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"Where is the Princess of Helium?" I cried.

The green girl slid from her mighty mount and ran toward me.

"O my Prince! My Prince!" she cried. "She is gone for ever.
Even now she may be a captive upon the lesser moon.
The black pirates of Barsoom have stolen her."

CHAPTER XVIII

SOLA'S STORY

Once within the palace, I drew Sola to the dining hall,
and, when she had greeted her father after the formal manner
of the green men, she told the story of the pilgrimage and
capture of Dejah Thoris.

"Seven days ago, after her audience with Zat Arras, Dejah Thoris
attempted to slip from the palace in the dead of night.
Although I had not heard the outcome of her interview with
Zat Arras I knew that something had occurred then to cause
her the keenest mental agony, and when I discovered her creeping
from the palace I did not need to be told her destination.

"Hastily arousing a dozen of her most faithful guards, I
explained my fears to them, and as one they enlisted with me
to follow our beloved Princess in her wanderings, even to
the Sacred Iss and the Valley Dor. We came upon her but a
short distance from the palace. With her was faithful Woola
the hound, but none other. When we overtook her she
feigned anger, and ordered us back to the palace, but for
once we disobeyed her, and when she found that we would
not let her go upon the last long pilgrimage alone, she wept
and embraced us, and together we went out into the night
toward the south.

"The following day we came upon a herd of small thoats,
and thereafter we were mounted and made good time. We
travelled very fast and very far due south until the morning
of the fifth day we sighted a great fleet of battleships sailing
north. They saw us before we could seek shelter, and soon
we were surrounded by a horde of black men. The Princess's
guard fought nobly to the end, but they were soon overcome
and slain. Only Dejah Thoris and I were spared.

When she realized that she was in the clutches of the
black pirates, she attempted to take her own life, but one
of the blacks tore her dagger from her, and then they bound
us both so that we could not use our hands.

"The fleet continued north after capturing us. There were
about twenty large battleships in all, besides a number of
small swift cruisers. That evening one of the smaller
cruisers that had been far in advance of the fleet returned
with a prisoner--a young red woman whom they had picked up in
a range of hills under the very noses, they said, of a fleet of
three red Martian battleships.

"From scraps of conversation which we overheard it was
evident that the black pirates were searching for a party
of fugitives that had escaped them several days prior. That
they considered the capture of the young woman important
was evident from the long and earnest interview the
commander of the fleet held with her when she was brought
to him. Later she was bound and placed in the compartment
with Dejah Thoris and myself.

"The new captive was a very beautiful girl. She told
Dejah Thoris that many years ago she had taken the voluntary
pilgrimage from the court of her father, the Jeddak of Ptarth.
She was Thuvia, the Princess of Ptarth. And then she asked
Dejah Thoris who she might be, and when she heard she
fell upon her knees and kissed Dejah Thoris' fettered hands,
and told her that that very morning she had been with John
Carter, Prince of Helium, and Carthoris, her son.

"Dejah Thoris could not believe her at first, but finally
when the girl had narrated all the strange adventures that
had befallen her since she had met John Carter, and told her
of the things John Carter, and Carthoris, and Xodar had
narrated of their adventures in the Land of the First Born,
Dejah Thoris knew that it could be none other than the
Prince of Helium; 'For who,' she said, 'upon all Barsoom
other than John Carter could have done the deeds you tell of.'
And when Thuvia told Dejah Thoris of her love for John
Carter, and his loyalty and devotion to the Princess of his
choice, Dejah Thoris broke down and wept--cursing Zat
Arras and the cruel fate that had driven her from Helium
but a few brief days before the return of her beloved lord.

"'I do not blame you for loving him, Thuvia,' she said;
'and that your affection for him is pure and sincere I can
well believe from the candour of your avowal of it to me.'

"The fleet continued north nearly to Helium, but last night
they evidently realized that John Carter had indeed escaped
them and so they turned toward the south once more.
Shortly thereafter a guard entered our compartment and
dragged me to the deck.

"'There is no place in the Land of the First Born for a
green one,' he said, and with that he gave me a terrific
shove that carried me toppling from the deck of the battleship.
Evidently this seemed to him the easiest way of ridding
the vessel of my presence and killing me at the same time.

