CHAPTER X
KAR KOMAK, THE BOWMAN
As Carthoris moved through the forest toward the distant cliffswith Thuvia's hand still tight pressed in his, he wondered a littleat the girl's continued silence, yet the contact of her cool palmagainst his was so pleasant that he feared to break the spell ofher new-found reliance in him by speaking.
Onward through the dim wood they passed until the shadows of thequick coming Martian night commenced to close down upon them. Thenit was that Carthoris turned to speak to the girl at his side.
They must plan together for the future. It was his idea to passthrough the cliffs at once if they could locate the passage, andhe was quite positive that they were now close to it; but he wantedher assent to the proposition.
As his eyes rested upon her, he was struck by her strangely etherealappearance. She seemed suddenly to have dissolved into the tenuoussubstance of a dream, and as he continued to gaze upon her, shefaded slowly from his sight.
For an instant he was dumbfounded, and then the whole truth flashedsuddenly upon him. Jav had caused him to believe that Thuvia wasaccompanying him through the wood while, as a matter of fact, hehad detained the girl for himself!
Carthoris was horrified. He cursed himself for his stupidity, andyet he knew that the fiendish power which the Lotharian had invokedto confuse him might have deceived any.
Scarce had he realized the truth than he had started to retracehis steps toward Lothar, but now he moved at a trot, the Earthlythews that he had inherited from his father carrying him swiftlyover the soft carpet of fallen leaves and rank grass.
Thuria's brilliant light flooded the plain before the walled cityof Lothar as Carthoris broke from the wood opposite the great gatethat had given the fugitives egress from the city earlier in theday.
At first he saw no indication that there was another than himselfanywhere about. The plain was deserted. No myriad bowmen campednow beneath the overhanging verdure of the giant trees. No goryheaps of tortured dead defaced the beauty of the scarlet sward.All was silence. All was peace.
The Heliumite, scarce pausing at the forest's verge, pushedon across the plain toward the city, when presently he descried ahuddled form in the grass at his feet.
It was the body of a man, lying prone. Carthoris turned the figureover upon its back. It was Jav, but torn and mangled almost beyondrecognition.
The prince bent low to note if any spark of life remained, and ashe did so the lids raised and dull, suffering eyes looked up intohis.
"The Princess of Ptarth!" cried Carthoris. "Where is she? Answerme, man, or I complete the work that another has so well begun."
"Komal," muttered Jav. "He sprang upon me . . . and would havedevoured me but for the girl. Then they went away together intothe wood--the girl and the great banth . . . her fingers twined inhis tawny mane."
"Which way went they?" asked Carthoris.
"There," replied Jav faintly, "toward the passage through thecliffs."
The Prince of Helium waited to hear no more, but springing to hisfeet, raced back again into the forest.
It was dawn when he reached the mouth of the dark tunnel that wouldlead him to the other world beyond this valley of ghostly memoriesand strange hypnotic influences and menaces.
Within the long, dark passages he met with no accident or obstacle,coming at last into the light of day beyond the mountains, andno great distance from the southern verge of the domains of theTorquasians, not more than one hundred and fifty haad at the most.
From the boundary of Torquas to the city of Aaanthor is a distanceof some two hundred haads, so that the Heliumite had before him ajourney of more than one hundred and fifty Earth miles between himand Aaanthor.
He could at best but hazard a chance guess that toward AaanthorThuvia would take her flight. There lay the nearest water, andthere might be expected some day a rescuing party from her father'sempire; for Carthoris knew Thuvan Dihn well enough to know that hewould leave no stone unturned until he had tracked down the truthas to his daughter's abduction, and learned all that there mightbe to learn of her whereabouts.
He realized, of course, that the trick which had laid suspicionupon him would greatly delay the discovery of the truth, but littledid he guess to what vast proportions had the results of the villainyof Astok of Dusar already grown.
Even as he emerged from the mouth of the passage to look acrossthe foothills in the direction of Aaanthor, a Ptarth battle fleetwas winging its majestic way slowly toward the twin cities ofHelium, while from far distant Kaol raced another mighty armada tojoin forces with its ally.
He did not know that in the face of the circumstantial evidenceagainst him even his own people had commenced to entertain suspicionsthat he might have stolen the Ptarthian princess.
He did not know of the lengths to which the Dusarians had gone todisrupt the friendship and alliance which existed between the threegreat powers of the eastern hemisphere--Helium, Ptarth and Kaol.
How Dusarian emissaries had found employment in important posts inthe foreign offices of the three great nations, and how, through thesemen, messages from one jeddak to another were altered and garbleduntil the patience and pride of the three rulers and former friendscould no longer endure the humiliations and insults contained inthese falsified papers--not any of this he knew.
Nor did he know how even to the last John Carter, Warlord of Mars,had refused to permit the jeddak of Helium to declare war againsteither Ptarth or Kaol, because of his implicit belief in his son,and that eventually all would be satisfactorily explained.
And now two great fleets were moving upon Helium, while the Dusarianspies at the court of Tardos Mors saw to it that the twin citiesremained in ignorance of their danger.
