Tangor's Fan Fiction - When The Princess...

WWWWHEN THEHEN THEHEN THEHEN THEPPPP R I NC ES SR I NC ES SR I NC ES SR I NC ES S

DDDD I S A P P EA R EDI S A P P EA R EDI S A P P EA R EDI S A P P EA R ED

The Bards of BarsoomDavid Bruce Bozarth

A n dy N un ezDon BeardenT erry K l as ek

COVER ARTTOM Y EATES

IL L U S TRATED B YAN D Y N U N EZ

O n - L in e V ers ion C op y rig ht 1 9 9 8P DF V ers ion C op y rig ht 2 0 0 6

N ote: T his P DF edition us es the s am e tex t of When T heP r i nc es s D i s a p p ea r ed as f oun d at T an g or' s erb l is t. com . T hetex t has b een f orm atted to trade p ap erb ack s ize, j us tif ied,hy p hen ated an d " p rettied up " f on t- w is e. A f ew s p el l in g errorsw ere corrected, b ut otherw is e, is the on - l in e tex t. T hisedition con tain s , f or the f irs t tim e, il l us tration s b y A n dyN un ez.

T his P DF edition m ay b e dow n l oaded an d s hared, b ut m ayN O T b e s ol d or in cl uded on an y C D com p il ation . A s in g l ecop y m ay b e p rin ted b y the reader, b ut n o cop y m ay b e b oun dor s ol d. R ep ort viol ation s to t a ng o r @ er b l i s t . c o mW H E N T H E P R I N C E S S DI S A P P E A R E DC op y rig ht 1 9 9 8 , 2 0 0 6 b yDavid Bruce BozarthA n dy N un ezDon BeardenT erry K l as ek

C over A rt: T O M Y E A T E SI n terior A rt: A N DY N U N E Z

TABLE OF CONTENTSThe Bl u rb

What is a R ou nd R obin?Foreword

M a p o f Th i l u m a n d En v i r o n sM ar 1 9 8 8 Bozarth

1 . D ej ah Thoris: The G irlM ay 1 9 9 7 Bozarth

2 . Ju nie Watts: Living In H el lJ un 1 9 9 7 Bearden

3 . Mil ieos: H ou segu estsJ ul 1 9 9 7 N un ez

4 . D ej ah Thoris: "What is my p u rp ose now? "A ug 1 9 9 7 Bozarth

5 . Ju nie Watts: Life in Thil u mS ep 1 9 9 7 Bearden

6 : Mil ieos: Mu ndane to Mu rderou sO ct 1 9 9 7 N un ez

7 : D ej ah Thoris: The Secret in The H il l sN ov 1 9 9 7 Bozarth

8 : H ol k at: The U nk nown Peop l e of BarsoomDec 1 9 9 7 K l as ek

9 : Ju nie Watts: ThaandorJ an 1 9 9 8 Bearden

1 0 : Mil ieos: The Science of WarF eb 1 9 9 8 N un ez

1 1 : H ol k at: The Perp etu al StateM ay 1 9 9 8 Bozarth

1 2 : Ju nie Watts: A Traitor In Thil u mA p r 1 9 9 8 Bozarth

1 3 : D ej ah Thoris: Caged by K indnessM ay 1 9 9 8 Bozarth

WHEN THE P R I NC ES S D I S A P P EA R ED

TTTTHE HE HE HE BBBB L U R BL U R BL U R BL U R B

The B ar d s o f B ar s o o mbr i n g t o t he W o r l d W i d eW eb t he f i r s t B ar s o o m i anp as t i c he s er i al ev er ! O n o rabo u t t he f i r s t o f eac hm o n t h a n ew c hap t er w i l lbe p u bl i s hed . When T heP r i nc es s D i s a p p ea r ed i s as t o r y t o l d f r o m f i r s t p er s o nv i ew p o i n t s . E ac h c hap t erhead i n g i d en t i f i es t he p r i n -c i p al n ar r at o r . O u r s er i al d eal s w i t h s en s i t i v e an ds er i o u s s u bj ec t s , t her ef o r e y o u r c o m m en t s an d f eed bac kar e s t r o n g l y d es i r ed . L et u s k n o w w hat y o u t hi n k o fWhen T he P r i nc es s D i s a p p ea r ed .

WWWWHA T I S A HA T I S A HA T I S A HA T I S A RRRR O U N D O U N D O U N D O U N D RRRR O B I NO B I NO B I NO B I N ????A r o u n d r o bi n i s an o r g an i z ed w r i t i n g p r o j ec t w her e

a g r o u p o f au t ho r s c hal l en g e eac h o t her by p r o d u c i n gs eq u en t i al p as s ag es i n a l ar g er w o r k . Al l r o u n d r o bi n ss t ar t w i t h a bas i c p r em i s e s u g g es t ed t o al l t he p l ay er s .A p r o j ec t f o r m at i s ag r eed u p o n i e. ho w m u c h o u t p u t i sex p ec t ed an d w hen t o p as s t o t he n ex t au t ho r . Ther es u l t i n g w o r k r ap i d l y ev o l v es i n t o s o m et hi n g u n ex -p ec t ed an d en t er t ai n i n g bec au s e i m ag i n at i o n s ar es t r et c hed an d p eer p r es s u r e ex er t s t he u t m o s t f r o m t hep ar t i c i p an t s .


AAAA FFFF O R EW O R D F R O M T HE A U T HO R SO R EW O R D F R O M T HE A U T HO R SO R EW O R D F R O M T HE A U T HO R SO R EW O R D F R O M T HE A U T HO R S ::::TangorTangorTangorTangor

( D a v i d B r u c e B o z a r t h) C o - A u t ho r a nd P r o j ec t E d i t o r ,M a y 1 9 9 7

I hav e w o r k ed w i t h m y f el l o w B ar d s o f B ar s o o m o na p r ev i o u s r o u n d r o bi n p r o j ec t T he C a v er ns o f M a r s . Itw as a " l et ' s g et ac q u ai n t ed " p r o j ec t t hat r ev eal ed a g r eatp o t en t i al f o r f u t u r e w o r k s . The p r em i s e f o r When T heP r i nc es s D i s a p p ea r ed i s t he r es u l t o f m es s ag es bet w eenJ as o n G r i d l ey ( An d y N u n ez ) , Tar s Tar k as ( D o n B ear -d en ) an d m y s el f af t er w e c o n c l u d ed C a v er ns . Thatp r em i s e, " Wha t i f D ej a h T ho r i s d i s a p p ea r ed — i nt en-t i o na l l y — a nd a b l a c k p er s o n w a s t r a ns p o r t ed t o B a r s o o mf r o m A m er i c a s ho r t l y a f t er M a r t i n L u t her K i ng w a s a s -s a s s i na t ed , a nd t ha t t r a ns p o r t ee w a s f em a l e, a ndB a r s o o m i a n b i o l o g y a nd m ed i c i ne w er e c ent r a l t o t he s t o r yt hem e? " H ey , I j u s t ha d t o be p ar t o f t ha t p r o j ec t !

J a s o n G r i d l e yJ a s o n G r i d l e yJ a s o n G r i d l e yJ a s o n G r i d l e y( An d y N u n e z ) Co - Au t h o r , M a y 1 9 9 7I hav e been an E R B f an s i n c e I c o u l d u n d er s t an d

E n g l i s h, an d hav e w an t ed t o w r i t e s i n c e hi g h s c ho o l , s ow r i t i n g E R B i s m y f av o r i t e t hi n g i n l i f e o t her t han m yf am i l y . I j u s t w i s h I c o u l d g et p ai d f o r w r i t i n g i t ! W henTan g o r f i r s t ap p r o ac hed m e w i t h t he C av er n s o f M ar si d ea, I t ho u g ht , w hy n o t ? At 2 5 l i n es a s ho t , i t w o u l d n ' tt ak e u p m u c h t i m e. It t u r n ed o u t t o be f u n . I c o m p o s edat t he k ey bo ar d , p u t t i n g d o w n w hat ev er c am e t o m i n dw hi l e t r y i n g t o k eep t r u e t o B ar s o o m . Y o u c an j u d g e t heen d r es u l t f o r y o u r s el v es el s ew her e o n t hi s w ebs i t e.Tan g o r f u r t her c hal l en g ed m e w i t h t he c u r r en t s t o r y -l i n e. The c hal l en g e w as w hat s o l d m e. As a w r i t er , I amc o n t i n u al l y t r y i n g t o ex p an d m y ex p er i en c e s o t hatho p ef u l l y I c an p r o d u c e s o m et hi n g m ar k et abl e. The i d eao f w r i t i n g f r o m a t o t al l y al i en p o i n t o f v i ew w as at f i r s t al i t t l e d au n t i n g , bu t I m ad e u p m y m i n d t o g i v e i t m y al l ,


an d When t he P r i nc es s D i s a p p ea r ed w as bo r n . W e t hr eeB ar d s hav e o n e t hi n g i n c o m m o n . W e l o v e o u r s u bj ec tm at t er an d w e w an t t o g i v e y o u r ead er s n o t hi n g bu t t hebes t . Tar s Tar k as g av e m e s o m e g r eat s t u f f t o bo u n c eo f f , s o t hat by t he t i m e y o u r ead er s ar e a g o o d c hu n ki n t o t he s t o r y , s o m e w i l d s t u f f i s g o i n g o n . R em em ber ,t ho u g h, t hat t he s t o r y has a c o n s c i en c e. It ' s n o t a t y p i c alhac k an d s l as h. Thi n k o f i t as a m i r r o r o f o u r y o u t h. W ehav e l abo r ed har d i n t he p r o d u c t i o n o f t hi s ep i c , al l f o rt he f an s . I ho p e y o u al l en j o y i t .

Ta r s Ta r k a sTa r s Ta r k a sTa r s Ta r k a sTa r s Ta r k a s( D o n B e a r d e n ) Co - Au t h o r , M a y 1 9 9 7( F o r ew o r d has n o t been r ec ei v ed )

E r i c h v o n H a r b e nE r i c h v o n H a r b e nE r i c h v o n H a r b e nE r i c h v o n H a r b e n( Te r r y K l a s e k ) Co - Au t h o r , D e c 1 9 9 7I hav e l o v ed E n g l i s h s i n c e m y f i r s t l i t er at u r e c o u r s e

i n hi g h s c ho o l . I d i s c o v er ed E R B i n t he ear l y 6 0 s . I g o t$ 3 p er w eek f r o m p ar en t s f o r l u n c h, an d I w o r k ed i n t hel u n c hr o o m f o r F R E E l u n c h! H en c e, $ 3 p er w eek f o rbo o k s . D i s c o v er ed S her l o c k H o l m es , D o c S av ag e an dp u l p f i c t i o n as w el l . In 7 1 I f o u n d ed a c o m i c c o l l ec t o r sc l u b, an d en d ed u p en j o y i n g w r i t i n g ev er y w o r d t hen ew s l et t er c o n t ai n ed . D i d a H o l m es s o c i et y f o r 4 y ear s ,an d D ID t hat n ew s l et t er t o o . S t ar t ed a S ho r t w av e R ad i oc l u b, an d w r o t e an d d i d t he l ay o u t & d es i g n , t o o . I w asc o n n ed i n t o d o i n g a m o n t hl y V F W D i s t r i c t n ew s l et t er ,an d w o n N at i o n al aw ar d s f o r w r i t i n g an d d es i g n f o r 3y ear s . N o w I am d o i n g a V i et n am v et s o f Am er i c an ew s l et t er . I hav e w r i t t en m an y H o l m es s t o r i es an dar t i c l es , p l u s l o t s o f p o et r y an d f i c t i o n . G o t t he f an at i cw r i t i n g bu g i n c o l l eg e. To o k C r eat i v e W r i t i n g I & II,F i c t i o n W r i t i n g , P o et r y W r i t i n g , J o u r n al i s m ( 4 c o u r s es ) ,an d P l ay w r i t i n g . S o l d m an y t hi n g s t o m ag az i n es . I j u s tH AD t o g et i n v o l v ed i n s o m e E R B w r i t i n g , an d I d o n ' tw an t t o s t o p !


MMMM A P O F A P O F A P O F A P O F TTTT H I L U M A N D H I L U M A N D H I L U M A N D H I L U M A N D EEEE N V I R O N SN V I R O N SN V I R O N SN V I R O N SU s e Z o o m t o v i ew m a p d et a i l s .


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CCCC H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R 1111DDDDEJAH EJAH EJAH EJAH TTTTHO R I SHO R I SHO R I SHO R I S ::::

TTTT H E H E H E H E GGGG I R LI R LI R LI R L

My hu sband is a marvel ou s man who occu p iesa singu l ar p osition among the governments andinstitu tions of Barsoom. H e is k nown as "the War-l ord," which titl e sets him above even the thirty-one Jeddak s of the p l anet. Becau se of his p romi-nence, and mine as the Princess of H el iu m, de-mands are made u p on u s both, demands weack nowl edge—and p erform—when it is p ossibl e.

John Carter ask ed me to attend the nationalnew year cel ebration at the p al ace of his ol d friendK u l an Tith. My hu sband cou l d not attend, having tohead some p roj ect of immediate need with the chiefscientists of H el iu m, Z odanga and G athol .

"Y ou l ove the forests of K aol this time of year,"he had said. The l ights were ex tingu ished and astil l ness had l ain over ou r sl eep ing chamber thatevening. H is hand, cal l u sed from the constantp ractice of swordp l ay, tou ched me gentl y, a famil iarcaress that stil l thril l ed me after these manyyears—bu t it was al so a caress that irritated me as


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it was one a man might u se to fu rther his own endsrather than being forthright and honest.

"If you cannot attend, you cannot," I had re-sp onded by tu rning on my side to p resent my backand a cool shou l der. "I wil l gl adl y rep resent H el iu m.Perhap s Tara and the grandchil dren might..."

Even before John rep l ied I k new the answer tothat wistfu l thou ght. My dau ghter was too bu sy—al ways too bu sy. G ahan insisted on p rivate tu tors.It was nearl y imp ossibl e to see my dau ghter' schil dren withou t a cadre of edu cators and gu ards infu l l attendance.

There was no p ossibil ity of Thu via accomp any-ing me. She was invol ved with p reservation effortsfor whatever endangered sp ecies had cau ght herfancy this year. H er chil dren were away from home,sp ending the new year season with their grandfa-ther in Ptarth. Carthoris, natu ral l y, work ed hand inhand with his father, thu s I wou l d travel al one toK aol .

"I sp ok e to Jed Orl -D an. H is wife R ex a H u l tanhas agreed to accomp any you as handmaiden," Johnwhisp ered in my ear.

H e p u t his arm abou t me, a hard col u mn ofmu scl e, and p u l l ed me against his nak ed l ength.D amn him for assu ming I wou l d want that chatter-ing fool of a you ng j ed' s wife as a travel comp anionand damn him for assu ming my resp onse to hiscaress!

H is k isses on my throat warmed me, they firedme.

D a m n m e f o r r e s p o n d i n g !* * *


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R ex a H u l tan is a beau tifu l woman. Thou gh myhu sband cl aims I am the most beau tifu l woman on

two p l anets, I sometimes have my dou bts as thereare many beau tifu l women in the cou rts of Bar-soom. R ex a is tal l , tal l er than I, and rou nded in ap l u sh manner. H er wal k is an inviting gentl e sway.I wondered if I moved as gracefu l l y across thehanger tower' s l anding stage.

The Tj anath l iner Wh i t e D i a m o n d hovered atthe el evated dep artu re p l atform. The Wh i t e D i a -m o n d is a 4 0 0 p assenger ship of new design, p ortl yin ap p earance to p rovide more seating and over-night accommodations, yet wel l -streaml ined for ad-equ ate sp eed. The trip to K aol from Lesser H el iu mwas to tak e three days and fou r nights—ou r dep ar-tu re was schedu l ed near su nset. John Carter cameto see u s off, thou gh he was hu rried by the p res-ence of Carthoris and two Z odangans who had cometo the hanger tower to catch the royal yacht.

"Sorry for the p u bl ic transp ort, dear," Johnk issed me. "Thou gh it might tak e a day l onger,you ' l l p robabl y enj oy the ride more—it is time foru s to think abou t u p grading ou r p ersonal transp orta-tion."

I smil ed in resp onse, thou gh it l ack ed anyemotion. What good wou l d be served if I ex p ressed


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dissatisfaction or anger? None. There were thingsI cou l d change and shou l d, and things I cou l d changebu t shou l dn' t and there were things that neverchanged, bu t shou l d and things I shou l d change bu tcou l dn' t—and changing John Carter' s p rioritieswhen "the fate of the worl d hangs in the bal ance" asex p ressed between p assionate k isses and mak ingl ove is not one of those things I wil l ever change.

R ex a H u l tan and I boarded the l iner. We p au sedat the rail to wave goodbye, bu t Jack , my son, andthe stern-faced Z odangans had al ready wal k ed away.My hu sband did not l ook back . Peeved, I al mostsaid something to R ex a, bu t thou ght better of it.

"Let u s get settl ed in ou r cabins," I su ggested."We' l l soon be u nderway."

The cabins aboard the Wh i t e D i a m o n d werevery adequ ate. Tj anath l iners had a rep u tation forl u x u ry in the air and I was rel ieved to find thecl aims val id. In my l ife I have travel ed rou gh andhave k nown severe hardship on the j ou rney, there-fore I have no desire to rep eat su ch discomfort ifavoidabl e.

The first cl ass maid, a l ovel y Thern girl , effi-cientl y stored my l u ggage then l eft to settl e otherp assengers in ou r section. I heard heavy noisesamidship s, obviou sl y l arge cargo was being tak enaboard. Ou tside the op en p orthol e, which facedaway from the immense hanger tower, the view ofLesser H el iu m was sp l endid. My father' s city l ayacross the gentl e hil l s, stretching toward the com-ing su nset, and the su bdu ed col ors of p rivate gar-dens and wel l -manicu red p u bl ic areas del ighted theeye.


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I l ove my cou ntry as mu ch as I l ove my hu s-band. The feel ings of l ove for my famil y gu ide myevery thou ght, my entire being. H onor and l oyal ty,ou tgrowths of my commitment to l ove, are verymu ch p art of my character. Y et, there is a smal l p artof me that rebel s at the convention and ex p ecta-tion—that u nqu estioned assu mp tion that D ej ahThoris, Princess of H el iu m, consort of the Warl ord,dau ghter and granddau ghter of Jeddak s, wil l al waysbe su bservient to the needs of government or herhu sband!

Each year the tiny voice grows more insistent,fil l ing my thou ghts. Not the shared thou ghts that al lBarsoomians, and many of the higher orders ofanimal s ex change tel ep athical l y, bu t those deep ,inner voices of the secret mind, the p art that istru l y D ej ah Thoris. I do not heed that voice for I amas rigidl y ru l ed by social requ irement as any wretchheeds the sl ave-master' s whip on a Phu ndahl iansl aver' s chain. It gal l s me to have so l ittl e say in mydestiny, yet I am most gratefu l to be l oved by myheroic American, my famil y and my p eop l e. Noardu ou s l ife do I l ead, there is no p hysical wantwhich cannot be satisfied, and I have my chil drenand grandchil dren; yet, I am u nsatisfied at times...

A k nock on the door reminds me that I amembark ed on this "du ty" Jack has ask ed of me. Asthere are few servants on the Wh i t e D i a m o n d , andnone in my cabin, I answer the door mysel f. It wasR ex a.

"Oh, do come on deck , dear. The ship is l eavingand the view is breathtak ing! "

Before I cou l d form a shal l ow ex cu se R ex a tookmy el bow and drew me into the corridor. She cl osed


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the cabin door then escorted me top side. "I' l l not l etyou miss it, you r highness! "

The Wh i t e D i a m o n d was free of al l mooringsand drifting sou thwest with the p rop el l ers at idl e.When it was wel l away from the tower the p rop swou l d be adj u sted to bite the atmosp here, bu t at themoment, they p rovided a sl ight vibration and acu riou sl y soothing hu m.

R ex a took me to the rail where p assengerswaved to the nearl y facel ess throng atop the hang-er' s p l atform. I k new no one waved to me frombel ow so I l ook ed beyond the tower into the gather-ing twil ight, think ing the su n had set on my l ife inthe years since I fel l in l ove with John Carter,V irginian.

* * *The Wh i t e D i a m o n d is ex ceedingl y fl eet for

su ch a l arge ship . The crew was wel l trained.Thou gh the ship stop p ed at three connection p ointsbetween H el iu m and Z odanga, my sl eep was u ndis-tu rbed. The fol l owing morning R ex a H u l tan and Ienj oyed a p l easant break fast ap p rox imatel y onez ode after dep arting Z odanga. The dining area wason the top deck and was gl assed in on three sidesfacing onto the ship ' s transom. We cou l d see wherethe ship had been bu t cou l d see nothing of thecou ntry into which we headed.

"I say, D ej ah Thoris, you are su ch p oor com-p any this morning! D id you not sl eep wel l ? "

I thinned my l ip s in ap ol ogy. "I am p reoccu p ied,dear. Perhap s a wal k thou gh Jhu ma at the middayl ay over wil l p u t me right."

R ex a arched a p retty brow. "Y ou mean, ' wal k ' ? "


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I l au ghed. "Is there a p robl em with you r l eg?D oes it, p erhap s, a have a bone in it? Of cou rse,' wal k ' . We are grown women, R ex a. We can fend forou rsel ves."

My comp anion giggl ed. "I su p p ose so, bu t thereare a great many entertainments on board ship ."

"G ambl ing, theater, mu sic...yes, bu t where isyou r sp irit of adventu re, girl ? H ave you no desire tosee new p l aces— and new faces? "

I sometimes forget that l esser royal ty nevertires of the Warl ord' s cou rt thou gh I have su ch u tterfamil iarity with it. I cou l d see R ex a H u l tan' s disap -p ointment and again I was p eeved, bu t with mysel fthis time. "We' l l do whatever you l ik e today. To-morrow we' l l do whatever I l ik e. D eal ? "

I wil l say that R ex a H u l tan, thou gh oftenmistak en as being p u rel y ornamental by those whodo not give her credit for having intel l igence, is al soan intu itive woman when she mak es the effort. "Oh,D ee, forgive me. Y ou ' re the one who never getsou t. We' l l do what you want this trip . Some othertime I wil l come rescu e you from the p al ace andwe' l l do whatever I want. I won' t tak e ' no' for ananswer."

"G ood! Then it' s settl ed."Shortl y after noon, a time schedu l ed to avoid

interference with serving l u nch on the Wh i t e D i a -m o n d , the hu ge Tj anath l iner descended to the twinmooring masts of Jhu ma, a smal l city north north-west of Z odanga. There are many su ch cities in thegeneral area, bu t from this p oint on I wil l not p ro-vide sp ecific l ocations for reasons which wil l soonbecome ap p arent.


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We were near Pol odana, the equ ator, and thetemp eratu re ex ceeded that of H el iu m' s warmestdays this time of year. R ex a and I wrap p ed ou r-sel ves in l ight drap es to refl ect the greater p art ofthe su n' s heat and, in p art, to disgu ise ou rsel ves.We l ook ed no different than the fifty or so p assen-gers who disembark ed to sightsee or to mak e othertravel connections in the city. I gl anced over myshou l der as we wal k ed away from the ship ' s el eva-tor, again imp ressed with the gl eaming work s of thehu ge l iner hovering a handfu l of ads above themooring fiel d. H el iu m was not yet in p rodu ction ofcommercial craft—ou r indu stry was p rimaril y in-vol ved with manu factu ring warship s of variou s siz esfor hersel f and any other nation which cou l d affordto p ay the rate.

R ex a was tru e to her word, being cheerfu l andenthu siastic. We had three z odes to ex p l ore Jhu ma,enou gh time to cross the smal l city on foot threetimes over. As mu ch as I l ove the bu stl e and vital ityof the twin cities of H el iu m, I have a weak ness forthe sl ow p ace of smal l towns, p articu l arl y thesettl ements which ring the great basins of thevanished oceans of Barsoom.

Jhu ma had ex amp l es of architectu re dating back1 0 0 ,0 0 0 years, imp osing stru ctu res fashioned fromthe bedrock of the p l anet. Nex t to those time-softened bu il dings were cru de shack s cobbl edtogether from su ch ep hemeral material s as wood,canvas, or thoat hides. The j u x tap osition of diverg-ing cu l tu res p rodu ced a charming ambience, aconfirmation that the hu man ex istence was asendu ring as the l and itsel f.


9

I wal k ed al ong, deep in my thou ghts, stu dyingeverything with a critical eye. R ex a chattered p l ea-santl y, remark ing on things which interested her,thou gh she was more intrigu ed by the col or andsmel l of the p l ace than any l ink s to a distant p ast.

"And the p eop l e," she said. "They seem sofriendl y."

I chu ck l ed. "The men, or the women, R ex a? ""What do you mean? ""If an u nescorted woman is friendl y to you , then

she' s p robabl y friendl y. If she has a man on her armand is friendl y, she is su sp ect. If a man is friendl y toyou , u nescorted by a woman or not, he' s p robabl yinterested in something el se. Y ou are gorgeou s,R ex a H u l tan. Y ou wil l attract attention."

"No more than you , D ej ah," R ex a l au ghed. "Bu twe are both hap p il y married women and su chattentions are beneath ou r notice." She p au sed,then l eaned cl oser and added with a wink , "Aren' tthey? "

We l au ghed qu ietl y and wal k ed on, arms l ink edtogether. I was not qu ite su re where we were,having tu rned arou nd one too many times, bu t hadno worries abou t retu rning to the ship becau se wehad p l enty of time and the town was so smal l . Isimp l y enj oyed mysel f wal k ing throu gh the city asa woman—wel l , yes, a p retty woman—bu t drawingno fu rther comment than on my beau ty. I had nodesire to draw attention as the Princess of H el iu m,or worse, brave the crowds that su rel y wou l d havegathered had I been on the arm of my hu sband, JackCarter, Jasoomian of infernal renown. I chidedmysel f for minor p erversities which that l ittl e rebelvoice fl u shed ou t.


10

I l au ghed su ddenl y. "It has been fu n getting ou tby ou rsel ves, R ex a. I do hop e you k eep that p rom-ise to rescu e me some time or other. I rarel y enj oya wal k on a p u bl ic street l ik e we are doing rightnow."

R ex a said nothing, thou gh she nodded, whichwas ex actl y the right thing to do. My op inion of thej ed' s wife rose tremendou sl y.

We fou nd a l ittl e shop which p rodu ced ex cel l entj ewel ry and sp ent a x at there. I treated R ex a H u l tanwith a smal l p in as a memento of ou r visit, and shegave me a beau tifu l l ittl e ring. We wal k ed ou tadmiring ou r gifts and stop p ed to have a cool drinkat a famil y-owned inn not far from the mooring fiel d.R efreshed, R ex a and I began to tu rn u nhu rriedstep s toward the Wh i t e D i a m o n d .

Before we reached the fiel d, however, we hadto p ass throu gh a ru n-down section of town, havingcome nearl y fu l l circl e in ou r wanderings. Thestreet itsel f was cl ear, the l ocal l aw enforcementtak ing some credit in that regard, bu t each cu rb wasl ined with ru de hovel s in which resided the sick ,infirm, l ame and deformed. Most l arger Barsoomiansettl ements have su ch sections of ou tcasts and itwas ou r il l -l u ck to have fou nd this one by chance. Iam not immu ne to the su ffering of others, bu t Irecogniz e my inabil ity to hel p them al l —and thatreal iz ation onl y mak es my emp athy more difficu l t tobear.

R ex a was as qu iet as I—ou r tel ep athic l ink swere overl oaded by the broadcast misery. It wasthis tremendou s mental effect, more than theu nderl ying disease and deformity, which cau sed thesep aration of il l from the heal thy. My comp anion


11

gradu al l y wil ted u nder the horribl e bu rden witheach step —again cau sing me to reex amine myp reconcep tions regarding the beau tifu l R ex a H u l tan.

"Are you al l right, dear? " I ask ed, tak ing R ex a' sarm.

"I wil l manage," she stammered. "Oh, D ej ah, isthere nothing we can do? "

Moistu re gl istened in her eyes. I increased ou rp ace, al most dragging R ex a al ong.

We were al most cl ear of the section when Istop p ed dead, amaz ed by what I saw. "G o ahead,R ex a. I' l l j oin you shortl y."

She wou l d have refu sed, being l oyal , bu t Ip u shed R ex a H u l tan forward and her feet immedi-atel y resp onded to her inner su ffering, thou gh hersense of du ty was comp romised.

I p aid no attention to R ex a after she startedwal k ing. I was more concerned with the smal lhu ddl e squ atting at the edge of the cu rb. The girlwas bl ack , l ik e a First Born, bu t su btl y differentfrom that race. This p erson' s hair was densel ymatted, intricatel y and tightl y cu rl ed. H er sk ingl istened with sweat, something few Barsoomiansdo. H er nose was qu ite broad comp ared to thehu man races of my p l anet, thou gh not u np l easant tol ook u p on. H er mou th was l arge, with fu l l , wide l ip s.H er cheek bones were high and broad, and her eyessomewhat deep -set beneath a strong brow. She wasqu ite stu nning in her ap p earance—or wou l d havebeen if she were not hal f-starved. Legs and arms,where they p rotru ded from the decrep it bl ank etwrap p ed abou t shou l ders and body, were stick thin;the j oints seemed overl arge becau se fl esh andmu scl e were so sp are.


12

H er ap p earance al one wou l d have cap tu red myattention, bu t it was her l ow band tel ep athic desp airwhich drew me to the femal e. The broadcast was anu nintel l igibl e emotional ap p eal for hel p , total l ydevoid of actu al commu nication!

The girl ' s hand was ou t, for su rel y she was notmore than that in years, and her voice, dry andu ncertain, p l eaded, "Teep i. Teep i for the l ame."

"Y ou are not l ame," I said.She l ook ed u p at me with cl ou ded eyes, as if

she had not seen me ap p roach. "Teep i? " she beg-ged.

"Y ou r name? " I ask ed."Teep i? " she rep eated.I ask ed her name again, bu t in the Engl ish my

Jack had tau ght me over the years. I did so becau semy V irginian was tel ep athical l y inert, bu t evenmore so than this girl . "Who are you , chil d? "

H er reaction was no greater than had beenmine when I l earned Issu s at V al l ey D or had in-tended to k il l me. The girl p u shed away from me,eyes terrified. She wail ed. "Oh Lord, have you senta red angel to tak e me? "

As she l ay there, arms raised to ward off a sp iritor some u nseen doom, I saw something el se. Thep oor thing was hideou sl y deformed. H er abdomenwas swol l en and it was not becau se of over-eating.H er stomach al so disp l ayed that anatomical featu rethat Jack , bu t no other ex cep t V ad V aro wore—a' bel l y bu tton' .

"Cal m down, girl ," I said. "D o you u nderstandme? "

"Am I dead? Is this hel l ? "


13

"This is Barsoom—what you r p eop l e cal l thep l anet Mars. What' s wrong with you ? "

The girl ' s terror decreased qu ick l y—saneconversation tends to defu se horror. "What' s wrongis I am not where I shou l d be! "

I redirected my qu estion with a p ointing finger."What' s wrong? "

"I' m going to have a baby."Jack had discu ssed the rep rodu ctive fu nctions

of his p eop l e before we married. H e was honestenou gh to have dou bts that we might su ccessfu l l ymate and have offsp ring. As Jasoomian mal es arevirtu al l y identical anatomical l y with Barsoomianmal es, and the difference ap p ears to be centered inthe ovip arou s femal e, we entered ou r marriage withgreat hop es. Thank s to the first ancestor, ou rsp ecies were mu tu al l y comp atibl e—which thefertil iz ation of Carthoris and Tara' s eggs p roved. Wehave had three other fertil iz ations, bu t u nfortu -natel y none of the eggs ever qu ick ened. Perhap sou r miracl e of l ife was over and onl y Carthoris andTara...

That ol d p ain was shoved aside. The bl ack girlon the dirty p avement, nak ed ex cep t for an u gl y,u nsanitary bl ank et, was in more need than theadmittedl y fortu nate Princess of H el iu m. There wasa sl aver' s mark on her u p p er thigh. a del icate scarindicating a chain originating in Phu ndahl .

"Where' s you r master? ""Y ou mean the yel l ow bastard who k nock ed me

u p and mark ed me or the bl ack son-of-a-bitch whowail ed to his p agan gods when the demon wenchbegan to swel l ? Everybody' s had a tu rn at Ju nieWatts. Poor Ju nie. Poor, p oor Ju nie! "


14

H er words were l ess coherent as I have setdown here. She wep t some, stayed stu bbornl ysil ent for a time, she al so raged u nhap p il y; I sharp -ened my voice becau se we were getting nowhere."I wil l hel p you ."

She tal k ed to hersel f, a symp tom of starvationand il l ness. "Ju nie, girl , you ' re seeing things" or"Watch that woman, Ju nie Watts, they come to tak eyou away."

I hel p ed the girl to her feet and threw thatnasty bl ank et away. She covered her heavy breastswith crossed arms as I removed my white wrap andp u t it arou nd her. Ju nie Watts smel l ed l ik e anu nk emp t thoat barn. I al most gagged p u tting myarm arou nd her.

"Cal m down, chil d. Come with me." She wastoo weak to argu e.

R ex a shu ddered as I ap p roached with theu nsteady girl . "D ee," she forgot hersel f and cal l edme by the name onl y Jack u sed, "what have youdone? "

"Nothing, yet. G ive me you r garment and al lthe money you have."

"D on' t be sil l y, you r highness. Leave that thing.We' l l miss ou r fl ight! " R ex a was frightened. Shel ook ed at Ju nie Watts as if the girl were the sp ecterof death. I wou l d have none of stu p id su p erstitionfrom R ex a H u l tan. "This p oor Jasoomian chil d needsnu rtu ring. She needs a friend."

"Jasoomian? Wel l , have her p u t in the hol d andtak e her to K aol ," R ex a said. "The p hysicians atK u l an Tith' s p al ace wou l d be eager to ex amine her."

"And that," I said, "is the very reason I wil l n o tsu bj ect the girl to their scru tiny. To them she


15

wou l d be an interesting biol ogical oddity rather thana l iving, breathing, emotional l y-scarred you ngwoman. Jasoomian women to do not l ay eggs—theybear their chil dren al ive—and to my k nowl edge thisis the first su ch birth on al l of Barsoom! "

R ex a considered my words with del iberate cal mand qu ietl y agreed. Now that the shock was p astand we were away from the tel ep athic bedl am of theou tcasts, R ex a firmed her chin, qu ite u nl ik e heru su al sel f. "I shal l tak e care of her. I wil l tak e herhome with me and..."

"And what? " I ask ed. "R ex a, you are a sweetdear, bu t bel ieve me, you have no concep t of whatthis girl needs or what is going to hap p en."

"D o you ? " she ask ed, showing a trace of irrita-tion.

R ex a H u l tan was correct and I owed her anap ol ogy yet again. "Forgive me, R ex a. That wasru de and u nnecessary. I j u st feel I am the one whomu st do this. Invol ving you , John Carter, or anyoneof my acqu aintance wou l d onl y terrify this p oorchil d. She has begu n to tru st me," I said and l ook eddown into those brown eyes where Ju nie Watts saton a road side bench.

"Y ou said you wou l d come rescu e me from thep al ace, R ex a H u l tan. Y ou can do me that servicenow. This chil d needs my hel p . I want to give it.H el p me hel p her."

R ex a was u ndecided. It was one thing, in hermind, to sp irit the Princess of H el iu m away for afew days of travel and rel ax ation and somethingqu ite different to assisting me in disap p earing for atime. The woman l owered her head, twisting herhands nervou sl y.


16

"Y ou r hu sband wil l not sit stil l , D ej ah Thoris.Nor wil l he think k indl y of me for al l owing you to dothis."

I tou ched R ex a' s hand, for she sp ok e the tru th."Jack Carter' s bark is worse than his bite when itcomes to deal ing with women. Tel l him I said' Behave you rsel f, Jack ' . Can you do this for me,R ex a? "

She u nwrap p ed the refl ective garment andhel p ed me p u t it on. She u nbu ck l ed the girdl e at herwaist and it was not a l ight p ou ch she p assed over."Where wil l you go? " R ex a H u l tan ask ed.

"The l ess you k now, the better it wil l be. Waithere with Ju nie Watts."

I went to a nearby shop and ask ed for styl u sand p ap er. I al so p u rchased travel bread, fru its, ap ortion of sl iced roast thoat and a handfu l of hardcandies as wel l as two canteens of mantil l a mil k . Iwrote a message to my hu sband, retu rned thestyl u s to the shop k eep er and hu rried back to R ex a,who stop p ed p acing as soon as she saw me.

I gave R ex a the note. It was op en and I madesu re she read it:

D e a r e s t J o h n :Re x a b r i n g s t h i s m e s s a g e t o y o u p e r s o n a l l y s o y o u

w i l l k n o w I h a v e n o t b e e n k i d n a p p e d — b u t I a m n o tw h e r e I a m s u p p o s e d t o b e . D o n o t s e n d o u t t h e f l e e t sn o r s c o u r t h e c o u n t r y s i d e , I d o n o t n e e d r e s c u i n g . In e e d t i m e t o m y s e l f . If y o u l o v e m e , y o u w i l l h o n o r m yr e q u e s t .

I w i l l c o m e h o m e i n t w o m o n t h s t i m e .L o v e , D e e


17

I embraced the tal l woman. "Thank you . If myhu sband gives you a hard time cal l u p on you rs—that is what they are good for whil e we tak e care ofday-to-day l iving."

R ex a shook her head rel u ctantl y. "I feel I' mmak ing a mistak e. What if that...that...girl is dis-eased? What if you catch it and die? I cou l d neverforgive mysel f."

"I have cau ght that disease before," I chu ck l ed."I su rvived and have two l ovel y chil dren. I wil l geta message to you —and onl y you — in a few days. Iwil l not tel l you where we are becau se Ju nie Wattsdoes not need notoriety at this time, bu t I wil l l etyou k now we are al l right."

R ex a said nothing, again showing a matu rityothers had overl ook ed. We embraced again, then Itu rned and gathered Ju nie Watts and the food I hadp u rchased. I took the girl al ong a direction whichshou l d tak e u s near an overl and transp ort comp anyR ex a H u l tan and I had p assed earl ier du ring the day.


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CCCC H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R 2222JJJJ U N I E U N I E U N I E U N I E WWWWAT T SAT T SAT T SAT T S ::::LLLL I V I N G I N I V I N G I N I V I N G I N I V I N G I N HHHH E L LE L LE L LE L L

The dark -haired woman wrap p ed me in thatwhite cl oth and l eft the other woman with me. Wasthe big bl ond there to k eep me from escap ing? Ididn' t k now nor did I care; I had su ffered so mu ch ithardl y mattered where I was or who was with me.I was so sick and weak and weary. I cou l dn' t ru nanywhere, even if I had a p l ace to ru n to. I sat on astone bench beside the road and fel t sorry formysel f.

I didn' t see the red woman retu rn bu t I l ook edu p when she cal l ed my name. "Ju nie Watts. I havefood and drink ." She gave me a l ittl e of both rightthen. "Not too mu ch," she said. "Y ou can have morel ater."

I shu ffl ed al ong, going where she steeredwithou t caring what hap p ened becau se of theu gl iness that had al ready hap p ened to me.

At some p oint the other woman disap p earedand we reached the edge of the city. We stoodou tside an overl and transp ort comp any. "Threethoats," the woman tol d the p rop rietor. Whil e the


19

man went to get ou r thoats, the beau tifu l womantu rned to me.

"Y ou may cal l me D ee.""Y es, ma' am." Smart girl s don' t tel l strangers

too mu ch.When the thoats arrived, D ee l oaded the

su p p l ies onto one and l ed me to another. Sheadj u sted the saddl e l ik e she k new what she wasdoing and then p l aced a fol ded fu r on it. She staredat the thoat l ik e she was think ing hard and gol l y!the animal ex tended a forel eg and bent down l ik e atrick el ep hant at a circu s. D ee made me step u p onthe thoat' s forel eg and then straddl e the creatu re. Iwas u ncomfortabl e and scared. My stomach stu ckou t and overbal anced me so mu ch I thou ght I wou l dfal l .

D ee sp ok e rap idl y to the man, who l ook ed atme l ik e I had two heads. She rep eated her requ est,more forcefu l l y, and the man fetched a harnesssimil ar to the k ind men u sed to carry swords andk nives and strange p istol s. It was not stiff l eather;it fel t l ik e su ede, and D ee directed me by motionand hand on how to p u t the harness on. Once it wassecu red the red woman attached a l eather strip to aring at my waist. She fastened the thong' s other endto a tie-ring embedded in the saddl e. A secondthong was attached to my other side and she hadme secu red to the saddl e so I cou l dn' t fal l .

"Are you ready, Ju nie Watts? " D ee ask ed. Inodded.The l ady made the other thoat bow. Shestep p ed u p and mou nted its back as gracefu l l y as adebu tante entering a l imou sine.

"D on' t I need reins or a rop e or something togu ide this thing? " I ask ed.


20

"Think at the thoat. Tel l it to fol l ow mine.""H ow? " I ask ed.D ee made her animal step sl owl y and the p ack

animal fol l owed. I tried as hard as I cou l d bu t noth-ing hap p ened. The harder I tried, the more erraticthe thoat acted. It began squ irming u neasil y; thatscared me and I think it onl y made things worse.

D ee brou ght her thoat near mine. "That' s al lright, Ju nie Watts. We' l l try again l ater. I wil l tak eover for now."

Al most immediatel y, my thoat settl ed down andwal k ed beside D ee' s. I had seen p eop l e ride theseil l -temp ered beasts, bu t this was the first time I hadseen anyone control three at once and I said asmu ch!

The smal l woman tu rned and smil ed. "I havehad the advantage of stu dying with my dau ghter-in-l aw. She is very gifted at control l ing the l oweranimal s. Over the years I have devel op ed my ownabil ities."

That was al l of ou r first conversation. D eeseemed to sense that I real l y wasn' t ready to tal k . Iwas too concerned watching that hu ge head fu l l ofteeth in front of me. I had seen wil d desert thoatsfighting and k new they were viciou s temp ered. Icou l d j u st see this one tu rning arou nd to tak e a biteou t of me. After a few hou rs, however, I real iz edthat wasn' t going to hap p en and some of the fear l eftme.

As I rel ax ed l ittl e by l ittl e, I l et mysel f l ookarou nd a bit. We had entered hil l s— mostl y coveredwith odd-l ook ing trees and bru sh. It was thick as aj u ngl e comp ared to the op en l ands and deserts I' dseen far to the north. Every once in a whil e we


21

crossed a smal l stream which was u su al l y archedover by tal l trees and heavy fol iage. It was cool erthere comp ared to the hot su n which seemedal ways over head.

At one stream D ee stop p ed the animal s anddismou nted. She motioned for me to do the same.My fingers and hands work ed ok ay, bu t when I triedto step down, my l egs and feet acted fu nny.

"Too l ong in the saddl e and not enou gh food.We' l l rest here for a few hou rs and eat something.We might even tak e a bath."

D ee p u shed the wrap back from my head andtou ched my hair and dirty scal p . I l owered my eyes,ashamed. "See that smal l p ool over there? Y ou gostrip and soak whil e I start dinner. I' l l come hel pyou in a minu te."

I never had a woman other than my grand-mother wash my hair. I certainl y never had no l adyl ik e D ee scru b me where I cou l dn' t reach or towelme dry and then feed me something l ik e a stew al lthick and good tasting.

"Feel u p to riding a l ittl e fu rther? " D ee ask edafter washing and p u tting everything away. "Theman at the transp ort comp any said we shou l d beabl e to mak e the nex t town before fu l l dark . There' san inn there."

We rode u ntil twil ight, which isn' t mu ch here,night coming swift as a gu nshot. D ee sl owed theanimal s in the road and l ook ed ahead for a l ongminu te. "It cou l d be over the nex t hil l , or it cou l d behaads, mil es, away. We' l l camp on that k nol l overthere beside that gl oresta bu sh."

D ee made a tent from what l ook ed l ik e a nap k inand in the morning she fol ded it back to nap k in siz e.


22

The material was ex tremel y l ight and thin, bu t sostrong that you cou l dn' t tear it. It k ep t u s ou t thecol d night wind as we snu ggl ed into ou r fu rs.

At noon of the third day we stop p ed to eat at abeau tifu l l ittl e canyon j u st off the main road. Afterwe ate, I l ay down behind one of the thoats to rest.I mu st have doz ed becau se I was awak ened by acommotion nearby.

A l arge red man had wrestl ed D ee to thegrou nd. It didn' t tak e mu ch to figu re ou t he meantto do—I had been there mysel f.

D ee fou ght l ik e a tiger. She twisted and tu rnedand scratched. The man k ep t l osing his grip becau seshe was no l ady and k new how to hu rt a man. Shehad been good to me and I cou l dn' t stand by and donothing. I j u mp ed to my feet, l ook ing for somethingto hit him with. The thoat squ eal ed when I movedso su ddenl y and the man l ook ed u p , su rp rised. Thenhe grinned at me, tu rning his attention back on thel ady. Bu t before I cou l d do anything at al l , he gru nt-ed hard and went stiff, then fu nny l imp .

D ee cu rsed softl y as she wiggl ed ou t fromu nder. I ran to hel p her, confu sed. I p u l l ed hard onthe man and he j u st rol l ed over, fl op p ing his armsand I saw it. D ee reached ou t and p u l l ed a sl im k nifefrom the man' s twitching body.

"Thank you , Ju nie Watts. Y ou distracted him atthe right time."

"Oh, Lord! " I gasp ed, covering my mou th. Mystomach chu rned at the sight of al l that bl ood onD ee and the k nife and ooz ing from that man' s chest.I threw u p everything that I had eaten that day.Pregnancy su re is a p ain.


23

D ee hel p ed me to sit and u sed some of ou rwater to wash my face. "Pu t this over you r eyes,"she said, p ressing the damp cl oth across my brow."Y ou ' l l feel better."

I did, and it did, bu t I al so k new she made medo it so I cou l dn' t see her drag that man' s body intothe bru sh. I was weak and scared.

"We can' t stay here," D ee started p ack ing. "H emight have friends. "I' l l get that, Ju nie Watts. Y ouj u st get mou nted and hol d on tight."

A few minu tes l ater the red woman had al lthree thoats at a bone-j arring gal l op . Oh, sheseemed l ik e some heroine of mythol ogy, ridingstraight-back ed astride her monstrou s mou nt. H erhead hel d high, her face comp osed, you wou l dn' tbel ieve j u st a short time earl ier she' d snarl ed andbit and fou ght and k il l ed a man.

We stayed off the main road, bu t riding withinsight of it for a few mil es, then D ee tu rned towarda stand of forest stretching across the hil l s l ik e aru mp l ed bl ank et. We were soon u nder the canop yand after entering a hu ndred feet or so, D ee sl owedthe thoats to a wal k .

"H e mu st have fol l owed u s from the l ast town.H e wanted this," she sl ap p ed the p ock et p ou ch onher harness, which j ingl ed with the sou nd of coins,"and decided he wanted a l ittl e more. H is mis-tak e—and mine. I ap p arentl y fail ed to watch ou rback trail and in nearl y cost u s dear. I wil l not mak ethat mistak e again."

She tal k ed to me more than I tal k ed to her. Iwanted to tel l her she was the best p erson I hadmet since I wok e u p on Barsoom, as she cal l ed it. Iwanted to, bu t ol d habits die hard. R eveal ing you r-


24

sel f, giving others something they can u se againstyou is for the stu p id. D ee seemed nice enou gh, bu twas she real l y my friend? I had seen her k il l a manand then tak e off as if nothing had hap p ened. I wasas mu ch in fear as awe of her.

That evening, we ate a smal l meal and retiredto the tent. I l ay think ing abou t my l ife on Barsoomand abou t the woman who had p ractical l y adop tedme.

"D ee," I ventu red, "why are al l men su chbeasts? "

"Not al l of them are. It' s j u st that the bad onesare the onl y ones you hear abou t," she answered."There are many good men. They j u st don' t standou t l ik e the bad."

I hesitated. "Most of the men I' ve k nown werefiends. They care for no one bu t themsel ves andwhat they can get."

D ee sat for a few minu tes, then she said, "I' l ll isten if you want to tal k ."

"As if tal k ing ever did any good! " was mysarcastic rep l y. I rol l ed over and my side and p re-tended to sl eep .

The more I thou ght abou t it, the more I real -iz ed I had to tal k abou t the p ast few months.

I wou l dn' t tel l her abou t the deaths of the onl yp eop l e who had seemed to care abou t the bl ackp eop l e on earth. She wou l dn' t u nderstand becau sesl avery wasn' t l imited to bl ack s on Barsoom. I hadseen red, yel l ow and bl ack men and women en-sl aved. Why, I had even seen a giant fou r-armedgreen man wearing a col l ar!

"D ee? "


25

The red woman sat at the op en tent fl ap l ook ingou t. She was wrap p ed in a fu r against the temp era-tu re which was drop p ing rap idl y. "Aren' t you sl eep y,chil d? " she ask ed.

"Y ou wanted to k now abou t me," I began.D ee tu rned to face me. "Onl y if you want,

Ju nie.""Ok ," I said. "Y ou al ready k now that I come

from Earth. I don' t k now how I got here or why, bu tI awok e on a p l ain with short p ink grass. I had nocl othes or anything—no water, no food, nothing. Ididn' t k now where I was, or even if I was al ive. Itdidn' t feel l ik e H eaven, bu t I wasn' t su re if it wasH el l .

"That first night I took shel ter between twol arge bou l ders to k eep from freez ing. I saw twomoons; one travel ed so mu ch faster than the otherthat it rose and set twice before I cou l d sl eep .

"After three days withou t food or water an u gl yyel l ow man with a beard nearl y to his waist fou ndme. H e wore a harness, bu t nothing el se. H e had ashort k nife and a l arge p istol -l ik e obj ect. H e rode athoat that al so carried a l arge p ack .

"H e yammered at me. I didn' t u nderstand whathe was saying bu t I k new that l ook . H e l ook ed atme l ik e I was something he cou l d tak e and own.

"H e scared me with that l ook and j abbering andI tried to ru n away bu t he rode me down andk nock ed me over with his animal . H e dismou nted asI staggered to my feet. H e grabbed me and tou chedme u gl y and I tried to get his k nife. Oh," I cringedwith memory and covered my head, "he beat me sobad I p assed ou t."


26

I cou l dn' t tal k any more. D ee reached ou t andtook my hand reassu ringl y. It was her way ofreminding me that I wasn' t ou t on that desert andthat I wasn' t al one anymore. For the first time Ial most l et mysel f bel ieve a p erson not of my racemight be a friend. I sniffl ed and wip ed my eyes thencontinu ed:

"When I awok e, I fou nd my feet and hands inchains and a col l ar fastened arou nd my neck .

"As soon as he saw that I was awak e, thebastard crawl ed on top of me. I tried to fight bu tthere wasn' t a thing I cou l d do and he was rou gh andviol ent and then he was done. H e l au ghed at me al lcu rl ed u p and crying.

"That night the yel l ow man took a l ong p iece ofsteel from his p ack and heated it in the fire. H e k ep tcheck ing the end of it u ntil it was red hot. Then,withou t warning, the bastard branded me! "

I covered that mark on my thigh, stil l ashamedto bear it. It wasn' t horribl e l ook ing, it was al mostattractive, bu t it wasn' t how it l ook ed that made itso u gl y, it was what it stood for that made it com-p l etel y hideou s.

"The p ain was so great I fainted. The nex tmorning he u sed me then k ick ed me to rebu il d thefire to cook what he set ou t. I did not u nderstand sohe said a word and hit me and said it again and hitme and said it u ntil I said it and did it and every daythereafter that' s how he tau ght me enou gh l angu ageto do what he wanted.

"It wasn' t mu ch becau se he was not an imagina-tive or indu striou s man. Besides top p ing me al mostdail y, he made p otions from p l ants he had me grindwith mortar and p estl e, fou l -smel l ing medicines he


27

sol d to occasional travel ers or in smal l , du styvil l ages we sometimes entered.

"H e was never comfortabl e in a town. Al waysnervou s l ik e a thief, which I think he al so was. Bu tin the towns he had another u se for me, one thatl ined his p ock ets better than the income from hisobnox iou s and ineffective p otions. H e sometimessol d u se of my body to whoever p aid his p rice.

"For nearl y one hu ndred days we travel edsou th with me wal k ing and carrying a p ack whil e herode the thoat. I did not k now the word for sl ave,bu t I had rap idl y l earned what sl avery was l ik e.

"I never heard his name in al l my time withhim, or if I did, I didn' t recogniz e it as su ch.

"One day, as we travel ed throu gh an u np op u l at-ed area, I heard a whirring noise overhead. Aboveme was a strange airp l ane or something l ik e it. Itswings were cl ose to the side and shap ed to catchthe most air p ossibl e. The p l ane, for that' s what Iconsidered it, was onl y l arge enou gh for 1 or 2p eop l e. It hu ng directl y over u s, hovering l ik e ahel icop ter.

"A man' s face l ook ed over the l ow rail . H is facewas bl ack , even bl ack er than my own.

"The p l ane moved to the side and began todescend, coming to rest l ess than ten feet from u s.A tal l , bl ack man step p ed from the p l ane. I saw thathe wore a harness from which hu ng two swords andvariou s other things that cou l d have be weap ons.Lik e my yel l ow master, he was nak ed as Adam.

"I was su rp rised when the man bowed deep l y tome! H e began to sp eak bu t I u nderstood one wordin ten. The yel l ow man step p ed between and saidsomething disp araging by the tone of his voice. The


28

bl ack man drew himsel f erect, a formidabl e sight,and made a sneering rep l y. Soon he and the yel l owman were in an argu ment. The words grew moreheated u ntil the yel l ow man grabbed me by the hairand p u l l ed me forward. H e l ifted and sp read my l eg,shaming me terribl y, and showed the bl ack man themark bu rned into my l eg.

"The bl ack man scowl ed for a moment thenmade an inqu iry. The yel l ow man shook his head.The stranger ask ed again, onl y this time he p ro-du ced a p ou ch that j ingl ed l ou dl y when he shook it.The yel l ow man strok ed his beard thou ghtfu l l y. H emade a cou nter-offer and the bl ack man scowl ed,bu t agreed. H e tossed the p ou ch and the p istol -l ik eweap on to the yel l ow man. My master smil ed at thedeal made and strip p ed the p ack from my shou l ders.Before I k new what he was abou t, the man hadshoved me to the grou nd before the bl ack . I hadbeen sol d!

"The bl ack man l ifted me u p . H e carried me tothe side of his p l ane and p l aced me on the fl oorwhere. I was strap p ed down and warned to sil encewhen I began weep ing. H e said words which I didnot u nderstand, other than ' Wait...sil ence...'

