The morning of the second day of her incarcerationin the east tower of the palace of Astok, Prince of Dusar,found Thuvia of Ptarth waiting in dull apathy the comingof the assassin.

She had exhausted every possibility of escape, goingover and over again the door and the windows, thefloor and the walls.

The solid ersite slabs she could not even scratch;the tough Barsoomian glass of the windows would haveshattered to nothing less than a heavy sledge in the handsof a strong man. The door and the lock were impregnable.There was no escape. And they had stripped her of herweapons so that she could not even anticipate the hourof her doom, thus robbing them of the satisfaction ofwitnessing her last moments.

When would they come? Would Astok do the deed withhis own hands? She doubted that he had the couragefor it. At heart he was a coward--she had known it sincefirst she had heard him brag as, a visitor at the court ofher father, he had sought to impress her with his valour.

She could not help but compare him with another.And with whom would an affianced bride compare anunsuccessful suitor? With her betrothed? And did Thuviaof Ptarth now measure Astok of Dusar by the standardsof Kulan Tith, Jeddak of Kaol?

She was about to die; her thoughts were her own to dowith as she pleased; yet furthest from them was Kulan Tith.Instead the figure of the tall and comely Heliumitefilled her mind, crowding therefrom all other images.

She dreamed of his noble face, the quiet dignity of his bearing,the smile that lit his eyes as he conversed with his friends,and the smile that touched his lips as he fought with his enemies--the fighting smile of his Virginian sire.

And Thuvia of Ptarth, true daughter of Barsoom, foundher breath quickening and heart leaping to the memory ofthis other smile--the smile that she would never see again.With a little half-sob the girl sank to the pile ofsilks and furs that were tumbled in confusion beneaththe east windows, burying her face in her arms.

In the corridor outside her prison-room two men hadpaused in heated argument.

"I tell you again, Astok," one was saying, "that I shallnot do this thing unless you be present in the room."

There was little of the respect due royalty in the toneof the speaker's voice. The other, noting it, flushed.

"Do not impose too far upon my friendship for you,Vas Kor," he snapped. "There is a limit to my patience."

"There is no question of royal prerogative here,"returned Vas Kor. "You ask me to become an assassin inyour stead, and against your jeddak's strict injunctions.You are in no position, Astok, to dictate to me; butrather should you be glad to accede to my reasonablerequest that you be present, thus sharing the guiltwith me. Why should I bear it all?"

The younger man scowled, but he advanced towardthe locked door, and as it swung in upon its hinges,he entered the room beyond at the side of Vas Kor.

Across the chamber the girl, hearing them enter, roseto her feet and faced them. Under the soft copper of herskin she blanched just a trifle; but her eyes were braveand level, and the haughty tilt of her firm little chin waseloquent of loathing and contempt.

"You still prefer death?" asked Astok.

"To YOU, yes," replied the girl coldly.

The Prince of Dusar turned to Vas Kor and nodded.The noble drew his short-sword and crossed the roomtoward Thuvia.

"Kneel!" he commanded.

"I prefer to die standing," she replied.

"As you will," said Vas Kor, feeling the point of hisblade with his left thumb. "In the name of Nutus, Jeddakof Dusar!" he cried, and ran quickly toward her.

"In the name of Carthoris, Prince of Helium!"came in low tones from the doorway.

Vas Kor turned to see the panthan he had recruited at hisson's house leaping across the floor toward him. The fellowbrushed past Astok with an: "After him, you--calot!"

Vas Kor wheeled to meet the charging man.

"What means this treason?" he cried.

Astok, with bared sword, leaped to Vas Kor's assistance.The panthan's sword clashed against that of the noble,and in the first encounter Vas Kor knew that he faced amaster swordsman.

Before he half realized the stranger's purpose he foundthe man between himself and Thuvia of Ptarth, at bayfacing the two swords of the Dusarians. But he foughtnot like a man at bay. Ever was he the aggressor, andthough always he kept his flashing blade between the girland her enemies, yet he managed to force them hitherand thither about the room, calling to the girl to followclose behind him.