War had been declared by Thuvan Dihn, but the messenger who hadbeen dispatched with the proclamation had been a Dusarian who hadseen to it that no word of warning reached the twin cities of theapproach of a hostile fleet.
For several days diplomatic relations had been severed betweenHelium and her two most powerful neighbors, and with the departureof the ministers had come a total cessation of wireless communicationbetween the disputants, as is usual upon Barsoom.
But of all this Carthoris was ignorant. All that interested himat present was the finding of Thuvia of Ptarth. Her trail besidethat of the huge banth had been well marked to the tunnel, and wasonce more visible leading southward into the foothills.
As he followed rapidly downward toward the dead sea-bottom, wherehe knew he must lose the spoor in the resilient ochre vegetation,he was suddenly surprised to see a naked man approaching him fromthe north-east.
As the fellow drew closer, Carthoris halted to await his coming.He knew that the man was unarmed, and that he was apparently aLotharian, for his skin was white and his hair auburn.
He approached the Heliumite without sign of fear, and when quiteclose called out the cheery Barsoomian "kaor" of greeting.
"Who are you?" asked Carthoris.
"I am Kar Komak, odwar of the bowmen," replied the other. "Astrange thing has happened to me. For ages Tario has been bringingme into existence as he needed the services of the army of hismind. Of all the bowmen it has been Kar Komak who has been oftenestmaterialized.
"For a long time Tario has been concentrating his mind upon mypermanent materialization. It has been an obsession with him thatsome day this thing could be accomplished and the future of Lotharassured. He asserted that matter was nonexistent except in theimagination of man--that all was mental, and so he believed thatby persisting in his suggestion he could eventually make of me apermanent suggestion in the minds of all creatures.
"Yesterday he succeeded, but at such a time! It must have come allunknown to him, as it came to me without my knowledge, as, with myhorde of yelling bowmen, I pursued the fleeing Torquasians back totheir ochre plains.
"As darkness settled and the time came for us to fade once moreinto thin air, I suddenly found myself alone upon the edge of thegreat pla
in which lies yonder at the foot of the low hills.
"My men were gone back to the nothingness from which they hadsprung, but I remained--naked and unarmed.
"At first I could not understand, but at last came a realization ofwhat had occurred. Tario's long suggestions had at last prevailed,and Kar Komak had become a reality in the world of men; but myharness and my weapons had faded away with my fellows, leaving menaked and unarmed in a hostile country far from Lothar."
"You wish to return to Lothar?" asked Carthoris.
"No!" replied Kar Komak quickly. "I have no love for Tario. Beinga creature of his mind, I know him too well. He is cruel andtyrannical--a master I have no desire to serve. Now that he hassucceeded in accomplishing my permanent materialization, he willbe unbearable, and he will go on until he has filled Lothar withhis creatures. I wonder if he has succeeded as well with the maidof Lothar."
"I thought there were no women there," said Carthoris.
"In a hidden apartment in the palace of Tario," replied Kar Komak,"the jeddak has maintained the suggestion of a beautiful girl, hopingthat some day she would become permanent. I have seen her there.She is wonderful! But for her sake I hope that Tario succeeds notso well with her as he has with me.
"Now, red man, I have told you of myself--what of you?"
Carthoris liked the face and manner of the bowman. There had beenno sign of doubt or fear in his expression as he had approachedthe heavily-armed Heliumite, and he had spoken directly and to thepoint.
So the Prince of Helium told the bowman of Lothar who he was andwhat adventure had brought him to this far country.
"Good!" exclaimed the other, when he had done. "Kar Komak willaccompany you. Together we shall find the Princess of Ptarth andwith you Kar Komak will return to the world of men--such a worldas he knew in the long-gone past when the ships of mighty Lotharploughed angry Throxus, and the roaring surf beat against thebarrier of these parched and dreary hills."
"What mean you?" asked Carthoris. "Had you really a former actualexistence?"
"Most assuredly," replied Kar Komak. "In my day I commanded thefleets of Lothar--mightiest of all the fleets that sailed the fivesalt seas.
"Wherever men lived upon Barsoom there was the name of Kar Komakknown and respected. Peaceful were the land races in those distantdays--only the seafarers were warriors; but now has the glory ofthe past faded, nor did I think until I met you that there remainedupon Barsoom a single person of our own mould who lived and lovedand fought as did the ancient seafarers of my time.
"Ah, but it will seem good to see men once again--real men! Neverhad I much respect for the landsmen of my day. They remained intheir walled cities wasting their time in play, depending for theirprotection entirely upon the sea race. And the poor creatures whoremain, the Tarios and Javs of Lothar, are even worse than theirancient forbears."
Carthoris was a trifle skeptical as to the wisdom of permittingthe stranger to attach himself to him. There was always the chancethat he was but the essence of some hypnotic treachery which Tarioor Jav was attempting to exert upon the Heliumite; and yet, sosincere had been the manner and the words of the bowman, so muchthe fighting man did he seem, but Carthoris could not find it inhis heart to doubt him.
The outcome of the matter was that he gave the naked odwar leave toaccompany him, and together they set out upon the spoor of Thuviaand Komal.
