The remainder of our journey to Thark was uneventful.We were twenty days upon the road, crossing two sea bottomsand passing through or around a number of ruined cities,mostly smaller than Korad. Twice we crossed the famousMartian waterways, or canals, so-called by our earthlyastronomers. When we approached these points a warriorwould be sent far ahead with a powerful field glass, and ifno great body of red Martian troops was in sight we wouldadvance as close as possible without chance of being seen andthen camp until dark, when we would slowly approach thecultivated tract, and, locating one of the numerous, broadhighways which cross these areas at regular intervals, creepsilently and stealthily across to the arid lands upon the otherside. It required five hours to make one of these crossingswithout a single halt, and the other consumed the entire night,so that we were just leaving the confines of the high-walledfields when the sun broke out upon us.

Crossing in the darkness, as we did, I was unable to seebut little, except as the nearer moon, in her wild andceaseless hurtling through the Barsoomian heavens, lit uplittle patches of the landscape from time to time, disclosingwalled fields and low, rambling buildings, presenting muchthe appearance of earthly farms. There were many trees,methodically arranged, and some of them were of enormous height;there were animals in some of the enclosures, and they announcedtheir presence by terrified squealings and snortings as theyscented our queer, wild beasts and wilder human beings.

Only once did I perceive a human being, and that wasat the intersection of our crossroad with the wide, whiteturnpike which cuts each cultivated district longitudinallyat its exact center. The fellow must have been sleepingbeside the road, for, as I came abreast of him, he raised uponone elbow and after a single glance at the approaching caravanleaped shrieking to his feet and fled madly down the road,scaling a nearby wall with the agility of a scared cat.The Tharks paid him not the slightest attention; they werenot out upon the warpath, and the only sign that I hadthat they had seen him was a quickening of the pace of thecaravan as we hastened toward the bordering desert whichmarked our entrance into the realm of Tal Hajus.

Not once did I have speech with Dejah Thoris, as shesent no word to me that I would be welcome at her chariot,and my foolish pride kept me from making any advances.I verily believe that a man's way with women is in inverseratio to his prowess among men. The weakling and the sapheadhave often great ability to charm the fair sex, while thefighting man who can face a thousand real dangers unafraid,sits hiding in the shadows like some frightened child.

Just thirty days after my advent upon Barsoom we enteredthe ancient city of Thark, from whose long-forgottenpeople this horde of green men have stolen even their name.The hordes of Thark number some thirty thousand souls,and are divided into twenty-five communities. Each communityhas its own jed and lesser chieftains, but all are underthe rule of Tal Hajus, Jeddak of Thark. Five communitiesmake their headquarters at the city of Thark, and thebalance are scattered among other deserted cities ofancient Mars throughout the district claimed by Tal Hajus.

We made our entry into the great central plaza early inthe afternoon. There were no enthusiastic friendly greetingsfor the returned expedition. Those who chanced to be insight spoke the names of warriors or women with whomthey came in direct contact, in the formal greeting of theirkind, but when it was discovered that they brought twocaptives a greater interest was aroused, and Dejah Thorisand I were the centers of inquiring groups.

We were soon assigned to new quarters, and the balanceof the day was devoted to settling ourselves to the changedconditions. My home now was upon an avenue leading intothe plaza from the south, the main artery down which wehad marched from the gates of the city. I was at the farend of the square and had an entire building to myself. Thesame grandeur of architecture which was so noticeablea characteristic of Korad was in evidence here, only, ifthat were possible, on a larger and richer scale. My quarterswould have been suitable for housing the greatest of earthlyemperors, but to these queer creatures nothing about a buildingappealed to them but its size and the enormity of its chambers;the larger the building, the more desirable; and so Tal Hajusoccupied what must have been an enormous public building, thelargest in the city, but entirely unfitted for residence purposes;the next largest was reserved for Lorquas Ptomel, the next for thejed of a lesser rank, and so on to the bottom of the list of five jeds.The warriors occupied the buildings with the chieftains to whoseretinues they belonged; or, if they preferred, sought shelteramong any of the thousands of untenanted buildings in their ownquarter of town; each community being assigned a certainsection of the city. The selection of building had to be madein accordance with these divisions, except in so far as thejeds were concerned, they all occupying edifices whichfronted upon the plaza.

