CLEAR and sweet a trumpet spoke across The Fields of Jetan. FromThe High Tower its cool voice floated across the city of Manatorand above the babel of human discords rising from the crowdedmass that filled the seats of the stadium below. It called theplayers for the first game, and simultaneously there fluttered tothe peaks of a thousand staffs on tower and battlement and thegreat wall of the stadium the rich, gay pennons of the fightingchiefs of Manator. Thus was marked the opening of The Jeddak'sGames, the most important of the year and second only to theGrand Decennial Games.

Gahan of Gathol watched every play with eagle eye. The match wasan unimportant one, being but to settle some petty disputebetween two chiefs, and was played with professional jetanplayers for points only. No one was killed and there was butlittle blood spilled. It lasted about an hour and was terminatedby the chief of the losing side deliberately permitting himselfto be out-pointed, that the game might be called a draw.

Again the trumpet sounded, this time announcing the second andlast game of the afternoon. While this was not considered animportant match, those being reserved for the fourth and fifthdays of the games, it promised to afford sufficient excitementsince it was a game to the death. The vital difference betweenthe game played with living men and that in which inanimatepieces are used, lies in the fact that while in the latter themere placing of a piece upon a square occupied by an opponentpiece terminates the move, in the former the two pieces thusbrought together engage in a duel for possession of the square.Therefore there enters into the former game not only the strategyof jetan but the personal prowess and bravery of each individualpiece, so that a knowledge not only of one's own men but of eachplayer upon the opposing side is of vast value to a chief.

In this respect was Gahan handicapped, though the loyalty of hisplayers did much to offset his ignorance of them, since theyaided him in arranging the board to the best advantage and toldhim honestly the faults and virtues of each. One fought best in alosing game; another was too slow; another too impetuous; thisone had fire and a heart of steel, but lacked endurance. Of theopponents, though, they knew little or nothing, and now as thetwo sides took their places upon the black and orange squares ofthe great jetan board Gahan obtained, for the first time, a closeview of those who opposed him. The Orange Chief had not yetentered the field, but his men were all in place. Val Dor turnedto Gahan. "They are all criminals from the pits of Manator," hesaid. "There is no slave among them. We shall not have to fightagainst a single fellow-countryman and every life we take will bethe life of an enemy."

"It is well," replied Gahan; "but where is their Chief, and wherethe two Princesses?"

"They are coming now, see?" and he pointed across the field towhere two women could be seen approaching under guard.

As they came nearer Gahan saw that one was indeed Tara of Helium,but the other he did not recognize, and then they were brought tothe center of the field midway between the two sides and therewaited until the Orange Chief arrived.

Floran voiced an exclamation of surprise when he recognized him."By my first ancestor if it is not one of their great chiefs," hesaid, "and we were told that slaves and criminals were to playfor the stake of this game."

His words were interrupted by the keeper of The Towers whose dutyit was not only to announce the games and the stakes, but to actas referee as well.

"Of this, the second game of the first day of the Jeddak's Gamesin the four hundred and thirty-third year of O-Tar, Jeddak ofManator, the Princesses of each side shall be the sole stakes andto the survivors of the winning side shall belong both thePrincesses, to do with as they shall see fit. The Orange Princessis the slave woman Lan-O of Gathol; the Black Princess is theslave woman Tara, a princess of Helium. The Black Chief is U-Kalof Manataj, a volunteer player; the Orange Chief is the dwarU-Dor of the 8th Utan of the jeddak of Manator, also a volunteerplayer. The squares shall be contested to the death. Just are thelaws of Manator! I have spoken."

The initial move was won by U-Dor, following which the two Chiefsescorted their respective Princesses to the square each was tooccupy. It was the first time Gahan had been alone with Tarasince she had been brought upon the field. He saw herscrutinizing him closely as he approached to lead her to herplace and wondered if she recognized him: but if she did she gaveno sign of it. He could not but remember her last words--"I hateyou!" and her desertion of him when he had been locked in theroom beneath the palace by I-Gos, the taxidermist, and so he didnot seek to enlighten her as to his identity. He meant to fightfor her--to die for her, if necessary--and if he did not die togo on fighting to the end for her love. Gahan of Gathol was noteasily to be discouraged, but he was compelled to admit that hischances of winning the love of Tara of Helium were remote.Already had she repulsed him twice. Once as jed of Gathol andagain as Turan the panthan. Before his love, however, came hersafety and the former must be relegated to the background untilthe latter had been achieved.