"H e wal k ed toward the yel l ow man, who wascou nting coins from one hand to the other. My ol dmaster grinned as the bl ack man ap p roached. Theyel l ow man sp ok e a few words p l easantl y thensu ddenl y shriek ed when the bl ack man' s shortsword fl ashed in the air. The scream stop p edinstantl y and the bl ack man took the p ou ch and thegu n before the yel l ow man sl u mp ed to the grou nd.It was then his head rol l ed off! "


29

I stil l remembered that horribl e sight. I cl osedmy eyes, bu t nothing can ever mak e it go away. Iwep t then, sobbing ou t of control . D ee gentl yp u shed me down into the sl eep ing fu rs and coveredme. She strok ed my forehead u ntil I went to sl eep .

In the morning I was al one in the tent. I heardsou nds l ik e none I' d ever heard before, p l easant,restfu l sou nds. I stu ck my head ou tside the fl ap andsaw D ee sitting on a fal l en tree tru nk carving whatl ook ed l ik e a l iz ard. I heard the tiny snap s and p op sof a fire and al l arou nd u s hu ms and bu z z es l ik einsects, onl y l arger and more harmoniou s. Towardthe su nrise I saw something fl y into the air. Itl ook ed l ik e a bird, or what p assed as birds here.

The red woman smil ed at me. "H u ngry? ""Y es ma' am! " I said with a sil l y grin."See that tree over there? That' s a somp as.

That big rou nd fru it is a somp and it' s good eating.Want to p ick a few? "

I tried my l egs, which were stil l sore fromriding, bu t mu ch stronger with rest and food. Ip ick ed the somp , fou r of them, and retu rned to thefire. D ee continu ed sk inning the l iz ard.

"Abou t l ast night," I said. "I' m sorry I went top ieces l ik e that."

"D ear girl , there is nothing to be ap ol ogeticabou t. I am afraid you have not seen ou r worl d at itsbest."

"That is tru e," I said, "becau se after H ol k atk il l ed that man...that was the bl ack man' s name,H ol k at...he had his p l ane off the grou nd and westarted to move in a sou th-easterl y direction.

"I k new so few words then, bu t I managed toask if he was going to k il l me.


30

"' No.' he said."I ask ed if he was going to u se me." For some

reason it was not as terrifying to mak e that state-ment to D ee at dawn. "H e onl y said, ' I am H ol k at.'

"I had been bou ght so I assu med I was H ol k at' ssl ave. I bel ieved he wou l d u se me l ik e the yel l owman had bu t nothing hap p ened du ring the fl ight.

"Final l y we l anded in a ru ined vil l age. ThereH ol k at l ed me into the onl y bu il ding with a com-p l ete roof where he removed my chains. ' H ere," hesaid.

I hel p ed him u nl oad some cases from themachine before the su n went down. H e p rodu ced anodd l ittl e l amp that bu rned a k ind of oil and p ro-du ced an intensel y white l ight. H e hu ng a bl ank etover the op en doorway and bank ed a smal l fire nearthe op en window. As night fel l so did the temp era-tu re bu t the l ittl e fire hel p ed and I stood as cl ose asI dared withou t getting in H ol k at' s way. I hadl earned to avoid my yel l ow master and I fel t it wiseto watch carefu l l y to anticip ate what the bl ack manwou l d want so he wou l dn' t beat me for being stu p idor sl ow.

"' Sit,' he tol d me. I did, and he fed me sometravel rations which had l ittl e or no taste, bu t l eftme fu l l and satisfied for the first time in months.Later he tossed me a bl ank et and soon I was ascomfortabl e as if I were by my G ranny' s wood stovein Jop l in.

In the days that fol l owed H ol k at attemp ted toteach me his l angu age. I never had a head forl angu age and had very l ittl e l u ck , bu t he treated medecentl y enou gh.


31

"Each morning I l oaded the fl ier whil e H ol k atp racticed his weap ons. H e al ways p racticed and Iwatched from the corner of my eye. H e was graceand strength and beau ty and I k new him to bedeadl y. H e fascinated me. H e was so u nl ik e anyman I had ever seen, bl ack , white or yel l ow. H etreated me wel l and fed me as mu ch as he ate...or itseemed that way.

"H ol k at was a merchant l ik e the yel l ow man,bu t he was a merchant with a p u rp ose and deal thonestl y. H e sol d weap ons. Swords, k nives, gu ns ofal l k inds. H e had a comp artment on his fl ier thathel d his goods.

"For ten days H ol k at and I travel ed, stop p ingwherever he saw wagons or towns or smal l cities.H e had me hel p set u p his booth and after the firstfew times, I l earned how to do it al one whil e hecal l ed in his cu stomers with grand gestu res andstrong voice.

"Oh, D ee, he was handsome and strong andhonest. H e deal t fairl y with his bu yers who neverwent away dissatisfied. In the evenings, after hecou nted his income, or hu nted if we had not fou ndcu stomers, he tal k ed to me and I l earned wordsfrom him, more words that hel p ed me mak e somesense, thou gh far from total u nderstanding, of mynew worl d.

"Then one night he came to my fu rs and l aybeside me, his hand p ossessive. I wep t, disap -p ointed and frightened becau se I had been stu p idand thou ght he might resp ect me. ' Y ou bel ong toH ol k at,' he said. ' Sl ave,' he said, strok ing my l ittl ebrand.


32

"H e had his way with me, bu t he was gentl e andk ind and it was not u np l easant. In fact, it was a du tyfar from ardu ou s and, Lord forgive me, I came todesire H ol k at greatl y.'

D ee interru p ted by handing me a p l ate ofbroil ed l iz ard. She showed me how to p eel a sompand l au ghed as the j u ices squ irted u nex p ectedl y. Itwas sweet to the taste. After I had eaten a goodp ortion the red woman ask ed, "What hap p ened withH ol k at? "

I shru gged. "Lik e most men I k now back onEarth, he cou l dn' t face the resp onsibil ity of a p reg-nant woman. I mean, after we' d been together a fewmonths I was getting rou nd with the baby."

"H ol k at' s? "I shook my head. "Earl ier than that, I think . I

mu st have been p regnant before H ol k at took mefrom the Ok arian." D ee had tol d me what yel l owmen were cal l ed. "There were so many men beforeH ol k at."

"It sou nded l ik e H ol k at had come to val u e you .""H e had," I sighed. "Bu t he did not u nderstand

this." I p l aced both hands on either side of myswol l en abdomen.

"I wil l be honest with you , chil d. Y ou wil l findnone on this p l anet who wil l u nderstand. Y ou see,you are u niqu e on Barsoom. To my k nowl edge noJasoomian femal e has ever made the voyage fromyou r p l anet to ou rs."

D ee went on to ex p l ain rep rodu ction on Marsand many things became cl ear. Martian women l ayeggs l ik e a chick en, onl y l arger, abou t hal f the siz eof my fist, and they can l ay as many as thirteen at atime! The eggs are k ep t in incu bators and five years


33

l ater a hal f siz ed p hysical l y matu re al most adu l tp erson is hatched.

"I mu st l ook l ik e a monster to you ," I said toD ee.

"H ardl y! Now that you have had some food andrest and cl ean air and frequ ent baths, you l ookwonderfu l ."

"I wish I cou l d bel ieve you , D ee."We p ack ed camp and before l ong we were again

mou nted and on the move. This time, however, westayed in the forest travel ing westward according tothe sl anting beams of su nl ight p iercing the canop y.The nail l ess footp ads of the thoats made no sou ndas we moved throu gh the forest which was rel a-tivel y free of u nderbru sh the deep er we entered.

"Tel l me how you came to be in Jhu ma, Ju nieWatts."

I l owered my head, for it was not a p l easantmemory. "H ol k at ask ed me why Issu s wanted top u nish him. I final l y u nderstood Issu s was a god ofsome k ind and that he bl amed my condition onsomething he had done. I tol d him it was natu ral fora woman from my p l anet to get p regnant, bu t for al lhis intel l igence and strength and grace, he wasincredibl y stu p id on this su bj ect.

"' Y ou are cu rsed! ' he screamed at me ou r l astnight. H e screamed and ranted and threatened tocu t me op en to l et the p oison ou t. I begged him tosp are me . ' U nhol y femal e! Abomination! ' and otherthings I did not u nderstand and cannot recal l now,bu t I remember his voice, verging on terror andinsanity. H ow stu p id and so how l ik e a man, Ithou ght to mysel f.


34

"H e p aced and tal k ed al l night. I p l eaded for hisu nderstanding bu t as the hou r grew l ate, as hisdesp eration increased, I tried to reach him bu t heshook me off. H e threw a bl ank et at me and Ithou ght he was going to smother me with it, bu t hetu rned his back and went to the fl ier.

"' Y ou wil l sl eep on the grou nd,' he tol d me."I thou ght H ol k at wou l d see things differentl y

in the morning, bu t when dawn arrived, I fou ndmysel f abandoned in the dry hil l s north of Jhu ma—thou gh I did not k now where I was at the time.

"H ol k at l eft me nothing bu t that bl ank et...theone you fou nd me wearing. I wandered for dayswithou t food or water and entered Jhu ma by acci-dent. I begged for food or money in order to l ive.The Barsoomians are not very generou s, esp ecial l yto those they think deformed. I nearl y starved. Ifinal l y reached a p oint where I fel t that I mu st die.

"I sou ght p oisons among the other beggars onl yto be l au ghed at. Nobody cou l d afford p oison; whynot j u mp off a bu il ding or ru n a k nife in you rsel f?

"I had no k nife, bu t I did find a p iece of l arge,stu rdy wire which wou l d do the same thing, bu t asI stood with that l ethal bit of metal in hand, ready top l u nge it into by heart, the chil d moved in mystomach. It moved, D ee! Oh, you cannot k now howwonderfu l that is...to k now that a l ife is growinginside you . The movement, my baby, did somethingH ol k at' s k indness and generosity and p u rchase fromthe Ok arian had not done: it gave me a p u rp ose, areason to l ive.

"When my crying was over, I tightened myragged bl ank et and headed for the corner where I


35

had seen some of the p assengers of the great ship sdrift. I ex p ected nothing."

D ee l ook ed at me with sad eyes. "Life onBarsoom is harsh, Ju nie Watts. Ou r worl d is dyingand death is an integral p art of ou r cu l tu re. Y es, youare correct to say I do not k now what it is l ik e tohave a l ife grow inside me, bu t I do k now what it isl ik e to dep osit my egg in an incu bator, to watchover it, to nu rtu re it for five years, and then to bethere to instru ct and l ove my offsp ring. Motherhoodmay have differences in mechanics between ou r twosp ecies, bu t on the whol e I do not bel ieve we are sodifferent after al l ."

The baby k ick ed me again. I mu st have madesome ou tward sign, becau se D ee ask ed if I werefeel ing wel l . I ex p l ained what had hap p ened. "Wou l dyou l ik e to feel it? "

I took her sl im hand, the hand which hadstabbed a man to death, and p l aced it on my dis-tended bel l y. Ju nior obl iged and was very vigorou s.

"Oh! " D ee cried hap p il y.Two days l ater we emerged from the forest at

the edge of a moss-covered dep ression so deep thatafternoon shadows fil l ed it l ik e water. Instead ofriding into it, down to where water might l ay, thered woman tu rned ou r thoats northwest and wefol l owed the rim of the vast basin.

"There shou l d be a vil l age al ong here," she tol dme.

At nightfal l we came into a tiny settl ementcomp rised of six bu il dings made of wood. Thep eop l e were rel u ctant at first, u ntil they real iz ed wewere onl y two u nescorted women. I k ep t my whitewrap drap ed arou nd me whil e D ee op enl y carried


36

her k nife, the short sword and the p istol she hadtak en from the body of the man who had attemp tedto rap e her. She wore the weap ons with confidence,bu t the p eop l e of the settl ement were not inter-ested in doing u s harm.

We were tol d a l arger town, a town with ap hysician, l ay ninety haads west. At dawn we rodehard into and across the dep ression, the thoatsrel ishing the hard gal l op . These creatu res, I hadl earned, where champ ions of travel , accomp l ishingas mu ch as a hu ndred mil es a day! Fortu natel y wedid not have that far to travel .

The su n was p erhap s an hou r from su nset whenwe came u p on ou r first sign of hu mans al l day. Afarmer work ed his fiel ds with a hu ge mastodon-l ik eanimal D ee cal l ed a z ithidar.

"Sir," D ee l et the thoats stand easy, "we aretol d a town is near."

The farmer nodded, p ointed over his shou l der."Six haads beyond the hil l . There is a stream froma sp ring. Cross it at the red rock s and then right fortwo haads."

"Thank you ," D ee answered. "Can you tel l meif there is a doctor or p hysician there? "

"That wou l d be Mil ieos," the man rep l ied. "H ewon' t treat strangers."

D ee smil ed. Negatives were common traitsamong the ru ral commu nities. They u su al l y had sol ittl e there was nothing to sp are for strangers.

"Thank you for the directions. May you r fiel dsp rosp er." D ee p u t the thoats into motion. After wewere beyond earshot she said, "Wel l , Ju nie Watts,l et u s see if the doctor is more amenabl e."


37

CCCC H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R 3333MMMM I L I EO SI L I EO SI L I EO SI L I EO S ::::

HHHH O U S E G U E S TSO U S E G U E S TSO U S E G U E S TSO U S E G U E S TS

The day had been l ong. I had gl adl y sent mymost recent p atient home at the noon hou r, abrawny you th who had step p ed on a dischargedcal ot tree sp ine. A moment' s work with k nife, grip s,and antisep tic p u t the fel l ow right, thou gh he' d beru nning no errands for the l ocal D ator for a fewweek s.

Nightfal l was near and I dreaded the dark ness.I dreaded the hou rs between su ndown and su nu p ,for I wou l d toss inconsol abl y in my sl eep ing fu rs asCl u ros and Thu ria chased each other throu gh thesk ies. Each night I rel ived the horror, cal l ing fer-ventl y to Issu s to u ndo the p ast, to tak e me. Totak e my miserabl e l ife instead of my famil y' s. Bu tIssu s never hears.

At night the memories come. There is nostop p ing them. Even the anesthetic qu al ities ofstrong wine do l ittl e to du l l the p ain.

Thu l iu m was, and stil l is, a p eacefu l townnestl ed in a deep fol d of Barsoom' s rock y soil . H ereru ns a rare stream ru nning northward to the distant


38

R ift V al l ey where K amtol l ies. Ou r stream has noname, bu t the waters su stain a riot of l ife. Food wehave in abu ndance, there are dense forests ex tend-ing east and west for two k arads. Al ong the val l eyfl oor bl ack soil , sediment eroded from the ancientmou ntains sou thwest of Thu l iu m, su p p orts a l u shgrass u p on which l arge herds of thoats and z ithidargraz e.

My sire was the first of K amtol ' s D ators to tak el and beyond the R ift. H e fou nded Thu l iu m with ahandfu l of retainers in the wak e of the u neasy p eaceimp osed by John Carter. I have two brothers and asister, each with interests different than mine.

I had gone abroad to become a p hysician be-cau se my brother Senca rightfu l l y p receded me asnex t to ru l e u p on father' s death. My stu dies tookme to Toonol , then l ater to H el iu m, and when I wassatisfied I cou l d l earn no more, I retu rned to Thu -l iu m with my new sk il l s. Bu t I did not come al one.I had tak en a wife, a woman of the red race whofil l ed my heart with great hap p iness.

I met Al ia at the training hosp ital at H astor. Iwas comp l eting my fou rth year of stu dy at the timeand had been assigned trau ma care for the l ast twomonths. I was on night du ty when this tiny woman,fighting p anic, ru shed into the hosp ital carrying anew-hatched infant.

"The doctor," she demanded. "My chil d cannotbreathe."

My metal p rocl aimed my occu p ation. "I canhel p , if you l et me."

Torn by angu ish which I did not u nderstand,she gl anced down at the boy. H is col or was p al e, his


39

breathing l abored. "Save him! " she cried, p l acingher chil d in my arms.

A qu ick ex amination reveal ed a fragment of eggshel l l odged in the boy' s throat. Moments l ater herested easy in his mother' s arms. I remember Al ia' swords as if they were yesterday: "It is ironic tok now that a man of the race that k il l ed my hu sbandwou l d be the one to save my son' s l ife."

I fol l owed u p on the boy' s condition, thou gh itwas hardl y necessary for su ch a rou tine care-giving.Bu t fol l ow u p I did, and one thing l ed to another.Al ia and I fou nd comfort and l ove, and her sonbecame my son, and I brou ght them home to Thu -l iu m. I had hop ed my father wou l d accep t Al ia as hisdau ghter, and I am su re he wou l d have, bu t he wasnot at Thu l iu m. Senca, my el dest brother, ru l ed asD ator in father' s absence.

Senca was l ou d and arrogant, bu t he was fair-minded toward those u nder his care. H e continu edfather' s p ractice of accep ting al l who wou l d settl e inThu l iu m wou l d they bu t be an asset to the commu -nity, which meant we had red men l iving with bl ackand even white Therns were wel come. Senca,however, p rivatel y sp ok e to me ex p ressing concernover my mix ed marriage, thou gh he was ever thegentl eman in Al ia' s p resence.

Senca had done wel l managing Thu l iu m. I wasgiven a hou se at the edge of town to facil itategeneral access to my p rofessional sk il l s. Al ia l ovedthe p l ace becau se it was hers and becau se it wasnear my sister' s.

K u l u a, my sister—and el dest of sibl ings—hadfol l owed her heart to become an artist. She had asyet tak en no man, having hu morou sl y ex p ressed


40

l ittl e desire to have her l ife comp l icated by "l ove ormen." I had no concerns for K u l u a, for she wassensibl e and wel l -l oved not onl y by her p atrons, bu tby the p eop l e of Thu l iu m.

Fol k ar, my you ngest brother, work ed as amachinist, in p art becau se he was cl ever with hishands and brain, bu t al so becau se he was born witha mal formed l eg. I had offered to correct his defor-mity after I became a p hysician. Fol k ar had l au gh-ingl y refu sed. "H ow wou l d a straight l eg imp rovethe work of my hands? No, Mil ieos, I am content."My brother was content, as was I with Al ia, the boy,and ou r l ives in Thu l iu m.

I was content u ntil the band of Warhoonsattack ed ou r val l ey.

There were twenty fierce green men in theraiding p arty. I remember the earthqu ak e-l ik eru mbl e of racing thoats as they p l u mmeted downthe narrow streets of ou r vil l age. Al ia and the boywere ou tside the hou se. I tried to get to them assou nds of fighting came near. Into the street I ran,cal l ing Al ia' s name.

"Mil ieos! " she cried as a giant shadow fel l u p onu s. I l ook ed over my shou l der to see the steel -tip p ed head of a forty-foot Warhoon sp ear aimed atme.

By chance the weap on stru ck obl iqu el y acrossmy temp l e then the thoat' s shou l der sent me fl yinginto a wal l . I l ay stu nned with brok en ribs, u nabl e todo more than watch, in horror, as the thoat' s hu gep ads tramp l ed my wife and chil d. The monstersteed continu ed on, l eaving ragged, bl oody l u mp s inthe street.


41

Painfu l l y, I p u l l ed mysel f side the hou se.Ou tside the battl e grew more intense as the towns-fol k organiz ed themsel ves. I retrieved the radiu mp istol my father had given me as a you th. I hadnever fired it at a l iving thing, bu t when I step p edou t of the hou se, I drew aim u p on the first WarhoonI saw and p ressed the firing stu d. Whether thegreen man I shot was the one who k il l ed my famil y,or not, I do not k now, bu t I fel t grim satisfactionwhen his u p p er torso ex p l oded with the shel l ' sdetonation.

U p the street the soft sou nd of rifl e fire sent avol l ey into the massed Warhoons. Two werewou nded, one seriou sl y. Senca' s strong voicedirected his gu ard to fire again, and another greenman was hit. I fired into the mob and a thoat squ eal -ed with p ain. At that p oint, the Warhoons gatheredthe p l u nder they had col l ected and raced sou th. Ishot the arm off another before they rode ou t ofsight.

I ran to Al ia. I al most fainted for there wasnothing recogniz abl e—her sk u l l was cru shed, herbody brok en, her internal organs tramp l ed into thedu st. Not even fabl ed R as Thavas cou l d save mywife, or my son. My l ife was su ddenl y emp ty of al lp u rp ose.

It was then I l earned to hate. I hated the bar-barians who had mu rdered my famil y so hideou sl y.For week s afterwards the col or green was su fficientto bu il d a rage within my sou l . It was then that Istru ggl ed against hating Senca, for he had notap p roved of Al ia and I cou l d not hel p think ing hehad done nothing u ntil "the p robl em" had been


42

tak en care of by the Warhoons. Oh, I did not wish tohate my brother!

K u l u a stayed with me du ring my conval es-cence. I al l owed that for three week s then gentl ythrew her ou t. I cl osed the door to my hou se andl ock ed it for two days and when I was done weep -ing, I commenced my p ractice once again.

Ou r p eop l e were strong and heal thy so I hadfree time on my hands. Al ia and the boy had occu -p ied that free time, bu t they were gone. Most of thetime I sl ep t, occasional l y treating an inj u ry oril l ness. I sl ep t becau se I cou l dn' t sl eep . I was hau nt-ed at night by crimson nightmares fil l ed with fangedWarhoons tramp l ing those who were most dear tome. I sl ep t becau se I drank to obl ivion, seek ing thesol ace of forgetfu l ness. I no l onger cared whatvintage was p ou red into my desp air, I cared onl y forits effects, not its bou qu et.

I stared at the bottl e in hand. It shook .


43

"What wou l d Al ia think ? " I ask ed the qu estionI ask ed each night, the one qu estion gu aranteed tomak e me op en the bottl e. I d i d n o t w i s h t o k n o ww h a t Al i a w o u l d t h i n k !

I took a l ong p u l l from the bottl e then crossedmy arms on the tabl e and l et my head fal l . "Cow-ard," I mu ttered. "Weak l ing."

The su n was al most gone when I heard thescrap e of a boot u p on my wal k . I took another drink ,wishing they wou l d go away. There was a k nock .

I growl ed harshl y. "It better be an emergency!Come in! "


44

The su n was behind the forest-cl ad hil l s, theafter-gl ow sil hou etting two figu res in the op en door.

"Y ou are Mil ieos, the doctor of Thu l iu m? " camea wel l -bred voice. The accent was equ atorial .

"I am. Who are you ? ""A l ight, sir. May we have a l ight for conversa-

tion? "I drank before answering. "U nhood the l amp

beside you ."The shorter p erson entered and fu mbl ed at the

wal l momentaril y, then u nhooded the radiu m bu l b.As if she k new I' d bark otherwise, she l eft it hal f-covered. The woman was of the red race, mediu mheight and bl ack hair. She was beau tifu l , thou gh herface was dirty and her cl othes more so.

"My name is D ee," the red woman said. "Weneed the services of a doctor."

I ignored the frown she had for the bottl e in myhand. "What city? " I ask ed the bl ack girl with her.

The woman cal l ed D ee answered. "She doesnot sp eak wel l . She—"

"Let her sp eak for hersel f, woman! " Tu rning tothe bl ack girl I ask ed the qu estion again and added,"What ail s you ? "

"Nothing that nine months won' t cu re," camethe su l l en answer.

I took a l onger p u l l from the bottl e, then set itdown with a sharp bang. Both women j u mp ed, bu twith different reactions. The red woman had herhand on a k nife, the bl ack girl seemed to shrinku p on hersel f. "In," I scowl ed. "Cl ose the door. Y ou ,D ee, you wil l have no cau se to u se that."


45

H er eyes narrowed for an instant, then sherel ax ed. G oing to the bl ack girl , D ee su p p orted her."Can she sit down? She' s very fatigu ed."

"Sit."As she did, the bl ack girl ' s cl oak -l ik e garment

op ened and I saw something that p enetrated thewine-fog. She ap p eared to be to be hideou sl ydeformed. Since su ch addl ed hatchl ings wereu su al l y given to the bosom of the Iss, my gaz ebecame more cl inical . H er deformity was in herstomach area, and it was not j u st overeating thathad cau sed it. H er body was normal l y frail , bu t thismal ady had cau sed her a l ot of bl oating. H er stom-ach was qu ite distended.

I was at a l oss to ex p l ain the condition withou tfu rther stu dy. U p on fu rther refl ection, and in thel ight of the radiu m bu l b, I decided the woman' sfeatu res were u nl ik e the First Born, thou gh hersk in was simil ar in hu e. H er nose had arched,fl aring nostril s, and her l ip s were wider and softer.It was her eyes that hel d me. They seemed du l l attimes, then wou l d fl ash l ik e ol ive l ightening.

The bl ack woman said in a barbarou s accent,"This l ook s more l ik e the Free Cl inic. What adu mp ."

H er direct manner intrigu ed me. H er p l aincl othes besp ok e a l ow u p bringing, in stark contrastto the il l -fitting middl e-cl ass cl othes of her comp an-ion. D ee tried to hide her tru e station with a rou ghcl oak , I cou l d tel l by her stance that she was everyinch a p rincess. What an odd p air these two made.

"I am Mil ieos," I confirmed. "H ow may I be ofservice? " The l ast l ine I del ivered with no smal l


46

amou nt of sarcasm. The red woman p ick ed it u pimmediatel y.

"First by having an op en mind," D ee began, awarm smil e cl ashing with her aristocratic manner."This woman is in great need of p rofessional medi-cal attention. She has been throu gh great travail andhas j ou rneyed not onl y over this worl d, bu t hasbeen cast forth from Jasoom."

Al ready Intrigu ed by the bl ack woman' s mal ady,I was u nsu rp rised by the discl osu re of her interp l an-etary origin. "Jasoom? Onl y John Carter and V adV aro have so travel ed."

"To ack nowl edge su ch beyond this room wou l decl ip se the p l ight of this you ng woman, who is withchil d in the Jasoomian manner."

"Shel l of my first ancestor! " I swore, becomingtru l y interested at l ast. "A Jasoomian chil d! "

"Indeed. That is why she needs attention. Inthe manner of Jasoomians, she carries this chil dwithin her bel l y for nine of their months thendel ivers it al ive. Al ready, mu ch time has p assed,and her l ife has been hard."

The bl ack woman sp ok e again, showing a qu ietdefiance. "I be dragged arou nd this du sty hel l l ongenou gh. If you ' re a doctor then I need you to l ookand see if my baby' s ok . D o you have an x -ray? "

"That is not one of the nine rays of Barsoom."I rep l ied. "Perhap s you are mistak en and you rcondition is merel y the consequ ence of a Jasoomianfemal e on Barsoom."

"D ee," the bl ack girl said, "he don' t u nderstand."The red woman p u t her hand on the girl ' s

shou l der, bu t she sp ok e to me. "Ju nie Watts hasex p l ained x -rays come from a device that u ses the


47

emissions of radiu m to p rodu ce a p ictu re of herbaby. I tol d her we do not have x -ray machines, bu twe do have sou nd-imaging."

I drank some wine, trying to k eep from l au gh-ing. "R adiu m radiation? We k now how harmfu lthese emissions are. As for sou nd-images, I' m afraidmy equ ip ment is rather l imited."

Intrigu ing or not, I was not hap p y with thevisitation—I had not yet reached the desired l evelof nu mbness. I was al so irritated by the red womanwho ap p eared to u nderstand modern techniqu es andstate of the art equ ip ment. "I have nothing l ik e themaj or hosp ital s. Perhap s it wou l d be best if you gofind one and l eave me al one."

The Jasoomian l ook ed u p at the red woman."Let u s go, D ee. I don' t l ik e him."

As if I weren' t sitting there at my own tabl e thered woman rep l ied, "I do not l ik e him either, bu t wehave come far today and you are worn ou t. And you ,sir, are dru nk ! "

"Not yet," I chu ck l ed withou t mirth. "Sl eep inthe waiting room for al l I care. G ood night."

* * *My head throbbed when I wok e. It was a

famil iar p ain, a p ain that k ep t my mind divertedfrom the horribl e memory which hau nted my l ife. Istu mbl ed from my sl eep ing chamber, l egs u nsteady,vision cl ou ded, and entered into the main room. Iabru p tl y stop p ed, confu sed.

"Who are you ? " I ask ed the red woman standingat my stove.

"My name is D ee," she said. "We met l ast night.This is my friend, Ju nie Watts."


48

I staggered to the cistern and dip p ed a cl othinto the cool water. I washed my face. "I remember.That is my food you are cook ing."

"I wil l p ay. Y ou l ook as if you cou l d u se some.Sit."

Imp eriou s wench! Thou gh I was angered I satat the tabl e. Ju nie Watts, at D ee' s direction, set ap l ate and drink before me. My tortu red stomach,too l ong withou t real food, tightened with anticip a-tion. I cou l d do nothing u ntil I had eaten.

D ee fed the bl ack girl and hersel f. She madeJu nie Watts sit at the tabl e. The red woman atesteadil y with p rop er decoru m, stop p ing occasional l yto p rod Ju nie Watts to eat break fast. H al fwaythrou gh her meal , D ee sp ok e p l easantl y:

"Ju nie Watts has a sad p ast. After her arrival ,she was ensl aved and mistreated. It is by l u ck thather hatchl ing has su rvived thu s far."

"Y ou ap p ear to k now a great deal abou t Jasoom-ian rep rodu ction."

For an instant the woman' s comp osu re wasp enetrated. By onl y so l ittl e as a sl ight start did Ik now she was discomforted; yet, she continu ed asif nothing had hap p ened. "Ju nie Watts is k nowl edge-abl e abou t her own body. We have tal k ed du ring ou rtravel s. She does not sp eak ou r l angu age wel l sothat is why I sp eak for her."

The woman was a mystery—obviou sl y wel l -edu cated and u sed to having her own way, she hadanticip ated my qu estions and answered them in afashion that p revented me from p u rsu ing themwithou t acting ru del y.

"What is it you want of me. I k now nothing ofJasoomian births."


49

"Y ou are a p hysician. Y ou have a du ty andobl igation to administer..."

"I do? Where is that written, my l ady? "The woman' s hand stop p ed between mou th and

p l ate. D ee l owered her eyes ap ol ogetical l y. "I begp ardon, Mil ieos. I have been most ru de and incon-siderate of you r hosp ital ity and p osition."

D ee abru p tl y rose. She p rodu ced several gol dtamp i from a bel t p ou ch and the oval coins rangsl ightl y as she p l aced them on the tabl e. Tu rning toJu nie Watts D ee p l aced a hand u nder the girl ' s arm."We mu st go."

"Y es, D ee," the bl ack girl sighed.G athering the fol ds of her drap e in one hand,

Ju nie Watts came to her feet. H er thin l egs seemedtoo frail to su p p ort the distended bel l y. H er l imbsshook , thou gh whether that was weak ness fromdisease or ex hau stion I cou l d not say. Ju nie Wattsl ook ed at me strangel y, as if fil l ed with disap p oint-ment, then al l owed the red woman to l ead her awayfrom the tabl e.

Su ddenl y, the bl ack woman shu ddered andcl u tched her stomach. She cried ou t in some oddtongu e as D ee p u t an arm arou nd her.

Perhap s it was the food which cl eared mythink ing, p erhap s it was an attack of bel ated con-science. "Tak e her in there," I p ointed to the nex troom. When D ee ask ed a qu estion with her eyes Ihardened my voice. "I cannot ex amine her here."

Ju nie Watts requ ired hel p to sit on the tabl e.H er sk in was dry and rou gh, her temp eratu rewarmer than normal . Then my brain ask ed: Warmerthan normal —for which sp ecies?


50

I cou l d not again hel p bu t notice the su btl edifferences between a bl ack woman of Jasoom andthe First Born—not onl y in featu res, bu t the sk intone was not p u re bl ack ; it contained hints ofbrown.

"The p ain—it is p assed now? " I ask ed."A contraction. It means that my body' s getting

ready. D on' t you al l women have contractions? ""Onl y if she is eggbou nd. If l eft u ncorrected,

the femal e may die. Is this ' contraction' normal ,Ju nie Watts? "

"What k ind of doctor are you ? Where' s al l you rfancy equ ip ment? Even the j ivest cl inic in Sel mahas got some equ ip ment."

"As I said, my resou rces are l imited. Lie back .""Al l I do is ' l ie back ' ," Ju nie frowned.D ee watched my ex amination cl osel y. She hel d

the girl ' s hand and I saw the p rotective gl eam in thered woman' s eyes. For some reason this woman—-who was not what she seemed—had tak en aninterest in the bl ack Jasoomian.

I p l aced my hands on Ju nie Watts' bel l y. G entl ep ressu re against tight sk in reveal ed a series ofu nu su al p rotru sions within the abdominal cavity.One p rotru sion moved sp ontaneou sl y as I tou chedit. My eyes widened. "What was that? Are yousu bj ect to invol u ntary sp asms? "

"That' s the baby k ick ing," Ju nie said. "It don' tl ik e where it' s at."

"I see. The embryo has changed p osition. Y es,that is consistent with shel l growth behavior."

Pal p itation of the breasts indicated someswel l ing and hardening. "Tender? " I ask ed when the


51

girl made a sl ight face. "Lactation has begu n. Again,simil ar to Barsoomian femal es."

The p el vic ex amination, however, reveal edsu bstantial differences between sp ecies. TheJasoomian' s u rinary tract shared l ocations with therep rodu ctive organ rather than being a su bsystemof the al imentary tract. A brief qu estion to Ju nieWatts confirmed the mal e of the sp ecies was con-stru cted simil arl y.

"I assu me there are l ess obviou s internaldifferences, bu t, Ju nie Watts, other than showingthe obviou s stresses of you r travail , p l u s somemal nu trition, you seem in good heal th. H ow cl ose tol aying are you ? "

"I don' t l ay, man," she said, her smil e a p erfectsemicircl e of gl eaming teeth. "This baby is going tocome ou t of me after the bag of water its beengrowing in break s. It wil l be attached to me by anu mbil ical cord."

"Y ou mu st tel l me al l ," I said, genu inel y inter-ested.

"That may tak e a great deal of time," said D ee."D o we have time? " I ask ed, hel p ing Ju nie

Watts u p , gestu ring she cou l d dress."Perhap s a month. U ntil that time, I mu st

arrange some p l ace to l ive."I shru gged. "We have no travel er' s inn. Thu l iu m

is not a p l ace many seek ou t. We are on the way tonowhere."

"Then you shal l p rovide a p l ace for u s.""Y ou demand mu ch," I cou ntered qu ick l y. "Y ou

are not the wife of a D ator to mak e su ch demandsand I am not a cou rt l ack ey."


52

"Why! " D ee ex p l oded, her red col oring tu rningdeep . "Y ou cannot refu se me, for I am —" Shehesitated and I k new I had her.

"I am wil l ing to p ay wel l ," D ee snap p ed. "I donot ask for mysel f, Mil ieos of Thu l iu m, bu t for thisp oor girl ."

I hesitated becau se I had been al one for sol ong. I was not ready to have others interfere withmy grief and sel f-destru ction. I had answered to noone bu t mysel f and the resp onsibil ity having thesewomen in my hou se was discomforting. I tu rnedaway from D ee so she cou l d not see my shadowp ain: I missed Al ia and the boy.

The red woman assu med I was not satisfiedwith the p romise of p ayment. "I wil l cook meal s andmaintain the residence, Mil ieos. Ju nie Watts needsrest and care. H er chil d wil l need care in the begin-ning."

"H ow do you k now this? " I ask ed."I—j u nie Watts and I have tal k ed. I have heard

schol ars sp ecu l ate. I k now my own instincts."I did not cal l her a l iar, bu t I sensed a different

tru th besides the ones she sp ok e. Oh, Issu s, heraccent was so l ik e Al ia' s!

"There are two rooms on the second fl oor," Isaid. "Y ou may tak e one. Ju nie Watts wil l sl eepdown here."

"We wil l stay together," D ee said."This girl cannot cl imb l adders.""No ramp ? " the woman ask ed.I shook my head."Then you shal l have to tak e one of the rooms

and Ju nie Watts and I wil l share you rs."


53

"What? " I al most l au ghed. I did not becau se D eewas seriou s. "Be carefu l , you r highness, or you rthrone wil l be top p l ed."

Ju nie Watts stood behind D ee, cowering a trifl eas she tried to fol l ow ou r conversation. The bl ackgirl l eaned down to tal k rap idl y into D ee' s ear. Thel angu age was one I had never heard before. The girlseemed adamant in her sp eech with a tou ch ofp l eading. It requ ired no great p ercep tion to seeJu nie Watts was frightened.

"What did she say? " I ask ed when the girl wassil ent.

"It is difficu l t to transl ate, Mil ieos, bu t I wil l try.She wondered why ' the brother' was so ' col d.' Shesaid, ' H e may be bl ack , bu t he' s no brother. H e' s ahonk y with a bl ack sk in, a damn Oreo.' "

"What does that mean? "D ee arched an eyebrow. "I p resu me it is not

fl attering. She wants to l eave. I am incl ined to agreewith her."

"Answer one qu estion, D ee. Who are you ? ""D oes ou r staying here or moving on dep end on

my answer? ""It does."D ee scowl ed. "I am Ju nie Watts' friend. I want

what is best for her.""A fair answer. I wil l ask one more then p rom-

ise to give mine. Are you married? "The red woman' s eyes snap p ed wide, the

qu estion u nex p ected. Withou t hesitation she re-p l ied, "I am."

"G ood. I wil l move my things u p stairs beforenightfal l . I k now not what Ju nie Watts means by the


54

term ' brother' , thou gh I su p p ose we are al l brothersand sisters having sp ru ng from the Tree of Life."

"H ow mu ch is ou r rent? ""No rent, for you are hired as hou se l abor. Y ou

wil l bu y you r own food thou gh you ' l l cook for three.Y ou see," I admitted u nhap p il y, "a cou ntry doctor israrel y p aid for his l abor, I am a p oor man."

D ee sp ok e to the girl in that other l angu age fora moment. The bl ack girl l ook ed at me gratefu l l y. Ifel t u ncomfortabl e and my head began to throb.Ju nie Watts ap p eared ready to sp eak , bu t I hel d u pmy hand.

"Say nothing." I went to the door and took downmy sword. I fastened it to my harness. "I am goingou t. If anyone ask s I am at K u l u a u ntil noon, then toPabsto' s u ntil su nset."

My sister greeted me with a k iss. "I am p l eas-antl y su rp rised," she teased. "Y ou are sober! "

"D o not remind me, dear."I did not sp eak of D ee or Ju nie Watts u ntil

l u nchtime when K u l u a p u shed me to the tabl e andp eel ed a somp u s fru it for me. "I have hired a womanto work in the hou se. She has a Jasoomian sl avewho is carrying a chil d."

"Why does she not mak e it wal k ? " K u l u a ask ed."No, inside her. It is not born yet.""Oh. Is she u gl y? "I p ondered the qu estion before answering.

"Ex otic. She is different. She is bl ack .""Oh! " K u l u a rep eated with more interest. "H ow

strange! ""Where is the wine? H ow can one have l u nch

withou t wine? " I intended a j ok e, bu t my voice wasdistant and cool .


55

K u l u a p u t a decanter before me withou t a gl ass."Y ou won' t need it, Mil ieos. Y ou wil l drink it al lbefore you l eave. One of these days you wil l tripover you r dru nk en feet and k il l you rsel f on that sil l ysword."

"I carried no sword u ntil Al ia was k il l ed byWarhoons," I said, my anger rising as hers ebbed."Now I k eep arms cl ose by for another su ch time."

I was horribl y disagreeabl e, more so than thewords necessitated. I had hu rt K u l u a and thatdistressed me. "Forgive me. H ow do you p u t u pwith me? "

"It is not easy," K u l u a answered. "Bu t I l oveyou and wou l d rather have you come in misery thannot see you at al l ."

"I do not deserve a sister l ik e you ," I said, risingfrom the tabl e, the wine u ntou ched. I bent to k issK u l u a. "G oodbye."

"May I come see you nex t week ? " she ask edfrom the doorway.

"Me, or the bl ack Jasoomian? "* * *D ee was a p assabl e cook . H er meal s were

simp l e and u ncomp l icated. She made no u se ofAl ia' s stock of treasu red sp ices and I was secretl yrel ieved becau se of that. Pl ain food did not remindme of vanished gastronomical p l easu res. Pl ain foodsat better on my abu sed stomach. Pl ain food satis-fied nu tritional requ irements withou t bu rdening thep u rse. Bu t two days of p l ain food and the stress oftwo women in the hou se made wine a necessity.

The red woman gl ared at me each time I fil l edthe cu p —and I wou l d fil l it frequ entl y du ring a meal .


56

She never sp ok e nor did she attemp t to interfere,bu t that l ook was cl earl y disap p roval .

Ju nie Watts watched me from afar, wary as asmal l thoat in a room with a banth. She showed feareach time I sip p ed wine, thou gh I had never giveneither reason to bel ieve I was viol ent in my inebria-tion.

After D ee sent Ju nie Watts to bed, I l eanedacross the tabl e. "She has no reason to fear me."

"She has every reason to fear you . She fears al ldru nk s. She fears men interested onl y in satisfyingthemsel ves. She has k nown nothing bu t p ain andhardship becau se of men who drink ."

"Not from me! " I growl ed. "I am a doctor."D ee raised an eyebrow. "Tru l y? As a doctor,

what advice wou l d you give a man who consu mestoo mu ch wine? "

"Y ou k now nothing abou t me. D o not p resu meto l ectu re me on the evil s of strong drink ."

"I k now nothing becau se you have reveal ednothing."

I smil ed, "And neither have you ." My angerevap orated as the inherent irony in her chal l engetu rned against her.

"G oodnight, Mil ieos."* * *Ju nie Watts cook ed l u nch every third day when

D ee shop p ed the mark et. She u sed too mu ch fat attoo high a temp eratu re when p rep aring darseenl iz ard. She sometimes rol l ed the meat in fl ou r andcook ed it u ntil wel l done. The p an l eavings werethick ened with water and mantil l a mil k into a sau ceshe cal l ed ' gravy' , which was p ou red over bread andeaten.


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The Jasoomian al so did l au ndry, thou gh neverwhen D ee was arou nd. The red woman deemedsu ch l abor too strenu ou s, thou gh I had p rofessionaldou bts in that regard. Ju nie Watts was a heal thygirl , now that she ate regu l arl y. She had beenstarved in the p ast and treated rou ghl y, so herrecovery was neither swift or comp l ete.

I u su al l y treated p atients ou tside the cl inic—farmers and ranchers are su bj ect to al l k inds ofaccident and misfortu ne and it is easier for me to goto them than for them to come to me. To facil itatemy travel the town had p rovided several thoatswhich were k ep t in a barn behind the hou se. Thethoats the women had ridden were tu rned in withmine. Ju nie Watts took it u p on hersel f to feed theu gl y beasts before the evening meal .

One night I sat on the bench beside the rearentrance and watched the bl ack Jasoomian p itchdried moss into the p en. H er motion with the forkwas smooth and p racticed.

I crossed my arms over the wine bottl e andl eaned against the bu il ding. "Y ou k now thoats."

Ju nie Watts did not l ook toward me. "I k nowhorses. Thoats are l ik e horses."

"What is a horse? ""The most wonderfu l creatu res on Jasoom," she

began. Ju nie Watts tal k ed softl y, mostl y to thethoats crowded near the fence. The u gl y beastsp u shed each other aside to ex tend their snou tstoward the bl ack girl ' s gentl e hands. She caressedeach as she reminisced abou t an u ncl e' s farm inMissou ri and l ong rides on du sty su mmer roads andice cream u nder a l antern su rrou nded by moths andJu ne bu gs.


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"Y ou have an insect named after you ? ""Me? Of cou rse not! " Ju nie Watts l au ghed.

"Them ol d bu gs is named for the month of Ju ne."She l au ghed. I had never heard her l au gh. I

l ik ed it, and I su ddenl y fel t gu il ty as Al ia' s smil ingface fil l ed my thou ghts. The sou nd of thoats re-minded me of bl ood and bones on a dirt road. Idrained the bottl e and threw it from me. Withou t aword I went into the hou se, grabbed another bottl eand k ep t going straight ou t the front door. I heardJu nie Watts cal l my name. Once. Then I heard nomore as I sou ght a dark p l ace in the woods to drownmy sorrows.

The fol l owing morning D ee p rep ared break fast.Ju nie Watts had not come from the back room. Thered woman waited u ntil I was seated, hol ding myaching head with both hands, before she sp ok e in arigidl y control l ed voice.

"If you ever frighten that girl again, I wil l k il lyou ."

I raised my eyes. I saw the woman' s p rom-ise—and the strength of wil l to accomp l ish it.

D ee l eaned over the tabl e, her p retty face hardas stone. "Y ou are free to indu l ge you r misery asl ong as you cau se that chil d no harm. Am I u nder-stood? "

"What right have you to order my l ife? It' s myl ife—"

D ee' s fist p ou nded the tabl e once, startl ing me."It' s _ my_ l ife now becau se you ' ve thrown it away."

I wou l d have argu ed with her. I wou l d havethrown her ou t of the hou se. I wou l d have, ex -cep t—ex cep t that she was right.


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I said, "Y ou are hatefu l , D ee-whoever-you -are,"and l eft withou t having break fast. Food I cou l d findon my rou nds—as wel l as drink . And drink I neededto wash away the sting of the red woman' s words.

* * *


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" W" W" W" W H A T I S M Y P U R P O S E N O WH A T I S M Y P U R P O S E N O WH A T I S M Y P U R P O S E N O WH A T I S M Y P U R P O S E N O W ? "? "? "? "

My hu sband think s highl y of the First Born. H ehas many friends among the former Bl ack Pirates ofBarsoom and they, in tu rn, have l earned to accep this friendship , for withou t the benevol ence of theWarl ord of Mars the tremendou s armies u nder JohnCarter' s command might easil y obl iterate the FirstBorn. Fifty years ago my hu sband defeated the FirstBorn at the Sou th Pol e. Twenty years ago hediscovered K amtol , a hidden col ony of First Born.Two-hu ndred-thou sand p eop l e had l ed a bru tal l ybal anced ex istence in the R ift V al l ey du ring themil l enniu m before John Carter came searching forou r G athol ian granddau ghter, bu t once the l ocationof that First Born city/ state was k nown, and thel eaders of K amtol u nderstood the dangers theyfaced from the Warl ord' s might, an internal revol u -tion divided the R ift V al l ey into doz ens of grou p swhich then disp ersed to col oniz e new areas.

D ator Tamat, Senca and Mil ieos' father, hadfou nded a col ony near the equ ator. In twenty yearstime a resp ectabl e beginning had been made,


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p articu l arl y since Tamat real iz ed p eacefu l co-ex is-tence with the red man was the imp erative cou rseof action.

D ator Tamat wrou ght wel l when p l anning hisvil l age. H e sel ected and trained a squ ad of ru ggedmen to p rotect the p eop l e from wil d beasts andbrigands more savage than the beasts. H e su p -p orted artificers and growers, ranchers and masons,p l u mbers and artists. H e al so l ocated Thu l iu m awayfrom the main roads, not to handicap the col ony bu tto insu re it wou l d su rvive. Five years ago D atorTamat had l eft his el dest son in charge and boardeda fl ier to Otz V al l ey. Tamat' s intention was to seekrecru its among the First Born of the sou th, bu t hehad not retu rned, nor had there been word of hiswhereabou ts after messengers were sent to seekhim. Senca assu med the dator titl e as it was his byinheritance and ru l ed Thu l iu m with the sameconsideration and foresight as his father.

I did not l earn the above in one day. I did notl earn it in a week . As ou tsiders Ju nie Watts and Iwere accep ted in Thu l iu m becau se it was assu medwe had immigrated. I saw no reason to correct themisconcep tion. We did not meet everyone at first;l ik e most smal l agricu l tu ral and ranching commu ni-ties the Thil u mites work ed su nu p to su ndown ontheir isol ated hol dings and rarel y came into thetownship p rop er.

Al l my l ife I have been p rotected from manu all abor. It was never by my choice that I was segre-gated from ordinary work . I cou l d never p revailagainst the wishes of my father and grandfather whoinsisted that my station mu st be honored at al ltimes. Sl aves cook ed for me. They bathed me,


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dressed me, died for me. After I married my dearV irginian, I had greater su ccess demanding freedomof p ersonal choice for there was l ittl e John Cartercou l d, or wou l d, deny me.

"I shal l l earn to cook ," I had once tol d myhu sband. "If I am ever abdu cted by an evil -doer andthen escap e into an inhosp itabl e cl imate waiting forchance to bring you to my rescu e I shal l have needof that k nowl edge." John Carter had l au ghed andsaid, "Y ou mak e a val id p oint, dear." H e had k issedme then l eft me to my own devices. The p recedent,once set, had served to free me from fu rther re-straints. I l earned basic cook ing sk il l s and thenl earned how to hu nt, how to camp on the l and, andhow to fight. My trainers were men from my hu s-band' s commands, or their wives, dep ending u p onthe instru ction desired.

Washing cl othes, gu tting darseen l iz ards, orbraising a thoat ru mp at the hou se of Mil ieos hardl yoccu p ied my mind. I had amp l e time to reconsiderwhat I had done so qu ick l y and seemingl y withou tforethou ght when I ap p ointed mysel f Ju nie Watts'p rotector. I regretted the difficu l t p osition I forcedu p on R ex a H u l tan. The dear girl faced a greatertravail than anything Ju nie and I had encou nteredsince l eaving Jhu ma: my hu sband. I hop ed myV irginian u nderstood my decision and that no u ndu eangu ish tormented him. My father, a temp erateman in most things, was ex citabl e where I wasconcerned. If John Carter honored my wishes thenhe wou l d have his hands fu l l deal ing with MorsK aj ak . G randfather wou l d u nderstand my mission.Tardos Mors had al ways seemed to u nderstand mebetter than my dear father.


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Mil ieos was a mass of contradictions. The manseemed comp etent as a p hysician, yet there was thematter of his drink ing. H e was morose and su l l en atbest, denigrating and bel l igerent at worst. H isedu cation was obviou s and the reference work sabove his u ntidy desk embraced a wide range ofstu dy. At one time the man had been qu ite hand-some, bu t the ex tended abu se of wine and strongsp irits and negl ect of p rop er nu trition had softenedthe bl ack man' s p hysiqu e.

Mil ieos did not tal k abou t himsel f and he tal k edto others even l ess. Patients who entered the cl inicwere greeted with a bl eery-eyed nod, ex amined insil ence and dismissed the same way, u nl ess someterse instru ction was requ ired. The man hel d hisown cou ncil in most things, p referring the comp anyof a bottl e to a p erson.

Ju nie Watts disl ik ed the First Born p hysician."H e' s a damn oreo," she said on several occasions,u su al l y before we retired in the evening. "Snootybastard. What' s got his goat? "

The Jasoomian girl u sed Engl ish in a fashion sou nl ik e that u sed by my V irginian. Q u ite often I hadto infer the intended meaning by her ex p ression ortone of voice. It was imp erative that Ju nie Wattsbecome p roficient in the singl e oral l angu age ofBarsoom—that I might better u nderstand thewoman and her needs. I was rarel y confu sed by herintent or meaning ex cep t when she became ex citedor overwrou ght. At those times, su ch as the nightMil ieos came throu gh the door stu mbl ing downdru nk to crash into the tabl e sending the work of anafternoon fl ying onto the fl oor, the p oor girl l ap sedinto a sp eech p attern nearl y incomp rehensibl e to


64

me. The sooner she sp ok e Barsoomian, the betterit wou l d be for u s al l . Therefore each night we hadl angu age l essons and du ring the day we wou l d l earnnew words for obj ects and actions. Ju nie Watts wasa wil l ing stu dent, bright and energetic. She l earnedqu ick l y and I gradu al l y u sed Engl ish l ess as hervocabu l ary increased.

Mil ieos ignored u s for the most p art, other thanto cast grim l ook s whenever he deigned to noticeou r p resence. H e tal k ed l ittl e, and never abou thimsel f. I l earned something of the doctor' s p astwhen I went to mark et. The bu tcher was one ofthose irritating p eop l e who cannot resist sp readinggossip . H e chattered incessantl y as he fil l ed myorder.

"So, has the good doctor final l y come to hissenses? Mu st be if he' s hired hel p . That man hasgrieved l onger than p ru dent. It' s the wine, I tel lyou . H e has a weak ness for it. Since his wife wasru n down by a Warhoon' s thoat he' s not been thesame. Nearl y k il l ed him, too. D id k il l his son. Nothis son, bu t the boy his wife had before he met her.Pretty red woman. Look ed l ik e you , dark -haired andsmal l . Cau sed a big stir with D ator Senca. Y ouwou l dn' t bel ieve they were egg brothers the waySenca carried on. Fol k ar, his other brother, wasqu ite different. Lik ed Al ia right off. Was teachingthe boy a thing or two abou t mechanical s. I k nowFol k ar misses him. Stil l , for al l the drink , thatMil ieos is a good doctor. Saved my wife' s fingerwhen a rail fel l from the sl au ghtering p en ou t backand p u l p ed it. Oh, it' s not a p retty fix l ik e one mightget in one of those fancy big city hosp ital s, bu t shecan u se it and is gratefu l . She sends him fresh


65

bak ed breads every week . So, where are you from?Never k new a red woman with a First Born sl avebefore. She' s an u gl y girl , if you don' t mind mesaying. There was a time anyone of the red raceensl aving a bl ack or the other way arou nd wou l d bean act of war. What was her debt to you ? Maybe yougot her from someone who owed you ? Wel l , I' vewatched her work those thoats of you rs and Mil i-eos' . She' s good with animal s. Wil l that be al l ? "

The vil l age' s garment mak er p rovided addi-tional insights into the character of ou r new l and-l ord. "H e is away from home most days. H e mak esdail y rou nds to visit p atients ou tside Thu l iu m." Ithank ed her for the two commodiou s dresses I hadordered for Ju nie Watts and retu rned to the doctor' shou se.

As u su al Mil ieos had dep arted before I went tomark et. H e had not retu rned when I arrived to findJu nie Watts seated at the tabl e which served aswork area or dining as needed. She had fou nd soil edbandages in one of Mil ieos' travel k its and boil edthem. The girl had hu ng them to dry and was rol l ingthem for storage. She started to rise when I en-tered.

"Sit, Ju nie Watts." I p l aced the p ack age of meatsin the cook ing area' s comp act cool storage. "This isfor you ." I handed over the p arcel containing thedresses.

