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"Kaor, Zat Arras," I said in greeting, but he did not respond.
"Why were these prisoners not disarmed?" he asked to Kantos Kan.
"They are not prisoners, Zat Arras," replied the officer.
"Two of them are of Helium's noblest family. Tars Tarkas,
Jeddak of Thark, is Tardos Mors' best beloved ally. The
other is a friend and companion of the Prince of Helium--
that is enough for me to know."
"It is not enough for me, however," retorted Zat Arras.
"More must I hear from those who have taken the pilgrimage
than their names. Where have you been, John Carter?"
"I have just come from the Valley Dor and the Land of
the First Born, Zat Arras," I replied.
"Ah!" he exclaimed in evident pleasure, "you do not
deny it, then? You have returned from the bosom of Iss?"
"I have come back from a land of false hope, from a
valley of torture and death; with my companions I have
escaped from the hideous clutches of lying fiends. I have
come back to the Barsoom that I saved from a painless
death to again save her, but this time from death in its
most frightful form."
"Cease, blasphemer!" cried Zat Arras. "Hope not to
save thy cowardly carcass by inventing horrid lies to--"
But he got no further. One does not call John Carter
"coward" and "liar" thus lightly, and Zat Arras should have
known it. Before a hand could be raised to stop me, I was
at his side and one hand grasped his throat.
"Come I from heaven or hell, Zat Arras, you will find
me still the same John Carter that I have always been; nor
did ever man call me such names and live--without apologizing."
And with that I commenced to bend him back across
my knee and tighten my grip upon his throat.
"Seize him!" cried Zat Arras, and a dozen officers sprang
forward to assist him.
Kantos Kan came close and whispered to me.
"Desist, I beg of you. It will but involve us all, for I
cannot see these men lay hands upon you without aiding you.
My officers and men will join me and we shall have a
mutiny then that may lead to the revolution. For the sake of
Tardos Mors and Helium, desist."
At his words I released Zat Arras and, turning my back
upon him, walked toward the ship's rail.
"Come, Kantos Kan," I said, "the Prince of Helium
would return to the Xavarian."
None interfered. Zat Arras stood white and trembling
amidst his officers. Some there were who looked upon him
with scorn and drew toward me, while one, a man long
in the service and confidence of Tardos Mors, spoke to me
in a low tone as I passed him.
"You may count my metal among your fighting-men,
John Carter," he said.
I thanked him and passed on. In silence we embarked,
and shortly after stepped once more upon the deck of the
Xavarian. Fifteen minutes later we received orders from the
flagship to proceed toward Helium.
Our journey thither was uneventful. Carthoris and I were
wrapped in the gloomiest of thoughts. Kantos Kan was sombre
in contemplation of the further calamity that might fall upon
Helium should Zat Arras attempt to follow the age-old precedent
that allotted a terrible death to fugitives from the Valley
Dor. Tars Tarkas grieved for the loss of his daughter. Xodar
alone was care-free--a fugitive and outlaw, he could be no
worse off in Helium than elsewhere.
"Let us hope that we may at least go out with good red
blood upon our blades," he said. It was a simple wish
and one most likely to be gratified.
Among the officers of the Xavarian I thought I could
discern division into factions ere we had reached Helium.
There were those who gathered about Carthoris and myself
whenever the opportunity presented, while about an equal
number held aloof from us. They offered us only the most
courteous treatment, but were evidently bound by their
superstitious belief in the doctrine of Dor and Iss and Korus.
I could not blame them, for I knew how strong a hold a
creed, however ridiculous it may be, may gain upon an
otherwise intelligent people.
By returning from Dor we had committed a sacrilege;
by recounting our adventures there, and stating the facts
as they existed we had outraged the religion of their fathers.
We were blasphemers--lying heretics. Even those who still
clung to us from personal love and loyalty I think did so
in the face of the fact that at heart they questioned our
veracity--it is very hard to accept a new religion for an old,
no matter how alluring the promises of the new may be; but to
reject the old as a tissue of falsehoods without being offered
anything in its stead is indeed a most difficult thing to ask
of any people.
Kantos Kan would not talk of our experiences among the therns
and the First Born.
"It is enough," he said, "that I jeopardize my life here
and hereafter by countenancing you at all--do not ask me
to add still further to my sins by listening to what I have
always been taught was the rankest heresy."
