GAHAN, watching through the aperture between the hangings, sawthe frantic flight of their pursuers. A grim smile rested uponhis lips as he viewed the mad scramble for safety and saw themthrow away their swords and fight with one another to be firstfrom the chamber of fear, and when they were all gone he turnedback toward Tara, the smile still upon his lips; but the smiledied the instant that he turned, for he saw that Tara haddisappeared.

"Tara!" he called in a loud voice, for he knew that there was nodanger that their pursuers would return; but there was noresponse, unless it was a faint sound as of cackling laughterfrom afar. Hurriedly he searched the passageway behind thehangings finding several doors, one of which was ajar. Throughthis he entered the adjoining chamber which was lighted morebrilliantly for the moment by the soft rays of hurtling Thuriataking her mad way through the heavens. Here he found the dustupon the floor disturbed, and the imprint of sandals. They hadcome this way--Tara and whatever the creature was that had stolenher.

But what could it have been? Gahan, a man of culture and highintelligence, held few if any superstitions. In common withnearly all races of Barsoom he clung, more or less inherently, toa certain exalted form of ancestor worship, though it was ratherthe memory or legends of the virtues and heroic deeds of hisforebears that he deified rather than themselves. He neverexpected any tangible evidence of their existence after death; hedid not believe that they had the power either for good or forevil other than the effect that their example while living mighthave had upon following generations; he did not believe thereforein the materialization of dead spirits. If there was a lifehereafter he knew nothing of it, for he knew that science haddemonstrated the existence of some material cause for everyseemingly supernatural phenomenon of ancient religions andsuperstitions. Yet he was at a loss to know what power might haveremoved Tara so suddenly and mysteriously from his side in achamber that had not known the presence of man for five thousandyears.

In the darkness he could not see whether there were the imprintsof other sandals than Tara's--only that the dust wasdisturbed--and when it led him into gloomy corridors he lost thetrail altogether. A perfect labyrinth of passages and apartmentswere now revealed to him as he hurried on through the desertedquarters of O-Mai. Here was an ancient bath--doubtless that ofthe jeddak himself, and again he passed through a room in which ameal had been laid upon a table five thousand years before--theuntasted breakfast of O-Mai, perhaps. There passed before hiseyes in the brief moments that he traversed the chambers, awealth of ornaments and jewels and precious metals that surprisedeven the Jed of Gathol whose harness was of diamonds and platinumand whose riches were the envy of a world. But at last his searchof O-Mai's chambers ended in a small closet in the floor of whichwas the opening to a spiral runway leading straight down intoStygian darkness. The dust at the entrance of the closet had beenfreshly disturbed, and as this was the only possible indicationthat Gahan had of the direction taken by the abductor of Tara itseemed as well to follow on as to search elsewhere. So, withouthesitation, he descended into the utter darkness below. Feelingwith a foot before taking a forward step his descent wasnecessarily slow, but Gahan was a Barsoomian and so knew thepitfalls that might await the unwary in such dark, forbiddenportions of a jeddak's palace.

He had descended for what he judged might be three full levelsand was pausing, as he occasionally did, to listen, when hedistinctly heard a peculiar shuffling, scraping sound approachinghim from below. Whatever the thing was it was ascending therunway at a steady pace and would soon be near him. Gahan laidhis hand upon the hilt of his sword and drew it slowly from itsscabbard that he might make no noise that would apprise thecreature of his presence. He wished that there might be even theslightest lessening of the darkness. If he could see but theoutline of the thing that approached him he would feel that hehad a fairer chance in the meeting; but he could see nothing, andthen because he could see nothing the end of his scabbard struckthe stone side of the runway, giving off a sound that thestillness and the narrow confines of the passage and the darknessseemed to magnify to a terrific clatter.

Instantly the shuffling sound of approach ceased. For a momentGahan stood in silent waiting, then casting aside discretion hemoved on again down the spiral. The thing, whatever it might be,gave forth no sound now by which Gahan might locate it. At anymoment it might be upon him and so he kept his sword inreadiness. Down, ever downward the steep spiral led. The darknessand the silence of the tomb surrounded him, yet somewhere aheadwas something. He was not alone in that horrid place--anotherpresence that he could not hear or see hovered before him--ofthat he was positive. Perhaps it was the thing that had stolenTara. Perhaps Tara herself, still in the clutches of somenameless horror, was just ahead of him. He quickened his pace--itbecame almost a run at the thought of the danger that threatenedthe woman he loved, and then he collided with a wooden door thatswung open to the impact. Before him was a lighted corridor. Oneither side were chambers. He had advanced but a short distancefrom the bottom of the spiral when he recognized that he was inthe pits below the palace. A moment later he heard behind him theshuffling sound that had attracted his attention in the spiralrunway. Wheeling about he saw the author of the sound emergingfrom a doorway he had just passed. It was Ghek the kaldane.