The Jasoomian ex cl aimed her del ight with awide smil e. Shak ing the dress ou t, she hel d itagainst her misshap en body. "May I try it on? "

I chu ck l ed. "Of cou rse! "Before she p u t on the new dress Ju nie Watts

bathed hersel f u sing the smal l tu b and cl oth she had


66

tu rned to that p u rp ose. She is very cl ean in herhabits, natu ral l y so, and I bel ieve that the p resenceof water and cl oth for bathing did more towards herwel l -being than food and drink . Jasoomians "sweat"as John Carter says. There is no comp arabl e wordin the Barsoomian tongu e as there is no comp arabl ep hysiol ogical fu nction: ou r sk ins do not u til iz efl u idic ex change with the atmosp here to maintaintemp eratu re to ou r internal organs. Ju nie Wattssweated du ring the hottest p art of the day, whichwas most of the day at the equ ator, and she bathedat l east once each day, sometimes twice.

The dress fit with fabric to sp are. The cl oth wasl ight green in col or and thin enou gh to stay cool , yetwas op aqu e to the eye. I step p ed back and ex am-ined the girl with a critical eye. With a l au gh I said,"Y ou l ook l ik e an ambu l atory grass-covered foothil lfrom the mou ntains sou th of Lesser H el iu m."

Ju nie Watts twirl ed, the sk irt l ifting, andsmil ed. "G ol l y, I am big! "

When I had tak en charge of Ju nie Watts, shehad been brok en in sp irit, degraded, hu mil iated, andscorned. She had not tru sted me at first, bu t shehad come to think of me as a friend. I k new this be-cau se of the warmth of her embrace as she thank edme. It was an awk ward embrace as the hard ex tru -sion from her abdomen bu mp ed into me.

"I can barel y p u t my arms arou nd you ," Il au ghed. She no l onger ap p eared misshap en ordeformed to my eyes. Ju nie Watts moved natu ral l yand carried her bu rden withou t u ndu e discomfort,ex cep t for wistfu l comp l aints abou t sore feet andback aches.


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Ju nie Watts rel eased me with a distu rbedex p ression on her face. "I k now I' m never goinghome again. This worl d wil l be mine u ntil I die.What' s going to hap p en to me? Am I you r sl ave? Iwou l dn' t mind being you r sl ave."

I gentl y p u shed the girl into a chair and satacross from her, so that ou r eyes were direct andu p on an even l evel . "Y ou are not my sl ave."

"What abou t that mark ? " the girl ask ed. "I' vebeen branded."

H er hands trembl ed. I took one in mine andsp ok e reassu ringl y. "Y ou tol d me you rsel f the Ok ar-ian was k il l ed and H ol k at abandoned you . Y ou arefree."

Ju nie Watts took a deep , shu ddering breath, andrel eased it sl owl y. "I am not su re I wish to be free.I k now nothing of this worl d. I do not k now myp l ace or my fu tu re. I had something to l ook forwardto on my worl d, not mu ch, bu t something. What ismy p u rp ose now? "

I have stu died the great Barsoomian p hil oso-p hers and u nderstand them as l ittl e as I u nderstandthe p hysics regarding radiu m bu l bs and wirel essfinders, bu t I p ride mysel f as having consideration,comp assion and conscience in abu ndance. "U nl essyou su bmit to another' s chain, you are free, Ju nieWatts. No man of Barsoom wil l hesitate to come toyou r aid shou l d you demand it."

"It was a man who ensl aved me, D ee."I nodded. The girl was sharp . "I do not imagine

ou r worl d is so different than you rs. We have bu l l iesand bastards and barbarians as wel l as the righ-teou s, devou t and defenders. I, too, have su ffered atthe hands of others and been denied freedom of


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choice, thou gh it has been many years since thoseevents. I have not forgotten them, bu t they do notterrify me as mu ch as they once did."

"Y ou were a sl ave? " Ju nie Watts ex cl aimed. "Icannot bel ieve it! "

"It was l ong ago," I smil ed wistfu l l y. "A mansaved me."

Ju nie Watts squ eez ed my hand, sensing myhap p y memories. "What hap p ened after he savedyou ? "

"I married him and made him my sl ave—a sl aveof the heart."

She shook her head then. "I don' t u nderstandwhy you ' re here instead of with him. Y ou obviou sl yl ove him very mu ch."

I sighed. "Love withou t interru p tion or varia-tion becomes very l ik e a p rison. Pl easant, wonder-fu l , ex citing, bu t a p rison nonethel ess. H e is greatman among my p eop l e. There are many demandsu p on his time and energies. I tak e what I can, whenI can, and endu re the absences. Bu t you , dear girl ,have had no hap p iness on my worl d. I think that isa great tragedy and it is something I can correct."

"So," Ju nie Watts smil ed, "you ' re a social work -er. I did not think there were any on Barsoom! "

We tal k ed then of Earth and America andp ol itics and racism in America and Worl d Wars andep idemics and hatred and l ove and famil y and abu seand abandonment and divorce and rel atives andk indness and hop e. Ju nie Watts op ened u p to methat afternoon, l aying bare her brave heart. Wetal k ed u ntil dark ness l ay u p on the l and. We hadl au ghed and cried, and cl u ng to each other fromtime to time. I marvel ed at her inner resil ience and


69

strength. I l earned detail s from her months ofcap tivity, first with the cru de Ok arian and l ater withH ol k at the First Born. She had su rvived a harshex istence which wou l d have been the death of manyothers—either throu gh hardship or by their ownhand.

"Y ou are a very brave girl ," I said to her.Ju nie Watts rose to u nhood the radiu m bu l b by

the door. She seemed embarrassed as the soft gl owfil l ed the room. "I j u st want to l ive. I think that' s al lany l iving thing wants— whil e there' s l ife, there' shop e."

So many times I have heard that ex p ressionfrom my bel oved' s l ip s! I fel t an overwhel minghomesick ness at that moment, a homesick ness thatwas temp ered with fond memories of my val iantV irginian. I was abou t to comment on thesethou ghts when the door to the hou se was fl u ngop en.

A man stu mbl ed into the room, carrying a boyin his arms. The boy' s l eft arm was covered withbl ood seep ing beneath a ru de bandage. Both werecovered with du st, the red man breathing heavil y."My son has been inj u red. Where' s the doctor? "

I said, "H e' s not back from his rou nds. Pu t himin there on the tabl e." I tu gged on the man' s harnessto steer him in the p rop er direction. Between u s westretched the u nconsciou s you th u p on the ex amina-tion tabl e. "What hap p ened? "

"Banth," the man sobbed. "Where' s the doctor? ""I' l l do what I can u ntil he arrives." I noticed the

man had su stained inj u ries to his own p erson. Aseries of gashes across his scal p and a l ong cu t on


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his thigh. "Sit down over there before you fal ldown."

I made su re the man did as ordered then tu rnedto hel p the boy. I have some ex p erience withwou nds, as do most members of ou r war-l ik esocieties, bu t it has been years since I was cal l edu p on to u se my meager sk il l s.

Ju nie Watts was al ready at the boy' s side, herl ong bl ack fingers moving confidentl y as she op enedthe cru de dressing and frowned. "Nasty. Missed theartery bu t there' s a l ot of damage. Mu st cl ean andcl ose."

Withou t hesitation Ju nie Watts tu rned toMil ieos' medical su p p l ies and retrieved a generalantisep tic, gau z e and sk in cl ip s. She k new thesethings becau se Mil ieos had treated smal l inj u riesearl ier and gru dgingl y answered the bl ack girl ' squ estions after it was over. That information wasremembered and p u t to u se. I saw that she was nostranger to caring for wou nds. I l et her work u ndis-tu rbed, tu rning to the farmer to tend his inj u ries.

My work was l ess comp l ex than the rep airsJu nie Watts attemp ted on the boy whose tendonsand mu scl es were severed by the banth' s savageteeth. She had cl amp ed off a doz en heavy bl eeders,bu t l eft the wou nd op en as she removed cl ottedbl ood, sand, dirt and moss.

"I mu st cl ose this, D ee, bu t u nl ess the mu scl eis stitched and the tendons rep aired, the arm wil l beu sel ess. Is there needl e and dissol ving thread? "

I did not k now—nor was I comp l etel y su rewhat she ask ed. I have no real medical k nowl edgeand fel t hel p l ess. I tol d her as mu ch.

"We mu st l ook , then, and qu ick l y."


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Ju nie Watts and I ru mmaged throu gh thedoctor' s su p p l ies. We were going into the seconddrawer when Mil ieos entered. H e bel l owed "D innerfor a hu ngry man! "

Before I cou l d resp ond Ju nie Watts hu rried intothe nex t room and had a sharp , l ow-voiced conver-sation with Mil ieos. I cou l d not hear what she said,bu t it mu st have made an imp ression, for the doctorentered the ex amination room in a sober manner.H e was not sober—he reek ed of home-made wine,bu t his hands were steady and his eyes focu sed.

"My bag," he said to Ju nie Watts. "On thethoat."

She immediatel y fetched it whil e Mil ieos ex -amined the farmer. The farmer was rel ieved to seethe doctor. "Look to my boy," the man p l eaded."That—that Th i n g did things to him. She..."

"She p robabl y saved his l ife," Mil ieos said,p u shing the farmer back into the chair. "Sit qu iet, orl eave. Noise I do not need."

Ju nie Watts came in with the bag. I do not k nowif she had heard Mil ieos' words to the man. Shemu st have, bu t made no sign that he had recogniz edher efforts. The girl p l aced the bag on the sideboardnear the ex amination tabl e and op ened it. Two trayswere l ifted ou t and p l aced cl ose at hand and shewaited, hands p oised to do the doctor' s bidding.

Mil ieos hel d ou t a hand and named an instru -ment. Ju nie Watts, dear girl , fu rrowed her brow atthe u nfamil iar term. The First Born al most smil edand said, "The bent thing with the red handl e. ThenI' l l need the yel l ow p ack et."

For the nex t three x ats Mil ieos gave simp l einstru ctions and Ju nie Watts fol l owed them withou t


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qu estion or fl aw. I wou l d have l ik ed to have watch-ed the entire p rocedu re, bu t the farmer, torn be-tween concern for his son and his anx iety at havingthe deformed bl ack girl assist, was cl ose to becom-ing a bother. I u shered him ou t and p u l l ed thecu rtain over the al cove. I made the man sit at thetabl e and p l aced a cu p of hot stimu l ant before him.

There being nothing fu rther I cou l d do for thefarmer or the others, I began p rep aring the eveningmeal . I am not an imaginative cook . It did not tak el ong to p l ace the thoat ru mp into a p ot of water withsome rou ghl y diced vegetabl es. I p l aced the p ot intothe oven then went to the door and p au sed, hand onthe l atch. To the farmer I said, "D o not worry. Mil i-eos is a good doctor and that girl has k nowl edge ofher own. I mu st feed the thoats. D o I have you rword you ' l l not become a nu isance? "

The man shook his head. "I cannot give you myword on that accou nt becau se I l ove my son, there-fore l et me care for you r beasts to k eep my mindoccu p ied. I cannot stand the su sp ense."

I op ened the door and stood to one side to al l owthe farmer' s ex it.

I mop p ed the fl oor where bl ood had drip p ed,stop p ing j u st short of entering the ex aminationroom. I cou l d hear Mil ieos' voice, steady and u n-emotional , giving instru ctions to Ju nie Watts. Icou l d imagine her standing at the doctor' s side, as Ihad l ast seen her, efficientl y resp onding to his di-rection. She had su rp rised me yet again, as she hadcou ntl ess times in recent p ast. There was more toJu nie Watts than first meets the eye.

The farmer retu rned, l ook ing disap p ointed tosee the cu rtain stil l drawn. I, too, fel t some concern


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as a hal f z ode had p assed and that is a l ong time forsu rgery. I handed the farmer another cu p of steam-ing brew and we waited, sip p ing in sil ence.

Su ddenl y the cu rtain was fl u ng back . Mil ieosl ed the Jasoomian to the tabl e with an arm su p p ort-ing her. "She' s al l right, D ee," he said at my swiftconcern. "Too l ong on her feet." To the farmer headded, "Y ou r son is fine. We' l l k eep him here a fewdays to mak e su re the heal ing is wel l begu n thenyou can tak e him home. It wil l be a whil e beforehe' l l have fu l l strength in that arm bu t he shou l drecover fu l l y. Y ou can thank Ju nie Watts for thatbecau se she stop p ed the bl eeding."

The farmer came to stand before the seatedwoman. H e l owered his head, obviou sl y ashamedfor his p reviou s thou ghts. "I thank you for the l ife ofmy son. If there is ever anything that Antak Mobalcan do for you r hou se, you have bu t to ask ."

At this p oint Antak Mobal removed the hatchetfrom his harness and l aid it at the feet of Ju nieWatts. I have never seen homage p aid more nobl ythan that simp l e gestu re by a common farmer.

Mil ieos, who stil l stood by Ju nie Watts' chair,l eaned down to whisp er the meaning of the man' sact—that he p l edged himsel f and his hou se to herservice withou t qu estion for eternity if she wou l dbu t accep t it. She nodded then l eaned down to l iftthe wel l -u sed imp l ement and carefu l l y handed it toAntak Mobal handl e first. G raciou sl y she smil ed,and had the good sense to not sp oil a sp ecial honorwith sp eech.

A moment l ater the farmer, sel f-consciou s yetrel ieved, bid u s good night to hu rry home withhap p y news for his wife.


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Mil ieos washed his hands and dried them. H ewal k ed to the cabinet where he k ep t bottl es of wineand sp irits. H e op ened it and reached inside, bu tp au sed as his eyes met Ju nie Watts' . Mil ieos' ex -p ression dark ened briefl y then the man abru p tl yshu t the cabinet door and tu rned away emp ty-handed. H e p ou red a cu p of brew and tasted it. TheFirst Born grimaced horribl y and said, "D ee, youare no cook ."

"I have p oisoned no one—yet." I added with awink .

* * *The nex t morning Mil ieos wok e with a com-

p l aint. "My head does not hu rt," he growl ed comingdown the l adder. H e nodded toward the cu rtaindrawn across the ex amination room. "H ave youl ook ed in? "

"Ju nie Watts has been with him. She ap p arentl ycheck ed on him several times l ast night."

"D id you k now she had begu n training to be anu rse before coming to Barsoom? "

"I did not. That ex p l ains what hap p ened.""It does, and it raises other qu estions. Where is

she? ""Feeding the thoats."Mil ieos ap p roached the cook ing stove where I

stirred a p ot. H e towered over me, big, bl ack , andcu riou s. "H ow is it that an obviou sl y edu cated wom-an cou l d al l ow hersel f to be made a sl ave? Why didshe not tak e her own l ife rather than su bmit? "

"On her worl d, in her cou ntry, bl ack s have l ongbeen sl aves or p eop l e of l esser rank . It was thu s forcentu ries and p ersonal freedom is something re-


75

centl y acqu ired. Perhap s for Ju nie Watts l ife wasmore imp ortant than freedom throu gh death."

"I do not u nderstand," Mil ieos began.I interru p ted abru p tl y. "H ow can you ? Y ou are

a man.""What is that su p p osed to mean? " the doctor

scowl ed. H e tasted my morning brew and the scowldeep ened.

I narrowed my eyes with warning againstcomments on the cook ing then answered his qu es-tion. "It is a man' s worl d on Jasoom j u st as it is here.Women are obj ects to be owned by men. We do notl ik e it bu t that is the way of the worl d."

"I cannot imagine you owned by any man,"Mil ieos sardonical l y remark ed.

I smil ed. Then I l au ghed. "H e is not j u st anyman, Mil ieos. H e owns my heart and resp ect, and Ihave demanded the same from him and he has givenit."

"I hear a ' bu t—' "With a shru g I continu ed. "There are many

k inds of sl avery. Most are abhorrent to civil iz ed be-ings bu t some are p l easant and desirabl e. We sawthat l ast night when Antak Mobal p l edged al l egianceto ou r Ju nie Watts. H e is her sl ave now, by choice,thou gh she wil l never abu se that. Bu t what hap -p ened to her when she first came to Barsoom,nak ed and al one, was not h e r choice. It was soqu ick l y done I do not imagine she had time to con-sider op tions to her p redicament. Women rarel yhave that l u x u ry as men mak e p l ans and ex ecu tethem withou t consideration of others—meaningwomen—regardl ess of their col or."


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Mil ieos l eaned against the cou nter and stared atme. It was ap p arent that he bel ieved the womanstanding before him now was not the same womanthat had been in his mind moments before.

"Neither Ju nie Watts or you are what you seem.Who are you , D ee? "

The qu estion was del ivered by a sober mindthis time. "I once tol d you I was Ju nie Watts' friend.I wou l d l ik e to be you rs, Mil ieos. What differencedoes fu l l k nowl edge of my identity mak e? I am stil lthe same p erson regardl ess of origin or rank ."

"Are you ? Is she? Am I? " Mil ieos gu l p ed downthe hot beverage and p u t the cu p down.

H e did not wait for answers. Mil ieos qu ietl ysl ip p ed p ast the cu rtain to l ook at Antak Mobal ' sson. I continu ed p rep aring break fast. Ju nie Wattscame from the back of the hou se, sweating j u st atrifl e from p itching moss to the thoats. She bl ottedher face with a towel and sat down. "It be hot thismorning."

"No Engl ish today," I said."The morning is warm," Ju nie Watts du tifu l l y

rep l ied.Mil ieos ex ited the ex amination room. "G ood

morning, Ju nie Watts," he said. "Y ou r p atient isdoing wel l ."

"I' m so gl ad! Is he awak e? "Mil ieos nodded. "And hu ngry. Pu l p ed fru it, a

grain mash and as mu ch fl u id as he can tak e.""Y es sir! " Ju nie Watts rep l ied, rising from the

tabl e.The First Born chu ck l ed—a p l easant sou nd

which startl ed both Ju nie Watts and mysel f. "Sit.Y ou may have the care of the boy, bu t l et D ee do


77

the cook ing. As D ee tol d me, she has never p oi-soned anyone."

I p u t a bowl , p estl e and three somp fru it on thetabl e before Ju nie Watts. "Pu l p the fru it, I' l l mak ethe mash."

Mil ieos did not l eave the hou se as u su al . H eand Ju nie Watts watched over Antak Mobal ' s sonand, when the farmer, his wife, and three sons anddau ghter came to visit at l u nch, I l eft the hou se.Too noisy for me.


78

CCCC H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R 5555JJJJ U N I E U N I E U N I E U N I E WWWWAT T SAT T SAT T SAT T S ::::LLLL I F E I N I F E I N I F E I N I F E I N TTTT H I L U MH I L U MH I L U MH I L U M

Who wou l d have thou ght I' d come to haveaffection for the thoats at Thil u m? Even thou ghthey were big and u gl y and ferociou s, I had l earnedto l ove these weird, u nru l y Barsoomian beasts ofbu rden.

D ee started me feeding thoats when we wereon the road. Long before we arrived at Thil u m I hadtimidl y col l ected moss and other p l ants D ee p ointedou t becau se the best moss was often imp ossibl e forthe animal s to obtain, growing deep in crack s or thetwisted roots of massive ol d trees.

"They have teeth! " I had stated, ashamed toadmit my fear to the woman who was hel p ing me."I' m afraid."

"I won' t l et them hu rt you ," D ee p romised.She had faced the three thoats at ou r camp

beside the road and stared at them with an intentex p ression. I k new she was tal k ing to them, bu t Ididn' t hear anything. I k new she gave them a com-mand, bu t the message was l ost to me.


79

"I' ve imp l anted a tel ep athic command that thethoats shou l d obey you ," D ee smil ed. "They wil lresp ond to voice commands if p rop erl y given. Leadthem to the moss, p ick it if they have trou bl e. Theydo not need mu ch water as they derive nearl y al ltheir requ irements from the moss."

I shook my head, my mind stil l deal ing withsomething she first said. "Tel ep athy? Is that howit' s done? "

The beau tifu l red woman had shru gged hershou l ders. "It is something l ik e tel ep athy," sheex p l ained, "bu t not as cl ear or direct as when twop eop l e ex change thou ghts."

I remember how I shivered as I bl u rted: "Canyou read my mind? Can you ? "

D ee shook her head. "I can' t read you at al l . Y ouare inert to any Barsoomian, that is, no intel l igencecan be gathered, onl y a feel ing of void or raw emo-tion."

I decided to test her. I del iberatel y thou ght ofD ee swinging from an oak tree with a K K K rop echok ing the l ife ou t of her. I made her eyes p op inmy vision and I had a shotgu n bl ast nearl y cu t her inhal f. The bl ood p ool ed on the dew-damp grass astorches fl ick ered in the night and men in whitesheets whirl ed abou t. It wasn' t too hard to imagine.I had seen one of my cou sins beaten and hu ng andmu rdered. I had been l eft al ive to "tel l every niggeryou see." U gl y, horribl e visions and I p u t D ee' s facein the middl e j u st to see what she wou l d do.

She startl ed me with a su dden twist of herhead. "What ail s you , Ju nie Watts? What has cau sedyou r abru p t p ain? "


80

"Y ou can' t tel l ? " I ask ed, al ready k nowing it wasa du mb qu estion becau se I cou l d see the womanwas genu inel y concerned. "I j u st rememberedsomething bad from my l ife on Jasoom."

"Was it in rel ation to thoats—or some animall ik e them? If so, I shal l tend the creatu res."

"Nothing l ik e that," I assu red her. "These bigol d things scare the fool ou t of me, bu t if you saythey' l l mind, I' l l give it a try."

And I did and they got u sed to me, no matterthat I was a dead, emp ty mind. I u sed my voice andhands to herd the thoats and after a few days Ibecame accu stomed to them. By the time we ar-rived at Thil u m and Mil ieos l et u s k eep ou r mou ntsin the corral behind his hou se, the great beastsp u shed against each other to be the first to greetme at the fence whenever I p l aced food into thecorral .

The l arge mal e I cal l ed Big G u n becau se noneof the others cou l d stand against him. I eventu al l ynamed the others Contessa, D u k e, Leadbottom,R ebel , Nonesu ch, Top p er, Star and Ju l iet. Of cou rseI cou l dn' t tel l which were mal es or femal es, I j u stchose names that seemed ap p rop riate.

My favorite was a smal l ish thoat of a strangesl ate and rose col or that D ee had never seen before.Thoats were general l y sl ate on top shading to avivid yel l ow bel ow, with tail s more broad at the tipthan the base. They had footp ads rather thanhooves or nail s. The rose-col ored thoat I namedSop hie after a horse I had k nown and becau se shewas the most l oving of the hu ge creatu res.

I tal k ed to the great bru tes, eventu al l y becom-ing confident in my rel ationship to them. They were


81

tou gh, hardy sp ecimens, breed down from the migh-ty desert thoats by the red race over u ntol d years.I had seen wil d thoats when I was on the Ok arian' schain, and they were monsters comp ared to mycharges.

Big G u n was al ways first at the feed trou gh, asone might ex p ect of the l argest creatu re, bu t for al lhis siz e, he was a qu ick , l ight eater and qu ick l ymoved aside. Contessa and Leadbottom l ik ed top l ay. They nosed me hard, al most k nock ing meover. They wou l d not l eave me al one u ntil I sl ap p edtheir fang-fil l ed snou ts with a hearty hand. Theyl oved rou gh affection. The others were not in needof direct contact, bu t they resp onded to my voiceand gestu res wil l ingl y enou gh. If I shooed themback , they' d go, or they' d come when I cal l ed.Sop hie, thou gh real l y l ik ed me. She wou l d standbeside me, her head dip p ed l ow, and nu z z l e againstmy arm u ntil I p u t it arou nd her neck , then she' dl ean into me with a sigh. She accep ted a heavyp ou nding as cheerfu l l y as the rest, bu t I discoveredher secret sp ot, above her eyes, where a fingernailscratching at her hide wou l d mak e her eyes rol l u pand her shou l ders qu iver. I bel ieve Sop hie wou l dstand stil l forever if onl y someone scratched thatsp ot for her.

The first time D ee saw me and Sop hie in ou rfavorite embrace she said, "That beast' s mind isfil l ed with p u re p l easu re. Y ou have made a friend forl ife, Ju nie Watts."

"D o you think I can ever l earn to tal k to thoats,D ee? "

She had shru gged, as she often did at my qu es-tions since there were no establ ished answers. "I


82

k now this Jasoomian who' d been here over a hu n-dred of you r years. H e can do it. It is a matter ofdirected wil l —and a desire to match. Practice onyou r charges, Ju nie Watts. Who k nows what mayhap p en? "

I had stop p ed scratching when D ee mentionedthe Jasoomian. Sop hie mewl ed u nhap p il y andnu dged me with her snou t. To k eep her qu iet, Iresu med scratching the sensitive area. To the redwoman I sp ok e softl y, "Y ou have met anotherJasoomian? "

D ee came to the fence. H er eyes narrowed fora moment as if she were siz ing me u p , then shesaid: "For reasons I won' t go into, it is best no onebu t you and me k now what I am abou t to tel l you . Iam married to a Jasoomian. That is how I k now you rl angu age. That is how I k now something of Amer-ica, bu t the America you have described to me isnothing l ik e the America tol d to me."

"D id you ru n away from him? "D ee l au ghed su ddenl y, al most girl ishl y. "H eav-

ens, no! I l ove him more than l ife itsel f.""Then why are you here? Why did you hel p

me? " This had trou bl ed me for some time.D ee l owered her eyes for a moment, watching

where her fingers toyed with a sp l inter of sk eelwood forming the rail s of the corral . "Most of al l Iwanted to hel p you . That' s foremost." She l ook ed atme hard, to mak e su re I did not misu nderstand. Ismil ed back , gratefu l to her for I had tru l y been onl yhou rs from death when my red angel ap p eared.

"Bu t there are other reasons why I decidedu p on this cou rse of action rather than others avail -abl e. Y ou see, back home my l ife is fu l l y ordered. I


83

have l ittl e to say abou t my own destiny. Oh, it' s notas bad as that sou nds, I am my own mistress andfew can deny me what I most desire, bu t it is notthe same as being whol l y dep endent u p on one' s ownabil ities. It was that p art of my l ife I wished toex p l ore."

"And I was a hap p y circu mstance? "D ee took my hand with a gentl e smil e. "G irl ,

you were not hap p y and I bel ieve in fate. I wasmeant to find you —and you to find me. We bothhave something the other needs."

"I k now what I need from you , D ee...I needeverything. Bu t what do you need from me? Itsou nds l ik e you have need of nothing."

Sop hie came between u s. I had negl ected theol d thing. "Behave! " I admonished with a hu g. "Offwith you ! " I shooed the thoat away with an armgestu re. With a snort and head shak e, al most l ik e ap ony in a p astu re, Sop hie tu rned inside her body-l ength and dashed to the other side of the corral .

D ee hel p ed me throu gh the rail s and I k ep t hol dof her arm as we wal k ed arou nd the hou se to thestreet. "Y ou didn' t answer me, D ee."

The woman arched a beau tifu l brow and wink -ed. "G etting bol d, are we? "

My eyes grew rou nd. I had forgotten. Oh, dearLord, I had forgotten! I stop p ed abru p tl y and beganto k neel . "Forgive me, mistress. I—"

"Ju nie Watts, you stand this instant! "H er voice was sharp as a k nife and cu t twice as

deep . D ee' s eyes gl ared at me, col d as a Chicagowinter. "Y ou are not my sl ave. Y ou have never beenmy sl ave. Y ou are not H ol k at' s sl ave—if you ever


84

were—and as for that nasty l ittl e Ok arian, he' sdead. D o you u nderstand? "

I nodded qu ick l y, as I k new she wou l d tak e meby the arms and shak e me u ntil I said ' yes' . D eescared me at that moment. She was hard as nail sand fil l ed with su ch instant fu ry that I was afraid.

"Oh, Ju nie Watts," D ee sighed, the anger su d-denl y vanished, "I have frightened you when thatwas the l ast thing I desired. Listen to me, chil d:Y ou are not a sl ave. Y ou are Ju nie Watts."

"Y es ma' am. I al ways have been. Bu t some-times I wasn' t su re. Are you angry with me? "

"For what? " D ee ask ed, p u tting an arm arou ndme. The woman hu gged me briefl y then su rp risedme with a k iss on the cheek . "Y ou are innocent ofwrong, Ju nie Watts. My worl d has treated youharshl y."

"I su p p ose," I said, "bu t so did mine.""H ow do you mean? "I l ook ed away, thou gh I l eaned against her for

comfort. I op ened my mou th several times, bu t nowords came forth. D ee p atted my arm and said,"Some other time, dear. When you ' re ready we' l ltal k ."

"Y es ma' am."* * *Mil ieos was ou t the day a tal l bl ack warrior

wal k ed into the hou se withou t a by-you r-l eave ork nock on the door. H e gl ared at me, being the firstp erson he saw, and he l ook ed down at my bel l y, big,bl ack and shiny as I stood in the tu b at my morningbath.

"Y ou are the Jasoomian creatu re."


85

D ee' s voice, from the k itchen area, cau sed theD ator to tu rn toward her. "Y ou are the boorish Bar-soomian creatu re. G et ou t of this hou se."

"What? ""Y ou have no invitation, nor were instru ctions

l eft to ex p ect a gu est. Ou t." D ee reveal ed the dep thof her seriou sness by step p ing forward, a carvingk nife in hand.

"I am D ator Senca," the bl ack man stammered,tak en aback by D ee' s aggressive behavior.

"Y ou cou l d be K antos K an, Jedwar of the H el i-u metic Navy, bu t that wou l d not ex cu se you r u tterru deness. Ou t! "

D ee stood l ess than two feet away from theman who towered over her. H er body was defiant,the k nife hel d in an u nwavering hand—and it wasdirected toward his nak ed breast. The way she hel dthe k nife he k new she was famil iar with its u se. Icou l d have tol d him abou t the man D ee k il l ed on theroad, bu t somehow, I didn' t think it was necessary.H e back ed away.

"Pardon me. Before I correct my error, whomay you be? "

"I am the k eep er of the hou se of Mil ieos. TheJasoomian is his p atient. Before I cl ose the door onyou , what may you be? "

"I am D ator Senca, the brother of you r master.""No man is my master," D ee rep l ied. "U ntil

you r brother gives p ermission, you r p l ace is beyondthat threshol d." She nodded toward the door with-ou t tak ing her eyes off the man.

D ator Senca was an imp osing figu re. H e wasol der than his brother Mil ieos by at l east a decade.Mil ieos was su p p osed to be over a hu ndred years


86

ol d, bu t I didn' t bel ieve it—he l ook ed thirty-fivep hysical l y, bu t his drink ing and p oor habits had l efthim l ook ing tattered and fifty-ish.

I cou l d see D ator Senca was temp ted to try hisl u ck against the red woman. I al so k new D ee wou l dresp ond to force with force. I did not wish to see myfriend and savior endangered and k il l ing was sinfu l .I distracted them both by step p ing from the tu b andwrap p ing mysel f in a cl oth. I wal k ed behind D atorSenca, which cau sed him to divide his attention. Atthe door, I hel d the p anel invitingl y.

"Pl ease retu rn when you r brother is in resi-dence," I said, u sing the formal sou nding Barsoom-ian p hrases D ee tau ght me. "We have no instru c-tions regarding visitors who are not p atients.Therefore we mu st err on the side of cau tion.Pl ease, sir, l eave with ou r deep est ap ol ogy andresp ect."

For an instant it ap p eared the man was beyondintel l igent reason. Then, with a short l au gh, he re-l ax ed. Senca step p ed back from D ee three p acesbefore showing his back . Facing me he bowedsl ightl y. "My ap ol ogies to the hou se of Mil ieos andhis p atient—and," he added as a del iberatel y off-handed insu l t, "the hired l abor. I shal l retu rn whenMil ieos is home."

The man strode p ast me as smart as any mil i-tary man I' d ever seen. I qu ick l y cl osed the doorbecau se D ee l ook ed fit-to-be-tied.

"I do not l ik e that man," she said. "Thank youfor having the sense I did not. That was very wel ldone, Ju nie Watts."

I was shak ing l ik e a l eaf. D eath had been socl ose j u st a moment before. D eal ing with al l that


87

tension I fel t a general ex asp eration. To D ee Igrowl ed, "' Ju nie' ! My friends cal l me ' Ju nie' , not' Ju nie Watts' . Pl ease cal l me ' Ju nie' ! "

As I went to my room to dress, D ee l oweredher head. "Thank you —Ju nie."

* * *That afternoon there was a k nock at the door.

Look ing toward me, D ee op ened it, her hand on thehil t of a k nife bel ted at her back . A very tal l andimp osing bl ack woman stood on the veranda. H erhair was done u p l ik e those beehives the white girl swere wearing back home, onl y there were j ewel sand chains of p reciou s metal inset in that fancy do.She wore a cl oak wrap p ed l ik e a sarong and metalbracel ets adorned her arms. R ings with gl itteringgems were on her fingers and even her sandal swhere encru sted with j ewel s.

"I am K u l u a," she said with voice l ik e a mu sicbox . "I am Mil ieos' sister. I have a message from mybrother."

D ee op ened the door fu l l y, bu t she did not qu itestep aside. "What is it? " she ask ed with reasonabl ep ol iteness.

"Mil ieos has been del ayed. H e wil l not retu rnhome this evening. H e sent word to me, beingnearest to his p resent l ocation, to advise you ."

"Advise u s of what? " D ee demanded—-againp ol itel y, bu t not giving an inch.

"I do not k now why, bu t D ee' s wariness withthis woman annoyed me. I step p ed in front of myred friend and smil ed at K u l u a. "Pl ease come in. I' msu re it wil l be al l right," I added, l ook ing at D ee.

"Forgive ou r cau tion," I p l eaded of K u l u a, "wehad an u nfortu nate misu nderstanding this morning."


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K u l u a giggl ed, p atting my hand as we satarou nd the tabl e. "So I have heard. Senca came tomy hou se most distressed."

D ee rel ax ed, the reservations gone in an in-stant. "I imagine ' distressed' is too k ind a word."

The bl ack woman smil ed at D ee. "Y ou madequ ite an imp ression on my brother. H e is not ac-cu stomed to su ch conviction and devotion to du ty inmen."

"Mu ch l ess a woman? " D ee added."Ex actl y! Oh, the days when men ru l ed withou t

qu estion are l ong vanished. Since Mil ieos was bornthere have been many women who have risen top l aces of p ower."

"Oh? " I ask ed. "Forgive me, I am not famil arwith Barsoomian history."

"Of cou rse you aren' t," K u l u a said. "Why, l et u ssee," she tap p ed the tabl e top with a l ong fingerwith a wel l -trimmed nail . "There' s Phaidor—she' sdead—Thu via, Tara, D ej ah Thoris, why, evenamong ou r p eop l e there was the dread Issu s whoru l ed over u s for thou sands of years."

D ee had l ook ed startl ed for a moment, bu t Iwas intrigu ed by something K u l u a said, and l aterforgot to ask D ee why she had j u mp ed. "Thou sandsof years? Su rel y you made a misstatement," Isu ggested.

Formal Barsoomian l angu age, which sometimesconfu sed me, was far more intel l igibl e than thegibberish the Ok arian had forced u p on me. "I amnew to this l angu age, p erhap s I misheard you ? "

"We l ive a thou sand years or more. D o you rp eop l e l ive so l ong? "

"No," I said with amaz ement. "Not hardl y at al l ! "


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K u l u a and I began tal k ing—she was so easy total k to and, more imp ortant, she wanted to tal k tome. It was not l ik e tal k ing to D ee, who wanted total k to me, bu t al ways seemed to be monitoringwhat she said. D ee was p l easant and the best friendI had ever had on two worl ds, bu t she hel d some-thing back from me for reasons of her own. K u l u a,on the other hand, was l ik e that op en book . Shebegged to be read and offered su ggestions on whatto read if you r attention wandered for an instant!

I did not real iz e the day had p assed to nightfal lu ntil D ee p u t a p l ate of food before K u l u a and me."Oh my! " I ex cl aimed, "I' ve j u st ru n my mou th non-stop ! I am so sorry, K u l u a! "

"I think I' ve done most of the tal k ing, dear," thebl ack woman cheerfu l l y rep l ied. "Tel l me abou tyou rsel f."

"There is not mu ch to tel l ," I said. "My l ife wasnot as gl amorou s as you rs, nor was I as brave asdear D ee."

K u l u a narrowed her eyes rep rovingl y. "Everyl ife has val u e and su bstance, Ju nie Watts. Thetrou bl e is few p eop l e tak e the time to recogniz e thisimp ortant fact. My l ife as an artist gives p l easu re toothers, bu t I am the artist becau se I can be nothingel se, it is my natu re. D ee is the strong woman, thep erson of great conviction and p u rp ose—oh, do notp rotest, my l ady, you cannot hel p being who you areany more than Mil ieos can ignore the cal l ing of hisp rofession. Tru e, he drink s to ex cess, bu t in that,Ju nie, you have been a p ositive infl u ence."

"Me? " I ask ed, startl ed by the woman' s obser-vations of both the red woman and me. "I have done


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or said nothing to affect any change in you rbrother' s behavior."

"Y ou r chil d and the mystery of l ive birth wassu fficient to arou se his scientific cu riosity, bu t itwas you r hel p l essness and, p aradox ical l y, you rstrength, which affected him the greater. Ou rfather, may ou r first ancestor p rotect him whereverhe may be, al ways tol d u s that one p erson cou l dchange another."

I shook my head. "Bu t I am not l ik e D octorK ing. I have no message. I have no fol l owing, orl ong su ffering p u rp ose to bind others to me. I do noteven have command of this l angu age I u se soinadequ atel y to ex p ress mysel f. H e cou l d bringchange, and that is why he was k il l ed. And that iswhy Bobby K ennedy, l ik e his brother the p resident,was sl ain most fou l ."

I was overcome. I chok ed on these wordswhich evok ed bitter memories of terribl e events. Il ook ed away from K u l u a, nor cou l d I face D ee. "I amnot sp ecial in any way. I have no strength and thereis nothing admirabl e abou t me in any fashion. Iarrived on Barsoom becau se I was weak , becau se Ihad no cou rage. Y ou see, in u tter desp air I took myown l ife becau se I fel t so l ost in a worl d where al lthat was good and decent had been mu rdered. I hadno fu tu re. I had no desire to l ive. I—"

K u l u a stop p ed me by simp l y cl ick ing herfl atware against the p l ate. The sl ight, sharp tone ofmetal against p ottery stil l ed my voice.

"Senca, Mil ieos and me—we are a trio with ou rown su ffering. Ou r mother p erished when I wasnew-hatched and father was too invol ved with cou rtintrigu es at K amtol to do more than ack nowl edge


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ou r ex istence by p roviding gu ardians and tu tors. Isu p p ose we shou l d be gratefu l that he devotedhimsel f to establ ishing Thil u m when K amtol sep a-rated. Thil u m has become his l egacy to u s, hissecond famil y."

"Second? " D ee cl eared the tabl e."Y es," K u l u a answered. "Ou r father original l y

l ived at the Sou th Pol e with the First Born of D or.H e was a p anthan with the Omean su bmarine ser-vice u ntil John Carter and his armies invaded.Father' s first wife was k il l ed at the Temp l e of Issu sdu ring the heaviest fighting—a wal l col l ap sed onher qu arters. Ou r mother was one of Issu s' cap tives.She was the dau ghter of a Odwar hel d to insu re hersire' s obedience. Father rescu ed her and a doz enothers whil e the Warl ord' s armies raz ed the city. H eeventu al l y brou ght them beyond the Otz Mou ntainsand sl ew three Warhoons stu p id enou gh to attackhis grou p . Tak ing their masterl ess thoats, Fathergu ided the fu gitives north across terribl e desertsand emp ty sea bottoms u ntil they reached K amtol .D u ring that j ou rney he fou nd sol ace with thewoman who became ou r mother, bu t when she died,he was many years before he wou l d al l ow himsel f tofeel affection for anyone at al l ."

There was a hint of desol ation in K u l u a' s words,a desol ation I u nderstood, having been sent to l ivewith my grandmother in Jop l in. When a chil d is de-p rived of their p arents' comp any, regardl ess of howwel l they are cared for by others, there is an emo-tional void which cannot be easil y fil l ed. It was mytu rn to give comfort to the el egant bl ack woman.

K u l u a raised her eyes and hel d mine withsteady gaz e. "Y ou r l ife did not end p oorl y, nor have


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you traded bad for worse. Y ou have made a differ-ence on Barsoom. Y ou have saved my brother."

"H e does not notice me, ex cep t as a medicalcu riosity," I frowned.

"H e notices more than you k now. I am here, amI not? "

I su ddenl y recal l ed that K u l u a had come at herbrother' s requ est to l et u s k now—t o l e t m e k n o w ! —that he wou l d not retu rn this evening. I fel t a hotfl u sh cou rse throu gh my veins. No, I reminded my-sel f, it is simp l y a cou rtesy becau se of my condition,not becau se of any affection. Affection I did notneed, or desire.

J u n i e Wa t t s ! I chided mysel f. Y o u s i l l y g i r l !Wh a t m a k e s y o u t h i n k M i l i e o s h a s a n y i n t e r e s t i ny o u ? An d d o y o u w a n t a n y m o r e i n t e r e s t f r o m m e n ?L o o k w h a t t h e y h a v e d o n e t o y o u !

D ee' s p ractical voice interru p ted my thou ght."It is too l ate for you to be on the road home. Y ouwil l stay with u s tonight."

K u l u a nodded. "It is l ater than I thou ght." Shel eaned forward to p at my shou l der. "Y ou are j u st toointeresting to tal k to! "

D ee crossed the room, qu ietl y comp etent asal ways, and K u l u a gasp ed. "Oh, I mean to incl u deyou , D ee. Y ou are the most sel f-p ossessed womanI have ever met. Y ou simp l y reek with au thority."

"I am descended from a l ong bl oodl ine of au -thority figu res. I shal l now ex ercise that au thority:K u l u a, you shal l sl eep u p stairs in you r brother' squ arters. Ju nie, you shal l check you r thoats then offto bed."

"What of you , D ee? " I ask ed. "Wil l you vanishon another of you r noctu rnal j au nts? "


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D ee arched a brow. "So, you p retend sl eep ?Wel l , yes, I shal l be off on one of my noctu rnalj au nts—and you shal l be in bed resting! "

There was a no nonsense tone to her voice thatresu l ted in an invol u ntary "Y es, ma' am" from me.

K u l u a strok ed her chin as she gaz ed at D ee."Thou gh I k now you r typ e, I feel shou l d k now you .Who are you , mysteriou s red woman? "

For a moment D ee l ook ed u nhap p y. "I am Ju nieWatt' s friend. I wou l d l ik e to be you rs as wel l . Y oudo not k now me, bu t you may k now of me. I p rom-ise that when Ju nie has del ivered her chil d and al l iswel l I shal l reveal mysel f to you . I onl y hop e thetru th does not offend."

D ee wal k ed ou t the front door and qu ietl ycl osed it behind, l eaving K u l u a and I to sil entl ywonder at the red woman' s enigmatic statement.

* * *D ee was not in bed, nor was she in the hou se

when I awok e. K u l u a was a gru mp y morning p er-son, bu t her fascination with my rou nd bel l y soonhad her smil ing. She l istened to the baby' s heart-beat throu gh my rotu nd stomach, and the k id k ick edher for her trou bl e.

As I fix ed break fast, K u l u a gathered l inens forthe l au ndry. She tal k ed as she work ed, tel l ing memore abou t Thil u m, its p eop l e, and her brothers.

"Senca is so p omp ou s at times," K u l u a said inresp onse to my comment regarding his visit. "Payhim no mind, ex cep t when there' s a battl e or he' sacting as j u dge. H e can be fair minded when there' sa need, bu t the rest of the time he is too fu l l ofhimsel f."

"Is he married? "


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"H im? H ardl y! " K u l u a l au ghed. "H e viewswomen as a necessary nu isance to p erp etu ate therace. ' Let the other fel l ow do it,' he once observed,' mak e al l the hatchl ings they l ik e—su ffer theirrearing and drain on resou rces. When they are ol denou gh to j oin my gu ard, I wil l mak e a man ou t ofthem.' H e' s real l y too mu ch! "

I l au ghed with K u l u a. "My girl friend' s you ngerbrother is ex actl y the same, bu t I su p p ose he hassome right to feel that way. H e' s six teen and raisingthree l ittl e brothers and a baby sister on his own."

"Their p arents? ""No one k nows who the father is. The mother

is an al cohol ic. She' s p robabl y dru nk hersel f todeath by now."

"Y ou have had a hard l ife," K u l u a symp athiz ed."No worse than most," I honestl y rep l ied. "Of

cou rse, the white fol k s do better, most of themanyway."

I had to ex p l ain "white fol k s" and "racism" and"sl ave mental ity"—which tu rns ou t to be qu ite dif-ferent when you ' re actu al l y a sl ave! I went on to tel lher abou t my granny and how she work ed in a gar-ment factory sweat-shop to mak e enou gh to k eepbody and sou l together.

"She was a grand ol d l ady," I sighed. "At l eastshe l ived to see me get a schol arship to Tu sk ageeU niversity. I took cou rses with an eye towards acareer in nu rsing bu t after granny died things gothard. I tried to k eep u p my tu ition and l iving ex -p enses by work ing as a cl eaning l ady in a hosp ital .What I saw at the hosp ital hel p ed me with what Il earned at school ."


95

K u l u a p au sed at her sel f-ap p ointed task ."Bu t—? "

"There was one, wasn' t there? It is difficu l t fora singl e girl to handl e school , j ob, or her l ife whenthe whol e worl d is p rep aring to go u p in fl ames.Martin Lu ther K ing was dead. Bobby K ennedy wasdead. There were riots and dru gs and bru tal ity.There was war overseas. There were few j obs andtoo many trying to get them.

"I am ashamed to say I l ost faith, I gave u phop e— I took a bottl e of p il l s and k il l ed mysel f."

K u l u a took my shou l ders in both hands andscowl ed at me more fiercel y than D ee or my G ran-ny ever had. "Y ou p assed from you r worl d toou rs—and Barsoom wil l benefit most gratefu l l y."

I wou l dn' t accep t that from K u l u a, for there wasa tone of reverence in her voice that frightened me."I' m a G od-fearin' woman, K u l u a. I k now the differ-ence between deity and hu man—and I am hu man!I was weak and stu p id and hop el ess—and for that Iwas sent to hel l in the northern deserts where afil thy l ittl e Ok arian degraded me every wayimaginabl e—then p imp ed me ou t for cash wheneverhe fou nd bu yers! No, there' s nothing hol y abou twhat hap p ened to me, u nl ess it was hol y retribu tionfor wanting to k il l mysel f."

K u l u a shu shed me. "I have l istened to p riestsand hol y men in my time and what I hear gives meindigestion. Why, I bel ieve you r rel igiou s l eadersmay u se the same emotional sl eight-of-hand be-cau se of what I hear you say. No, Ju nie, I do notbel ittl e you r bel iefs—at l east not intentional l y—bu tI do not bel ieve in a cau sative higher p ower thanou rsel ves."


96

"If that is tru e, then how is it I am here? ""Y ou are here becau se it is where you r heart

desired to be. There is nothing mystical abou t themetap hysical : it is simp l y the manifestation of theinner core ex p ressing itsel f."

I smil ed then, remembering my granny rock ingon her p aint-p eel ed p orch with a bowl of snap p easin her l ap . H er gnarl ed and arthritic hands work edwithou t consciou s su p ervision as she had tal k ed tome, eyes bright behind thick eyegl asses, "Ju nie, ifyou want something, wish for it. Wish with al l you rmight and it wil l come tru e."

If my wish was to come to Barsoom, to findH ol k at, D ee, K u l u a and Mil ieos, then I obviou sl ymu st have some might fu nny wishes!

* * *K u l u a went home wel l before the noon hou r.

Mil ieos had not retu rned and there was l ittl e l eft forme to do. I went ou t back to see the thoats. Theycrowded the fence as u su al , ex tending their u gl ysnou ts for a caress or thu mp .

The thoat D ee favored was not there. I did notk now where she went on her rides. I had al so neverask ed her, being too u ncertain abou t my statu s andnatu ral l y shy abou t p rying. D ee wou l d have qu es-tioned me fu l l y were the p osition reversed, bu t in atactfu l and su p p ortive way. No, I had never ask edwhere she went in the p ast, bu t I su re wished I hadsince this was the l ongest she had ever been awayfrom Mil ieos' hou se.

D ee was never l ate p rep aring meal s. I bel ieveit was a matter of p ride that a bargain made was abargain honored. Whatever she did in her other l ife,the l ife before she ap p ointed hersel f my gu ardian


97

angel , it was cl ear she was not a cook . The meal swere nu tritional and of su itabl e taste, yet theyl ack ed imagination or visu al ex citement.

Bu t my concern for D ee' s whereabou ts was notcentered arou nd the woman' s cook ing sk il l s or thefact that she had ridden ou t on Sop hie l ast night,rather I fou ght a growing u nease that somethingmight have hap p ened to her.

The thoats grew restl ess as I stru ggl ed withmy distress. Latel y it seemed I might have gainedsome smidgen of tel ep athic sk il l s, for the greatbeasts often did as I thou ght before I made gestu rewith hand or voice. Maybe my distress, l ik e thatmental moan D ee tol d me abou t which came fromal l those sick p eop l e in the p ariah section of Jhu ma,was u p setting the thoats. Maybe it was my imagina-tion, bu t whatever it was, it was u p to me to cal mthe creatu res for they cou l d easil y destroy the cor-ral and ru n into the desert if they were u nhap p y orfel t threatened.

Big G u n and Leadbottom shook their massiveheads and wal k ed off, shou l dering throu gh thesmal l er thoats. R ebel and Top p er ignored me, theyu su al l y did. D u k e, Star and Ju l iet final l y qu ieted andI back ed away, think ing soothing thou ghts, u ntil Iwas in the hou se.

Two z odes p assed. D ee had showed me how toread a Barsoomian chronometer. A z ode fel t l ik etwo hou rs to me, bu t I wasn' t su re. I onl y k new itwas a l ong time. D ee shou l d have been back hou rsago. I k ep t l ook ing for her coming down the narrowstreet, p erched astride Sop hie' s thick neck , bu t eachtime I l ook ed ou t I was disap p ointed.


98

On the fou rth or fifth time I had step p ed ou t thefront door, I heard the back door bang as a hot bl astof l ate afternoon wind scorched the val l ey whereThil u m l ay.

"D ee! " I cal l ed, ru nning into the hou se. "D ee,where have you —"

It was Mil ieos. H e was drawn and haggard. H istravel cl oak was a different col or becau se of thethick coating of du st. H is step was weary as hedrop p ed bag and harness on the tabl e.

"Not D ee, Ju nie Watts. Mil ieos. That means nodinner has been p rep ared." H e smil ed, thou gh hewas fatigu ed more than I had ever seen, he at-temp ted to be l ight in sp irit.

"It means worse than that," I said as cal ml y asI cou l d. "D ee l eft l ast night and she has not re-tu rned."

Mil ieos straightened instead of sitting at thetabl e. "She is not in town? "

I shook my head. "I have not l eft the hou se, bu tI do not think so."

The doctor p ick ed u p his harness and beganp u tting it back on. "I' l l tak e a l ook . I k now the p l acesshe hau nts. Y ou stay here in case she retu rns."

I nodded, thou gh it was the thing I l east wishedto do. "Pl ease find her."

Mil ieos accep ted the rou gh sandwich of hardbread and fl ak ed fish I thru st into his l arge hand.

"I wil l find her," he p romised."G od sp eed," I whisp ered as the bl ack Bar-

soomian headed for the thoat corral .


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MMMM U N D A N E TO U N D A N E TO U N D A N E TO U N D A N E TO MMMM U R D E R O U SU R D E R O U SU R D E R O U SU R D E R O U S

A farmer had to have his l eg sp l inted becau sehis assistant had commanded a z itidar to sit withou tk nowing his master' s whereabou ts. The fel l ow hadbeen cu rsing with I arrived and was cu rsing when Idep arted, thou gh it was good-natu red and directedequ al l y at himsel f as wel l as the hel p er. Ou r p eop l eare as fair as they are war-l ik e, which means wefind moments of amu sement even when the obj ectof derision is ou rsel ves. Earl ier in the day I hadex p ended a modicu m of my medical sk il l s and somesu tu re to stitch u p a smal l chil d' s p et sorak bitten byan u l sio in a thoat barn. I u sed the travel betweenincidents to p onder other events that had so greatl yal tered the bl eak ex istence to which I had becomeaccu stomed. I now recogniz ed having begu n a p athdownward toward sel f-destru ction. I was not qu itep rep ared to admit two u ninvited bits of chaos hadcau sed that p ath veer in another direction.

The words of my brother came back to me, andI fou nd them to be rel ics of a p ast when the FirstBorn were Lords of the Sea of Omean. The worl d


10 0

had changed dramatical l y, thank s to the JasoomianJohn Carter, and now another Jasoomian had cometo change my worl d. Becau se my hou se was againfil l ed with l ife, a fl irtation with death no l ongerseemed reasonabl e. Life had bl oomed anew—al lbecau se of that damnabl e woman Ju nie Watts andher comp anion, the mysteriou s D ee!

With no u rging on my p art the thoat movedsteadil y al ong the famil iar trail home. I sensed thecreatu re' s desire to reu nite with its stabl emates andthat sent my mind toward fu rther sel f-refl ection.What was it abou t Ju nie Watts that so intrigu ed me?Was it her sk il l as a nu rse, her rap p ort with thethoats, her u niqu e condition, or p erhap s her ex oticbeau ty, bl oated as it was by her imminent concep -tion? I l au ghed at the l atter. Poor, Ju nie, with herstomach distended beyond bel ief, and fl u id retentionbal l ooning her feet was qu ite the obj ect of desire.No dou bt the girl wou l d bel ieve the man whothou ght thu s was mental l y deficient becau se shewas so fru strated with her own condition; yet, therewas something attractive abou t her. More imp or-tantl y, her marred charms mask ed an iron wil l anda p ersonal determination that seemed to gather instrength each day she l ived in my hou se.

D ee, of cou rse, was resp onsibl e for the Jasoom-ian' s edu cation and increasing sel f-rel iance. Ju nieWatts had been qu ite su bdu ed when the two arrivedat Thil u m. The girl had reveal ed to me onl y a p artof her ex p eriences since she came to Barsoom—and what l ittl e I k new had been drear and del eteri-ou s. The red woman, when she was not chiding mefor drink or sl ovenl y behavior, took sp ecial effort tobol ster the bl ack girl ' s confidence and sel f-image.


10 1

"Y ou are as good as anyone, Ju nie," D ee wou l dsay. "H ol d you r head u p , girl ! "

I agreed, thou gh I had l earned earl y to k eep myop inions to mysel f when the red woman was abou t.Observatons which were not of a medical natu rewere not desired by D ee. The woman irritated mewith her hau ghtiness. Most irritatingl y she wasu su al l y right—damn her!

