saw below us a building of gleaming white. Like all the cities and
isolated buildings of Barsoom, it was surrounded by a lofty wall, but
in other respects it differed materially from the usual Barsoomian
type of architecture. The edifice, which was made up of a number of
buildings, was not surmounted by the usual towers, domes and minarets
that mark all Barsoomian cities and which only in recent ages have been
giving away slowly to the flat landing stages of an aerial world. The
structure below us was composed of a number of flat roofed buildings
of various heights, none of which, however, appeared to rise over
four levels. Between the buildings and the outer walls and in several
open courts between the buildings, there was a profusion of trees and
shrubbery with scarlet sward and well kept paths. It was, in fact, a
striking and beautiful sight, yet having so recently been lured to near
destruction by the beauties of Hohr and the engaging allurements of
her beautiful women, we had no mind to be deceived again by external
appearances. We would float over the palace of enchantment and take our
chances in the open country beyond.
But fate willed otherwise. The wind had abated; we were dropping
rapidly; beneath us we saw people in the garden of the building and
simultaneously, as they discovered us, it was evident that they were
filled with consternation. They hastened quickly to the nearest
entrances and there was not a human being in sight when we finally came
to rest upon the roof of one of the taller sections of the structure.
As we extricated ourselves from the loops in which we had been sitting,
the great bag, relieved of our weight, rose quickly into the air for a
short distance, turned completely over and dropped to the ground just
beyond the outer wall. It had served us well and now it seemed like a
living thing that had given up its life for our salvation.
We were to have little time, however, for sentimental regrets, for
almost immediately a head appeared through a small opening in the roof
upon which we stood. The head was followed by the body of a man, whose
harness was so scant as to leave him almost nude. He was an old man
with a finely shaped head, covered with scant, gray locks.
Apparent physical old age is so rare upon Barsoom as always to attract
immediate attention. In the natural span of life we live often to a
thousand years, but during that long period our appearance seldom
changes but little. It is true that most of us meet violent death long
before we reach old age, but there are some who pass the allotted span
of life and others who do not care for themselves so well and these
few constitute the physically old among us; evidently of such was the
little old man who confronted us.
At sight of him Nur An voiced an exclamation of pleased surprise. "Phor
Tak!" he cried.
"Heigh-oo!" cackled the old man in a high falsetto. "Who cometh from
the high heavens who knows old Phor Tak?"
"It is I--Nur An!" exclaimed my friend.
"Heigh-oo!" cried Phor Tak. "Nur An--one of Tul Axtar's pets."
"As you once were, Phor Tak."
"But not now--not now," almost screamed the old man. "The tyrant
squeezed me like some juicy fruit and then cast the empty rind aside.
Heigh-oo! He thought it was empty, but I pray daily to all my ancestors
that he may live to know that he was wrong. I can say this with safety
to you, Nur An, for I have you in my power and I promise you that you
shall never live to carry word of my whereabouts to Tul Axtar."
"Do not fear, Phor Tak," said Nur An. "I, too, have suffered from
the villainy of the Jeddak of Jahar. You were permitted to leave
the capital in peace, but all my property was confiscated and I was
sentenced to death."
"Heigh-oo! Then you hate him, too," exclaimed the old man.
"Hate is a weak word to describe my feeling for Tul Axtar," replied my
friend.
"It is well," said Phor Tak. "When I saw you descending from the skies
I thought that my ancestors had sent you to help me, and now I know
that it was indeed true. Be this another warrior from Jahar?" he
added, nodding his old head toward me.
"No, Phor Tak," replied Nur An. "This is Hadron of Hastor, a noble of
Helium, but he, too, has been wronged by Jahar."
"Good!" exclaimed the old man. "Now there are three of us. Heretofore I
have had only slaves and women to assist me, but now with two trained
warriors, young and strong, the goal of my triumph appears almost in
sight."
As the two men conversed I had recalled that part of the story that Nur
An had told me in the pits of Tjanath which related to Phor Tak and his
invention of the rifle that projected the disintegrating rays which
had proved so deadly against the patrol boat above Helium the night of
Sanoma Tora's abduction. Strange, indeed, was fate that it should have
brought me into the palace of the man who held the secret that might
mean so much to Helium and to all Barsoom. Strange, too, and devious
had been the path along which fate had led me, yet I knew that my
ancestors were guiding me and that all must have been arranged to some
good end.
