15 - The Gods of Mars - Flight and Pursuit

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
The Gods of Mars, Chapter fifteen, Flight and Pursuit. I
could not have been unconscious more than a few seconds,
and yet I note that I was unconscious for the
next thing I realized was that a growing radiance was
illuminating the corridor about me, and the eyes were gone.

(00:21):
I was unharmed, except for a slight bruise upon my
forehead where it had struck the stone flagging as I fell,
I sprang to my feet to ascertain the cause of
the light. It came from a torch in the hand
of one of a party of four Green warriors who
were coming rapidly down the corridor toward me. They had
not yet seen me, and so I lost no time

(00:42):
in slipping into the first intersecting corridor that I could find.
This time, however, I did not advance so far away
from the main corridor as on the other occasion that
had resulted in my losing Tars Tarkas and his guards.
The party came rapidly toward the opening of the passageway
in which I crouched against the wall. As they passed,

(01:03):
I breathed a sigh of relief. I had not been discovered,
and best of all, the party was the same that
I had followed into the pits. It consisted of Tars
Tarkas and his three guards. I fell in behind them,
and soon we were at the cell in which the
great Thark had been chained. Two of the warriors remained without,

(01:24):
while the man with the keys entered with the Thark
to fasten his irons upon him once more. The two
outside started to stroll slowly in the direction of a
spiral runway which led to the floors above, and in
a moment were lost to view beyond a turn in
the corridor. The torch had been stuck in a socket
beside the door, so that its rays illuminated both the

(01:45):
corridor and the cell. At the same time as I
saw the two warriors disappear, I approached the entrance to
the cell with a well defined plan already formulated. While
I disliked the thought of carrying out the thing that
I had decided upon, there seemed no alternative if Tars
Tarkas and I were to go back together to my

(02:06):
little camp in the hills. Keeping near the wall, I
came quite close to the door to tars tarkas cell,
and there I stood with my long sword above my
head grasped with both hands, that I might bring it
down in one quick cut upon the skull of the
jailer as he emerged. I disliked to dwell upon what
followed after I heard the footsteps of the man as

(02:28):
he approached the doorway. It is enough that within another
minute or two, Tars Tarkas, wearing the medal of a
Warhoon chief, was hurrying down the corridor toward the spiral runway,
bearing the Warhoon's torch to light his way. A dozen
paces behind him followed John Carter, Prince of Helium. The

(02:49):
two companions of the man who lay now beside the
door of the cell that had been Tars Tarkas had
just started to ascend the runway as the Thark came
in view. Why so long, ten Gamma, cried one of
the men I had troubled with a lock, replied Tars Tarkas,
And now I find that I have left my short
sword in the thark cell. Go you on, I'll return

(03:11):
and fetch it as you will. Tangama replied he who
had before spoken, we shall see you above directly. Yes,
replied Tars Tarkas, and turned as though to retrace his
steps to the cell, but he only waited until the
two had disappeared at the floor above. Then I joined him.

(03:31):
We extinguished the torch, and together we crept toward the
spiral incline that led to the upper floors of the building.
At the first floor, we found that the hallway ran
but half way through, necessitating the crossing of a rear
room full of green folk. Ere we could reach the
inner courtyard. So there was but one thing left for
us to do, and that was to gain the second

(03:53):
floor and the hallway through which I had traversed the
length of the building. Cautiously we ascended. We could hear
the sounds of conversation coming from the room above, but
the hall still was unlighted, nor was any one in sight.
As we gained the top of the runway, together we
threaded the long hall and reached the balcony overlooking the

(04:14):
courtyard without being detected. At our right was the window
letting into the room in which I had seen Tangama
and the other warriors as they started to tars Tarkas
cell earlier in the evening. His companions had returned here,
and we now overheard a portion of their conversation what
can be detaining? Tangama asked one. He certainly could not

(04:39):
be all this time, Fetching his short sword from the
thark's cell, spoke another his short sword, asked a woman,
what mean you? Tan Gama left his short sword in
the thark's cell, explained the first speaker, and left us
at the runway to return and get it. Tangama wore
no short sword this night, said woman. It was broken

(05:01):
into day's battle with the thark, and Tangama gave it
to me to repair. See, I have it here, And
as she spoke, she drew Tangama's short sword from beneath
her sleeping silks and furs. The warriors sprang to their feet.
There is something amiss here, cried one. Tis even what
I myself thought when Tangama left us at the runway,

(05:23):
said another. Bethought then that his voice sounded strangely. Come
let us hasten to the pits. We waited to hear
no more. Slinging my harness into a long single strap,
I lowered tars Tarkas to the courtyard beneath, and an
instant later dropped to his side. We had spoken scarcely