"Ghek!" exclaimed Gahan. "It was you in the runway? Have you seenTara of Helium?"

"It was I in the spiral," replied the kaldane; "but I have notseen Tara of Helium. I have been searching for her. Where isshe?"

"I do not know," replied the Gatholian; "but we must find her andtake her from this place."

"We may find her," said Ghek; "but I doubt our ability to takeher away. It is not so easy to leave Manator as it is to enterit. I may come and go at will, through the ancient burrows of theulsios; but you are too large for that and your lungs need moreair than may be found in some of the deeper runways."

"But U-Thor!" exclaimed Gahan. "Have you heard aught of him orhis intentions?"

"I have heard much," replied Ghek. "He camps at The Gate ofEnemies. That spot he holds and his warriors lie just beyond TheGate; but he has not sufficient force to enter the city and takethe palace. An hour since and you might have made your way tohim; but now every avenue is strongly guarded since O-Tar learnedthat A-Kor had escaped to U-Thor."

"A-Kor has escaped and joined U-Thor!" exclaimed Gahan.

"But little more than an hour since. I was with him when awarrior came--a man whose name is Tasor--who brought a messagefrom you. It was decided that Tasor should accompany A-Kor in anattempt to reach the camp of U-Thor, the great jed of Manatos,and exact from him the assurances you required. Then U-Thor wasto return and take food to you and the Princess of Helium. Iaccompanied them. We won through easily and found U-Thor morethan willing to respect your every wish, but when Tasor wouldhave returned to you the way was blocked by the warriors ofO-Tar. Then it was that I volunteered to come to you and reportand find food and drink and then go forth among the Gatholianslaves of Manator and prepare them for their part in the planthat U-Thor and Tasor conceived."

"And what was this plan?"

"U-Thor has sent for reinforcements. To Manatos he has sent andto all the outlying districts that are his. It will take

a month to collect and bring them hither and in the meantime theslaves within the city are to organize secretly, stealing andhiding arms against the day that the reinforcements arrive. Whenthat day comes the forces of U-Thor will enter the Gate ofEnemies and as the warriors of O-Tar rush to repulse them theslaves from Gathol will fall upon them from the rear with themajority of their numbers, while the balance will assault thepalace. They hope thus to divert so many from The Gate thatU-Thor will have little difficulty in forcing an entrance to thecity."

"Perhaps they will succeed," commented Gahan; "but the warriorsof O-Tar are many, and those who fight in defense of their homesand their jeddak have always an advantage. Ah, Ghek, would thatwe had the great warships of Gathol or of Helium to pour theirmerciless fire into the streets of Manator while U-Thor marchedto the palace over the corpses of the slain." He paused, deep inthought, and then turned his gaze again upon the kaldane. "Heardyou aught of the party that escaped with me from The Field ofJetan--of Floran, Val Dor, and the others? What of them?"

"Ten of these won through to U-Thor at The Gate of Enemies andwere well received by him. Eight fell in the fighting upon theway. Val Dor and Floran live, I believe, for I am sure that Iheard U-Thor address two warriors by these names."

"Good!" exclaimed Gahan. "Go then, through the burrows of theulsios, to The Gate of Enemies and carry to Floran the messagethat I shall write in his own language. Come, while I write themessage."

In a nearby room they found a bench and table and there Gahan satand wrote in the strange, stenographic characters of Martianscript a message to Floran of Gathol. "Why," he asked, when hehad finished it, "did you search for Tara through the spiralrunway where we nearly met?"

"Tasor told me where you were to be found, and as I have exploredthe greater part of the palace by means of the ulsio runways andthe darker and less frequented passages I knew precisely whereyou were and how to reach you. This secret spiral ascends fromthe pits to the roof of the loftiest of the palace towers. It hassecret openings at every level; but there is no livingManatorian, I believe, who knows of its existence. At least neverhave I met one within it and I have used it many times. Thricehave I been in the chamber where O-Mai lies, though I knewnothing of his identity or the story of his death until Tasortold it to us in the camp of U-Thor."

"You know the palace thoroughly then?" Gahan interrupted.

"Better than O-Tar himself or any of his servants."

"Good! And you would serve the Princess Tara, Ghek, you may serveher best by accompanying Floran and following his instructions. Iwill write them here at the close of my message to him, for thewalls have ears, Ghek, while none but a Gatholian may read what Ihave written to Floran. He will transmit it to you. Can I trustyou?"

"I may never return to Bantoom," replied Ghek. "Therefore I havebut two friends in all Barsoom. What better may I do than servethem faithfully? You may trust me, Gatholian, who with a woman ofyour kind has taught me that there be finer and nobler thingsthan perfect mentality uninfluenced by the unreasoning tuitionsof the heart. I go."

