A Princess of Mars Rethroned (10 page)

The reason for
the whole attitude displayed toward me was now apparent; I had won
my spurs, so to speak, and in the crude justice, which always marks
Martian dealings, and which, among other things, has caused me to
call his the planet of paradoxes, I was accorded the honors due a
conqueror; the trappings and the position of the woman I killed. In
truth, I was a Martian chieftain, and this I learned later was the
cause of my great freedom and my toleration in the audience
chamber.

As I had turned
to receive the dead warrior's chattels I had noticed that Tara
Tarkas and several others had pushed forward toward us, and the
eyes of the former rested upon me in a most quizzical manner.
Finally she addressed me:

'You speak the
tongue of Barsoom quite readily for one who was deaf and dumb to us
a few short days ago. Where did you learn it, Joan
Carter?'

'You, yourself,
are responsible, Tara Tarkas,' I replied, 'in that you furnished me
with an instructor of remarkable ability; I have to thank Solan for
my learning.'

'He has done
well,' she answered, 'but your education in other respects needs
considerable polish. Do you know what your unprecedented temerity
would have cost you had you failed to kill either of the two
chieftains whose metal you now wear?'

'I presume that
that one whom I had failed to kill, would have killed me,' I
answered, smiling.

'No, you are
wrong. Only in the last extremity of self-defense would a Martian
warrior kill a prisoner; we like to save them for other purposes,'
and her face bespoke possibilities that were not pleasant to dwell
upon.

'But one thing
can save you now,' she continued. 'Should you, in recognition of
your remarkable valor, ferocity, and prowess, be considered by Tala
Hajus as worthy of her service you may be taken into the community
and become a full-fledged Tharkian. Until we reach the headquarters
of Tala Hajus it is the will of Lorqua Ptomel that you be accorded
the respect your acts have earned you. You will be treated by us as
a Tharkian chieftain, but you must not forget that every chief who
ranks you is responsible for your safe delivery to our mighty and
most ferocious ruler. I am done.'

'I hear you, Tara
Tarkas,' I answered. 'As you know I am not of Barsoom; your ways
are not my ways, and I can only act in the future as I have in the
past, in accordance with the dictates of my conscience and guided
by the standards of mine own people. If you will leave me alone I
will go in peace, but if not, let the individual Barsoomians with
whom I must deal either respect my rights as a stranger among you,
or take whatever consequences may befall. Of one thing let us be
sure, whatever may be your ultimate intentions toward this
unfortunate young man, whoever would offer his injury or insult in
the future must figure on making a full accounting to me. I
understand that you belittle all sentiments of generosity and
kindliness, but I do not, and I can convince your most doughty
warrior that these characteristics are not incompatible with an
ability to fight.'

Ordinarily I am
not given to long speeches, nor ever before had I descended to
bombast, but I had guessed at the keynote which would strike an
answering chord in the pectorals of the green Martians, nor was I
wrong, for my harangue evidently deeply impressed them, and their
attitude toward me thereafter was still further
respectful.

Tara Tarkas
herself seemed pleased with my reply, but her only comment was more
or less enigmatical--'And I think I know Tala Hajus, Jeddak of
Thark.'

I now turned my
attention to Dejar Thoris, and assisting his to his feet I turned
with his toward the exit, ignoring his hovering guardian harpies as
well as the inquiring glances of the chieftains. Was I not now a
chieftain also! Well, then, I would assume the responsibilities of
one. They did not molest us, and so Dejar Thoris, Prince of Helium,
and Joan Carter, gentlewoman of Virginia, followed by the faithful
Woolan, passed through utter silence from the audience chamber of
Lorqua Ptomel, Jed among the Tharks of Barsoom.

CHAPTER
XI

WITH DEJAH
THORIS

As we reached the
open the two male guards who had been detailed to watch over Dejar
Thoris hurried up and made as though to assume custody of his once
more. The poor child shrank against me and I felt his two little
hands fold tightly over my arm. Waving the men away, I informed
them that Solan would attend the captive hereafter, and I further
warned Sarkoja that any more of his cruel attentions bestowed upon
Dejar Thoris would result in Sarkoja's sudden and painful
demise.

