CHAPTER XIII
TURJUN, THE PANTHAN
The face of Carthoris of Helium gave no token of the emotions thatconvulsed him inwardly as he heard from the lips of Hal Vas thatHelium was at war with Dusar, and that fate had thrown him intothe service of the enemy.
That he might utilize this opportunity to the good of Helium scarcesufficed to outweigh the chagrin he felt that he was not fightingin the open at the head of his own loyal troops.
To escape the Dusarians might prove an easy matter; and then againit might not. Should they suspect his loyalty (and the loyaltyof an impressed panthan was always open to suspicion), he mightnot find an opportunity to elude their vigilance until after thetermination of the war, which might occur within days, or, again,only after long and weary years of bloodshed.
He recalled that history recorded wars in which actual militaryoperations had been carried on without cessation for five or sixhundred years, and even now there were nations upon Barsoom withwhich Helium had made no peace within the history of man.
The outlook was not cheering. He could not guess that within afew hours he would be blessing the fate that had thrown him intothe service of Dusar.
"Ah!" exclaimed Hal Vas. "Here is my father now. Kaor! Vas Kor.Here is one you will be glad to meet--a doughty panthan--" Hehesitated.
"Turjun," interjected Carthoris, seizing upon the first appellationthat occurred to him.
As he spoke his eyes crossed quickly to the tall warrior who wasentering the room. Where before had he seen that giant figure,that taciturn countenance, and the livid sword-cut from temple tomouth?
"Vas Kor," repeated Carthoris mentally. "Vas Kor!" Where had heseen the man before?
And then the noble spoke, and like a flash it all came back toCarthoris--the forward servant upon the landing-stage at Ptarththat time that he had been explaining the intricacies of his newcompass to Thuvan Dihn; the lone slave that had guarded his own hangarthat night he had left upon his ill-fated journey for Ptarth--thejourney that had brought him so mysteriously to far Aaanthor.
"Vas Kor," he repeated aloud, "blessed be your ancestors for thismeeting," nor did the Dusarian guess the wealth of meaning that laybeneath that hackneyed phrase with which a Barsoomian acknowledgesan introduction.
"And blessed be yours, Turjun," replied Vas Kor.
Now came the introduction of Kar Komak to Vas Kor, and as Carthoriswent through the little ceremony there came to him the onlyexplanation he might make to account for the white skin and auburnhair of the bowman; for he feared that the truth might not bebelieved and thus suspicion be cast upon them both from the beginning.
"Kar Komak," he explained, "is, as you can see, a thern. Hehas wandered far from his icebound southern temples in search ofadventure. I came upon him in the pits of Aaanthor; but thoughI have known him so short a time, I can vouch for his bravery andloyalty."
Since the destruction of the fabric of their false religion byJohn Carter, the majority of the therns had gladly accepted thenew order of things, so that it was now no longer uncommon to seethem mingling with the multitudes of red men in any of the greatcities of the outer world, so Vas Kor neither felt nor expressedany great astonishment.
All during the interview Carthoris watched, catlike, for someindication that Vas Kor recognized in the battered panthan theerstwhile gorgeous Prince of Helium; but the sleepless nights, thelong days of marching and fighting, the wounds and the dried bloodhad evidently sufficed to obliterate the last remnant of his likenessto his former self; and then Vas Kor had seen him but twice in allhis life. Little wonder that he did not know him.
During the evening Vas Kor announced that on the morrow they shoulddepart north toward Dusar, picking up recruits at various stationsalong the way.
In a great field behind the house a flier lay--a fair-sizedcruiser-transport that would accommodate many men, yet swift andwell armed also. Here Carthoris slept, and Kar Komak, too, withthe other recruits, under guard of the regular Dusarian warriorsthat manned the craft.
Toward midnight Vas Kor returned to the vessel from his son'shouse, repairing at once to his cabin. Carthoris, with one of theDusarians, was on watch. It was with difficulty that the Heliumiterepressed a cold smile as the noble passed within a foot ofhim--within a foot of the long, slim, Heliumitic blade that swungin his harness.
How easy it would have been! How easy to avenge the cowardlytrick that had been played upon him--to avenge Helium and Ptarthand Thuvia!
But his hand moved not toward the dagger's hilt, for first Vas Kormust serve a better purpose--he might know where Thuvia of Ptarthlay hidden now, if it had truly been Dusarians that had spiritedher away during the fight before Aaanthor.