As O-Tar pointed to the little doorway all eyes turned in thedirection he indicated and surprise was writ large upon the facesof the warriors when they recognized the two who had entered thebanquet hall. There was I-Gos, and he dragged behind him one whowas gagged and whose hands were fastened behind with a ribbon oftough silk. It was the slave girl. I-Gos' cackling laughter roseabove the silence of the room.

"Ey, ey!" he shrilled. "What the young warriors of O-Tar cannotdo, old I-Gos does alone."

"Only a Corphal may capture a Corphal," growled one of the chiefswho had fled from the chambers of O-Mai.

I-Gos laughed. "Terror turned your heart to water," he replied;"and shame your tongue to libel. This be no Corphal, but only awoman of Helium; her companion a warrior who can match bladeswith the best of you and cut your putrid hearts. Not so in thedays of I-Gos' youth. Ah, then were there men in Manator. Well doI recall that day that I --"

"Peace, doddering fool!" commanded O-Tar. "Where is the man?"

"Where I found the woman--in the death chamber of O-Mai. Let yourwise and brave chieftains go thither and fetch him. I am an oldman, and could bring but one."

"You have done well, I-Gos," O-Tar hastened to assure him, forwhen he learned that Gahan might still be in the haunted chambershe wished to appease the wrath of I-Gos, knowing well thevitriolic tongue and temper of the ancient one. "You think she isno Corphal, then, I-Gos?" he asked, wishing to carry the subjectfrom the man who was still at large.

"No more than you," replied the ancient taxidermist.

O-Tar looked long and searchingly at Tara of Helium. All thebeauty that was hers seemed suddenly to be carried to every fibreof his consciousness. She was still garbed in the rich harness ofa Black Princess of Jetan, and as O-Tar the Jeddak gazed upon herhe realized that never before had his eyes rested upon a moreperfect figure--a more beautiful face.

"She is no Corphal," he murmured to himself. "She is no Corphaland she is a princess--a princess of Helium, and, by the goldenhair of the Holy Hekkador, she is beautiful. Take the gag fromher mouth and release her hands," he commanded aloud. "Make roomfor the Princess Tara of Helium at the side of O-Tar of Manator.She shall dine as becomes a princess."

Slaves did as O-Tar bid and Tara of Helium stood with flashingeyes behind the chair that was offered her. "Sit!" commandedO-Tar.

The girl sank into the chair. "I sit as a prisoner," she said;"not as a guest at the board of my enemy, O-Tar of Manator."

O-Tar motioned his followers from the room. "I would speak alonewith the Princess of Helium," he said. The company and the slaveswithdrew and once more the Jeddak of Manator turned toward thegirl. "O-Tar of Manator would be your friend," he said.

Tara of Helium sat with arms folded upon her small, firm breasts,her eyes flashing from behind narrowed lids, nor did she deign toanswer his overture. O-Tar leaned closer to her. He noted thehostility of her bearing and he recalled his first encounter withher. She was a she-banth, but she was beautiful. She was by farthe most desirable woman that O-Tar had ever looked upon and hewas determined to possess her. He told her so.

"I could take you as my slave," he said to her; "but it pleasesme to make you my wife. You shall be Jeddara of Manator. Youshall have seven days in which to prepare for the great honorthat O-Tar is conferring upon you, and at this hour of theseventh day you shall become an empress and the wife of O-Tar inthe throne room of the jeddaks of Manator." He struck a gong thatstood beside him upon the table and when a slave appeared he badehim recall the company. Slowly the chiefs filed in and took theirplaces at the table. Their faces were grim and scowling, forthere was still unanswered the question of their jeddak'scourage. If O-Tar had hoped they would forget he had beenmistaken in his men.

O-Tar arose. "In seven days," he announced, "there will be agreat feast in honor of the new Jeddara of Manator," and he wavedhis hand toward Tara of Helium. "The ceremony will occur at thebeginning of the seventh zode* in the throne room. In themeantime the Princess of Helium will be cared for in the tower ofthe women's quarters of the palace. Conduct her thither, E-Thas,with a suitable guard of honor and see to it that slaves andeunuchs be placed at her disposal, who shall attend upon all herwants and guard her carefully from harm."

* About 8:30 P. M. Earth Time.

Now E-Thas knew that the real meaning concealed in these finewords was that he should conduct the prisoner under a strongguard to the women's quarters and confine her there in the towerfor seven days, placing about her trustworthy guards who wouldprevent her escape or frustrate any attempted rescue.

As Tara was departing from the chamber with E-Thas and the guard,O-Tar leaned close to her ear and whispered: "Consider wellduring these seven days the high honor I have offered you,and--its sole alternative." As though she had not heard him thegirl passed out of the banquet hall, her head high and her eyesstraight to the front.

