The Chessmen of Mars
among the foliage almost upon her as it sprang upward to seize her. It
was only a combination of good fortune and agility that saved her. A
stout branch deflected the raking talons of the carnivore, but so close
was the call that a giant forearm brushed her flesh in the instant
before she scrambled to the higher branches.
Baffled, the banth gave vent to his rage and disappointment in a series
of frightful roars that caused the very ground to tremble, and to these
were added the roarings and the growlings and the moanings of his
fellows as they approached from every direction, in the hope of
wresting from him whatever of his kill they could take by craft or
prowess. And now he turned snarling upon them as they circled the tree,
while the girl, huddled in a crotch above them, looked down upon the
gaunt, yellow monsters padding on noiseless feet in a restless circle
about her. She wondered now at the strange freak of fate that had
permitted her to come down this far into the valley by night unharmed,
but even more she wondered how she was to return to the hills. She knew
that she would not dare venture it by night and she guessed, too, that
by day she might be confronted by even graver perils. To depend upon
this valley for sustenance she now saw to be beyond the pale of
possibility because of the banths that would keep her from food and
water by night, while the dwellers in the towers would doubtless make
it equally impossible for her to forage by day. There was but one
solution of her difficulty and that was to return to her flier and pray
that the wind would waft her to some less terrorful land; but when
might she return to the flier? The banths gave little evidence of
relinquishing hope of her, and even if they wandered out of sight would
she dare risk the attempt? She doubted it.
Hopeless indeed seemed her situation--hopeless it was.
CHAPTER IV
CAPTURED
As Thuria, swift racer of the night, shot again into the sky the scene
changed. As by magic a new aspect fell athwart the face of Nature. It
was as though in the instant one had been transported from one planet
to another. It was the age-old miracle of the Martian nights that is
always new, even to Martians--two moons resplendent in the heavens,
where one had been but now; conflicting, fast-changing shadows that
altered the very hills themselves; far Cluros, stately, majestic,
almost stationary, shedding his steady light upon the world below;
Thuria, a great and glorious orb, swinging swift across the vaulted
dome of the blue-black night, so low that she seemed to graze the
hills, a gorgeous spectacle that held the girl now beneath the spell of
its enchantment as it always had and always would.
"Ah, Thuria, mad queen of heaven!" murmured Tara of Helium. "The hills
pass in stately procession, their bosoms rising and falling; the trees
move in restless circles; the little grasses describe their little
arcs; and all is movement, restless, mysterious movement without sound,
while Thuria passes." The girl sighed and let her gaze fall again to
the stern realities beneath. There was no mystery in the huge banths.
He who had discovered her squatted there looking hungrily up at her.
Most of the others had wandered away in search of other prey, but a few
remained hoping yet to bury their fangs in that soft body.
The night wore on. Again Thuria left the heavens to her lord and
master, hurrying on to keep her tryst with the Sun in other skies. But
a single banth waited impatiently beneath the tree which harbored Tara
of Helium. The others had left, but their roars, and growls, and moans
thundered or rumbled, or floated back to her from near and far. What
prey found they in this little valley? There must be something that
they were accustomed to find here that they should be drawn in so great
numbers. The girl wondered what it could be.
How long the night! Numb, cold, and exhausted, Tara of Helium clung to
the tree in growing desperation, for once she had dozed and almost
fallen. Hope was low in her brave little heart. How much more could she
endure? She asked herself the question and then, with a brave shake of
her head, she squared her shoulders. "I still live!" she said aloud.
The banth looked up and growled.
Came Thuria again and after awhile the great Sun--a flaming lover,
pursuing his heart's desire. And Cluros, the cold husband, continued
his serene way, as placid as before his house had been violated by this
hot Lothario. And now the Sun and both Moons rode together in the sky,
lending their far mysteries to make weird the Martian dawn. Tara of
Helium looked out across the fair valley that spread upon all sides of
her. It was rich and beautiful, but even as she looked upon it she
shuddered, for to her mind came a picture of the headless things that
the towers and the walls hid. Those by day and the banths by night! Ah,
was it any wonder that she shuddered?
With the coming of the Sun the great Barsoomian lion rose to his feet.
He turned angry eyes upon the girl above him, voiced a single ominous
growl, and slunk away toward the hills. The girl watched him, and she
saw that he gave the towers as wide a berth as possible and that he
never took his eyes from one of them while he was passing it. Evidently
the inmates had taught these savage creatures to respect them.
