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and chambers."
"And if we did win our way to the outer world we would be as bad off, I presume, for we could never
find Laythe, and sooner or later would be recaptured by the Kalkars or taken by the Va-gas. Am I not
right?"
"No," he said, "you are not right. If I could reach the rim of the crater beyond this city I could find my
way to Laythe. I know the way well, for I am one of Ko-tah's hunters and am thoroughly familiar with the
country for great distances in all directions from Laythe."
So this was one of Ko-tah's men. I was glad, indeed, that I had not mentioned Nah-ee-lah or told him of
her possible escape, or of my acquaintance with her.
"And who is Ko-tah?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"Ko-tah is the most powerful noble of Laythe," he replied, "some day he will be Jemadar, for now that
Nah-ee-lah, the Princess, is dead, and Sagroth, the Jemadar, grows old, it will not be long before there is
a change."
"And if the Princess should return to Laythe," I asked, "would Ko-tah still become Jemadar then, upon
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the death of Sagroth?"
"He would become Jemadar in any event," replied my companion, "for had the Princess not been carried
off by the air that runs away, Ko-tah would have married her, unless she refused, in which event she
might have died -- people do die, you know."
"You feel no loyalty, then," I asked, "for your old Jemadar, Sagroth, or for his daughter, the Princess?"
"On the contrary, I feel every loyalty toward them, but like many others, I am afraid of Ko-tah, for he is
very powerful and we know that sooner or later he will become ruler of Laythe. That is why so many of
the high nobles have attached themselves to him -- it is not through love of Ko-tah, but through fear that
he recruits his ranks."
"But the Princess!" I exclaimed, "would the nobles not rally to her defense?"
"What would be the use?" he asked. "We of Laythe do but exist in the narrow confines of our prison
city. There is no great future to which we may look forward in this life, but future incarnations may hold
for us a brighter prospect. It is no cruelty, then, to kill those who exist now under the chaotic reign of
anarchy which has reduced Va-nah to a wilderness."
I partially caught his rather hopeless point of view and realized that the fellow was not bad or disloyal at
heart, but like all his race, reduced to a state of hopelessness that was the result of ages of retrogression
to which they could see no end.
"I can find the way to the mouth of the tunnel where it opens into the crater," I told him. "But how can
we reach it unarmed through a city populated with our enemies who would slay us on sight?"
"There are never very many people in the chambers or corridors far removed from the outer terraces,
and if we were branded upon the forehead, as accepted slaves are, and your apparel was not so
noticeable, we might possibly reach the tunnel without weapons."
"Yes," I said, "my clothes are a handicap. They would immediately call attention to us; yet, it is worth
risking, for I know that I can find my way back to the crater and I should rather die than remain a slave
of the Kalkars."
The truth of the matter was that I was not prompted so much by abhorrence of the fate that seemed in
store for me, as by a desire to learn if Nah-ee-lah had escaped. I was constantly haunted by the horrid
fear that her hold upon the rim of the crater had given and that she had fallen into the abyss below. Gapth
had thought that she had escaped, but I knew that she might have fallen without either of us having seen
her, since the pole up which she had clambered had been fastened a little beyond the opening of the
tunnel, so that, had her hold become loosened, she would not have fallen directly past the aperture. The
more I thought of it, the more anxious I became to reach Laythe and institute a search for her.
While we were still discussing our chances of escape, two slaves brought us food in the shape of raw
vegetables and fruit. I scanned them carefully for weapons, but they had none, a circumstance to which
they may owe their lives. I could have used their garments, had they been other than slaves, but I had hit
upon a bolder plan than this and must wait patiently for a favorable opportunity to put it into practice.
After eating I became sleepy and was about to stretch out upon the floor of our prison when my
companion, whose name was Moh-goh, told me that there was a sleeping apartment adjoining the room
in which we were, that had been set apart for us.
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The doorway leading to the sleeping chamber was covered by heavy hangings, and as I parted them and
stepped into the adjoining chamber, I found myself in almost total darkness, the walls and ceiling of this
room not having been treated with the illuminating coating used in the corridors and apartments which
they wished to maintain in a lighted condition. I later learned that all their sleeping apartments were thus
naturally dark. In one corner of the room was a pile of dried vegetation which I discovered must answer
the purpose of mattress and covering, should I require any. However, I was not so particular, as I had
been accustomed to only the roughest of fare since I had left my luxurious stateroom aboardThe
Barsoom . How long I slept I do not know, but I was awakened by Moh-goh calling me. He was leaning
over me, shaking me by the shoulder.
"You are wanted," he whispered. "They have come to take us before The Twentyfour."
"Tell them to go to the devil," I said, for I was very sleepy and only half awake. Of course, he did not
know what devil meant, but evidently he judged from my tone that my reply was disrespectful to the
Kalkars.
"Do not anger them," he said, "it will only make your fate the harder. When The Twentyfour command,
all must obey."
"Who are The Twentyfour?" I demanded.
"They compose the committee that rules this Kalkar city."
I was thoroughly awakened now and rose to my feet, following him into the adjoining chamber, where I
saw two Kalkar warriors standing impatiently awaiting us. As I saw them a phrase leaped to my brain
and kept repeating itself: "There are but two, there are but two."
They were across the room from us, standing by the entrance, and Moh-goh was close to me.
"There are but two," I whispered to him in a low voice, "you take one and I will take the other. Do you
dare?"
"I will take the one at the right," he replied, and together we advanced across the room slowly toward
the unsuspecting warriors. The moment that we were in reach of them we leaped for them simultaneously. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]