December 31, 2025 • 23 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Thuvia made of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Chapter one,
Carthoris and Thuvia. Upon a massive bench of polished air
sit beneath the gorgeous blooms of a giant panalia, A
woman sat, her shapely sandaled foot tapped impatiently upon the
(00:23):
jewel strewn walk that wound beneath the stately serapus trees
across the scarlet sward of the royal gardens of Thuvon
din Jeddak Ptarth. As a dark haired, red skinned warrior
bent low toward her, whispering heated words close to her ear.
Ah Thuvia of Ptarth, he cried, you are cold even
(00:45):
before the fiery blasts of my consuming love. No harder
than your heart, nor colder is the hard, cold air
sight of this thrice happy bench, which supports your divine
and fateless form. Tell me, o Thuvia of Ptarth, that
I may still hope that though you do not love
(01:06):
me now, yet some day, some day, my princess I.
The girl sprang to her feet with an exclamation of
surprise and displeasure. Her queenly head was poised haughtily upon
her smooth red shoulders. Her dark eyes looked angrily into
those of the man. You forget yourself and the customs
(01:27):
of barsoom Astoc, she said, I have given you no
right thus to address the daughter of thuvon Din, nor
have you won such a right. The man reached suddenly
forth and grasped her by the arm. You shall be
my princess, he cried, by the breast of isis thou shalt,
(01:49):
Nor shall any other come between Astok, Prince of Dusar
and his heart's desire. Tell me that there is another,
and I shall cut out his foul heart and fling
it to the wild calets of the dead sea bottoms.
At touch of the man's hand upon her flesh, the
girl went pallid beneath her coppery's skin. For the persons
(02:11):
of the royal women of the courts of Mars are
held but little less than sacred. The act of Astok,
Prince of Dusar was profanation. There was no terror in
the eyes of Thuvia of Ptarth, only horror for the
thing the man had done, and for its possible consequences.
(02:31):
Release me. Her voice was level, frigid. The man muttered
incoherently and drew her roughly toward him. Release me, she repeated, sharply,
or I call the guard, and the Prince of Dusar
knows what that will mean. Quickly, he threw his right
arm about her shoulders and strove to draw her face
(02:53):
to his lips. With a little cry, she struck him
full in the mouth with the massive bracelets that circled
her arm. Callet, she exclaimed, And then the guard, the
guard hasten in protection of the Princess of Ptarth. In
answer to her call, a dozen guardsmen came racing across
the scarlet sward, their gleaming long swords naked in the sun,
(03:17):
the metal of their accouterments clanking against that of their
leathern harness, and in their throats hoarse shouts of rage
at the sight which met their eyes. But before they
had passed half across the royal garden, to where Astok
of Dusar still held the struggling girl in his grasp,
another figure sprang from a cluster of dense foliage that
(03:38):
half hid a golden fountain close at hand. A tall,
straight youth, he was with black hair and keen gray eyes,
broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, a clean limbed
fighting man. His skin was but faintly tinged with the
copper color that marks the red men of Mars from
the other races of the dying planet. He was like them,
(04:01):
and yet there was a subtle difference, greater even than
that which lay in his lighter skin and his gray eyes.
There was a difference too in his movements. He came
on in great leaps that carried him so swiftly over
the ground that the speed of the guardsman was as
nothing by comparison. Astok still clutched Thuvia's wrist as the
(04:24):
young warrior confronted him. The newcomer wasted no time, and
he spoke but a single word, callot. He snapped, and
then his clenched fist landed beneath the other's chin, lifting
him high into the air and depositing him in a
crumpled heap within the center of the pimalia bush beside
the air sight bench. Her champion turned toward the girl,
(04:47):
Kowor Thuvia of Ptarth. He cried, it seems that fate
timed my visit well. Kowor Cathoris of Helium. The princess
returned the young man's greeting, and what less could one
expect of the son of such a sire. He bowed
his acknowledgment of the compliment to his father, John Carter,
(05:08):
war Lord of Mars, and then the guardsmen, panting from
their charge, came up, just as the Prince of Dusar,
bleeding at the mouth and with sword drawn, crawled from
the entanglement of the Pamalia. Astoc would have leaped to
mortal combat with the son of dejah Thoris, but the
guardsmen pressed about him, preventing, though it was clearly evident
(05:31):
that Naught would have better pleased Cathoris of Helium. But
say the word, Thuvia of Ptarth, he begged, and Naught
will give me greater pleasure than metting to this fellow
the punishment he has earned. It cannot be Cathoris, she replied,
even though he has forfeited all claim upon my consideration.
