work under you and easily turn out a dozen torpedoes a day. As these
are completed they will immediately be launched and eventually they
will find their way to Jahar and the fleet. Of that there is no doubt,
even if it takes a year they will eventually find their prey."
"If nothing chances to get in their way," I suggested; "but even so
what pleasure will you derive from your revenge if you are unable to
witness any part of it?"
"Heigh-oo! I have thought of that," replied Phor Tak, "but one may not
have everything."
"You may have that," I told him.
"And how?" he demanded.
"By taking your torpedoes aboard a ship and flying to Jahar," I replied.
"No," he exclaimed stubbornly, "I shall do it my own way. What right
have you to interfere with my plans?"
"I merely want to help you," I said, attempting to mollify him by a
conciliatory tone and attitude.
"And there is another thought," said Nur An, "that suggests that it
might be expedient to follow Hadron's plans."
"You are both against me," said Phor Tak.
"By no means," Nur An assured him. "It is our keen desire to aid you
that prompts the suggestion."
"Well, what is yours then?" asked the old man.
"Your plan contemplates the destruction of the navies of Tjanath and
Helium following the fall of Jahar," exclaimed Nur An. "This, at
least in respect to the navy of Helium, you cannot possibly hope to
accomplish at so great a distance and without any knowledge of the
number of ships to be destroyed, nor will your torpedoes be similarly
attracted to them as they are to the ships of Jahar because the ships
of these other nations are not protected by the blue paint of Jahar.
It will, therefore, be necessary for you to proceed to the vicinity of
Tjanath and later to Helium and for your own protection you will use
the blue paint of Jahar upon your ship, for you may never be certain
unless you are on the ground at the time that you have destroyed all of
the navy of Jahar, or all of their disintegrating ray rifles."
"That is true," said Phor Tak thoughtfully.
"And furthermore," continued Nur An, "if you dispatch more than
the necessary number of torpedoes, those that remain at large will
certainly be attracted by the blue paint of your own ship and you will
be destroyed by your own devices."
"You ruin all my plans," screamed Phor Tak. "Why did you think of this?"
"If I had not thought of it you would have been destroyed," Nur An
reminded him.
"Well, what am I to do about it? I have no ship. I cannot build a ship."
"We can get you one," I said.
"How?"
The conversation between Nur An and Phor Tak had suggested a plan to
me and this I now explained roughly to them. Nur An was enthusiastic
over the idea, but Phor Tak was not particularly keen for it. I could
not understand the grounds for his objection, nor, as a matter of fact,
did they interest me greatly since he finally admitted that he would be
compelled to act in accordance with my suggestion.
Immediately adjacent to Phor Tak's laboratory was a well equipped
machine shop and here Nur An and I labored for weeks utilizing the
services of a dozen slaves until we had succeeded in constructing what
I am sure was the most remarkable looking airship that it had ever
fallen to my lot to behold. Briefly, it was a cylinder pointed at each
end and closely resembled the model of The Flying Death. Within the
outer shell was another smaller cylinder; between the walls of these
two we placed the buoyancy tanks. The tanks and the sides of the two
envelopes were pierced by observation ports along each side of the
ship and at the bow and stern. These ports could be completely covered
by shutters hinged upon the outside, but operated from within. There
were two hatchways in the keel and two above which led to a narrow
walkway along the top of the cylinder. In turrets, forward, and aft
were mounted two disintegrating ray rifles. Above the controls was a
periscope that transmitted an image of all that came within its range
to a ground glass plate in front of the pilot. The entire outside of
the ship was first painted the ghastly blue that would protect it from
the disintegrating ray rifles of Jahar, while over this was spread a
coating of the compound of invisibility. The shutters that covered the
ports, being similarly coated, the ship could attain practically total
invisibility by closing them, the only point remaining visible being
the tiny eye of the periscope.
Not possessing sufficient technical knowledge to enable me to build one
of the new type motors, I had to content myself with one of the old
types of much less efficiency.
At last the work was done. We had a ship that would accommodate four
with ease and it was uncanny to realize this fact and yet, at the same
time, be unable to see anything but the tiny eye of the periscope
when the covers were lowered over the ports, and even the eye of the
periscope was invisible unless it was turned in the direction of the
observer.
As the work neared completion I had noticed that Phor Tak's manner
became more marked by nervousness and irritability. He found fault with
everything and on several occasions he almost stopped the work upon the
ship.
Now, at last, we were ready to sail. The ship was stocked with
ammunition, water and provisions, and at the last minute I installed a
destination control compass for which I was afterward to be devoutly
thankful.
When I suggested immediate departure, however, Phor Tak demurred, but
would give me no reason for his objection. Presently, however, I lost
patience and told the old man that we were going anyway whether he
liked it or not.
He did not fly into a rage as I had expected, but laughed instead, and
there was something in the laugh that seemed more terrible than anger.
"You think I am a fool," he said, "and that I will let you go and carry
my secrets to Tul Axtar, but you are mistaken."
"So are you," I snapped. "You are mistaken in thinking that we would
betray you and you are also mistaken in thinking that you can prevent
our departure."
"Heigh-oo!" he cackled. "I do not need to prevent your departure, but
I can prevent your arrival at Jahar or elsewhere. I have not been idle
while you worked upon this ship. I have constructed a full size Flying
Death. It is attuned to search out this ship. If you depart against my
wishes, it will follow and destroy you. Heigh-oo! What do you think of
that?"