Until it was too late neither Vas Kor nor Astok dreamedof that which lay in the panthan's mind; but at last asthe fellow stood with his back toward the door, bothunderstood--they were penned in their own prison, andnow the intruder could slay them at his will, for Thuviaof Ptarth was bolting the door at the man's direction,first taking the key from the opposite side, whereAstok had left it when they had entered.

Astok, as was his way, finding that the enemy did notfall immediately before their swords, was leaving thebrunt of the fighting to Vas Kor, and now as his eyesappraised the panthan carefully they presently went widerand wider, for slowly he had come to recognize thefeatures of the Prince of Helium.

The Heliumite was pressing close upon Vas Kor. The noble wasbleeding from a dozen wounds. Astok saw that he could notfor long withstand the cunning craft of that terrible sword hand.

"Courage, Vas Kor!" he whispered in the other's ear."I have a plan. Hold him but a moment longer and allwill be well," but the balance of the sentence,"with Astok, Prince of Dusar," he did not voice aloud.

Vas Kor, dreaming no treachery, nodded his head,and for a moment succeeded in holding Carthoris at bay.Then the Heliumite and the girl saw the Dusarian princerun swiftly to the opposite side of the chamber, touchsomething in the wall that sent a great panel swinginginward, and disappear into the black vault beyond.

It was done so quickly that by no possibility couldthey have intercepted him. Carthoris, fearful lest Vas Kormight similarly elude him, or Astok return immediatelywith reinforcements, sprang viciously in upon hisantagonist, and a moment later the headless body ofthe Dusarian noble rolled upon the ersite floor.

"Come!" cried Carthoris. "There is no time to be lost.Astok will be back in a moment with enough warriors tooverpower me."

But Astok had no such plan in mind, for such amove would have meant the spreading of the fact amongthe palace gossips that the Ptarthian princess was aprisoner in the east tower. Quickly would the word havecome to his father, and no amount of falsifying couldhave explained away the facts that the jeddak'sinvestigation would have brought to light.

Instead Astok was racing madly through a long corridorto reach the door of the tower-room before Carthorisand Thuvia left the apartment. He had seen the girlremove the key and place it in her pocket-pouch, andhe knew that a dagger point driven into the keyhole fromthe opposite side would imprison them in the secretchamber till eight dead worlds circled a cold, dead sun.

As fast as he could run Astok entered the main corridorthat led to the tower chamber. Would he reach thedoor in time? What if the Heliumite should have alreadyemerged and he should run upon him in the passageway? Astok felt a cold chill run up his spine. He hadno stomach to face that uncanny blade.

He was almost at the door. Around the next turn of thecorridor it stood. No, they had not left the apartment.Evidently Vas Kor was still holding the Heliumite!

Astok could scarce repress a grin at the clever mannerin which he had outwitted the noble and disposed ofhim at the same time. And then he rounded the turn andcame face to face with an auburn-haired, white giant.

The fellow did not wait to ask the reason for his coming;instead he leaped upon him with a long-sword, so thatAstok had to parry a dozen vicious cuts before hecould disengage himself and flee back down the runway.

A moment later Carthoris and Thuvia entered the corridorfrom the secret chamber.

"Well, Kar Komak?" asked the Heliumite.

"It is fortunate that you left me here, red man,"said the bowman. "I but just now intercepted one whoseemed over-anxious to reach this door--it was he whomthey call Astok, Prince of Dusar."

Carthoris smiled.

"Where is he now?" he asked.

"He escaped my blade, and ran down this corridor,"replied Kar Komak.

"We must lose no time, then!" exclaimed Carthoris."He will have the guard upon us yet!"

Together the three hastened along the winding passagesthrough which Carthoris and Kar Komak had tracked theDusarians by the marks of the latter's sandals in thethin dust that overspread the floors of these seldom-used passage-ways.