When I had finally put my house in order, or rather seenthat it had been done, it was nearing sunset, and I hastenedout with the intention of locating Sola and her charges, asI had determined upon having speech with Dejah Thorisand trying to impress on her the necessity of our at leastpatching up a truce until I could find some way of aidingher to escape. I searched in vain until the upper rim of thegreat red sun was just disappearing behind the horizon andthen I spied the ugly head of Woola peering from a second-story window on the opposite side of the very street whereI was quartered, but nearer the plaza.

Without waiting for a further invitation I bolted up thewinding runway which led to the second floor, and enteringa great chamber at the front of the building was greetedby the frenzied Woola, who threw his great carcass uponme, nearly hurling me to the floor; the poor old fellow wasso glad to see me that I thought he would devour me, hishead split from ear to ear, showing his three rows of tusksin his hobgoblin smile.

Quieting him with a word of command and a caress, Ilooked hurriedly through the approaching gloom for a signof Dejah Thoris, and then, not seeing her, I called her name.There was an answering murmur from the far corner of theapartment, and with a couple of quick strides I was standingbeside her where she crouched among the furs and silksupon an ancient carved wooden seat. As I waited she roseto her full height and looking me straight in the eye said:

"What would Dotar Sojat, Thark, of Dejah Thoris his captive?"

"Dejah Thoris, I do not know how I have angered you.It was furtherest from my desire to hurt or offend you,whom I had hoped to protect and comfort. Have none ofme if it is your will, but that you must aid me in effectingyour escape, if such a thing be possible, is not my request,but my command. When you are safe once more at yourfather's court you may do with me as you please, but fromnow on until that day I am your master, and you mustobey and aid me."

She looked at me long and earnestly and I thought thatshe was softening toward me.

"I understand your words, Dotar Sojat," she replied, "butyou I do not understand. You are a queer mixture of childand man, of brute and noble. I only wish that I might readyour heart."

"Look down at your feet, Dejah Thoris; it lies there nowwhere it has lain since that other night at Korad, and whereit will ever lie beating alone for you until death stills itforever."

She took a little step toward me, her beautiful handsoutstretched in a strange, groping gesture.

"What do you mean, John Carter?" she whispered."What are you saying to me?"

"I am saying what I had promised myself that I wouldnot say to you, at least until you were no longer a captiveamong the green men; what from your attitude toward mefor the past twenty days I had thought never to say to you;I am saying, Dejah Thoris, that I am yours, body and soul,to serve you, to fight for you, and to die for you. Onlyone thing I ask of you in return, and that is that you makeno sign, either of condemnation or of approbation of mywords until you are safe among your own people, and thatwhatever sentiments you harbor toward me they be notinfluenced or colored by gratitude; whatever I may do toserve you will be prompted solely from selfish motives,since it gives me more pleasure to serve you than not."

"I will respect your wishes, John Carter, because Iunderstand the motives which prompt them, and I acceptyour service no more willingly than I bow to your authority;your word shall be my law. I have twice wronged youin my thoughts and again I ask your forgiveness."

Further conversation of a personal nature was preventedby the entrance of Sola, who was much agitated and whollyunlike her usual calm and possessed self.

"That horrible Sarkoja has been before Tal Hajus," shecried, "and from what I heard upon the plaza there islittle hope for either of you."

"What do they say?" inquired Dejah Thoris.

"That you will be thrown to the wild calots [dogs inthe great arena as soon as the hordes have assembled forthe yearly games."

"Sola," I said, "you are a Thark, but you hate and loathethe customs of your people as much as we do. Will younot accompany us in one supreme effort to escape? I amsure that Dejah Thoris can offer you a home and protectionamong her people, and your fate can be no worse amongthem than it must ever be here."

"Yes," cried Dejah Thoris, "come with us, Sola, you willbe better off among the red men of Helium than you arehere, and I can promise you not only a home with us, butthe love and affection your nature craves and which mustalways be denied you by the customs of your own race.Come with us, Sola; we might go without you, but yourfate would be terrible if they thought you had connived toaid us. I know that even that fear would not tempt you tointerfere in our escape, but we want you with us, we wantyou to come to a land of sunshine and happiness, amongsta people who know the meaning of love, of sympathy, andof gratitude. Say that you will, Sola; tell me that you will."