My thoat step p ed more l ivel y as we nearedThil u m. The animal sensed a trou gh of moss andthe comp anionship of its fel l ows in the corral behindthe hou se. I, too, sensed a cool ing wash to removethe road du st, and anticip ated a hot meal from thestove. We entered the town when most were attheir meal s, the streets deserted and the noise ofdail y activity done for the day. Stil l , my vil l a was tooqu iet as I tu rned the thoat into the corral .

Ju nie met me at the door. "D ee is not here."I carried my bag into the hou se. "The red

woman traverses the val l ey as if she were its over-l ord. She has j u st fou nd someone el se to bedevil ."

The Jasoomian woman narrowed her eyes. "Bu tshe is al ways back in time to p rep are a meal . It isnot l ik e her to so l ate, Mil ieos."

H ad D ee tired of the ru stic l ife of Thil u m? Idou bted it. The honor of the red woman was ex cru -ciatingl y high. She wou l d rather die than abandon afriend, and she was most assu redl y a friend of Ju nieWatts. I, who continu al l y dishonored mysel f and mydep arted famil y throu gh my dissip ations, fou nd thisu ntarnished attribu te of the red woman' s to be anex coriating circu mstance. I did not find her u np l eas-ant, bu t the l esson she tau ght by ex amp l e shamed


10 2

me considerabl y. So mu ch so, in fact, that I had al lbu t abandoned the bottl e these l ast few days.

Night had gathered and that, with Ju nie' s imp or-tu nities, cau sed me to tak e down my radiu m rifl efrom above the mantl e. I handed it to the womanand bade her to fol l ow. At the corral I saddl ed afresh thoat, the one she had given the atrociou s Ja-soomian name "Leadbel l y." When I tu rned to tak ethe rifl e from her, I saw that she had harnessed asecond thoat and was cl u msil y attemp ting to mou ntit. H er massive abdomen made that task imp ossibl eand, u nder different circu mstances, I might havebeen temp ted to l au gh.

"What are you doing? " I demanded, shoving therifl e barrel into the saddl e boot.

"I come with," she rattl ed off in bad Barsoom-ian. "D o we get tal l in saddl e l ik e John Wayne? "

"Who? " I had no time for her Jasoomian col l o-qu ial isms. "Y ou cannot accomp any me. Y ou r condi-tion is too del icate."

Ju nie Watts faced me, then, her eyes narrowed,her l ip s comp ressed. Su ddenl y her forefinger p ain-fu l l y j abbed my breast. "Y ou r head' s gonna bedel icate time I get throu gh," she p romised. "D ee' sin trou bl e. She hel p me. I hel p her."

I op ened my mou th to p rotest, then su ddenl yreal iz ed I was u nabl e to think of a comp el l ing rea-son she shou l d stay. In that instant the Jasoomiank new she had won. In a softer voice she ask ed,"Wil l you hel p a l ady on her thoat? "

I boosted the bl ack girl into the saddl e. She hadchosen a thoat that was a comp arativel y gentl ecreatu re that readil y obeyed her vocal commands.Leadbel l y, however, gaz ed bal efu l l y at me as I


10 3

mou nted. I sp ent a fraction of time tel ep athical l yasserting my wil l over the creatu re. "Where to,Ju nie Watts? "

"The mark et, first, I su p p ose," Ju nie rep l ied.I attemp ted conversation du ring the short ride,

al ways interested in Ju nie Watts' u niqu e p oint ofview. H er intrigu ing mu rders of the l angu age andthe stimu l u s of her p resence was far su p erior to theal cohol ic haz e I u su al l y fou nd mysel f in by this timeof day.

"H ow were the thoats today? " I ask ed."Fair to middl ing," she rep l ied. "Leadbottom

moves l ik e a snail ex cep t when dinner' s coming.Sop hie, here, she' s my sweetie. The way Contessa' stwitching her tail -p addl e, I ex p ect you ' l l be handingou t cigars soon."

"What are cigars? " I ask ed, k nowing it wassome Jasoomian trink et.

"Cigars are made from tobacco l eaves. They drythem ou t and rol l them u p real tight. Then, p eop l esmok e them."

"Y ou mean, they smok e them and eat them? ""No, no, they l ight one end and k eep it bu rning

by inhal ing on the other end.""What is the p u rp ose of this? D oes the bu rning

end ap p ear fearsome in battl e? "She l au ghed a deep and warm l au gh at that. It

reminded me so mu ch of my wife' s l au gh, thou ghJu nie' s was l ess refined— which made it seem moregenu ine.

"Not in battl e, bu t I do remember SergeantFu ry in the comics chewing one. Peop l e think in-hal ing the smok e is rel ax ing. I al ways thou ght thatcigars smel l ed l ik e bu rning manu re. The ol d men


10 4

back home u sed to fog u p the p orch. I al waysthou ght they l ook ed l ik e they were p u ffing on bigtu rds."

That image cau sed me to l au gh. "I wou l d thinkthat inhal ing this smok e wou l d be harmfu l ."

"Oh, there' s been some stu dies that say it is,bu t the p eop l e that mak e cigars have p u t a l ot ofmoney in the p ock ets of a l ot of official s, and so j u stabou t anybody can go l ight u p withou t any p rob-l em."

I chose not to remark u p on that form of socialbribery which ap p ears no different on Jasoon as itdoes on Barsoom. Some bu sinesses are best con-du cted by j u diciou sl y greasing the way with dona-tions or gifts—thou gh they are rarel y either—top ol iticians or official s. Fortu natel y Thil u m was notl arge enou gh to have attracted that breed of en-trep enu er, thou gh I did not dou bt that their l ik ewou l d find u s if the town continu ed to p rosp er.

We rode into the mark et. Most merchants werecl osing their shop s, so instead of going from bu il d-ing to bu il ding and p erhap s missing vital news, Ical l ed ou t, "H ail , merchants of Thil u m," I began."H as any of you seen the red woman k nown as D eethis day? "

One wel l -fed individu al came ou t his door, asmirk u p on his face. "Aye, Mil ieos, p hysician ofThil u m," said K u l tis Than, a sel l er of j ewel ry. Sincefine j ewel ry was scarce, he was abl e to commandhigh p rices. "I have seen the woman."

"H ow l ong ago? " I demanded."Mid-afternoon, I su p p ose," the j ewel er rep l ied

l angu idl y. "I can' t recal l the ex act x at and x ode. She


10 5

wanted a sp ecial item made for you r gu est, thatwoman with the p arasite in her stomach."

Ju nie Watts said nothing, thou gh her backstiffened. The man' s del iberate ru deness p rick edme. "Y ou p omp ou s fool ! " I seethed. "She does nothave a p arasite. The Jasoomian is having an off-sp ring after the manner of her race. Where did thered woman go? "

"Y ou wou l d not be so hau ghty if you r brotherwas not dator," sniffed K u l tis Than. "The womanwanted me to constru ct something cal l ed a ' p acifier'from sil ver. She said that she had heard that sil verhas a cool ing effect on infants who are growing theirteeth. Everybody k nows chil dren come ou t of theshel l with teeth."

"Not Jasoomian chil dren," I said, "bu t this is nota su bj ect interest at the p resent time. Where didthe woman go? "

"Bu t it is of great interest to al l of Thil u m,Mil ieos," the j ewel er grinned sardonical l y. "Y ouhave strange friends, doctor. A mysteriou s redwoman with the mein of a j eddara and a deformedJasoomian—oh, the stories which..."

The obj ect of those stories, the you ng Amer-ican girl , su ddenl y sp ok e. "Stop tal k ing as if Iweren' t here. I k now you al l think I have got some-thing wrong with me becau se my bel l y' s bl owed ou tso big, bu t that' s the way it is. Y ou al l have thesel ittl e eggs and they grow u ntil the k ids come ou tready for first grade, bu t not u s. We can' t wal k , tal k ,or eat sol id food for months."

"Ah, that ex p l ains the sil ver," K u l tis Than be-gan.


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Ju nie sil enced him with a gl are. "I don' t k nowwhere she got that story abou t sil ver from."

The j ewel er rep l ied: "She said the famou s JohnCarter, Warl ord of Barsoom, once saw his nep hewteething on a p iece of sil ver money with a ribbontied to it."

Lik e the girl beside me, I was growing imp a-tient. The hou r was l ate, and it real l y was not l ik eD ee to be gone this l ong. "Enou gh! " I cu t in. "D idthe woman say where she was going? "

Scowl ing, K u l tis Than rep l ied, "She said thatshe was going for a ride, p erhap s to find you and askyou something abou t a ' ru bber nip p l e' I think shesaid. Shal l I continu e to work on the ' p acifier' ? "

"Y es, if she bade you constru ct one," I said."Which way did she head? "

K u l tis Than grinned mal iciou sl y and shru gged.H is manner was so disagreeabl e I had to force myhand to stay from the hil t of my short sword.

Another merchant, who sol d handmade gl ass-ware from a modest stal l , step p ed forward. "Thatway, nobl e p hysician," he said, p ointing eastward. "Isaw her ride p ast, and she was whistl ing a songfrom H el iu m, u nl ess I miss my gu ess."

"H ow wou l d you k now? " I demanded. Thistidbit cou l d not be denied.

"I once travel l ed there as an itinerant mer-chant," the fel l ow answered. "I had a cart and tradedgl assware between the Lesser and G reater, andH astor and the nearby city-states fol l owing thep eace of the Warl ord. Bu t the constant j ou rney be-came wearying, so I came here to be with myp eop l e."


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"Thank you for you r hel p ," I said, ignoringK u l tis Than, who had al ready re-entered his shop inthe meantime. Tu rning to the girl I nodded, "Let u sdep art, Ju nie Watts."

We took the eastern road ou t of Thil u m, thedirection indicated by the sel l er of gl assware.

"That was some good cross-ex amination, Mil i-eos," Ju nie Watts al l owed. "Perry Mason cou l dn' thave done better."

"What sort of Jasoomian is he? " I wondered,wishing ferventl y for a drink to steady me, bu tk nowing that I wou l d be u sel ess if I indu l ged.

"H e' s a l awyer I u sed to watch on tel evision.""And what, p ray tel l , is a ' l awyer? ' " I braced

mysel f for another absu rd l ook at Jasoom. I wasbeginning to wonder how so strange a race cou l dp rodu ce a warrior as mighty a warrior as JohnCarter.

"A l awyer is you r rep resentative in l egal mat-ters," she ex p l ained. "H e defends you at trial s, andwrites wil l s and deeds to p rop erty. H e al so su esp eop l e for you ."

"So, he is p art scribe, and p art defender. Whatis ' su e p eop l e? ' "

"That' s when you want to squ eez e money ou t ofsomebody for doing you wrong. Let' s say somebodywent arou nd saying that you were a qu ack ."

"A what? ""A qu ack , a sham doctor. Y ou cou l d get a l awyer

and su e the p ants off him. Y ou get money and hehas to ap ol ogiz e, too."

"What a ridicu l ou s way to settl e a matter." Itwas my tu rn to l au gh. Ju nie Watts had again su c-ceeded in removing the gl oom from my shou l ders.


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"If someone so defamed me, I wou l d chal l enge themto a du el and that wou l d settl e the matter,"

"That sort of thing wou l d tend to redu ce theback l og in the cou rts," she admitted.

We p roceeded to visit some of the farms in theindicated direction, bu t had no l u ck . It was if D eehad vanished.

I mu sed over the information on her I hadgathered from the merchants. So, she was famil iarwith the mu sic of H el iu m, and was on intimateenou gh terms with John Carter to discu ss Jasoom-ian chil d-rearing. This confirmed my su sp icions thatshe was some cou rtesan from a nobl e famil y. Thetemp eratu re drop p ed as night began to l engthen;Cl u ros began his mad dash after Thu ria across thegl oom. H aving no su ccess, we stop p ed at mybrother' s vil l a to p rocu re fu rs that wou l d be p roofagainst the chil l of evening. H e was not yet in bed,and his face was twisted into a sardonic smil e as Iwas annou nced to him.

"H o, brother, what brings you ou t u p on thisnight? " H e greeted.

"Senca, I need you r hel p ," I retu rned, and ou t-l ined the events of the l ast hou rs tersel y.

"If the red woman is so fool ish as to ventu re ou twhere she does not bel ong, what bu siness is it ofou rs? " Senca snorted after I had finished. "She istoo high-born for my tastes."

"Is this the D ator of Thil u m who sp eak s thu s,or a boorish cad from the dep ths of Omean? " I shotback . "Where is you r famil y honor, brother? Thewoman is u nder my p rotection, and thu s you rs aswel l ."


10 9

H is face l ost its hu mor and I k new my barb hadstru ck home.

"D o not reach too far, p resu ming u p on you rbrotherhood and service to this val l ey," he grated."Imp u gn my honor again, and we shal l crossswords."

"Perhap s I sp ok e hastil y," I admitted. "The factthat she is dear to Ju nie Watts is enou gh to send meou t, thou gh I might face a doz en banths."

Senca cl ap p ed his hands for his servants toobey and ordered them to find fu rs, as wel l as p acka case of rations. H is smil e retu rned at my l astremark . "Beware, brother. Y ou al most sou nd l ik eone who is in l ove."

"Now it is you who p resu me too mu ch," Isnap p ed qu ick l y. "The memory of my wife is stil lstrong."

"Onl y becau se you do not rep l ace it with an-other. Y ou r fu rs are ready."

"That' s good," came Ju nie' s voice from thedoorway. "I got tired of shivering ou t there. Y ou al ldon' t k now nothing abou t p rop er cl othes for theweather. Icicl es were beginning to form on mybel l y."

The banter between my brother and mysel f wasbrok en. H e tou ched my arm l ightl y.

"Withou t hel p , you wil l thrash bl indl y in thedark ness," he said. "I wil l l end you one of mycal ots."

So saying, he cal l ed to a retainer to bring forthPyu gha, one of his favorite cal ots. The squ at crea-tu re came forward with a congenial waddl e, andimmediatel y sat at its master' s command.


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"Pyu gha," ordered Senca. "Y ou wil l go with mybrother, and search ou t whom he seek s. Obey himas you wou l d me." H e tu rned to me. "H e is al lyou rs, Mil ieos. I su ggest you get an articl e that thered woman has tou ched."

"At once, D ator! " I sal u ted brisk l y, smil ing. H esmil ed back and with a wave, bid u s farewel l . Ihel p ed Ju nie remou nt, p erhap s l ingering too l ong asmy hands tou ched her soft, dark fl esh. I fel t that Ineeded to p rotect her. We swiftl y trotted back andretrieved one of D ee' s sl eep ing fu rs. I p u t it u nderPyu gha' s fl aring nostril s, and he immediatel y tu rnedu p on his many heel s and gal l op ed away. It was al lwe cou l d do to fol l ow him on ou r thoats.

The cal ot l ed u s throu gh Thil u m, and ou t of theval l ey toward the foothil l s beyond. Normal l y, theyare beau tifu l this time of year, and mak e for arel ax ing ride. Ju st when I thou ght we had l ost himin the bl ack ness, he came bou nding back , tu gging atmy stirru p with his great teeth. From his agitation,I got the imp ression that something was amissahead. I stop p ed, and Ju nie stop p ed beside me.

"The beast senses danger."I sl id from my mou nt and removed my radiu m

rifl e from its boot. I check ed my sword, bu t re-moved my p istol and handed it to Ju nie. "Can youu se one of these? " I whisp ered.

"Y ou p oint it and p u l l the trigger," she said,nervou s. "What' s u p ? "

"I wil l go forward with the cal ot and see. Y oustay and gu ard the thoats. H ow are you feel ing? "

"Lik e I been k ick ed by a z itidar. My stomach' sfeel ing hard."

"R el ax and I wil l be back soon."


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I had no idea what to mak e of her symp toms,assu ming them to be normal for a Jasoomian. Withthe faithfu l Pyu gha at my side, I crep t forward, andsaw an ou tcrop p ing of bou l ders ahead. Beyondthem, I saw the faint gl ow of a camp fire. As steal th-il y as p ossibl e, I made my way to the bou l ders.Sneak ing a p eek , I was horrified to see two War-hoons, l eisu rel y cook ing a meal over a camp fire. Toone side, tied secu rel y with eyes sp ewing hatred,was the the red woman D ee. Beyond, I saw threethoats tied u p .

I was rel ieved that their massive sp ears andradiu m rifl es were stil l booted u p on their saddl es.Ap p arentl y, thou gh the Warhoons were ready tomove at an instant' s notice, they had l et down theirgu ard in this remote hol l ow in the hil l s.

I inched forward, l ook ing for a fl at area tosteady my rifl e. H atred for the Warhoons boil ed u pin me. Again, I sawthe dead faces of myfamil y, smashed bythe p l u ndering greendevil s. There wou l dbe no hesitation. Iwas p rep ared to cu tthem down as theysat before the fire.One went to oneside to rel ieve him-sel f. I worried thatthe thoats wou l dp ick u p the scent ofthe cal ot. I raised myrifl e and p rep ared to


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fire when a scrap e of l eather against rock cau sed meto tu rn.

"Aha, what have we here? " came a boomingvoice.

I fou nd mysel f facing a Warhoon, toweringabove me at twice my height. H is sword gl eamed inthe moonl ight, and there was mu rder in the bl ood-red iris of his ovoid eyes. So, the third thoat washis, and not D ee' s! I cu rsed mysel f for not p ayingcl oser attention to detail . I l ifted the barrel of myrifl e to defl ect his bl ow, k nowing that I was p roba-bl y l ost. Whatever I had nebu l ou sl y fel t abou t a fu -tu re with Ju nie was abou t to end.

Sou ndl essl y, Pyu gha l au nched himsel f at myantagonist from one side, his needl e-l ik e teethembedding themsel ves in the Warhoon' s neck whil ehis cl aws rak ed the green man' s sword arm so thathis bl ade cl attered to the grou nd. H e attemp ted todraw his p istol , bu t the cal ot' s weight bore him tothe grou nd. I tu rned and saw the other Warhoonswere coming to investigate. I took aim with my rifl eand disp atched both of them as they cl awed for theirswords. This was no du el . I was fighting for my l ife,and ex acting p ayment for my l oss. A thou sand War-hoons cou l d not have brou ght me sol ace enou gh forwhat one had accomp l ished.

R etu rning to the first Warhoon, I fou nd himredu ced to a bl oody corp se. Pyu gha had torn ou t histhroat. Q u ick l y, I ordered him back to Ju nie. Then,I l eap ed into the camp site and rel eased the redwoman from her bonds with my shortsword.

"H ow did you find me? " she demanded.


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"Y ou may thank the resou rces of my brother,Senca," I tol d her as she chafed her wrists to retu rnfeel ing to them. "H ow did this hap p en? "

"I was riding in the hil l s, when I ran into thisp arty mu ch farther ou t. They su rrou nded me and Iwas u nabl e to fight back . My thoat got away, bu t I' mnot su re where she went. I think I commanded herto go to the wrong p l ace. She is p robabl y bou ndingdown the K aol ian road by now. The Warhoons weremak ing a reconaissance of you r vil l age. They brag-ged abou t their horde arriving in a week to wip eThil u m off the map . They are qu ite mad for p l u n-der."

"Wel l , at l east we have some warning. Can youride? "

"Y es.""G ood. Tak e one of these thoats, and I wil l l ead

the other two. Instead of them p l u ndering u s, wehave p l u ndered them. What is that awfu l smel l ? "

She indicated the fire. "They were short onrations and l oath to eat their own mou nts. Two ofthem went ou t and retu rned with p art of a whiteap e."

"They are indeed desp arate. Wel l , I can addthree more to the score against my famil y." I u ntiedthe thoats and waited whil e she mou nted, then l edthe other two by their harnesses p ast the rock s andback to Ju nie, who hel d her p istol ou t in both handswhen we ap p roached.

"D ee! " She hol l ered. "Y ou OK ? ""I am fine," D ee assu red her. "I met with some

Warhoons, bu t it was to their sorrow.""That' s good, becau se we got to get back .""Why? "


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"Wel l , you see, whil e I was waiting, I got thesep ains, and then I thou ght I had wet mysel f, bu t itsj u st too mu ch water, y' see. I gu ess it was al l thisriding."

"Y ou mean — ? " I began."I mean the baby' s coming. My water sac brok e

and the l abor p ains have started. I figu re we got afew hou rs, and I have to ride sl ow."

D ee, for once, ap p eared disconcerted, thou ghj u st moments before she had showed nothing bu tgrim resol u tion as a cap tive of the Warhoons.

Ju nie Watts chu ck l ed. "Are you gonna standthere l ook ing sil l y or are you gonna get on thatthoat?


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TTTT H E H E H E H E SSSS E C R E T I N E C R E T I N E C R E T I N E C R E T I N TTTT H E H E H E H E HHHH I L L SI L L SI L L SI L L S

Breathl ess from the near encou nter with death,I was more concerned for Ju nie Watts' wel l -beingthan my own. "Are you having the chil d now? " Iask ed. Mil ieos and the cal ot ap p roached. Thep hysician-warrior was equ al l y interested in theJasoomian' s resp onse.

"I think so," the girl hesitated. "Maybe. Oh, I donot k now! "

Mil ieos boosted me onto a Warhoon thoat thenmou nted the other. H is thoat, I cou l d not recal lwhat name Ju nie Watts had given it, bru shed cl oseto the bl ack woman, al most as if it were p rotectingher. Mil ieos gl anced at u s from his vantage p oint onthe hu ge thoat. With a softl y-voiced reassu rance toJu nie Watts, the man voiced a combination ofmental and voice command to the cal ot. "Thil u m,"he ended and the p owerfu l cal ot, as u nl ovel y asp ecimen of the breed as I' ve ever seen, bou ndedahead.

The doctor and I cl osel y watched the you ngwoman. We k new what to ex p ect from conversa-


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tions with Ju nie Watts bu t remained sk ep ticalwhether we wou l d recogniz e the symp toms ofJasoomian chil d birth. The woman did not ap p earu ndu l y discomforted as the thoats moved swiftl ythrou gh the dark ness. H er p ains seemed to su bsideand, thou gh I ex p ressed some concern over that,Mil ieos was confident there was no danger.

I tru sted the First Born in things medical —hiscomp etency as a p hysician had been disp l ayedseveral times since ou r arrival . H is sk il l s were evenmore imp ressive when he was sober, a conditionmore u su al than dru nk enness. The man was al somore p l easant to be arou nd when sobriety ru l ed. H ehad a natu ral friendl iness and civil ity that was qu iteendearing. Now, my gru dging admiration was againstirred, for his sk il l as a warrior, p erhap s merel ycomp etent comp ared to the consu mmate artistry ofJohn Carter' s sword, had nonethel ess been theinstru ment of my del iverance.

The cal ot raced across the narrow band of l evelgrou nd between the foot hil l s and the u p p er forest.Moments l ater the hu man riders bent forward top ass beneath the occasional l ow branch as ou r grou pmoved u nder the thick forest canop y. The starswere occu l ted by fol iage overhead, not even theshifting l ight of Thu ria and Cl u ros cou l d p enetratethe dense dark ness, bu t fortu natel y for my nerves,so recentl y stressed, the band of forest was notex tensive. Less than a x at l ater we were again inthe op en, stil l p roceeding down sl op e toward theriver basin.

My thoat navigated the tu mbl ed rock north ofThil u m with l ittl e or no gu idance from me. That l eftme with time to contemp l ate my near bru sh with


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death or worse, and to real iz e I may have been tooharsh j u dging Thil u m' s p hysician. It was tru e Mil i-eos had been l ess than cordial with me, bu t this wasmost l ik el y in resp onse to my cu rt behavior towardhim. My hu sband once confided p rivatel y, in thatwondrou s tongu e of his: "Y ou can be su ch a bitch ifyou do not get you r way."

In my most honest sel f-ap p raisal s I shou l dfreel y admit to the Warl ord' s sentiment. My desireto hel p Ju nie Watts came as a damn-you -al l deci-sion, qu ite sel fish and, again honestl y, normal forme. The greater tru th, however, is that I sel domaccorded mysel f su ch l atitu de becau se I tru l y l ovemy hu sband and do have the interests of my su b-j ects near and dear to my heart.

Back home I wou l d drive a secretary craz y withrap id fire demands, or send off-du ty gu ards onerrands of great imp ort to no one bu t me. The thoatstu mbl ed, most u nu su al , bu t recovered with hardl ya break in stride. My thou ghts, onl y temp oraril ydistracted, retu rned to that sel f-ex amination.

H aving a conscience can be su ch a bu rdensomep ain!

H el iu m is at p eace, or more at p eace than everin my memory. So wel l was I now p rotected byhu sband and famil y that no threat to my p erson hadbeen p ossibl e. Living a comp arativel y qu iet l ife in anation p u rsu ing the benefits of p eacefu l trade, I hadbecome a figu rehead to my p eop l e; a symbol of theroyal famil y' s continu ity. Y et, I was p rivatel y u n-hap p y. My son was rarel y in H el iu m these days. Imight see him for a few hou rs between sessionswith the government or manu factu rers imp l ement-ing the marvel ou s inventions and mechanical


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designs he created. Thu via al most never came tothe city—her interests were centered on wil dl ifestu dies, p articu l arl y the decl ine of several sp eciesof p rey animal s favored by banths. "If the top p reda-tor of Barsoom has no p rey," she decl ared in al etter, "the p redator wil l seek new p rey—and wil lru n afou l of man' s interest shou l d that hap p en. I wil lnot see a nobl e animal p erish."

My dau ghter had resp onsibil ities as G athol ' sj eddara, and she, more than me, took an active handin governing her hu sband' s p eop l e. G ahan wasbetter served by Tara than John Carter had everbeen served by me. I am, p erhap s, a trifl e j eal ou s ofmy chil dren. They have accomp l ished more in theirl ives than I have in mine. I was born to the royal —as were they—bu t Carthoris and Tara have theirfather' s Jasoomian bl ood, his drive and ambition, andthey have done so mu ch more with their start inl ife!

I had determined to hel p Ju nie Watts becau seshe needed hel p —bu t I had al so rebel l ed againstthe restraints, real or imaginary, which bind mysp irit. I have been angry with John Carter for sometime, angry that the bu rning p assion which cau sedhim to set a whol e p l anet afire j u st to obtain me,had diminished or been diverted by real l ife. I haveno dou bts that John Carter l oves me as deep l y as atany time in his l ife, no dou bts at al l , bu t I al so k nowthat the fever of ou r first years has su bsided and itis I, not my V irginian or the worl d, who mu st l earnto l ive with that.

I shifted p osition on the thoat' s back . My bodyached from the rou gh handl ing of my cap tors. I hadnot ex p ected an ambu sh and I had p aid for that l ack


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of p rep aredness. The animal I rode was far fromnobl e; his green master had negl ected it harshl y,treated it with del iberate viol ence, and threatenedto eat it on more than one occasion. The l ow bandtel ep athic emanations from the creatu re' s dim brainwere distressing—annoyingl y so.

To mental l y castigate the creatu re wou l d be thegreen man' s method of sil encing the beast, bu t I hadl ong before l earned from my hu sband that k indnessal ways yiel ds greater resu l ts. H is faithfu l cal otWool a and the stabl e of handsome, eager thoats atthe cou ntry estate were p roof of his teachings. Isent a cal ming thou ght to qu iet the animal , andabru p tl y real iz ed I had not given Mil ieos, a man, thesame consideration. When he wasn' t drink ing,Mil ieos was qu ite the host—-even in the face of myacerbic tongu e.

As if my thou ght of the First Born had beentel ep athical l y overheard, thou gh I was never so l axin control l ing my mind shiel d, the doctor ask ed,"H ow fare you ,. D ee? No harm? "

I sighed u nhap p il y. "Onl y to my dignity. Andsir," I sp ok e sincerel y, "thank you ."

H is wel l -shap ed dark head tu rned toward me,atop an erect body that seemed hardl y more su b-stantial than a dense shadow in the night. I cou l dnot see his eyes or his face, bu t something in theway he sat his mou nt reveal ed that any animositybetween u s was now p ast. Nodding his head sl ightl yto ack nowl edge me, Mil ieos qu ietl y sp ok e to Ju nieWatts. "H ow are you doing? "

"I am al right," the woman rep l ied.There was a sadness in her voice which both

the bl ack man and I cou l d hear. The p hysician of


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Thil u m sp ok e before I cou l d. "What is it, Ju nieWatts? D o you need to stop ? "

"No. I am al l right. R eal l y.""Y ou do not sou nd wel l ," the man said.With a su p p ressed qu iver in her voice Ju nie

ask ed, "Is it very far? "Mil ieos p eered forward, attemp ting to p ierce

the bl ack shadows between the trees. "We are al -most at the main road. We can mak e better time—"

"No! " I swiftl y interj ected. "I mean, there mu stbe a shorter way."

I k new there was, as did Mil ieos. I al so k newhe was aware it was a rou gher ride than the trav-el er' s road to Thil u m. H e said as mu ch: "R eal l y,D ee—-"

I su rp rised both of u s when I said, "Pl ease? "There was more than p ol iteness in the word, therewas a rep ressed u rgency which I hop ed he wou l du nderstand; bu t Mil ieos said nothing as the thoatswove between the trees. I was not p ositive of theman' s intent u ntil he del iberatel y crossed the tra-vel er' s road to Thil u m to tak e the high trail al ongthe val l ey rim. That track gradu al l y cu rved to thel eft, coming in west of the settl ement. We had tocross several ravines with steep , sharp l y-cu t wal l s,and sp l ashed across one narrow stream that twistedthrou gh steep bank s of l ong grasses, bu t the thoatsnever fal tered, being su re-footed and accu stomed torou gh terrain.

A qu arter z ode l ater the noisel ess p ads of ou rmou nts raised l ittl e du st as we entered Thil u m nearMil ieos' hou se. We came in qu ietl y and dismou ntedat the corral , where Ju nie Watts' animal s gatheredcl ose, bu t were u ncommonl y sil ent—p erhap s they


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sensed their k eep er' s p hysical discomfort, p erhap sthey k new I wished nothing more than to get insidewithou t cau sing notice or comment by the town' sinhabitants.

Ju nie swayed u nsteadil y on her thoat. Mil ieoswas at her side as soon as he set foot to grou nd. H ereached u p and l ifted the you ng woman down asl ightl y as I might have l ifted a favorite p et sorakinto my arms. H er thin arms went abou t his neckand her face was p ressed against his neck .

"The door, p l ease, D ee," Mil ieos breathed soft-l y, stil l hol ding the Jasoomian in gentl e embrace.

I op ened the rear door and the u gl y cal oteagerl y p u shed p ast me before Mil ieos carried Ju nieWatts inside. "I wil l p u t the thoats away," I said,p u l l ing the door cl osed. The wil d thoats of thegreen men were bare of saddl e or harness. Large,u nru l y beasts, they were confronted by Ju nie Watts'creatu res which, thou gh smal l er and bu il t of l essbu l k , were swift, nervou s animal s with fierce fight-ing fangs. The l esser creatu res, by sheer nu mbers,neu tral iz ed the temp er of the hideou s Warhoonthoats. By the time I had strip p ed harness from theanimal s ridden by Ju nie and Mil ieos, there was anu neasy tru ce of sorts between the great beasts.

I noticed Ju nie Watts on the ex amining tabl ewhen I entered the hou se. H er eyes were red andher cheek s p u ffy. A momentary fl ash of angercou rsed throu gh me, bel ieving Mil ieos was thecau se, bu t when the bl ack girl l ook ed at me, I k newher angu ish was centered on me. "Oh, D ee, p l easedon' t you go off al one no more. I don' t k now what I' ddo if something hap p ened to you ."


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I fel t remorse for cau sing su ch p ain. "Nothingdid, thank s to the good doctor." I nodded toward ou rhost, again hu mbl ed in my op inion of the man.

"Bu t something cou l d have," Ju nie scowl ed. "Iwas so scared ou t there. I p issed mysel f when Iheard the fighting and got al l tied u p in k nots anthou ght I was having the baby bu t I gu ess I' m not."She l ook ed to Mil ieos again, who p u rsed his l ip s andgave a smal l shak e of the head.

"Oh, Lord," the girl moaned. "When is it goingto be over? "

I went to her, dou bl y regretfu l to have p ro-vok ed su ch angu ish in the Jasoomian. "Come, dear,you are comp l etel y worn ou t. To bed with you ."

Ju nie Watts al l owed me to coax her, bu t onl yafter ex tracting a dire p romise I wou l d stay nearu ntil after the chil d was born. I gave my wordreadil y, and comp l etel y, bu t not whol l y for thereason the girl ex p ressed. I had seen something inthe hil l s above Thil u m which gave me p au se—things which wou l d mean a great deal to the manwhose hou se we shared. When the Jasoomian wasasl eep , I retu rned to the main room to ex p ress myreal reason for staying cl ose to the man it mostconcerned.

"I fou nd something ou t there you shou l d k nowabou t."

Mil ieos watched from the tabl e, nu rsing a smal lgl ass of wine I wou l d not have begru dged him. H earched an eyebrow when I took down his radiu mrifl e and check ed the l oad. I was methodical and ef-ficient in that task , comp l etel y u nfal tering as myhu sband had l ong ago trained me in the u se offirearms.


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Mil ieos strok ed the cal ot' s grotesqu e head,which the animal had p ressed against the man' sside. For a moment, sk in col or aside, I thou ght Il ook ed u p on my chieftain, at home after a hu nt withol d Wool a. That p l easant memory was p ol itel ydistu rbed when the p hysician ask ed: "What did youfind, l ady, besides the trou bl e that near did you in? "

The windows were shu ttered and the l oneradiu m bu l b was hal f-hooded, which su ited me wel las I had no desire to l et anyone k now we hadretu rned. Before I answered I l ay the rifl e on thetabl e then retrieved the p air of l ong-barrel l edp istol s I had tak en from the bandit who tried to rap eme when Ju nie Watts and I first rode together. Iinserted five p roj ectil es in one, the other beingfu l l y-l oaded.

"Senca—" I comp ressed my l ip s, l oathe to bethe bearer of bad tidings.

Mil ieos l eaned forward, eyes fix ed on mine."My brother—yes? "

"I have information that is su re to cau se yougreat distress. I want you r sol emn oath to sit qu ietu ntil I am done."

"I wil l do no su ch thing," the obdu rate bl ackrep l ied.

This man had j u st saved my l ife and showngreat tenderness toward Ju nie Watts. I softened myvoice, il l -equ ip p ed by ex p erience to deal with con-trary p eop l e on matters of great p ersonal imp or-tance. In H el iu m my word is l aw—l aw which themighty John Carter, my father, my grandfather, andthe mil l ions of warriors in ou r nation' s army andnavy enforce. My word is withou t qu estion in


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H el iu m, bu t I was not in my cou ntry and I cou l ddep end on no one bu t mysel f.

"From the first I have distru sted Senca. Thereis that abou t him which invites no confidence fromme. Y es, I recogniz e I am difficu l t and p rovok eothers, bu t this goes beyond that. It may simp l y bethat we are destined to be contrary to each other."This was not what I wished to say. I took a deepbreath and focu sed onl y on the news I mu st rel ate.

"My son tau ght me that reconnaissance winswhere rel iance on bru te strength fail s. A wel l -in-formed general cannot l ose. Since I k now nothing ofthis val l ey, or the p eop l e, who are general l y of goodnatu re and as fine as any I have ever met, I haveex p l ored the area arou nd Thil u m these l ast fewweek s. I have seen and l earned many things whichwil l bring me j oyou s memories in years to come,bu t it seems my desire to have fu l l intel l igence ofthe cou ntry has tu rned u p something I am su reothers wish to k eep secret."

My mysteriou s words, qu ick l y given, had theFirst Born' s comp l ete attention. Tak ing a seat atthe tabl e, the l oaded weap ons between u s, I l ow-ered my eyes momentaril y then l ook ed straight atMil ieos. "I k now no way to break this gentl y: you rfather is dead. Mu rdered, I wou l d say."

A brief smil e, p romp ted no dou bt by a thou ghta p oor j ok e was attemp ted, tu rned into a com-p ressed l ine as anger narrowed the First Born' seyes. "And how have you , a stranger, determinedthis? " Mil ieos demanded. "Y ou do not k now myfather and he was gone from Thil u m l ong beforeyou and the Jasoomian arrived."


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I sat with hands on k nees scrap p ed and scabbedfrom the harsh treatment and rock y grou nd. I rose,favoring my l eft l eg which had been hyp er-ex tendedwhen one of the Warhoons had trip p ed me. "Tru ewords you sp eak , Mil ieos," I said, going to thecou nter where I p rep ared meal s. "Bu t you tel l methe l ie in this, if you can." I bent l ow to retrievesomething conceal ed behind a heavy bag of fl ou r.The medal l ion I l aid on the tabl e gl eamed du l l -redin the hal f-l ight, a handsome p iece set with twol arge emeral ds on either side of a sp ectacu l ar ru by.

The man was stu nned. "Where did you getthis? " Mil ieos swep t the medal l ion from the tabl e toex amine it. A moment l ater he shook it in my face,p erhap s think ing I might sp eak more swiftl y be-cau se of the imp l ied threat.

"Y ou recogniz e it, then? " I ask ed, k nowing hedid, bu t k nowing the qu estion wou l d p enetrate theshock and anger; I needed his reason, not hisemotion.

"Of cou rse! "The bl ack man' s harness embodied a simil ar

design. It was the metal of his hou se, the metal thatSenca wore and that Fol k ar made into adornment.It was the p attern in K u l u a' s finest sil k s. The designwas the stock in trade for j ewel er K u l tis Than. Thel onger Mil ieos hel d that j ewel -encru sted symbol ,the col der and cal mer—and the more deadl y in-tense—he became. "Y ou fou nd this—when? "

"Three days ago." I rep l ied,"Where? ""North of you r brother' s hol ding, in the hil l s

east of the river."


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"An inhosp itabl e area. What were you doingthere? " H e withdrew the qu estion before I cou l ddecl ine to answer it. "Who k nows abou t it? "

"The j ewel er, K u l tis Than. H e seemed veryinterested in it."

Mil ieos scowl ed. "Why did you show it to him?Better stil l , tel l me how you came by it and whyyou think my father has been mu rdered."

"D u ring my travel s I entered the rou gh hil l snorth of Thil u m. I came across the scattered re-mains of a sk el eton. Scavengers had been at itmonths ago and I might have p assed it by becau sethe dead sea bottoms of Barsoom are l ittered withthe bones of victims and victors al ik e, bu t there wasa gl eam of gol d, then the red gl int of ru by. I fou ndthe medal l ion not far from the sk u l l , which had beencl eft in twain by a sword or ax . In addition to themedal l ion I fou nd a l ong sword of ancient de-sign—u nadorned and u til itarian with a bl ack steelbl ade. A l eather p u rse of some weight was thereand gol d p ieces l ay scattered abou t. It was a consid-erabl e su m, bu t I l eft it behind."

Mil ieos mu ttered, "Six -hu ndred tamp i," then,l ou der: "My father' s sword." H e grip p ed the medal -l ion firml y, p rou dl y, the fist rising between u s asthe man sp ok e with p ride. "H is metal —from ou rhou se at K amtol ," Mil ieos added with a sad, hol l ow,and emp ty sou nd.

I fel t sorrow for the man. I k new nothing Icou l d say or do to ease his su dden grief, so I p ou reda gl ass of wine for mysel f. "There' s more."

Mil ieos sensed there was an u rgency in mywords, thu s his, "Tel l it, and qu ick l y," was hardl ynecessary.


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"Y ou r father did not die easil y. The bones oftwo others were mingl ed with his. A hu man, whosel eft forearm had been brok en and heal ed l ong beforehis death, and green man, whose sk el etal middl eribs cradl ed the brok en p art of that bl ack -steelweap on."

Mil ieos' frowned deep ened. "Arz Nat had abrok en arm. I set it mysel f years ago. H e has beenmissing since father l eft. It was not u ncommon forhim to disap p ear for months at a time, so no onethou ght anything of it. Bu t I do not u nderstand whyArz Nat and a green man wou l d k il l my father! ArzNat, was a Thern sl ave who owed his very ex is-tence to my sire. Father cau sed Arz Nat to be setfree when K amtol disintegrated after Carterbrou ght down the H el iu metic Navy. I do not disbe-l ieve you , D ee, bu t p erhap s a forensic ex aminationwil l reveal more. Tomorrow you mu st tak e me tothis p l ace."

I shook my head. Mil ieos misu nderstood thegestu re and p rep ared to force me with voice andword. I ex p l ained before he cou l d do more thandraw breath: "Y ou were there at the very sp ot thisevening, sir. The p l ace you seek was where youfou nd me. There was nothing l eft of the scene I hadobserved j u st the day before. Someone had carefu l l yremoved al l evidence. I k now becau se I had goneback to find more. U nfortu natel y, the green mencap tu red me and—wel l , you k now the rest."

"Bad l u ck , that," Mil ieos said, mol l ified.I shook my head yet again. "Lu ck had nothing

to do with it. Those Warhoon warriors were waitingfor me. It seemed as if they k new I was coming." Il et the bl ack man consider the imp l ications of that


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statement. Mil ieos stared at the medal l ion gl eamingin the p al m of his hand.

"Arz Nat and a green man die mu rdering myfather. R obbery was not the motive since his be-l ongings and weal th were l eft. Others had to be in-vol ved in the p l ot since the site was cl eared beforethe green men took you cap tive. If you tol d no oneel se, then we k now the j ewel er at l east is invol ved.I k now that man has associations with others ou t-side of Thil u m."

I saw no need to state the obviou s. I, too, hadcome to the same concl u sion as regards K u l tisThan. "Bu t I do not bel ieve he is the master mind.K u l tis Than has no cu nning in his sou l , and it was acu nning and evil betrayal which took you r father." Isaw no reason to bel abor the obviou s.

Mil ieos ex hal ed abru p tl y, l ook ing as if he hadtak en a bl ow to the stomach. "K u l tis Than aside,onl y my brothers or sister cou l d p rofit from ou rfather' s death. From what you say it ap p ears Sencamu st be the one, since he hol ds the seat vacated byfather' s mu rder." The bl ack man' s voice l owered toa chil l more icy than the night time temp eratu reou tside the hou se, "I shal l k il l him," he said.

I tou ched the doctor' s brawny forearm. Whenhe seemed to ignore me, l ost in his thou ghts, Ip l aced my hand on his, to u rge tight-cu rl ed fingersfrom arou nd the gl ass before it brok e. "Are you sosu re it is Senca? " I ask ed.

"Y ou j u st said you desp ise Senca. Are you ofdifferent op inion? "

"In that regard, no, he is a cal ot—thou gh ap -p l ying that term is demeaning to this fine fel l ow." Ip atted the fearsome cal ot cu rl ed on the fl oor be-


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tween u s. "Senca remains a p omp ou s boor, bu t forsome reason he does not strik e me as one given tofratricide. Y ou r brother ru l es becau se it was p l acedu p on him by you r father, and thou gh he is comp e-tent to ru l e it is ap p arent that he wou l d rather l eadthe mil itary l ife; it is something he u nderstands andwhich embraces his p ersonal training."

"Who then? " Mil ieos growl ed. "My father wil lnot go u navenged. D amn you , woman, a straight an-swer—one that does not evade or confu se."

I had no answers, other than the ones that Mil i-eos himsel f cou l d p rovide. With u nyiel ding gaz e Il isted the names: "Y ou , Senca, K u l u a, Fol k ar, K u l tisThan..."

"My sibl ings K u l u a and Fol k ar? D o you meanone or the other? Is it both? " Mil ieos l eaned el bowson the tabl e and p ressed his forehead into trembl ingp al ms. With weary voice he said, "Now do I mostregret those months of drink and wretched gu il t, forit ap p ears I have been obl iviou s to far too mu ch."The man' s distress was p ainfu l to view.

Mil ieos su ddenl y swep t his forearm across thetabl e to send the gl asses of wine fl ying. "That p artof my l ife is over and done with," he said with acertainty that cou l d not be denied.

The First Born took hol d of himsel f, his backstraightening, his chin rising defiantl y. H is eyes,fil l ed with cool p u rp ose, gaz ed u p on me u nrel ent-ingl y. "Now, woman of mystery," softer, "Ju nie' sfriend," a bare, whisp ering p l ea, "my friend... D o youhave thou ghts we may think together? "

At that moment I final l y al l owed mysel f to tru l yl ik e First Born Mil ieos, p hysician, warrior, and manof good heart. "We shal l ," I said, "bu t we mu st do it


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qu ick l y. I fear there is no time l eft, now that I u n-covered their p l ot and you have sp oil ed it by savingme! "


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CCCC H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R 8888HHHH O L K ATO L K ATO L K ATO L K AT ::::

TTTT H E H E H E H E UUUU N K N O W N N K N O W N N K N O W N N K N O W N PPPP E O P L E O F E O P L E O F E O P L E O F E O P L E O F BBBB A R S O O MA R S O O MA R S O O MA R S O O M

A p i l o t n a m e d F u - K i n g d r a n k a c u p o f w i n e a n dk i l l e d 1 7 w a r r i o r s . F u - K i n g w a s n o t i n t e n t i o n a l i n t h ep u r s u i t o f t h e w a r r i o r s ' d e a t h s . It w a s a n a c c i d e n t o fg r e e d . F u - K i n g o v e r l y e n j o y e d h i s w i n e a n d , u n f o r t u -n a t e l y , w o u l d s o m e t i m e s g o o u t o f h i s w a y f o r s o m e .

* * *For week s I had chided mysel f for abandoning

the grotesqu e creatu re p u rchased from the stu p idOk arian. Why I had l eft her, why I had fl ed hadtortu red me. Was I not First Born? Was I not of thechosen race?

No matter where I travel ed, or the su ccess ofmy deal ings, my mind warred with itsel f over themomentary weak ness which had overtak en me.There was no way to ease the shame other than torecl aim that which had frightened me into a cow-ardl y act.

Once determined to set the matter straight, Itu rned my airship back al ong the p ath I had tak enaway from Ju nie Watts.


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She cou l d be anywhere. She might even bedead. Bu t I was driven by a need to restore my sel f-resp ect therefore I did not admit su ch p ossibil ities.Nearing the p l ace where my shame occu rred Isl owed my vessel to carefu l l y ex amine the terrain.Two days of searching reveal ed nothing.

D isheartened, I set my au to comp ass on Jhu ma,a ship p ing town where I might rep l enish p rovisions.D u ring the night, as the fl ier maintained cou rse, Itried to sl eep bu t cou l d not shak e the dep ressionthat my search wou l d be in vain. I cu rsed mysel f forl etting concern for what others might think of myodd and deformed sl ave and for my own su p ersti-tiou s p anic regarding the woman.

At first l ight Jhu ma l ay before me. Other smal lcraft sat on the l anding fiel ds ou tside the city whil ethe great freighters and l iners moored near thecenter. I settl ed my ship amongst a doz en othersand l ocated a shop where I cou l d order su p p l ies. AsI waited for the items to be gathered and del iveredby hand cart, I overheard a conversation betweentwo cu stomers.

"A most disagreeabl e femal e," one said. "A hal f-breed, no dou bt, thou gh it is difficu l t to conceivethat any First Born wou l d..." Seeing me, the twored men grew sil ent and wal k ed ou tside.

I p aid the bil l and directed the del ivery p ersonto my ship . "Stow it aft," I said, p rodu cing a gol dcoin. "This is you rs if done wel l . I have other bu si-ness, so wait u ntil my retu rn."

The two red men had not gone far. "H ol d," Ical l ed. "A word, sirs."

Wary, hands never far from steel , these menwere warriors and deserving of resp ect. As I had


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need of information they wou l d have my resp ectl ong enou gh to obtain it.

"I am l ook ing for a woman, a sl ave of mine whois odd-col ored and deformed." I made a motion overmy bel l y to indicate a swel l ing. "Anything you cantel l me wil l be rewarded."

Thou gh they ap p eared the same age a red man,l ik e the First Born, does not show age u ntil j u stbefore death. The tal l er of the two ap p eared themore ex p erienced so I addressed my qu estions tohim. The answers came easil y when my p ou ch ofcoins was j ingl ed to get his attention.

"For a month or more the creatu re you describewas among the banished ones. H ideou s, she was,bl oated obscenel y."

"What became of her? " I ask ed."A red woman off a l iner fou nd her. She seemed

tak en by the creatu re. I had bu siness in Jhu ma thatday and saw the high born p ick her u p and fed her."

"What nex t? " I said, feel ing ex citement growingwithin. Cou l d it be my Ju nie Watts?

The smal l er man sp ok e. "I have a freightcomp any. The red woman p u rchased thoats andp rovisions. She and the creatu re l eft Jhu ma. Theytook the overl and." H e p ointed the comp ass direc-tion with an u p raised hand.

I p rodu ced two coins of decent weight, gl adl yp aid, and hu rried to my ship . The del ivery man haddone as instru cted and was p aid. Moments l ater Ifl ew over the road which l ed into the equ atorialj u ngl es. The woman Ju nie Watts had been al ive j u stweek s before in the comp any of a red woman. Itwas l ik el y my p rop erty stil l l ived!


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A day l ater, as I p assed over a l ow range ofhil l s, I sl owed my machine to a crawl . The road wasdifficu l t to see from the air as heavy forest con-ceal ed it for l ong stretches. I shou l d have beenwatching the p ath before me becau se my intenseinterest in the hil l s was ru del y shattered by anex p l osion on the rear p ort side of my fl ier. A band ofWarhoons had fired u p on me with their deadl yradiu m gu ns. The airship heaved and sl ewed withthe imp act as it careened diz z il y, drop p ing sl owl y.

I was hit bu t it was not immediatel y disastrou s.The bu oyancy tank l eak ed, thou gh it wou l d be sometime before I grou nded. Whil e I had al titu de it wasimp erative I get beyond range of the Warhoons. Ishoved the throttl e fu l l forward and rock etedthrou gh the air. Look ing back I saw the Warhoonsracing after me on monstrou s thoats. Passing overa series of hil l s I l ost sight of them bu t k new wel lthe tenaciou s natu re of the green man.

Al l that day the brave ship p erformed, bu t nearevening the p rop el l ers devel op ed an erratic fl u tter.I cou l d not get to the gearing bel ow the deck andhad l ittl e with which to mak e rep airs, even if thetrou bl e were rep airabl e. The best I cou l d do was tocontinu e at redu ced sp eed throu ghou t the night. Myal titu de drop p ed gradu al l y, the terrain detectorsou nding al arms several times. By morning, I shu toff the warning system as the k eel of my craft wasscant ads above the grou nd. The sp eed was sl ightl ymore than twice that of a fast wal k , which wou l dgive the Warhoons amp l e op p ortu nity to cl ose withme. I hop ed my initial head start had p u t su fficientdistance between u s that I might find a settl ementbefore the ship fail ed comp l etel y.


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By what p rovidence I cou l d not say, bu t some-how throu ghou t the night my ship had fol l owed theroad ou t of Jhu ma. I saw it to my l eft and I sawsomething more: a caravan of red men, bu tchered,their wagons overtu rned. The massive z itidars l aysl au ghtered in their traces. Amongst the carnagewas the carcass of a wil d desert thoat, the k indp referred by the green man. Nothing moved, ex cep tscavengers.

H ow the p u rsing Warhoons had p receded medu ring the night—for su rel y this was the work ofmarau ders from the dead sea bottoms—was mostp u z z l ing. H ad my forward sp eed been so redu ced,and the night so bl ack , I was misl ed? Where werethey now? I cl u tched my p istol firml y, sword athand and a l ong rifl e on the deck . I tensed, ex p ect-ing death at any moment, yet nothing occu rred asmy crip p l ed vessel ghosted over the tragic site.

At noon I saw refl ections again, certainl ysu nl ight on the l ong barrel s of Warhoon rifl es or thetip s of their heavy forty foot sp ears. Again I wasconfu sed for these signs came not from behind bu tto the right and forward of my bow!

The fl ier, bu rdened as it was with fresh su p -p l ies, sank l ower u ntil I actu al l y p assed above theroad between the trees. My forward sp eed had notdiminished and a good deal of grou nd had beencovered, yet my sp eed was bel ow that of hardydesert thoats. I watched back -trail and fore-trail andp eered into the dense growths l ining the road. Iheard movement deep in the forest, what sou ndedl ik e a p arty of mou nted men. My p rop el l ers tu rnedso sl owl y that scarce a sou nd emanated from them.


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U nl ess I made a noise I dou bted that the mysteri-ou s riders k new I was p resent.

What I had feared throu ghou t the day came top ass: the road tu rned u p ward, fol l owing the side ofa hil l and there was no more bu oyancy l eft in myship . I mu st either gain al titu de to cross the crest orabandon my ship . The l atter was no choice I cou l daccep t.

Carefu l l y, sil entl y, I l owered sl eep ing fu rs,metal , harnesses, and a few swords. The vesselresp onded by gaining an ad in al titu de thou gh it wasinsu fficient to mak e the rap idl y ap p roaching crest.If I did nothing the p row of the fl ier wou l d p l ow intothe roadbed and I wou l d be afoot.

My stock of trade goods and a significantp ortion of my arms for sal e went over the side. Theship rose, the crest neared, stil l , it was not enou gh.I threw food and water overboard l eaving a l itteredtrail behind on the du sty road. I wrestl ed the hatch-es off and sl id them over, the noise of their fal l ingconstricting my throat. There was nothing l eft bu tmysel f, my p ersonal weap ons and the coins at mywaist. The heavy p ou ch of tamp i went over theside; my earnings for an entire year. I wou l d notp art with my weap ons. G riml y grip p ing the rail Il eaned over the side, watching the l u mp of earthap p roaching. I had achieved al titu de, bu t was itsu fficient?

The p row p assed over, the k eel scrap p edl ou dl y, then, shu ddering throu gh the transom, theship p assed over!

The road grade descended steep l y. The il l u sionwas that my ship soared u p wards, thou gh in real itya l evel cou rse took me over a basin between hil l s.


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No sooner had I congratu l ated mysel f than I heardshou ts and the tramp ing of nail -l ess thoat p ads.Crashing ou t of the forest came a p arty of War-hoons, p erhap s twenty in siz e. I fired first, fel l ingthe l eader. The ex p l osive shel l dismembered hisgreat body and brok e his mou nt' s back . The riderand animal tu mbl ed wil dl y cau sing riders too cl osebehind to become entangl ed. Several green manwere thrown from their mou nts—one was tramp l edto death.

I fired again, missing, bu t the ex p l osion set thethoats to confu sed mil l ing. The Warhoon mark smencou l d not mak e steady aim, whereas I cou l d firecal ml y and del iberatel y from the sl ow moving deckof my airship . The l ate afternoon su n made itdifficu l t to sight by either p arty. As the Warhoonswithdrew, I marvel ed at my l u ck to have tak en nohits at al l .