(05:53):
Yet is he the guest of the Jeddak, my father,
And to him alone may he account for the unpardonable
act he has committed. As you say, Thuvia, replied the Heliumite.
But afterward he shall account to Carthoris, Prince of Helium,
for this affront to the daughter of my father's friend.
(06:14):
As he spoke, though there burned in his eyes a
fire that proclaimed a nearer, dearer cause for his championship
of this glorious daughter of Barsoom. The maid's cheek darkened
beneath the satin of her transparent skin, and the eyes
of Astok, Prince of Dusar, darkened too, as he read
(06:35):
that which passed unspoken between the two in the royal
gardens of the Jeddak, And thou to me, he snapped
at Cathoris, answering the young man's challenge. The guard still
surrounded Astok. It was a difficult position for the young
officer who commanded it. His prisoner was the son of
(06:56):
a mighty Jeddak. He was the guest of Thu bon
Din until but now an honored guest upon whom every
royal dignity had been showered to arrest him, forcibly could
mean nought else than war. And yet he had done
that which, in the eyes of the Ptarth warrior, merited death.
The young man hesitated. He looked toward his princess. She too,
(07:20):
guessed all that hung upon the action of the coming moment.
For many years Dusar and Ptarth had been at peace
with each other. Their great merchant ships plied back and
forth between the larger cities of the two nations. Even now,
far above the gold shot scarlet dome of the Jeddak's Palace,
she could see the huge bulk of a giant freighter
(07:42):
taking its majestic way through the thin Barsoomian air toward
the West and Dusar. By a word, she might plunge
these two mighty nations into a bloody conflict that would
drain them of their bravest blood and their incalculable riches,
leaving them all helpless against the inroads of their envious
(08:02):
and less powerful neighbors, and at last a prey to
the savage, green hordes of the dead Sea bottoms. No
sense of fear influenced her decision, for fear is seldom
known to the children of Mars. It was rather a
sense of the responsibility that she, the daughter of their Jeddak,
felt for the welfare of her father's people. I called
(08:26):
you Padwar, she said to the Lieutenant of the Guard,
to protect the person of your princess and to keep
the peace that must not be violated within the royal
gardens of the Jeddak. That is all, you will escort
me to the palace, and the Prince of Helium will
accompany me. Without another glance in the direction of Astok,
(08:47):
she turned, and, taking Carthoris's proferred hand, moved slowly toward
the massive marble pile that housed the ruler of Ptarth
and his glittering court. On either side marched file of guardsmen. Thus,
Thuvia of Ptarth found away out of a dilemma, escaping
the necessity of placing her father's royal guest under forcible restraint,
(09:10):
and at the same time separating the two princes, who
otherwise would have been at each other's throat. The moment
she and the guard had departed beside the pomalia stood Astok,
his dark eyes narrowed to mere slits of hate beneath
his lowering brows, as he watched the retreating forms of
the woman who had aroused the fiercest passions of his
(09:32):
nature and the man whom he now believed to be
the one who stood between his love and its consummation.
As they disappeared within the structure, Astok shrugged his shoulders
and with a murmured Oath crossed the gardens towards another
wing of the building, where he and his retinue were housed.
That night he took formal leave of Thuvan Din, and
(09:55):
though no mention was made of the happening within the garden,
it was plain to see through the cold mask of
the Jeddak's courtesy that only the customs of royal hospitality
restrained him from voicing the contempt he felt for the
Prince of Dusar Carthoris was not present at the leave taking,
nor was Thuvia. The ceremony was as stiff and formal
(10:18):
as court etiquette could make it. And when the last
of the Dusarians clambered over the rail of the battleship
that had brought them upon this fateful visit to the
court of Ptarth, and the mighty engine of destruction had
risen slowly from the ways of the landing stage, a
note of relief was apparent in the voice of thuvon
Din as he turned to one of his officers with
a word of comment upon a subject foreign to that
(10:40):
which had been uppermost in the minds of all for hours.
But after all, was it so foreign inform Prince Sauvon.
He directed that it is our wish that the fleet
which departed for Cowl this morning be recalled to cruise
to the west of Ptarth. As the warship bearing Astok
(11:03):
back to the court of his father turned toward the west,
Thuvia of Ptarth, sitting upon the same bench where the
Prince of Dusar had affronted her, watched the twinkling lights
of the craft growing smaller in the distance. Beside her,
in the brilliant light of the nearer moon, sat Carthoris.