I knew that sooner or later the time must come when
our friends and enemies would be forced to declare
themselves openly. When we reached Helium there must be
an accounting, and if Tardos Mors had not returned I feared
that the enmity of Zat Arras might weigh heavily against
us, for he represented the government of Helium. To take
sides against him were equivalent to treason. The majority
of the troops would doubtless follow the lead of their
officers, and I knew that many of the highest and most
powerful men of both land and air forces would cleave to
John Carter in the face of god, man, or devil.
On the other hand, the majority of the populace
unquestionably would demand that we pay the penalty of
our sacrilege. The outlook seemed dark from whatever
angle I viewed it, but my mind was so torn with anguish
at the thought of Dejah Thoris that I realize now that I
gave the terrible question of Helium's plight but scant
attention at that time.
There was always before me, day and night, a horrible
nightmare of the frightful scenes through which I knew
my Princess might even then be passing--the horrid plant
men--the ferocious white apes. At times I would cover
my face with my hands in a vain effort to shut out the
fearful thing from my mind.
It was in the forenoon that we arrived above the mile-
high scarlet tower which marks greater Helium from her
twin city. As we descended in great circles toward the
navy docks a mighty multitude could be seen surging in the
streets beneath. Helium had been notified by radio-aerogram
of our approach.
From the deck of the Xavarian we four, Carthoris, Tars
Tarkas, Xodar, and I, were transferred to a lesser flier
to be transported to quarters within the Temple of Reward.
It is here that Martian justice is meted to benefactor and
malefactor. Here the hero is decorated. Here the felon
is condemned. We were taken into the temple from the
landing stage upon the roof, so that we did not pass among
the people at all, as is customary. Always before I had
seen prisoners of note, or returned wanderers of eminence,
paraded from the Gate of Jeddaks to the Temple of Reward
up the broad Avenue of Ancestors through dense crowds of
jeering or cheering citizens.
I knew that Zat Arras dared not trust the people near to
us, for he feared that their love for Carthoris and myself
might break into a demonstration which would wipe out
their superstitious horror of the crime we were to be
charged with. What his plans were I could only guess, but
that they were sinister was evidenced by the fact that only
his most trusted servitors accompanied us upon the flier to
the Temple of Reward.
We were lodged in a room upon the south side of the
temple, overlooking the Avenue of Ancestors down which
we could see the full length to the Gate of Jeddaks, five
miles away. The people in the temple plaza and in the
streets for a distance of a full mile were standing as close
packed as it was possible for them to get. They were very
orderly--there were neither scoffs nor plaudits, and when
they saw us at the window above them there were many who
buried their faces in their arms and wept.
Late in the afternoon a messenger arrived from Zat Arras
to inform us that we would be tried by an impartial body
of nobles in the great hall of the temple at the 1st
zode* on the following day, or about 8:40 A.M. Earth time.
*Wherever Captain Carter has used Martian measurements of time,
distance, weight, and the like I have translated them into as nearly their
equivalent in earthly values as is possible. His notes contain many
Martian tables, and a great volume of scientific data, but since the
International Astronomic Society is at present engaged in classifying,
investigating, and verifying this vast fund of remarkable and valuable
information, I have felt that it will add nothing to the interest of Captain
Carter's story or to the sum total of human knowledge to maintain a strict
adherence to the original manuscript in these matters, while it might
readily confuse the reader and detract from the interest of the history.
For those who may be interested, however, I will explain that the Martian
day is a trifle over 24 hours 37 minutes duration (Earth time). This the
Martians divide into ten equal parts, commencing the day at about 6 A.M.
Earth time. The zodes are divided into fifty shorter periods, each of
which in turn is composed of 200 brief periods of time, about equivalent
to the earthly second. The Barsoomian Table of Time as here given is but
a part of the full table appearing in Captain Carter's notes.
TABLE
200 tals . . . . . . . . . 1 xat
50 xats . . . . . . . . . 1 zode
10 zodes . . . . . . . . 1 revolution of Mars upon its axis.
CHAPTER XVII
THE DEATH SENTENCE
A few moments before the appointed time on the following
morning a strong guard of Zat Arras' officers appeared at our
quarters to conduct us to the great hall of the temple.
In twos we entered the chamber and marched down the
broad Aisle of Hope, as it is called, to the platform
in the centre of the hall. Before and behind us marched
armed guards, while three solid ranks of Zodangan soldiery
lined either side of the aisle from the entrance to the rostrum.