Thou gh I watched intentl y I saw no p u rsu it. Itwas l ess than a z ode to su ndown. D ark ness wou l dbe my al l y, p roviding I cou l d p ass over the range ofhil l s before my fl ier' s bow! I had not reached thehil l s when the su n went down. The al most instanta-neou s dark ness was du e to the rarified Barsoomatmosp here and, whil e it hid me from eyes bel ow,it al so bl inded me to what l ay ahead.

We are tau ght earl y that the First Born havethe l u ck and I, H ol k at of the First Born, have hadmore than my share. The hil l s were l ower thanthose crossed du ring the day. I mu st have p assed ata fair al titu de. The whisp er of my p rop el l ers was notau dibl e to the grou nd bu t I cou l d easil y hear severalmou nted troop s moving in the same direction. The


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riders were in no hu rry, it seemed, as my shipeventu al l y ou t-distanced them.

A z ode l ater I saw l ights al ong a winding streamas reveal ed by the l ight of Thu ria and Cl u ros. Atown! The defining shap es of habitations grewbefore my eyes. As I drew near the vil l age I sawwork ers retu rning from the fiel ds. To my intenserel ief it was p eop l ed p rimaril y by First Born.

Landing my craft in the hil l s west of the townI waril y ap p roached. The l argest edifice wou l d bethe seat of government so there I headed. I ex -p ected to be wel l received, being First Born, bu t inthe recesses of my mind was the thou ght that al lthe trou bl e I had p resentl y encou ntered may be theresu l t of my shame in having abandoned the strangesl ave.

I p assed throu gh the sp arsel y p op u l ated ave-nu es withou t notice. Perhap s travel ers were com-mon enou gh to il l icit no comment. A Thern, carry-ing a heavy sack on his shou l der, nodded as Ip assed.

"Y ou r D ator? " I ask ed, p ointing toward thewal l ed estate. "Senca is his name," he rep l ied andcontinu ed down the street.

At the D ator' s gate was a strap p ing, battl e-scarred, First Born. "I have p ressing bu siness withD ator Senca."

"What bu siness? " sneered the gu ard."Several p arties of Warhoons are converging on

this town."H is eyes widened sl ightl y. A qu ick shu dder ran

throu gh his great frame. Was this a cowardl y FirstBorn? Then, recal l ing my own shame, I l ap sed intoembarrassed sil ence.


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The gu ard, however, swiftl y recovered. "Comewith me."

Inside the comp ou nd he cal l ed to other gu ardsl ol l ing near the doorway. "To the gate whil e I tak ethis messenger to D ator Senca! Send ru nners towarn of Warhoons."

I was u shered inside by Torok , as one of themen had named him. We hu rried throu gh a maz e ofink y corridors then u p a sp iral ramp . At the u p p er-most l evel Torok shou l dered his way into therecep tion room of D ator Senca.

Senca was a tal l bl ack man of the First Born.H e was strap p ing, mu scu l ar, a man sl ightl y p astfirst you th. H is harness was ex tensivel y j ewel edand resp l endent. Sitting on the throne' s dais hel ook ed every bit a ru l er. H e tu rned his head towardu s. My p resence cau se an eyebrow to arch sl ightl y.

"Wel l , Torok , have we a gu est here to Thil u m? ""Nay, k ind D ator, he be a travel er beset by a

p arty of Warhoons al most to ou r Thil u m. H e be-l ieves there are more than one troop ," Torokrep l ied.

The effect was el ectric. D ator Senca l eap edfrom the dais to the fl oor. "Q u ick , tel l al l concerningthe Warhoons. They have vex ed u s sorel y thesel ast few months. H ow many? From what directiondo they come? There is not a x at to be l ost! "

I tersel y tol d al l that I ex p erienced in staccatofashion—and my p remonition that the forces ou t-side Thil u m were l arge and ap p roaching fromseveral directions. At the end of my su mmationSenca issu ed orders to three First Born officers.The instru ctions were detail ed. When dismissed thewarriors immediatel y l eft. Two red men, al so


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officers in this town of mix ed race, were instru ctedto organiz e the citiz ens and to bring as many insidethe fortified wal l s as p ossibl e.

When they l eft, onl y Senca, Torok and I re-mained. "I thank you for the warning, H ol k at. Thesebeasts have bl ed u s dry and brou ght mu ch misery.Come, whil e I mak e ready, tel l me how you came tobe a most wel come messenger."

I fol l owed Senca down to the nex t fl oor, Torokat my side. In the D ator' s ap artment two sl avesswiftl y removed his j ewel ed harness and rep l aced itwith a warrior' s garb. Two l ong swords were at-tached to the harness and he moved as a warriorwou l d move. I tol d my tal e, omitting my ignomini-ou s shame, and that I sou ght to recover an u nu su alfemal e sl ave, brown-sk inned and deformed.

Senca tu rned p enetrating eyes u p on me. "Thenthe creatu re' s l u re does not affect my brother onl y.Torok , tak e H ol k at to Mil ieos. I al so charge you tobring him, his gu ests, Fol k ar and K u l u a here wherethey may be p rotected. I entru st you with myfamil y."

Torok and I ex ited the bu il ding by a differententrance. The bu il ding bu stl ed as men ru shed top osts, or entered into the town to bring in thecitiz ens. My gu ide took me to the corral where wemou nted restl ess thoats of the breed p referred byhu mans. I was k een with anticip ation to l earn if theobj ect of my search was here in Thil u m.

My mind was so p reoccu p ied with Ju nie Wattsthat I noticed bu t did not remark u p on a shadowyform entering the side gate as we rode ou t at a rap idp ace. I dismissed it in the ex citement of the mo-


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ment. As I was to real iz e l ater I shou l d have men-tioned it to Torok .

We had rap idl y covered bu t a short distancewhen we came to a simp l e two-storied home. At therear was a corral fil l ed with nervou s thoats. Toroknodded, indicating this was the terminu s of ou rtravel . "Senca' s brother l ives here."

The door op ened to Torok ' s p ou nding. Mil ieosframed the doorway with a hint of antagonism."What evil fares to bring you hither? "

Mil ieos u shered u s into his residence with asweep of his arm. We entered into a p oorl y l it room.Tak ing a swift su rvey I noticed it was al so a medicalfacil ity. H is op erating tabl e was occu p ied and I sawmy p rop erty sitting on the edge, that oddl y-col oredand even more hideou sl y misshap en Ju nie Watts.She l ook ed u p and recogniz ed me. I saw l oathingand disgu st, something I had not ex p ected from thestrange creatu re. She said nothing, however,becau se Torok ' s terse rep ort transcended al l .

Mil ieos ask ed few qu estions of Torok , andindeed he seemed p reviou sl y p rep ared as l oadedweap ons were on the tabl e. Near Ju nie Watts was ared woman, dirty and dishevel ed, bu t of rare beau ty.She was wearing arms and l ook ed cap abl e in theiru se.

The doctor of Thil u m sp ok e to me as he p re-p ared for battl e. "Ou r thank s, H ol k at of Erbu m-D or.These vil e barbarians wil l not find u s easy p rey thistime."

"I do not bel ieve this is a simp l e raiding p arty,"I said.

"Torok ," Mil ieos observed, "it ap p ears thesitu ation that faces u s is of a more dangerou s


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natu re. G et Fol k ar and K u l u a. Bring them here. Wewil l travel together to Senca' s fortress."

The red woman, cal l ed D ee by Mil ieos, assistedJu nie Watts at his requ est. The man gathered morethan weap ons as the time p assed, bags of medicalequ ip ment and medicines were assembl ed. Ju nieWatts p ick ed u p one, D ee took two, the doctor twol arger bags, which l eft one on the fl oor. Thou ghFirst Borns do not l abor by choice, I p ick ed it u p .

Torok rode u p . On the thoat I had ridden was awoman and a man with a crip p l ed body. H e resem-bl ed Mil ieos as the p hysician had resembl edSenca—the femal e was of the same mol d.

Moving to the door I was startl ed to hear Ju nieWatts sp eak : "My thoats? What becomes of mythoats? "

The creatu re astonished me! When I owned herl angu age was something p itifu l to Ju nie Watts. H ervoice, when graced with intel l igibl e words, was notthe rou gh gru nting of an animal .

Mil ieos p au sed, his attention divided betweenthe defense of Thil u m and this mal formed femal e' srequ est. That indecision was onl y momentary."We' l l ride. Are you u p to it, Ju nie Watts? "

At her nod Torok was tol d to start for the for-tress. We went throu gh the hou se and ou t to thecorral . The smal l er thoats were mou nted and someu nru l y desert thoats were tu rned ou t. Ou r p ace wasrap id bu t restrained, as if Mil ieos did not wish toinconvenience Ju nie Watts. What reason for thatconcern was not ap p arent bu t that he deemed herwel l -being imp ortant gave me mu ch to think abou tas the gates of the D ator' s hol d cl osed behind u s.


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For nearl y a z ode the fortress was frantic withactivity. Late arrival s were l et into the comp ou ndand p atrol s mou nted on swift thoats circl ed thetown. I k new there were Warhoons nearby and thatthey had been headed in this direction, bu t as thetime p assed I began to wonder if my warning hadbeen necessary. Perhap s the desert nomads hadbeen headed el sewhere. That sp ecu l ation endedwhen shou ts, screams, and ex p l osions echoed fromthe northern ex tremity of Thil u m.

The battl e j oined, Senca directed from the roof-top of the fortress. R u nners disp atched his com-mands to the warriors bel ow. R einforcements weresent where needed. Every abl e-bodied man awaitedtheir cal l and among them was the red woman D ee.

Fighting of the most intense natu re eru p tedinto a fu l l scal e attack . The Warhoons fared p oorl yat first since the inhabitants of Thil u m were p re-p ared by timel y warning, yet, as the night drew ongreen barbarian reinforcements fl owed l ik e a migh-ty river towards the sk irmish l ine. R adiu m rifl eswere no l onger u sed in grou nd combat by eitherside bu t Senca' s roof-top snip ers wreak ed havoc onthe advancing raiders. Swords, p ik es, and sp earsfl ashed and stabbed at the front l ines. Men andWarhoon screamed and died. Al l was confu sion andmadness.

Mil ieos fou ght with wil d abandon, forgetting al lel se. The grim smil e disp l ayed as he sl ashed andthru st seemed ou t of p l ace for one of the medicalp ersu asion. H e was fierce and accou nted for manygreen men. I had disp atched several Warhoon thu gsdu ring the fighting and none had p assed me into thetown. These were cou rageou s defenders! To my


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l eft D ee ex tracted a bl ood-stained sword from thecarcass of a green man. There was no emotion onthe woman' s face as she cau ght her breath. The p il eof bodies at her feet indicated the sl im red womanwas ap p arentl y a force to be reck oned with.

We drove the Warhoons back at ou r l ocation,thou gh we su stained heavy l osses. I cou nted 3 8Warhoon casu al ties and 4 5 First Born, Therns andred men. It was obviou s we cou l d not continu e su chratios and su rvive as victors. Whil e the enragedWarhoons regrou p ed a ru nner from Senca orderedwe fal l back .

We assembl ed qu ick l y in a l ittl e k not behind acorral wal l of hard stone. Behind u s non-combatantscl eared the area. We met the barbarians' nex tcharge more su ccessfu l l y. Thou gh we deal t griev-ou s inj u ry to them there seemed no end to the ag-gressor horde. Attrition redu ced ou r force to thep oint that a determined charge wou l d overru n u s.Again a messenger from Senca brou ght the order toretreat.

Throu ghou t the l ong night we rep eated ou rtactics. At times bl ood-sp attered reinforcementsj oined u s as D ator Senca masterfu l l y defended histown with the forces at his disp osal . The streetswere l ittered with corp ses of every hu e. I sawTherns and red men fighting side by side and FirstBorn defending their back s. Former enemies bou ndtogether in ex tremity and desire—for Thil u m wasa thriving integrated commu nity by al l ap p earances.Perhap s interracial coop eration i s p ossibl e.

I had no time to ex p l ore that thou ght as theWarhoons again sorel y p ressed u s. When it wasdone we were six standing. Mil ieos, as weary as


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any, gave the order: "To the fortress. We cannothol d this p osition any l onger."

Inside the comp ou nd we received food andwater. A p adwar of the red race tap p ed the p hysi-cian' s shou l der. "Senca wants you , the woman," hep ointed at D ee then at me, "and the stranger."

I finished eating as we mou nted the ramp s. Wedid not go to the roof, however. Senca l ay u p on hisbed, a wou nd to his l eg cru del y bandaged. The firein the D ator' s eyes was firm and u nfal tering.

"It is time, Mil ieos. We are not l ost—not yet—bu t the danger is too great to risk you , Fol k ar andK u l u a. I wou l d fail my p l edge to father shou l d Ik eep you here. Tak e ou r brother and sister, andyou r friends D ee and Ju nie Watts and brave H ol k atwho has saved u s from sl au ghter and fou ght besideu s. Tak e them and l eave Thil u m. G o to K amtol andraise the al arm. Ou r brethren wil l heed the cal l .Between u s we shal l teach these desert barbariansthe l ast l esson they wil l ever l earn."

Mil ieos stiffened. I hal f-ex p ected the warrior-p hysician to refu se, bu t he did not. Bowing to hisbrother Mil ieos said, "Farewel l u ntil day after to-morrow. I wil l bring the Bl ack Pirates of ol d, thegreat horde of K amtol , to rel ieve Thil u m."

"Q u ick l y, seek ou t Fu -K ing, my p il ot, to getready my great airship ," he ordered.

Mil ieos dep arted in a micro-x at with D ee andJu nie Watts fol l owing. K u l u a l ingered l ong enou ghto k iss Senca goodbye then, weep ing, she ran after.Fol k ar moved wel l enou gh for a crip p l e, bu t hegl adl y accep ted my arm to sp eed his ascent to therooftop .


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Fu -K ing' s crew of 1 7 warriors hau l ed l andingl ines to gu ide a 5 0 man fl ier ou t of a p rotectivehanger. They cl ambered aboard then assisted thewomen, Fol k ar and mysel f. We strap p ed in as thegu n crews u nl imbered the ship ' s two cannons. Amoment l ater, as the fighting near the center ofThil u m resu med, Fu -K ing gave the order to dep art.

The gu nners p ou red shel l after shel l into themassed Warhoons at the town' s verge. D oz ens ofwarriors and thoats were sl au ghtered as the l argebore weap ons sp at destru ction. Al l of u s wonderedif the airship cou l d tu rn the battl e, bu t as thatthou ght occu rred the Warhoons disp ersed intosmal l er grou p s, l eaving no targets u p on which thegreat gu ns wou l d be most effective. R ifl e fire wasretu rned and a few p roj ectil es hit the ship , bu t withno seriou s damage. Fu -K ing ordered fu l l sp eed, andwe escap ed fu rther hits.

Mil ieos and I l ook ed back . Parts of Thil u mbu rned and the mil l ing throng of green warriors wasa nu mber greater than bel ieved—it l ook ed to befu l l y several thou sand!

"I wil l retu rn, Senca," Mil ieos p romised softl yas the wind scream rose.

I bel ieved him.* * *Ou r original cou rse from Thil u m took u s ou t of

the way for the ru n to K amtol . Fu -K ing waited u ntildawn to given the order to tu rn north. Barsoom isan ex traordinary worl d, being al l l and and very l ittl ewater, and vast stretches of it is virtu al l y u nex -p l ored. The l and beneath ou r k eel was no p l ace aFirst Born or a red man had been — at l east not inrecorded history.


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At noon Fu -K ing consu l ted with Mil ieos. Thehits tak en du ring ou r escap e had marginal l y im-p acted the ship ' s op eration. D id he have p ermissionto grou nd the ship to mak e rep airs?

"One z ode, Fu -K ing, that is al l I can sp are," wasthe rep l y.

We were a few hu ndred haads from Thil u mwhen Mil ieos granted p ermission. Fu -K ing setl ook ou ts to l ocate a su itabl e l anding site. Any l evelgrou nd wou l d have su fficed bu t as coincidencework ed for me to bring the warning of the Warhoonattack , it work ed again to reveal the bones of a deadcity off the starboard bow. As we neared the p il e ofru bbl e we p assed over the wreck age of a l arge fl ier.There was no movement nor bodies arou nd the shipor in the nearby city.

Fu -K ing and Mil ieos conferred, trying to gu essthe name of the city. For them no answer came. Bu tfor me, after seeing the hal f-ru ined central sp ire ofwhite stone su rrou nded by six bl ack ones equ idis-tant, a name was su ggested from myth and l egend.

"Thaandor," I said. "It is Thaandor."Thaandor, the first city to be abandoned as the

oceans of Barsoom receded. It was ru mored thatmore than the natu ral catastrop he which u l timatel ycl aimed al l of the p l anet had been a factor. Tal es of


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terribl e demons and corp hal s are tol d in conj u nctionwith Thaandor.

The city bel ow was magnificent even in ru inand desol ation. If this was indeed l ost Thaandor, itl ay at 2 0 degrees North, and 9 0 degrees West. Leg-end had it that Warhoons once camp ed here, bu teven these fierce deniz ens were il l at ease with themysteries of Thaandor. The Warhoons had avoidedthe p l ace thereafter and over the years even theyforgot where it was l ocated.

Y et there was a commodiou s wreck ed fl ier hereof rel ativel y recent design.

Fu -K ing brou ght ou r fl ier to grou nd some dis-tance from the wreck . Scou ts were sent ou t andthey waril y ap p roached the downed ship . Oneentered it and emerged a short time l ater. H ewaved, shou ting: "There be p l u nder! Fu rs, j ewel sand wine aboard! "

Mil ieos was not interested. "G o, if you wish,Fu -K ing, bu t do not tarry. Senca awaits. Y ou haveone z ode to accomp l ish al l —and it best be this shipwhich is rep aired as that one wil l never fl y again."The p hysician tu rned away, his mind al ready atwork on other p robl ems.

Fu -K ing p romised to k eep the ex p l orationshort. "I may find that which wil l mak e ou r rep airseasier."

I did not bel ieve him, nor did Mil ieos if Igu essed rightl y. There was a l ook of greed in Fu -K ing' s eyes. The cap tain of the vessel went overthe side, as wel l as al l his ship ' s comp any. D ee andJu nie Watts went bel ow to the gal l ey as Mil ieos andI watched cask s being u nl oaded from the crack edhu l l of the downed fl ier. Fu -K ing fil l ed a cu p and


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inhal ed the bou qu et. H e then drank it, wip ing hismou th with his forearm. The p il ot' s comrades j oinedFu -K ing' s indiscretion. With in a x at al l had fil l edtheir cu p s at l east once.

I went bel ow, desirou s to tal k to Ju nie Wattsbu t she was not al one. She took no notice of me, de-l iberatel y so. I was angered by her attitu de. Themisshap en femal e did not real iz e the grief shewou l d endu re for snu bbing me, her owner, her mas-ter. Y et, there was something in me that k ep t mesil ent on that matter for I sensed in D ee that anysu ch cl aim over Ju nie Watts might have deadl yresu l ts. H aving seen her sword work , I was not soconfident to say who wou l d be the victor.

D amn the sl ave! Throu gh her al l my recentmisfortu nes sp rang. I wanted to bl ame her whol l yand comp l etel y, yet I cou l d not forget my weak nessin ru nning away from something I did not u nder-stand.

D ee and Ju nie Watts energetical l y engaged infood p rep aration u sing a l arge vessel over a p ortabl estove. My hu nger p ained me as the p l easant aromaassail ed my qu ivering nostril s. My feel ings towardsthe red woman and the hideou sl y deformed Jasoom-ian, which I stil l considered my p rop erty, wererevised in view of their cu l inary efforts.

I retu rned to contemp l ating the p rosp ect ofretu rning home with Ju nie Watts. I chafed at endu r-ing this gu ise of tradesman. I craved action, andhand to hand combat of the most fu l l y satisfyingnatu re. Ou t of my p erip heral vision I observedcrip p l ed Fol k ar and his sister K u l u a recl iningagainst the bu l k head conversing in whisp ers. Al lseemed wel l and p eacefu l . Then Ju nie screamed!


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I l eap ed to my feet. The Jasoomian gaz edthrou gh a p orthol e in the ou ter hu l l , her brown facerefl ected intense shock and horror. Lu nging to anearby p orthol e I saw the wreck beside Thaandor.Eighteen men l ay inert, occu p ying assorted p oses.They had not had enou gh time to drink themsel vesinto a stu p or. I decided to investigate. Everyone onboard had the same idea. We cau tiou sl y ex ited theship and sl owl y made ou r way to the wreck andl ifel ess ap p earing men.

As I p assed among the bodies there were nomark s of viol ence, nor of anyone p assing to or fromthe wreck . I l eaned over Fu -K ing and fel t his neckand breast. H e was dead. Mil ieos and I went fromman to man. They were al l dead! H ow? Mil ieosbade u s to remove ou rsel ves from the area whil e hecondu cted an ex amination. Fol k ar and I conversedou r p erp l ex ity for a qu arter z ode before Mil ieosretu rned, his face grave and concerned.

We crowded arou nd Mil ieos, p u mmel ing himwith simu l taneou s qu arries. H e shot his right handu p admonishing sil ence. H e p au sed, rel u ctant tovoice his findings.

"Evil dwel l s here," he whisp ered. "I bel ieve thewine was the death-deal ing agent. I wil l have top erform an anal ysis on the wine to be su re."

D ee and the Jasoomian stood to one side. Mil i-eos' sibl ings to the other. I faced him direct toconfirm this diagnosis. "Are you qu ite certain ofthese facts, Mil ieos? They were p oisoned? "

"Perhap s," he said, "thou gh it is a p oison I havenever encou ntered. There is something assu redl ynot right here! "


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As Mil ieos retrieved instru ments to condu ct histest, we began searching the area for anything u n-u su al . Fol k ar and K u l u a discovered nothing. Ju nieWatts fol l owed D ee, bu t even that resou rcefu lwoman tu rned u p nothing. Mil ieos j oined u p , histests inconcl u sive. Ou r p erp l ex ity grew and wetu rned to the onl y p l ace not yet ex p l ored. Theap p roach to the dead city l ay u nder an eerie sil enceas we cau tiou sl y entered the ru ins.

Su ddenl y a bright white l ight, the k ind thatirritates the eyes, sp read over al l of u s from one ofthe ru ined towers. Everything was l iberal l y bathedin this p ristine and disabl ing gl ow. The women fel lto the grou nd in an u nconsciou s heap . Fol k ar fol -l owed immediatel y. Mil ieos and I stru ggl ed forseveral moments against the bl inding white l ightthen al l was bl ack , col d, and u nk nowing.

* * *The mental mists swirl ed and cascaded a riot of

col or. I bel ieved I saw fu z z y shap es l ik e mysel f, yetsomehow different. I ex p erienced a sense of nau seaand general il l feel ing. At some p oint the nightmar-ish mist cl eared and consciou sness again retu rned.

I was in total and comp l ete bl ack ness. I cou l dneither see nor hear anything! Was this death? Myhead swel l ed and ached. I tried to move bu t fou ndmy hands, feet, and neck were secu rel y manacl edwith heavy chains embedded into a col d, dank wal l .

"Who be there mak ing the noise of cl ank ingchains? " came a sep u l chral voice from the dark ness.

H op e l eap ed within my breast! I was NOTal one! Someone to sp eak with! "H ark en ye, I amH ol k at, a First Born of Erbu m-D or."


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"Ah, friend travel er, it is I, Mil ieos." The rel iefin his voice was evident.

"D o you k now where we are? " I ask ed."No, I bu t regained my senses a few x ats before

you ," he said.I noticed a gradu al difference in the dark ness!

Some moving l ight, faint and distant, disp el l ed thebl ack ness. As the l ight strengthened I was u nabl e tosee what carried it bu t I was better abl e to see mysu rrou ndings. Footfal l s echoed hol l owl y throu gh thecorridor-l ik e room. Mil ieos was an arms reachacross from me, chained as was I in a standingp osition. At the edge of the l ight were D ee, Ju nie,Fol k ar, and K u l u a l ik ewise manacl ed.

"Fear not, fel l ow Barsoomians, death is notap p roaching you ," decl ared a voice behind the l ight.It was an ordinary radiu m l amp , su ch as had beenu sed for mil l ennia by al l nations of Barsoom.

I strained to see who or what sp ok e to u s. Thel amp was tu rned briefl y on each of my fel l ow p ris-oners and when it was tu rned u p on me, it wasal most as bl inding as the l ight which had renderedu s u nconsciou s. The l amp was p l aced on the fl oorand directed to the ceil ing, where the l ight wasdiffu sed in a manner that gave general il l u minationof the stonewal l ed corridor and ou r cap tor. To mysu rp rise he was a smal l , bal ding man neither Bl ack ,R ed, White, Y el l ow, or G reen. The hu nched figu reof ap p arent great age was as brown as Ju nie Watts!

The ol d man' s voice wheez ed when he sp ok e."I bid you wel come to Thaandor. I am El der H u c-En."

We said nothing. Mil ieos seemed cu riou s. D ee,tight-l ip p ed, had mu rder in her eyes, which emotion


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I am su re echoed in mine. Fol k ar reveal ed nothingthou gh his sister wep t sil entl y. Ju nie Watts staredat the man, p erhap s hop efu l to meet one of herk ind.

"I have seen every race on Barsoom," I said."The l ik es of you is something qu ite beyond myreal m of k nowl edge. What race are you ? Are youBarsoomian? "

"Everyone we entertain ask s the same qu es-tions," H u c-En sighed. "Ages ago when the oceansbegan to recede a ship bearing H ol y Therns andFirst Born was wreck ed near here. They sou ghtrefu ge in the city, which had al ready been aban-doned for centu ries. Ou r ancestors k il l ed the greatwhite ap es which had occu p ied Thaandor. Life wasdifficu l t, and the wil d creatu res and the hostil eenvironment took heavy tol l u p on the strandedgrou p s. As the bal ance of mal e to femal e changeddu e to beast attack s or death, ou r ancestors bu riedtheir racial p ride and intermarried. The decision toco-mingl e the p u re strains of Thern and First Bornwas not l ightl y made, bu t su rvival was p aramou nt.The chil dren which ensu ed were a bl ended brownrace, u nl ik e any u p on Barsoom. After a mil l ionyears contact was again made with the ou tsideworl d bu t the red man, white man and bl ack u ni-forml y desp ised u s. Each meeting resu l ted in battl e,for we were considered su b-hu man. It took twohu ndred thou sand years for ou r ancestors to su c-cessfu l l y disengage that contact, to retreat toThaandor and safety. The p rej u dice heap ed u p onou r p eop l e l eft a l asting imp ression. We came toavoid the more p op u l ou s races for we are fewcomp ared to their teeming mil l ions, bu t we have


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al ways bel ieved we have an equ al right to l ife. Wehave z eal ou sl y gu arded ou r hidden nation for tenthou sand years against al l intru ders."

My eyes grew wide with disbel ief! An u nk nownrace ex isting on Barsoom al l these ages! My mindswam.

H u c-En p au sed as we digested his history. H esmil ed as he l ook ed u p on ou r stu nned faces. Thewrink l es of his face deep ened as he cack l ed. "Wehave sentries in the high tower at al l times. Whenintru ders ap p ear we greet them as we have al waysbeen greeted: with death. Some we tak e sl aves," hecontinu ed. "Work wel l and you wil l l ive. R esignyou rsel ves to sl avery for you wil l never l eaveThaandor ex cep t by death."

I tried to l ash ou t at the wiz ened man. H eshrank back . A shadow moved from the dark nessbeyond the l ight. A l ength of steel came toward meas Ju nie Watts dou bl ed over screaming. Thou ghdeath was near, I l ook ed at the misshap en creatu reas a col d swish p assed cl ose to my head. Andthen—


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CCCC H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R 9999JJJJ U N I E U N I E U N I E U N I E WWWWAT T SAT T SAT T SAT T S ::::TTTT H A A N D O RH A A N D O RH A A N D O RH A A N D O R

Sensation sl owl y retu rned. I was chained in acorridor room somewhere u ndergrou nd. Near mewere D ee, K u l u a and Fol k ar. Fu rther away wereMil ieos and H ol k at; al l of them chained l ik e me.The onl y difference being that my neck was notchained bu t everyone el se' s were.

A l ittl e bal d headed man brown man stood indirectl y in front of H ol k at, bu t it was obviou s thathe was sp eak ing to al l of u s when he said "Workwel l and you wil l l ive. R esign you rsel ves to sl averyfor you wil l never l eave Thaandor."

H ol k at tried to reach the ol d man, bu t the ol dman p u l l ed back . At the same time, I saw somethingmoving toward H ol k at that was so terribl e that Iscreamed and dou bl ed over to hide my eyes. It hadbeen an u l sio at l east twice the siz e that D ee hadtol d me to ex p ect. She had tol d me abou t the fiercerats of Mars that cou l d comp l etel y tear ap art p reytwo or three times l arger than itsel f. This one wasl arge enou gh to tear a Warhoon ap art and hardl ystart and it was going for H ol k at! !


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I heard the sou nd of swords crashing and had toop en my eyes to see what was hap p ening. The firstthing I saw was H ol k at standing, stil l bou nd, bu tal ive. By his side l ay the u l sio with a l ong metalsp ear stick ing ou t from between its eyes. The ol dman was fighting for his l ife against a mu ch you ngerman I cou l dn' t hel p bu t notice how p owerfu l thenewcomer l ook ed. H e was al most the same tone ofbrown as I mysel f and moved l ik e a tiger.

Soon, the ol d man l ay dead u p on the fl oor andthe newcomer began to move among u s rel easingou r chains. When he arrived at me, his eyes grewwide as he saw my distended stomach. H e step p edback and l ook ed at me with qu estions in his eyes.

Tu rning, he cal l ed into the shadows, "Jok ar,come and tak e these visitors to ou r camp . I amtak ing the femal e to Maj Lank or." From the shad-ows came another man, fu l l y the l argest hu man Ihad seen since coming to Barsoom. Jok ar wasnearl y as tal l as a Warhoon and l ook ed j u st asp owerfu l . H e too was that beau tifu l brown as hiscomp anion.

As Jok ar l ed my comp anions away, the otherman tu rned to me. "What shou l d I cal l you , my l ady?I am k nown as Torvaan R ok and I mean you noharm." Now I cou l d see his face cl earl y for the firsttime. H e was the handsomest man on two p l anets.Tal l , mu scu l ar and handsome. What a combination.

Now I was real l y beginning to feel strange. Ju stas I was beginning to think something might de-vel op between Mil ieos and me, H ol k at had shownu p and even thou gh I hadn' t sp ok en to him, the ol dfeel ings had arisen. Now, here was a man who made


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them both seem p l ain. I tol d mysel f to control myhormones. It had to be j u st emotional ism.

I hesitated for a moment before answering, "Iam Ju nie Watts."

Torvaan R ok finished freeing me and l ed me inthe op p osite direction from that which Jok ar and therest of my grou p had gone. H e mu st have seen thefear in my eyes, for he sp ok e again, bu t al most in awhisp er.

"D on' t worry, Ju nie Watts," he said. "Y ou rfriends are safe with Jok ar. H e is tak ing them tosafety."

"Bu t where are we going? " I ask ed."We are going to see Maj Lank or, the greatest

scientist in Thaandor," he rep l ied.* * *When we had arrived at ou r destination, it was

discovered that the great scientist was not p resent,bu t Torvaan R ok seemed to k now where everythingwas. H e l ed me throu gh a hidden door into a roomthat seemed to be equ ip p ed with enou gh scientificequ ip ment to do j u st abou t anything.

As we waited, Torvaan R ok tol d me abou t hiscity and how the bl ack race and the yel l ow race hadcombined and created the new race hal f bl ack andhal f yel l ow which had p rodu ced the beau tifu l brownthat l ook ed so su n-bak ed. I thou ght that he, himsel fmu st be the best ex amp l e of that mix tu re.

When he had finished the history, he stop p edand bowing his head became very qu iet. I wonderedif he was p raying, bu t no, he l ook ed u p and sp ok eagain:

"It is not a p retty p ictu re that I have to give younow, Ju nie Watts. For the l ast five hu ndred years,


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we have been ru l ed by a tyrant who k il l s most whocome here. The others he mak es sl aves. FewBarsoomians su rvive the typ e of sl avery he de-mands work ing in the mines day and night u ntilthey drop .

"Ten years ago, my father and I began bu il dinga fol l owing who wou l d back u s if we cou l d conqu erthe Jeddak . It has been a l ong time, bu t now Ibel ieve we are abou t ready for me to chal l enge NalMak or. If I win, I become Jeddak and no morevisitors wil l die needl essl y. Ou r p eop l e wil l be freeto l ive their own l ives instead of the l ives dictatedby a Jeddak . If I l ose, I and al l my fol l owers wil l bedead."

I was shock ed at how cal ml y Torvaan R okviewed his own death. I stil l had a l ot to l earn abou tBarsoom' s cu stoms and attitu des.

Ju st as I was abou t to ask Torvaan R ok why wehad come here, the hidden door swu ng op en and inwal k ed another of Torvaan R ok ' s p eop l e. H e wasal most as handsome as Torvaan R ok thou gh maybenot as mu scu l ar. The two men cl asp ed each othersarms as ol d comrades might.

"I see you got there in time," the newcomersaid. "Was there any trou bl e? "

"Ju st a l ittl e, Maj Lank or." rep l ied Torvaan R ok ."Jok ar had to sp ear a giant u l sio to p rotect one ofthe p risoners and I disp atched H u c-En. Bu t, Ibrou ght you one of the p risoners whom I thou ghtyou wou l d l ik e to meet."

Maj Lank or tu rned to me then. "H el l o, what' sthis? Where are you from? Can it be...."

Torvaan R ok sp ok e u p . "H er name is Ju nieWatts and I do not k now where she is from."


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"Let her tal k for hersel f, said Maj Lank or. "I amMaj Lank or, greatest scientist of Thaandor, and thefather of Torvaan R ok . Pl ease tel l me abou t you r-sel f."

I didn' t answer."Al l right," he continu ed, "then I wil l tel l you

what I can. Y ou are from Jasoom which you p roba-bl y cal l earth. Y ou r race is Negro and you r p eop l eare sl aves to the whites. Y ou are with chil d andvery near the time when you r chil d wil l be born.H ow you got to Barsoom, I have no idea."

I was in shock . H ow cou l d a Barsoomian k nowso mu ch abou t Earth? It didn' t seem p ossibl e. I j u stsat there.

Maj Lank or smil ed, "Come, chil d. D on' t be soshock ed. R emember, I am a scientist and k nowmu ch more than the average Martian so am I notright? "

I hesitated, then sp ok e. "Ex cep t for one thingyou are right," I said. "Sl avery was abol ished al most1 2 5 years ago in my cou ntry. Bu t my p eop l e aren' tmu ch better off. Peop l e hate u s for ou r col or andhang ou r men in secret. We are p ractical l y sl avesanyway. We work for the l owest wages, l ive in thep oorest hou ses, and sometimes are stil l not al l owedto stay in some towns after dark . Bu t, how did youk now? "

"Ah! " Maj Lank or sighed, " That' s easil y tol d.Abou t 1 0 0 years ago - abou t 1 6 0 or so of you r years- I bu il t an encl osed fl ier, p owered by the eighth rayof Barsoom and travel ed into sp ace. I bel ieve that Iam the onl y Barsoomian to ever do so. I set mydirection toward the su n and fl ew u ntil I intercep tedJasoom. It had tak en a fu l l year, bu t I had p l otted


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the direction that each p l anet wou l d move andwhere they wou l d be at the given time. I al so k newthat I wou l d have to wait u ntil Barsoom began tocatch u p with Jasoom before I cou l d retu rn.

"I l anded in what was cal l ed Al abama. It tookme twenty days to bu il d a hiding p l ace for my fl yeru sing radiu m p el l ets and to mak e it safe, then I setoff to meet the inhabitants of this new worl d.

"After wal k ing for a day and a hal f, I came to asmal l vil l age. Cau tiou sl y, I sl ip p ed arou nd u ntil I hadfou nd a hiding p l ace where I cou l d watch and l isten.Imagine my su rp rise when I discovered that Icou l dn' t u nderstand a word being said. These p eop l edid not sp eak the u niversal l angu age. Then I sawchil dren mu ch smal l er than those on Barsoomp l aying strange games of war with wooden p istol s ofsome strange design.

"I watched and l istened for several days, gradu -al l y becoming aware that I was l earning theirl angu age qu ite rap idl y. I decided that this had to dowith the tel ep athy which we of Barsoom u se.Peop l e wou l d tal k and I wou l d p ick u p the meaningas I l istened.

"Fou rteen days had p assed when I made amistak e. On the night of the fou rteenth day, Ireal iz ed that my food was al l gone. I had beentak ing food from a farm nearby, so I decided to fil lmy smal l needs.

"When I arrived at the ou tsk irts of the farm, Il ook ed to see if anyone was abou t. Seeing no one Ibegan to creep to the bu il ding where the food wasstored. I entered the bu il ding ex p ecting to findeverything stack ed as u su al onl y to find mysel f


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l ook ing into the barrel of a metal p istol I was cap tu red."I was tak en ou tside where several more men

came ou t of hiding. Al l of them were p al e l ik e aH ol y Thern, bu t they had many different haircol ors."

"' H ang the fil thy nigger! ' I heard one cal l . ' H eain' t even got the brains to ware cl othes.'

"' D on' t l et him get th' t sword! ,' another yel l ed.My sword was qu ick l y tak en from me and given toone of the men.

"I was then bou nd with heavy rop es and l ed toa l arge tree where another rop e was p u t arou nd myneck and the other end thrown over a l imb of thetree. I was su re I wou l d never see Barsoom againbu t I wou l d die as a man withou t begging for myl ife.

"Ju st then, one of the men sp ok e. ' H ey, hel ook s too strong not to get su mthin' ou t o ' im. Whydon' t we sel l ' im to su m' u n over in ' Sip p i? '

"After tal k ing it over between themsel ves, theyfinal l y agree and I was move to another bu il ding andl ock ed inside. There was no l ight and the smel l wasstrong and vil e. I had no dou bt that I was in a p l acewhere animal s were k ep t and that what I smel l edwas their ex crement."

Maj Lank or p au sed. "I' m sorry, my dear," hesaid. "Y ou ' re tired and the rest of the story can waitu ntil we have eaten and sl ep t."

I tried to control my cu riosity abou t this man' sl ife in the Sou th p rior to the Civil War. H ow cou l da bl ack man su rvive who had no idea what wasgoing on? That he had su rvived and retu rned toBarsoom was al ready evident, bu t how?


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We ate a simp l e meal su ch as bachel or' s wou l dhave; a sandwich of some bread, cheese and meat.I was su rp rised at how good it tasted u ntil I real iz edthat I hadn' t eaten since we had l eft Mil ieos' hou se.When was that? I didn' t k now — I' d been u ncon-sciou s p art of the time.

* * *I awok e earl y and qu ick l y sou ght ou t my hosts,

my cu riosity bu rning my insides. I had to hear therest of the story. I somehow had begu n to feel ak inship for Maj Lank or and his son.

I fou nd them in the same room where we hadeaten the night before. Maj Lank or was cook ingwhat l ook ed l ik e eggs in a frying p an on a smal lbu rner. On another bu rner sat a coffee p ot, boil inghap p il y with a smel l of del iciou sness coming from it.

Torvaan R ok saw me enter and came to tak emy arm and l ead me to my seat of the night before.H e treated me as mu ch l ik e a l ady as I ve ever beentreated by anyone bu t my G ranny.

"G ood morning, Ju nie Watts," he said. "I' m gl adyou cou l d j oin u s for break fast. My father has triedto fix a meal that wil l remind you of you r home."

"G ood morning, Ju nie," said Maj Lank or overhis shou l der, "I hop e you l ik e sau sage and eggs. Thesau sage is not qu ite the same as on earth, bu t theeggs are from real chick ens. The coffee is as near asI cou l d mak e it from Barsoomian p l ants; it real l y isqu ite cl ose."

It al most fel t l ik e I was back on earth. Thesmel l s of a cou ntry k itchen on Su nday morning andgood p eop l e to tal k to. H ow did I k now they weregood p eop l e? I had onl y k nown them for l ess than aday, bu t something tol d me I cou l d tru st them.


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"Ju nie Watts," Torvaan R ok sp ok e, "I have sentfor you r friends. I thou ght that it wou l d be better ifboth you and they k new that the others were al lright."

"That' s wonderfu l ! " I cried. I k new that withD ee there, everything wou l d be j u st fine. Thesetwo men were k ind and cou rteou s, bu t a p regnantwoman needs another woman j u st to be comfort-abl e.

Maj Lank or l au ghed, "I' m gl ad it p l eases you ,Ju nie. Torvaan R ok thou ght of it. They may be awhil e getting here thou gh. They have to come besteal th."

H e carried the p l ates of eggs and sau sage to thetabl e, then brou ght cu p s of fresh, hot coffee. I cou l dhave sworn it was chicory coffee. I gu ess that hehadn' t had real coffee, bu t chicory is cl ose so Isavored the smel l and the taste. The sau sage wasthe best I cou l d remember eating, bu t, since I didn' tremember too wel l when I had l ast eaten sau sage,anything remotel y l ik e it wou l d have been del iciou s.

"Where did you find chick ens on Barsoom? " Iask ed between mou thfu l s.

"Oh, that is p art of father' s story, Ju nie Watts,"Torvaan R ok said.

"Then as soon as we finish eating, we mu sthear the rest," I rep l ied as I took another bite, stil lanx iou s to hear the rest of the story. "And TorvaanR ok ," I added, "on earth, we do not cal l each otherby two names. My name is Ju nie. Watts is myfamil y name. Pl ease, j u st cal l me Ju nie."

Maj Lank or l au ghed at that, "I wondered whenyou wou l d do that. It is the cu stom on Barsoom tou se fu l l names becau se the name does not refl ect


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the famil y. If we were on earth, my son' s fu l l namewou l d be Torvaan R ok , Son of Maj Lank or. Bu t thatis too mu ch to u se in normal conversation so wej u st u se the singl e or dou bl e name that his p arentsgave him. When onl y one name is u sed when ap erson has two names, it is a famil iar name re-served for famil y and cl ose friends."

Torvaan R ok bl u shed, then tu rning to me hesaid, "Is it becau se we are cl ose friends that I maycal l you Ju nie? "

"It is the cu stom of my worl d," I answered, bu tadded, "I do hop e we can be cl ose friends for a l ongtime."

H e smil ed and retu rned to his eating.When we had finished eating, Maj Lank or

continu ed his story."When morning came, I was tak en from the

animal shed and was made to wear some ol d over-al l s they had brou ght with them. Then I waschained both hand and foot and l ed to a man whoseemed to be waiting for me.

"I was beaten with whip s, and made to go withthe man. H e sol d me at an au ction to another whiteman. My new master made me wal k behind a wagonfor several days as he retu rned home. Later, I wasto find ou t that I was in the state of V irginia on theeast coast of the continent I had l anded on. I was al ong way from my fl yer, bu t I wou l dn' t need it forseveral years.

"The story of my sl avery wou l d chil l you rbones, so I wil l onl y say that I served my newmaster for two years before I fou nd rel ief.

"This occu rred when my master was beatingme for hel p ing another sl ave. H e l ashed me u ntil I


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l ost consciou sness. I wok e u p in a l amp -l it roomwith two p eop l e l ook ing down on me, A beau tifu lbrown girl and a handsome white man. I tried tomove, bu t the white man p u shed me back .

"' Easy, fel l ow,' the man said. ' It' s al right now.Y ou ' ve had a rou gh time and if it wasn' t for this girlyou wou l d be dead.'

"' Where am I? '"' Y ou ' re on my cou sin' s p l antation. And you ' re

safe,' the man smil ed. ' I bou ght you to k eep that foolfrom k il l ing you and Cl oe has tak en care of you forfou r days. I' m sorry, bu t the doctors won' t work ona bl ack man, so Cl oe and I had to do it al l al one.'

"I stayed with this man on his cou sin' s p l anta-tion for several years. D u ring this time Cl oe and Iwere married and l ived on the p l antation.

"K nowing that the time was ap p roaching whenI mu st retu rn to Barsoom, I sou ght ou t my masterto beg his hel p .

"' Master Jack ,' I began. ' Is there some way thatI can win my freedom and that of Cl oe by this timenex t year? '

"The master l ook ed at me and smil ed. ' Thetime you have been here you have more than rep aidthe dol l ar I p aid for you . Y ou cou l d have had you rfreedom any time you wished.' H e p au sed. ' Bu t Cl oebel ongs to my cou sin. I' l l see what I can do, bu t Icannot p romise anything.'

"Two week s l ater Cl oe and I had j u st begu n ou revening meal when there came a soft k nock at thedoor of the l ittl e cabin where we l ived.

"When I answered the door, I was su rp rised tosee Master Jack and his cou sin waiting ou tside.


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Normal l y a master wou l d j u st wal k in rather thank nock ing. I step p ed aside and both men entered.

"' G ood evening, Maj , Cl oe,' said Master Jack .Master Bob, his cou sin, j u st wal k ed in and took mychair, motioning Cl oe to l eave her own.

"As Cl oe started to get u p , Master Jack mo-tioned her back down and said, ' The l ady of thehou se shou l d al ways k eep her seat in the p resenceof a gentl eman. I p refer to be thou ght of as a gentl e-man by so l ovel y a l ady.' Cl oe bl u shed and gl ancedat Master Bob, who frowned as thou gh someonehad sl ap p ed his face.

"' We are here on a matter of imp ortance to you ,'said Master Jack . ' My cou sin and I have come to anagreement. Y ou are both free. Y ou r l etters ofemancip ation are here.' H e handed me two sheetsof p ap er which I have k ep t ever since. ' If you choseto stay, you wil l be p aid wages, bu t if you chose tol eave, I wil l give you one hu ndred dol l ars to get youstarted in a new l ife.'

"A hu ndred dol l ars was a l ot of money on earth;an astu te man and woman cou l d l ive simp l y formany years on that mu ch. I didn' t k now what to say.Su ch generosity was not k nown among the gentl e-men of the sou th toward p eop l e of col or. I l ook ed atMaster Jack .

"' It' s tru e, Maj ,' he said. ' I p u rchased Cl oe' sfreedom and have granted you rs. Whatever you rdecision, I am gl ad we came to k now one another.'

"Master Bob got u p and l ook ed at me, thensp ok e, ' I think Jack is craz y for setting free a bigstrong bu ck when there' s 2 0 more years work l eftin you , bu t that' s not as stu p id as p aying seventy-


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five dol l ars for a woman who ain' t worth twenty.' H etu rned and went ou t into the night.

"Cl oe' s gentl e hand on my arm k ep t me fromanswering that insu l t with viol ence. Master Jacksmil ed at her, bowing most el egantl y. H is gal l antryhonored my l ady and rep rieved Master Bob from anu ntimel y end. "We stayed for six months then tookou r l eave of Master Jack and began ou r trip toAl abama. The trip took eight week s bu t we arrivedin good condition. For two months we l ived in thehil l s near my fl yer. Each day we went to the p l aceand work ed l ong hou rs to mak e su re the ship wasready to retu rn to Barsoom. At first Cl oe wasfrightened of the machine, bu t du ring those week sshe began to see it as a great adventu re.

"Final l y, the day arrived when I had to retu rn toBarsoom. I had l ong since decided to bring Cl oewith me, bu t it had tak en mu ch p ersu asion to gether to agree, and that was after a l ong discu ssionabou t who I was and where I came from!

"We l oaded food and water, this cast ironsk il l et, some chick ens and feed and seed, into theforward hol d and, after one l ast l ook arou nd, board-ed the ship . Two p eop l e made it a l ittl e tight bu t Ihad no fears. There was p l enty of comp ressed airand the effects of the p rop u l sion u nit wou l d be evenmore efficient ou tbou nd than on my j ou rney toJasoom. The fl ight home was u neventfu l , thou ghCl oe and I became more cl ose than we had everbeen."

I saw his eyes gentl y u nfocu s, p l easant memo-ries smoothed some of the sternness from his face.Catching himsel f with a wry smil e, he continu ed:


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"My cal cu l ated traj ectory to Barsoom wassl ightl y affected by the bu rden the ship carried. Wearrived near the sou th p ol ar region and had to fl ynorth to Thaandor.

"The onl y thing l eft to tel l is that l ess than tenweek s after ou r retu rn I del ivered of Cl oe ou r son,Torvaan R ok , the first l ive hu man birth on Bar-soom. I am the onl y man of my p l anet to have hadthat honor."

I sat fascinated at this story of a Barsoomian onEarth. There were things that made no sense in thestory su ch as how cou l d this have hap p ened over ahu ndred years ago? Neither Torvaan R ok nor hisfather Maj Lank or l ook ed over thirty or forty. H owmany years was Maj Lank or on earth? H ow ol d wasCl oe when she nu rsed him back to heal th and howol d was she when Torvaan R ok was born? Whywere there no chil dren before the retu rn to Bar-soom? I cou l dn' t ask Maj Lank or to tel l more, itwou l d be imp ol ite. D ee wou l d have to ex p l ain mu chto me.

Bu t the big news was that now I had someonewho cou l d hel p Mil ieos when it came time todel iver my chil d! !

Whil e I was think ing abou t these things therewas a l ight k nock at the door, fol l owed by a p au seand then two more k nock s.

Torvaan R ok qu ick l y op ened the door and Jok arentered with the p eop l e cap tu red with me. I ru shedinto D ee' s arms with tears of j oy.

After the reu nion, we settl ed down to rel ax .The others had rested in a cavern deep within thecaves bel ow the city and started here sometimeearl ier. They were qu ite tired.


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Whil e we rested, I tol d D ee the story of MajLank or and his trip to Earth. She had a hard timebel ieving it, so when I mentioned the Letter ofEmancip ation and ex p l ained it to her, she said,"Ju nie, are you mak ing this u p ? I' d l ik e to see thel etter you sp eak of to see if it is tru e. I read Engl ishas wel l as sp eak it. I' l l k now the tru th."

Maj Lank or overheard D ee tal k ing. H e wal k edover to a cabinet and removed a neatl y fol dedyel l owed p iece of p ap er which he offered to D ee.

As D ee read the Letter of Emancip ation, I sawher eyes go wide and her interest p eak ed. Thel etter fel l from her hand .

I p ick ed the l etter u p and began to read it. Itwas j u st as Maj Lank or had said. The p ap er said hewas free and it was issu ed in V irginia and signed byhis master, Cap tain John Carter.


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TTTT H E H E H E H E SSSS C I E N C E O F C I E N C E O F C I E N C E O F C I E N C E O F WWWW A RA RA RA R

My mind wou l d not stop racing. I sometimeswished for the bottl e, bu t k new that its infl u encecou l d endanger, or in the case of the fool ish p il otFu -K ing, destroy any chance I had of su ccoring mybrother from his p eril . Not that I was in a p ositionto do so. My own p eril was bad enou gh. I chafed atevery moment I sp ent cowering in the p its ofThaandor, hiding from the mad tyrant who ru l edthis city of the bl ended races. This was not the wayof a First Born. Action was eminentl y p referabl e tosu ch an u l sio-l ik e ex istence. Of cou rse, the u l sioshere were qu ite ferociou s, bu t that was j u st one ofthe wonders of this marvel ou s p l ace in which Ifou nd mysel f.

My fears for my brother' s fate, cu riosity overwho was a traitor Thil u m, and p ersistentl y, myconcerns for the Jasoomian Ju nie Watts al l boil ed inmy brain u ntil I cou l d tak e it no l onger. The time forcontemp l ation p assed swiftl y, and I soon fou ndmysel f enrou te to the l air of the scientist MajLank or. The woman D ee had been imp ressed with


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his tal e, and shak en by the strange p ap er that hep ossessed. After she had drop p ed it, I ex amined it.The hierogl yp hics on it were u nreadabl e, so I ask edJu nie Watts to transl ate it. She did so readil y.

"John Carter! " I hissed, after she finished. "Thesame Jasoomian who has so overtu rned Barsoomianl ife? "

"G otta be," she said in her charming accent. "Itsu re shook the snot ou t of D ee. She drop p ed thatthing l ik e it was ready to bite her. She being fromH el iu m, she mu st k now that man."

"That' s obviou s," I p ointed ou t. "Bu t why wou l dshe react so, u nl ess he has wronged her in someway. Perhap s she was once a sl ave of his. No tel l ingwhat Jasoomian dep redations he forced u p on her."

"Ju st you hol d on, Mil ieos," she retu rned. "D eeweren' t never nobody' s sl ave. Y ou cou l d tel l thatthe way she did things. Look how mu ch effort ittook her to even fix a decent meal . U h-u h. She iscl ose to this John Carter."

"Of cou rse," I said, snap p ing my fingers. "She isthe widow of a Z odangan, no dou bt mu rdered byJohn Carter du ring his invasion. She was p robabl ytak en as booty du ring that massacre and forced tomarry a H el iu mite. She p robabl y is hiding ou t fromthem even now."

"I du nno," Ju nie Watts mu ttered. "Somethingel se is going on."

Whatever that might be, I threw from my mindas I strode the dark corridors to Maj Lank or' sl aboratory. Inside, I fou nd onl y the tal l inventor,l aboring over a work tabl e. I envied the many p iecesof equ ip ment that he p ossessed. H is bronz e facewas bent over a microscop e and he did not at first


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hear me, bu t the scrap e of my foot u p on the stonessoon al erted him. H e whirl ed, hand ready to drawhis l ong sword.

"K aor, Maj Lank or," I greeted. "I have marvel edover you r tal e of travel to Jasoom."

"So, Ju nie Watts has sp read my fame," hechu ck l ed. "I tol d her the most p art of my story. I didnot want to distress her with the many barbaritiesI was forced to endu re whil st a sl ave, esp ecial l y inthe state of Mississip p i. H ave a l ook ." H e indicatedthe microscop e.

I bent my eye to the finel y wrou ght brassinstru ment as fou nd mysel f p eering at a p ool ofinfu soria that swarmed hap p il y beneath the l ense.

"They ap p ear to be amoebae and p rotoz oans,"I observed.

"So they do," Maj Lank or mu rmu red, andcharged a needl e from a j ar of l iqu id nearby. H esqu irted a drop of the straw-col ored fl u id, whichimmediatel y cau sed a mael strom in my viewingrange. The variou s p rotoz oans u nder my gaz esu ddenl y became more agitated, and to my su rp risebegan to increase in siz e u ntil they were thricetheir original diameters. I drew back from theinstru ment, amaz ed. Creatu res once invisibl e to thenak ed eye cou l d now be seen withou t the aid of themicroscop e!

"What is this? " I demanded. "What magic haveyou wrou ght that cou l d mak e these tiny creatu resgrow so l arge nearl y instantl y—and withou t ap p ar-ent harm to them? "

Maj Lank or smil ed with amu sement. "It is notmagic."