"But a kind fate intervened, and by a miracle I escaped
with but slight bruises. The ship was moving slowly at the
time, and as I lunged overboard into the darkness beneath I
shuddered at the awful plunge I thought awaited me, for all
day the fleet had sailed thousands of feet above the ground;
but to my utter surprise I struck upon a soft mass of
vegetation not twenty feet from the deck of the ship.
In fact, the keel of the vessel must have been grazing
the surface of the ground at the time.

"I lay all night where I had fallen and the next morning
brought an explanation of the fortunate coincidence that had
saved me from a terrible death. As the sun rose I saw a vast
panorama of sea bottom and distant hills lying far below me.
I was upon the highest peak of a lofty range. The fleet in
the darkness of the preceding night had barely grazed the
crest of the hills, and in the brief span that they hovered
close to the surface the black guard had pitched me, as he
supposed, to my death.

"A few miles west of me was a great waterway. When I
reached it I found to my delight that it belonged to Helium.
Here a thoat was procured for me--the rest you know."

For many minutes none spoke. Dejah Thoris in the clutches
of the First Born! I shuddered at the thought, but of a
sudden the old fire of unconquerable self-confidence surged
through me. I sprang to my feet, and with back-thrown
shoulders and upraised sword took a solemn vow to reach,
rescue, and revenge my Princess.

A hundred swords leaped from a hundred scabbards, and a
hundred fighting-men sprang to the table-top and pledged
me their lives and fortunes to the expedition. Already my
plans were formulated. I thanked each loyal friend, and leaving
Carthoris to entertain them, withdrew to my own audience chamber
with Kantos Kan, Tars Tarkas, Xodar, and Hor Vastus.

Here we discussed the details of our expedition until long
after dark. Xodar was positive that Issus would choose both
Dejah Thoris and Thuvia to serve her for a year.

"For that length of time at least they will be comparatively safe,"
he said, "and we will at least know where to look for them."

In the matter of equipping a fleet to enter Omean the details
were left to Kantos Kan and Xodar. The former agreed to take
such vessels as we required into dock as rapidly as possible,
where Xodar would direct their equipment with water propellers.

For many years the black had been in charge of the
refitting of captured battleships that they might navigate
Omean, and so was familiar with the construction of the
propellers, housings, and the auxiliary gearing required.

It was estimated that it would require six months to complete
our preparations in view of the fact that the utmost secrecy
must be maintained to keep the project from the ears of Zat Arras.
Kantos Kan was confident now that the man's ambitions were fully
aroused and that nothing short of the title of Jeddak of Helium
would satisfy him.

"I doubt," he said, "if he would even welcome Dejah Thoris'
return, for it would mean another nearer the throne than he.
With you and Carthoris out of the way there would be little
to prevent him from assuming the title of Jeddak, and you may
rest assured that so long as he is supreme here there is no
safety for either of you."

"There is a way," cried Hor Vastus, "to thwart him effectually
and for ever."

"What?" I asked.

He smiled.

"I shall whisper it here, but some day I shall stand upon
the dome of the Temple of Reward and shout it to cheering
multitudes below."

"What do you mean?" asked Kantos Kan.

"John Carter, Jeddak of Helium," said Hor Vastus in a low voice.

The eyes of my companions lighted, and grim smiles of
pleasure and anticipation overspread their faces, as each eye
turned toward me questioningly. But I shook my head.

"No, my friends," I said, smiling, "I thank you, but it
cannot be. Not yet, at least. When we know that Tardos Mors
and Mors Kajak are gone to return no more; if I be here,
then I shall join you all to see that the people of Helium
are permitted to choose fairly their next Jeddak. Whom they
choose may count upon the loyalty of my sword, nor shall I
seek the honour for myself. Until then Tardos Mors is Jeddak
of Helium, and Zat Arras is his representative."

"As you will, John Carter," said Hor Vastus, "but--
What was that?" he whispered, pointing toward the window
overlooking the gardens.

The words were scarce out of his mouth ere he had sprung
to the balcony without.

"There he goes!" he cried excitedly. "The guards! Below there!
The guards!"

We were close behind him, and all saw the figure of a man
run quickly across a little piece of sward and disappear in the
shrubbery beyond.

"He was on the balcony when I first saw him," cried Hor Vastus.
"Quick! Let us follow him!"

Together we ran to the gardens, but even though we scoured the
grounds with the entire guard for hours, no trace could we find
of the night marauder.