They had come to the chamber at the entrances to thelifts before they met with opposition. Here they found ahandful of guardsmen, and an officer, who, seeing thatthey were strangers, questioned their presence in thepalace of Astok.

Once more Carthoris and Kar Komak had recourse totheir blades, and before they had won their way to oneof the lifts the noise of the conflict must have arousedthe entire palace, for they heard men shouting, and asthey passed the many levels on their quick passage tothe landing-stage they saw armed men running hitherand thither in search of the cause of the commotion.

Beside the stage lay the Thuria, with three warriors on guard.Again the Heliumite and the Lotharian fought shoulder to shoulder,but the battle was soon over, for the Prince of Helium alonewould have been a match for any three that Dusar could produce.

Scarce had the Thuria risen from the ways ere a hundredor more fighting men leaped to view upon the landing-stage.At their head was Astok of Dusar, and as he saw the twohe had thought so safely in his power slipping from his grasp,he danced with rage and chagrin, shaking his fists and hurlingabuse and vile insults at them.

With her bow inclined upward at a dizzy angle, the Thuriashot meteor-like into the sky. From a dozen points swiftpatrol boats darted after her, for the scene upon thelanding-stage above the palace of the Prince of Dusarhad not gone unnoticed.

A dozen times shots grazed the Thuria's side, and asCarthoris could not leave the control levers, Thuvia ofPtarth turned the muzzles of the craft's rapid-fire gunsupon the enemy as she clung to the steep and slipperysurface of the deck.

It was a noble race and a noble fight. One against a score now,for other Dusarian craft had joined in the pursuit; but Astok,Prince of Dusar, had built well when he built the Thuria.None in the navy of his sire possessed a swifter flier;no other craft so well armoured or so well armed.

One by one the pursuers were distanced, and as thelast of them fell out of range behind, Carthoris droppedthe Thuria's nose to a horizontal plane, as with leverdrawn to the last notch, she tore through the thin air ofdying Mars toward the east and Ptarth.

Thirteen and a half thousand haads away lay Ptarth--astiff thirty-hour journey for the swiftest of fliers,and between Dusar and Ptarth might lie half the navyof Dusar, for in this direction was the reported seat ofthe great naval battle that even now might be in progress.

Could Carthoris have known precisely where the great fleetsof the contending nations lay, he would have hastenedto them without delay, for in the return of Thuvia toher sire lay the greatest hope of peace.

Half the distance they covered without sighting asingle warship, and then Kar Komak called Carthoris'sattention to a distant craft that rested upon the ochrevegetation of the great dead sea-bottom, above whichthe Thuria was speeding.

About the vessel many figures could be seen swarming.With the aid of powerful glasses, the Heliumite saw thatthey were green warriors, and that they were repeatedlycharging down upon the crew of the stranded airship.The nationality of the latter he could not make out atso great a distance.

It was not necessary to change the course of the Thuriato permit of passing directly above the scene ofbattle, but Carthoris dropped his craft a few hundredfeet that he might have a better and closer view.

If the ship was of a friendly power, he could do no lessthan stop and direct his guns upon her enemies, thoughwith the precious freight he carried he scarcely feltjustified in landing, for he could offer but two swordsin reinforcement--scarce enough to warrant jeopardizingthe safety of the Princess of Ptarth.

As they came close above the stricken ship, they couldsee that it would be but a question of minutes before thegreen horde would swarm across the armoured bulwarks toglut the ferocity of their bloodlust upon the defenders.

"It would be futile to descend," said Carthoris to Thuvia."The craft may even be of Dusar--she shows no insignia.All that we may do is fire upon the hordesmen";and as he spoke he stepped to one of the guns and deflectedits muzzle toward the green warriors at the ship's side.

At the first shot from the Thuria those upon thevessel below evidently discovered her for the first time.Immediately a device fluttered from the bow of thewarship on the ground. Thuvia of Ptarth caught her breathquickly, glancing at Carthoris.