And then, too, there was the instigator of the entire foul plot.HE must pay the penalty; and who better than Vas Kor could leadthe Prince of Helium to Astok of Dusar?
Faintly out of the night there came to Carthoris's ears the purringof a distant motor. He scanned the heavens.
Yes, there it was far in the north, dimly outlined against thedark void of space that stretched illimitably beyond it, the faintsuggestion of a flier passing, unlighted, through the Barsoomiannight.
Carthoris, knowing not whether the craft might be friend or foeof Dusar, gave no sign that he had seen, but turned his eyes inanother direction, leaving the matter to the Dusarian who stoodwatch with him.
Presently the fellow discovered the oncoming craft, and soundedthe low alarm which brought the balance of the watch and an officerfrom their sleeping silks and furs upon the deck near by.
The cruiser-transport lay without lights, and, resting as she wasupon the ground, must have been entirely invisible to the oncomingflier, which all presently recognized as a small craft.
It soon became evident that the stranger intended making a landing,for she was now spiraling slowly above them, dropping lower andlower in each graceful curve.
"It is the Thuria," whispered one of the Dusarian warriors. "Iwould know her in the blackness of the pits among ten thousandother craft."
"Right you are!" exclaimed Vas Kor, who had come on deck. And thenhe hailed:
"Kaor, Thuria!"
"Kaor!" came presently from above after a brief silence. Then:"What ship?"
"Cruiser-transport Kalksus, Vas Kor of Dusar."
"Good!" came from above. "Is there safe landing alongside?"
"Yes, close in to starboard. Wait, we will show our lights," anda moment later the smaller craft settled close beside the Kalksus,and the lights of the latter were immediately extinguished oncemore.
Several figures could be seen slipping over the side of the Thuriaand advancing toward the Kalksus. Ever suspicious, the Dusariansstood ready to receive the visitors as friends or foes as closerinspection might prove them. Carthoris stood quite near the rail,ready to take sides with the new-comers should chance have it thatthey were Heliumites playing a bold stroke of strategy upon thislone Dusarian ship. He had led like parties himself, and knew thatsuch a contingency was quite possible.
But the face of the first man to cross the rail undeceived himwith a shock that was not at all unpleasurable--it was the face ofAstok, Prince of Dusar.
Scarce noticing the others upon the deck of the Kalksus, Astokstrode forward to accept Vas Kor's greeting, then he summoned thenoble below. The warriors and officers returned to their sleepingsilks and furs, and once more the deck was deserted except for theDusarian warrior and Turjun, the panthan, who stood guard.
The latter walked quietly to and fro. The former leaned acrossthe rail, wishing for the hour that would bring him relief. Hedid not see his companion approach the lights of the cabin of VasKor. He did not see him stoop with ear close pressed to a tinyventilator.
"May the white apes take us all," cried Astok ruefully, "if we arenot in as ugly a snarl as you have ever seen! Nutus thinks thatwe have her in hiding far away from Dusar. He has bidden me bringher here."
He paused. No man should have heard from his li
ps the thing he wastrying to tell. It should have been for ever the secret of Nutusand Astok, for upon it rested the safety of a throne. With thatknowledge any man could wrest from the Jeddak of Dusar whatever helisted.
But Astok was afraid, and he wanted from this older man the suggestionof an alternative. He went on.
"I am to kill her," he whispered, looking fearfully around. "Nutusmerely wishes to see the body that he may know his commands havebeen executed. I am now supposed to be gone to the spot where wehave her hidden that I may fetch her in secrecy to Dusar. Noneis to know that she has ever been in the keeping of a Dusarian. Ido not need to tell you what would befall Dusar should Ptarth andHelium and Kaol ever learn the truth."
The jaws of the listener at the ventilator clicked together witha vicious snap. Before he had but guessed at the identity of thesubject of this conversation. Now he knew. And they were to killher! His muscular fingers clenched until the nails bit into thepalms.
"And you wish me to go with you while you fetch her to Dusar," VasKor was saying. "Where is she?"
Astok bent close and whispered into the other's ear. The suggestionof a smile crossed the cruel features of Vas Kor. He realized thepower that lay within his grasp. He should be a jed at least.
"And how may I help you, my Prince?" asked the older man suavely.
"I cannot kill her," said Astok. "Issus! I cannot do it! Whenshe turns those eyes upon me my heart becomes water."
Vas Kor's eyes narrowed.
"And you wish--" He paused, the interrogation unfinished, yetcomplete.
Astok nodded.
"YOU do not love her," he said.
"But I love my life--though I am only a lesser noble," he concludedmeaningly.