Passing among the players already at their stations the two tooktheir places upon their respective squares. At Tara's left wasthe Black Chief, Gahan of Gathol; directly in front of her thePrincess' Panthan, Floran of Gathol; and at her right thePrincess' Odwar, Val Dor of Helium. And each of these knew thepart that he was to play, win or lose, as did each of the otherBlack players. As Tara took her place Val Dor bowed low. "Mysword is at your feet, Tara of Helium," he said.

She turned and looked at him, an expression of surprise andincredulity upon her face. "Val Dor, the dwar!" she exclaimed."Val Dor of Helium--one of my father's trusted captains! Can itbe possible that my eyes speak the truth?"

"It is Val Dor, Princess," the warrior replied, "and here to diefor you if need be, as is every wearer of the Black upon thisfield of jetan today. Know Princess," he whispered, "that uponthis side is no man of Manator, but each and every is an enemy ofManator."

She cast a quick, meaning glance toward Gahan. "But what of him?"she whispered, and then she caught her breath quickly insurprise. "Shade of the first jeddak!" she exclaimed. "I did butjust recognize him through his disguise."

"And you trust him?" asked Val Dor. "I know him not; but he spokefairly, as an honorable warrior, and we have taken him at hisword."

"You have made no mistake," replied Tara of Helium. "I wouldtrust him with my life--with my soul; and you, too, may trusthim."

Happy indeed would have been Gahan of Gathol could he have heardthose words; but Fate, who is usually unkind to the lover in suchmatters, ordained it otherwise, and then the game was on.

U-Dor moved his Princess' Odwar three squares diagonally to theright, which placed the piece upon the Black Chief's Odwar'sseventh. The move was indicative of the game that U-Dor intendedplaying--a game of blood, rather than of science--and evidencedhis contempt for his opponents.

Gahan followed with his Odwar's Panthan one square straightforward, a more scientific move, which opened up an avenue forhimself through his line of Panthans, as well as announcing tothe players and spectators that he intended having a hand in thefighting himself even before the exigencies of the game forced itupon him. The move elicited a ripple of applause from thosesections of seats reserved for the common warriors and theirwomen, showing perhaps that U-Dor was none too popular withthese, and, too, it had its effect upon the morale of Gahan'spieces. A Chief may, and often does, play almost an entire gamewithout leaving his own square, where, mounted upon a thoat, hemay overlook the entire field and direct each move, nor may he bereproached for lack of courage should he elect thus to play thegame since, by the rules, were he to be slain or so badly woundedas to be compelled to withdraw, a game that might otherwise havebeen won by the science of his play and the prowess of his menwould be drawn. To invite personal combat, therefore, denotesconfidence in his own swordsmanship, and great courage, twoattributes that were calculated to fill the Black players withhope and valor when evinced by their Chief thus early in thegame.

U-Dor's next move placed Lan-O's Odwar upon Tara's Odwar'sfourth--within striking distance of the Black Princess.

Another move and the game would be lost to Gahan unless theOrange Odwar was overthrown, or Tara moved to a position ofsafety; but to move his Princess now would be to admit his beliefin the superiority of the Orange. In the three squares allowedhim he could not place himself squarely upon the square occupiedby the Odwar of U-Dor's Princess. There was only one player uponthe Black side that might dispute the square with the enemy andthat was the Chief's Odwar, who stood upon Gahan's left. Gahanturned upon his thoat and looked at the man. He was a splendidlooking fellow, resplendent in the gorgeous trappings of anOdwar, the five brilliant feathers which denoted his positionrising defiantly erect from his thick, black hair. In common withevery player upon the field and every spectator in the crowdedstands he knew what was passing in his Chief's mind. He dared notspeak, the ethics of the game forbade it, but what his lips mightnot voice his eyes expressed in martial fire, and eloquently:"The honor of the Black and the safety of our Princess are securewith me!"

Gahan hesitated no longer. "Chief's Odwar to Princess' Odwar'sfourth!" he commanded. It was the courageous move of a leader whohad taken up the gauntlet thrown down by his opponent.

The warrior sprang forward and leaped into the square occupied byU-Dor's piece. It was the first disputed square of the game. Theeyes of the players were fastened upon the contestants, thespectators leaned forward in their seats after the first applausethat had greeted the move, and silence fell upon the vastassemblage. If the Black went down to defeat, U-Dor could movehis victorious piece on to the square occupied by Tara of Heliumand the game would be over--over in four moves and lost to Gahanof Gathol. If the Orange lost U-Dor would have sacrificed one ofhis most important pieces and more than lost what advantage thefirst move might have given him.