"The great waterway which leads to Helium is but fiftymiles to the south," murmured Sola, half to herself; "aswift thoat might make it in three hours; and then toHelium it is five hundred miles, most of the way throughthinly settled districts. They would know and they wouldfollow us. We might hide among the great trees for a time,but the chances are small indeed for escape. They wouldfollow us to the very gates of Helium, and they would taketoll of life at every step; you do not know them."

"Is there no other way we might reach Helium?" I asked."Can you not draw me a rough map of the country wemust traverse, Dejah Thoris?"

"Yes," she replied, and taking a great diamond fromher hair she drew upon the marble floor the first map ofBarsoomian territory I had ever seen. It was crisscrossed inevery direction with long straight lines, sometimes runningparallel and sometimes converging toward some great circle.The lines, she said, were waterways; the circles, cities; andone far to the northwest of us she pointed out as Helium.There were other cities closer, but she said she feared toenter many of them, as they were not all friendly toward Helium.

Finally, after studying the map carefully in the moonlightwhich now flooded the room, I pointed out a waterway farto the north of us which also seemed to lead to Helium.

"Does not this pierce your grandfather's territory?" Iasked.

"Yes," she answered, "but it is two hundred miles northof us; it is one of the waterways we crossed on the tripto Thark."

"They would never suspect that we would try for thatdistant waterway," I answered, "and that is why I thinkthat it is the best route for our escape."

Sola agreed with me, and it was decided that we shouldleave Thark this same night; just as quickly, in fact, as Icould find and saddle my thoats. Sola was to ride one andDejah Thoris and I the other; each of us carrying sufficientfood and drink to last us for two days, since the animalscould not be urged too rapidly for so long a distance.

I directed Sola to proceed with Dejah Thoris along oneof the less frequented avenues to the southern boundary ofthe city, where I would overtake them with the thoats asquickly as possible; then, leaving them to gather what food,silks, and furs we were to need, I slipped quietly to therear of the first floor, and entered the courtyard, whereour animals were moving restlessly about, as was their habit,before settling down for the night.

In the shadows of the buildings and out beneath the radianceof the Martian moons moved the great herd of thoats andzitidars, the latter grunting their low gutturals andthe former occasionally emitting the sharp squeal whichdenotes the almost habitual state of rage in which thesecreatures passed their existence. They were quieter now,owing to the absence of man, but as they scented me they becamemore restless and their hideous noise increased. It was riskybusiness, this entering a paddock of thoats alone and at night;first, because their increasing noisiness might warn the nearbywarriors that something was amiss, and also because for theslightest cause, or for no cause at all some great bull thoatmight take it upon himself to lead a charge upon me.

Having no desire to awaken their nasty tempers upon sucha night as this, where so much depended upon secrecy anddispatch, I hugged the shadows of the buildings, ready atan instant's warning to leap into the safety of a nearbydoor or window. Thus I moved silently to the great gateswhich opened upon the street at the back of the court, andas I neared the exit I called softly to my two animals. HowI thanked the kind providence which had given me the foresightto win the love and confidence of these wild dumb brutes, forpresently from the far side of the court I saw two huge bulksforcing their way toward me through the surging mountains of flesh.

They came quite close to me, rubbing their muzzlesagainst my body and nosing for the bits of food it wasalways my practice to reward them with. Opening the gatesI ordered the two great beasts to pass out, and thenslipping quietly after them I closed the portals behind me.

I did not saddle or mount the animals there, but insteadwalked quietly in the shadows of the buildings toward anunfrequented avenue which led toward the point I had arrangedto meet Dejah Thoris and Sola. With the noiselessnessof disembodied spirits we moved stealthily along thedeserted streets, but not until we were within sight ofthe plain beyond the city did I commence to breathe freely.I was sure that Sola and Dejah Thoris would find no difficultyin reaching our rendezvous undetected, but with my great thoatsI was not so sure for myself, as it was quite unusual for warriorsto leave the city after dark; in fact there was no place for themto go within any but a long ride.