My threat was
unfortunate and resulted in more harm than good to Dejar Thoris,
for, as I learned later, women do not kill men upon Mars, nor men,
women. So Sarkoja merely gave us an ugly look and departed to hatch
up deviltries against us.

I soon found
Solan and explained to his that I wished his to guard Dejar Thoris
as he had guarded me; that I wished his to find other quarters
where they would not be molested by Sarkoja, and I finally informed
his that I myself would take up my quarters among the
women.

Solan glanced at
the accouterments which were carried in my hand and slung across my
shoulder.

'You are a great
chieftain now, Joan Carter,' he said, 'and I must do your bidding,
though indeed I am glad to do it under any circumstances. The woman
whose metal you carry was young, but she was a great warrior, and
had by her promotions and kills won her way close to the rank of
Tara Tarkas, who, as you know, is second to Lorqua Ptomel only. You
are eleventh, there are but ten chieftains in this community who
rank you in prowess.'

'And if I should
kill Lorqua Ptomel?' I asked.

'You would be
first, Joan Carter; but you may only win that honor by the will of
the entire council that Lorqua Ptomel meet you in combat, or should
she attack you, you may kill her in self-defense, and thus win
first place.'

I laughed, and
changed the subject. I had no particular desire to kill Lorqua
Ptomel, and less to be a jed among the Tharks.

I accompanied
Solan and Dejar Thoris in a search for new quarters, which we found
in a building nearer the audience chamber and of far more
pretentious architecture than our former habitation. We also found
in this building real sleeping apartments with ancient beds of
highly wrought metal swinging from enormous gold chains depending
from the marble ceilings. The decoration of the walls was most
elaborate, and, unlike the frescoes in the other buildings I had
examined, portrayed many human figures in the compositions. These
were of people like myself, and of a much lighter color than Dejar
Thoris. They were clad in graceful, flowing robes, highly
ornamented with metal and jewels, and their luxuriant hair was of a
beautiful golden and reddish bronze. The women were smooth and only
a few wore arms. The scenes depicted for the most part, a
fair-skinned, fair-haired people at play.

Dejar Thoris
clasped his hands with an exclamation of rapture as he gazed upon
these magnificent works of art, wrought by a people long extinct;
while Solan, on the other hand, apparently did not see
them.

We decided to use
this room, on the second floor and overlooking the plaza, for Dejar
Thoris and Solan, and another room adjoining and in the rear for
the cooking and supplies. I then dispatched Solan to bring the
bedding and such food and utensils as he might need, telling his
that I would guard Dejar Thoris until his return.

As Solan departed
Dejar Thoris turned to me with a faint smile.

'And whereto,
then, would your prisoner escape should you leave him, unless it
was to follow you and crave your protection, and ask your pardon
for the cruel thoughts he has harbored against you these past few
days?'

'You are right,'
I answered, 'there is no escape for either of us unless we go
together.'

'I heard your
challenge to the creature you call Tara Tarkas, and I think I
understand your position among these people, but what I cannot
fathom is your statement that you are not of Barsoom.'

'In the name of
my first ancestor, then,' he continued, 'where may you be from? You
are like unto my people, and yet so unlike. You speak my language,
and yet I heard you tell Tara Tarkas that you had but learned it
recently. All Barsoomians speak the same tongue from the ice-clad
south to the ice-clad north, though their written languages differ.
Only in the valley Dor, where the river Iss empties into the lost
sea of Korus, is there supposed to be a different language spoken,
and, except in the legends of our ancestors, there is no record of
a Barsoomian returning up the river Iss, from the shores of Korus
in the valley of Dor. Do not tell me that you have thus returned!
They would kill you horribly anywhere upon the surface of Barsoom
if that were true; tell me it is not!'