Physically the two men appeared perfectly matched and each wasfighting for his life, but from the first it was apparent thatthe Black Odwar was the better swordsman, and Gahan knew that hehad another and perhaps a greater advantage over his antagonist.The latter was fighting for his life only, without the spur ofchivalry or loyalty. The Black Odwar had these to strengthen hisarm, and besides these the knowledge of the thing that Gahan hadwhispered into the ears of his players before the game, and so hefought for what is more than life to the man of honor.

It was a duel that held those who witnessed it in spellboundsilence. The weaving blades gleamed in the brilliant sunlight,ringing to the parries of cut and thrust. The barbaric harness ofthe duelists lent splendid color to the savage, martial scene.The Orange Odwar, forced upon the defensive, was fighting madlyfor his life. The Black, with cool and terrible efficiency, wasforcing him steadily, step by step, into a corner of thesquare--a position from which there could be no escape. Toabandon the square was to lose it to his opponent and win forhimself ignoble and immediate death before the jeering populace.Spurred on by the seeming hopelessness of his plight, the OrangeOdwar burst into a sudden fury of offense that forced the Blackback a half dozen steps, and then the sword of U-Dor's pieceleaped in and drew first blood, from the shoulder of hismerciless opponent. An ill-smothered cry of encouragement went upfrom U-Dor's men; the Orange Odwar, encouraged by his singlesuccess, sought to bear down the Black by the rapidity of hisattack. There was a moment in which the swords moved with arapidity that no man's eye might follow, and then the Black Odwarmade a lightning parry of a vicious thrust, leaned quicklyforward into the opening he had effected, and drove his swordthrough the heart of the Orange Odwar--to the hilt he drove itthrough the body of the Orange Odwar.

A shout arose from the stands, for wherever may have been thefavor of the spectators, none there was who could say that it hadnot been a pretty fight, or that the better man had not won. Andfrom the Black players came a sigh of relief as they relaxed fromthe tension of the past moments.

I shall not weary you with the details of the game--only the highfeatures of it are necessary to your understanding of theoutcome. The fourth move after the victory of the Black Odwarfound Gahan upon U-Dor's fourth; an Orange Panthan was on theadjoining square diagonally to his right and the only opposingpiece that could engage him other than U-Dor himself.

It had been apparent to both players and spectators for the pasttwo moves, that Gahan was moving straight across the field intothe enemy's country to seek personal combat with the OrangeChief--that he was staking all upon his belief in the superiorityof his own swordsmanship, since if the two Chiefs engage, theoutcome decides the game. U-Dor could move out and engage Gahan,or he could move his Princess' Panthan upon the square occupiedby Gahan in he hope that the former would defeat the Black Chiefand thus draw the game, which is the outcome if any other than aChief slays the opposing Chief, or he could move away and escape,temporarily, the necessity for personal combat, or at least thatis evidently what he had in mind as was obvious to all who sawhim scanning the board about him; and his disappointment wasapparent when he finally discovered that Gahan had so placedhimself that there was no square to which U-Dor could move thatit was not within Gahan's power to reach at his own next move.

U-Dor had placed his own Princess four squares east of Gahan whenher position had been threatened, and he had hoped to lure theBlack Chief after her and away from U-Dor; but in that he hadfailed. He now discovered that he might play his own Odwar intopersonal combat with Gahan; but he had already lost one Odwar andcould ill spare the other. His position was a delicate one, sincehe did not wish to engage Gahan personally, while it appearedthat there was little likelihood of his being able to escape.There was just one hope and that lay in his Princess' Panthan,so, without more deliberation he ordered the piece onto thesquare occupied by the Black Chief.

The sympathies of the spectators were all with Gahan now. If helost, the game would be declared a draw, nor do they think betterof drawn games upon Barsoom than do Earth men. If he won, itwould doubtless mean a duel between the two Chiefs, a developmentfor which they all were hoping. The game already bade fair to bea short one and it would be an angry crowd should it be decided adraw with only two men slain. There were great, historic games onrecord where of the forty pieces on the field when the gameopened only three survived--the two Princesses and the victoriousChief.

They blamed U-Dor, though in fact he was well within his rightsin directing his play as he saw fit, nor was a refusal on hispart to engage the Black Chief necessarily an imputation ofcowardice. He was a great chief who had conceived a notion topossess the slave Tara. There was no honor that could accrue tohim from engaging in combat with slaves and criminals, or anunknown warrior from Manataj, nor was the stake of sufficientimport to warrant the risk.