The device was that of Kulan Tith, Jeddak of Kaol--the man to whom the Princess of Ptarth was betrothed!

How easy for the Heliumite to pass on, leaving his rivalto the fate that could not for long be averted! No mancould accuse him of cowardice or treachery, forKulan Tith was in arms against Helium, and, further,upon the Thuria were not enough swords to delay eventemporarily the outcome that already was a foregoneconclusion in the minds of the watchers.

What would Carthoris, Prince of Helium, do?

Scarce had the device broken to the faint breeze ere the bowof the Thuria dropped at a sharp angle toward the ground.

"Can you navigate her?" asked Carthoris of Thuvia.

The girl nodded.

"I am going to try to take the survivors aboard," he continued."It will need both Kar Komak and myself to man the guns whilethe Kaolians take to the boarding tackle. Keep her bowdepressed against the rifle fire. She can bear it betterin her forward armour, and at the same time the propellerswill be protected."

He hurried to the cabin as Thuvia took the control.A moment later the boarding tackle dropped from the keelof the Thuria, and from a dozen points along either sidestout, knotted leathern lines trailed downward.At the same time a signal broke from her bow:

"Prepare to board us."

A shout arose from the deck of the Kaolian warship.Carthoris, who by this time had returned from the cabin,smiled sadly. He was about to snatch from the jawsof death the man who stood between himself and thewoman he loved.

"Take the port bow gun, Kar Komak," he called to the bowman,and himself stepped to the gun upon the starboard bow.

*They could now feel the sharp shock of the explosionsof the green warriors vomited their hail of death anddestruction at the sides of the staunch Thuria.*[This paragraph needs to be verified from early editions]

It was a forlorn hope at best. At any moment the repulsiveray tanks might be pierced. The men upon the Kaolianship were battling with renewed hope. In the bow stoodKulan Tith, a brave figure fighting beside his brave warriors,beating back the ferocious green men.

The Thuria came low above the other craft. The Kaolianswere forming under their officers in readiness to board,and then a sudden fierce fusillade from the rifles of thegreen warriors vomited their hail of death and destructioninto the side of the brave flier.

Like a wounded bird she dived suddenly Marswardcareening drunkenly. Thuvia turned the bow upward in aneffort to avert the imminent tragedy, but she succeededonly in lessening the shock of the flier's impact as shestruck the ground beside the Kaolian ship.

When the green men saw only two warriors and awoman upon the deck of the Thuria, a savage shout oftriumph arose from their ranks, while an answering groanbroke from the lips of the Kaolians.

The former now turned their attention upon the new arrival,for they saw her defenders could soon be overcome and thatfrom her deck they could command the deck of the better-manned ship.

As they charged a shout of warning came from Kulan Tith,upon the bridge of his own ship, and with it anappreciation of the valour of the act that had put thesmaller vessel in these sore straits.

"Who is it," he cried, "that offers his life in the serviceof Kulan Tith? Never was wrought a nobler deed of self-sacrifice upon Barsoom!"

The green horde was scrambling over the Thuria'sside as there broke from the bow the device of Carthoris,Prince of Helium, in reply to the query of thejeddak of Kaol. None upon the smaller flier hadopportunity to note the effect of this announcement uponthe Kaolians, for their attention was claimed slowly now bythat which was transpiring upon their own deck.

Kar Komak stood behind the gun he had been operating,staring with wide eyes at the onrushing hideous green warriors.Carthoris, seeing him thus, felt a pang of regret that,after all, this man that he had thought so valorous should prove,in the hour of need, as spineless as Jav or Tario.

"Kar Komak--the man!" he shouted. "Grip yourself!Remember the days of the glory of the seafarers ofLothar. Fight! Fight, man! Fight as never man foughtbefore. All that remains to us is to die fighting."

Kar Komak turned toward the Heliumite, a grim smile upon his lips.

"Why should we fight," he asked. "Against such fearful odds?There is another way--a better way. Look!" He pointed towardthe companion-way that led below deck.