His eyes were not upon the dim bulk of the battleship,
(11:27):
but on the profile of the girl's upturned face. Thuvia,
he whispered. The girl turned her eyes toward his. His
hand stole out to find hers, but she drew her
own gently away. Thuvia of Ptarth, I love you, cried
the young warrior. Tell me that it does not offend.
(11:49):
She shook her head sadly. The love of Carthoris of Helium,
she said, simply, could be not but an honor to
any woman. But you must not speak, my friend, of
bestowing upon me that which I may not reciprocate. The
young man got slowly to his feet. His eyes were
wide in astonishment. It had never occurred to the Prince
(12:11):
of Helium that Thuvia of Ptarth might love another. But
at Cadabra, he exclaimed, and later here at your father's court,
What did you do, Thuvia of Ptarth, that might have
warned me that you could not return my love? And
what did I do, Carthoris of Helium, She returned, that
might lead you to believe that I did return it.
(12:35):
He paused in thought, and then shook his head. Nothing, Thuvia,
that is true. Yet I could have sworn you loved me.
Indeed you well knew how near a worship has been
my love for you. And how might I know it? Carthoris?
She asked innocently, did you ever tell me as much?
(12:55):
Ever before have words of love for me fallen from
your lips? But you must have known it, he exclaimed.
I am like my father, witless in matters of the heart,
and of a poor way with women. Yet the jewels
that strewn these royal garden paths, the trees, the flowers,
the sward, all must have read the love that has
(13:17):
filled my heart since first my eyes were made new
by imaging your perfect face. And form. So how could
you alone have been blind to it? Do the maids
of Helium pay court to their men? Asked theuvia, you
are playing with me, exclaimed Carthoris, say that you are
(13:38):
but playing, and that, after all you love me Theuvia,
I cannot tell you that, Carthoris, for I am promised
to another. Her tone was level, but was there not
within it the hint of an infinite depth of sadness?
Who may say, promised to another? Carthoris scarcely breathed the words.
(14:02):
His face went almost white, and then his head came
up as befitted him, in whose veins flowed the blood
of the overlord of a world. Carthoris of Helium wishes
you every happiness with the man of your choice, he said,
with and then he hesitated, waiting for her to fill
in the name. Kulan tith Jeddak of Caoul. She replied,
(14:26):
my father's friend and Ptarth's most puissant. Ally, the young
man looked at her intently for a moment before he
spoke again, you love him, Thuvia of Ptarth, He asked,
I am promised to him? She replied simply. He did
not press her. He is of Barsoom's noblest blood and
(14:49):
mightiest fighters, mused, Carthoris, my father's friend and mine would
that it might have been another. He muttered, almost savagely.
What the girl think thought was hidden by the mask
of her expression, which was tinged only by a little
shadow of sadness, that might have been for Carthoris or self,
or for them both. Carthoris of Helium did not ask,
(15:14):
though he noted it, for his loyalty to Culan Tith
was the loyalty of the blood of John Carter of Virginia,
for a friend greater than which could be no loyalty.
He raised a jewel incrusted bit of the girl's magnificent
trappings to his lips. To the honor and happiness of
Culan Tith, and the priceless jewel that has bestowed upon him,
(15:37):
he said, and though his voice was husky, there was
the true ring of sincerity in it. I told you
that I loved you Thuvia, before I knew that you
were promised to another. I may not tell you it again,
but I am glad that you know it, for there
is no dishonor in it, either to you or to
Culan Tith, or to myself. My love is such that
(15:58):
it may embrace as well Kulan Tith, if you love him.
There was almost a question in the statement I am
promised to him, she replied. Carthoris backed slowly away. He
laid one hand upon his heart, the other upon the
pommel of his long sword. These are yours always, he said.
(16:25):
A moment later he had entered the palace and was
gone from the girl's sight. Had he returned at once,
he would have found her prone upon the ersite bench,
her face buried in her arms. Was she weeping? There
was none to see. Carthoris of Helium had come all
(16:46):
unannounced to the court of his father's friend that day.
He had come alone in a small flier, sure of
the same welcome that always awaited him at Ptarth. As
there had been no formality in his coming, there is
no need of forey in his going to thuvon Din.