But now the duel between Gahan and the Orange Panthan was on andthe decision of the next move was no longer in other hands thantheirs. It was the first time that these Mana-Atorians had seenGahan of Gathol fight, but Tara of Helium knew that he was masterof his sword. Could he have seen the proud light in her eyes ashe crossed blades with the wearer of the Orange, he might easilyhave wondered if they were the same eyes that had flashed fireand hatred at him that time he had covered her lips with madkisses, in the pits of the palace of O-Tar. As she watched himshe could not but compare his swordplay with that of the greatestswordsman of two worlds--her father, John Carter, of Virginia, a,Prince of Helium, Warlord of Barsoom--and she knew that the skillof the Black Chief suffered little by the comparison.

Short and to the point was the duel that decided possession ofthe Orange Chief's fourth. The spectators had settled themselvesfor an interesting engagement of at least average duration whenthey were brought almost standing by a brilliant flash of rapidswordplay that was over ere one could catch his breath. They sawthe Black Chief step quickly back, his point upon the ground,while his opponent, his sword slipping from his fingers, clutchedhis breast, sank to his knees and then lunged forward upon hisface.

And then Gahan of Gathol turned his eyes directly upon U-Dor ofManator, three squares away. Three squares is a Chief'smove--three squares in any direction or combination ofdirections, only provided that he does not cross the same squaretwice in a given move. The people saw and guessed Gahan'sintention. They rose and roared forth their approval as he moveddeliberately across the intervening squares toward the OrangeChief.

O-Tar, in the royal enclosure, sat frowning upon the scene. O-Tarwas angry. He was angry with U-Dor for having entered this gamefor possession of a slave, for whom it had been his wish onlyslaves and criminals should strive. He was angry with the warriorfrom Manataj for having so far out-generaled and out-fought themen from Manator. He was angry with the populace because of theiropen hostility toward one who had basked in the sunshine of hisfavor for long years. O-Tar the jeddak had not enjoyed theafternoon. Those who surrounded him were equally glum--they, too,scowled upon the field, the players, and the people. Among themwas a bent and wrinkled old man who gazed through weak and wateryeyes upon the field and the players.

As Gahan entered his square, U-Dor leaped toward him with drawnsword with such fury as might have overborne a less skilled andpowerful swordsman. For a minute the fighting was fast andfurious and by comparison reducing to insignificance all that hadgone before. Here indeed were two magnificent swordsmen, and herewas to be a battle that bade fair to make up for whatever thepeople felt they had been defrauded of by the shortness of thegame. Nor had it continued long before many there were who wouldhave prophesied that they were witnessing a duel that was tobecome historic in the annals of jetan at Manator. Every trick,every subterfuge, known to the art of fence these men employed.Time and again each scored a point and brought blood to hisopponent's copper hide until both were red with gore; but neitherseemed able to administer the coup de grace.

From her position upon the opposite side of the field Tara ofHelium watched the long-drawn battle. Always it seemed to herthat the Black Chief fought upon the defensive, or when heassumed to push his opponent, he neglected a thousand openingsthat her practiced eye beheld. Never did he seem in real danger,nor never did he appear to exert himself to quite the pitchneedful for victory. The duel already had been long contested andthe day was drawing to a close. Presently the sudden transitionfrom daylight to darkness which, owing to the tenuity of the airupon Barsoom, occurs almost without the warning twilight ofEarth, would occur. Would the fight never end? Would the game becalled a draw after all? What ailed the Black Chief?

Tara wished that she might answer at least the last of thesequestions for she was sure that Turan the panthan, as she knewhim, while fighting brilliantly, was not giving of himself allthat he might. She could not believe that fear was restraininghis hand, but that there was something beside inability to pushU-Dor more fiercely she was confident. What it was, however, shecould not guess.

Once she saw Gahan glance quickly up toward the sinking sun. Inthirty minutes it would be dark. And then she saw and all thoseothers saw a strange transition steal over the swordplay of theBlack Chief. It was as though he had been playing with the greatdwar, U-Dor, all these hours, and now he still played with himbut there was a difference. He played with him terribly as acarnivore plays with its victim in the instant before the kill.The Orange Chief was helpless now in the hands of a swordsman sosuperior that there could be no comparison, and the people sat inopen-mouthed wonder and awe as Gahan of Gathol cut his foe toribbons and then struck him down with a blow that cleft him tothe chin.

In twenty minutes the sun would set. But what of that?