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"By the l aws of medical science with which Iam famil iar it is an imp ossibil ity; yet, I cannot denythe evidence of my own eyes. Thou gh I dou bt theu se of su ch in p ractical ap p l ication, it is certainl y amore marvel ou s work than even R as Thavas'hormad artificial l ife forms."

"It was not for p ersonal gain or gl ory that thisseru m was created—nor was a growth ex citer thedesired goal of my research," Maj Lank or reveal ed."The giant Jok ar is bu t one resu l t—and that wasu nintended! The u l sio which Jok ar disp atched inyou r p rison was another."

Intrigu ed, I l istened intentl y as the man de-stroyed the transformed creatu res with a sp l ash ofacid. H e then seal ed the growth ex citer and cl eanedthe instru ments u sed. The material was then l ock edaway in a stu rdy cabinet before he tu rned to meonce again.

"I su ffered an accident in my l aboratory when asorak , of al l creatu res, came into contact with theex citer and bl ossomed to nearl y the siz e of a banth.The creatu re, p erhap s driven mad in the p rocess,nearl y wreck ed the l aboratory, shattering severalcages of treated u l sios. Jok ar, my assistant, wassp l ashed by a smal l amou nt of ex citer before I wasabl e to finish the immense sorak with a shot frommy radiu m p istol . U nfortu natel y the u l sios escap edand now they breed beneath the city, a danger toal l ."

"And they breed tru e to their new siz e? "Maj Lank or sol emnl y nodded. "Not onl y do we

fight the minions Nal Mak or, we mak e war u p onthese giant u l sios, for I fear the fu tu re of Barsoom


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shou l d they ever escap e Thaandor and become ap l agu e u p on the p l anet."

H aving seen one giant u l sio and its incredibl eferocity, I wel l u nderstood the scientist' s concern."Which begs the qu estion: why have you devel op edthis seru m? " I ask ed.

"A growth ex citer was not my original goal ,"Maj Lank or said wearil y, and waved me to a chair.Before sitting in one op p osite me, he p u l l ed a du stybottl e of wine and two battered cu p s from a sideboard. I nearl y refu sed, bu t decided that one drinkwou l d not hu rt, thou gh mindfu l of Fu -K ing' s de-mise, I al l owed my host to drink first. Maj Lank or,once refreshed, began his tal e.

"Ou r sp ecies and those of Jasoom are nearl ycomp atibl e. It mu st be so or we wou l d not be abl eto cross breed as evidenced by the chil d Cl oe boreand those ru mored to have been born to John Carterand the p rincess of H el iu m. Some dim commonancestor mu st ex ist, some seed from the stars thatfel l on both ou r p l anets, yet, there are significantdifferences. For ex amp l e, devel op ment of the wombon Barsoom was arrested, for al l Barsoomians areovip arou s. On Jasoom a twist of evol u tion made thewomb of hu mans highl y sp ecial iz ed so that theybear their you ng al ive. It is a marvel ou s thing, asyou wil l see.

"I tol d Ju nie Watts of my retu rn from Jasoomwith my beau tifu l Jasoomian bride Cl oe," the scien-tist of Thaandor said. "What I did not tel l her wasthat I k new the hand of time was against u s, foreven as we raised ou r onl y son, the cl ock wasru nning down for Cl oe and I. I k new she wou l d ageafter the fashion of Jasoomians and I, becau se of my


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l ove for her, bent every effort to cou nter thoseeffects.

"My intention was to l ocate the cel l u l ar encod-ing of Jasoomian p hysiol ogy which l ed to decay anddissol u tion, which onl y occu rs in ou r p eop l es at theex treme end of ou r 1 ,0 0 0 year l ifetimes. One areaof stu dy invol ved the el asticity and p orosity of cel lmembranes in rel ation to contained nu cl eonicstru ctu res and methods of del ivering anti-ox idiz ingagents to retard the effects of aging. The del iveryagent I devel op ed was intended to act as a carrier tofl ood the entire body with anti-ox idants—and itwork ed thu s for Cl oe. Bu t," Maj Lank or sighed, "theseru m' s effect u p on B a r s o o m i a n cel l stru ctu res wasqu ite u nex p ected, something that was not immedi-atel y k nown, as you wil l l earn.

"The carrier agent was al l that I hop ed. Eachtreatment devised to retard Cl oe' s aging was easil yadministered, and with nearl y instantaneou s trans-mission to the several bil l ions of cel l s which mak eu p the hu man body. Thou gh I was u nabl e to p erfecta seru m to stop her aging, I wrou ght wonders top rol ong her l ife and give it qu al ity. She eventu al l yp assed, thou gh it was not more than twenty yearsago."

For a moment Maj Lank or fel l sil ent, l ost inmemories which brou ght ex p ressions of both j oyand great sadness to his brown face. With greateffort he set aside the remembrances and contin-u ed.

"I wou l d have continu ed my ex p erimentsshou l d the same Jasoomian aging p rocess affectedTorvaan R ok , bu t, he does not ap p ear to have


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inherited the genetic coding which ended hismother' s l ife so p rematu rel y."

"H e is you r onl y chil d? " I ask ed.At this, the great scientist col ored, and bowed

his head. "I dare not sp eak of that matter, ou t ofshame."

"I intru de," I ap ol ogiz ed. "Forgive me.""No," Maj Lank or, said, straightening u p .

"Perhap s I shou l d sp eak of it. Su ch a revel ation maycl eanse my sou l . I sp ok e of my dep rivations in thatp art of Jasoom where I was tak en p risoner. I wasforced to do many things. One p robl em I l aboredwith was the heavier gravity of Jasoom. It tax ed meat first, bu t the thick er air gave me strength, and Igrew accu stomed to it. Ou r sp ecies has al ways beenrobu st and qu ick to heal wou nds, and sick ness israre among u s. Thou gh I su ffered on Jasoom earl y,as the years p assed my body adap ted, or so it mu sthave, for I p u t on weight and mu scl e, gained stam-ina, was abl e to p erform hard l abor and not bedistressed."

The Thaandorian offered a wry l au gh. "I con-su med more food in a day than I might eat in a weekon Barsoom. I drank more water in an hou r thanone might drink in two days. My body temp eratu rewas higher, constantl y, and I can onl y su p p ose thatat some l evel my cel l s and tissu es were op eratingat l evel s mu ch higher than the demands of ou r na-tive environment. D id my time on Jasoom have l ongterm effects? Possibl y. I may have l ost a centu ry ortwo of l ongevity thou gh some short term gainsremain. I am sl ightl y stronger than most and myrefl ex es are faster, thou gh as the years p ass thesesl ight advantages are disap p earing. H owever, I


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digress from the admission I was abou t to mak e—and answer the qu estion you ask ed.

"My p hysiqu e being what it was, it cau sed myJasoomian masters no smal l amou nt of p ride whenthey wou l d show me to neighboring p l antationowners. To my horror, one neighbor ask ed for myu se to breed with one of his femal e sl aves.

"I was shock ed. To be forced to mate with awoman not of my choosing, or me of hers, wentagainst al l that I was bred to bel ieve. Worse, mymaster was p aid for my u se. I was rel u ctant, andsu ffered a severe whip p ing then was chained nak edto my bed. The other farmer' s sl ave was brou ght tome. She was comel y in the fashion of Jasoomians,thou gh scared to death becau se her master waitedou tside the shed, a cru el whip in hand.

"I had never k nown the attention of a womanbefore, and I am sorry to say that in my misery herterrified yet tender ministrations arou sed myp assions. Thou gh I desp ised mysel f I al so feared forthe woman. She wou l d have been p u nished had shefail ed—and fail u re was onl y p ossibl e by l ack ofcoop eration on my p art. Thou gh in tru th there wasnothing either of u s cou l d do abou t the situ ation, Iwou l d not see her su ffer in that regard. She cl u ng tome that night, and for several nights fol l owing, u ntilthe woman' s owner was satisfied he' d receivedsu fficient service for the p rice p aid.

"I never k new her name, for she had beenthreatened with the whip if she tol d me. She said itwas becau se her master was worried ' that bl ackbu ck ' wou l d fal l in l ove with her then try to escap eto find her. I did become infatu ated, bu t I was sol dto Master Bob before I cou l d p u t any su ch p l ans


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into action. Things work for the best, Mil ieos, sinceI wou l d never have met my bel oved Cl oe. I neverk new whether my p airing with that woman wasfru itfu l ."

Maj Lank or drained his gl ass. Setting it down,he narrowed his eyes meaningfu l l y. "Cl oe did notk now, for I l oved her too mu ch to admit my shame.Even Torvaan R ok does not k now."

"I wil l k eep you r secret," I offered.We sat in sil ence whil e I finished my wine.

When I was done, I del iberatel y changed su bj ects,as mu ch to honor the man' s confidence as to ad-dress p ersonal concerns. "I have come here to offermy assistance. I wish to hel p you overthrow thej eddak , Nal Mak or. An earl y end to you r civil war isthe onl y way I see that I wil l escap e here. H owever,there mu st be word on you r p art that, shou l d we besu ccessfu l , you wil l hel p me rescu e my brother."

"I do not k now if we are ready to face NalMak or," Maj Lank or frowned. "H is troop s arep owerfu l ."

"We have other weap ons," I noted."Y ou have a fl eet of warship s hidden in you r

accou trements? " he ask ed with a smil e."Y ou have j u st shown me a way, sir. By u sing

you r growth ex citer we can fiel d al l ies of su fficientsiz e and ferocity to vex Nal Mak or. At any rate, ifyou remain on the defensive, he wil l eventu al l yseiz e the initiative and wip e you ou t. A bol d move,a strik e at his p al ace, may win the day."

"Y ou are right," Maj Lank or agreed. "With theaddition of you r hel p , we can su cceed."

"It is better than waiting to die," I retu rned."Besides, I have another idea." I sp ent the nex t two


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x ats ex p l aining my p l an, then l eft Maj Lank or tocarry ou t my p ortion of it as he bent his not incon-siderabl e intel l ect and energies to his p art.

As I went in search of my p eop l e, I had thenagging feel ing that something in the conversationwith Maj Lank or had al most answered a qu estionwhich had not, as yet, been fu l l y formed in mymind. Bu t the answer, nor the qu estion, came to meas I wal k ed throu gh the tu nnel s of Thaandor.

* * *This city hel d many wonders, bu t one of the

most interesting was the raising of women warriors.D u e to the necessities of the rebel l ion, the bronz edrank s of Maj Lank or' s warriors had been swel l ed byfemal es of his p ecu l iar bl ended race. These womenstrode bol dl y down the intricate tu nnel s of Thaan-dor armed as men. The same caval ier gl int of theBarsoomian warrior shone in their eyes. It wasamong a comp any of these brown beau ties that Ifou nd H ol k at, the arms merchant. I had no l ove forhim over his treatment of Ju nie Watts, bu t I cou l dnot deny his facil ity with weap ons, his bravery, norhis qu ick wit.

"K aor, H ol k at of Erbu m-D or," I greeted. "I hop eI do not intru de."

"By no means, Mil ieos of Thil u m," he retu rnedwith the same stu died formal ity. "I am merel yex amining the weap ons of these warriors."

"No dou bt. I am certain that they are betterabl e to p rotect themsel ves than Ju nie Watts."

H ol k at handed back the dagger he had beenadmiring, and took me by the arm. Tu rning, he l edme away from the women u ntil we were wel l ou t ofearshot. "H ol d you r tongu e! I l ittl e l ik e the innu -


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endo in you r comment, Mil ieos. She is my p rop erty,to do with as I wish."

"And it was you r wish to abandon her? Whatcl aim you may have had has vanished, H ol k at."

"Try not my p atience." There was a chil l tone inthe p rou d man' s voice.

"It is not my intention to du el with you , eitherby argu ment or steel —at l east not at this time," Iadded. H ol k at' s brow rose, bu t I continu ed beforehe cou l d resp ond. "The onl y hop e of ou r ex it fromthis domain is to hel p Maj Lank or u nseat j eddak NalMak or. It means a bl oody battl e, one in which wemu st triu mp h. Fail u re means a l ife of servitu de ordeath. Whatever we may have to settl e between u scan wait. Are you with me in this? "

The ebon merchant' s eyes bl az ed in his darkface. "Aye, Mil ieos, I am. The recent events havebeen a tonic for me. Certainl y, I bel ieve my treat-ment of Ju nie Watts has come from my su bordina-tion of my station as one of the First Born. It is awrong I shal l right, after we are done with Thaandorand I am done with you ."

H is l ast statement contained confu sions. D idthe wil y merchant again have designs on Ju nieWatts? I had no time to p onder this. "First things,first. We mu st find ou t what hap p ened to the equ ip -ment aboard ou r ship . Ou r weap ons wou l d be u sefu lin this battl e. I think a bol d thru st at the p al acewou l d tak e Nal Mak or off gu ard."

"I l ik e that. H is p al ace wil l be heavil y fortified.Thou gh I have seen no radiu m weap ons among thewarriors of Thaandor, and the effects of their l ightweap on are l imited in range and direction, there isthe matter of the p al ace itsel f. It is wel l -constru cted


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and abl e to withstand ex p l osive charges from ou rweap ons. We have no siege equ ip ment to batter ou rway in."

"That is tru e."The arms merchant' s dark face was a stu dy of

concentration. Su ddenl y it smoothed and a widegrin ap p eared. "I have an idea, Mil ieos. If MajLank or wil l give me his son and some of thesebronz e beau ties, I might yet win the day for him."

The man' s overbearing arrogance irritated me,bu t I hel d my tongu e. "G o and ask ," I advised. "Imu st see to my famil y and retainers, incl u ding you rcast-off Jasoomian."

"Y ou r words sting me and wil l be remembered.Today we are al l ies becau se of mu tu al interest.Perhap s tomorrow wil l be different. Attend to you rfamil y and whatever el se you intend. I shal l accom-p l ish my task and wil l meet you on the fiel d ofbattl e for Thaandor' s l iberty."

H ol k at retu rned to the grou p of femal e war-riors, several of which had, du ring ou r conversation,thrown me bol d l ook s of interest. As a brother to aD ator, I showed no hint that I noticed their atten-tions. Besides, now that the grief over my dead wifeno l onger p aral yz ed me, I discovered I had recentl yawak ened feel ings regarding Ju nie Watts. Eventshad given me l ittl e time for introsp ection. I re-tu rned to the l iving qu arters assigned by MajLank or for my p arty. D ee sat nex t to the Jasoomian,a sharp ening stone in one hand and a bl ade in theother. The weap on al ready had a k een edge, bu t thered woman did not seem satisfied. Ju nie had beenresting on a soft mass of sl eep ing fu rs, thou gh evenin rep ose she was not idl e. H er cl ever hands were


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bu sy mending a torn sandal strap . Fol k ar and K u l u a,however, l ou nged abou t. Their idl eness was no l essthan what I ex p ected.

"There is a devel op ment," I tol d them. "MajLank or wil l soon attack Nal Mak or with hel p frommysel f and H ol k at."

Ju nie Watts tu rned her face toward me. H ervoice was cool . "Now, there' s a team. The stiffneck ed ru mmy and the l ove ' em and l eave ' em armsdeal er. Look ou t, Nal Mak or."

The disp araging tone startl ed me, thou gh Ishowed nothing by ex p ression or word. I p resu medit was the u nex p ected strain which we al l hadendu red. "If we are to save Senca and Thil u m, thenI mu st throw in with them," I ex p l ained. "Y ou wil lbe safe here whil e the battl e rages. I mu st go to MajLank or and hel p him with his final p rep arations.

"Ju nie," I said, l ook ing directl y at the woman, "Ihop e you wil l hel p tend the wou nded as you did atThil u m." The brown woman l owered her eyes, Isu p p ose becau se she was reminded that ou r p osi-tion was far from secu re. She nodded.

The red woman rose. The steel in her handgl eamed her the l ight of the radiu m l amp . "I wil lhel p —and fight if necessary."

"Y ou are eager to l eave this p l ace, even if itmeans fighting a war."

"I have been too l ong here and Thil u m. It istime for me to move on."

"To H el iu m, p erhap s? " Why I chose that sp e-cific destination I k now not, bu t the woman' s eyeswidened sl ightl y.

"Perhap s," D ee rep l ied.


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"We wil l discu ss it once Senca has been res-cu ed. I mu st go."

With that, I tu rned and ex ited the ap artment. Ihad not gone far when I heard Ju nie Watts cal l afterme. I stop p ed and wheel ed to face her. She wasal one.

"G o back ," I said. "Y ou shou l d rest. Consideryou r chil d."

She p l ace a brown hand on her distendedstomach. "It is my chil d I' m think ing abou t. Whatwil l become of it? "

"I don' t u nderstand. Y ou wil l have you r chil d,esp ecial l y now we have the advice of Maj Lank or."

"That' s not what I' m worried abou t. What' s mychil d gonna be l ik e? Wil l it be l ong-l ived l ik e Tor-vaan R ok , or wil l it grow ol d and die l ik e me andCl oe? "

"Maj Lank or was abl e to p rol ong Cl oe' s l ife," Itol d her. "H e is work ing on a seru m to mak eJasoomians as l ong l ived as Barsoomians. Y ou areyou ng yet, Ju nie Watts. D o not give u p hop e now."

"What is there for me and my chil d? I am l ittl emore than a sl ave. My l ife on Earth was better thanthis. War against those big green fou r-armed night-mares, no tel evision, j u st one crisis after another.What' s in this l ife for me? "

I took her other hand as tenderl y as p ossibl e."There is I."

H er eyes became wide in su rp rise. H er softl yex p anded featu res shown forth al l the beau ty that Ik new she p ossessed, bu t she cou l d say nothing. Irel eased her hand and began to reach for the hil t ofmy sword to l ay it at her feet. The cl ink of metal


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sou nded behind me and I tu rned to find Maj Lank orstanding there.

"I have p rep ared several cages for ou r u se," hetol d me. "We are ready to attack ."

"V ery wel l ," I snap p ed, annoyed at the interru p -tion. I tu rned to Ju nie Watts. "We wil l finish thisl ater. G o back to D ee."

Shak ing with emotion, as mu ch from the ex cite-ment of the p ending battl e as astonishment for theex p ression of devotion I had u nconsciou sl y begu n tooffer to the Jasoomian woman, I fel l step in with thetal l scientist. Maj Lank or l ed u s to a staging areawhere fu l l y twel ve u tans of warriors, both mal e andfemal e were assembl ed. One u tan stood ready witha doz en carts that bore cages fu l l of u l sios andsorak s. I saw l iz ards of u nk nown typ e, as wel l asother rep til es, incl u ding a darseen of u nu su alcol oration. I did not see H ol k at or Torvaan R okamong the men. I said as mu ch to Maj Lank or.

"Torvaan R ok advised me that they wou l d j oinu s at the p al ace with another u tan after comp l etingH ol k at' s p rep arations," Maj Lank or said. "Whetherthey are ready or not, we mu st p roceed."

The warrior-scientist tu rned to address hisarmy. H e stru ck an imp osing figu re as his stento-rian voice rang ou t. "My comrades of Thaandor, Iwel come you at my side to end the op p ression ofNal Mak or. Long has the j eddak of Thaandor hel d u sin his thral l , bu t no l onger! We are going to meethim on the fiel d of battl e, tak ing the war to his verydoorstep . Many wil l sl eep in the bosom of Issu stonight, bu t before the day is done Thaandor wil l bea free city! "


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"H ail Maj Lank or, rightfu l j eddak of Thaandor! "This thu nderou s accl aim issu ed from a hu ndredthroats as swords fl ashed in the u ncertain l ight ofthe l ower reaches of Thaandor.

Withou t fu rther ex hortation, the warriors fil edinto p assageways that al l threaded toward thep al ace. I stayed at the side of Maj Lank or, whodirected the u tan handl ing the cages. H e handed mea cu riou s l eathery mask as we marched. D iml y, wecou l d hear the cl ash of arms and the eru p tion ofradiu m shel l s.

"Y ou wil l need to don this when I p rep are thecages," he advised me. "There wil l be no time toinj ect al l these animal s. I have p rodu ced the growthseru m in the form of an aerosol that I wil l sp rayover them. The u su al action of the ex citer has beeninhibited so that it is now effective onl y if breathed."

We travel ed on, sil ent save for the creak of thecarts' wheel s. We were soon op p osed by a nu mberof Nal Mak or' s men. I j oined a woman p adwar andher u nit to tak e the fight to Nal Mak or' s minions. Itwas too dark to u se the vol atil e radiu m shel l s, sowe fou ght with sword and dagger. The ferocity ofthe p adwar' s magnificent warriors was astonishing.These women demonstrated their bravery andstrength rep eatedl y, beating back Nal Mak or' ssol diers. As ou r foemen scattered we emerged intodayl ight, a bare hu ndred yards from the p al ace. Ou rother el ements were p ou ring forth from otherentrances. Nal Mak or' s remaining troop s weredrawn in a tight circl e before the p al ace. Theirradiu m weap ons eru p ted in a storm of ex p l osions,tearing great hol es in ou r rank s.


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"Mask s on! " Maj Lank or commanded. Al ldonned the l eathery mask s. The great scientist p u ta l arge tank on his back and sp rayed the cages withits contents. As each cage was sp rayed, attendantsrel eased their contents. The affected animal ssqu eal ed in terror, and before ou r eyes began toex p and.

"Back ! " Maj Lank or ordered.Ou r u nit retreated away from the growing mass

of writhing, p ain-strick en and confu sed creatu res. Ihave seen many wondrou s things in my l ife—thescience of Barsoom is heady with ex citement—bu tnever have I seen a more p owerfu l demonstrationof the resu l t of discip l ined intel l ect and science as Idid this day. Maj Lank or' s aerosol transformedminor beasts into gigantic engines of destru ction inl ess time than it tak es to tel l it.

Once safel y at a distance, he ordered theforward rank to fire a vol l ey of radiu m shel l s be-tween u s and the animal s. The effect was to createa barrier of fl ame and smok e that cau sed the titanicu l sios and sorak s to charge toward the massedrank s of Nal Mak or' s men. The carnage was tre-mendou s as Nal Mak or' s warriors, fearl ess as anyBarsoomian fighting man, battl ed with the mon-sters. The terribl e p ower of the radiu m shel l s hadtheir effect in the end, and al l the creatu res p er-ished in mou nds of steaming fl esh, bu t not beforethey had op ened a hol e in Nal Mak or' s rank s.Throwing off his tank , Maj Lank or drew his l ongsword.

"Charge! " H e commanded.Twel ve u tans of bronz e warriors crashed into

the ragged l ine p rotecting the p al ace. Thou gh


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weak ened, Nal Mak or' s men fou ght l ik e banths. MajLank or and mysel f many times fou ght back to backin the fray. The remnants of the j eddak ' s gu ard fel lback into the p al ace, and shu t the great dou bl edoors before u s. Su ddenl y, every window becamean embrasu re, with radiu m shel l s p ou ring into u s.

"We' l l be sl au ghtered! " I said.Behind u s came a great shou t. I tu rned to see

an amaz ing site fl oating over the wal l s of Thaandor.It was not a ship , not ex actl y, bu t one of the enginesfrom ou r own fl ier, bu oyed by a tank of the eighthBarsoomian ray, having some bars of steel bol ted toits nose. R iding on this contrap tion was H ol k at,Torvaan R ok , and the giant Jok ar. H ol k at steeredthe j u ry-rigged fl ying p l atform toward the p al aceand set its nose toward the doors. H e fiddl ed withthe control s, and then was swep t u p by the giantJok ar, al ong with Torvaan R ok . The giant l eap edfrom the p l atform as H ol k at' s ministrations cau sedthe device to shoot forward, p l u nging into themassive dou bl e doors.

There was a terribl e din and the doors sp l int-ered u nder the imp act of this thing, no more than anengine and an imp rovised battering ram. The devicesmashed throu gh the doors and crashed into thep al ace cau sing an eru p tion of fl ame and smok e thatbel ched forth.

The femal e p adwar who fou ght with su ch coolefficiency, never far from mysel f or Maj Lank or,cl ap p ed an enthu siastic hand on my shou l der. "Bythe First Ancestor, today Thaandor is free, thank sto you and you r comp anions! Shou l d we su rvive thebattl e remaining, I wish to toast you , Mil ieos ofThil u m! "


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Before I cou l d resp ond simil arl y, Maj Lank orordered his troop s forward. The assau l t was su p -p orted by the u tan that had been with H ol k at.G aining entrance throu gh the shattered gates, wefaced hel l as Nal Mak or' s men made each room abu nk er, forcing u s to bl ow in every door with aradiu m shel l before ru shing in.

We final l y cl eared the ou ter section and p ro-ceeded down several narrow corridors l eading intothe heart of the p al ace. The femal e p adwar, coveredin the bl ood of those u nfortu nate to cross swordswith her, was ever in the l ead. I p ressed forward,the ex citement of battl e strong in my bl ood. Behindu s came Maj Lank or and the main body of troop s.

R esistance ebbed, the warriors of Nal Mak orwithdrawing to p rep are a final defense. The p adwarand I ru shed forward, eager to j oin battl e, bu t in myeagerness I committed a grave error. I p assed anop en doorway withou t l ook ing within and from it,toward my back , sp rang a swordsman to del iver ak il l ing thru st. I did not k now this u ntil I heard theman scream when the p adwar' s terrific cu t crashedthrou gh shou l der and bone and hal f way into hischest.

The woman j erk ed her sword free of the bodyand grinned. "T' wou l d be nice if you l ived l ongenou gh to share a toast."

H er brown sk in gl istened. H er l ong hair wastightl y p u l l ed back and secu red by a thong to p re-vent obscu ring of vision. H er harness was severeand u til itarian and her weap ons were those of afighting man bu t, thou gh she was nearl y as tal l asme, there was nothing mascu l ine abou t her.


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"Shou l d my carel essness get me k il l ed if youare not there to save me, what name may I remem-ber throu gh eternity? "

"G al k ina," she said as the rest of her u nit cau ghtu p with u s. "And it is u nl ik el y you wil l die today,Mil ieos of Thil u m." Facing her magnificent warriorsG al k ina cried, "For Freedom! " The answering shou tand determined charge p u t fear into the hearts ofou r foes.

Time means nothing in battl e: each second isan eternity to those who p articip ate. Bu t battl es arenever eternities. They are over qu ick l y or theybecome sieges. I have never been abl e to fathomthe incongru ities of this ap p arent time disp l ace-ment, nor do I think that anyone who has been inbattl e has ex p erienced anything different. Each foeis a battl e, and that day the p adwar and I fou ght atl east a hu ndred battl es before we final l y bu rst intothe throne room.

To my su rp rise, and Maj Lank or' s great satis-faction, the bestial Nal Mak or p ersonal l y l ed hisbodygu ard. These men were wel l formed anddiscip l ined, and at the moment had the advantage ofhaving to defend onl y a singl e entrance throu ghwhich we mu st force ou r way in the face of wither-ing fire.

G al k ina and I had entered the room first, and bythe l u ck of ou r sp eed and su rp rise, had fou ndshel ter near the edge of the wal l behind massivecol u mns su p p orting the roof overhead before thej eddak ' s troop s began firing. We were p inned down,nor was Maj Lank or' s men abl e to enter. We wereat an imp asse, one that wou l d eventu al l y resol ve infavor of the rebel faction over time, bu t time was


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something that Senca did not have. Poor Thil u mwas u nder attack and I had been too l ong at thiscu rrent occu p ation.

As I gathered mysel f to charge into Nal Mak or' smen simp l y becau se I cou l d no l onger restrain myanger and imp atience, G al k ina' s hand grabbed myharness from behind. "Wait," she said.

I tu rned toward her, feel ing l ess than charitabl edesp ite her saving my l ife earl ier. "My brother andmy city are in dire need, and here I be in the midstof another' s squ abbl es."

"Freedom for Thaandor means su ccor forThil u m," she rep l ied. "Maj Lank or has p assed theword and there wil l be many vol u nteers—if there isone to l ead u s. Wait."

Lik e D ee, G al k ina was u sed to commandingrather than ask ing. And, to my embarrassment,G al k ina was correct. Wasting my l ife in a fu til echarge wou l d not aid my brother. We waited.

We did not have to wait l ong, thou gh once againeach second seemed an eternity. For p erhap s twox ats the j eddak ' s rifl emen had su ccessfu l l y p inneddown Maj Lank or' s troop s when an u nex p ectedevent tu rned the tide of battl e.

A mighty ex p l osion crack ed the rear wal lbehind Nal Mak or' s p osition. Al most simu l taneou sl ythirty warriors raced throu gh the op ening to fal lu p on the j eddak ' s gu ard from the rear. Cries ofal arm and warning from the rearmost defenderscreated distraction among Nal Mak or' s men, sometu rning to face the new attack . At the forefront ofthe second force was the red woman so recentl y inmy thou ghts. She did not fight with the nicety or


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styl e of G al k ina, bu t D ee was most effective nonethel ess.G al k ina did not restrain me when I su rged

forward with a yel l . H er voice j oined mine as wecharged from yet a third tangent u p on the j eddak ' sgu ard. More confu sion among the defenders as towhere to p l ace their fire ensu ed, and in that mo-ment of indecision the bu l k of Maj Lank or' s warriorsentered the hu ge room.

Nal Mak or, su rrou nded by an el ite squ ad ofswordsmen, now made directl y toward Maj Lank or.Beast and tyrant thou gh he was, there was some-thing to be admired abou t his determination to meethis foe.

I tried to intercep t the hu ge j eddak , bu t I wasengaged by a member of the bodygu ard, and had todisp atch him before I cou l d assist the scientist. Aswirl of fighting p assed before me and for a momentG al k ina and I were back to back , simp l y trying tostay al ive. The battl e was terrific, bu t for the p ad-war and mysel f, it had become a very l imited andp ersonal thing.

By the time we had disp atched ou r nearestfoes, G al k ina and I l eaned against each other, tryingto catch ou r breath. At that moment ou r sword armswere so l eaden I dou bt that either of u s cou l d l iftou r weap ons. H owever, there seemed l ittl e needfor that as the battl e was al l bu t done. The rebel shad comp l etel y su rrou nded the j eddak ' s gu ard and,faced with su p erior nu mbers, they threw down theirweap ons.

Across the room, standing amidst a p il e ofbl oodied corp ses, D ee l eaned u p on her sword. Thered woman' s breasts heaved from the horrendou sex ercise, bu t there was a fire in her eyes that


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amaz ed me. G al k ina, too, noticed and l et me k nowit by nu dging me in the ribs.

"H ad I a doz en l ik e her, this battl e wou l d havebeen over l ong ago! "

Thou gh it stu ng my mal e p ride, I said, "H ad itnot been for her, p erhap s this battl e might havegone on l onger."

The battl e was, in fact, over, thou gh one p er-sonal combat continu ed. V ictors and defeated al ik ewatched as Maj Lank or and Nal Mak or crossedswords in the center of the battl e-scarred hal l .

Both men were tal l and mu scu l ar, and theirswords rang l ik e anvil s. Maj Lank or was l ean andbanth-l ik e in his swiftness. Nal Mak or was qu ick fora fat man, and there was no give in his attack . Asthe confl ict continu ed it seemed that neither hadthe advantage. Y et, Nal Mak or refu sed to su rrender,k nowing in advance what j u dgment wou l d be p assedu p on him. H e had nothing to l ose attemp ting to tak ehis foe down before he was ex ecu ted.

A cu nning l ight gl eamed in the bestial j eddak ' seyes. I sensed, as I bel ieve al l did, that the manp l anned some trick ery since martial p rowess hadfail ed to find a weak ness in his op p onent. Someshou ted warnings to Maj Lank or, others shu shedthem to sil ence—distractions were the l ast thingMaj Lank or needed.

Su ddenl y, Nal Mak or step p ed back a p ace andraised his sword high. In a fl ash he changed grip sand then hu rl ed it l ik e a sp ear at Maj Lank or. Evenas he threw, the evil j eddak drew his dagger andru shed forward. Maj Lank or barel y defl ected thesp eeding sword with his, then by the most minu teof margins, tu rned his body to escap e Nal Mak or' s


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k nife. The j eddak ' s ru sh carried him p ast and inwak e of that p assing, Maj Lank or u sed both handsto del iver a terrific bl ow at Nal Mak or' s sp ine. Thebl ade bit deep and the resu l t was immediate. Para-l yz ed from the waist down, the j eddak fel l to thefl oor. Oddl y, he did not scream.

Maj Lank or stood over his fal l en op p onent,chest heaving. The man on the fl oor p u shed himsel fover, u ntil he l ay face u p , bl ood sp reading in a hotp ool arou nd his body. Something was said betweenthe two men, bu t even in the su dden sil ence, weonl ook ers heard it not. After a short time NalMak or raised his dagger and p l u nged it into hisbreast.

The victor stood briefl y with l owered head,ack nowl edging Nal Mak or' s l ast act with qu ietresp ect. Then, sheathing his sword, Maj Lank orraised his head and cried: "Thu s be it ever to evil ."Nal Mak or is dead. Thaandor is free! "

Torvaan R ok su ddenl y cried: "H ail Maj Lank or,j eddak of Thaandor! " For an instant there wasstu nned sil ence, it had been said that Torvaan R okwas to be Jeddak , yet that very man p rocl aimed hisfather l eader of Thaandor. That instant p assed,however, and every p erson in the room took u p thecry. Torvaan R ok came forward to cl asp his father' sarm. H ol k at, cl ose behind Torvaan R ok , grinned andap p roached me. The wil y arms merchant wip edbl ood from his sword and sheathed it. "It took anu tan work ing at fu l l sp eed, bu t I was su ccessfu l ," herep orted.

"Y ou do have you r u ses," I admitted.


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D ee ap p roached. "Y ou r p eop l e are free, MajLank or," she said. "Are my comp anions and I free togo? "

"H ave no fear, in that regard, brave warrior,"Maj Lank or assu red her. "That p romise was givento Mil ieos l ong before. Y ou r action onl y gu aranteesthat it wil l be swiftl y accomp l ished. H ow did you —"the new j eddak gestu red to the brok en wal l and thetrail of dead bodies that l ed to it.

"There are more u ses for radiu m shel l s thanex p ending them throu gh a weap on. I p l aced a box of5 0 at the base of the wal l and fired u p on it. Theresu l t was qu ite satisfactory."

G al k ina ask ed, "Where did you find warriors? "D ee l ook ed at the p adwar with l evel gaz e,

al most as if it irritated her to resp ond. "There arestraggl ers and l ost men in any battl e. I j u st gatheredthem as I came from the ship ."

Maj Lank or and I were amu sed watching thetwo women. We had both seen it many timesbefore, the chal l enge and comp etition of equ al s.The fighting sp irit of al l Barsoomians rests u p onthat p rincip l e, for it is by comp etition for resou rcesu p on a worl d so desol ate that the p l anet itsel f wil lk il l you that one' s su rvival in ensu red.

The new j eddak tactfu l l y intervened by sp eak -ing to me. "The warriors are you rs, Mil ieos. Tor-vaan R ok wil l command them. I wil l retain threeu tans to deal with the remnants of the formerj eddak ' s forces."

"We wil l need the necessary transp ortation," Ifretted. "Ou r ship has been wreck ed."

"Fear not," H ol k at advised. "We can u se thegreat ship which l ies on Thaandor' s p l ain. With p arts


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from ou r own, p l u s others which have crashed overthe ages, I am su re we can rep air it, bu t it wil l tak ethe better p art of a day, even with the hel p of al l tenu tans, and z itidars."

"We have no choice," I agreed. "Proceed."I chafed over every x at. H ol k at and his men

work ed l ik e demons, thou gh, and the great ship ,which was more in decay than damaged, becameairworthy. The bu oyancy tank s were fil l ed, and ashou t of triu mp h came from the rank s of warriors asit l ifted from the p l ain. Torvaan R ok and H ol k atsu p ervised the l oading of men and material s, ap rocess that went swiftl y, bu t not sp eedil y enou ghto su it my desire to retu rn to Thil u m.

Whil e those p rep arations were u nderway, Isou ght D ee. When I fou nd her, she and G al k inawere tal k ing together, and they were l au ghing.Thou gh we bel ieve in comp etition, we al so bel ievein al l iance and friendship , and it seemed su ch hadoccu rred in the interim.

"D ee, I wou l d ask a favor of you .""What is it, Mil ieos? "I noticed that the irritating trace of scorn which

had been her attitu de toward me for so l ong wascomp l etel y vanished. I k now that my rescu e of herin the hil l s above Thil u m had eased her op inion ofme, yet that al one did not ex p l ain the hint of re-sp ect in her eyes. For a moment I was hu mbl ed bythe red woman' s esteem. Why that shou l d matter tome, I k new not, bu t it was ap p reciated.

I sp ok e. "I do not think it wise to tak e Ju nieWatts on this ex p edition. H ere in Thaandor she hasMaj Lank or' s ex p erience and science at her com-mand. Bu t I do not wish to l eave her al one. Wil l you


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stay? I k now this is a difficu l t thing to ask of you . Ithas been obviou s for some time that you are anx -iou s to move on."

D ee l owered her eyes momentaril y, thenl ook ed straight at me. "I mu st go, thou gh I wil lregret l eaving behind good friends. I do not yetrefu se you , Mil ieos, for I bel ieve you have ask edp rematu rel y. Let u s see what Ju nie Watts wishes.I wil l give you an answer once that is k nown."

G al k ina l au ghed. "A dip l omatic resp onse andgraciou sl y del ivered! Let u s go see. I wou l d l ik e tomeet this Jasoomian."

D ee shook her head. "G o ahead. I wil l meet youthere shortl y."

The red woman wal k ed away, offering nofu rther ex p l anation. I was of hal f a mind to fol l ow,bu t G al k ina, again showing more wisdom than I,su ggested we go to Ju nie Watts' qu arters. On theway the p adwar said, "I l ik e her."

"D ee? I, too, thou gh she is the most ex asp erat-ing woman I have ever met."

"And you sp eak from vast ex p erience in thatregard? " the woman of Thaandor teased. "Were youto meet every woman on Barsoom, I daresay youwou l d be no wiser."

"Thou gh you mock me, I see it is wel l -inten-tioned. Or rather, I see that I have a l ot to l earn."

Maj Lank or was visiting Ju nie Watts. I was notsu rp rised by this becau se of his interest in her case,bu t I fel t a momentary twinge of something when Inoticed how cl osel y they sat on the divan. Thattwinge increased to a sense of irritation when I al sonoticed how she l ook ed u p on the Thaandorian. Wasthis j eal ou sy?


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"Mil ieos! " Maj Lank or greeted me cheerfu l l y. "Ihave tried to u rge you r friend to remain here u ntilthe chil d is born, bu t have fail ed in that endeavor.She says that she wil l stay with her doctor."

I ap p roached and k nel t by Ju nie' s k nee. "Awarship going into battl e is no p l ace for a woman."

Ju nie Watts gl anced over my head and smil ed."And I su p p ose you ' re gonna l eave her behind, too? "She meant G al k ina the p adwar.

"That' s different," I began, then shu t, real iz ingthe fu til ity of that argu ment before I even voiced it.R ising, I faced Maj Lank or. "With you p ermission, Iwish to bring Ju nie Watts back to Thaandor andyou r ex p ertise you as soon as this ex p edition isdone."

"G l adl y given. Come, l et u s wal k together. Ihave mu ch to do and l ittl e time to do it."

Withou t my ask ing, G al k ina remained withJu nie. In the corridor Maj Lank or wal k ed at an easyp ace, seeming to bel ie his statement of imp endingp ressu res. H e said, "It is my intention to continu ework ing on a l ongevity seru m for Jasoomians."

"Y ou read my thou ghts cl earl y, sir. D o youbel ieve it is p ossibl e? "

"I am cl ose," he said. "Cl eo enj oyed 7 0 moreyears of l ife than other Jasoomians—and with goodheal th and vigor nearl y u p to the end. At l east I canp romise Ju nie Watts that mu ch. If I am su ccessfu lwith my ex p eriments, we may save her yet. I seeshe is sp ecial to you ."

"V ery mu ch so. She gave me back my l ife. I wasp rep ared to l ay my sword at her feet."


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"Ou t of l ove, or gratitu de? K now you r mind,Mil ieos, as wel l as you r heart. I wish you su ccess atThil u m, sir."

With that, Maj Lank or l eft me. I p ondered hiswords on the way back to Ju nie Watts' ap artment.What, ex actl y, were my intentions toward the bl ackJasoomian? I was no cl oser to an answer when Ientered the chamber. D ee was p ack ing what fewitems we were to tak e. Ju nie Watts rose from thedivan and waited. I smil ed, easing the ex p ression ofdetermination on the woman' s face. I reached totak e the bag from the red woman, bu t she refu sedto rel inqu ish it.

U noffended, I j ok ed, "Too p rou d to accep t hel pfrom a man? "

Enigmatical l y she rep l ied, "Al l my l ife I havebeen hel p ed by men whether I wished it or not. Icou l d not refu se them bu t I can," she softened,smil ing, "refu se you . We are ready, Mil ieos."

"G ood. H ol k at and Torvaan R ok are ready."We boarded the great ship , D ee, Ju nie Watts,

Fol k ar and K u l u a. H ol k at' s bl ack form was at thecommand rail aft. Torvaan R ok wal k ed among hisp eop l e, getting them situ ated for dep artu re. Afel l ow came u p to me saying he had been sent todirect my famil y, and Ju nie Watts and the redwoman, to a cabin aft. I remained on deck as themooring l ines were cast off. I l ook ed for G al k inaamong the faces crowding the deck s and rail s, bu tdid not see her. I tried to remember if the p adwarsaid she had vol u nteered for the ex p edition to su c-cor Thil u m or onl y if she meant that others wou l d.I fou nd the thou ght of p roceeding withou t herstrong sword arm and good l eadership discomfort-


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ing, bu t as we were the beggars in this ex p edition,I fel t I cou l d not mak e more demands than hadal ready been granted. R egardl ess of my state ofmind, the great ship was soon u nderway. Ou rdestiny l ay not in Thaandor bu t in Thil u m.

H ol k at had u ndertak en the rep air and revital iz a-tion of the ship and he had wrou ght wel l . H e seem-ed a man in his natu ral el ement, having organiz ed acrew and giving ship instru ction to men who hadnever been al oft before. Comp ared to the u nl a-mented Fu -K ing, H ol k at of Erb-dom comp aredfavorabl y with the greatest admiral s of the H el iu m-etic navy, argu abl y the best fl eet in the worl d. I didnot l ik e H ol k at as a man, nor did I find mu ch accep t-abl e as regards his ethics, bu t I cou l d admire hisabil ity, thou gh this I wou l d never admit to his face.There are some things a man cannot do.

For the first z ode the ship p roceeded at qu artersp eed, the steering l ashed on cou rse as the shipwas of su ch antiqu ity that it had no directionalcomp ass. H ol k at was everywhere, training the menwho manned the engines and p ick ing gu n crews, forhe had transferred the cannon from ou r ship to this.H e instru cted grou p l eaders in the finer p oints ofdisembark ing the ship u sing nets and rop e l adders,and at the same time gave instru ction to three menwho were to be hel msmen before we reachedThil u m. H ol k at even p u t me to work directingmatters bel ow deck s, and there was mu ch to dothere. Ancient sediment and debris chok ed thehol ds and I had it shovel ed ou t and du mp ed over theside. With each hu ndredweight discarded, the ship ' shandl ing imp roved. Wel l before nightfal l H ol k atseemed satisfied and increased sp eed u ntil a sel f-


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created gal e whip p ed across the deck s. We cou l dnot hou se al l bel ow so those who remained top sidewere forced to l ash themsel ves to a hu ndred ormore harness rings embedded in the thick sorap u swood.

I fou nd G al k ina sharing one of those deck ringswith two others. She sat with her back to the windand smil ed at me. I ap p roached, mak ing good u se ofthe p ersonnel l ines which had been stru ng fromstanchion to stanchion. I k nel t down to sp eak toher, thou gh I retained a strained grip on the cabl e.G al k ina reached ou t and grasp ed my harness in onestrong hand to steady me.

"We wil l rotate you r p eop l e bel ow in one z ode,"I shou ted. "Food and drink then sl eep ."

"D o not worry abou t u s, Mil ieos. We are qu itecomfortabl e." The p adwar nodded toward one of herwarriors, who was stretched ou t and fast asl eep .

H ow adap tive, how resil ient were these war-riors of Thaandor! I grip p ed G al k ina' s shou l der thenmade my way aft to the control l ing cabin. On myway to direct H ol k at' s cou rse, I p assed one ofseveral cabins. Inside the one D ee and Ju nie Wattsshared with Fol k ar and K u l u a I noted that TorvaanR ok was engaged in conversation with Ju nie Watts.I p au sed, again feel ing that inex p l icabl e twinge andfeel ing disagreeabl e for having it toward a man whowas risk ing his l ife and those of his p eop l e to aidThil u m. I p assed on, u nwil l ing to face my innerconfu sion or to chance mak ing an enemy of a friendsimp l y becau se I had a twinge.

H ol k at was not in the control cabin bu t wou l dretu rn soon, so said the hel msman. I waited, sittingin su ch a l ocation that I cou l d watch the corridor to


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see when Torvaan R ok might emerge. It was notl ong after, bu t it ap p eared I was not the onl y onewatching. H ardl y had the Thaandorian entered thecorridor when he was wayl aid by a comel y warriorwoman of his own race. I was not visibl e to them,nor cou l d I avoid overhearing them.

"Y ou find this Jasoomian woman interesting,Torvaan R ok ? " ask ed the woman.

"She is from the p l anet of my mother," thej eddak of Thaandor' s son rep l ied. "Of cou rse she isinteresting."

"She is u gl y. She l ook s l ik e she swal l owed anu l sio."

"V al via, one wou l d su sp ect you are j eal ou s.""Why shou l d I be? Y ou have sp ok en no words

of l ove to me, and even if you had, this bl oatedJasoomian wench is no comp etition."

I smil ed to mysel f as the great fl ier cu t throu ghthe thin air of Barsoom. I was content that TorvaanR ok wou l d have p l enty of trou bl es if he indeedfou nd Ju nie Watts to his l ik ing. I again mu l l ed overMaj Lank or' s words to me as the haads rol l edbeneath the k eel of ou r great transp ort. I was thu soccu p ied when H ol k at retu rned. After that, p ersonalconsiderations were set aside as we made ou r p l ans.

When the su n rose, it was the morning of ou rfou rth day ou t from Thil u m. The retu rn had been asqu ick as one might hop e, even if one discou ntedp articip ating in a revol u tion and dep osing onej eddak to el evate another. The force was not asl arge as I might have gathered at K amtol , bu t withinthe hu l l of the ancient ship was a body of magnifi-cent warriors su ch as I had never seen before.Cou l d we bu t l and them and attack the Warhoons by


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su rp rise there was a good chance we cou l d cau sesu fficient inconvenience that the desert nomadsmight withdraw.

Soon, the val l ey of Thil u m came into view, bu twith it came a disconcerting sight. A great col u mnof smok e boil ed u p ward into the atmosp here. TheWarhoons had torched Thil u m!


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CCCC H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R 11111111HHHH O L K ATO L K ATO L K ATO L K AT ::::

TTTT H E H E H E H E PPPP E R P E TU A L E R P E TU A L E R P E TU A L E R P E TU A L SSSSTA TETA TETA TETA TE

Mil ieos stood at the rail gaz ing at the col u mn ofsmok e rising from Thil u m j u st over thirty haadsfrom ou r p osition. H is ex p ression was grim asdeath. Torvaan R ok , G al k ina the p adwar, and thered woman D ee were with u s.

I had stop p ed forward motion on the ship assoon as the bl ack smok e had been seen, l oweringal titu de to p l ace the great vessel between two hil l sj u st bel ow the range between u s and the city. Everysqu are sofad of the deck was fil l ed with sil ent war-riors, al l l ook ing either toward the bu rning city ortoward the command deck .

The p hysician of Thil u m wrenched his p ainedgaz e away from the horiz on. In the harsh l ight of theBarsoomian dawn his eyes gl owed beneath his bl ackbrow. I k new something of what he fel t for I, too,had l ost famil y and friends in a torched city manyyears ago. Lik e Mil ieos, I was away when it hap -p ened. I had retu rned to l ong dead ashes and bl ack -ened bones, not a bl az ing inferno, bu t that sl ightdifference was no difference within one' s breast.


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Thou gh there was l ittl e l ove between me and thep hysician, I cou l d be, and was, symp athetic.

G al k ina was the first to sp eak . "No city is notl ost as l ong as there are defenders."

Torvaan R ok agreed. "We came to l iberateThil u m. We wil l do this."

Mil ieos shook his head. "Even if there is noth-ing to l iberate? I am not su re I cou l d ask that ofyou r p eop l e, Torvaan R ok . In fact, I k now that Icannot not. I hereby rel ease you of the bargainmade with you r sire. Tak e this ship and retu rn toThaandor and l ive wel l and in p eace. H ol k at-I askthat you tak e my famil y, Ju nie Watts and D ee withyou to Thaandor."

D ee frowned. "What abou t you , Mil ieos? ""Me? " The p hysician' s smil e was mix ed with

rage. "I mu st find my brother. H e wil l not becomea col l ection of bones u nhonored."

G al k ina took a step forward, her brown fisttight-wrap p ed abou t the hil t of her l ong sword. "Iowe my l ife to you . I go where you go." She wou l dhave said more bu t Torvaan R ok p l aced a restrain-ing hand on her bare shou l der.

"Y ou saved my l ife," Mil ieos said. "There is nodebt between u s." The p hysician faced me, l ook ingweary. "Find a sp ot to l and me, H ol k at. When I amashore, tak e these p eop l e home."

I considered my resp onse before answering."No."

Ah! There was the fire in the First Born' s eyesthat I had come to ex p ect when we deal t with eachother. H is arrogance al most equ al ed my own. Iraised a hand to stem the p hysician' s angry retort."We have two cou rses, sir. The first is to sl ink away


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to Thaandor and l et this mass atrocity stand u np u n-ished, or we can visit a vengeance u p on the War-hoons that wil l break forever their dominance ofthis sector of Barsoom. Thaandor is not so far awayto be immu ne to the p redations of the fearsomegreen man. If this assau l t is u nanswered, that citymay nex t fal l victim. Am I correct, Torvaan R ok ? "

"Indeed," the son of Thaandor' s new j eddak re-p l ied. "Ou r history rel ates many encou nters withisol ated Warhoon p arties, thou gh none in recentyears. H owever, from what I have heard and seen,these barbarians have grown in strength and bel l ig-erence. Sooner or l ater my p eop l e wou l d have todeal with them. I p refer sooner, and on my ownterms."

D ee su rp rised me when she sp ok e. Thou gh Ik new she cou l d fight, it was disconcerting to hear awoman sp eak tactics. "There is no better time toattack than now, Mil ieos. At this moment the War-hoons bel ieve they are the conqu erors and thatisol ated Thil u m is theirs. The whol e city is notbu rning, thu s the green men wil l be occu p ied withp il l age, tortu re and rap e. H aving won their victory,they wil l not ex p ect an attack ."

This woman interested me. "H ow wou l d youp l an it, femal e? "

H er eyes bored into me in a fashion I cannotdescribe. This red woman showed no fear of me orthe others. She had the heart of a banth.

"Land hal f ou r comp l ement over there," shesaid, p ointing sou thwest to an area of brok en hil l sabou t ten haads from the city. "In those hil l s are thethoat herds of Thil u m. Each warrior is to obtain amou nt and to mak e l ances from the sk eel sap l ings


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in the forest near the stream. The rest wil l gothere," D ee indicated the east, a l ine of ochre-tintedcanyons and cu ts descending into a vast sea basin.

"What l ies there," I ask ed."A way that this ship can enter Thil u m u nseen

by the Warhoons."I al most l au ghed. I did not becau se I saw the

interest on the faces of the others. "This vessel isqu ite l arge," I said. "I' d l ik e to k now how that mightbe done."

Mil ieos nodded. "I, too, am eager for you ranswer, D ee."

The woman l eaned against the rail , staring intothe morning su n. "In one of those canyons is a tarseep . H ow visibl e wou l d a ship be at midnight if itwere coated with bl ack tar? "

Torvaan R ok became animated. "U nder cover ofdark ness the l and force cou l d ap p roach the town.Once they l ocated the Warhoons' thoats, they waitu ntil ou r bl ack ened ship gl ides over the city. Whenthe aerial u nit attack s, the second ru ns off theWarhoon mou nts, p referabl y over the barbarians.The ship force off-l oads in the confu sion, su p p ortedby cannon from the deck s. We might k il l more thanhal f before resistance is organiz ed."

"We might do better than that if we have goodinformation on the op p osing force," D ee said. "Ik now this area qu ite wel l , as Mil ieos can tel l you .G et me a thoat and I wil l go to Thil u m and bringback p ositions and strengths."

G al k ina' s brown face sp l it with a smil e. "Y ouwil l not go al one," she annou nced. "And when therep ort is to be made, I shal l tak e it to one force andyou to the other."


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For several minu tes the three tal k ed, mak ingp l ans, whil e Mil ieos and I stood to one side. Iarched a brow to the p hysician. "This is you r ex p e-dition, sir. D o you l et others l ead it for you ? "

Mil ieos then said, "I am a heal er by natu re, H ol -k at. I am no warrior. This is something foreign tome. War is ou tside my ex p erience, thou gh I wil lswing sword with fu l l heart when the time comes.Friends! " Mil ieos interj ected, begging the others tol isten. "I am as a hatchl ing in the ways of war, bu there, on this deck , are col l ected the best minds forthis ventu re. If I may su ggest, as my l ast gestu rebefore step p ing down as l eader of this comp any,Torvaan R ok and H ol k at shou l d l ead the twogrou p s... that is if H ol k at agrees."

I shru gged, faintl y amu sed. "Why not? Who el secan p il ot this ship ? "

* * *War is a p erp etu al state on Barsoom. It is the

method by which access to the p l anet' s dwindl ingresou rces is managed. Those who have them fightbitterl y to p rotect them from others. Those withou twil l fight more determinedl y to tak e what they needto su rvive. Perhap s 5 0 0 mil l ion hu mans l ive onBarsoom in scattered commu nities sep arated byimmense deserts and inhosp itabl e l ands. Bl ack , red,white and yel l ow, we war amongst ou rsel ves aswel l as contest the worl d with nearl y 5 mil l ion no-madic green men who own the dead sea bottoms.Bu t we are not the onl y creatu res at war for re-sou rces: the fierce white ap es, terribl e and hu ge,are man-eaters, as are the great carnivores su ch asthe banth and ap t. In D or, where I sp ent some timein my you th, the p l ant men p rey u p on al l , and


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fearsome aqu atic monsters inhabit the vast u nder-grou nd ocean. Life and death, a constant viol entrefrain, is with al l of u s from birth. We l earn toaccep t that earl y, or we die. If accep ted, we l earn todeal death. And if we l earn that, we l earn to beefficient in that ex ercise.