"You shall be a greater noble--a noble of the first rank!" exclaimedAstok.
"I would be a jed," said Vas Kor bluntly.
Astok hesitated.
"A jed must die before there can be another jed," he pleaded.
"Jeds have died before," snapped Vas Kor. "It would doubtless benot difficult for you to find a jed you do not love, Astok--thereare many who do not love you."
Already Vas Kor was commencing to presume upon his power over theyoung prince. Astok was quick to note and appreciate the subtlechange in his lieutenant. A cunning scheme entered his weak andwicked brain.
"As you say, Vas Kor!" he exclaimed. "You shall be a jed whenthe thing is done," and then, to himself: "Nor will it then bedifficult for me to find a jed I do not love."
"When shall we return to Dusar?" asked the noble.
"At once," replied Astok. "Let us get under way now--there isnaught to keep you here?"
"I had intended sailing on the morrow, picking up such recruits asthe various Dwars of the Roads might have collected for me, as wereturned to Dusar."
"Let the recruits wait," said Astok. "Or, better still, come youto Dusar upon the Thuria, leaving the Kalksus to follow and pickup the recruits."
"Yes," acquiesced Vas Kor; "that is the better plan. Come; I amready," and he rose to accompany Astok to the latter's flier.
The listener at the ventilator came to his feet slowly, like anold man. His face was drawn and pinched and very white beneaththe light copper of his skin. She was to die! And he helpless toavert the tragedy. He did not even know where she was imprisoned.
The two men were ascending from the cabin to the deck. Turjun,the panthan, crept close to the companionway, his sinuous fingersclosing tightly upon the hilt of his dagger. Could he despatchthem both before he was overpowered? He smiled. He could slay anentire utan of her enemies in his present state of mind.
They were almost abreast of him now. Astok was speaking.
"Bring a couple of your men along, Vas Kor," he said. "We areshort-handed upon the Thuria, so quickly did we depart."
The panthan's fingers dropped from the dagger's hilt. His quickmind had grasped here a chance for succouring Thuvia of Ptarth.He might be chosen as one to accompany the assassins, and once hehad learned where the captive lay he could dispatch Astok and VasKor as well as now. To kill them before he knew where Thuvia washid was simply to leave her to death at the hands of others; forsooner or later Nutus would learn her whereabouts, and Nutus, Jeddakof Dusar, could not afford to let her live.
Turjun put himself in the path of Vas Kor that he might not beoverlooked. The noble aroused the men sleeping upon the deck, butalways before him the strange panthan whom he had recruited thatsame day found means for keeping himself to the fore.
Vas Kor turned to his lieutenant, giving instruction for the bringingof the Kalksus to Dusar, and the gathering up of the recruits; thenhe signed to two warriors who stood close behind the padwar.
"You two accompany us to the Thuria," he said, "and put yourselvesat the disposal of her dwar."
It was dark upon the deck of the Kalksus, so Vas Kor had not a goodlook at the faces of the two he chose; but that was of no moment,for they were but common warriors to assist with the ordinary dutiesupon a flier, and to fight if need be.
One of the two was Kar Komak, the bowman. The other was notCarthoris.
The Heliumite was mad with disappointment. He snatched his daggerfrom his harness; but already Astok had left the deck of the Kalksus,and he knew that before he could overtake him, should he dispatchVas Kor, he would be killed by the Dusarian warriors, who now werethick upon the deck. With either one of the two alive Thuvia wasin as great danger as though both lived--it must be both!
As Vas Kor descended to the ground Carthoris boldly followed him,nor did any attempt to halt him, thinking, doubtless, that he wasone of the party.
After him came Kar Komak and the Dusarian warrior who had beendetailed to duty upon the Thuria. Carthoris walked close to theleft side of the latter. Now they came to the dense shadow underthe side of the Thuria. It was very dark there, so that they hadto grope for the ladder.
Kar Komak preceded the Dusarian. The latter reached upward forthe swinging rounds, and as he did so steel fingers closed uponhis windpipe and a steel blade pierced the very centre of his heart.
Turjun, the panthan, was the last to clamber over the rail of theThuria, drawing the rope ladder in after him.
A moment later the flier was rising rapidly, headed for the north.
At the rail Kar Komak turned to speak to the warrior who had beendetailed to accompany him. His eyes went wide as they restedupon the face of the young man whom he had met beside the granitecliffs that guard mysterious Lothar. How had he come in place ofthe Dusarian?
