CHAPTER VI
THE JEDDAK OF LOTHAR
The girl looked her incredulity.
"They lay in piles," she murmured. "There were thousands of thembut a minute ago."
"And now," continued Carthoris, "there remain but the banths andthe carcasses of the green men."
"They must have sent forth and carried the dead bowmen away whilewe were talking," said the girl.
"It is impossible!" replied Carthoris. "Thousands of dead laythere upon the field but a moment since. It would have requiredmany hours to have removed them. The thing is uncanny."
"I had hoped," said Thuvia, "that we might find an asylum withthese fair-skinned people. Notwithstanding their valour upon thefield of battle, they did not strike me as a ferocious or warlikepeople. I had been about to suggest that we seek entrance to thecity, but now I scarce know if I care to venture among people whosedead vanish into thin air."
"Let us chance it," replied Carthoris. "We can be no worse off withintheir walls than without. Here we may fall prey to the banths orthe no less fierce Torquasians. There, at least, we shall findbeings moulded after our own images.
"All that causes me to hesitate," he added, "is the danger of takingyou past so many banths. A single sword would scarce prevail wereeven a couple of them to charge simultaneously."
"Do not fear on that score," replied the girl, smiling. "The banthswill not harm us."
As she spoke she descended from the platform, and with Carthorisat her side stepped fearlessly out upon the bloody field in thedirection of the walled city of mystery.
They had advanced but a short distance when a banth, looking upfrom its gory feast, descried them. With an angry roar the beastwalked quickly in their direction, and at the sound of its voicea score of others followed its example.
Carthoris drew his long-sword. The girl stole a quick glanceat his face. She saw the smile upon his lips, and it was as wineto sick nerves; for even upon warlike Barsoom where all men arebrave, woman reacts quickly to quiet indifference to danger--todare-deviltry that is without bombast.
"You may return your sword," she said. "I told you that the banthswould not harm us. Look!" and as she spoke she stepped quicklytoward the nearest animal.
Carthoris would have leaped after her to protect her, but with agesture she motioned him back. He heard her calling to the banthsin a low, singsong voice that was half purr.
Instantly the great heads went up and all the wicked eyeswere riveted upon the figure of the girl. Then, stealthily, theycommenced moving toward her. She had stopped now and was standingwaiting them.
One, closer to her than the others, hesitated. She spoke to himimperiously, as a master might speak to a refractory hound.
The great carnivore let its head droop, and with tail between itslegs came slinking to the girl's feet, and after it came the othersuntil she was entirely surrounded by the savage maneaters.
Turning she led them to where Carthoris stood. They growled a littleas they neared the man, but a few sharp words of command put themin their places.
"How do you do it?" exclaimed Carthoris.
"Your father once asked me that same question in the galleries ofthe Golden Cliffs within the Otz Mountains, beneath the temples ofthe therns. I could not answer him, nor can I answer you. I donot know whence comes my power over them, but ever since the daythat Sator Throg threw me among them in the banth pit of the HolyTherns, and the great creatures fawned upon instead of devouringme, I ever have had the same strange power over them. They comeat my call and do my bidding, even as the faithful Woola does thebidding of your mighty sire."
With a word the girl dispersed the fierce pack. Roaring, theyreturned to their interrupted feast, while Carthoris and Thuviapassed among them toward the walled city.
As they advanced the man looked with wonder upon the dead bodiesof those of the green men that had not been devoured or mauled bythe banths.
He called the girl's attention to them. No arrows protruded fromthe great carcasses. Nowhere upon any of them was the sign ofmortal wound, nor even slightest scratch or abrasion.
Before the bowmen's dead had disappeared the corpses of the Torquasianshad bristled with the deadly arrows of their foes. Where had theslender messengers of death departed? What unseen hand had pluckedthem from the bodies of the slain?
Despite himself Carthoris could scarce repress a shudder ofapprehension as he glanced toward the silent city before them. Nolonger was sign of life visible upon wall or roof top. All wasquiet--brooding, ominous quiet.
Yet he was sure that eyes watched them from somewhere behind thatblank wall.
He glanced at Thuvia. She was advancing with wide eyes fixed uponthe city gate. He looked in the direction of her gaze, but sawnothing.
His gaze upon her seemed to arouse her as from a lethargy. Sheglanced up at him, a quick, brave smile touching her lips, and then,as though the act was involuntary, she came close to his side andplaced one of her hands in his.