Down to the ochre sea-bottom the trail led. There it disappeared,as Carthoris had known that it would; but where it entered the plainits direction had been toward Aaanthor and so toward Aaanthor thetwo turned their faces.
It was a long and tedious journey, fraught with many dangers. Thebowman could not travel at the pace set by Carthoris, whose musclescarried him with great rapidity over the face of the small planet,the force of gravity of which exerts so much less retarding powerthan that of the Earth. Fifty miles a day is a fair average fora Barsoomian, but the son of John Carter might easily have covereda hundred or more miles had he cared to desert his new-found comrade.
All the way they were in constant danger of discovery by rovingbands of Torquasians, and especially was this true before theyreached the boundary of Torquas.
Good fortune was with them, however, and although they sighted twodetachments of the savage green men, they were not themselves seen.
And so they came, upon the morning of the third day, within sightof the glistening domes of distant Aaanthor. Throughout the journeyCarthoris had ever strained his eyes ahead in search of Thuvia andthe great banth; but not till now had he seen aught to give himhope.
This morning, far ahead, half-way between themselves and Aaanthor,the men saw two tiny figures moving toward the city. For a momentthey watched them intently. Then Carthoris, convinced, leapedforward at a rapid run, Kar Komak following as swiftly as he could.
The Heliumite shouted to attract the girl's attention, and presentlyhe was rewarded by seeing her turn and stand looking toward him.At her side the great banth stood with up-pricked ears, watchingthe approaching man.
Not yet could Thuvia of Ptarth have recognized Carthoris, thoughthat it was he she must have been convinced, for she waited therefor him without sign of fear.
Presently he saw her point toward the northwest, beyond him.Without slackening his pace, he turned his eyes in the directionshe indicated.
Racing silently over the thick vegetation, not half a mile behind,came a score of fierce green warriors, charging him upon theirmighty thoats.
To their right was Kar Komak, naked and unarmed, yet runningvaliantly toward Carthoris and shouting warning as though he, too,had but just discovered the silent, menacing company that moved soswiftly forward with couched spears and ready long-swords.
Carthoris shouted to the Lotharian, warning him back, for he knewthat he could but uselessly sacrifice his life by placing himself,all unarmed, in the path of the cruel and relentless savages.
But Kar Komak never hesitated. With shouts of encouragement tohis new friend, he hurried onward toward the Prince of Helium. Thered man's heart leaped in response to this exhibition of courageand self-sacrifice. He regretted now that he had not thought togive Kar Komak one of his swords; but it was too late to attemptit, for should he wait for the Lotharian to overtake him or returnto meet him, the Torquasians would reach Thuvia of Ptarth beforehe could do so.
Even as it was, it would be nip and tuck as to who came first toher side.
Again he turned his face in her direction, and now, from Aaanthorway, he saw a new force hastening toward them--two medium-sizedwar craft--and even at the distance they still were from him hediscerned the device of Dusar upon their bows.
Now, indeed, seemed little hope for Thuvia of Ptarth. Withsavage warriors of the hordes of Torquas charging toward her fromone direction, and no less implacable enemies, in the form of thecreatures of Astok, Prince of Dusar, bearing down upon her fromanother, while only a banth, a red warrior, and an unarmed bowmanwere near to defend her, her plight was quite hopeless and hercause already lost ere ever it was contested.
As Thuvia saw Carthoris approaching, she felt again that unaccountablesensation of entire relief from responsibility and fear that shehad experienced upon a former occasion. Nor could she account forit while her mind still tried to convince her heart that the Princeof Helium had been instrumental in her abduction from her father'scourt. She only knew that she was glad when he was by her side,and that with him there all things seemed possible--even suchimpossible things as escape from her present predicament.
Now had he stopped, panting, before her. A brave smile ofencouragement lit his face.
"Courage, my princess," he whispered.
To the girl's memory flashed the occasion upon which he had usedthose same words--in the throne-room of Tario of Lothar as they hadcommenced to slip down the sinking marble floor toward an unknownfate.
Then she had not chidden him for the use of that familiar salutation,nor did she chide him now, though she was promised to another
.She wondered at herself--flushing at her own turpitude; for uponBarsoom it is a shameful thing for a woman to listen to those twowords from another than her husband or her betrothed.
Carthoris saw her flush of mortification, and in an instant regrettedhis words. There was but a moment before the green warriors wouldbe upon them.
"Forgive me!" said the man in a low voice. "Let my great love bemy excuse--that, and the belief that I have but a moment more oflife," and with the words he turned to meet the foremost of thegreen warriors.
The fellow was charging with couched spear, but Carthoris leaped toone side, and as the great thoat and its rider hurtled harmlesslypast him he swung his long-sword in a mighty cut that clove thegreen carcass in twain.
At the same moment Kar Komak leaped with bare hands clawing at theleg of another of the huge riders; the balance of the horde racedin to close quarters, dismounting the better to wield their favouritelong-swords; the Dusarian fliers touched the soft carpet of theochre-clad sea-bottom, disgorging fifty fighting men from theirbowels; and into the swirling sea of cutting, slashing swords sprangKomal, the great banth.