Warlord of Mars Embattled (13 page)

'At the opening
to the subterranean passage that led to their haven of refuge a
mighty battle was fought in which the yellow women were victorious,
and within the caves that gave ingress to their new home they piled
the bodies of the dead, both yellow and green, that the stench
might warn away their enemies from further pursuit.

'And ever since
that long-gone day have the dead of this fabled land been carried
to the Carrion Caves, that in death and decay they might serve
their country and warn away invading enemies. Here, too, is
brought, so the fable runs, all the waste stuff of the
nation--everything that is subject to rot, and that can add to the
foul stench that assails our nostrils.

'And death lurks
at every step among rotting dead, for here the fierce apts lair,
adding to the putrid accumulation with the fragments of their own
prey which they cannot devour. It is a horrid avenue to our goal,
but it is the only one.'

'You are sure,
then, that we have found the way to the land of the yellow women?'
I cried.

'As sure as may
be,' she replied; 'having only ancient legend to support my belief.
But see how closely, so far, each detail tallies with the world-old
story of the hegira of the yellow race. Yes, I am sure that we have
discovered the way to their ancient hiding place.'

'If it be true,
and let us pray that such may be the case,' I said, 'then here may
we solve the mystery of the disappearance of Tardoa Mors, Jeddak of
Helium, and Mora Kajak, her daughter, for no other spot upon
Barsoom has remained unexplored by the many expeditions and the
countless spies that have been searching for them for nearly two
years. The last word that came from them was that they sought
Carthoris, my own brave daughter, beyond the
ice-barrier.'

As we talked we
had been approaching the entrance to the cave, and as we crossed
the threshold I ceased to wonder that the ancient green enemies of
the yellow women had been halted by the horrors of that awful
way.

The bones of dead
women lay woman high upon the broad floor of the first cave, and
over all was a putrid mush of decaying flesh, through which the
apts had beaten a hideous trail toward the entrance to the second
cave beyond.

The roof of this
first apartment was low, like all that we traversed subsequently,
so that the foul odors were confined and condensed to such an
extent that they seemed to possess tangible substance. One was
almost tempted to draw her short-sword and hew her way through in
search of pure air beyond.

'Can woman
breathe this polluted air and live?' asked Thuva Dihn,
choking.

'Not for long, I
imagine,' I replied; 'so let us make haste. I will go first, and
you bring up the rear, with Woolan between. Come,' and with the
words I dashed forward, across the fetid mass of
putrefaction.

It was not until
we had passed through seven caves of different sizes and varying
but little in the power and quality of their stenches that we met
with any physical opposition. Then, within the eighth cave, we came
upon a lair of apts.

A full score of
the mighty beasts were disposed about the chamber. Some were
sleeping, while others tore at the fresh-killed carcasses of
new-brought prey, or fought among themselves in their
love-making.

Here in the dim
light of their subterranean home the value of their great eyes was
apparent, for these inner caves are shrouded in perpetual gloom
that is but little less than utter darkness.

To attempt to
pass through the midst of that fierce herd seemed, even to me, the
height of folly, and so I proposed to Thuva Dihn that she return to
the outer world with Woolan, that the two might find their way to
civilization and come again with a sufficient force to overcome not
only the apts, but any further obstacles that might lie between us
and our goal.

'In the
meantime,' I continued, 'I may discover some means of winning my
way alone to the land of the yellow women, but if I am unsuccessful
one life only will have been sacrificed. Should we all go on and
perish, there will be none to guide a succoring party to Dejar
Thoris and your son.'

'I shall not
return and leave you here alone, Joan Carter,' replied Thuva Dihn.
'Whether you go on to victory or death, the Jeddak of Ptarth
remains at your side. I have spoken.'

I knew from her
tone that it were useless to attempt to argue the question, and so
I compromised by sending Woolan back with a hastily penned note
enclosed in a small metal case and fastened about her neck. I
commanded the faithful creature to seek Carthoris at Helium, and
though half a world and countless dangers lay between I knew that
if the thing could be done Woolan would do it.

Equipped as she
was by nature with marvelous speed and endurance, and with
frightful ferocity that made her a match for any single enemy of
the way, her keen intelligence and wondrous instinct should easily
furnish all else that was needed for the successful accomplishment
of her mission.

It was with
evident reluctance that the great beast turned to leave me in
compliance with my command, and ere she had gone I could not resist
the inclination to throw my arms about her great neck in a parting
hug. She rubbed her cheek against mine in a final caress, and a
moment later was speeding through the Carrion Caves toward the
outer world.

In my note to
Carthoris I had given explicit directions for locating the Carrion
Caves, impressing upon her the necessity for making entrance to the
country beyond through this avenue, and not to attempt under any
circumstances to cross the ice-barrier with a fleet. I told her
that what lay beyond the eighth cave I could not even guess; but I
was sure that somewhere upon the other side of the ice-barrier her
mother lay in the power of Matain Shang, and that possibly her
grandmother and great-grandfather as well, if they
lived.

Further, I
advised her to call upon Kula Tith and the daughter of Thuva Dihn
for warriors and ships that the expedition might be sufficiently
strong to insure success at the first blow.

'And,' I
concluded, 'if there be time bring Tara Tarkas with you, for if I
live until you reach me I can think of few greater pleasures than
to fight once more, shoulder to shoulder, with my old
friend.'

When Woolan had
left us Thuva Dihn and I, hiding in the seventh cave, discussed and
discarded many plans for crossing the eighth chamber. From where we
stood we saw that the fighting among the apts was growing less, and
that many that had been feeding had ceased and lain down to
sleep.