He explained that he had been but testing an invention
of his own with which his flier was equipped, a
(17:10):
clever improvement of the ordinary Martian air compass, which, when
set for a certain destination, will remain constantly fixed thereon,
making it only necessary to keep a vessel's prow always
in the direction of the compass needle to reach any
given point upon Barsoom by the shortest route. Carthoris's improvement
(17:31):
upon this consisted of an auxiliary device which steered the
craft mechanically in the direction of the compass, and upon
arrival directly over the point for which the compass was set,
brought the craft to a standstill and lowered it automatically
to the ground. You readily discern the advantage of this invention,
(17:51):
he was saying to thuvon Din, who had accompanied him
to the landing stage upon the palace roof, to inspect
the compass and bid his young friend farewell. A dozen
officers of the court, with several body servants or grouped
behind the jeddak and his guest eager listeners to the conversation,
So eager on the part of one of the servants
(18:12):
that he was twice rebuked by a noble for his
forwardness in pushing himself ahead of his betters to view
the intricate mechanism of the wonderful controlling destination compass as
the thing was called. For example, continued Carthoris, I have
an all night trip before me. As to night I
set the pointer here upon the right hand dial, which
(18:33):
represents the eastern hemisphere of Barsoom, so that the point
rests upon the exact latitude and longitude of Helium. Then
I start the engine, roll up in my sleeping silks
and furs, and with lights burning, race through the air
toward Helium, confident that at the appointed hour I shall
drop gently toward the landing stage upon my own palace,
(18:53):
whether I am still asleep or no, provided suggested thuvon Din,
you do not chance to collide with some other night
wanderer in the meanwhile, Carthoris smiled, No danger of that,
he replied, see here, and he indicated a device at
the right of the destination compass. This is my obstruction evader,
(19:17):
as I call it. This visible device is the switch
which throws the mechanism on or off. The instrument itself
is below deck, geared both to the steering apparatus and
the control levers. It is quite simple, being nothing more
than a radium generator, diffusing radioactivity in all directions to
a distance of a hundred yards or so from the flier.
(19:39):
Should this enveloping force be interrupted in any direction, a
delicate instrument immediately apprehends the irregularity at the same time
imparting an impulse to a magnetic device, which in turn
actuates a steering mechanism, diverting the bow of the flier
away from the obstacle until the craft's radioactivity sphere is
no longer in contact with the obstruction. Then she falls
(20:01):
once more to her normal course. Should the disturbance approach
from the rear, as in the case of a faster
moving craft overhauling me, the mechanism actuates the speed control
as well as the steering gear, and the flier shoots
ahead and either up or down as the oncoming vessel
is upon a lower or higher plane than myself. In
aggravated cases, that is, when the obstructions are many or
(20:25):
of such a nature as to deflect the bow more
than forty five degrees in any direction, or when the
craft has reached its destination and dropped to within a
hundred yards of the ground, the mechanism brings her to
a full stop, at the same time sounding a loud
alarm which will instantly awaken the pilot. You see, I
have anticipated almost every contingency. Fu bon Din smiled his
(20:48):
appreciation of the marvelous device. The forward servant pushed almost
to the flier's side. His eyes were narrowed to slits,
all but one, he said. The nobles looked at him
in astonishment, and one of them grasped the fellow none
too gently by the shoulder to push him back to
his proper place. Carthoris raised his hand. Wait, he urged,
(21:12):
let us hear what the man has to say. No
creation of mortal mind is perfect. Perchance he has detected
a weakness that it will be well to know at once. Come,
my good fellow, and what may be the one contingency
I have overlooked. As he spoke, Carthoris observed the servant closely.
For the first time he saw a man of giant
(21:34):
stature and handsome, as are all those of the race
of Martian red men. But the fellow's lips were thin
and cruel, and across one cheek was the faint white
line of a sword cut from the right temple to
the corner of the mouth. Come, urged the Prince of
Helium speak. The man hesitated. It was evident that he
(21:56):
regretted the temerity that had made him the center of
interested observation. But at the last, seeing no alternative, he spoke.
It may be tampered with, he said, by an enemy.
Carthoris drew a small key from his leathern pocket pouch.
Look at this, he said, handing it to the man.
(22:18):
If you know aught of locks, you will know that
the mechanism which this unlooses is beyond the cunning of
a picker of locks. It guards the vitals of the
instrument from crafty tampering. Without it, an enemy must half
wreck the device to reach its heart, leaving his handiwork
apparent to the most casual observer. The servant took the key,
(22:42):
glanced at it shrewdly, and then as he made to
return it to Carthoris dropped it upon the marble flagging.
Turning to look for it, he planted the sole of
his sandal full upon the glittering object. For an instant
he bore all his weight upon the foot that covered
the key. Then he stepped back, and, with an exclamation
as of pleasure that he had found it, stooped, recovered
(23:05):
it and returned it to the heliumite. Then he dropped
back to his station behind the nobles, and was forgotten.