He guessed that something within her that was beyond her consciouscontrol was appealing to him for protection. He threw an arm abouther, and thus they crossed the field. She did not draw away fromhim. It is doubtful that she realized that his arm was there, soengrossed was she in the mystery of the strange city before them.
They stopped before the gate. It was a mighty thing. From itsconstruction Carthoris could but dimly speculate upon its unthinkableantiquity.
It was circular, closing a circular aperture, and the Heliumite knewfrom his study of ancient Barsoomian architecture that it rolledto one side, like a huge wheel, into an aperture in the wall.
Even such world-old cities as ancient Aaanthor were as yet undreamedof when the races lived that built such gates as these.
As he stood speculating upon the identity of this forgotten city,a voice spoke to them from above. Both looked up. There, leaningover the edge of the high wall, was a man.
His hair was auburn, his skin fair--fairer even than that of JohnCarter, the Virginian. His forehead was high, his eyes large andintelligent.
The language that he used was intelligible to the two below,yet there was a marked difference between it and their Barsoomiantongue.
"Who are you?" he asked. "And what do you here before the gate ofLothar?"
"We are friends," replied Carthoris. "This be the princess,Thuvia of Ptarth, who was captured by the Torquasian horde. I amCarthoris of Helium, Prince of the house of Tardos Mors, Jeddak ofHelium, and son of John Carter, Warlord of Mars, and of his wife,Dejah Thoris."
"'Ptarth'?" repeated the man. "'Helium'?" He shook his head. "Inever have heard of these places, nor did I know that there dweltupon Barsoom a race of thy strange colour. Where may these citieslie, of which you speak? From our loftiest tower we have neverseen another city than Lothar."
Carthoris pointed toward the north-east.
"In that direction lie Helium and Ptarth," he said. "Helium is overeight thousand haads from Lothar, while Ptarth lies nine thousandfive hundred haads north-east of Helium."[1]
[1]On Barsoom the AD is the basis of linear measurement. It isthe equivalent of an Earthly foot, measuring about 11.694 Earthinches. As has been my custom in the past, I have generallytranslated Barsoomian symbols of time, distance, etc., into theirEarthly equivalent, as being more easily understood by Earth readers.For those of a more studious turn of mind it may be interestingto know the Martian table of linear measurement, and so I give ithere:
10 sofads = 1 ad 200 ads = 1 haad 100 haads = 1 karad 360 karads = 1 circumference of Mars at equator.
A haad, or Barsoomian mile, contains about 2,339 Earth feet. Akarad is one degree. A sofad about 1.17 Earth inches.
Still the man shook his head.
"I know of nothing beyond the Lotharian hills," he said. "Naughtmay live there beside the hideous green hordes of Torquas. Theyhave conquered all Barsoom except this single valley and the cityof Lothar. Here we have defied them fo
r countless ages, thoughperiodically they renew their attempts to destroy us. From whenceyou come I cannot guess unless you be descended from the slavesthe Torquasians captured in early times when they reduced the outerworld to their vassalage; but we had heard that they destroyed allother races but their own."
Carthoris tried to explain that the Torquasians ruled but arelatively tiny part of the surface of Barsoom, and even this onlybecause their domain held nothing to attract the red race; but theLotharian could not seem to conceive of anything beyond the valleyof Lothar other than a trackless waste peopled by the ferociousgreen hordes of Torquas.
After considerable parleying he consented to admit them to thecity, and a moment later the wheel-like gate rolled back withinits niche, and Thuvia and Carthoris entered the city of Lothar.
All about them were evidences of fabulous wealth. The facades ofthe buildings fronting upon the avenue within the wall were richlycarven, and about the windows and doors were ofttimes set foot-wideborders of precious stones, intricate mosaics, or tablets of beatengold bearing bas-reliefs depicting what may have been bits of thehistory of this forgotten people.
He with whom they had conversed across the wall was in the avenueto receive them. About him were a hundred or more men of the samerace. All were clothed in flowing robes and all were beardless.
Their attitude was more of fearful suspicion than antagonism. Theyfollowed the new-comers with their eyes; but spoke no word to them.
Carthoris could not but notice the fact that though the city hadbeen but a short time before surrounded by a horde of bloodthirstydemons yet none of the citizens appeared to be armed, nor was theresign of soldiery about.