As we reached the raised enclosure I saw our judges.
As is the custom upon Barsoom there were thirty-one,
supposedly selected by lot from men of the noble class, for
nobles were on trial. But to my amazement I saw no single
friendly face among them. Practically all were Zodangans,
and it was I to whom Zodanga owed her defeat at the
hands of the green hordes and her subsequent vassalage to
Helium. There could be little justice here for John Carter,
or his son, or for the great Thark who had commanded the
savage tribesmen who overran Zodanga's broad avenues,
looting, burning, and murdering.
About us the vast circular coliseum was packed to its full
capacity. All classes were represented--all ages, and both
sexes. As we entered the hall the hum of subdued conversation
ceased until as we halted upon the platform, or Throne
of Righteousness, the silence of death enveloped the
ten thousand spectators.
The judges were seated in a great circle about the
periphery of the circular platform. We were assigned seats
with our backs toward a small platform in the exact centre
of the larger one. This placed us facing the judges and the
audience. Upon the smaller platform each would take his
place while his case was being heard.
Zat Arras himself sat in the golden chair of the presiding
magistrate. As we were seated and our guards retired to the
foot of the stairway leading to the platform, he arose and
called my name.
"John Carter," he cried, "take your place upon the Pedestal
of Truth to be judged impartially according to your acts
and here to know the reward you have earned thereby."
Then turning to and fro toward the audience he narrated the
acts upon the value of which my reward was to be determined.
"Know you, O judges and people of Helium," he said, "that
John Carter, one time Prince of Helium, has returned by his
own statement from the Valley Dor and even from the
Temple of Issus itself. That, in the presence of many men
of Helium he has blasphemed against the Sacred Iss, and
against the Valley Dor, and the Lost Sea of Korus, and the
Holy Therns themselves, and even against Issus, Goddess of
Death, and of Life Eternal. And know you further by
witness of thine own eyes that see him here now upon the
Pedestal of Truth that he has indeed returned from these
sacred precincts in the face of our ancient customs, and in
violation of the sanctity of our ancient religion.
"He who be once dead may not live again. He who attempts
it must be made dead for ever. Judges, your duty lies
plain before you--here can be no testimony in
contravention of truth. What reward shall be meted to
John Carter in accordance with the acts he has committed?"
"Death!" shouted one of the judges.
And then a man sprang to his feet in the audience, and raising
his hand on high, cried: "Justice! Justice! Justice!"
It was Kantos Kan, and as all eyes turned toward him he
leaped past the Zodangan soldiery and sprang upon the platform.
"What manner of justice be this?" he cried to Zat Arras.
"The defendant has not been heard, nor has he had an
opportunity to call others in his behalf. In the name of
the people of Helium I demand fair and impartial treatment
for the Prince of Helium."
A great cry arose from the audience then: "Justice!
Justice! Justice!" and Zat Arras dared not deny them.
"Speak, then," he snarled, turning to me; "but blaspheme
not against the things that are sacred upon Barsoom."
"Men of Helium," I cried, turning to the spectators, and
speaking over the heads of my judges, "how can John Carter
expect justice from the men of Zodanga? He cannot nor
does he ask it. It is to the men of Helium that he states
his case; nor does he appeal for mercy to any. It is not in
his own cause that he speaks now--it is in thine. In the
cause of your wives and daughters, and of wives and daughters
yet unborn. It is to save them from the unthinkably atrocious
indignities that I have seen heaped upon the fair women
of Barsoom in the place men call the Temple of Issus.
It is to save them from the sucking embrace of the plant men,
from the fangs of the great white apes of Dor, from the cruel
lust of the Holy Therns, from all that the cold, dead Iss
carries them to from homes of love and life and happiness.
"Sits there no man here who does not know the history of
John Carter. How he came among you from another world
and rose from a prisoner among the green men, through
torture and persecution, to a place high among the highest
of Barsoom. Nor ever did you know John Carter to lie in
his own behalf, or to say aught that might harm the people
of Barsoom, or to speak lightly of the strange religion which
he respected without understanding.
"There be no man here, or elsewhere upon Barsoom to-day
who does not owe his life directly to a single act of mine,
in which I sacrificed myself and the happiness of my Princess
that you might live. And so, men of Helium, I think that I
have the right to demand that I be heard, that I be believed,
and that you let me serve you and save you from the false
hereafter of Dor and Issus as I saved you from the real death
that other day.
