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a princess of mars-第18章

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commanding Woola to remain on guard; I hastened to the

audience chamber; where I found Lorquas Ptomel and Tars

Tarkas seated upon the rostrum。










CHAPTER XII





A PRISONER WITH POWER





As I entered and saluted; Lorquas Ptomel signaled me to advance;

and; fixing his great; hideous eyes upon me; addressed me thus:



〃You have been with us a few days; yet during that time

you have by your prowess won a high position among us。

Be that as it may; you are not one of us; you owe us no

allegiance。



〃Your position is a peculiar one;〃 he continued; 〃you are

a prisoner and yet you give commands which must be obeyed;

you are an alien and yet you are a Tharkian chieftain; you

are a midget and yet you can kill a mighty warrior with one

blow of your fist。  And now you are reported to have been

plotting to escape with another prisoner of another race; a

prisoner who; from her own admission; half believes you are

returned from the valley of Dor。  Either one of these accusations;

if proved; would be sufficient grounds for your execution;

but we are a just people and you shall have a trial on our

return to Thark; if Tal Hajus so commands。



〃But;〃 he continued; in his fierce guttural tones; 〃if you

run off with the red girl it is I who shall have to account to

Tal Hajus; it is I who shall have to face Tars Tarkas; and

either demonstrate my right to command; or the metal from

my dead carcass will go to a better man; for such is the

custom of the Tharks。



〃I have no quarrel with Tars Tarkas; together we rule

supreme the greatest of the lesser communities among the

green men; we do not wish to fight between ourselves; and so

if you were dead; John Carter; I should be glad。  Under two

conditions only; however; may you be killed by us without

orders from Tal Hajus; in personal combat in self…defense;

should you attack one of us; or were you apprehended in an

attempt to escape。



〃As a matter of justice I must warn you that we only

await one of these two excuses for ridding ourselves of so

great a responsibility。  The safe delivery of the red girl to

Tal Hajus is of the greatest importance。  Not in a thousand

years have the Tharks made such a capture; she is the

granddaughter of the greatest of the red jeddaks; who is also

our bitterest enemy。  I have spoken。  The red girl told us that

we were without the softer sentiments of humanity; but we

are a just and truthful race。  You may go。〃



Turning; I left the audience chamber。  So this was the

beginning of Sarkoja's persecution!  I knew that none other

could be responsible for this report which had reached the

ears of Lorquas Ptomel so quickly; and now I recalled those

portions of our conversation which had touched upon escape

and upon my origin。



Sarkoja was at this time Tars Tarkas' oldest and most

trusted female。  As such she was a mighty power behind the

throne; for no warrior had the confidence of Lorquas Ptomel

to such an extent as did his ablest lieutenant; Tars Tarkas。



However; instead of putting thoughts of possible escape

from my mind; my audience with Lorquas Ptomel only served

to center my every faculty on this subject。  Now; more than

before; the absolute necessity for escape; in so far as Dejah

Thoris was concerned; was impressed upon me; for I was

convinced that some horrible fate awaited her at the

headquarters of Tal Hajus。



As described by Sola; this monster was the exaggerated

personification of all the ages of cruelty; ferocity; and

brutality from which he had descended。  Cold; cunning;

calculating; he was; also; in marked contrast to most of his

fellows; a slave to that brute passion which the waning

demands for procreation upon their dying planet has almost

stilled in the Martian breast。



The thought that the divine Dejah Thoris might fall into

the clutches of such an abysmal atavism started the cold

sweat upon me。  Far better that we save friendly bullets for

ourselves at the last moment; as did those brave frontier

women of my lost land; who took their own lives rather than

fall into the hands of the Indian braves。



As I wandered about the plaza lost in my gloomy forebodings

Tars Tarkas approached me on his way from the audience

chamber。  His demeanor toward me was unchanged; and he

greeted me as though we had not just parted a few

moments before。



〃Where are your quarters; John Carter?〃 he asked。



〃I have selected none;〃 I replied。  〃It seemed best that I

quartered either by myself or among the other warriors; and

I was awaiting an opportunity to ask your advice。  As you

know;〃 and I smiled; 〃I am not yet familiar with all the

customs of the Tharks。〃



〃Come with me;〃 he directed; and together we moved off

across the plaza to a building which I was glad to see

adjoined that occupied by Sola and her charges。



〃My quarters are on the first floor of this building;〃 he

said; 〃and the second floor also is fully occupied by warriors;

but the third floor and the floors above are vacant; you may

take your choice of these。



〃I understand;〃 he continued; 〃that you have given up

your woman to the red prisoner。  Well; as you have said;

your ways are not our ways; but you can fight well enough

to do about as you please; and so; if you wish to give your

woman to a captive; it is your own affair; but as a chieftain

you should have those to serve you; and in accordance with

our customs you may select any or all the females from the

retinues of the chieftains whose metal you now wear。〃



I thanked him; but assured him that I could get along

very nicely without assistance except in the matter of

preparing food; and so he promised to send women to me for

this purpose and also for the care of my arms and the

manufacture of my ammunition; which he said would be

necessary。  I suggested that they might also bring some of

the sleeping silks and furs which belonged to me as spoils of

combat; for the nights were cold and I had none of my own。



He promised to do so; and departed。  Left alone; I ascended

the winding corridor to the upper floors in search of

suitable quarters。  The beauties of the other buildings were

repeated in this; and; as usual; I was soon lost in a tour of

investigation and discovery。



I finally chose a front room on the third floor; because

this brought me nearer to Dejah Thoris; whose apartment

was on the second floor of the adjoining building; and it

flashed upon me that I could rig up some means of communication

whereby she might signal me in case she needed either my

services or my protection。



Adjoining my sleeping apartment were baths; dressing

rooms; and other sleeping and living apartments; in all some

ten rooms on this floor。  The windows of the back rooms

overlooked an enormous court; which formed the center of

the square made by the buildings which faced the four

contiguous streets; and which was now given over to the

quartering of the various animals belonging to the warriors

occupying the adjoining buildings。



While the court was entirely overgrown with the yellow;

moss…like vegetation which blankets practically the entire

surface of Mars; yet numerous fountains; statuary; benches;

and pergola…like contraptions bore witness to the beauty

which the court must have presented in bygone times; when

graced by the fair…haired; laughing people whom stern and

unalterable cosmic laws had driven not only from their homes;

but from all except the vague legends of their descendants。



One could easily picture the gorgeous foliage of the luxuriant

Martian vegetation which once filled this scene with life

and color; the graceful figures of the beautiful women; the

straight and handsome men; the happy frolicking children

all sunlight; happiness and peace。  It was difficult to realize

that they had gone; down through ages of darkness; cruelty;

and ignorance; until their hereditary instincts

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