Presently it
became apparent that in a short time all the ferocious monsters
might be peacefully slumbering, and thus a hazardous opportunity be
presented to us to cross through their lair.

One by one the
remaining brutes stretched themselves upon the bubbling
decomposition that covered the mass of bones upon the floor of
their den, until but a single apt remained awake. This huge fellow
roamed restlessly about, nosing among her companion and the
abhorrent litter of the cave.

Occasionally she
would stop to peer intently toward first one of the exits from the
chamber and then the other. Her whole demeanor was as of one who
acts as sentry.

We were at last
forced to the belief that she would not sleep while the other
occupants of the lair slept, and so cast about in our minds for
some scheme whereby we might trick her. Finally I suggested a plan
to Thuva Dihn, and as it seemed as good as any that we had
discussed we decided to put it to the test.

To this end Thuva
Dihn placed herself close against the cave's wall, beside the
entrance to the eighth chamber, while I deliberately showed myself
to the guardian apt as she looked toward our retreat. Then I sprang
to the opposite side of the entrance, flattening my body close to
the wall.

Without a sound
the great beast moved rapidly toward the seventh cave to see what
manner of intruder had thus rashly penetrated so far within the
precincts of her habitation.

As she poked her
head through the narrow aperture that connects the two caves a
heavy long-sword was awaiting her upon either hand, and before she
had an opportunity to emit even a single growl her severed head
rolled at our feet.

Quickly we
glanced into the eighth chamber--not an apt had moved. Crawling
over the carcass of the huge beast that blocked the doorway Thuva
Dihn and I cautiously entered the forbidding and dangerous
den.

Like snails we
wound our silent and careful way among the huge, recumbent forms.
The only sound above our breathing was the sucking noise of our
feet as we lifted them from the ooze of decaying flesh through
which we crept.

Halfway across
the chamber and one of the mighty beasts directly before me moved
restlessly at the very instant that my foot was poised above her
head, over which I must step.

Breathlessly I
waited, balancing upon one foot, for I did not dare move a muscle.
In my right hand was my keen short-sword, the point hovering an
inch above the thick fur beneath which beat the savage
heart.

Finally the apt
relaxed, sighing, as with the passing of a bad dream, and resumed
the regular respiration of deep slumber. I planted my raised foot
beyond the fierce head and an instant later had stepped over the
beast.

Thuva Dihn
followed directly after me, and another moment found us at the
further door, undetected.

The Carrion Caves
consist of a series of twenty-seven connecting chambers, and
present the appearance of having been eroded by running water in
some far-gone age when a mighty river found its way to the south
through this single breach in the barrier of rock and ice that hems
the country of the pole.

Thuva Dihn and I
traversed the remaining nineteen caverns without adventure or
mishap.

We were afterward
to learn that but once a month is it possible to find all the apts
of the Carrion Caves in a single chamber.

At other times
they roam singly or in pairs in and out of the caves, so that it
would have been practically impossible for two women to have passed
through the entire twenty-seven chambers without encountering an
apt in nearly every one of them. Once a month they sleep for a full
day, and it was our good fortune to stumble by accident upon one of
these occasions.

Beyond the last
cave we emerged into a desolate country of snow and ice, but found
a well-marked trail leading north. The way was boulder-strewn, as
had been that south of the barrier, so that we could see but a
short distance ahead of us at any time.

After a couple of
hours we passed round a huge boulder to come to a steep declivity
leading down into a valley.

Directly before
us we saw a half dozen men--fierce, black smooth fellows, with
skins the color of a ripe lemon.

'The yellow women
of Barsoom!' ejaculated Thuva Dihn, as though even now that she saw
them she found it scarce possible to believe that the very race we
expected to find hidden in this remote and inaccessible land did
really exist.

We withdrew
behind an adjacent boulder to watch the actions of the little
party, which stood huddled at the foot of another huge rock, their
backs toward us.

One of them was
peering round the edge of the granite mass as though watching one
who approached from the opposite side.

Presently the
object of her scrutiny came within the range of my vision and I saw
that it was another yellow woman. All were clothed in magnificent
furs--the six in the black and yellow striped hide of the orluk,
while she who approached alone was resplendent in the pure white
skin of an apt.

The yellow women
were armed with two swords, and a short javelin was slung across
the back of each, while from their left arms hung cuplike shields
no larger than a dinner plate, the concave sides of which turned
outward toward an antagonist.

They seemed puny
and futile implements of safety against an even ordinary
swordswoman, but I was later to see the purpose of them and with
what wondrous dexterity the yellow women manipulate
them.

One of the swords
which each of the warriors carried caught my immediate attention. I
call it a sword, but really it was a sharp-edged blade with a
complete hook at the far end.

The other sword
was of about the same length as the hooked instrument, and
somewhere between that of my long-sword and my short-sword. It was
straight and two-edged. In addition to the weapons I have
enumerated each woman carried a dagger in her harness.

As the
white-furred one approached, the six grasped their swords more
firmly--the hooked instrument in the left hand, the straight sword
in the right, while above the left wrist the small shield was held
rigid upon a metal bracelet.

As the lone
warrior came opposite them the six rushed out upon her with
fiendish yells that resembled nothing more closely than the savage
war cry of the Apaches of the South-west.

Instantly the
attacked drew both her swords, and as the six fell upon her I
witnessed as pretty fighting as one might care to see.