When Phor Tak had heard only a portion of our story he insisted that
we must be both fatigued and hungry and, like the good host that he
proved to be, he conducted us down to the interior of his palace and,
summoning slaves, ordered that we be bathed and fed and then permitted
to retire until we were rested. We thanked him for his kindness and
consideration, of which we were glad to avail ourselves.
The days that followed were both interesting and profitable. Phor Tak,
surrounded only by a few faithful slaves who had followed him into his
exile, was delighted with our company and with the assistance which we
could give him in his experiment, which, once assured of our loyalty,
he explained to us in detail.
He told us the story of his wanderings after he had left Jahar and
of how he had stumbled upon this long deserted castle, whose builder
and occupants had left no record other than their bones. He told us
that when he discovered it skeletons had strewn the courtyard and
in the main entrance were piled the bones of a score of warriors,
attesting the fierce defense that the occupants had waged against some
unknown enemy, while in many of the upper rooms he had found other
skeletons--the skeletons of women and children.
"I believe," he said, "that the place was beset by members of some
savage horde of green warriors that left not a single survivor. The
courts and gardens were overgrown with weeds and the interior of the
building was filled with dust, but otherwise little damage had been
done. I call it Jhama, and here I am carrying on my life's work."
"And that?" I asked.
"Revenge upon Tul Axtar," said the old man. "I gave him the
disintegrating ray; I gave him the insulating paint that protects
his own ships and weapons from it, and now some day I shall give him
something else--something that will be as revolutionary in the art of
war as the disintegrating ray itself; something that will cast the
fleet of Jahar broken wrecks upon the ground; something that will
search out the palace of Tul Axtar and bury the tyrant beneath its
ruins."
We had not been long at Jhama before both Nur An and I became convinced
that Phor Tak's mind was at least slightly deranged from long brooding
over the wrongs inflicted upon him by Tul Axtar; though naturally
possessed of a kindly disposition he was obsessed by a maniacal
desire to wreak vengeance upon the tyrant with utter disregard of the
consequences to himself and to others. Upon this single subject he
was beyond the influence of reason and having established to his own
satisfaction that Nur An and I were potential factors in the successful
accomplishment of his design, he would fly into a perfect frenzy of
rage whenever I broached the subject of our departure.
Fretting as I was beneath the urge to push on to Jahar and the rescue
of Sanoma Tora, I could but illy brook this enforced delay, but Phor
Tak was adamant--he would not permit me to depart--and the absolute
loyalty of his slaves made it possible for him to enforce his will. In
our hearing he explained to them that we were guests, honored guests as
long as we made no effort to depart without his permission, but should
they discover us in an attempt to leave Jhama surreptitiously they were
to destroy us.
Nur An and I discussed the matter at length. We had discovered that
four thousand haads of difficult and unfriendly country lay between us
and Jahar. Being without a ship and without thoats there was little
likelihood that we should be able to reach Jahar in time to be of
service to Sanoma Tora, if we ever reached it at all, and so we agreed
to bide our time, impressing Phor Tak with our willingness to aid him
in the hope that eventually we should be able to enlist his aid and
support, and so successful were we that within a short time we had so
won the confidence of the old scientist that we began to entertain hope
that he would take us into his innermost confidence and reveal the
nature of the instrument of destruction which he was preparing for Tul
Axtar.
I must admit that I was principally interested in his invention because
I was confident that in order to utilize it against Tul Axtar he must
find some means of transporting it to Jahar and in this I saw an
opportunity for reaching the capital of the tyrant myself.
We had been in Jhama about ten days during which time Phor Tak
exhibited signs of extreme nervousness and irritability. He kept us
with him practically all of the time that he was not closeted in the
innermost recesses of his secret laboratory.
During the evening meal upon the tenth day Phor Tak seemed more
distraught than ever. Talking, as usual, interminably about his hatred
of Tul Axtar, his countenance assumed an expression of maniacal fury.
"But I am helpless," he almost screamed at last. "I am helpless because
there is no one to whom I may entrust my secret, who also has the
courage and intelligence to carry out my plan. I am too old, too weak
to undergo the hardships that would mean nothing to young men like
you, but which must be undergone if I am to fulfill my destiny as the
savior of Jahar. If I could but trust you! If I could but trust you!"