He wondered if all the fighting men had sallied forth in one supremeeffort to rout the foe, leaving the city all unguarded. He askedtheir host.
The man smiled.
"No creature other than a score or so of our sacred banths has leftLothar to-day," he replied.
"But the soldiers--the bowmen!" exclaimed Carthoris. "We sawthousands emerge from this very gate, overwhelming the hordes ofTorquas and putting them to rout with their deadly arrows and theirfierce banths."
Still the man smiled his knowing smile.
"Look!" he cried, and pointed down a broad avenue before him.
Carthoris and Thuvia followed the direction indicated, and there,marching bravely in the sunlight, they saw advancing toward thema great army of bowmen.
"Ah!" exclaimed Thuvia. "They have returned through another gate,or perchance these be the troops that remained to defend the city?"
Again the fellow smiled his uncanny smile.
"There are no soldiers in Lothar," he said. "Look!"
Both Carthoris and Thuvia had turned toward him while he spoke,and now as they turned back again toward the advancing regimentstheir eyes went wide in astonishment, for the broad avenue beforethem was as deserted as the tomb.
"And those who marched out upon the hordes to-day?" whisperedCarthoris. "They, too, were unreal?"
The man nodded.
"But their arrows slew the green warriors," insisted Thuvia.
"Let us go before Tario," replied the Lotharian. "He will tell youthat which he deems it best you know. I might tell you too much."
"Who is Tario?" asked Carthoris.
"Jeddak of Lothar," replied the guide, leading them up the broadavenue down which they had but a moment since seen the phantom armymarching.
For half an hour they walked along lovely avenues between the mostgorgeous buildings that the two had ever seen. Few people were inevidence. Carthoris could not but note the deserted appearance ofthe mighty city.
At last they came to the royal palace. Carthoris saw it from adistance, and guessing the nature of the magnificent pile wonderedthat even here there should be so little sign of activity and life.
Not even a single guard was visible before the great entrance gate,nor in the gardens beyond, into which he could see, was there signof the myriad life that pulses within the precincts of the royalestates of the red jeddaks.
"Here," said their guide, "is the palace of Tario."
As he spoke Carthoris again let his gaze rest upon the wondrouspalace. With a startled exclamation he rubbed his eyes and lookedagain. No! He could not be mistaken. Before the massive gatestood a score of sentries. Within, the avenue leading to the mainbuilding was lined on either side by ranks of bowmen. The gardenswere dotted with officers and soldiers moving quickly to and fro,as though bent upon the duties of the minute.
What manner of people were these who could conjure an army outof thin air? He glanced toward Thuvia. She, too, evidently hadwitnessed the transformation.
With a little shudder she pressed more closely toward him.
"What do you make of it?" she whispered. "It is most uncanny."
"I cannot account for it," replied Carthoris, "unless we have gonemad."
Carthoris turned quickly toward the Lotharian. The fellow wassmiling broadly.
"I thought that you just said that there were no soldiers inLothar," said the Heliumite, with a gesture toward the guardsmen."What are these?"
"Ask Tario," replied the other. "We shall soon be before him."
Nor was it long before they entered a lofty chamber at one end ofwhich a man reclined upon a rich couch that stood upon a high dais.
As the trio approached, the man turned dreamy eyes sleepily uponthem. Twenty feet from the dais their conductor halted, and,whispering to Thuvia and Carthoris to follow his example, threwhimself headlong to the floor. Then rising to hands and knees,he commenced crawling toward the foot of the throne, swinging hishead to and fro and wiggling his body as you have seen a hound dowhen approaching its master.
Thuvia glanced quickly toward Carthoris. He was standing erect,with high-held head and arms folded across his broad chest. Ahaughty smile curved his lips.
The man upon the dais was eyeing him intently, and Carthoris ofHelium was looking straight in the other's face.
"Who be these, Jav?" asked the man of him who crawled upon hisbelly along the floor.
"O Tario, most glorious Jeddak," replied Jav, "these be strangerswho came with the hordes of Torquas to our gates, saying that theywere prisoners of the green men. They tell strange tales of citiesfar beyond Lothar."
"Arise, Jav," commanded Tario, "and ask these two why they shownot to Tario the respect that is his due."
Jav arose and faced the strangers. At sight of their erect positionshis face went livid. He leaped toward them.
"Creatures!" he screamed. "Down! Down upon your bellies beforethe last of the jeddaks of Barsoom!"