(05:43):
a dozen words since I had felt Tangama at the
cell door, and seen in the torch's light the expression
of utter bewilderment upon the great Dark's face. By this
time he had said, I should have learned to wonder
at nothing, which John Kotta accomplishes. That was all. He
did not need to tell me that he appreciated the

(06:04):
friendship which had prompted me to risk my life to
rescue him, Nor did he need to say that he
was glad to see me. This fierce green warrior had
been the first to greet me that day, now twenty
years gone, which had witnessed my first advent upon Mars.
He had met me with leveled spear and cruel hatred
in his heart as he charged down upon me, bending

(06:27):
low at the side of his mighty thoat. As I
stood beside the incubator of his hoard, upon the dead
sea bottom beyond Korad, and now among the inhabitants of
two worlds, I counted none a better friend than Tars
Tarkas Jeddak of the Tharks. As we reached the court yard,
we stood in the shadows beneath the balcony for a

(06:47):
moment to discuss our plans. There be five now in
the party tars Tarkas, I said, duvia Zodar Carthoris and ourselves,
we shall need five thoats to Barras Carthoris, he cried,
your son, Yes, I found him in the prison of Shadoor,
on the sea of Omean and the land of the

(07:08):
first Born. I know not of these places, John, cotta
be they upon Barsoom, upon and below, my friend, But
wait until we shall have made good our escape, and
you shall hear the strangest narrative that ever a Barsoomian
of the outer world gave ear to. Now we must
steal our thoats and be well away to the north,

(07:30):
before these fellows discover how we have tricked them. In safety,
we reached the great gates at the far end of
the court yard, through which it was necessary to take
our thoats to the avenue beyond. It is no easy
matter to handle five of these great fierce beasts, which
by nature are as wild and ferocious as their masters,

(07:51):
and held in subjection by cruelty and brute force. Alone.
As we approached them, they sniffed our unfamiliar scent, and
with squeals of rage, circled about us. Their long, massive
necks upreared, raised their great gaping mouths high above our heads.
They are fearsome appearing brutes at best, but when they

(08:12):
are roused, they are fully as dangerous as they look.
The thoat stands a good ten feet at the shoulder.
His hide is sleek and hairless, and of a dark
slate color on back and side, shading down his eight
legs to a vivid yellow at the huge padded nailis feet.
The belly is pure white. A broad flat tail, larger

(08:34):
at the tip than at the root, completes the picture
of this ferocious green Martian mount. A fit war steed
for these warlike people. As the thoats are guided by
telepathic means alone, there is no need for a rain
or bridle, and so our object now was to find
two that would obey our unspoken commands as they charged

(08:55):
about us. We succeeded in mastering them sufficiently to prevent
any concerted attack upon us, but the din of their
squealing was certain to bring investigating warriors into the courtyard
were it to continue much longer. At length, I was
successful in reaching the side of one great brute, and
ere he knew what I was about I was firmly
seated astride his glossy back. A moment later tars Tarkas

(09:19):
had caught and mounted another, and then between us we
herded three or four more toward the great gates. Tars
Tarkas rode ahead, and leaning down to the latch through
the barriers open, while I held the loose thoats from
breaking back to the herd. Then together we rode through
into the avenue with our stolen mounts, and without waiting

(09:40):
to close the gates, hurried off toward the southern boundary
of the city. Thus far our escape had been little
short of marvelous. Nor did our good fortune desert us,
for we passed the outer purlieus of the dead city
and came to our camp without hearing even the faintest
sound of pursuit. Here a low whistle the prearranged signal

(10:03):
apprized the balance of our party that I was returning,
and we were met by the three with every manifestation
of enthusiastic rejoicing. But little time was wasted in narration
of our adventure. Tars Tarkas and Carthoris exchanged the dignified
and formal greetings common upon barsoom, but I could tell
intuitively that the Thark loved my boy, and that Carthoris

(10:25):
reciprocated his affection. Zodar and the Green Jeddak were formally
presented to each other. Then Thuvia was lifted to the
least fractious thoat. Zodar and Carthoris mounted two others, and
we set out at a rapid pace toward the east.
At the far extremity of the city, we circled toward
the north, and under the glorious rays of the two moons,

(10:48):
we sped noiselessly across the dead sea bottom, away from
the warhoons and the first Born. But to what new
dangers and adventures we knew. Not toward noon the following
day we halted to rest our mounts and ourselves the
beasts we hobbled, that they might move slowly about cropping
the ochre moss like vegetation, which constitutes both food and

(11:11):
drink for them. On the march, Thuvia volunteered to remain
on watch while the balance of the party slept. For
an hour. It seemed to me that I had but
closed my eyes when I felt her hand upon my
shoulder and heard her soft voice warning me of a
new danger. Arise, O Prince, she whispered, there be that
behind us, which has the appearance of a great body