A moment later, Carthoris made his adieu to thuvon Din
and his nobles, and with lights twinkling, had risen to
the star shot void of the Martian night. End of
(23:27):
chapter one,
Thuvia made of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Chapter one,
Carthoris and Thuvia. Upon a massive bench of polished air
sit beneath the gorgeous blooms of a giant panalia, A
woman sat, her shapely sandaled foot tapped impatiently upon the
(00:23):
jewel strewn walk that wound beneath the stately serapus trees
across the scarlet sward of the royal gardens of Thuvon
din Jeddak Ptarth. As a dark haired, red skinned warrior
bent low toward her, whispering heated words close to her ear.
Ah Thuvia of Ptarth, he cried, you are cold even
(00:45):
before the fiery blasts of my consuming love. No harder
than your heart, nor colder is the hard, cold air
sight of this thrice happy bench, which supports your divine
and fateless form. Tell me, o Thuvia of Ptarth, that
I may still hope that though you do not love
(01:06):
me now, yet some day, some day, my princess I.
The girl sprang to her feet with an exclamation of
surprise and displeasure. Her queenly head was poised haughtily upon
her smooth red shoulders. Her dark eyes looked angrily into
those of the man. You forget yourself and the customs
(01:27):
of barsoom Astoc, she said, I have given you no
right thus to address the daughter of thuvon Din, nor
have you won such a right. The man reached suddenly
forth and grasped her by the arm. You shall be
my princess, he cried, by the breast of isis thou shalt,
(01:49):
Nor shall any other come between Astok, Prince of Dusar
and his heart's desire. Tell me that there is another,
and I shall cut out his foul heart and fling
it to the wild calets of the dead sea bottoms.
At touch of the man's hand upon her flesh, the
girl went pallid beneath her coppery's skin. For the persons
(02:11):
of the royal women of the courts of Mars are
held but little less than sacred. The act of Astok,
Prince of Dusar was profanation. There was no terror in
the eyes of Thuvia of Ptarth, only horror for the
thing the man had done, and for its possible consequences.
(02:31):
Release me. Her voice was level, frigid. The man muttered
incoherently and drew her roughly toward him. Release me, she repeated, sharply,
or I call the guard, and the Prince of Dusar
knows what that will mean. Quickly, he threw his right
arm about her shoulders and strove to draw her face
(02:53):
to his lips. With a little cry, she struck him
full in the mouth with the massive bracelets that circled
her arm. Callet, she exclaimed, And then the guard, the
guard hasten in protection of the Princess of Ptarth. In
answer to her call, a dozen guardsmen came racing across
the scarlet sward, their gleaming long swords naked in the sun,
(03:17):
the metal of their accouterments clanking against that of their
leathern harness, and in their throats hoarse shouts of rage
at the sight which met their eyes. But before they
had passed half across the royal garden, to where Astok
of Dusar still held the struggling girl in his grasp,
another figure sprang from a cluster of dense foliage that
(03:38):
half hid a golden fountain close at hand. A tall,
straight youth, he was with black hair and keen gray eyes,
broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, a clean limbed
fighting man. His skin was but faintly tinged with the
copper color that marks the red men of Mars from
the other races of the dying planet. He was like them,
(04:01):
and yet there was a subtle difference, greater even than
that which lay in his lighter skin and his gray eyes.
There was a difference too in his movements. He came
on in great leaps that carried him so swiftly over
the ground that the speed of the guardsman was as
nothing by comparison. Astok still clutched Thuvia's wrist as the
(04:24):
young warrior confronted him. The newcomer wasted no time, and
he spoke but a single word, callot. He snapped, and
then his clenched fist landed beneath the other's chin, lifting
him high into the air and depositing him in a
crumpled heap within the center of the pimalia bush beside
the air sight bench. Her champion turned toward the girl,
(04:47):
Kowor Thuvia of Ptarth. He cried, it seems that fate
timed my visit well. Kowor Cathoris of Helium. The princess
returned the young man's greeting, and what less could one
expect of the son of such a sire. He bowed
his acknowledgment of the compliment to his father, John Carter,
(05:08):
war Lord of Mars, and then the guardsmen, panting from
their charge, came up, just as the Prince of Dusar,
bleeding at the mouth and with sword drawn, crawled from
the entanglement of the Pamalia. Astoc would have leaped to
mortal combat with the son of dejah Thoris, but the
guardsmen pressed about him, preventing, though it was clearly evident
(05:31):
that Naught would have better pleased Cathoris of Helium. But
say the word, Thuvia of Ptarth, he begged, and Naught
will give me greater pleasure than metting to this fellow
the punishment he has earned. It cannot be Cathoris, she replied,
even though he has forfeited all claim upon my consideration.