A quick sign, and Kar Komak turned once more to find the Thuria'sdwar that he might report himself for duty. Behind him followedthe panthan.
Carthoris blessed the chance that had caused Vas Kor to choose thebowman of all others, for had it been another Dusarian there wouldhave been questions to answer as to the whereabouts of the warriorwho lay so quietly in the field beyond the residence of Hal Vas,Dwar of the Southern Road; and Carthoris had no answer to thatquestion other than his sword point, which alone was scarce adequateto convince the entire crew of the Thuria.
The journey to Dusar seemed interminable to the impatient Carthoris,though as a matter of fact it was quickly accomplished. Sometime before they reached their destination they met and spoke withanother Dusarian war flier. From it they learned that a greatbattle was soon to be fought south-east of Dusar.
The combined navies of Dusar, Ptarth and Kaol had been interceptedin their advance toward Helium by the mighty Heliumitic navy--themost formidable upon Barsoom, not alone in numbers and armament,but in the training and courage of its officers and warriors, andthe zitidaric proportions of many of its monster battleships.
Not for many a day had there been the promise of such a battle.Four jeddaks were in direct command of their own fleets--Kulan Tithof Kaol, Thuvan Dihn of Ptarth, and Nutus of Dusar upon one side;while upon the other was Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium. With thelatter was John Carter, Warlord of Mars.
From the far north anoth
er force was moving south across the barriercliffs--the new navy of Talu, Jeddak of Okar, coming in responseto the call from the warlord. Upon the decks of the sullen shipsof war black-bearded yellow men looked over eagerly toward thesouth. Gorgeous were they in their splendid cloaks of orluk andapt. Fierce, formidable fighters from the hothouse cities of thefrozen north.
And from the distant south, from the sea of Omean and the cliffsof gold, from the temples of the therns and the garden of Issus,other thousands sailed into the north at the call of the great manthey all had learned to respect, and, respecting, love. Pacing theflagship of this mighty fleet, second only to the navy of Helium,was the ebon Xodar, Jeddak of the First Born, his heart beatingstrong in anticipation of the coming moment when he should hurl hissavage crews and the weight of his mighty ships upon the enemiesof the warlord.
But would these allies reach the theatre of war in time to be ofavail to Helium? Or, would Helium need them?
Carthoris, with the other members of the crew of the Thuria, heardthe gossip and the rumours. None knew of the two fleets, the onefrom the south and the other from the north, that were coming tosupport the ships of Helium, and all of Dusar were convinced thatnothing now could save the ancient power of Helium from being wipedfor ever from the upper air of Barsoom.
Carthoris, too, loyal son of Helium that he was, felt that evenhis beloved navy might not be able to cope successfully with thecombined forces of three great powers.
Now the Thuria touched the landing-stage above the palace of Astok.Hurriedly the prince and Vas Kor disembarked and entered the dropthat would carry them to the lower levels of the palace.
Close beside it was another drop that was utilized by commonwarriors. Carthoris touched Kar Komak upon the arm.
"Come!" he whispered. "You are my only friend among a nation ofenemies. Will you stand by me?"
"To the death," replied Kar Komak.
The two approached the drop. A slave operated it.
"Where are your passes?" he asked.
Carthoris fumbled in his pocket pouch as though in search of them,at the same time entering the cage. Kar Komak followed him, closingthe door. The slave did not start the cage downward. Every secondcounted. They must reach the lower level as soon as possible afterAstok and Vas Kor if they would know whither the two went.
Carthoris turned suddenly upon the slave, hurling him to the oppositeside of the cage.
"Bind and gag him, Kar Komak!" he cried.
Then he grasped the control lever, and as the cage shot downwardat sickening speed, the bowman grappled with the slave. Carthoriscould not leave the control to assist his companion, for shouldthey touch the lowest level at the speed at which they were going,all would be dashed to instant death.
Below him he could now see the top of Astok's cage in the parallelshaft, and he reduced the speed of his to that of the other. Theslave commenced to scream.
"Silence him!" cried Carthoris.
A moment later a limp form crumpled to the floor of the cage.
"He is silenced," said Kar Komak.
Carthoris brought the cage to a sudden stop at one of the higherlevels of the palace. Opening the door, he grasped the still formof the slave and pushed it out upon the floor. Then he banged thegate and resumed the downward drop.
Once more he sighted the top of the cage that held Astok and VasKor. An instant later it had stopped, and as he brought his carto a halt, he saw the two men disappear through one of the exitsof the corridor beyond.