D ee and G al k ina, and 5 0 0 stal wart warriors ofThaandor u nder Torvaan R ok ' s command, were l etover the side in a smal l val l ey six haads from Thil -u m. The smok e col u mn over the city had su bsidedgreatl y by that time which, strangel y, gave a mea-su re of hop e to Mil ieos. H is observation "ashescannot be l ooted" made great sense.

Becau se we had brou ght the ship in so cl ose toThil u m to debark the first u nit, I was forced to ru nin reverse for several haads and to then detou rwidel y behind the hil l s to ru n wel l ou t into the basinbefore coming rou nd to enter the canyon l ands. D eehad drawn an amaz ingl y accu rate map for my u se,which brou ght u s to the tar seep withou t incidentby earl y afternoon.

I ordered al l off the ship , ex cep t those I haddesignated as crew. The mix ed fighting force ofmen and women were to either sl eep , hu nt, orbathe in the stream a qu arter haad away. Soon freshmeat was brou ght in and smok el ess fires were bu il tto cook it whil e hal f of the Thaandorians bu siedthemsel ves smearing a thick coat of tar over theship ' s l ower hu l l , effectivel y disgu ising ancientmetal which had retained an u ntarnished gl eam foru ntol d years.

Meanwhil e, I dril l ed gu n crews, for they wou l dbe instru mental if ou r p l an were to su cceed. We had


20 9

no wirel ess range finders on these weap ons. V isu alsights wou l d be of l ittl e u se in comp l ete dark ness.

"Sp eed," I tol d gu n crew nu mber two, "is al l wehave. The more shel l you can send into the War-hoons the better off we wil l be. Practice u ntil youcan do it au tomatical l y, then p ractice to do it in-stinctivel y. The gu n crews of H el iu m can ex p endtheir cannon in an eye-bl ink ."

One man scoffed. I grinned. "Three eye-bl ink s,then. D o the best you can. We cannot p ractice withl ive ammu nition becau se we are too near Thil u mand the rep ort of ou r weap ons wou l d give u s away,nor do we have that mu ch shel l to sp are for train-ing."

"We u nderstand, H ol k at. We wil l not fail ."I watched the warriors of Thaandor work their

gu ns for the better p art of a z ode and was wel l -p l eased with the resu l t. I sent them to tak e theirmeal s at the canyon camp and then went bel ow.

It had been three days since I sl ep t and Ineeded rest more than even food. The ship wasqu iet, the ex terior p rep arations comp l ete. I l aymysel f u p on a bu nk in an aft cabin to cl ose my eyesfor a few z odes.

The cabin was in dark ness when I awok e witha start. Something, or someone, had distu rbed myheavy sl eep . A k een dagger was in my hand as Icame off the cou ch. I saw a dark figu re near thecabin door.

"H ol k at! " a woman' s voice ex cl aimed withsu dden fear.

"Y ou ! " I breathed. My brain qu ick l y cl eared. Ip u t the bl ade away and wal k ed toward the smal lform of Ju nie Watts.


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She drew away. "We need to tal k .""There is l ittl e to tal k abou t. Y ou are mine. I

wil l tak e you away when this thing is done.""No."D id my ears deceive me? "D o not try my

p atience, Jasoomian.""I beg you to free me from you r heart as I am

free from you r control .""I do not give u p what is mine. There is onl y

the two of u s here, Ju nie Watts. There is no one toconfu se you or l ead you astray. Look you to you rown heart. Tel l me that you are not my sl ave."

She did not immediatel y answer, and when shedid, it was with great angu ish. "Lord hel p me, I dofeel something for you , H ol k at. Y ou are the onl yman who ever owned my heart as wel l as my body,bu t becau se of that, I can never tru l y be you rs. Nohu man being is meant to own another."

"Y ou l ove me, Ju nie Watts. I k now this.""Bu t do you l ove me? " she cried. "To you I am

a p ossession, something new and u nu su al . Y ou findme intrigu ing, bu t you have no affection for me.None. Tel l me this is not so," she said, u nhooding adu sty wal l -mou nted radiu m l amp which cast a dimradiance into the cabin. "Look into my eyes and tel lme you l ove me. If I bel ieve you , you may own me,whol l y and with al l my heart."

H er eyes were l arge and white, her bl ack sk ingl istened with tears. She was so p rep osterou s anddeformed. She was stu p id. She was—her p l eadingeyes swal l owed me with her torment. In that diz z ysp inning as I fel t her distress I had a su dden revel a-tion.


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"Love is a p owerfu l thing, Ju nie Watts. Even I,a p rofiteering arms merchant k now this, bu t to seeactu al evidence of that emotion is something I havenever ex p erienced. Y es, woman, I see that you dok now what l ove is, and that l ove consu mes you ."

I tu rned away to gaz e ou t the p orthol e to thecamp . With softer tone edged with anger I de-manded, "Who is it that you l ove so deep l y that youcome to me al one? D o you fear I wil l k il l the oneyou l ove simp l y to rep ossess you ? "

There was sil ence for a l ong time. Then ap anic-strick en, "Y es."

"Is it Mil ieos or Maj Lank or? Wait—I do notwish to k now. G et ou t, Ju nie Watts. Y ou are adisgu sting, mal formed creatu re, more bu rden thanasset. Leave me."

"H ol k at—"I tu rned and gl ared at her, u nsp eak ing. The

Jasoomian su ddenl y wil ted. Wail ing, she ran into thecorridor.

The anger that cou rsed throu gh me seared mybreast l ik e mol ten steel . That woman! My l ife hadbeen cu rsed since finding her on the Ok arian' schain. She had confu sed me, frightened me, andeventu al l y ru ined me. Nothing was l eft becau se ofmy obsession for her; an obsession which I recog-niz ed now for what it tru l y was, a fascination withthe u nk nown.

I stood at the p orthol e, savoring the cool breez efor some time. Later, my emotions again u nder con-trol , I went top side. Mil ieos was on the grou nd,directing the Thaandorians back onto the ship . Iwatched him, feel ing a col dness form inside. Ofcou rse, it had to be Mil ieos that she l oved. She had


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been with him more than any and had work ed at hisside. She had l ived in his hou se at Thil u m. This manwas the one. This man had so insp ired Ju nie Wattsthat she dared to deny her l ove for me. Bitter is thereal iz ation that the master is not the center of asl ave' s u niverse.

The Thaandorian hel msman distracted me byrequ esting instru ction for getting u nderway. Iaddressed those ship du ties with driven, singl e-minded devotion rather than continu e down thedark p ath my thou ghts had tak en. Y et, every actionI took , every command I gave, was shadowed by avenomou s sil ent echo "K il l Mil ieos and she wil l l oveme."

"Are we ready, H ol k at? D ee has arrived andbrings good rep ort."

I j u mp ed, so p reoccu p ied had I been with mythou ghts and work . Tu rning from the hel m I sawthat Mil ieos stood before me. The p hysician wastal l , handsome, and the owner of Ju nie Watts' heart.I said, "We are ready," when I wou l d rather havedrawn the sword at my side and sk ewered thep hysician.

Mil ieos crossed the control cabin and p l aced ahand on my shou l der. "I hop e it is not too l ate to be-gin again, H ol k at. I bel ieve we have more in com-mon than we do not. I am gratefu l for al l you havedone and are abou t to do. Few men wou l d give sofreel y of themsel ves for strangers."

"We have Ju nie Watts in common, as wel l as ahatred for Warhoons. That is enou gh. G o tel l you rmen we cast off within the x at."

H e l eft the cabin and I watched him go, feel inga strange mix tu re of l oathing and admiration. We


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cou l d never be friends—he and I were too different,bu t for the moment we were al l ies. If I did not k il lhim, I wou l d mak e cl aim for some of what I had l ost,or I might tak e what I wanted and damn them al l .

Ashore, near the dying fires of the camp , a de-tachment of twenty stood gu ard arou nd Ju nie Watts,D ee, and Mil ieos' famil y. Where this ship went thisnight was no p l ace for a deformed Jasoomian, herred friend, a First Born woman or a crip p l e. D ee hadbrou ght with her several thoats which had gatheredcl osel y abou t Ju nie Watts. If we did not retu rn fromThil u m, the Thaandorians were to tak e their char-ges by thoat back to their city as best they cou l d.Their chance of su rviving that trek was mu ch betterthan the odds we might su rvive this night. Stil l , Il ook ed forward to battl e with an eagerness, or wasit merel y a symp tom of my inner tu rmoil ?

I watched over the aft rail as the great shipghosted u p wards on sil ent p rop el l ers. The canyonwas so deep that even starl ight cou l d not p enetrate.I l ost sight of Ju nie Watts before the ship reachedthe rim and tu rned west toward Thil u m.

* * *Mil ieos gave D ee' s rep ort in cal m tones to the

p adwars and the l ieu tenants I had sel ected to beship officers. H ow the woman had gathered so mu chin su ch a short time, and ridden throu gh the night todel iver it, was l ittl e short of amaz ing. By her obser-vation it ap p eared the Warhoons had onl y j u st tak enThil u m, p erhap s as recentl y as the morning wearrived.

The Warhoons had gathered their monstrou sthoats at the river where the moss was richest andwater was p l entifu l . Thou gh these viciou s beasts


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might go a month or more withou t water, tak ingtheir moistu re from the tou gh desert mosses, thethoats wou l d tak e advantage of su rface water, drink -ing rep eatedl y to rep l enish dep l eted body fl u ids.There were few gu ards with the animal s, there be-ing no need to manage them when the water wou l dhol d them in p l ace.

The l ower p art of Thil u m, where Mil ieos and Ihad fou ght together, was the section destroyed byfire. Many of the bu il dings had been constru cted ofwood, hide and cl oth. The wind off the desert hadk ep t the fire away from the heart of the city wherestood the D ator' s fortress. North, the direction fromwhich ou r l and force ap p roached, was rel ativel yu ngu arded. The hil l s and thick forest might seemimp assabl e to hu ge nomads and their even moretitanic mou nts. D ee, however, had shown G al k inatwo different ap p roaches from the val l ey of thoats.When they sep arated to bring in the reconnais-sance, G al k ina was to su ggest to Torvaan R ok thathe send one-third of his force by the hil l rou te andthe remainder throu gh the forest above the sl ow-moving river. The smal l er grou p wou l d have bu t ashort distance to cross into Thil u m from the forestwhil e the river p arty wou l d have onl y agricu l tu ralfiel ds over which to charge their fl eet thoats. D eehad said that the river side of Thil u m was rel ativel yop en, thou gh many of the streets were cl ogged withover-ru n barricades bu il t by the defenders as theyfel l back to the fortress. The fortress, according tothe red woman, was in Warhoon hands.

"D ee said they were tortu ring the cap tives,"Mil ieos l owered his head. "There was p rodigiou s


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l au ghter from the city commons where p ol es hadbeen erected and victims bou nd."

I had seen the resu l ts of Warhoon entertain-ment in my travel s. The vil e beasts took ex cep -tional del ight observing the agonies of their cap -tives. Bu rning, fl aying, sk inning with k nives-chop -p ing off l imbs and wagering how l ong before thevictim died, howl ing with l au ghter as the p oorcreatu res ex p ired. H ate Mil ieos I might, bu t I tru l yhated Warhoons more. Becau se of this deep -seatedenmity I said, "The ivory of Warhoon tu sk s is highl yp riz ed in Phu ndahl . I am in mind of becoming a richman tonight."

The forward l ook ou t p u shed her way into thecabin. "We near the city," she said.

I nodded. "To you r stations, warriors, and maythe sp irits of ou r ancestors be with u s. G u ncap tains—man you r weap ons. Y ou r target is thesou th side of the common where the maj ority of thebarbarians are encamp ed. Mak e you r first vol l eycou nt. After firing on my command, you may fire atwil l . Landing p arty l eaders: form you r troop s at therail s. We wil l l and as many of you as we can beforethe battl e begins. Mil ieos, do you have anything toadd? "

There was an instant of sil ence before the p hy-sician rep l ied. "Neither moon wil l rise for a z ode. Besil ent. Su rp rise is ou r al l y. The Warhoons havefou ght a l ong and costl y battl e to win Thil u m. Theyare u np rep ared for a strik e. Bu t these are devil ishcreatu res who wil l react swiftl y if we give them achance. R emember, tak e ou t their l eaders first.Every chief and j ed destroyed wil l weak en their


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abil ity and resol ve. G ive them no chance to orga-niz e. That is al l ."

At a qu arter haad I ordered the engines off. Wedrifted with the wind in u tter sil ence. Ou r al titu dewas a handfu l of ads above the su rface. At the citywal l s fifty warriors swiftl y descended the rop es,drop p ing inside the comp ou nd. Another twenty-fivel anded on the roof of a bu il ding. Before the shipp assed over, they had disap p eared into the interior.Before we reached the commons, more than hal fou r comp l ement was on the grou nd.

Bel ow u s a thou sand Warhoons were gathered,fighting amongst themsel ves for sp oil s or watchingthe tortu rers at work . Some gambl ed, some sl ep t,some were onl y concerned with gorging them-sel ves. Al l were u naware that death fl oated above.

My hand hovered over the l ift l evers. I in-tended to set the ship down on as many Warhoonsas I cou l d. My p al m itched, my body tensed, thebl ood raced throu gh my veins. Leaning over theside, I chose my time and chop p ed the control s."G u ns, fire! "

These Thaandorians, who had never handl edsu ch weap ons before, had three vol l eys into themassed green men before the hu l l settl ed on p er-hap s 1 0 0 , cru shing them to death. Before the shipsettl ed comp l etel y, the entire comp l ement was overthe side. H al f ru shed p el l mel l into the commonswith swords fl ashing whil e the rest assau l ted theu ngu arded entrance to the fortress.

I did not see Mil ieos go over the side. I was toobu sy directing gu n fire u ntil the l ast rou nd wasex p ended. Sheer cal amity was visited u p on theWarhoons with hu ndreds inj u red or k il l ed. The


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Thaandorians raced throu gh the massed Warhoonsin p airs. Each two-man team was instru cted tomaim or k il l as many as p ossibl e. This they did byone warrior charging and braving the deadl y re-sp onse of the green man whil e the other attack edfrom side or rear. Few attemp ted k il l ing thru sts,which wou l d p l ace them too cl ose to the swords oftheir enemies, rather they hamstru ng or severedsp ines and moved on.

R adiu m rifl es were tak en from the dead anddying and tu rned against the Warhoons. The sol idp roj ectil es screamed throu gh the night, smashinginto retreating green men trying to regrou p againstthe Thaandorians.

As p er Mil ieos' instru ction, the j eds, k nown bytheir finery and aggressiveness, were the first tofal l . Al l sense of regimen vanished among the War-hoons. Y et, they were far from defeated. We werestil l ou tnu mbered desp ite the grievou s l osses in-fl icted. Additional l y, there was danger behind as weraced throu gh the Warhoons, for each crip p l edgreen warrior was stil l formidabl e. Some raisedthemsel ves erect u p on their intermediary l imbs,dragging p aral yz ed l egs behind. They took u p l ostweap ons and began to cl ose in from the rear. Theforward l ine of the Warhoons began to sol idify andou r momentu m sl ack ed.

Combat intensified and ou r l osses began tomou nt. I wondered where ou r other forces were.Why had we not been reinforced? We had k il l ed orwou nded more than six hu ndred Warhoons, bu tthere remained p erhap s twice that many!


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I fel t it before I heard it. A trembl ing in thegrou nd throu gh my sandal s. "Fal l back ! Fal l back ! "I shou ted. "To the ship ! "

This had been in ou r p l an: a swift retreat to thesafety of the grou nded vessel . Thaandorians disen-gaged startl ed op p onents. As we ran to the ship ,any Warhoons op p osing u s were ru thl essl y cu tdown. The commons was l ittered with dead barbari-ans. There were Thaandorians on the grou nd, too,bu t fewer than I had first bel ieved. Of the two hu n-dred who grou nded with me, al l bu t p erhap s thirtyretu rned j u st as the tremendou s thoat herd crashedinto the massed Warhoons su rrou nding ou r ship .

The screams of Warhoon and thoat were anightmare of agony and terror. For al l the mayhemwe had done with sword and gu n, it was nothingcomp ared to the mu l titu dinou s deaths beneath thenail l ess p ads of stamp eding desert thoats. Thethoats continu ed to race throu gh the city l ong afterthe l ast Warhoon cried ou t. When the hu ge animal shad p assed, cru shed Warhoon bodies and bl ood hadbeen chu rned into a sick l y mu d.

Torvaan R ok ' s mou nted warriors immediatel yfol l owed. H e directed his mou nted warriors intohu nting grou p s of ten to twenty men and theyfanned ou t into the city seek ing barbarians.

From the direction of the vessel ' s cou rse camea steady stream of Thaandorians and citiz enry. Thep eop l e of Thil u m took u p fal l en sword and l ance andmoved throu gh the commons k il l ing any green manwho had su rvived the attack and stamp ede. Menand women brained and bu tchered Warhoons with-ou t mercy.


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I had been too p reoccu p ied with p ersonalsu rvival and my immediate battl efiel d to give mu chthou ght to the warriors who had fol l owed Mil ieosinto the fortress. As Torvaan R ok had the city u n-der control , I ran into the fortress to ex terminate afew more barbarians.

Inside the entrance I fou nd that the battl e hadnot gone as wel l . D oz ens of Thaandorians l ay dead,as wel l as a good many Warhoons. The fight hadgone into the interior, where the fl oors were sl ickwith bl ood. Behind me came a doz en warriors. Idisp atched them in threes down corridors at eachfl oor as we ascended the main ramp . One manremained with me as we came to the fl oor wherethe D ator' s ap artment was l ocated.

The carnage was incredibl e. The warriors ofThaandor had fou ght wel l , bu t so had the Warhoons.It was a case of mu tu al destru ction. As my comp an-ion and I ru shed arou nd the corner, two Warhoonscoming down from the roof attack ed.

These barbarians were bl oodied and their steelwas dark with red. These fel l ows were not tak enu nawares, nor was there a herd of thoats to ru nover them. Both were wel l over dou bl e a man' sheight and they were fighting for their l ives.

My op p onent was no mean swordsman. U nl ik ehis fel l ow, who wiel ded his sword in a series ofoverhead, sl ashing, figu re eights, mine fou ght withtip and thru st. Fortu natel y, his great height was adisadvantage in the narrow hal l way. The Warhooncou l d not easil y maneu ver or u se his reach andstrength whereas I was u nimp eded in that regard.

The din of battl e in the fortress drowned thecl ash of ou r steel in the corridor. My comp anion,


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al ready wou nded from the fight on the common,was hard-p ressed by his adversary. I saw theThaandorian weak en rap idl y before his foeman' s re-l entl ess assau l t. In a few heartbeats he wou l d dieu nl ess something was done

R edou bl ing my efforts, I du ck ed a terrific sl ashby my foe and darted in, disembowel ing the War-hoon. Thou gh grievou sl y inj u red, the green manfou ght on, u sing his l ower l imbs to contain his vital sto l ive l ong enou gh to k il l me. I drew my shortsword, a heavy, dou bl e-edged weap on, and u sed itto sl ash and break the barbarian' s k nee. The greatmonster hissed ex p l osivel y as he top p l ed to thefl agging. With nearl y the same motion I thru st overhal f the l ength of my l ong sword beneath the secondgreen man' s l ower armp it. Convu l sing as the p ointof my weap on p ierced his heart, that barbarian fel l ,too, and in fal l ing wrenched the sword from mygrasp . My sword bent dou bl e and snap p ed when thegreen man crashed against the wal l .

The Thaandorian warrior sagged against theop p osite wal l . H is wou nds were seriou s, bu t notimmediatel y fatal if hel p cou l d be fou nd. H e mo-tioned me on as he stood gu ard over the corp ses ofou r l ate foes.

The D ator' s ap artment was at the end of thecorridor. H ow different the p resent than when Ifirst entered there!

Senca l ay u p on the cou ch as I had l ast seenhim, bu t what the Warhoons had done was beyonddescrip tion. H is body was mu til ated. H orribl e tor-tu res had been p racticed and his body bru tal l yop ened. Mil ieos k nel t on the bl ood-sp attered fl oornex t to his dead brother, head bowed and weep ing.


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I refrained from distu rbing the man, for there aremoments which can onl y be endu red, not shared.

I tu rned my head to l isten to the battl e, whichwas mu ch su bdu ed and carried far from this tragicchamber. Thou gh it seemed imp ossibl e, I had nodou bt that ou r comp any of fierce Thaandorians andgiven the Warhoons a defeat from which a hu ndredyears or more might p ass before they might re-cover.

Tru l y in the veins of the warriors of Thaandormu st cou rse the bl ood of the First Born. Theirbravery and sk il l and strength p rocl aimed that heri-tage. They al so had resol ve and determination andan imp assioned bel ief in themsel ves; p erhap s thatwas a l egacy of their Thern ancestors. Whateverhad combined to p rodu ce this race had resu l ted inthe best of both. My warrior' s heart was stirred bythe fighting men and women of Thaandor.

This revel ry was interru p ted by a su rrep titiou smovement in the doorway to a chamber beyondSenca' s qu arters. Pu z z l ed, I l ook ed into the shad-ows within that other room and saw the hu ge formof a green man on al l fou rs, his u p p er body hel derect. In his hands were a l ong sword and a dagger.As the Warhoon ru shed u p on the u nsu sp ecting Mil i-eos, I shou ted a warning and ran to intercep t.

Whether intention of the Warhoon, l u ck , orsimp l y stu p idity on my p art, the barbarian tu rned toface me and his great sword entered my abdomen.The imp etu s of his charge and mine forced the p ointof the weap on throu gh my body, barel y missing mysp ine. The green man' s sword p rotru ded from myback and continu ed to ex it as I p u shed mysel f cl ose,short sword raised to tak e this demon down the


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col d R iver of Mystery with me. My sword sp l it theWarhoon' s sk u l l , sp attering brain and bl ood, sep a-rating the mighty tu sk s and then l odged immovabl yin the bones of the desert nomad' s neck .

The Warhoon drop p ed instantl y and I, al most asswiftl y, sat down to face the being who had k il l edme.

"H ol k at! " Mil ieos l ay down his weap on andcame to su p p ort my body with a strong arm. "Thatwas a fool ish thing to do! "

I l au ghed, tasting bl ood in my mou th. "I mu st a-gree, sir. Strange, I do not feel anything at themoment."


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The hil t of the sword throu gh my bel l y wasfascinating to view. "G athol ian steel , if I k now myswords...and I do. I wonder who he got it from." TheWarhoon, of cou rse, cou l d not answer me.

Su ddenl y, l ife was too short to say what I mu st.I grip p ed the p hysician' s harness with a cu riou sl yweak hand. "I shou l d have l et the beast k il l you ,then I might have had Ju nie Watts. Bu t at the l astinstant I real iz ed she wou l d never be mine, inchains or free. She confu sed me, Mil ieos. She mademe insane. Now I thank her for... for..."

A shade p assed over my eyes. I cou l d not seethe face of Mil ieos any l onger. I cou l d not drawbreath as bl ood fil l ed my l u ngs. I cou l d not sp eak , Icou l d not think . I cou l d not remember why I wantedto thank Ju nie Watts. I was col d, col der than anywinter col der than—


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CCCC H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R H A P TE R 12121212JJJJ U N I E U N I E U N I E U N I E WWWWAT T SAT T SAT T SAT T S ::::

AAAA TTTT R A I TO R I N R A I TO R I N R A I TO R I N R A I TO R I N TTTT H I L U MH I L U MH I L U MH I L U M

D ee stood nex t to me as I watched the greatship rise into the night. On board were Mil ieos,H ol k at, and five-hu ndred Thaandorians. I did notex p ect to see any of them again. The red woman' srep ort, as it was given to Mil ieos, said the War-hoons occu p ied Thil u m and their force was qu itel arge.

"What if they don' t come back ? " I ask ed D ee."We are mil es from anywhere and there are nofriends we can cal l u p on."

"We have friends enou gh to see u s throu gh,"D ee smil ed. She meant the Thaandorian sol diersl eft of gu ard u s. "And we are not as isol ated as that.The equ atorial trade road is to the north and to thenortheast are forest l ands where we can find foodand water, if necessary."

Fol k ar and K u l u a k ep t to themsel ves. I thinkthey did not l ik e me. I k now they did not l ik e theircu rrent p osition, bu t I had other things on my mind.I was not feel ing wel l . Al l afternoon I had been con-tracting, bu t had said nothing to Mil ieos. H is mis-


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sion was far more imp ortant than my p regnancy. Ihad had too many fal se l abors over the l ast twoweek s—it was p robabl y nothing more than anotheroccu rrence.

Oh, bu t I was p l eased to see my thoats! D eesaid that when she and G al k ina l anded in the thoatval l ey area, Star had come to her from ou t of a smal lherd. She l ater fou nd D u k e, R ebel and Contessa;G al k ina was mou nted on Top p er and, if al l wentaccording to p l an, was on the way to meet TorvaanR ok ' s u nit east of Thil u m. Of Big G u n and Sop hiethere was no sign.

The warriors of Thil u m who formed ou r gu ardwere amu sed by the antics of the thoats, hu ge u n-l ovel y creatu res p ressing cl ose that I might p attheir snou ts. I was rou ghing the area between Con-tessa' s eyes when I had a sharp contraction and fel ta fl ood between my l egs. The great beasts seemedto sense my p ain and, throu gh them, D ee becameconcerned.

"It is time," I tol d the red woman. "No fal sel abor this."

"Mil ieos is not here and we cannot su mmonMaj Lank or..."

D ee l ook ed a l ittl e startl ed when I took herhand and sp ok e reassu ringl y. "Now that it is hap -p ening I' m no l onger afraid. My grandmother tol dme a doz en tal es of Negro sl ave girl s giving birth inthe fiel ds and wrap p ing that baby u p and going backto work . Mil l ions of babies are born every yearwithou t doctors. It is a natu ral thing. G od made u sthat way."

"I hop e you r deity is more benevol ent thanthose of Barsoom," D ee remark ed. With a nod of


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her head, the woman su ddenl y smil ed. "If it is to benow, so be it. Can you get to that hol l ow u nder thewal l or shou l d I get someone to carry you ? "

I l ook ed to the p l ace where the cook ing fire hadbeen du ring the day. The indentation u nder thewind-eroded wal l was abou t twice the siz e of themain room at Mil ieos' hou se. At one end a ru detabl e had been assembl ed from sl ab rock . Al l dayhu nters had brou ght in darseen l iz ards, which cou l dchange their col or, and a variety of odd-l ook ingfru its and tu bers and p l ants with names l ik e u sa andsomp and mantal ia. The fire was smal l , bu t bu rnedhot becau se of some hardwood cal l ed sk eel . At theother end of the hol l ow big armfu l s of sp ringy ochremoss had been gathered and cl oak s thrown over itto mak e beds where shifts of Thaandorians hadsl ep t throu ghou t the day.

"I can mak e it, D ee, if I may hol d you r shou l -der."

We wal k ed u p the sl op e. The red woman p u ther arm arou nd my waist and hel d me tight. Thethoats fol l owed u s in singl e fil e and D ee started tosend them away, bu t I begged her to l et them come.

The two Thaandorians tending the fire andbu tchering an animal I did not k now the name ofstop p ed their work as we entered the hol l ow. "IsJu nie Watts il l ? " one ask ed.

"She is going to have a chil d," D ee said. "Weneed hot water. Is that right, Ju nie Watts? "

I smil ed. "If it hel p s give them something to do,yes. I wil l want to wash my baby after it is born."

Fol k ar and his sister were sitting on one of themoss p al l ets. Both scowl ed at me as D ee and I ap -p roached. "Are you hatching? " Fol k ar ask ed.


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"Y es," I said, withou t correcting him. "Wou l dyou l ik e to watch? "

Fol k ar chose not to answer. H e rose on hiscrip p l ed l egs and p u shed his way throu gh thethoats. K u l u a sat for a moment, l ip s p u rsed as if shehad something to say, then changed her mind andfol l owed her brother.

The moss bed was more comfortabl e than Iwou l d have imagined. Leaning back against the coolrock , I l ook ed to my thoats. The animal s had l inedu p , facing ou t, forming a l iving wal l between u s andthe tar val l ey. Cu riou sl y, I fel t more secu re here inthe dark est canyon on the dark est night I cou l d everremember, than I might in Mil ieos' cl inic or MajLank or' s modern l aboratory.

The Thaandorian who' d been cook ing, a womansol dier with a face horribl y scarred by some vio-l ence, brou ght me a cu p of warm tea. I did not k nowwhat it was made of, bu t it tasted wonderfu l . "Thankyou ," I said.

"I was at Torvaan R ok ' s birth," the woman said."May you r time be easy."

D ee sp ok e softl y. "Then you have more k nowl -edge of what is to come than Ju nie Watts or mysel f.Any assistance you may offer wil l be greatl y ap p re-ciated."

"I wil l be nearby," the woman p romised. "Fornow we wait."

We did wait, the contractions coming faster. Inbetween D ee tol d me of strange and magical sou nd-ing p l aces on Barsoom. She tol d me of far G athol ,where her dau ghter l ived, a high-rising mou ntaincity bu il t over the richest diamond and p l atinu mmines k nown. I heard of H astor and its great agri-


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cu l tu re and ship bu il ding indu stries and D u horwhere the best thoats were raised. I l earned ofancient H orz and Lothar and Manatos, and best ofal l , H el iu m. Al l these p l aces were made to comeal ive as D ee p atientl y hel d my hand when I wished.H er voice was transformed as she sp ok e of herworl d, the greater worl d than what we had travel edtogether. I saw now that she had al ways been myteacher and best friend, the one who tau ght me tosp eak and gave me back my wil l .

"Y ou have been so many p l aces," I said, nibbl ingat a morsel of darseen I did not real l y want. "I want-ed to see my worl d bu t never had the op p ortu nity.I envy you ."

D ee l owered her head to stare at sl im handscl asp ed on her l ap . "I envy you more, Ju nie Watts."

"Me? " I was shock ed. "I k now nothing. I havedone so l ittl e in my l ife and was not strong enou ghto tak e care of mysel f here. I am..."

She stop p ed me with a gentl e shak e of thehead. Patting my arm, D ee said. "I envy you r you th.I envy you r chil d. I envy that you might have otherchil dren and I cannot."

There was a sil ent p ain her voice that tou chedme. It never occu rred to me that this strong andmarvel ou s woman cou l d ever be thwarted in any-thing she desired. "Some times p eop l e go a l ongtime between chil dren," I said. "Y ou ' ve had a chil dwith you r man. G ive it time, you wil l again."

"I' ve had two," D ee rep l ied. "A strong son anda beau tifu l dau ghter. Each of them have chil dren oftheir own. I am mu ch ol der than you think , Ju nieWatts."

"R eal l y? H ow mu ch ol der? Shal l I gu ess? "


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"If you wish, bu t you wil l be wrong."I l ook ed at D ee in the fl ick ering l ight of the fire.

H er sk in was smooth and p erfect, as was her form.Even the dirt smu dged on her cheek or the du st onher sandal s and harness cou l d not dim her beau ty.H er eyes were you ng and al ive, her mou th u nl ined."I k now Barsoomians l ive a thou sand years, Mil ieostol d me. And it sou nds l ik e you have done a greatdeal al ready, so I' d say you are forty years ol d."

D ee smil ed. "I am a l ittl e over seventy-three. Ihave been married more than a hal f centu ry. In thattime, I have had two chil dren, both earl y in ou rrel ationship . We have tried since and..."

I have never seen D ee cry—and I did not see itthen—bu t her eyes grew misty with regret. "D ee..."

I took her hand to comfort her, then abru p tl ygrip p ed it as a stronger contraction nearl y bent medou bl e. "Oh! " I gasp ed softl y, breathing hard. "Oh!Oh! Oh ! "

Each ej acu l ation seemed to hel p and I contin-u ed it, breathing fast and hard. Whether I shou l d ornot did not enter my mind as I concentrated on thep ressu re and changes occu rring to my body.

D ee started to p u sh me back onto the moss,bu t I resisted. It did not feel l ik e the thing to do. Ihel d onto her shou l der and p u l l ed mysel f forwardu ntil I cou l d get my feet u nderneath. I squ attedover the bed, shak ing and contracting, squ eez ing tomak e it stop , p u shing to mak e the baby come. Itseemed to be an eternity of p ain and confu sion, thenit su bsided.

"Nex t time," I p anted, rel ax ing.The Thaandorian with the u gl y face was at my

other side. I had not seen her ap p roach. "Soon," she


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said. "Onl y a handfu l of tal s between contractionsnow."

I fel t a cool ing cl oth p ressed to my brow andcl osed my eyes. I grip p ed D ee' s smal l hand and shehel d tight as the nex t contraction began.

The p ain was more intense, the contractionsstronger than before. I grit my teeth tightl y andhissed air throu gh nose and mou th. I' d heard thatsome women scream du ring chil dbirth. I didn' t feelthe need, thou gh I fel t determined to have this overas soon as p ossibl e! I p u shed. I p u shed hard as Isqu atted over the cl oak -covered moss.

There was a su dden movement in my bel l y andI fel t the baby' s head p op ou t. I cou l dn' t l et go ofD ee to catch it. "My baby! " I gasp ed.

The Thaandorian had al ready done it before Igot the words ou t. Al l wiggl y and squ irming andbrown and wet and squ al l ing he came into theworl d. I l ook ed down throu gh daz ed eyes at thel ittl e boy. I l au ghed.

I fel t another contraction coming. It was theafterbirth. I had to deal with that before I cou l d tak emy baby in my arms. Pu sh! Pu sh! Pu sh!

I concentrated on the bright fire. I wanted itover and I p rayed as I p u shed. Su ddenl y D ee' s voicep enetrated my brain. "It' s another chil d! " She l eaneddown and I hel d onto her shou l ders.

"Lay back , Ju nie," D ee ordered frantical l y."There' s something arou nd its neck ! Lay back ! "

"What? It' s the cord! D o something, D ee! D on' tl et my baby die! "

I was so tired. I cou l dn' t hol d my head u p to seewhat she did. I fel t her hands p u l l ing and tu gging.The Thaandorian p rodu ced a k nife.


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"Save my baby! " I cried.It was too mu ch. I p assed ou t.* * *When I awok e it was to the scent of thoats and

hot tea. I was wrap p ed in cl oak s. D ee and theThaandorian with the u gl y face—no, the face withthe mark of her strength and character—sat at thefoot of my bed.

"Y ou ' re awak e," D ee grinned. "One each. A boyand a girl ."

"Are they al right? R ight nu mber of fingers andtoes? "

The Thaandorian chu ck l ed. "In p erfect order,Ju nie Watts."

"I want to hol d them! "My babies were brou ght to me. The boy yowl ed

l ik e a tomcat. H is tiny fists were raised and p u nch-ing l ik e a p riz e fighter. The girl was sil ent, asl eep ,thou gh she stirred when D ee p u t her in my arms.Both had rou nd faces and bl ack hair and caramelsk in. Who their father might be, the Ok arian orH ol k at, I cou l d not say, nor was it imp ortant. Oneman was dead and the other was dead in my heart.I wanted nothing from either of them ex cep t whatI hel d in my arms.

"And that' s the way it shou l d be," D ee said-which l et me k now I' d sp ok en thou ghts al ou d with-ou t real iz ing it.

"Thank you , D ee. And thank you ...you ..."The Thaandorian ack nowl edged me with a

sal u te. "My name is Y ona.""Y ona...that sou nds l ik e my grandfather' s name,

Jonah. I wil l name my son Jonah. Each time I say itI wil l think of you ."


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"I am honored. D rink you r tea." The womansmil ed and moved away.

"To l ook at her," I whisp ered to D ee, "onewou l d never k now su ch a k ind heart beat in herbreast."

"There are others who have the same k indnessin them when this harsh worl d al l ows it. H ow areyou feel ing? "

"A l ittl e weak , bu t good. H el p me sit u p .""Are you su re? ""No, bu t I want to try."I fel t a l ittl e l ight headed, bu t it p assed qu ick l y.

D ee hel d the cu p to my l ip s as both hands wereoccu p ied with my chil dren. The tea tasted good andit seemed to restore me.

"Thank you , dear friend. I am not su re I cou l dhave done this withou t you ."

D ee l au ghed. "I do not think that either u s hadmu ch to say in the matter. Those babies werecoming."

"They su re did! " I l eaned forward and k issedD ee' s cheek . "I wil l name my dau ghter after you ."

The red woman frowned momentaril y. "Su rel ythere is someone el se you ' d rather honor than me."

"No, onl y you . Y ou saved my l ife. Y ou gave mel ife. I owe you more than I can ever rep ay."

"I want nothing from you , Ju nie Watts, ex cep tyou r p romise that you wil l mak e you r own choicesin l ife." For a heartbeat she p au sed, then added."Y ou have al ready given me more than you canu nderstand. In a way, you have given me back myl ife."

"Then my dau ghter wil l stand for what we havegiven each other. D ee is her name."


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My friend sighed. "Bu t it is not my name." Shegl anced toward the Thaandorians by the fire. Low-ering her voice to a bare whisp er, she said, "Myname is D ej ah Thoris and if that becomes k nown..."

There was a l ong sil ence between u s. Mil ieosand H ol k at had l ong su sp ected that D ee was notwho she cl aimed. I had never p aid mu ch attention tothose sp ecu l ations as I had al l the p roof I needed byD ee—D ej ah' s—friendship .

"I don' t care if you ' re wanted for robbery ormu rder, you are my..."

D ee l au ghed merril y. She sil enced me with agentl e finger to the l ip s. "Oh, it is nothing l ik e that!G ive me one of those babies and I' l l l ean cl ose andtel l you everything."

"That' s a good idea," I said. "I think Jonah ishu ngry. H ol d l ittl e D ee." I nu rsed my son, thenl ater my dau ghter, as the red woman tol d her story.

It was dawn before D ej ah Thoris finished. If Ihad not k nown her as tru e and honorabl e, I mighthave thou ght her a l iar, yet I had heard of D ej ahThoris and John Carter as recentl y as Thaandor. Ifou nd it difficu l t to bel ieve that a p rincess of Mars,l oved by mil l ions, wou l d tak e it u p on hersel f to hel pme, bu t it seemed that' s ex actl y what she did.Whether she was p rincess or mercenary, she haddone so mu ch for me. There was no way that Icou l d ever rep ay her.

Y ona and a few others began to p rep are break -fast for the grou p . D ee l ook ed down at the baby shehel d and sighed. "I won' t ask you to say nothing,Ju nie Watts. Friends do not ask su ch of friends."

I l eaned against the rock . Jonah l ay on his backbetween my l egs. "I' l l say nothing becau se friends


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wou l d not. Stil l , I wil l name my dau ghter D ee inhonor of the best friend I ever had."

"Y ou ' l l have me bawl ing! What wou l d that do tomy recentl y earned bl ood-thirsty rep u tation? H ere,tak e D ee. I' l l get u s something to eat."

* * *We waited for the warriors to retu rn u ntil mid

morning. The p adwar in charge, a handsome fel l owj u st u nder six feet in height, su ggested we mou ntu p and move fu rther from Thil u m. "It does notap p ear they wil l be coming for u s."

D ee l ook ed sou r. I k new several reasons whyshe was u p set bu t that meant nothing to Fol k ar.

"The thoats can tak e al l u s," he said. "Weshou l d ride to Thil u m to see what hap p ened. Wecan al ways ride away if it isn' t good."

K u l u a was beside me. She agreed with herbrother. "D ee k nows the l and. She scou ted the cityonce before. We shou l d get a rep ort before mak ingany decisions."

It was so decided. D ee, Y ona, and I, with mybabies, rode on R ebel , the smal l est thoat. The restof the grou p managed to find p l aces on the otheranimal s. The thoats moved smartl y throu gh thecanyon l ands. We were in shadows and deep cu tsu ntil noon when D ee cal l ed the col u mn to a hal t.She and the p adwar hu rried ahead on foot thou gh abreak between two red hil l s to the east. I l ost sightof them throu gh a tu rning in the l and.

Y ona, her swords wrap p ed in cl oth to p reventrefl ections, stood at R ebel ' s head whil e I sat on thethoat' s back . The su n fel t good as the canyons hadbeen cool with shade. I was a l ittl e thirsty, bu t therewas l ittl e enou gh water in the canteens. If I had


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ask ed, I wou l d have been given drink by any of theThaandorians, who stil l seemed awed by my babies.Martians did not need water as often as I did, bu t Icou l d hol d ou t, at l east u ntil D ee and the p adwarretu rned.

Whenever I fed one of the babies two or threeThaandorians watched with interest. They werep l easant p eop l e and we tal k ed abou t chil dren andp rocreation. I l earned abou t egg-l aying and incu ba-tors and eggs hatching in five years, and the resu l t-ing hal f adu l t-siz e off-sp ring. We discu ssed chil d-rearing and the woes thereof. Chil dren on Barsoomare not so different than Jasoomian chil dren. Theycome into the worl d bl ank and fu l l of senses thatex cite the brain into l earning.

"H o! " Y ona cal l ed. "They come! "I cou l d see the answer in D ee' s smil e before a

word was said. Thil u m had been saved!"H ow l ong before we get there? " K u l u a p etu -

l antl y ask ed after we were again on the move."Two x ats," D ee annou nced. "Are you in a

hu rry? "I was with the red woman in being annoyed

with Mil ieos' sibl ings. They were too imp atient toget to Thil u m, yet neither one had ask ed D ee whatshe had seen in the town.

I figu red two x ats mu st be cl ose to a hal f-hou ras it wasn' t mu ch l onger than that before we sawthe western side of Thil u m. We came down fromthe highl and above the city, therefore we saw theaftermath of what had to be a most ferociou s battl e.

On the commons l ay heap s of green Martians.Men where l oading the bodies into hu ge wagonsdrawn by z itidars, animal s bigger than el ep hants.


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We saw several wagons ru mbl ing ou t of the city tothe east across the smal l river. Where they took thebodies I never l earned, bu t was l ater tol d that wher-ever they were l eft, the scavengers of Barsoomwou l d mak e short work of them.

Torvaan R ok himsel f met u s ou tside the town.H e was sp l endid on his thoat, tal l and as regal as hisfather. H e had been wou nded in the thigh, for it wasbandaged, bu t he did not seem inconvenienced by it.

"I am gl ad you came on you r own," he said. "Wehave had ou r hands fu l l rooting ou t the remainingWarhoons u ntil the l ast z ode. Ju nie Watts! I see youhave been bu sy! "

"Y es. Mil ieos? H ol k at? ""Mil ieos is at the D ator' s fortress. H ol k at was

grievou sl y wou nded."I fel t my heart sk ip a beat. I had no l ove for the

man, bu t for some reason I did care. I cou l d notex p l ain the feel ing.

D ee grip p ed my k nee. "We' l l go there now."Al ong the way Fol k ar and K u l u a l eft u s by way

of one of the side streets. Fol k ar p u shed the thoathard, as if he were in a great hu rry. I gave the twono fu rther thou ght as ou r grou p entered u p on thecommons and trotted arou nd the p erimeter to theD ator' s residence.

Within the fortress wal l s the dead of Thaandorand Thil u m l ay in ordered rows. There were many,bu t their nu mbers were bu t a fraction of a fractionof the terribl e tol l ex acted u p on the Warhoons. D eeseemed u nmoved by the sight bu t I was distu rbedby the col d, stil l bodies. We dismou nted at theentrance and I chose not to l ook u p on the dead,


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concentrating u p on the back of D ee' s p rou d head aswe l eft that sad grou nd.

Inside the hu ge residence were the wou ndedand dying. I heard moans and the occasional scream.I saw bl ood on the fl oors. Men and women weregiving rou gh first aid with the marvel ou s l otions andsal ves of Barsoom. Bu t many wou l d not su rvive,and those who did might be minu s l imbs or p ara-l yz ed. I hel d my babies cl ose, hu rrying al ong, headdown.

We cl imbed the ramp to the third fl oor. Therewe fou nd Mil ieos work ing on the most severel yinj u red. H e l ook ed u p and nodded, then retu rned tohis work . Seeing Mil ieos reminded me of my smal lmedical k nowl edge and sk il l s. Thou gh I did not wishto p art from my babies, I begged D ee and Y ona tocare for them. I went to Mil ieos and he p u t me towork .

As soon as one warrior l eft the tabl e, anotherwas p l aced there. Onl y the most hideou sl y wou ndedwere brou ght to Mil ieos, who work ed at a feverishp ace. Body wou nds were treated first, then amp u ta-tions. D eep gashes and cu ts were treated el se-where.

Onl y once did I see Mil ieos show emotion as heop erated. That was when G al k ina came across thetabl e. H er shou l der was smashed and deep l y cu t bya sword. She was u nconsciou s, which al l owed u s towork swiftl y. I sp read the cu t whil e he retrievedbone and rep aired arteries. H e wired the bonefragments together with some fl ex ibl e gol d-col oredmetal and swiftl y rebu il t her col l ar bone. H e squ irt-ed a foamy su bstance into the op en wou nd thensk il l fu l l y cl osed it with su tu res and cl amp s. Before


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he l et the stretcher bearers tak e her away, Mil ieostou ched G al k ina' s forehead with a trembl ing hand.H e mu ttered something which might have been ap rayer then tore himsel f away.

I was so weary. Y et I cou l d not stop . The casesseemed endl ess, however, as the radiu m bu l bs wereu nhooded with the coming of night, I began toreal iz e that the severity of the p atient inj u ries wasl ess catastrop hic. Some of the casu al ties wereconsciou s and boasting their achievements in battl eas the doctor rep aired their bodies.

My el bow was tu gged. I tu rned my head to seeD ee standing there. "Enou gh," D ee said. "Y ou havebeen work ing for hou rs and you r babies need to eat.Y ona gave them some mantil a mil k bu t I' m su rethey wil l do better with you rs."

My breasts were heavy, and I was so u tterl yfatigu ed. Mil ieos agreed with the red woman. "G o,"he said. "I can handl e it from here."

I l eaned on my friend j u st a l ittl e. It was p ain-fu l l y obviou s I wasn' t one of the bl ack girl s ingrandmother' s stories becau se giving birth real l ydoes tak e it ou t of you .

We went u p to the roof and entered the hang-er—emp ty of a fl ying machine bu t fil l ed with p al l etsand cots set in neat rows. Each hel d a p atient. SomeI recogniz ed as ones I had work ed on with Mil ieos.Some I k new from Thaandor or the ship . The p a-tients at the back of the hanger were from earl ier inthe day. Most seemed to be sl eep ing.

There were some vacant p al l ets al ong the rearwal l . I didn' t want to think they were emp ty be-cau se someone had died. That dark thou ght was setaside by the k nowl edge no new p atients had tak en


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their p l ace which meant every casu al ty had beenaddressed.

"What a frightfu l sight! " I said to D ee. "So mu chp ain and su ffering."

"Freedom is sel dom cheap in l ife or resou rces,"the red woman rep l ied. "There' s Y ona. Y ou sit andrest. I' l l bring you a p l ate."

Y ona sat cross l egged beside Jonah and D ee,who were both asl eep and l ook ing l ik e angel s, Isettl ed down on the hard p al l et and ap ol ogiz ed. "Ishou l d have come sooner. What k ind of mother youmu st think of me! "

"A very remark abl e one," Y ona rep l ied withou thesitation. "Cl eo was bedridden three days after herbirth, yet you ride a thoat twenty haads and thenwork the afternoon mending warriors. V ery remark -abl e indeed."

H er comp l iment embarrassed me. I did not feelI had done anything sp ecial , onl y what needed to bedone. The Thaandorian' s admiration made me bl u shand I was so very gratefu l my dark sk in cou l d notreveal it.

"D ee said you fed them. I didn' t k now Barsoom-ian babies were nu rsed."

"They are not, bu t Maj Lank or had to find asu bstitu te when Cl eo' s breasts dried u p after threemonths. The smal l er stal k s of the mantil a can be cu tl ik e a straw and the fl u id su ck ed ou t."

Y ona demonstrated that by trimming a smal lbranch from the p il e of mantil a at her side. I su ck edon one end and greedil y drank the al most tastel essviscou s sap .

D ee retu rned with a p l ate of thoat meat andu sa, which I ate with fingers withou t p au se or con-


240

versation. I had al most finished when l ittl e D eewok e u p hu ngry. As she su ck l ed, I nearl y rock edmysel f asl eep .

After the baby was bu rp ed and p u t down Istretched ou t and cl osed my eyes. Some time l aterJonah wok e, demanding my breast. I fed him inshort order then I cu rl ed u p nex t to my babies andwent to sl eep .

* * *I had heard that Mil ieos saved H ol k at' s l ife after

H ol k at had saved his. Where I had heard that I donot remember for it was very confu sing time.Patients need tending and babies needed to be fed.

I had no shortage of baby sitters. Y ona had ap -p ointed hersel f the babies gu ardian bu t there wereothers who were eager to assist. For some reasonthe Thaandorians were comp l etel y enchanted byJonah and D ee. I su p p ose that was becau se they hadhad ex p erience with a hu man baby. That baby, thenow adu l t Torvaan R ok , visited at l east once a dayand demanded his tu rn to hol d one or both of mychil dren.

The evening of the second day after the Battl eof Thil u m the l ast of the most critical l y wou ndedp assed away. Fu neral fires ou tside the D ator' sfortress consu med the bodies of the fal l en Thaan-dorians, a p ractice they had adop ted centu riesearl ier to p revent the scavengers of Barsoom fromdistu rbing the remains.

D ee had been bu sy, mostl y riding scou t sou thof Thil u m. There was some concern that a p arty ofWarhoons might come to investigate why the otherforce had not retu rned. With her rode citiz ens of


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Thil u m, now armed with a weal th of weap ons tak enfrom the sl au ghtered Warhoons.

I had been with Mil ieos onl y rarel y since ou rarrival at Thil u m. H e remained inside the fortresscaring for the most critical p atients whil e I maderou nds of the rooftop hosp ital . When I had thechance, I ask ed abou t H ol k at.

"H e' s in a coma, bu t there' s a good chance hewil l l ive. I hop e so, for it wou l d annoy me greatl ythat I cou l d not remind him I saved his l ife."

"Bu t he saved you rs! " I l au ghed."Precisel y," Mil ieos grinned. "It wou l d not do

that my arrogant friend shou l d do better than me.""When can I see him? ""After he wak es." Mil ieos grip p ed my shou l der

and sp ok e softl y. "Why u p set you rsel f, Ju nieWatts? "

"I su p p ose you think me a coward becau se Ishal l gl adl y l et you tal k me ou t of going to him."

Mil ieos ru bbed his eyes. H ow l ong since he hadsl ep t? The p hysician of Thil u m shook his head. "Noone can think that of you . Y ou have saved manyl ives throu gh u nsel fish dedication."

"I have done nothing that another might do.""Bu t you did it, not someone el se, and it is ap -

p reciated. Y ou have a home in Thil u m, Ju nie Watts.Y ou and you r chil dren are p art of ou r commu nity."

So mu ch had hap p ened since D ee fou nd me inJhu ma! I had come to Barsoom a nak ed l ittl e bl ackgirl with no fu tu re onl y to be tak en sl ave by twomen, again nak ed and with no fu tu re. D ee—D ej ahThoris—had changed al l that. She had cared for mybody, and then my mind. It was amaz ing how mu chhad changed!


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To Mil ieos, who watched me with fond ap p rovalI said, "Thil u m was the first p l ace I was madewel come. After D ee, you are my best friend."

"This p l eases me," Mil ieos smil ed.H e took my hand and l ed me to the edge of the

rooftop . Together we l ook ed ou t u p on Thil u m. Mostof the city l ay intact becau se the Warhoons had notbeen in control l ong enou gh to destroy it. The fiel dsto the east of the river were u ndamaged. Thep eop l e were hard at work restoring order.

"This is a good p l ace," Mil ieos said. "My fatherp l anned wel l . I am sorry he was u nabl e to see j u sthow wel l . I hop e you stay with u s."

A short time ago I might have misu nderstoodthe man' s invitation. I had been naive and u nedu -cated in the way of the worl d-any worl d. "It issomething to consider," I said. "Thank you ."

"Think on it," the doctor rep l ied. G l ancing to-ward the su n, he ap ol ogiz ed, "Time to mak e myrou nds."

"G al k ina," I ask ed. "H ow is she? "Al most instantl y the confident doctor was

transformed into a nervou s school boy. "She doeswel l . I have no dou bt that she wil l recover fu l l y—and I have you to thank for that as wel l ."

"I do not want you r thank s, Mil ieos. I hop e thatyou wil l give her honor and resp ect, not as doctor towarrior, bu t as man to woman."

The one-time dru nk ard straightened to hisfu l l est height, then bowed over my hand and k issedit. "Y ou have my p l edge, dear l ady."

And then he abru p tl y strode away, l eaving mesp eechl ess.

* * *


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Mil ieos came for me at l u nchtime. "H ol k at' sawak e."

The doctor of Thil u m took my arm and l ed meinto the fortress and then to the room where con-stant care p atients were hou sed. G al k ina was in thebed nearest the door. She was sitting u p and l ook -ing wel l , thou gh her shou l der was heavil y bandaged.

"K aor, Ju nie Watts! " the Thaandorian sal u ted atrifl e awk wardl y. "I have heard of you r hap p iness,may you r chil dren grow strong and wise."

The formal sp eech of Barsoom was l ess foreignto my ear. "Thank you , G al k ina. I hop e you mendwel l ."

"Mil ieos wil l see to that," the woman smil ed.I l au ghed with her, at Mil ieos' good-natu red ex -

p ense, then tu rned my eyes to the p atient in thebed nex t to G al k ina.

H ol k at' s body was su rrou nded by sand bags tok eep him immobil iz ed. Onl y his eyes moved withinhis strong, bl ack face. H is face was etched withqu iet p ain, thou gh he wou l d never consciou sl y ac-k nowl edge it.

"Y ou l ook different," H ol k at sp ok e at l ast."I had my babies.""Two? Thank Issu s I wil l not have to p ay their

food and care. H ow are you , Ju nie Watts? "Those few words made my p rep ared sp eech u n-

necessary. H e had rel inqu ished his cl aim u p on myp erson. I k nel t at the head of the bed. "I hear youwere a hero several times over du ring the battl e."

"Of cou rse. Nothing l ess from H ol k at."Mil ieos stood at the foot of the bed. "As arro-

gant as ever. H eal qu ick l y so I can throw you ou t. I


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assu re you once Thil u m is restored, no one shal lever enter this fortress again by force."

H ol k at griml y smil ed. "It is indeed formidabl e.One wonders how Senca fail ed to hol d ou t."