Presently he passed from sight in a narrow defile, nor in any direction
that she could see was there another. Momentarily at least the
landscape was deserted. The girl wondered if she dared to attempt to
regain the hills and her flier. She dreaded the coming of the workmen
to the fields as she was sure they would come. She shrank from again
seeing the headless bodies, and found herself wondering if these things
would come out into the fields and work. She looked toward the nearest
tower. There was no sign of life there. The valley lay quiet now and
deserted. She lowered herself stiffly to the ground. Her muscles were
cramped and every move brought a twinge of pain. Pausing a moment to
drink again at the stream she felt refreshed and then turned without
more delay toward the hills. To cover the distance as quickly as
possible seemed the only plan to pursue. The trees no longer offered
concealment and so she did not go out of her way to be near them. The
hills seemed very far away. She had not thought, the night before, that
she had traveled so far. Really it had not been far, but now, with the
three towers to pass in broad daylight, the distance seemed great
indeed.
The second tower lay almost directly in her path. To make a detour
would not lessen the chance of detection, it would only lengthen the
period of her danger, and so she laid her course straight for the hill
where her flier was, regardless of the tower. As she passed the first
enclosure she thought that she heard the sound of movement within, but
the gate did not open and she breathed more easily when it lay behind
her. She came then to the second enclosure, the outer wall of which she
must circle, as it lay across her route. As she passed close along it
she distinctly heard not only movement within, but voices. In the
world-language of Barsoom she heard a man issuing instructions--so many
were to pick usa, so many were to irrigate this field, so many to
cultivate that, and so on, as a foreman lays out the day's work for his
crew.
Tara of Helium had just reached the gate in the outer wall. Without
warning it swung open toward her. She saw that for a moment it would
hide her from those within and in that moment she turned and ran,
keeping close to the wall, until, passing out of sight beyond the curve
of the structure, she came to the opposite side of the enclosure. Here,
panting from her exertion and from the excitement of her narrow escape,
she threw herself among some tall weeds that grew close to the foot of
the wall. There she lay trembling for some time, not even daring to
raise her head and look about. Never before had Tara of Helium felt the
paralyzing effects of terror. She was shocked and angry at herself,
that she, daughter of John Carter, Warlord of Barsoom, should exhibit
fear. Not even the fact that there had been none there to witness it
lessened her shame and anger, and the worst of it was she knew that
under similar circumstances she would again be equally as craven. It
was not the fear of death--she knew that. No, it was the thought of
those headless bodies and that she might see them and that they might
even touch her--lay hands upon her--seize her. She shuddered and
trembled at the thought.
After a while she gained sufficient command of herself to raise her
head and look about. To her horror she discovered that everywhere she
looked she saw people working in the fields or preparing to do so.
Workmen were coming from other towers. Little bands were passing to
this field and that. There were even some already at work within thirty
ads of her--about a hundred yards. There were ten, perhaps, in the
party nearest her, both men and women, and all were beautiful of form
and grotesque of face. So meager were their trappings that they were
practically naked; a fact that was in no way remarkable among the
tillers of the fields of Mars. Each wore the peculiar, high leather
collar that completely hid the neck, and each wore sufficient other
leather to support a single sword and a pocket-pouch. The leather was
very old and worn, showing long, hard service, and was absolutely plain
with the exception of a single device upon the left shoulder. The
heads, however, were covered with ornaments of precious metals and
jewels, so that little more than eyes, nose, and mouth were
discernible. These were hideously inhuman and yet grotesquely human at
the same time. The eyes were far apart and protruding, the nose scarce
more than two small, parallel slits set vertically above a round hole
that was the mouth. The heads were peculiarly repulsive--so much so
that it seemed unbelievable to the girl that they formed an integral
part of the beautiful bodies below them.
So fascinated was Tara of Helium that she could scarce take her eyes
from the strange creatures--a fact that was to prove her undoing, for
in order that she might see them she was forced to expose a part of her
own head and presently, to her consternation, she saw that one of the
creatures had stopped his work and was staring directly at her. She did
not dare move, for it was still possible that the thing had not seen
her, or at least was only suspicious that some creature lay hid among
the weeds. If she could allay this suspicion by remaining motionless
the creature might believe that he had been mistaken and return to his
work; but, alas, such was not to be the case. She saw the thing call
the attention of others to her and almost immediately four or five of
them started to move in her direction.
It was impossible now to escape discovery. Her only hope lay in flight.
If she could elude them and reach the hills and the flier ahead of them
she might escape, and that could be accomplished in but one
way--flight, immediate and swift. Leaping to her feet she darted along
the base of the wall which she must skirt to the opposite side, beyond
which lay the hill that was her goal. Her act was greeted by strange
whistling sounds from the things behind her, and casting a glance over
her shoulder she saw them all in rapid pursuit.
There were also shrill commands that she halt, but to these she paid no
attention. Before she had half circled the enclosure she discovered
that her chances for successful escape were great, since it was evident
to her that her pursuers were not so fleet as she. High indeed then
were her hopes as she came in sight of the hill, but they were soon
dashed by what lay before her, for there, in the fields that lay