"What do you make of it, Kantos Kan?" asked Tars Tarkas.

"A spy sent by Zat Arras," he replied. "It was ever his way."

"He will have something interesting to report to his master then,"
laughed Hor Vastus.

"I hope he heard only our references to a new Jeddak," I
said. "If he overheard our plans to rescue Dejah Thoris, it
will mean civil war, for he will attempt to thwart us, and]
in that I will not be thwarted. There would I turn against
Tardos Mors himself, were it necessary. If it throws all Helium
into a bloody conflict, I shall go on with these plans to save
my Princess. Nothing shall stay me now short of death, and should
I die, my friends, will you take oath to prosecute the search for
her and bring her back in safety to her grandfather's court?"

Upon the hilt of his sword each of them swore to do as I had asked.

It was agreed that the battleships that were to be remodelled
should be ordered to Hastor, another Heliumetic city, far to
the south-west. Kantos Kan thought that the docks there,
in addition to their regular work, would accommodate at
least six battleships at a time. As he was commander-in-
chief of the navy, it would be a simple matter for him to
order the vessels there as they could be handled, and thereafter
keep the remodelled fleet in remote parts of the empire until
we should be ready to assemble it for the dash upon Omean.

It was late that night before our conference broke up,
but each man there had his particular duties outlined, and
the details of the entire plan had been mapped out.

Kantos Kan and Xodar were to attend to the remodelling
of the ships. Tars Tarkas was to get into communication
with Thark and learn the sentiments of his people toward his
return from Dor. If favourable, he was to repair immediately
to Thark and devote his time to the assembling of a great horde
of green warriors whom it was our plan to send in transports
directly to the Valley Dor and the Temple of Issus, while the
fleet entered Omean and destroyed the vessels of the First Born.

Upon Hor Vastus devolved the delicate mission of organising
a secret force of fighting-men sworn to follow John Carter
wherever he might lead. As we estimated that it would require
over a million men to man the thousand great battleships
we intended to use on Omean and the transports for the green
men as well as the ships that were to convoy the transports,
it was no trifling job that Hor Vastus had before him.

After they had left I bid Carthoris good-night, for I was very
tired, and going to my own apartments, bathed and lay down
upon my sleeping silks and furs for the first good night's
sleep I had had an opportunity to look forward to since
I had returned to Barsoom. But even now I was to be disappointed.

How long I slept I do not know. When I awoke suddenly
it was to find a half-dozen powerful men upon me, a gag
already in my mouth, and a moment later my arms and legs
securely bound. So quickly had they worked and to such
good purpose, that I was utterly beyond the power to resist
them by the time I was fully awake.

Never a word spoke they, and the gag effectually prevented
me speaking. Silently they lifted me and bore me toward
the door of my chamber. As they passed the window through
which the farther moon was casting its brilliant beams, I saw
that each of the party had his face swathed in layers of silk--
I could not recognize one of them.

When they had come into the corridor with me, they turned
toward a secret panel in the wall which led to the passage
that terminated in the pits beneath the palace. That any
knew of this panel outside my own household, I was doubtful.
Yet the leader of the band did not hesitate a moment.
He stepped directly to the panel, touched the concealed
button, and as the door swung open he stood aside while
his companions entered with me. Then he closed the panel
behind him and followed us.

Down through the passageways to the pits we went. The leader
rapped upon it with the hilt of his sword--three quick, sharp
blows, a pause, then three more, another pause, and then two.
A second later the wall swung in, and I was pushed within a
brilliantly lighted chamber in which sat three richly trapped men.

One of them turned toward me with a sardonic smile upon his thin,
cruel lips--it was Zat Arras.

CHAPTER XIX

BLACK DESPAIR

"Ah," said Zat Arras, "to what kindly circumstance am I
indebted for the pleasure of this unexpected visit from the
Prince of Helium?"

While he was speaking, one of my guards had removed the
gag from my mouth, but I made no reply to Zat Arras:
simply standing there in silence with level gaze fixed upon
the Jed of Zodanga. And I doubt not that my expression
was coloured by the contempt I felt for the man.

The eyes of those within the chamber were fixed first upon
me and then upon Zat Arras, until finally a flush of anger
crept slowly over his face.

