Sometime later Tars Tarkas and Kantos Kan returned toreport that Zodanga had been completely reduced. Her forceswere entirely destroyed or captured, and no further resistancewas to be expected from within. Several battleships had escaped,but there were thousands of war and merchant vessels under guardof Thark warriors.

The lesser hordes had commenced looting and quarrelingamong themselves, so it was decided that we collect whatwarriors we could, man as many vessels as possible withZodangan prisoners and make for Helium without furtherloss of time.

Five hours later we sailed from the roofs of the dockbuildings with a fleet of two hundred and fifty battleships,carrying nearly one hundred thousand green warriors, followedby a fleet of transports with our thoats.

Behind us we left the stricken city in the fierce and brutalclutches of some forty thousand green warriors of the lesserhordes. They were looting, murdering, and fighting amongstthemselves. In a hundred places they had applied the torch,and columns of dense smoke were rising above the city asthough to blot out from the eye of heaven the horrid sightsbeneath.

In the middle of the afternoon we sighted the scarlet andyellow towers of Helium, and a short time later a great fleetof Zodangan battleships rose from the camps of the besiegerswithout the city, and advanced to meet us.

The banners of Helium had been strung from stem tostern of each of our mighty craft, but the Zodangans didnot need this sign to realize that we were enemies, for ourgreen Martian warriors had opened fire upon them almostas they left the ground. With their uncanny marksmanshipthey raked the on-coming fleet with volley after volley.

The twin cities of Helium, perceiving that we were friends,sent out hundreds of vessels to aid us, and then began thefirst real air battle I had ever witnessed.

The vessels carrying our green warriors were kept circlingabove the contending fleets of Helium and Zodanga, sincetheir batteries were useless in the hands of the Tharks who,having no navy, have no skill in naval gunnery. Their small-arm fire, however, was most effective, and the final outcomeof the engagement was strongly influenced, if not whollydetermined, by their presence.

At first the two forces circled at the same altitude, pouringbroadside after broadside into each other. Presently a greathole was torn in the hull of one of the immense battle craftfrom the Zodangan camp; with a lurch she turned completelyover, the little figures of her crew plunging, turningand twisting toward the ground a thousand feet below; thenwith sickening velocity she tore after them, almost completelyburying herself in the soft loam of the ancient sea bottom.

A wild cry of exultation arose from the Heliumite squadron,and with redoubled ferocity they fell upon the Zodanganfleet. By a pretty maneuver two of the vessels of Heliumgained a position above their adversaries, from which theypoured upon them from their keel bomb batteries a perfecttorrent of exploding bombs.

Then, one by one, the battleships of Helium succeeded inrising above the Zodangans, and in a short time a numberof the beleaguering battleships were drifting hopeless wreckstoward the high scarlet tower of greater Helium. Severalothers attempted to escape, but they were soon surroundedby thousands of tiny individual fliers, and above each hunga monster battleship of Helium ready to drop boarding partiesupon their decks.

Within but little more than an hour from the moment thevictorious Zodangan squadron had risen to meet us fromthe camp of the besiegers the battle was over, and theremaining vessels of the conquered Zodangans were headedtoward the cities of Helium under prize crews.

There was an extremely pathetic side to the surrenderof these mighty fliers, the result of an age-old custom whichdemanded that surrender should be signalized by the voluntaryplunging to earth of the commander of the vanquished vessel.One after another the brave fellows, holding their colorshigh above their heads, leaped from the towering bows oftheir mighty craft to an awful death.

Not until the commander of the entire fleet took the fearfulplunge, thus indicating the surrender of the remaining vessels,did the fighting cease, and the useless sacrifice of brave mencome to an end.

We now signaled the flagship of Helium's navy to approach,and when she was within hailing distance I called out thatwe had the Princess Dejah Thoris on board, and that wewished to transfer her to the flagship that she might betaken immediately to the city.

As the full import of my announcement bore in uponthem a great cry arose from the decks of the flagship, anda moment later the colors of the Princess of Helium brokefrom a hundred points upon her upper works. When theother vessels of the squadron caught the meaning of thesignals flashed them they took up the wild acclaim andunfurled her colors in the gleaming sunlight.

The flagship bore down upon us, and as she swung gracefullyto and touched our side a dozen officers sprang uponour decks. As their astonished gaze fell upon the hundredsof green warriors, who now came forth from the fightingshelters, they stopped aghast, but at sight of Kantos Kan,who advanced to meet them, they came forward, crowdingabout him.

Dejah Thoris and I then advanced, and they had no eyesfor other than her. She received them gracefully, callingeach by name, for they were men high in the esteem andservice of her grandfather, and she knew them well.

"Lay your hands upon the shoulder of John Carter," shesaid to them, turning toward me, "the man to whom Heliumowes her princess as well as her victory today."

They were very courteous to me and said many kind andcomplimentary things, but what seemed to impress themmost was that I had won the aid of the fierce Tharks in mycampaign for the liberation of Dejah Thoris, and the reliefof Helium.

"You owe your thanks more to another man than to me,"I said, "and here he is; meet one of Barsoom's greatestsoldiers and statesmen, Tars Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark."