(11:32):
of pursuers. The girl stood pointing in the direction from
whence we had come. And as I arose and looked,
I too thought that I could detect a thin dark
line on the far horizon. I awoke the others. Tars Tarkas,
whose giant stature towered high above the rest of us,
could see the farthest. It is a great body of

(11:54):
mounted men, he said, and they are traveling at high speed.
There was no time to be lost. We sprang to
our hobbled thoats, freed them, and mounted. Then we turned
our faces once more toward the north and took our
flight again, at the highest speed of our slowest beast.
For the balance of the day and all the following night,

(12:16):
we raced across that Ochreh wilderness, with the pursuers at
our back, ever gaining upon us. Slowly, but surely, they
were lessening the distance between us. Just before dark they
had been close enough for us to plainly distinguish that
they were green marshes, And all during the long night
we distinctly heard the clanking of their accouterments behind us.

(12:38):
As the sun rose on the second day of our flight,
it disclosed the pursuing horde not a half mile in
our rear. As they saw us, a fiendish shout of
triumph rose from their ranks. Several miles in advance lay
a range of hills, the farther shore of the Dead
Sea we had been crossing. Could we but reach these hills,

(12:59):
our chances of escape would be greatly enhanced. But Thuvia's mount,
although carrying the lightest burden, already was showing signs of exhaustion.
I was riding beside her when suddenly her animals staggered
and lurched against mine. I saw that he was going down,
but ere he fell. I snatched the girl from his
back and swung her to a place upon my own

(13:21):
thoat behind me, where she clung with her arms about me.
This double burden soon proved too much for my already
over taxed beast, and thus our speed was terribly diminished,
for the others would proceed no faster than the slowest
of us could go. In that little party, there was
not one who would desert another. Yet we were of

(13:42):
different countries, different colors, different races, different religions, and one
of us was of a different world. We were quite
close to the hills, but though our wounds were gaining
so rapidly that we had given up all hope of
reaching them in time, Thuvia and I were in the rear,
for our beast was lagging more and more. Suddenly I

(14:04):
felt the girl's warm lips press a kiss upon my shoulder.
For thy sake, O Prince, she murmured. Then her arm
slipped from about my waist, and she was gone. I
turned and saw that she had deliberately slipped to the
ground in the very path of the cruel demons who
pursued us, thinking that by lightning the burden of my mouth,

(14:26):
it might thus be enabled to bear me to the
safety of the hills. Poor child, she should have known
John Carter better than that. Turning my thoat, I urged
him after her, hoping to reach her side and bear
her on again in our hopeless flight. Carthoris must have
glanced behind him at about the same time, and taking

(14:48):
in the situation, for by the time I had reached
Thuvia's side, he was there also, and springing from his
mouth he threw her upon its back, and, turning the
animal's head towards the hills, gave the beast a sharp
crack across the rump with the flat of his sword.
Then he attempted to do the same with mine. The

(15:09):
brave boy's act of chivalrous self sacrifice filled me with pride,
Nor did I care that it had wrested from us
our last frail chance for escape. The warhoons were now
close upon us. Tars, Tarkas, and Zodar had discovered our
absence and were charging rapidly to our support. Everything pointed
toward a splendid ending of my second journey to Barsoom.

(15:34):
I hated to go out without having seen my divine princess,
and held her in my arms once again. But if
it were not writ upon the Book of Fate that
such was to be, then would I take the most
that was coming to me? And in these last few
moments that were to be vouchsafed me before I passed
over into that unguessed future, I could at least give

(15:55):
such an account of myself in my chosen vocation as
would leave the wars of the South food for discourse
for the next twenty generations. As Carthoris was not mounted,
I slipped from the back of my own mount and
took my place at his side to meet the charge
of the howling devils bearing down upon us. A moment later, Tars, Tarkas,

(16:17):
and Zodar ranged themselves on either hand, turning their thoats loose,
that we might all be on equal footing. The warhoons
were perhaps a hundred yards from us when a loud
explosion sounded from above and behind us, and almost at
the same instant a shell burst in their advancing ranks.
At once all was confusion. A hundred warriors toppled to

(16:41):
the ground, riderless thoats plunged hither and thither among the
dead and dying. Dismounted warriors were trampled under foot in
the stampede which followed. All semblance of order had left
the ranks of the green Men, and as they looked
far above our heads to trace the origin of this
un expected attack, disorder turned to retreat and retreat to

(17:04):
a wild panic. In another moment, they were racing as
madly away from us as they had been before, charging
down upon us. We turned to look in the direction
from whence the first report had come, and there we saw,
just clearing the tops of the nearer hills, a great
battleship swinging majestically through the air. Her bow gun spoke

(17:26):
again even as we looked, and another shell burst among
the fleeing warhoons. As she drew nearer, I could not
repress a wild cry of elation, for upon her bows
I saw the device of helium. End of Chapter fifteen.