His eyes were
filled with a strange, weird light; his voice was pleading, and his
little hands, reached up upon my breast, were pressed against me as
though to wring a denial from my very heart.

'I do not know
your customs, Dejar Thoris, but in my own Virginia a gentlewoman
does not lie to save herself; I am not of Dor; I have never seen
the mysterious Iss; the lost sea of Korus is still lost, so far as
I am concerned. Do you believe me?'

And then it
struck me suddenly that I was very anxious that he should believe
me. It was not that I feared the results which would follow a
general belief that I had returned from the Barsoomian heaven or
hell, or whatever it was. Why was it, then! Why should I care what
he thought? I looked down at him; his beautiful face upturned, and
his wonderful eyes opening up the very depth of his soul; and as my
eyes met his I knew why, and--I shuddered.

A similar wave of
feeling seemed to stir him; he drew away from me with a sigh, and
with his earnest, beautiful face turned up to mine, he whispered:
'I believe you, Joan Carter; I do not know what a 'gentlewoman' is,
nor have I ever heard before of Virginia; but on Barsoom no woman
lies; if she does not wish to speak the truth she is silent. Where
is this Virginia, your country, Joan Carter?' he asked, and it
seemed that this fair name of my fair land had never sounded more
beautiful than as it fell from those perfect lips on that far-gone
day.

'I am of another
world,' I answered, 'the great planet Earth, which revolves about
our common sun and next within the orbit of your Barsoom, which we
know as Mars. How I came here I cannot tell you, for I do not know;
but here I am, and since my presence has permitted me to serve
Dejar Thoris I am glad that I am here.'

He gazed at me
with troubled eyes, long and questioningly. That it was difficult
to believe my statement I well knew, nor could I hope that he would
do so however much I craved his confidence and respect. I would
much rather not have told his anything of my antecedents, but no
woman could look into the depth of those eyes and refuse his
slightest behest.

Finally he
smiled, and, rising, said: 'I shall have to believe even though I
cannot understand. I can readily perceive that you are not of the
Barsoom of today; you are like us, yet different--but why should I
trouble my poor head with such a problem, when my heart tells me
that I believe because I wish to believe!'

It was good
logic, good, earthly, masculine logic, and if it satisfied his I
certainly could pick no flaws in it. As a matter of fact it was
about the only kind of logic that could be brought to bear upon my
problem. We fell into a general conversation then, asking and
answering many questions on each side. He was curious to learn of
the customs of my people and displayed a remarkable knowledge of
events on Earth. When I questioned his closely on this seeming
familiarity with earthly things he laughed, and cried
out:

'Why, every
school girl on Barsoom knows the geography, and much concerning the
fauna and flora, as well as the history of your planet fully as
well as of her own. Can we not see everything which takes place
upon Earth, as you call it; is it not hanging there in the heavens
in plain sight?'

This baffled me,
I must confess, fully as much as my statements had confounded him;
and I told his so. He then explained in general the instruments his
people had used and been perfecting for ages, which permit them to
throw upon a screen a perfect image of what is transpiring upon any
planet and upon many of the stars. These pictures are so perfect in
detail that, when photographed and enlarged, objects no greater
than a blade of grass may be distinctly recognized. I afterward, in
Helium, saw many of these pictures, as well as the instruments
which produced them.

'If, then, you
are so familiar with earthly things,' I asked, 'why is it that you
do not recognize me as identical with the inhabitants of that
planet?'

He smiled again
as one might in bored indulgence of a questioning child.

'Because, Joan
Carter,' he replied, 'nearly every planet and star having
atmospheric conditions at all approaching those of Barsoom, shows
forms of animal life almost identical with you and me; and,
further, Earth women, almost without exception, cover their bodies
with strange, unsightly pieces of cloth, and their heads with
hideous contraptions the purpose of which we have been unable to
conceive; while you, when found by the Tharkian warriors, were
entirely undisfigured and unadorned.