With the same polished courtesy that had marked theirmanner toward me they extended their greetings to the greatThark, nor, to my surprise, was he much behind them inease of bearing or in courtly speech. Though not a garrulousrace, the Tharks are extremely formal, and their ways lendthemselves amazingly well to dignified and courtly manners.

Dejah Thoris went aboard the flagship, and was much putout that I would not follow, but, as I explained to her, thebattle was but partly won; we still had the land forces ofthe besieging Zodangans to account for, and I would not leaveTars Tarkas until that had been accomplished.

The commander of the naval forces of Helium promisedto arrange to have the armies of Helium attack from thecity in conjunction with our land attack, and so the vesselsseparated and Dejah Thoris was borne in triumph back tothe court of her grandfather, Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium.

In the distance lay our fleet of transports, with the thoatsof the green warriors, where they had remained during thebattle. Without landing stages it was to be a difficult matterto unload these beasts upon the open plain, but there wasnothing else for it, and so we put out for a point about tenmiles from the city and began the task.

It was necessary to lower the animals to the ground inslings and this work occupied the remainder of the day andhalf the night. Twice we were attacked by parties of Zodangancavalry, but with little loss, however, and after darkness shutdown they withdrew.

As soon as the last thoat was unloaded Tars Tarkas gavethe command to advance, and in three parties we crept uponthe Zodangan camp from the north, the south and the east.

About a mile from the main camp we encountered theiroutposts and, as had been prearranged, accepted this as thesignal to charge. With wild, ferocious cries and amidst thenasty squealing of battle-enraged thoats we bore down uponthe Zodangans.

We did not catch them napping, but found a well-entrenchedbattle line confronting us. Time after time we were repulsed until,toward noon, I began to fear for the result of the battle.

The Zodangans numbered nearly a million fighting men,gathered from pole to pole, wherever stretched their ribbon-like waterways, while pitted against them were less than ahundred thousand green warriors. The forces from Heliumhad not arrived, nor could we receive any word from them.

Just at noon we heard heavy firing all along the line betweenthe Zodangans and the cities, and we knew then thatour much-needed reinforcements had come.

Again Tars Tarkas ordered the charge, and once more themighty thoats bore their terrible riders against the rampartsof the enemy. At the same moment the battle line of Heliumsurged over the opposite breastworks of the Zodangans and inanother moment they were being crushed as between twomillstones. Nobly they fought, but in vain.

The plain before the city became a veritable shambles erethe last Zodangan surrendered, but finally the carnage ceased,the prisoners were marched back to Helium, and we enteredthe greater city's gates, a huge triumphal procession ofconquering heroes.

The broad avenues were lined with women and children,among which were the few men whose duties necessitatedthat they remain within the city during the battle. We weregreeted with an endless round of applause and showered withornaments of gold, platinum, silver, and precious jewels.The city had gone mad with joy.

My fierce Tharks caused the wildest excitement and enthusiasm.Never before had an armed body of green warriors entered thegates of Helium, and that they came now as friends and alliesfilled the red men with rejoicing.

That my poor services to Dejah Thoris had become knownto the Heliumites was evidenced by the loud crying of myname, and by the loads of ornaments that were fastened uponme and my huge thoat as we passed up the avenues to thepalace, for even in the face of the ferocious appearance ofWoola the populace pressed close about me.

As we approached this magnificent pile we were met by aparty of officers who greeted us warmly and requested thatTars Tarkas and his jeds with the jeddaks and jeds of hiswild allies, together with myself, dismount and accompanythem to receive from Tardos Mors an expression of hisgratitude for our services.

At the top of the great steps leading up to the mainportals of the palace stood the royal party, and as we reachedthe lower steps one of their number descended to meet us.

He was an almost perfect specimen of manhood; tall, straightas an arrow, superbly muscled and with the carriage andbearing of a ruler of men. I did not need to be told that hewas Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium.

The first member of our party he met was Tars Tarkasand his first words sealed forever the new friendshipbetween the races.

"That Tardos Mors," he said, earnestly, "may meet thegreatest living warrior of Barsoom is a priceless honor, butthat he may lay his hand on the shoulder of a friend andally is a far greater boon."

"Jeddak of Helium," returned Tars Tarkas, "it has remainedfor a man of another world to teach the green warriors ofBarsoom the meaning of friendship; to him we owe the fact thatthe hordes of Thark can understand you; that they can appreciateand reciprocate the sentiments so graciously expressed."

Tardos Mors then greeted each of the green jeddaks and jeds,and to each spoke words of friendship and appreciation

As he approached me he laid both hands upon my shoulders.

"Welcome, my son," he said; "that you are granted, gladly,and without one word of opposition, the most preciousjewel in all Helium, yes, on all Barsoom, is sufficientearnest of my esteem."

We were then presented to Mors Kajak, Jed of lesser Helium,and father of Dejah Thoris. He had followed close behindTardos Mors and seemed even more affected by the meetingthan had his father.

He tried a dozen times to express his gratitude to me, buthis voice choked with emotion and he could not speak, andyet he had, as I was to later learn, a reputation for ferocityand fearlessness as a fighter that was remarkable even uponwarlike Barsoom. In common with all Helium he worshipedhis daughter, nor could he think of what she had escapedwithout deep emotion.