"Treachery," Mil ieos rep l ied. "Someone op enedthe side gate and l et the beasts in."

"The side gate? Oh yes, Torok and I took thatgate to come get you that first night. I remembersomeone going throu gh it as we l eft."

Mil ieos was su ddenl y attentive. "Who did yousee? "

"A fat man. Tal l . That' s abou t al l I remember. Itwas dark and we were in a hu rry."

"There are fou r men residing at Thil u m whichmatch that descrip tion," Mil ieos growl ed. "Threewere inside the fortress. The fou rth cou l d not befou nd when the gathering of citiz ens occu rred, norwas his body ever fou nd."

G al k ina swu ng her l egs over the edge andstarted to rise. Mil ieos p u t a hand to her shou l derand hel d the Thaandorian in p l ace. "Where do youthink you are going? "

"To find you r fat man.""Tomorrow—maybe. I' l l not have you u ndo my

heal -craft. It is u nl ik el y we shal l find him sincemore than three days have p assed since the treach-ery. H e wou l d be a fool to have remained in thevicinity after the l iberation."

Mil ieos had his way with G al k ina, who re-mained seated. H ol k at and I said goodbyes, and Iretu rned to the rooftop . As I entered the hanger, Isaw a grou p of men ex changing animated words. Ip au sed to see if their discu ssion invol ved thoseu nder my care.


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"...new D ator. Fol k ar is u naccep tabl e, no matterhow strongl y he has p etitioned, nor wou l d we beserved by a woman su ch as K u l u a. The First Borndo not accep t ru l e by femal es."

"The worl d has changed since John Cartercarved his way from p ol e to p ol e. The First Born nol onger have that l u x u ry."

Another man agreed. "Were there a womanother than K u l u a, I might fol l ow her, bu t K u l u a istoo sel f-centered to ru l e with wisdom. Fol k ar' s am-bition comes at great p rice—his father was mu r-dered and Senca was bu tchered by Warhoons. It isa sad day for Thil u m if we mu st accep t Fol k ar as ou rl eader."

I cou l d not hel p mysel f. Step p ing cl oser, Iask ed, "Why not Mil ieos? "

The men su ddenl y tu rned and stared at me. Iwanted to ru n, for there were su ch strange ex p res-sions on their faces.

"Mil ieos is ou r doctor.""What wou l d he k now abou t ru l ing Thil u m? "I cou l d answer that qu estion. "Senca was a

sol dier. What did he k now abou t ru l ing Thil u m?Sol dier, doctor—what difference the man' s p rofes-sion if his heart is for his p eop l e? Can there be anydou bt of that with Mil ieos? "

"She has a p oint," a tal l red man offered. "It washis l eadership which freed Thil u m."

"Aye," a merchant ex cl aimed. "If he can manageThil u m as wel l as he treats inj u ry and il l ness—"

As qu ick l y as that I was again ignored.I remembered the ol d men on the street cor-

ners when I was growing u p . They al l had op inionsabou t p ol itics and government. I never u nderstood


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it on Earth, I had even l ess chance of u nderstandingit on Barsoom, bu t if any man cou l d l ead Thil u m, Ik new Mil ieos' heart was in the right p l ace.

Y ona was not in the hanger. I ask ed one of theThaandorians who' d been work ing as a nu rse wherethe big woman might be.

"She took the babies for a wal k . It was too noisyfor them to sl eep ." Together we wal k ed to thehanger entrance. She l ook ed abou t, then p ointed toY ona sitting on the roof edge, l ook ing into the val -l ey. Wrap p ed in a soft fu r near the wal l , in theshadow of her body, my chil dren were sl eep ing.

Y ona heard me coming and greeted me with asmil e. "Y ou r friend—how was he? "

"H e l ook ed l ik e death warmed over, bu t I thinkhe wil l be al l right. What a nice breez e! " I l eanedagainst the wal l and cl osed my eyes, enj oying thesu n and wind.

"We' ve comp any coming," Y ona decl ared."There—sou thwest. See the cl ou d of du st? "

I l ook ed where she p ointed and thou ght I sawsomething, bu t wasn' t su re. "Who do you think ? "

"Smal l p arty. Perhap s a hal f doz en thoats. Nomore than that."

"Shou l d we tel l someone? "Y ona wink ed. "The sentry in the tower has j u st

seen it and rep orted. We' l l k now soon enou gh. Theyare coming in p retty fast."

Within the hou r the mou nted troop crossed thebridge at the river. There was no mistak ing thesmal l , trim figu re of D ee at the head of the col u mn,or that of the p adwar from the tar val l ey bringing u pthe rear. There were fou r other thoats, three l oadeddown with bu ndl es and p ack ages, the fou rth bearing


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a fat man I recogniz ed as the j ewel er, K u l tis Than.H e did not come wil l ingl y, for his hands were tied.

The riders entered the fortress wal l s and a doz -en gu ards, a mix ed grou p of warriors of Thil u m andThaandor, su rrou nded the grou p . I cou l d not hearthe words D ee said bu t as soon as she was done thej ewel er was p u l l ed down and hel d u nder cl osegu ard. Al most immediatel y Mil ieos strode into thecou rtyard. H is back was rigid and his step angry.Even at this distance I sensed something mu rder-ou s abou t to hap p en.

"Stay here, Y ona. Watch my babies."I ran down the ramp s and throu gh the corridors

as qu ick l y as I cou l d. When I reached the cou rtyardthe nu mber of p eop l e there had grown considerabl y.I p u shed my way throu gh the crowd u ntil I cou l dsee Mil ieos, D ee, K u l tis Than and the thoats.Mil ieos was sp eak ing.

"Y ou were some distance from Thil u m, sir.Where were you going? "

"Trade. I have a bu siness.""There' s no hu man cities sou thwest of Thil u m.

We are the frontier.""I wished to avoid the Warhoon war p arties

before tu rning north." K u l tis Than stammered hisrep l ies. Even I did not bel ieve him.

"What is in you r p ack s? " Mil ieos demanded."Trade goods. I hop ed to do wel l and to bring

that weal th back to Thil u m, my adop ted city, so thatwe might both p rosp er."

"Ah, this is a good thing. Let u s see the tradegoods that wou l d bring su ch p rosp erity."

"It is al l p ack ed," the j ewel er rep l ied. "I mu st begoing or my bu yers wil l change their minds."


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Mil ieos narrowed his eyes. Motioning to a p airof sol diers, a white man and a bl ack , he said, "Seewhat he' s carrying."

With sharp k nives the men severed the rop essecu ring the bu ndl es, l etting them fal l to thegrou nd. One esp ecial l y heavy case crack ed op en andtwenty rifl es rol l ed ou t. Box es of ammu nition werefou nd, as wel l as doz ens of l ong swords. Some metalp oints, p erhap s a hu ndred, were l ocated. It took amoment' s thou ght to recogniz e them as sp earheads. In addition to these weap ons there wereseveral cases containing j ewel s, gol d, and p l atinu m.

"Sir! " the white gu ard ran to Mil ieos withsomething cl u tched in his hand. It was a neck l ace ofsome k ind made with bones and teeth and feathers."Warhoon," he annou nced.

Mil ieos took the bau bl e and l ook ed at it, tak ingex tra time over a gol d medal l ion with two emeral dson either side of a l arge ru by. "K u l tis Than, this isyou r death warrant. Y ou are the traitor in Thil u m.Y ou have deal t with the Warhoons and have been ap arty to my father' s mu rder.

"I wil l give you more chance than you or you rminions gave ou r D ator. G ive him you r sword,"Mil ieos ordered the gu ard. "Y ou may have you r l ifeand you r miserabl e j ewel s—bu t not the weap ons—if you can k il l me. El se, I wil l carve you r heart fromyou r fou l carcass! "

Mil ieos' sword sang as it came from hissheathe. K u l tis Than barel y had time to bring thegu ard' s sword to bear as the doctor' s weap onsl ashed at him. Al most as fast as a cat on a mou se,the j ewel er showed he was not u nfamil iar with the


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sword, he qu ick l y began an attack which droveMil ieos back .

"Someone stop them! " I screamed. "Stop thisbefore—"

"H u sh, Ju nie Watts, or you ' l l k il l Mil ieos bydistraction."

G al k ina' s good hand grip p ed my shou l derp ainfu l l y. The Thaandorian l ook ed p al e and trem-bl ed, bu t her eyes never l eft the battl e in thecou rtyard. I tried to break free bu t G al k ina' s hol dwas too strong. Fearing that a sou nd from me wou l ddistract Mil ieos, I covered my mou th with bothhands.

I p rayed. I p rayed for Mil ieos, who was a goodman. Bu t for al l his goodness, it did not seem hewas good enou gh with the sword. K u l tis Than k ep tu p his attack , beating the First Born ever back . Thecrowd p arted to give the fighters room and for aninstant I cou l d see nothing.

Then K u l tis Than inched back wards. Step bystep Mil ieos drove the j ewel er before him. As theyp assed G al k ina and me, I saw another p u sh his wayto the front of the crowd. It was Fol k ar. I yearned tobeg him to stop the fight, yet the su nl ight on thefl ashing steel and G al k ina' s firm grip k ep t mytongu e stil l .

I did not see how it hap p ened, bu t it was over.Mil ieos' sword p ierced the breast of K u l tis Thanand that man screamed. The j ewel er' s k nees gaveway and he k nel t to the grou nd, his sword forgot-ten.

"Y ou have k il l ed me, Mil ieos bu t I am not you rtraitor, thou gh I work ed for him. There' s you r trai-


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tor," he said, l ifting the sword to p oint into thecrowd. "H e' s the one who—"

A fl ood of bl oody froth bl ossomed on the j ew-el er' s l ip s. H e gagged once then rol l ed his eyes andfel l face down. Who was the traitor? I cou l d not seewho K u l tis Than had named.

Thou gh I had not seen Mil ieos had and thatrevel ation l eft the doctor sp eechl ess. Stu nned, Mil i-eos tu rned to sl owl y wal k away, head down.

Someone yel l ed a warning as a figu re ru shedforward with u p raised sword. The bl ade was de-scending u p on Mil ieos! Al l I cou l d see was thefl ashing arc of su n-brightened steel —steel whichabru p tl y fal tered then fel l to the grou nd.

D ee stood over the decap itated body of Fol k ar,her sword grip p ed two-handed and dark with bl ood.She l ook ed down at the corp se with no emotion onher p retty featu res, which were sp attered withFol k ar' s hot bl ood. No one moved or sp ok e.

The white gu ard retrieved his sword andwal k ed toward Mil ieos. D ee l ook ed u p , her swordready, bu t there was no need for her to u se it againto defend Mil ieos. That gu ard p u t his sword atMil ieos' feet and k nel t. "My D ator," he said. Othersmoved forward to p l ace their swords on the grou nd.

G al k ina final l y rel eased me. "It is done." She,too, drew her sword, and went to p l ace it u p on thep il e before Mil ieos.

I l ook ed at D ee, confu sed. She bl ink ed threetimes then took a deep breath and l et it ou t sl owl y.The tense grip on her weap on rel ax ed and she bentdown for a handfu l of sand bl own in from the deadsea bottom to wip e her bl ade.


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CCCC A G E D B Y A G E D B Y A G E D B Y A G E D B Y KKKK I N D N E S SI N D N E S SI N D N E S SI N D N E S S

Ju nie Watts did not sp eak to me after theincident in the cou rtyard. She avoided my gaz e anddecl ined my offer to hel p when Mil ieos moved u s toa sp aciou s room on the second fl oor.

Y ona continu ed in her rol e as gu ardian of theJasoomian' s infants, incongru ou s in ap p earance andtraining to be so gentl e and affectionate. Ju nieWatts accep ted the Thaandorian' s assistance grate-fu l l y. For a short time I fel t j eal ou s. As Ju nie' s p ro-tector and mentor for nearl y two months, to be sosu ddenl y and comp l etel y rep l aced generated atwinge of p iqu e, a twinge that eventu al l y brou ght afaint smil e to my l ip s. It had al ways been my inten-tion that she become sel f-rel iant, thou gh I had notex p ected it so qu ick l y done!

When the evening meal was annou nced the Ja-soomian took Johan and D ee and Y ona downstairs.She did not l ook in my direction as they l eft theroom. I sighed qu ietl y. H er indep endence, and theconcl u sion of the Thil u m camp aign, forced a deci-sion which had been l ong in coming.


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It was time to go home.G athering my cl oak and a j ou rney bag accu mu -

l ated from a dead Warhoon, I p ack ed the sp arep istol , two sl eep ing fu rs, two k nives of good qu al ityand ex tra ammu nition. From my harness dep endeda sword, hatchet, k nife, p istol and bel t p ou ch.Everything el se had been l ost or l eft behind, yetthere was nothing I needed or that was irrep l ace-abl e.

The bu ndl e was not heavy, thou gh it wou l dweigh more when I p ack ed the food and water I wassu re the p eop l e of Thil u m wou l d not begru dge me.I carried my things u p to the fou rth fl oor and l eftthe bag and cl oak ou tside the room where H ol k at,G al k ina, and a handfu l of others l ay mending.

G al k ina saw my intent as soon as I entered."Y ou ' re l eaving," she said.

"I have been away from home too l ong," I re-p l ied. "A p romise was made and I mu st k eep it."

G al k ina p u t her feet o the fl oor and rose with-ou t any sign of discomfort or weak ness. "Mil ieos isa good doctor," she smil ed.

"H e' s al so a good man. I did not start ou t be-l ieving that of him, bu t he has my admiration andresp ect now."

"I share the same sentiments," G al k ina l au ghed."H e wil l al so have something el se from me beforel ong."

"What is that? "H er smil e broadened and was accomp anied by

a wink . "Me."I had seen G al k ina in battl e. When she sel ected

an obj ective it was achieved with minimu m effort."I wish you both wel l . Mil ieos is a good man, bu t a


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good woman wil l mak e him great. If I were not al -ready married to the most wonderfu l man ontwo—in the worl d, Mil ieos wou l d be first on myl ist."

G al k ina tou ched my shou l der and l eaned cl ose."H e does not k now it yet."

"I' m su re he wil l very shortl y. When did youfirst k now? "

"That he was the one? Al most from the first,bu t I was not certain u ntil I saw him shed tears themorning we arrived at Thil u m and the city wasbu rning. Women want strong men becau se Barsoomis so harsh, bu t a man who is withou t comp assion oremp athy mak es a p oor comp anion throu gh l ife. I ammy own woman and have yet to meet a man Icannot master by sword of intel l ect, other than MajLank or and Mil ieos. I have no desire to chal l engeeither to a du el as one is my j eddak and the other isthe man I l ove. My sword at Mil ieos' feet was not ap l edge of al l egiance al one. It was a p l edge of fidel ityand honor."

"I am no warrior—" I began."H a! " G al k ina interj ected. "Few of my u tan can

comp are with you ! "The ack nowl edgment was accep ted with a

gratefu l nod, bu t I wou l d not l et it deter mythou ght. "Thank you , however, I was not raised asa warrior and what sk il l s I have were l earned l ateand over p rotest. My hu sband is a warrior by train-ing and avocation and to him I l ook for secu rity andp rotection. What I meant to say was that when onej oins with another, it is a seriou s matter. Men arenot al ways p rep ared for what comes from su ch arel ationship . We women mu st be p atient with them


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u ntil su ch time as these feel ings arise in theirbreast. Mil ieos can l ove. H e has k nown a l ove thatnearl y destroyed him when it was l ost. I am certainhe can l ove again, given time."

I tol d G al k ina of Mil ieos' wife and what hap -p ened. She l istened qu ietl y and said nothing for afew moments when I finished. Then she said:

"I sensed a rel u ctance, thou gh I did not k nowthe cau se. Thank you for tel l ing me."

"Mil ieos is an honest man. H e wil l tel l you thishimsel f if you ask . H e feel s something for you . Isaw it as he watched over you du ring and after thesu rgery. Nonethel ess, it may be difficu l t for him toshow his feel ings."

G al k ina frowned sl ightl y, her l ip s p inched withthou ght. Then she said goodbye and tu rned tol eave.

"Where are you going? " I ask ed."To p u t the l ie to you r worries. Mil ieos wil l

have me tonight or not at al l ." The woman' s eyeswere merry as she ex ited the room.

I fel t hap p y for G al k ina. There was no dou bt inmy mind that she wou l d accomp l ish her mission,she faced no imp ediments as there had been whenJohn Carter and I first met. For some l ove comesimmediatel y with no warning or p reambl e, withothers a l ong p eriod of famil iarity mu st p ass beforemu tu al affection is discovered. Pol itical l y arrangedmarriages are not u ncommon on Barsoom, esp e-cial l y among the royal hou ses. My son l ost his heartto a woman who was to marry a j eddak to seal anal l iance between one nation and another. H e wasl u ck y to obtain her hand when her intended l earnedthe dear girl ' s affections were recip rocated. H onor


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and l ove are the ap ex of the red man' s virtu es andfew wou l d force a marriage when neither was p res-ent.

"I shal l miss you ," H ol k at' s strained voice star-tl ed my thou ghts. "I shal l miss you r strength anddetermination, and that sharp tongu e."

"Y es, that—you have insp ired my best effortsin al l regards." I smil ed warml y. "Y ou did a finething, H ol k at. I wanted to say that to you before Il eft."

H is right brow arched with interest. "And whatthing have I done to p rovok e this u nex p ectedadmiration? "

"Y ou have rel eased Ju nie Watts. It was verywise and fortu nate to have done so."

H is l ip tu rned u p ward. "Fortu nate? As ever,you sp eak in riddl es, D ee. H ow so? "

"H ad you not I wou l d have k il l ed you ."H ol k at stu died me for some time before rep l y-

ing. "I bel ieve you wou l d.""It is good that you do, for that is my p romise.

D o not interfere with Ju nie Watt' s l ife. If it comes tomy attention that you have changed you r mind, Iwil l see you ou t. My anger is something you do notwish to ex p erience."

"By Issu s, I l ik e you , D ee! " H ol k at' s heartyl au gh ended with a stifl ed moan as he moved incau -tiou sl y. "Y ou may k il l me yet! " With a qu iet, sinceretone, H ol k at continu ed. "I gave u p my cl aim to Ju nieWatts for other reasons; those have not changed.Y ou may mak e you r p romise, however u nnecessary,becau se I ex p ect nothing l ess from the first womanI have admired as mu ch as any man."


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The remainder of my conversation with H ol k atwas of inconsequ ential things. We both k new ou rp aths wou l d never again cross; yet, the time we hadk nown each other wou l d remain l ong in ou r memo-ries. I bid him goodbye when a p l easant-facedwoman brou ght his evening meal .

With j ou rney bag on my shou l der, I wentthrou gh the corridors and down the ramp s to thefirst fl oor. The p adwar from the tar val l ey saw meap p roach the dining hal l .

"Where do you go, D ee? ""It is time to retu rn home," and before he cou l d

ex p ress the thou ght I saw shining in his eyes Iadded, "to my hu sband and famil y."

The l ight dimmed bu t sl ightl y, bu t now therewas u nderstanding. "May you r j ou rney be swift andwithou t incident."

I l eft the bag at the door and together we en-tered the dining hal l . Ap p rox imatel y fifty p eop l ewere seated at the l ong tabl es and a su bdu ed mu r-mu r of conversation fil l ed the air. Ju nie Watts andY ona were at the far side of the hal l . The Jasoomiansil entl y watched me p art from the p adwar and go toMil ieos at the front of the hal l . The new D atorl ook ed ex ceedingl y hap p y, and I assu med it hadsomething to do with the brown-sk inned warriorwoman who hel d his arm.

"K aor, G al k ina. It is done? ""It is," she rep l ied. Look ing u p to Mil ieos she

said the time-honored words, "My chieftain."Mil ieos l au ghed with great sp irit. "Come, sit

and cel ebrate with u s, D ee."When I had done so, the D ator continu ed. "Y ou

and Ju nie Watts have been the most wel come of


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u nwel come gu ests. H ow you p atientl y endu red mydru nk en ru deness I' l l never k now, bu t I am gratefu lyou did, for I have the z est of l ife restored and againk now l ove."

"I accep t one, bu t not the other. Y ou did thel atter on you r own, with G al k ina' s hel p , of cou rse! "

"As u su al , you are correct," Mil ieos grinned."Join u s, D ee. Cel ebrate ou r hap p iness."

I gl adl y accep ted the invitation and ate heartyof the meal served. Mil ieos forced a smal l gobl et ofwine u p on me, which I u sed to toast the D ator andhis wife-to-be. A short time l ater I made a requ estof Mil ieos.

"A thoat, sir, that I may begin my j ou rneyhome."

The smil e on Mil ieos' face faded. G al k ina satsil entl y. The p hysician cl eared his throat. "I hadhop ed you wou l d stay. Y ou r cou nsel and wisdom aresorel y needed in Thil u m—bu t I can see that noargu ment I might p u t forth wil l change you r mind.Y ou may have anything that Thil u m can offer,. Y es,two thoats, or three, and whatever you may wish top ack ."

"That offer is too generou s," I said. "One thoatwil l see me throu gh to Jhu ma. I wil l l eave it therewhen I board the Wh i t e D i a m o n d . "

"Not onl y that, bu t an escort. Y ou and Ju nieWatts shal l not p ass from Thil u m withou t p rotectionfor you r j ou rney."

"That won' t be necessary, Mil ieos. I go al one."The D ator' s eyes widened sl ightl y. "It was my

imp ression that the Jasoomian intends to go whereyou go."


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"I cannot tak e her with me," I rep l ied withou tex p l aining. R ising, I grip p ed Mil ieos' shou l der infond farewel l . "Tel l Ju nie Watts I wish her and thechil dren wel l . It is better this way as she think sp oorl y of me at the moment."

"This I do not bel ieve," the D ator frowned."That girl worship s you ."

I sighed. "Something neither desired or wanted.Pl ease tel l her I said goodbye."

Mil ieos nodded, then directed a fel l ow toaccomp any me to the thoat p ens. I had difficu l tysel ecting a mou nt becau se Ju nie' s tame thoatscrowded arou nd me. I wou l d not tak e one of herp ets, yet as l ong as they p ressed cl ose I was sty-mied. Ju st as I marshal ed my mental energy to senda harsh command to the animal minds, I heardJu nie' s frantic voice cal l ing my name.

The Jasoomian saw the congregation of thoatsand correctl y su rmised I was the cau se. "Oh, D ee!Mil ieos said you were l eaving! Pl ease wait. I won' tbe l ong. I' l l get Jonah and D ee and we can go. I' msu ch a stu p id girl . I wasn' t angry with you . I wasfrightened. I don' t k now why. Y ou k il l ed that badman on the road and I k now you fou ght at Thaandor,bu t I had not seen you u se a sword. It was so hor-ribl e and messy."

Ju nie Watts had thrown her arms abou t me,weep ing op enl y. I gentl y disengaged and hel d her atarm' s l ength. "Barsoom is a viol ent worl d, Ju nieWatts, bu t for al l ou r readiness to thwart death byany means, few of u s tak e p ride in it."

"I k now," the Jasoomian sobbed. "I k now youonl y did what had to be done. I am so fool ish to l et


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it bother me so. Am I forgiven for acting l ik e a sil l ychil d? "

"Of cou rse," I smil ed, k issing her warm cheek ."I' m so rel ieved! " she cried j oyou sl y. "I won' t be

a x at! "I stop p ed the bl ack girl before she cou l d tu rn

toward the fortress. "Ju nie."There was a p u z z l ed l ook on her face, then a

growing desp air. "Y ou ' re not going to tak e me withyou ! "

I p ressed my l ip s tightl y, not wanting to say thewords. "I c a n ' t ."

She cou l d not have been more startl ed andheart-brok en if I had sl ap p ed her. Ju nie l eanedagainst Top p er becau se her k nees were weak ."Why? "

"My worl d—my cou ntry—is no p l ace for youand the babies. Y ou and Jonah and Littl e D ee wou l dbe obj ects of cu riosity and ex amination."

"Bu t you cou l d p rotect me," Ju nie su ggested."Y ou are the p rincess of H el iu m."

"I cou l d, bu t what k ind of l ife wou l d that be? Il ove my hu sband. I l ove my famil y and my cou ntry,bu t I tel l you this as sincerel y as I k now how, myl ife is never my own. Every minu te of the day thereis someone monitoring my activities. I cannot go torel ieve mysel f withou t a sl ave or servant to assist.Whenever I travel there is a retinu e of eager anddevoted escorts and, by Issu s, that is no way to l iveyou r l ife. Jonah and D ee deserve more than a l ifecaged by k indness."

"What wil l hap p en to me? " she ask ed."Onl y what you wish. Stay in Thil u m if you l ik e.

With Mil ieos as D ator this wil l be a fine and safe


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p l ace to l ive; or go to Thaandor with Torvaan R okwhen he retu rns home, that city u nderstands Ja-soomians and Jasoomian babies. Maj Lank or k nowsyou r worl d better than any Barsoomian ever cou l d.H e has been to Earth and can p rovide you r chil drenwith a stabl e environment that embraces theirheritage.

"D o not l ook so sad, Ju nie Watts," I continu ed."Y ou r l ife is j u st beginning. Y ou have an op p ortu nityto chose you r destiny whil e I was born into mineand cannot escap e it. I wou l d not be you r friend if Itook you to H el iu m. I k now what that l ife is l ik e. Imu st go back becau se of du ty and l ove—and if thel atter were no reason, then I might not retu rn at al l .

"This l ife," I sighed wistfu l l y, gaz ing beyond thethoats to the commons and Thil u m and then intothe distant fiel ds and the val l ey wal l top p ed by theequ atorial forest.

"Y es? " Ju nie Watts p romp ted when I remainedthou ghtfu l . "This l ife—what? "

I l ink ed an arm throu gh the Jasoomian' s. "Wal kwith me."

Into the commons, where the greatest carnagewas done, the scars of the stamp ede and tramp l edvendor stands mu te evidence of the viol ence, wecrossed to the area sou th, amid two and three storybu il dings. Peop l e wal k ed the street, carrying mate-rial s to rep air the shop s and dwel l ings, or food fromthe mark et and fiel ds to feed their famil ies. The oc-casional chil d was seen, ru nning after escap edsorak s or p ok ing throu gh p il ed ru bbish with intentcu riosity. A woman tended a garden tramp l ed byWarhoons and her hu sband rep l aced rock s k nock edfrom a decorative stone wal l .


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"Where are we going, D ee? " Ju nie ask ed."Nowhere. I' m j u st tak ing a p l easant strol l

throu gh an interesting p l ace with a dear friend. Iwil l not be abl e to do this when I retu rn to H el iu m.The threat of assassination or k idnap is too great.Stop p ing to p ick a gl orestra bl ossom, or smel l ingthe sweet odor of a p imil l ia cannot be done withl ess than a comp any of warriors and servants.Tasting the food vendor' s wares is done secondhand—someone el se mu st try it before I am al -l owed.

"D o not misu nderstand these words, my friend,I am u tterl y devoted to my hu sband and my p eop l e.My l ife is rich in many ways, bu t the fact remainsthat p ersonal choice and freedom to go or come asI p l ease is not one of them.

"My time with you is something I shal l al waystreasu re. Y ou r awak ening, you r determination tol earn, the very sp ecial moment of giving birth tosu ch amaz ing infants, reminds me that adversity iswhat we mak e and su ccess is ou r reward for em-bracing it. It wou l d p l ease me greatl y to k now thatyou were here or in Thaandor and triu mp hing ad-versities of you r choice. Y et, I think I may havel earned more from you than you from me. I mu st goback to my home and I mu st, within the l imit of myp osition, overcome my own adversities."

"Oh, you mak e it sou nd so wonderfu l and hor-ribl e at the same time. Bu t I cannot say ' you p oorgirl ' for I k now that you are neither p oor or a girl . Ihave never met anyone qu ite l ik e you . To be beau ti-fu l and smart and so strong, there is nothing youcannot do! "


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I smil ed then, and wink ed sagel y. "I shal l tak eyou r advice, and you shou l d tak e it you rsel f."

Wide-eyed, Ju nie Watts su ddenl y l au ghed. "Y ouhave t r i c k e d me into u nderstanding! "

By the time we finished ou r wal k , l ess than az ode remained of the day. I had been hard-riding forthree days with the p atrol s arou nd Thil u m, thu s itwas easy to l et the Jasoomian p revail in her requ estthat I p ostp one my dep artu re u ntil morning.

* * *I p au sed on my way ou t of Ju nie Watt' s qu arters

l ong enou gh to l ook u p on the twin miracl es of Ja-soomian and Barsoomian rep rodu ction. H ow differ-ent these tiny beings comp ared to my chil dren.Carthoris and Tara were five years in the shel l ,seal ed in ornate and nearl y airtight incu bators.When my son brok e his shel l was the greatestmoment of my l ife, and Tara' s nearl y as mu ch, bothmiracl es as fine as the l ittl e brown babies beneathmy gaz e.

Ju nie Watts l ay qu ietl y sl eep ing a few sofadsaway. Y ona was stretched ou t on the fl oor near thedoorway, thou gh the l ight was so dim I cou l d nottel l if she was awak e or sl eep ing.

I k nel t beside the fu r-l ined bask et which hel dJonah and my namesak e. With a whisp er so qu ieteven I cou l d not hear it, I wished the babies l ongl ife and heal th. K issing the tip of my finger, I tou ch-ed each on their smooth dark foreheads, thenqu ick l y rose and dep arted before the emotionchok ing me became tears.

An al ert gu ard at the end of the corridor, wherethe ramp connected with the fl oors above andbel ow, offered a resp ectfu l sal u te. I ack nowl edged


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the honor as I p assed down to the main fl oor.Others were abou t were abou t, beginning ordinarytask s before the su n rose. Some where warriorschanging shifts, others were hou sehol d servants ormerchants del ivering su p p l ies. These I ex p ected tosee, as the bu siness of l ife goes on, bu t the threefigu res waiting at the thoat p en were a su rp rise.

Mil ieos and G al k ina greeted me affectionatel y.It was Torvaan R ok that su rp rised me most, esp e-cial l y when he bowed and said, "Y ou r highness."

The D ator of Thil u m chu ck l ed when I started todeny the Thaandorian. "Ju nie Watts tol d me l astnight, D ej ah Thoris. H ow you mu st have l au ghed atou r back ward ways and insignificant p robl ems. Oh,I do not mean that to sou nd p etty, I mean ou r l ivesmu st be so different from you rs. Y ou wil l forgivemy ru de behavior, I hop e. H ad I k nown you werethe consort of the Warl ord, I wou l d have made ar-rangements for a hou sek eep er."

"I am p l eased that you did not, and sincerel yhop e my service in that cap acity was not too oner-ou s."

We both l au ghed.U nmask ed I fel t no different. I remained the

same D ee who cook ed and cl eaned and cl eavedwarriors in battl e.

"That girl ! I j u st wanted to qu ietl y ride away."The First Born took my bag. "And you shal l .

Y ou . Me. And Torvaan R ok , wil l see you to Jhu ma.No one el se k nows, bu t we cannot al l ow you totravel al one, now that we three k now. That had al sobeen decided before we k new you r identity. Y oucou l d not have changed ou r minds before thatk nowl edge; it is dou bl y imp ossibl e to change them


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now. We have fou r fast thoats and two p ack animal sp rep ared."

The animal s were brou ght to u s even as hesp ok e. "In tru th," I said, "the comp any is ap p reci-ated. Y ou are al l good friends."

Within moments we were mou nted and racingnortheast across the river bridge on the road to theequ atorial trade rou te. By dawn we were beyondsight of Thil u m, deep within the l u sh forest fed bythe watershed from the geo-thermal sp rings farthernorth in the ru gged mou ntains. Not l ong after weentered the first of the thoat val l eys, we hal ted atan abandoned ranch hou se. The occu p ants had notyet retu rned from Thil u m' s p rotective wal l s.

D ismou nting to breathe the animal s, Mil ieosremoved a sack from one of the p ack thoats. R each-ing inside the cl oth sack the D ator grinned. With abow he p resented me with a cook ing p ot. "Princessor not," he said, " y o u ' r e the best cook in ou r com-p any! "

G al k ina and Torvaan R ok p ick ed somp and u safrom trees near the dwel l ing which I tu rned into abreak fast stew. Ou r meal had an al most hol iday feelas we enj oyed the breez e u nder the rou gh overhangfronting the mu d and stone bu il ding.

We tal k ed, mostl y of Thil u m' s fu tu re, andThaandor' s. Torvaan R ock was very cu riou s of thewide worl d beyond his ancient city. H is desire wasto see more of Barsoom before retu rning home-aswel l as carrying ou t a sel f-imp osed commitment toassist "the heroine who brou ght freedom to Thaan-dor."

As we made ready to ride, I ask ed Mil ieos,"What abou t you r p atients? "


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"They are u nder Ju nie Watt' s care. She has anatu ral sk il l caring for the sick and inj u red. When Iget back , I wil l teach her what I k now abou t medi-cine, and ex p ect to l earn a thing or two from her inthe bargain."

Ou r stay at the hou se was l ess than a hal f-z ode.We rode hard u ntil wel l p ast the l u nch hou r to

reach the trade road. Instead of stop p ing we atefru its and nu ts as we travel ed. Ju st before nightfal lwe came u p on a l ovel y val l ey with a smal l p oint, awide ex p anse of fl ower-tip p ed grasses and severalstands of mantal ia groves.

Torvaan R ock hel p ed u nl oad the p ack thoats.D rawing one of the smal l k nives from his harnessbel t, he said, "I' l l bet there' s a darseen su nninghimsel f over there. Wait deciding dinner u ntil Iretu rn."

The Thaandorian' s l eg, now u nbandaged, seem-ed to give him l ittl e trou bl e as he ap p roached acop se of mantal ia. The thick stal k s of the mil kp l ants were onl y a few ads tal l er than the hu nter,bu t were so densel y grown he disap p eared fromview al most immediatel y. H ardl y had Mil ieosbrou ght water from the p ond when Torvaan R ockcame towards camp , grinning hu gel y. H e disp l ayeda wriggl ing darseen l iz ard imp al ed on the bl ade ofhis k nife. Whil e I bu il t a fire, Maj Lank or' s sonex p ertl y gu tted and p rep ared the meat.

G al k ina hel p ed with the cook ing, p rimaril y be-cau se her arm—thou gh greatl y imp roved—was notqu ite u p to the heavy strain of erecting the l argecl oth canop y we wou l d share. I accep ted some goodnatu red teasing for u ndercook ing the darseen—notone morsel of which was l eft u nconsu med.


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Mil ieos attemp ted to sp are the p rincess ofH el iu m a night watch, bu t I p rotested. Thou gh wewere rel ativel y safe from Warhoon threat, there areany nu mber of dangerou s beasts inhabiting the su r-face of Barsoom; someone mu st be awak e at al ltimes. G al k ina, too, demanded her stint and it wasagreed she first, me second, and the two men l ast.

The night p assed withou t incident. We brok ecamp earl y, before su nrise, and set the thoats attheir best sp eed al ong the trade rou te. We saw noother travel ers u ntil noon, a three famil y caravanheaded west. A hal f doz en men with p ik es and shortswords trotted al ongside the sl ow moving three-wheel ed wagons drawn by mammoth z itidars. Ascommon among the p eop l e of Barsoom, we werenot greeted with op en arms as every p erson is a p o-tential enemy, or at l east it is best to assu me that.When it was l earned Mil ieos was a p hysician, how-ever, we were invited to share a noon day mealwhil e he l ook ed at a woman, the ol dest I have everseen. She was not feel ing wel l .

Later, when Mil ieos j oined u s u nder the shadeof a somp as tree near the wagons at the side of theroad, he gave a rep ort of his visit. "There is nothingto be done for her, it is simp l y her time."

G al k ina' s cu riosity imp el l ed the qu estion, "H owol d is she? "

"Perhap s el even-hu ndred years," Mil ieosrep l ied. "She is not su re. Some of the things she re-members—for her mind is not sharp —match withevents that hap p ened arou nd that time."

"So l ong a l ife," the Thaandorian said. "Myp eop l e rarel y l ive l onger than five-hu ndred years,barring accident or viol ence."


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"Few Barsoomians l ive that l ong becau se of warand starvation. A three hu ndred year l ife sp an isqu ite average."

"R eal l y? " Torvaan R ok arched a brow. "I su p -p ose that Thaandor' s isol ation and ou r desire to re-main hidden from the rest of the worl d gives theil l u sion of l onger l ives. Was she in mu ch p ain? " H enodded toward the wagons.

"Arthritis in every j oint, p oor thing. I gave hera p ain medication to redu ce the infl ammation."

G al k ina' s tone became very seriou s. "If we l ivethat l ong, Mil ieos, you mu st p romise to l et memak e the p il grimage to D or. I do not wish to l ive al ife of p ain and incap acity."

Mil ieos l owered his eyes for a heartbeat, thenl ook ed directl y into G al k ina' s. "Let u s discu ss thatwhen the time comes, my dear. There' s onl y fiftyyears between u s—we are both you ng yet."

"H ere, here! " I cried, break ing the tension witha sal u te of tep id water. "To you th, may it l ast notqu ite forever."

Torvaan R ok l au ghed. "What an u nu su al toast!Why not you th forever? "

I smil ed then, sp eak ing with some ex p erience,"There are advantages to growing ol d—with theone you l ove."

I was then p ressed to l ist those advantages aswe consu med the l u ncheon, and the qu estions l ast-ed for sometime after we resu med the trail . I sp ok eof famil iarity, of comfort, of hap p y secu rity, and theu nsp ok en affection that comes after the heat of l u stand bu rning desire. They l istened with varyingdegrees of accep tance, as I certainl y am no wise


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woman, and the resp onses I received in retu rnhel p ed p ass the haads in swift manner.

G al k ina rode withou t discomfort, the sk il l ofMil ieos' handiwork , the marvel ou s medicines at hisdisp osal , and the remark abl e regenerative p owersof ou r Barsoomian bodies had wrou ght wel l . It hasbeen said that if treatment is given immediatel y,onl y the most grievou s wou nds are fatal . One won-ders if the great desol ation of dying Barsoom hasgenetical l y strengthened ou r bodies as an ap ol ogeticafterthou ght for being the sou rce of ou r eventu alex tinction.

That night we camp ed near a travel er' s innwhere we p artook of roast thoat and braised tu bers,highl y sp iced as was the wont of the p eop l e of theequ ator. There were no rooms avail abl e, bu t theweather was qu ite p l easant. G al k ina and I washed ina cl ear p ool su rrou nded by masses of gl orestra infu l l bl oom. The men bathed after, and we took ou rtu rns at watch u ntil dawn.

Two more days p assed, mu ch as the p reviou s,and the afternoon of the l atter I began to recogniz el andmark s noted when Ju nie Watts and I had p assedfrom Jhu ma. My trip back was accomp l ished in hal fthe time as we were not concerned with internal l y-carried babies or deal ing with a thorou ghl y confu sedother worl d mental ity. Ju nie Watts was no l onger afrightened, l ost sou l . She had bl ossomed to matu rityand grace and I was p l eased to have been a p art ofher transformation.

Perhap s a z ode before su ndown I saw a gl itter-ing sp eck high in the eastern sk y. The forward p artof the Tj anath l iner refl ected the su n with a bril -l iance comp arabl e to the fire of a wel l -cu t diamond.


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I cou l d not tel l from this distance, bu t the shipmight wel l be the Wh i t e D i a m o n d , u p on which I hadj ou rneyed to Jhu ma j u st two months before.

"The gods of coincidence are with u s," I said. "Ishal l be on that ship this evening."

There l ay bu t one l ow rise of hil l s between u sand the city. D u ring that ride ou r p ace sl owed, notonl y to rest the thoats, which had been p u shed hardal l day, bu t to give u s time to mak e ou r goodbyes.At the su mmit of the road I stop p ed my thoat anddismou nted. Look ing to the city, sp rawl ed hap haz -ardl y arou nd the ancient masonry core of the ol dsection, I took down my j ou rney bag.

"I wil l l eave you here," I said. "It is a shortwal k ."

"We wil l see you off," Mil ieos decl ared, hisvoice firm.

I smil ed. "Y ou need to p ractice that voice ofau thority, D ator. It is stil l too new to have mu cheffect on me. Nay, ride back to Thil u m. Begin you rl ives now. D o not wait."

Torvaan R ok had dismou nted as soon as I had,and he ignored my requ est with l au ghing eyes."Me," he said, "you do not command."

"I have no intention of commanding you , sir. Ishal l onl y ask that you consider what you r p resencein Jhu ma might mean to you r city and p eop l e. Arethey ready to greet the ou ter worl d, or wou l d it notbe better to avoid that day u ntil al l iances are formedand sol idified with Thil u m? Wal k with me, if youwil l , I shal l not deny you ."

For a l ong moment the Thaandorian scowl edangril y. "D amn you . D amn you for being right."Then su ddenl y Torvaan R ok sl ap p ed his k nee with


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a hearty l au gh. "Is you r wil l never su bverted byothers? H ave you never been denied you r heart' sdesire? "

"Never," I rep l ied with gentl e seriou sness.Of cou rse, I did not reveal to the smil ing man

that my tru e heart' s desire, another chil d, was animp ossibil ity.

"If we shal l not accomp any you , then you mu sttak e this."

Torvaan R ok came to me. From his bel t p ou chhe p rodu ced a smal l l eather bag. It was heavy andcl ink ed when he p l aced it in my hand. "This is nop ayment for services, rather it is a l oan. We ex p ectto be rep aid at some fu tu re time. Mil ieos gatheredit before we l eft Thil u m to defray you r trip home.We have no cu rrency in Thaandor bu t we do have afondness for bau bl es. There are three stones inthere that shou l d have some worth among themerchants of Jhu ma. Now, if I am p ermitted, Iwou l d embrace you ."

"Best you do, or su ffer my wrath! "G al k ina was nex t, coming to me with firm step

and admiration in her eyes. "Y ou are a good friend,even to those you do not k now. H ow the worl d mayview the p rincess of H el iu m I cannot say, bu t inThaandor and Thil u m, she is p ricel ess. My sword isat you r feet, you r highness, shou l d you ever haveneed of it."

I k issed G al k ina, beginning to feel a l u mp in mythroat. Bu t the goodbyes were not yet done. Mil i-eos sp ok e to me with a rare disp l ay of emotion."There were days that I cu rsed you for intru dingu p on my l ife. I bemoaned you r meddl esome waysand sharp tongu e. Y ou r incu rsion into my home be-


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gan as an u nwel come distraction and ended with re-storing my l ife and dignity and honor. Y ou and Ju nieWatts have enriched my l ife immeasu rabl y. If notfor you I might stil l be l ost in the bottl e and Thil u mmight now be in the hands of Warhoons. I shal l missyou , D ej ah Thoris."

I made a disp araging sou nd, maintaining a stiffu p p er l ip and griml y hol ding onto my sel f-control ."Y ou give me too mu ch credit, sir. Y ou did it you r-sel f."

I step p ed forward and grabbed the First Born' sharness to p u l l his face down that I might k iss hischeek .

"G al k ina," I said, moving away to p ick u p mybag, "I cou l d tel l you things abou t this man you havechosen, bu t I shal l not. It is the discovery and ex -p l oration of the u nk nown that brings j oy and satis-faction to ou r l ives. Be wel l . G oodbye al l ."

The bag j erk ed with each step at the end of myl eft arm as I qu ick l y descended the hil l . I fel t mois-tu re forming in my eyes and was not too p rou d tothink it was du st from the road that cau sed it. I hadmade good friends in Thil u m and seen the wondersof l egendary Thaandor. A p art of me tru l y regrettedhaving to l eave. At the bottom of the hil l I tu rned tol ook back . I wou l d not have been su rp rised to seethem gone, nor was I su rp rised to see them stil lthere, waving. I raised my hand in retu rn, smil ed,then took the tu rn in the road that bl ock ed al l viewof the riders at the su mmit.

Night was onl y x ats away when I entered theairfiel d with its twin mooring towers rising abovethe ol d city. The cl erk at the airship office hardl yl ook ed u p when I ask ed for p assage.


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"D estination? " he ask ed."H el iu m—no, mak e that H astor." My change of

mind made no imp ression on the col l ector, otherthan the nu mber of coins I mu st give him beforeboarding.

The op erator of the el ectromagnetic el evatorwas p ol itel y indifferent to the barbarian woman p as-senger he took to the u p p er tower boarding ramp .Women who carried swords are k nown in the fron-tier towns and wil der p arts of Barsoom, thou ghrarel y seen in the cities. I was neither a su rp rise orou tl andish p assenger on the l iner, which was notthe Wh i t e D i a m o n d , bu t a sister ship of simil ardesign.

A cabin steward took my bag and l ed the wayaft, showing as mu ch deference to this travel -stained woman as he might to a p rincess. The crewof al l Tj anath l iners were u niforml y p ol ite—whichis why their ship s rated so highl y among travel ersfrom al l cou ntries and wal k s of l ife.

My cabin was starboard, third l evel . Smal l erthan the one I had ou tbou nd from H el iu m, it wasstil l qu ite comfortabl e with al l necessary amenities.I took a standu p bath at the l avatory, then washedmy l ong, bl ack hair. It seemed an eternity since Ihad had my hair done in the el aborate coifs commonat the royal cou rts of my father, grandfather or hu s-band. A heavy braid had been my most commonstyl e since l eaving the Wh i t e D i a m o n d and I hadbecome accu stomed to the freedom resu l ting fromsu ch minimal care.

I sat on the bed and cl eaned my harness u ntil itwas time for the evening meal . Wearing harness,sword, p istol and k nife, I secu red the room and


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j oined the rest of the p assengers in the dining area.The ship was to dep art a few z odes after su nset andp assengers were stil l arriving. A grou p of red men,from Phu ndahl if I read their metal correctl y, en-tered the dining room. They were l ou d and boister-ou s, ap p earing to have imbibed u nwise qu antities ofwine at one of the dock side taverns.

Two of the men noticed me sitting al one at atabl e. They col l ected their p l ates and ap p roachedme. "May we j oin you ? " one ask ed.

"No," I rep l ied. "There' s amp l e seating. Sel ecta tabl e and enj oy you r dinner."

The man fl u shed hotl y and sp u ttered with in-dignation. Mu mbl ing something he shou l d be gl ad Idid not hear, the Phu ndahl ian tu rned and stiffl ywal k ed away. H is friend, however, was not as in-tel l igent. H e sat down op p osite me with a l eeringgrin.

"A p retty woman l ik e you shou l dn' t eat al one."I smil ed at him, moving a hand u nder the tabl e.

"D o you feel that? " I ask ed as his eyes widenedl echerou sl y.

"My, you ' re a braz en wench! ""Y ou might tak e a l ook before ex citing you rsel f

u nnecessaril y."H e did—and gasp ed at the sight of a radiu m

p istol p ressed against his crotch. "If you didn' t wantcomp any, why didn' t you say so? "

"I b e l i e v e I did. I' m very weary and this gu n isheavy. There' s no tel l ing what might hap p en..."

The Phu ndahl ian carefu l l y p u shed his chairback and p ick ed u p his p l ate. H e shot a venomou sgl ance before retreating to j oin his fel l ows. H ol ster-


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ing the weap on, I l eisu rel y finished my meal thenl eft the dining room.

I took a tu rn on the aft deck , l ook ing at thel ights of Jhu ma a hu ndred ads bel ow. The breez ehad p ick ed u p , p romising a chil l du ring the night. Idid not al l ow mysel f to be p reoccu p ied with any onething, having gained significant ex p erience in Thil -u m and Thaandor. It had been u nwise, p erhap s, tohave embarrassed the Phu ndahl ian, and it was p os-sibl e he might wish to do something to sal ve hisinj u red p ride. I had no intention of giving himop p ortu nity of accomp l ishing it.

When the ship ' s k l ax on signal ed cast off, I l eftthe deck and retu rned to my cabin. The door wasl ock ed behind me and I u ndressed and went to bed.

The droning hu m of the motors, not far frommy cabin, l u l l ed me to sl eep nearl y instantl y. Themotors were stil l op erating at cru ising sp eed whenI fel t a harsh hand across my mou th and a heavybody covering mine in the dark ened cabin. An in-stant l ater the hand fel l away as the attack er criedou t, rol l ing to cl asp hands over the p u nctu re wou ndwhere my sl im bl ade had entered between his ribs.

I u nhooded the radiu m bu l b above the bed andl ook ed down at the writhing figu re on the fl oor. Theman was a Phu ndahl ian, bu t not the one I ex p ected.Nak ed, bu t stil l hol ding the bl oody k nife, I rosefrom the bed and rang for the cabin steward. Thecrewman ap p eared p romp tl y, p erhap s ex p ecting amission to the k itchen for a hu ngry p assenger.

"This man assau l ted me as I sl ep t. The doorwas l ock ed. H ow he got in I cannot say, bu t I amdisap p ointed in the secu rity measu res on board thisship ."


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"My deep est ap ol ogies," the steward said, drag-ging the moaning Phu ndahl ian ou t of the cabin bythe harness strap s. "A moment, p l ease."

Scarce had he disap p eared with his bu rden be-fore another steward ap p eared. "Pl ease accep t ou rregrets for this u nfortu nate event. I am here tocl ean the room or move you to another as you wish.There wil l be a ship ' s p anthan at you r door for therest of the night."

I l et him remove the bl ood-stained bedding andmop the fl oor as that seemed the simp l est sol u tion.The p anthan arrived before the steward was done.H e was a tal l , grim sp ecimen who l ook ed ex tremel ycomp etent. The steward again offered ap ol ogies ashe dep arted. The p anthan nodded to me, thencl osed the door. I retu rned to the bed and hoodedthe bu l b. Sl eep was not l ong in coming.

The nex t morning the Phu ndahl ians were setashore at the ship ' s nex t stop , a p oint ap p rox imatel yhal f-way to H el iu m. The man I stabbed was carriedoff by his friends, l u ck y to be al ive. The l ayover wasshort as no p assengers boarded, bu t cargo was off-l oaded and other containers were brou ght aboard.

I had sl ep t throu gh break fast, more ex hau stedthan I cared to admit, so I entered the dining roomat l u nch with a sharp ap p etite. As before, I ateal one, bu t this time even the tabl es near mine wereu noccu p ied. Ap p arentl y word had gone arou nd,which su ited me p erfectl y. I needed time al one togather my thou ghts, to p rep are for mysel f for theeventu al meeting with my hu sband. I hop ed itwou l d be non-confrontational , bu t I hel d no miscon-cep tions regarding John Carter' s temp er. H e cou l d


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be ex treme at times—not that I feared for my p hys-ical being; there was no man who l oved me more.

Becau se of these worries I had decided onH astor instead of H el iu m. I wanted to test thesitu ation before retu rning home.

The ship arrived at H astor near su ndown. Oneof the l arger cities of Barsoom, it was stil l onl y hal fthe siz e of Lesser H el iu m. The airship dock ed atthe maj estic inner city hanger which rose some fiftystories above the p l az a. I disembark ed with j ou rneybag in hand and took a p u bl ic p neu matic tu be sou th.Leaving the terminal on foot, I p assed al ong p avedavenu es dividing estates with wel l -manicu red l awnsand l andscap ing.

The su n was stil l yet above the horiz on when Ireached my destination. The gu ard at the gate gaveme a hard gl are. "I wou l d l ik e to sp eak to you r mis-tress," I said.

"We do not receive strangers," he rep l iedofficiou sl y.

"I u nderstand. Pl ease give her a message. I wil lwait across the way in the p ark . Say to her ' Y ouonce del ivered a l etter for me. I wish to k now if itwas received.' "

I did not have mu ch op p ortu nity to enj oy thequ iet p ark becau se R ex a H u l tan hersel f came togreet me. The p oor woman' s face stru ggl ed be-tween confl icting emotions of rel ief and anger, bothof which were set aside as she embraced me.

"Y ou r highness! I am so gl ad to see you ! I donot think John Carter wou l d have waited anotherday before sending ou t the fl eet."

"H e has not? "


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"H e honored you r message, thou gh he was ter-ribl y cross with me for l etting you go. Where haveyou been? I sent two of my men to Jhu ma a monthago to find you . They j u st retu rned yesterday, u n-su ccessfu l . I was so worried! "

"I am home, none the worse for wear. I wantedto tal k to you before going home to John Carter. H eis a dear to have given me the time on so fl imsy arequ est. Oh, I k now he wil l be angry with me."

"Y ou shal l soon find ou t," R ex a H u l tan said,"he' s here."

"H ere? " I arched a brow. Su ddenl y my insidestu rned.

"H ere on bu siness and as ou r gu est. I said noth-ing to him when the gu ard brou ght you r message.What are we to do? "

I p atted the dear girl ' s hand with a warm smil e."Not w e , R ex a H u l tan, m e . Thank you for being afriend. Where is he? "

"I' l l tak e you ."Shak ing my head I said, "I best go al one.""H e' s in the garden."I p arted from R ex a H u l tan at the back door of

her estate. Leaving the j ou rney bag on the p ortico,I wal k ed down the gravel p ath to the hanging gar-den su sp ended from the high wal l s su rrou nding thep rop erty. My V irginian was seated on the edge of adecorative fou ntain, watching the su nset. H e tu rnedhis head at my step on the l oose rock .

"H el l o, John. I' m home."H e l ook ed at my harness—a warrior' s har-

ness—and the l ong sword hanging from my hip .The radiu m p istol drew his attention, as wel l as thenarrowness of my waist, for I had l ost some weight


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over the l ast two months. H e al so noticed the faintscars on my shou l der and thigh where Warhoonswords had nick ed me. R ising, my Jasoomian cameto me.

Tak ing my hand, he bent over it, k issing theback of it with warm and tender affection. Straight-ening, he gaz ed into my eyes and said, "I shal l doyou the cou rtesy you accord me when I retu rn froma camp aign. No qu estions. I missed you ."

I threw mysel f into his arms, weep ing withhap p iness and l ove.

* * *R ex a H u l tan and her hu sband set a sp l endid

tabl e that night and we dined and drank wine withhap p y comp any. Later, John Carter took me u p -stairs to the gu est room and we renewed ou r l ovedu ring a fiery j oining that shattered my senses. Theheated desire I had l onged for, that I had missed forso l ong, had al ways been there, needing onl y animp etu s to sp ark it to fu l l fl ame once more.

Content, I l ay on my side, l ook ing ou t thewindow u p on the bl ack night and cou ntl ess stars,l oving the feel of my man p ressed against my back .


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I hu gged his arm to my breast and sighed. I hadmore to be hap p y for than having saved Ju nie Wattsor being a p art of the saving of Thil u m and Thaan-dor, for I had saved my marriage as wel l .

And, if what my heart and sou l tol d me weretru e, there might yet be one more reward, a miracl eas fine and wonderfu l as those twin bl ack babies inThil u m.

The End

Tangor's Fan Fiction - When The Princess...

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