After Ghek had left him Gahan roamed the pits and the ancientcorridors of the deserted portions of the palace seeking someclue to the whereabouts or the fate of Tara of Helium. Heutilized the spiral runway in passing from level to level untilhe knew every foot of it from the pits to the summit of the hightower, and into what apartments it opened at the various levelsas well as the ingenious and hidden mechanism that operated thelocks of the cleverly concealed doors leading to it. For food hedrew upon the stores he found in the pits and when he slept helay upon the royal couch of O-Mai in the forbidden chambersharing the dais with the dead foot of the ancient jeddak.

In the palace about him seethed, all unknown to Gahan, a vastunrest. Warriors and chieftains pursued the duties of theirvocations with dour faces, and little knots of them werecollecting here and there and with frowns of anger discussingsome subject that was uppermost in the minds of all. It was uponthe fourth day following Tara's incarceration in the tower thatE-Thas, the major-domo of the palace and one of O-Tar'screatures, came to his master upon some trivial errand. O-Tar wasalone in one of the smaller chambers of his personal suite whenthe major-domo was announced, and after the matter upon whichE-Thas had come was disposed of the jeddak signed him to remain.

"From the position of an obscure warrior I have elevated you,E-Thas, to the honors of a chief. Within the confines of thepalace your word is second only to mine. You are not loved forthis, E-Thas, and should another jeddak ascend the throne ofManator what would become of you, whose enemies are among themost powerful of Manator?"

"Speak not of it, O-Tar," begged E-Thas. "These last few days Ihave thought upon it much and I would forget it; but I havesought to appease the wrath of. my worst enemies. I have beenvery kind and indulgent with them."

"You, too, read the voiceless message in the air?" demanded thejeddak.

E-Thas was palpably uneasy and he did not reply.

"Why did you not come to me with your apprehensions?" demandedO-Tar. "Be this loyalty?"

"I feared, O mighty jeddak!" replied E-Thas. "I feared that youwould not understand and that you would be angry."

"What know you? Speak the whole truth!" commanded O-Tar.

"There is much unrest among the chieftains and the warriors,"replied E-Thas. "Even those who were your friends fear the powerof those who speak against you."

"What say they?" growled the jeddak.

"They say that you are afraid to enter the apartments of O-Mai insearch of the slave Turan--oh, do not be angry with me, Jeddak;it is but what they say that I repeat. I, your loyal E-Thas,believe no such foul slander."

"No, no; why should I fear?" demanded O-Tar. "We do not know thathe is there. Did not my chiefs go thither and see nothing ofhim?"

"But they say that you did not go," pursued E-Thas, "and thatthey will have none of a coward upon the throne of Manator."

"They said that treason?" O-Tar almost shouted.

"They said that and more, great jeddak," answered the major-domo."They said that not only did you fear to enter the chambers ofO-Mai, but that you feared the slave Turan, and they blame youfor your treatment of A-Kor, whom they all believe to have beenmurdered at your command. They were fond of A-Kor and there aremany now who say aloud that A-Kor would have made a wondrousjeddak."

"They dare?" screamed O-Tar. "They dare suggest the name of aslave's bastard for the throne of O-Tar!"

"He is your son, O-Tar," E-Thas reminded him, "nor is there amore beloved man in Manator--I but speak to you of facts whichmay not be ignored, and I dare do so because only when yourealize the truth may you seek a cure for the ills that drawabout your throne."

O-Tar had slumped down upon his bench--suddenly he lookedshrunken and tired and old. "Cursed be the day," he cried, "thatsaw those three strangers enter the city of Manator. Would thatU-Dor had been spared to me. He was strong--my enemies fearedhim; but he is gone--dead at the hands of that hateful slave,Turan; may the curse of Issus be upon him!"

"My jeddak, what shall we do?" begged E-Thas. "Cursing the slavewill not solve your problems."

"But the great feast and the marriage is but three days off,"plead O-Tar. "It shall be a great gala occasion. The warriors andthe chiefs all know that--it is the custom. Upon that day giftsand honors shall be bestowed. Tell me, who are most bitteragainst me? I will send you among them and let it be known that Iam planning rewards for their past services to the throne. Wewill make jeds of chiefs and chiefs of warriors, and grant thempalaces and slaves. Eh, E-Thas?"

The other shook his head. "It will not do, O-Tar. They will havenothing of your gifts or honors. I have heard them say as much."

"What do they want?" demanded O-Tar.

"They want a jeddak as brave as the bravest," replied E-Thas,though his knees shook as he said it.

"They think I am a coward?" cried the jeddak.

"They say you are afraid to go to the apartments of O-mai theCruel."

For a long time O-Tar sat, his head sunk upon his breast, staringblankly at the floor.

"Tell them," he said at last in a hollow voice that sounded notat all like the voice of a great jeddak; "tell them that I willgo to the chambers of O-Mai and search for Turan the slave."