"Perhaps you can, Phor Tak," I suggested.
The words or my tone seemed to soothe him. "Heigh-oo!" he exclaimed.
"Sometimes I almost think that I can."
"We have a common aim," I said; "or at least different aims which
converge at the same point--Jahar. Let us work together then. We wish
to reach Jahar. If you can help us, we will help you."
He sat in silent thought for a long moment. "I'll do it," he said.
"Heigh-oo! I'll do it. Come," and rising from his chair he led us
toward the locked doorway that barred the entrance to his secret
laboratory.
X
THE FLYING DEATH
Phor Tak's laboratory occupied an entire wing of the building and
consisted of a single, immense room fully fifty feet in height. His
benches, tables, instruments and cabinets, located in one corner,
were lost in the great interior. Near the ceiling and encircling the
room was a single track from which was suspended a miniature cruiser,
painted the ghastly blue of Jahar. Upon one of the benches was a
cylindrical object about as long as one's hand. These were the only
noticeable features of the laboratory other than its immense emptiness.
As Phor Tak ushered us within he closed the door behind him and I heard
the ominous click of the ponderous lock. There was something depressing
in the suggestiveness of the situation induced, perhaps, by our
knowledge that Phor Tak was mad and accentuated by the eerie mystery of
the vasty chamber.
Leading us to the bench upon which lay the cylindrical object which had
attracted my attention, he lifted it carefully, almost caressingly,
from its resting place. "This," he said, "is a model of the device
that will destroy Jahar. In it you behold the concentrated essence of
scientific achievement. In appearance it is but a small metal cylinder,
but within it is a mechanism as delicate and as sensitive as the
human brain and you will perceive that it functions almost as though
animated by a mind within itself, but it is purely mechanical and may
be produced in quantities quickly and at low cost. Before I explain it
further I shall demonstrate one phase of its possibilities. Watch!"
Still holding the cylinder in his hand, Phor Tak stepped to a shallow
cabinet against the wall and opening it revealed an elaborate equipment
of switches, levers and push buttons. "Now watch the miniature flier
suspended from the track near the ceiling," he directed, at the same
time closing a switch. Immediately the flier commenced to travel along
the track at considerable speed. Now Phor Tak pressed a button upon
the top of the cylinder, which immediately sped from his extended
palm, turned quickly in the air and rushed straight for the speeding
flier. Slowly the distance between the two closed; the cylinder,
curving gradually into the line of flight of the flier, was now
trailing directly behind it, its pointed nose but a few feet from the
stern of the miniature ship. Then Phor Tak pulled a tiny lever upon
his switchboard and the flier leaped forward at accelerated speed.
Instantly the speed of the cylinder increased and I could see that it
was gaining in velocity much more rapidly than the flier. Half way
around the room again its nose struck the stern of the fleeing craft
with sufficient severity to cause the ship to tremble from stem to
stern; then the cylinder fell away and floated gently toward the floor.
Phor Tak opened a switch that stopped the flier in its flight and then,
running forward, caught the descending cylinder in his hand.
"This model," he explained, as he returned to where we stood, "is
so constructed that when it makes contact with the flier it will
float gently downward to the floor, but as you have doubtless fully
realized ere this, the finished product in practical use will explode
upon contact with the ship. Note these tiny buttons with which it is
covered. When any one of these comes in contact with an object the
model stops and descends, whereas the full sized device, properly
equipped, will explode, absolutely demolishing whatever it may have
come in contact with. As you are aware every substance in the universe
has its own fixed vibratory rate. This mechanism can be so attuned as
to be attracted by the vibratory rate of any substance. The model, for
example, is attracted by the blue protective paint with which the flier
is covered. Imagine a fleet of Jaharian warships moving majestically
through the air in battle formation. From an enemy ship or from the
ground and at a distance so far as to be unobservable by the ships of
Jahar, I release as many of these devices as there are ships in the
fleet, allowing a few moments to elapse between launchings. The first
torpedo rushes toward the fleet and destroys the nearest ship. All
the torpedoes in the rear, strung out in line, are attracted by the
combined masses of all the blue protecting coverings of the entire
fleet. The first ship is falling to the ground and though all of its
paint may not have been destroyed, it has not the power to deflect any
of the succeeding torpedoes, which one by one destroy the nearest of
the remaining ships until the fleet has been absolutely erased. I have
destroyed a great fleet without risking the life of a single man of my
own following."
