst the laughter of Tal Hajus and his chieftains during some awful
torture she was undergoing.
“I learned afterwards that she told them that she had killed me to save
me from a like fate at their hands, and that she had thrown my body to
the white apes. Sarkoja alone disbelieved her, and I feel to this day
that she suspects my true origin, but does not dare expose me, at the
present, at all events, because she also guesses, I am sure, the
identity of my father.
“When he returned from his expedition and learned the story of my
mother’s fate I was present as Tal Hajus told him; but never by the
quiver of a muscle did he betray the slightest emotion; only he did not
laugh as Tal Hajus gleefully described her death struggles. From that
moment on he was the cruelest of the cruel, and I am awaiting the day
when he shall win the goal of his ambition, and feel the carcass of Tal
Hajus beneath his foot, for I am as sure that he but waits the
opportunity to wreak a terrible vengeance, and that his great love is
as strong in his breast as when it first transfigured him nearly forty
years ago, as I am that we sit here upon the edge of a world-old ocean
while sensible people sleep, John Carter.”
“And your father, Sola, is he with us now?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied, “but he does not know me for what I am, nor does he
know who betrayed my mother to Tal Hajus. I alone know my father’s
name, and only I and Tal Hajus and Sarkoja know that it was she who
carried the tale that brought death and torture upon her he loved.”
We sat silent for a few moments, she wrapped in the gloomy thoughts of
her 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 she spoke.
“John Carter, if ever a real man walked the cold, dead bosom of Barsoom
you are one. I know that I can trust you, and because the knowledge may
someday help you or him or Dejah Thoris or myself, I am going to tell
you the name of my father, 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 gentlemen if a lie would save others
from sorrow or suffering. My father’s name is Tars 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 her 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 him,
he raised upon one elbow and after a single glance at the approaching
caravan leaped shrieking to his feet and fled madly down the road,
scaling a nearby wall with the agility of a scared cat. The Tharks paid
him not the slightest attention; they were not out upon the warpath,
and the only sign that I had that they had seen him was a quickening of
the pace of the caravan as we hastened toward the bordering desert
which marked our entrance into the realm of Tal Hajus.
Not once did I have speech with Dejah Thoris, as she sent no word to me
that I would be welcome at her chariot, and my foolish pride kept me
from making any advances. I verily believe that a man’s way with women
is in inverse ratio to his prowess among men. The weakling and the
saphead have often great ability to charm the fair sex, while the
fighting man who can face a thousand real dangers unafraid, sits hiding