"It is to you of Helium that I speak now. When I am
done let the men of Zodanga have their will with me. Zat
Arras has taken my sword from me, so the men of Zodanga
no longer fear me. Will you listen?"
"Speak, John Carter, Prince of Helium," cried a great noble
from the audience, and the multitude echoed his permission,
until the building rocked with the noise of their demonstration.
Zat Arras knew better than to interfere with such a sentiment
as was expressed that day in the Temple of Reward, and so for
two hours I talked with the people of Helium.
But when I had finished, Zat Arras arose and, turning to
the judges, said in a low tone: "My nobles, you have
heard John Carter's plea; every opportunity has been given
him to prove his innocence if he be not guilty; but instead
he has but utilized the time in further blasphemy. What,
gentlemen, is your verdict?"
"Death to the blasphemer!" cried one, springing to his feet,
and in an instant the entire thirty-one judges were on their feet
with upraised swords in token of the unanimity of their verdict.
If the people did not hear Zat Arras' charge, they certainly
did hear the verdict of the tribunal. A sullen murmur
rose louder and louder about the packed coliseum, and then
Kantos Kan, who had not left the platform since first he had
taken his place near me, raised his hand for silence. When he
could be heard he spoke to the people in a cool and level voice.
"You have heard the fate that the men of Zodanga would
mete to Helium's noblest hero. It may be the duty of
the men of Helium to accept the verdict as final. Let each
man act according to his own heart. Here is the answer of
Kantos Kan, head of the navy of Helium, to Zat Arras and
his judges," and with that he unbuckled his scabbard and
threw his sword at my feet.
In an instant soldiers and citizens, officers and nobles
were crowding past the soldiers of Zodanga and forcing their
way to the Throne of Righteousness. A hundred men surged
upon the platform, and a hundred blades rattled and clanked
to the floor at my feet. Zat Arras and his officers were
furious, but they were helpless. One by one I raised the
swords to my lips and buckled them again upon their owners.
"Come," sand Kantos Kan, "we will escort John Carter and
his party to his own palace," and they formed about us and
started toward the stairs leading to the Aisle of Hope.
"Stop!" cried Zat Arras. "Soldiers of Helium, let no
prisoner leave the Throne of Righteousness."
The soldiery from Zodanga were the only organized body
of Heliumetic troops within the temple, so Zat Arras was
confident that his orders would be obeyed, but I do not
think that he looked for the opposition that was raised the
moment the soldiers advanced toward the throne.
From every quarter of the coliseum swords flashed and
men rushed threateningly upon the Zodangans. Some one
raised a cry: "Tardos Mors is dead--a thousand years to
John Carter, Jeddak of Helium." As I heard that and saw the
ugly attitude of the men of Helium toward the soldiers of
Zat Arras, I knew that only a miracle could avert a clash
that would end in civil war.
"Hold!" I cried, leaping to the Pedestal of Truth once
more. "Let no man move till I am done. A single sword
thrust here to-day may plunge Helium into a bitter and
bloody war the results of which none can foresee. It
will turn brother against brother and father against son.
No man's life is worth that sacrifice. Rather would I
submit to the biased judgment of Zat Arras than be the
cause of civil strife in Helium.
"Let us each give in a point to the other, and let this entire
matter rest until Tardos Mors returns, or Mors Kajak, his son.
If neither be back at the end of a year a second trial
may be held--the thing has a precedent." And then turning
to Zat Arras, I said in a low voice: "Unless you be a bigger
fool than I take you to be, you will grasp the chance I am
offering you ere it is too late. Once that multitude of swords
below is drawn against your soldiery no man upon Barsoom--
not even Tardos Mors himself--can avert the consequences.
What say you? Speak quickly."
The Jed of Zodangan Helium raised his voice to the angry
sea beneath us.
"Stay your hands, men of Helium," he shouted, his voice
trembling with rage. "The sentence of the court is passed,
but the day of retribution has not been set. I, Zat Arras,
Jed of Zodanga, appreciating the royal connections of the
prisoner and his past services to Helium and Barsoom, grant a
respite of one year, or until the return of Mors Kajak, or
Tardos Mors to Helium. Disperse quietly to your houses. Go."
No one moved. Instead, they stood in tense silence with their
eyes fastened upon me, as though waiting for a signal to attack.