"You may go," he said to those who had brought me,
and when only his two companions and ourselves were left
in the chamber, he spoke to me again in a voice of ice--
very slowly and deliberately, with many pauses, as though
he would choose his words cautiously.

"John Carter," he said, "by the edict of custom, by the law
of our religion, and by the verdict of an impartial court,
you are condemned to die. The people cannot save you--I
alone may accomplish that. You are absolutely in my power
to do with as I wish--I may kill you, or I may free you,
and should I elect to kill you, none would be the wiser.

"Should you go free in Helium for a year, in accordance with
the conditions of your reprieve, there is little fear that
the people would ever insist upon the execution of the sentence
imposed upon you.

"You may go free within two minutes, upon one condition.
Tardos Mors will never return to Helium. Neither will
Mors Kajak, nor Dejah Thoris. Helium must select a new
Jeddak within the year. Zat Arras would be Jeddak of Helium.
Say that you will espouse my cause. This is the price of
your freedom. I am done."

I knew it was within the scope of Zat Arras' cruel heart
to destroy me, and if I were dead I could see little reason
to doubt that he might easily become Jeddak of Helium. Free,
I could prosecute the search for Dejah Thoris. Were I dead,
my brave comrades might not be able to carry out our plans.
So, by refusing to accede to his request, it was quite
probable that not only would I not prevent him from
becoming Jeddak of Helium, but that I would be the
means of sealing Dejah Thoris' fate--of consigning her,
through my refusal, to the horrors of the arena of Issus.

For a moment I was perplexed, but for a moment only.
The proud daughter of a thousand Jeddaks would choose
death to a dishonorable alliance such as this, nor could
John Carter do less for Helium than his Princess would do.

Then I turned to Zat Arras.

"There can be no alliance," I said, "between a traitor to
Helium and a prince of the House of Tardos Mors. I
do not believe, Zat Arras, that the great Jeddak is dead."

Zat Arras shrugged his shoulders.

"It will not be long, John Carter," he said, "that your
opinions will be of interest even to yourself, so make the best
of them while you can. Zat Arras will permit you in due
time to reflect further upon the magnanimous offer he has
made you. Into the silence and darkness of the pits you
will enter upon your reflection this night with the knowledge
that should you fail within a reasonable time to agree to the
alternative which has been offered you, never shall you emerge
from the darkness and the silence again. Nor shall you know
at what minute the hand will reach out through the darkness
and the silence with the keen dagger that shall rob you
of your last chance to win again the warmth and the freedom
and joyousness of the outer world."

Zat Arras clapped his hands as he ceased speaking.
The guards returned.

Zat Arras waved his hand in my direction.

"To the pits," he said. That was all. Four men accompanied
me from the chamber, and with a radium hand-light to illumine
the way, escorted me through seemingly interminable tunnels,
down, ever down beneath the city of Helium.

At length they halted within a fair-sized chamber. There
were rings set in the rocky walls. To them chains were
fastened, and at the ends of many of the chains were human
skeletons. One of these they kicked aside, and, unlocking the
huge padlock that had held a chain about what had once
been a human ankle, they snapped the iron band about my
own leg. Then they left me, taking the light with them.

Utter darkness prevailed. For a few minutes I could hear
the clanking of accoutrements, but even this grew fainter
and fainter, until at last the silence was as complete as
the darkness. I was alone with my gruesome companions--with
the bones of dead men whose fate was likely but the index
of my own.

How long I stood listening in the darkness I do not know,
but the silence was unbroken, and at last I sunk to the hard
floor of my prison, where, leaning my head against the stony
wall, I slept.

It must have been several hours later that I awakened
to find a young man standing before me. In one hand he
bore a light, in the other a receptacle containing a gruel-like
mixture--the common prison fare of Barsoom.

"Zat Arras sends you greetings," said the young man, "and
commands me to inform you that though he is fully advised
of the plot to make you Jeddak of Helium, he is, however, not
inclined to withdraw the offer which he has made you.
To gain your freedom you have but to request me to advise
Zat Arras that you accept the terms of his proposition."

I but shook my head. The youth said no more, and, after
placing the food upon the floor at my side, returned up the
corridor, taking the light with him.

Twice a day for many days this youth came to my cell
with food, and ever the same greetings from Zat Arras.
For a long time I tried to engage him in conversation
upon other matters, but he would not talk, and so,
at length, I desisted.