I reached the appointed meeting place safely, but as DejahThoris and Sola were not there I led my animals into theentrance hall of one of the large buildings. Presuming thatone of the other women of the same household may havecome in to speak to Sola, and so delayed their departure,I did not feel any undue apprehension until nearly an hourhad passed without a sign of them, and by the time anotherhalf hour had crawled away I was becoming filled with graveanxiety. Then there broke upon the stillness of the nightthe sound of an approaching party, which, from the noise, Iknew could be no fugitives creeping stealthily toward liberty.Soon the party was near me, and from the black shadows of myentranceway I perceived a score of mounted warriors, who,in passing, dropped a dozen words that fetched my heart cleaninto the top of my head.

"He would likely have arranged to meet them just withoutthe city, and so--" I heard no more, they had passed on;but it was enough. Our plan had been discovered, andthe chances for escape from now on to the fearful endwould be small indeed. My one hope now was to returnundetected to the quarters of Dejah Thoris and learn whatfate had overtaken her, but how to do it with these greatmonstrous thoats upon my hands, now that the city probablywas aroused by the knowledge of my escape was a problemof no mean proportions.

Suddenly an idea occurred to me, and acting on my knowledgeof the construction of the buildings of these ancientMartian cities with a hollow court within the center of eachsquare, I groped my way blindly through the dark chambers,calling the great thoats after me. They had difficulty innegotiating some of the doorways, but as the buildings frontingthe city's principal exposures were all designed upon amagnificent scale, they were able to wriggle through withoutsticking fast; and thus we finally made the inner court whereI found, as I had expected, the usual carpet of moss-likevegetation which would prove their food and drink until Icould return them to their own enclosure. That they wouldbe as quiet and contented here as elsewhere I was confident,nor was there but the remotest possibility that they wouldbe discovered, as the green men had no great desire to enterthese outlying buildings, which were frequented by theonly thing, I believe, which caused them the sensation offear--the great white apes of Barsoom.

Removing the saddle trappings, I hid them just withinthe rear doorway of the building through which we hadentered the court, and, turning the beasts loose, quicklymade my way across the court to the rear of the buildingsupon the further side, and thence to the avenue beyond.Waiting in the doorway of the building until I was assuredthat no one was approaching, I hurried across to the oppositeside and through the first doorway to the court beyond;thus, crossing through court after court with only the slightchance of detection which the necessary crossing of theavenues entailed, I made my way in safety to the courtyardin the rear of Dejah Thoris' quarters.

Here, of course, I found the beasts of the warriors whoquartered in the adjacent buildings, and the warriorsthemselves I might expect to meet within if I entered; but,fortunately for me, I had another and safer method of reachingthe upper story where Dejah Thoris should be found, and,after first determining as nearly as possible which of thebuildings she occupied, for I had never observed them beforefrom the court side, I took advantage of my relatively greatstrength and agility and sprang upward until I grasped thesill of a second-story window which I thought to be in therear of her apartment. Drawing myself inside the room Imoved stealthily toward the front of the building, and notuntil I had quite reached the doorway of her room was Imade aware by voices that it was occupied.

I did not rush headlong in, but listened without to assuremyself that it was Dejah Thoris and that it was safe toventure within. It was well indeed that I took this precaution,for the conversation I heard was in the low gutturals of men,and the words which finally came to me proved a most timely warning.The speaker was a chieftain and he was giving orders to four ofhis warriors.

"And when he returns to this chamber," he was saying, "as hesurely will when he finds she does not meet him at the city's edge,you four are to spring upon him and disarm him. It will requirethe combined strength of all of you to do it if the reports theybring back from Korad are correct. When you have him fast boundbear him to the vaults beneath the jeddak's quarters and chainhim securely where he may be found when Tal Hajus wishes him.Allow him to speak with none, nor permit any other to enterthis apartment before he comes. There will be no danger ofthe girl returning, for by this time she is safe in the armsof Tal Hajus, and may all her ancestors have pity upon her,for Tal Hajus will have none; the great Sarkoja has done anoble night's work. I go, and if you fail to capture him whenhe comes, I commend your carcasses to the cold bosom of Iss."