"Clear the temple," commanded Zat Arras, in a low tone to one
of his officers.
Fearing the result of an attempt to carry out this order by
force, I stepped to the edge of the platform and, pointing
toward the main entrance, bid them pass out. As one man
they turned at my request and filed, silent and threatening,
past the soldiers of Zat Arras, Jed of Zodanga, who stood
scowling in impotent rage.
Kantos Kan with the others who had sworn allegiance to me
still stood upon the Throne of Righteousness with me.
"Come," said Kantos Kan to me, "we will escort you to
your palace, my Prince. Come, Carthoris and Xodar. Come,
Tars Tarkas." And with a haughty sneer for Zat Arras upon
his handsome lips, he turned and strode to the throne steps
and up the Aisle of Hope. We four and the hundred loyal
ones followed behind him, nor was a hand raised to stay us,
though glowering eyes followed our triumphal march
through the temple.
In the avenues we found a press of people, but they
opened a pathway for us, and many were the swords that
were flung at my feet as I passed through the city of Helium
toward my palace upon the outskirts. Here my old slaves fell
upon their knees and kissed my hands as I greeted them.
They cared not where I had been. It was enough that I
had returned to them.
"Ah, master," cried one, "if our divine Princess were but
here this would be a day indeed."
Tears came to my eyes, so that I was forced to turn
away that I might hide my emotions. Carthoris wept openly
as the slaves pressed about him with expressions of affection,
and words of sorrow for our common loss. It was now that
Tars Tarkas for the first time learned that his daughter, Sola,
had accompanied Dejah Thoris upon the last long pilgrimage.
I had not had the heart to tell him what Kantos Kan had
told me. With the stoicism of the green Martian he showed
no sign of suffering, yet I knew that his grief was as
poignant as my own. In marked contrast to his kind, he had
in well-developed form the kindlier human characteristics
of love, friendship, and charity.
It was a sad and sombre party that sat at the feast of welcome
in the great dining hall of the palace of the Prince of Helium
that day. We were over a hundred strong, not counting the
members of my little court, for Dejah Thoris and I had
maintained a household consistent with our royal rank.
The board, according to red Martian custom, was triangular,
for there were three in our family. Carthoris and I presided
in the centre of our sides of the table--midway of the
third side Dejah Thoris' high-backed, carven chair stood
vacant except for her gorgeous wedding trappings and jewels
which were draped upon it. Behind stood a slave as in the
days when his mistress had occupied her place at the board,
ready to do her bidding. It was the way upon Barsoom, so I
endured the anguish of it, though it wrung my heart to see
that silent chair where should have been my laughing and vivacious
Princess keeping the great hall ringing with her merry gaiety.
At my right sat Kantos Kan, while to the right of Dejah
Thoris' empty place Tars Tarkas sat in a huge chair before
a raised section of the board which years ago I had had
constructed to meet the requirements of his mighty bulk.
The place of honour at a Martian hoard is always at the
hostess's right, and this place was ever reserved by
Dejah Thoris for the great Thark upon the occasions
that he was in Helium.
Hor Vastus sat in the seat of honour upon Carthoris' side
of the table. There was little general conversation. It was a
quiet and saddened party. The loss of Dejah Thoris was
still fresh in the minds of all, and to this was added fear
for the safety of Tardos Mors and Mors Kajak, as well
as doubt and uncertainty as to the fate of Helium, should it
prove true that she was permanently deprived of her great Jeddak.
Suddenly our attention was attracted by the sound of distant
shouting, as of many people raising their voices at once,
but whether in anger or rejoicing, we could not tell.
Nearer and nearer came the tumult. A slave rushed into the
dining hall to cry that a great concourse of people was swarming
through the palace gates. A second burst upon the heels of the
first alternately laughing and shrieking as a madman.
"Dejah Thoris is found!" he cried. "A messenger from Dejah Thoris!"
I waited to hear no more. The great windows of the
dining hall overlooked the avenue leading to the main gates
--they were upon the opposite side of the hall from me with
the table intervening. I did not waste time in circling the great
board--with a single leap I cleared table and diners and
sprang upon the balcony beyond. Thirty feet below lay the
scarlet sward of the lawn and beyond were many people
crowding about a great thoat which bore a rider headed
toward the palace. I vaulted to the ground below and ran
swiftly toward the advancing party.
As I came near to them I saw that the figure on the thoat was Sola.
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