(05:53):
Yet is he the guest of the Jeddak, my father,
And to him alone may he account for the unpardonable
act he has committed. As you say, Thuvia, replied the Heliumite.
But afterward he shall account to Carthoris, Prince of Helium,
for this affront to the daughter of my father's friend.
(06:14):
As he spoke, though there burned in his eyes a
fire that proclaimed a nearer, dearer cause for his championship
of this glorious daughter of Barsoom. The maid's cheek darkened
beneath the satin of her transparent skin, and the eyes
of Astok, Prince of Dusar, darkened too, as he read
(06:35):
that which passed unspoken between the two in the royal
gardens of the Jeddak, And thou to me, he snapped
at Cathoris, answering the young man's challenge. The guard still
surrounded Astok. It was a difficult position for the young
officer who commanded it. His prisoner was the son of
(06:56):
a mighty Jeddak. He was the guest of Thu bon
Din until but now an honored guest upon whom every
royal dignity had been showered to arrest him, forcibly could
mean nought else than war. And yet he had done
that which, in the eyes of the Ptarth warrior, merited death.
The young man hesitated. He looked toward his princess. She too,
(07:20):
guessed all that hung upon the action of the coming moment.
For many years Dusar and Ptarth had been at peace
with each other. Their great merchant ships plied back and
forth between the larger cities of the two nations. Even now,
far above the gold shot scarlet dome of the Jeddak's Palace,
she could see the huge bulk of a giant freighter
(07:42):
taking its majestic way through the thin Barsoomian air toward
the West and Dusar. By a word, she might plunge
these two mighty nations into a bloody conflict that would
drain them of their bravest blood and their incalculable riches,
leaving them all helpless against the inroads of their envious
(08:02):
and less powerful neighbors, and at last a prey to
the savage, green hordes of the dead Sea bottoms. No
sense of fear influenced her decision, for fear is seldom
known to the children of Mars. It was rather a
sense of the responsibility that she, the daughter of their Jeddak,
felt for the welfare of her father's people. I called
(08:26):
you Padwar, she said to the Lieutenant of the Guard,
to protect the person of your princess and to keep
the peace that must not be violated within the royal
gardens of the Jeddak. That is all, you will escort
me to the palace, and the Prince of Helium will
accompany me. Without another glance in the direction of Astok,
(08:47):
she turned, and, taking Carthoris's proferred hand, moved slowly toward
the massive marble pile that housed the ruler of Ptarth
and his glittering court. On either side marched file of guardsmen. Thus,
Thuvia of Ptarth found away out of a dilemma, escaping
the necessity of placing her father's royal guest under forcible restraint,
(09:10):
and at the same time separating the two princes, who
otherwise would have been at each other's throat. The moment
she and the guard had departed beside the pomalia stood Astok,
his dark eyes narrowed to mere slits of hate beneath
his lowering brows, as he watched the retreating forms of
the woman who had aroused the fiercest passions of his
(09:32):
nature and the man whom he now believed to be
the one who stood between his love and its consummation.
As they disappeared within the structure, Astok shrugged his shoulders
and with a murmured Oath crossed the gardens towards another
wing of the building, where he and his retinue were housed.
That night he took formal leave of Thuvan Din, and
(09:55):
though no mention was made of the happening within the garden,
it was plain to see through the cold mask of
the Jeddak's courtesy that only the customs of royal hospitality
restrained him from voicing the contempt he felt for the
Prince of Dusar Carthoris was not present at the leave taking,
nor was Thuvia. The ceremony was as stiff and formal
(10:18):
as court etiquette could make it. And when the last
of the Dusarians clambered over the rail of the battleship
that had brought them upon this fateful visit to the
court of Ptarth, and the mighty engine of destruction had
risen slowly from the ways of the landing stage, a
note of relief was apparent in the voice of thuvon
Din as he turned to one of his officers with
a word of comment upon a subject foreign to that
(10:40):
which had been uppermost in the minds of all for hours.
But after all, was it so foreign inform Prince Sauvon.
He directed that it is our wish that the fleet
which departed for Cowl this morning be recalled to cruise
to the west of Ptarth. As the warship bearing Astok
(11:03):
back to the court of his father turned toward the west,
Thuvia of Ptarth, sitting upon the same bench where the
Prince of Dusar had affronted her, watched the twinkling lights
of the craft growing smaller in the distance. Beside her,
in the brilliant light of the nearer moon, sat Carthoris.
His eyes were not upon the dim bulk of the battleship,
(11:27):
but on the profile of the girl's upturned face. Thuvia,
he whispered. The girl turned her eyes toward his. His
hand stole out to find hers, but she drew her
own gently away. Thuvia of Ptarth, I love you, cried
the young warrior. Tell me that it does not offend.