"But they will see the torpedoes coming," suggested Nur An, "and they
will devise some defense. Even gunfire might stop many of them."
"Heigh-oo! But I have thought of that," cackled Phor Tak. He laid the
torpedo upon a bench and opened another cabinet.
In this cabinet were a number of receptacles, some tightly sealed and
others opened, revealing their contents which appeared to be different
colored paints. From a number of these receptacles protruded the
handles of paint brushes. One such handle, however, appeared to hang
in mid-air, a few inches above one of the shelves, while just beneath
it was a section of the rim of a receptacle that also appeared to be
resting upon nothing. Phor Tak placed his open hand directly beneath
this floating rim and when he removed his hand from the cabinet, the
rim of the receptacle and the portion of the handle of the paint brush,
floating just above it, followed, hovering just over his extended
fingers, which were cupped in the position that they might assume were
they holding a glass jar, such as would ordinarily have belonged to
a rim like that which I could see floating about an inch above his
fingers.
Going to the bench where he had laid the cylinder, Phor Tak went
through the motions of setting a jar upon it, and, though there was no
jar visible other than the floating rim, I distinctly heard a noise
that was identical with the sound which the bottom of a glass jar would
have made in coming in contact with the bench.
I can assure you that I was greatly mystified, but still more so by the
events immediately following. Phor Tak seized the handle of the paint
brush and made a pass a few inches above the metal torpedo. Instantly
a portion of the torpedo, about an inch wide and three or four inches
long, disappeared. Pass after pass he made until finally the whole
surface of the torpedo had disappeared. Where it had rested the bench
was empty. Phor Tak returned the handle of the paint brush to its
floating position just above the floating jar rim and then he turned
to us with an expression of child-like pride upon his face, as much
to say, "Well, what do you think of that? Am I not wonderful?" And I
was certainly forced to concede that it was wonderful and that I was
entirely baffled and mystified by what I had seen.
"There, Nur An," exclaimed Phor Tak, "is the answer to your criticism
of The Flying Death."
"I do not understand," said Nur An with a puzzled expression upon his
face.
"Heigh-oo!" cried Phor Tak. "Have you not seen me render the device
invisible?"
"But it is gone," said Nur An.
Phor Tak laughed his high cackling laugh. "It is still there," he said,
"but you cannot see it. Here," and he took Nur An's hand and guided it
toward the spot where the device had been.
I could see Nur An's fingers apparently feeling over the surface of
something several inches above the top of the table. "By my first
ancestor, it is still there!" he exclaimed.
"It is wonderful," I exclaimed. "You did not even touch it; you
merely made passes above it with the handle of a paint brush and it
disappeared."
"But I did touch it," insisted Phor Tak. "The brush was there, but you
did not see it because it was covered by the substance which renders
The Flying Death invisible. Notice this transparent glass receptacle in
which I keep the compound of invisibility and all that you can see of
it is that part of the rim which, by chance, has not been coated with
the compound."
"Marvellous!" I exclaimed. "Even now, although I have witnessed it with
my own eyes I can scarce conceive of the possibility of such a miracle."
"It is no miracle," said Phor Tak. "It is merely the application of
scientific principles well known to me for hundreds of years. Nothing
moves in straight lines; light, vision, electro-magnetic forces follow
lines that curve. The compound of invisibility merely bows outward the
reflected light, which, entering our eyes and impinging upon our optic
nerves, results in the phenomenon which we call vision, so that they
pass around any object which is coated with the compound. When I first
started to apply the compound to The Flying Death, your line of vision
was deflected around the small portions so coated, but when I coated
the entire surface of the torpedo, the curve of your vision passed
completely around it on both sides so that you could plainly see the
bench upon which it was resting precisely as though the device had not
been there."