The green men, a handful of them, had already reachedthe Thuria's deck, as Carthoris glanced in thedirection the Lotharian had indicated. The sight thatmet his eyes set his heart to thumping in joy and relief--Thuvia of Ptarth might yet be saved? For from belowthere poured a stream of giant bowmen, grim and terrible. Not the bowmen of Tario or Jav, but the bowmen of anodwar of bowmen--savage fighting men, eager for the fray.

The green warriors paused in momentary surprise andconsternation, but only for a moment. Then with horridwar-cries they leaped forward to meet these strange, new foemen.

A volley of arrows stopped them in their tracks.In a moment the only green warriors upon the deck ofthe Thuria were dead warriors, and the bowmen of KarKomak were leaping over the vessel's sides to chargethe hordesmen upon the ground.

Utan after utan tumbled from the bowels of the Thuriato launch themselves upon the unfortunate green men. Kulan Tith and his Kaolians stood wide-eyed andspeechless with amazement as they saw thousands of thesestrange, fierce warriors emerge from the companion-wayof the small craft that could not comfortably haveaccomodated more than fifty.

At last the green men could withstand the onslaughtof overwhelming numbers no longer. Slowly, at first,they fell back across the ochre plain. The bowmen pursuedthem. Kar Komak, standing upon the deck of the Thuria,trembled with excitement.

At the top of his lungs he voiced the savage war-cryof his forgotten day. He roared encouragement andcommands at his battling utans, and then, as they chargedfurther and further from the Thuria, he could no longerwithstand the lure of battle.

Leaping over the ship's side to the ground, he joinedthe last of his bowmen as they raced off over the deadsea-bottom in pursuit of the fleeing green horde.

Beyond a low promontory of what once had been anisland the green men were disappearing toward the west.Close upon their heels raced the fleet bowmen of a bygone day,and forging steadily ahead among them Carthoris and Thuviacould see the mighty figure of Kar Komak, brandishing aloftthe Torquasian short-sword with which he was armed, as heurged his creatures after the retreating enemy.

As the last of them disappeared behind the promontory,Carthoris turned toward Thuvia of Ptarth.

"They have taught me a lesson, these vanishing bowmenof Lothar," he said. "When they have served theirpurpose they remain not to embarrass their masters bytheir presence. Kulan Tith and his warriors are hereto protect you. My acts have constituted the proof ofmy honesty of purpose. Good-bye," and he knelt at herfeet, raising a bit of her harness to his lips.

The girl reached out a hand and laid it upon the thick blackhair of the head bent before her. Softly she asked:

"Where are you going, Carthoris?"

"With Kar Komak, the bowman," he replied."There will be fighting and forgetfulness."

The girl put her hands before her eyes, as thoughto shut out some mighty temptation from her sight.

"May my ancestors have mercy upon me," she cried,"if I say the thing I have no right to say; but I cannotsee you cast your life away, Carthoris, Prince of Helium! Stay, my chieftain. Stay--I love you!"

A cough behind them brought both about, and therethey saw standing, not two paces from them Kulan Tith,Jeddak of Kaol.

For a long moment none spoke. Then Kulan Tith cleared his throat.

"I could not help hearing all that passed," he said."I am no fool, to be blind to the love that lies between you.Nor am I blind to the lofty honour that has caused you,Carthoris, to risk your life and hers to save mine,though you thought that that very act would rob you ofthe chance to keep her for your own.

"Nor can I fail to appreciate the virtue that has keptyour lips sealed against words of love for this Heliumite,Thuvia, for I know that I have but just heard the firstdeclaration of your passion for him. I do not condemn you.Rather should I have condemned you had you entered aloveless marriage with me.

"Take back your liberty, Thuvia of Ptarth," he cried,"and bestow it where your heart already lies enchained,and when the golden collars are clasped about your necksyou will see that Kulan Tith's is the first sword to beraised in declaration of eternal friendship for the newPrincess of Helium and her royal mate!"