(11:49):
She shook her head sadly. The love of Carthoris of Helium,
she said, simply, could be not but an honor to
any woman. But you must not speak, my friend, of
bestowing upon me that which I may not reciprocate. The
young man got slowly to his feet. His eyes were
wide in astonishment. It had never occurred to the Prince
(12:11):
of Helium that Thuvia of Ptarth might love another. But
at Cadabra, he exclaimed, and later here at your father's court,
What did you do, Thuvia of Ptarth, that might have
warned me that you could not return my love? And
what did I do, Carthoris of Helium, She returned, that
might lead you to believe that I did return it.
(12:35):
He paused in thought, and then shook his head. Nothing, Thuvia,
that is true. Yet I could have sworn you loved me.
Indeed you well knew how near a worship has been
my love for you. And how might I know it? Carthoris?
She asked innocently, did you ever tell me as much?
(12:55):
Ever before have words of love for me fallen from
your lips? But you must have known it, he exclaimed.
I am like my father, witless in matters of the heart,
and of a poor way with women. Yet the jewels
that strewn these royal garden paths, the trees, the flowers,
the sward, all must have read the love that has
(13:17):
filled my heart since first my eyes were made new
by imaging your perfect face. And form. So how could
you alone have been blind to it? Do the maids
of Helium pay court to their men? Asked theuvia, you
are playing with me, exclaimed Carthoris, say that you are
(13:38):
but playing, and that, after all you love me Theuvia,
I cannot tell you that, Carthoris, for I am promised
to another. Her tone was level, but was there not
within it the hint of an infinite depth of sadness?
Who may say, promised to another? Carthoris scarcely breathed the words.
(14:02):
His face went almost white, and then his head came
up as befitted him, in whose veins flowed the blood
of the overlord of a world. Carthoris of Helium wishes
you every happiness with the man of your choice, he said,
with and then he hesitated, waiting for her to fill
in the name. Kulan tith Jeddak of Caoul. She replied,
(14:26):
my father's friend and Ptarth's most puissant. Ally, the young
man looked at her intently for a moment before he
spoke again, you love him, Thuvia of Ptarth, He asked,
I am promised to him? She replied simply. He did
not press her. He is of Barsoom's noblest blood and
(14:49):
mightiest fighters, mused, Carthoris, my father's friend and mine would
that it might have been another. He muttered, almost savagely.
What the girl think thought was hidden by the mask
of her expression, which was tinged only by a little
shadow of sadness, that might have been for Carthoris or self,
or for them both. Carthoris of Helium did not ask,
(15:14):
though he noted it, for his loyalty to Culan Tith
was the loyalty of the blood of John Carter of Virginia,
for a friend greater than which could be no loyalty.
He raised a jewel incrusted bit of the girl's magnificent
trappings to his lips. To the honor and happiness of
Culan Tith, and the priceless jewel that has bestowed upon him,
(15:37):
he said, and though his voice was husky, there was
the true ring of sincerity in it. I told you
that I loved you Thuvia, before I knew that you
were promised to another. I may not tell you it again,
but I am glad that you know it, for there
is no dishonor in it, either to you or to
Culan Tith, or to myself. My love is such that
(15:58):
it may embrace as well Kulan Tith, if you love him.
There was almost a question in the statement I am
promised to him, she replied. Carthoris backed slowly away. He
laid one hand upon his heart, the other upon the
pommel of his long sword. These are yours always, he said.
(16:25):
A moment later he had entered the palace and was
gone from the girl's sight. Had he returned at once,
he would have found her prone upon the ersite bench,
her face buried in her arms. Was she weeping? There
was none to see. Carthoris of Helium had come all
(16:46):
unannounced to the court of his father's friend that day.
He had come alone in a small flier, sure of
the same welcome that always awaited him at Ptarth. As
there had been no formality in his coming, there is
no need of forey in his going to thuvon Din.