For months I sought to devise methods to inform Carthoris
of my whereabouts. For months I scraped and scraped
upon a single link of the massive chain which held me,
hoping eventually to wear it through, that I might follow
the youth back through the winding tunnels to a point where
I could make a break for liberty.

I was beside myself with anxiety for knowledge of the
progress of the expedition which was to rescue Dejah Thoris.
I felt that Carthoris would not let the matter drop, were he
free to act, but in so far as I knew, he also might be a
prisoner in Zat Arras' pits.

That Zat Arras' spy had overheard our conversation relative
to the selection of a new Jeddak, I knew, and scarcely
a half-dozen minutes prior we had discussed the details
of the plan to rescue Dejah Thoris. The chances were that
that matter, too, was well known to him. Carthoris, Kantos
Kan, Tars Tarkas, Hor Vastus, and Xodar might even now
be the victims of Zat Arras' assassins, or else his prisoners.

I determined to make at least one more effort to learn
something, and to this end I adopted strategy when next
the youth came to my cell. I had noticed that he was a
handsome fellow, about the size and age of Carthoris.
And I had also noticed that his shabby trappings but illy
comported with his dignified and noble bearing.

It was with these observations as a basis that I opened
my negotiations with him upon his next subsequent visit.

"You have been very kind to me during my imprisonment here,"
I said to him, "and as I feel that I have at best but a
very short time to live, I wish, ere it is too late,
to furnish substantial testimony of my appreciation of all
that you have done to render my imprisonment bearable.

"Promptly you have brought my food each day, seeing that
it was pure and of sufficient quantity. Never by word
or deed have you attempted to take advantage of my
defenceless condition to insult or torture me. You have
been uniformly courteous and considerate--it is this more
than any other thing which prompts my feeling of gratitude
and my desire to give you some slight token of it.

"In the guard-room of my palace are many fine trappings.
Go thou there and select the harness which most pleases you
--it shall be yours. All I ask is that you wear it, that I
may know that my wish has been realized. Tell me that you
will do it."

The boy's eyes had lighted with pleasure as I spoke, and I
saw him glance from his rusty trappings to the magnificence
of my own. For a moment he stood in thought before he
spoke, and for that moment my heart fairly ceased beating
--so much for me there was which hung upon the substance
of his answer.

"And I went to the palace of the Prince of Helium with any
such demand, they would laugh at me and, into the bargain,
would more than likely throw me headforemost into the avenue.
No, it cannot be, though I thank you for the offer. Why,
if Zat Arras even dreamed that I contemplated such a thing
he would have my heart cut out of me."

"There can be no harm in it, my boy," I urged. "By night
you may go to my palace with a note from me to Carthoris,
my son. You may read the note before you deliver it,
that you may know that it contains nothing harmful to
Zat Arras. My son will be discreet, and so none but us
three need know. It is very simple, and such a harmless
act that it could be condemned by no one."

Again he stood silently in deep thought.

"And there is a jewelled short-sword which I took from the
body of a northern Jeddak. When you get the harness, see
that Carthoris gives you that also. With it and the harness
which you may select there will be no more handsomely
accoutred warrior in all Zodanga.

"Bring writing materials when you come next to my cell,
and within a few hours we shall see you garbed in a style
befitting your birth and carriage."

Still in thought, and without speaking, he turned and
left me. I could not guess what his decision might be, and
for hours I sat fretting over the outcome of the matter.

If he accepted a message to Carthoris it would mean to me
that Carthoris still lived and was free. If the youth returned
wearing the harness and the sword, I would know that Carthoris
had received my note and that he knew that I still lived.
That the bearer of the note was a Zodangan would be sufficient
to explain to Carthoris that I was a prisoner of Zat Arras.

It was with feelings of excited expectancy which I could scarce
hide that I heard the youth's approach upon the occasion of
his next regular visit. I did not speak beyond my accustomed
greeting of him. As he placed the food upon the floor by my
side he also deposited writing materials at the same time.

My heart fairly bounded for joy. I had won my point. For
a moment I looked at the materials in feigned surprise, but
soon I permitted an expression of dawning comprehension to
come into my face, and then, picking them up, I penned
a brief order to Carthoris to deliver to Parthak a harness of his
selection and the short-sword which I described. That was all.
But it meant everything to me and to Carthoris.

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