I was astounded at the apparent simplicity of the explanation, and,
naturally, being a soldier, I saw the tremendous advantage that the
possession of these two scientific secrets would impart to the nation
which controlled them. For the safety; yes, for the very existence of
Helium, I must possess them and if that were impossible, then Phor Tak
must be destroyed before the secret of this infernal power could be
passed on to any other nation. Perhaps I could so ingratiate myself
with old Phor Tak as to be able to persuade him to turn these secrets
over to Helium in return for Helium's assistance in the work of
wreaking his vengeance upon Tul Axtar.
"Phor Tak," I said, "you hold here within your grasp two secrets which
in the hands of a kindly and beneficient power would bring eternal
peace to Barsoom."
"Heigh-oo!" he cried. "I do not want peace. I want war. War! War!"
"Very well," I agreed, realizing that my suggestion had not been in
line with the mad processes of his crazed brain. "Let us have war then,
and what country upon Barsoom is better equipped to wage war than
Helium? If you want war, form an alliance with Helium."
"I do not need Helium," he cried. "I do not need to form alliances.
I shall make war--I shall make war alone. With the invisible Flying
Death I can destroy whole navies, whole cities, entire nations. I shall
start with Jahar. Tul Axtar shall be the first to feel the weight of
my devastating powers. When the fleet of Jahar has tumbled upon the
roofs of Jahar and the walls of Jahar have fallen about the ears of
Tul Axtar, then shall I destroy Tjanath. Helium shall know me next.
Proud and mighty Helium shall tremble and bow at the feet of Phor Tak.
I shall be Jeddak of Jeddaks, ruler of a world." As he spoke his voice
rose to a piercing shriek and he trembled in the grip of the frenzy
that held him.
He must be destroyed, not alone for the sake of Helium, but for the
sake of all Barsoom; this mad mind must be removed if I found that it
was impossible to direct or cajole it to my own ends. I determined,
however, to omit no sacrifice that might tend to bring about a
satisfactory conclusion to this strange adventure. I knew that mad
minds were sometimes fickle minds and I hoped that in a moment of
insane caprice Phor Tak might reveal to me the secret of the Flying
Death and the compound of invisibility. This hope was his temporary
reprieve from death; its fulfillment would be his pardon, but I knew
that I must work warily--that at the slightest suggestion of duplicity,
Phor Tak's suspicions would be aroused and that I should then be the
one to be destroyed.
I tossed long upon my sleeping silks and furs that night in troubled
thought and planning. I felt that I must possess these secrets; yet
how? That they existed within his brain alone, I knew, for he had told
me that there were no written formulas, or plans or specifications for
either of them. Somehow I must wheedle them out of him and the best way
to start was to ingratiate myself with him. To this end I must further
his plans insofar as I possibly could.
Just before I fell asleep my thoughts reverted to Sanoma Tora and to
the urgent mission that had led me to enter upon what had developed
into the strangest adventure of my career. I felt a twinge of self
reproach as I suddenly realized that Sanoma Tora had not been uppermost
in my mind while I had lain there making plans for the future, but now
with recollection of her a plan was suggested whereby I might not only
succor her but also advance myself in the good graces of Phor Tak at
the same time, and, thus relieved, I fell asleep.
It was late the following morning before I had an opportunity to speak
with the old inventor when I immediately broached the subject that was
uppermost in my mind. "Phor Tak," I said, "you are handicapped by lack
of knowledge of conditions existing in Jahar and the size and location
of the fleet. Nur An and I will go to Jahar for you and obtain the
information that you must have if your plans are to be successful. In
this way, Nur An and I will also be striking a blow at Tul Axtar while
we will be in a position to attend to those matters which require our
presence in Jahar."
"But how will you get to Jahar?" demanded Phor Tak.
"Could not you let us take a flier?" I asked.
"I have none," replied Phor Tak. "I know nothing about them. I am not
interested in them, I could not even build one."
To say that I was both surprised and shocked would be putting it
mildly, but if I had previously entertained any doubts that Phor
Tak's brain was abnormally developed, it would have vanished with his
admission that he knew nothing about fliers, for it seemed to me that
there was scarcely a man, woman or child in any of the flying nations
of Barsoom but could have constructed some sort of a flier.
"But how without fliers did you expect to transport The Flying Death to
the vicinity of the Jaharian fleet? How did you expect to demolish the
palace of Tul Axtar, or reduce the city of Jahar to ruins?"