He explained that he had been but testing an invention
of his own with which his flier was equipped, a
(17:10):
clever improvement of the ordinary Martian air compass, which, when
set for a certain destination, will remain constantly fixed thereon,
making it only necessary to keep a vessel's prow always
in the direction of the compass needle to reach any
given point upon Barsoom by the shortest route. Carthoris's improvement
(17:31):
upon this consisted of an auxiliary device which steered the
craft mechanically in the direction of the compass, and upon
arrival directly over the point for which the compass was set,
brought the craft to a standstill and lowered it automatically
to the ground. You readily discern the advantage of this invention,
(17:51):
he was saying to thuvon Din, who had accompanied him
to the landing stage upon the palace roof, to inspect
the compass and bid his young friend farewell. A dozen
officers of the court, with several body servants or grouped
behind the jeddak and his guest eager listeners to the conversation,
So eager on the part of one of the servants
(18:12):
that he was twice rebuked by a noble for his
forwardness in pushing himself ahead of his betters to view
the intricate mechanism of the wonderful controlling destination compass as
the thing was called. For example, continued Carthoris, I have
an all night trip before me. As to night I
set the pointer here upon the right hand dial, which
(18:33):
represents the eastern hemisphere of Barsoom, so that the point
rests upon the exact latitude and longitude of Helium. Then
I start the engine, roll up in my sleeping silks
and furs, and with lights burning, race through the air
toward Helium, confident that at the appointed hour I shall
drop gently toward the landing stage upon my own palace,
(18:53):
whether I am still asleep or no, provided suggested thuvon Din,
you do not chance to collide with some other night
wanderer in the meanwhile, Carthoris smiled, No danger of that,
he replied, see here, and he indicated a device at
the right of the destination compass. This is my obstruction evader,
(19:17):
as I call it. This visible device is the switch
which throws the mechanism on or off. The instrument itself
is below deck, geared both to the steering apparatus and
the control levers. It is quite simple, being nothing more
than a radium generator, diffusing radioactivity in all directions to
a distance of a hundred yards or so from the flier.
(19:39):
Should this enveloping force be interrupted in any direction, a
delicate instrument immediately apprehends the irregularity at the same time
imparting an impulse to a magnetic device, which in turn
actuates a steering mechanism, diverting the bow of the flier
away from the obstacle until the craft's radioactivity sphere is
no longer in contact with the obstruction. Then she falls
(20:01):
once more to her normal course. Should the disturbance approach
from the rear, as in the case of a faster
moving craft overhauling me, the mechanism actuates the speed control
as well as the steering gear, and the flier shoots
ahead and either up or down as the oncoming vessel
is upon a lower or higher plane than myself. In
aggravated cases, that is, when the obstructions are many or
(20:25):
of such a nature as to deflect the bow more
than forty five degrees in any direction, or when the
craft has reached its destination and dropped to within a
hundred yards of the ground, the mechanism brings her to
a full stop, at the same time sounding a loud
alarm which will instantly awaken the pilot. You see, I
have anticipated almost every contingency. Fu bon Din smiled his
(20:48):
appreciation of the marvelous device. The forward servant pushed almost
to the flier's side. His eyes were narrowed to slits,
all but one, he said. The nobles looked at him
in astonishment, and one of them grasped the fellow none
too gently by the shoulder to push him back to
his proper place. Carthoris raised his hand. Wait, he urged,
(21:12):
let us hear what the man has to say. No
creation of mortal mind is perfect. Perchance he has detected
a weakness that it will be well to know at once. Come,
my good fellow, and what may be the one contingency
I have overlooked. As he spoke, Carthoris observed the servant closely.
For the first time he saw a man of giant
(21:34):
stature and handsome, as are all those of the race
of Martian red men. But the fellow's lips were thin
and cruel, and across one cheek was the faint white
line of a sword cut from the right temple to
the corner of the mouth. Come, urged the Prince of
Helium speak. The man hesitated. It was evident that he
(21:56):
regretted the temerity that had made him the center of
interested observation. But at the last, seeing no alternative, he spoke.
It may be tampered with, he said, by an enemy.
Carthoris drew a small key from his leathern pocket pouch.
Look at this, he said, handing it to the man.
(22:18):
If you know aught of locks, you will know that
the mechanism which this unlooses is beyond the cunning of
a picker of locks. It guards the vitals of the
instrument from crafty tampering. Without it, an enemy must half
wreck the device to reach its heart, leaving his handiwork
apparent to the most casual observer. The servant took the key,
(22:42):
glanced at it shrewdly, and then as he made to
return it to Carthoris dropped it upon the marble flagging.
Turning to look for it, he planted the sole of
his sandal full upon the glittering object. For an instant
he bore all his weight upon the foot that covered
the key. Then he stepped back, and, with an exclamation
as of pleasure that he had found it, stooped, recovered
(23:05):
it and returned it to the heliumite. Then he dropped
back to his station behind the nobles, and was forgotten.
A moment later, Carthoris made his adieu to thuvon Din
and his nobles, and with lights twinkling, had risen to
the star shot void of the Martian night. End of
(23:27):
chapter one,
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