"I think that you are an old fool," I cried in exasperation. "You have
the opportunity to enlist the loyal aid of two honorable warriors and
yet you choose to turn them into enemies."
"Enemies who cannot harm me," he reminded me. "I hold your lives in
the hollow of my hand. Well have you concealed your thoughts from me,
but not quite well enough. I have read enough of them to know that you
think me mad and I have also received the impression that you would
stop at nothing to prevent me from using my power against Helium. I
have no doubt but that you will help me against Jahar, and against
Tjanath, too, perhaps, but Helium, the mightiest and proudest empire of
Barsoom, is my real goal. Helium shall proclaim me Jeddak of Jeddaks if
I have to wreck a world to accomplish my design."
"Then all our work has been for nothing?" I demanded. "We are not going
to use the ship we have constructed?"
"We may use it," he said, "but under my terms."
"And what are they?" I asked.
"You may go alone to Jahar, but I shall keep Nur An here as hostage. If
you betray me, he dies."
There was no moving him; no amount of argument could alter his
determination. I tried to convince him that one man could accomplish
little, that, in fact, he might not be able to accomplish anything, but
he was adamant--I should go alone or not at all.
XI
"LET THE FIRE BE HOT!"
As I arose that night into the starlit splendor of a Barsoomian night,
the white castle of Phor Tak lay a lovely gem below me bathed in the
soft light of Thuria. I was alone; Nur An remained behind the hostage
of the mad scientist. Because of him I must return to Jhama. Nur An had
exacted no promise from me, but he knew that I would return.
Twenty-five hundred haads to the east lay Jahar and Sanoma Tora.
Fifteen hundred haads to the southwest were Tjanath and Tavia. I turned
the nose of my flier toward the goal of duty, toward the woman I loved,
and, with throttle wide, my invisible craft sped toward distant Jahar.
But my thoughts I could not control. Despite my every effort to keep
them concentrated upon the purpose of my adventure, they persisted in
wandering to a prison tower, to a tousled head of refractory hair, to a
rounded shoulder that had once pressed mine. I shook myself to be rid
of the vision as I sped through the night, but it constantly returned
and in its wake came harrowing thoughts of the fate that might have
overtaken Tavia during my absence.
I set my destination control compass upon Jahar, the exact position of
which I had obtained from Phor Tak, and thus relieved of the necessity
of constantly remaining at the controls, I busied myself about the
interior of the ship. I looked to the ammunition of the disintegrating
ray rifles and rearranged it to suit my own ideas.
Phor Tak had equipped me with three types of rays; one would
disintegrate metal, another would disintegrate wood and the third would
disintegrate human flesh. I had also brought along something which Phor
Tak had refused me when I had asked him for it. I pressed the pocket
pouch in which I had placed it to make sure that I still had the vial,
the contents of which I imagined might prove of inestimable value to me.
I raised all the port shutters and adjusted the ventilators, for at
best the interior of this strange ship seemed close and stuffy to one
who was accustomed to the open deck of the fast scout fliers of Helium.
Then I spread my sleeping silks and furs and settled myself down to
rest, knowing that when I arrived at Jahar my destination control
compass would stop the ship and an alarm would awaken me if I still
slept, but sleep would not come. I thought of Sanoma Tora. I visualized
her cold and stately beauty, but always her haughty eyes dissolved into
the eyes of Tavia, sparkling with the joy of life, soft with the light
of friendship.
I was far from Jhama when at last I sprang determinedly from my
sleeping silks and furs, and going to the controls, I cut off the
destination control compass and with a single, swift turn swung the
nose of the flier toward Tjanath.
The die was cast. I felt that I should experience remorse and self
loathing, but I experienced neither. I joyed in the thought that I was
rushing to the service of a friend and I knew in the most innermost
recesses of my heart that of the two, Tavia had more claim upon my
friendship than had Sanoma Tora, from whom I had received at best only
scant courtesy.
I did not again try to sleep. I did not feel like sleeping; instead
I remained at the controls and watched the desolate landscape as it
rushed forward to pass beneath me. With the coming of dawn I saw
Tjanath directly ahead of me and as I approached the city it was
difficult for me to realize that I could do so with utter impunity
and that my ship with its closed ports was entirely invisible. Moving
slowly now, I circled above the palace of Haj Osis. Those portions of
the palace that were topped by flat roofs revealed sleepy guardsmen. At
the main hangar a single guardsman watched.
I floated above the east tower; beneath me, cuddled in her sleeping
silks and furs, I could picture Tavia. How surprised she would be
could she know that I hovered thus close above her.
Dropping lower I circled the tower, coming to a stop finally opposite
the windows of the room in which Tavia had been confined. I maneuvered
the ship to bring one of the ports opposite the window and close enough
to give me a view of the interior of the room. But though I remained
there for some time, I could see no one and at last I became convinced
that Tavia had been removed to other quarters. I was disappointed
for this must necessarily greatly complicate my plans for rescue. I
had foreseen but little difficulty in transferring Tavia by night
through the tower window to the flier; now I must make my plans all
anew. Everything hinged, of course, upon my ability to locate Tavia.
To do that it was evident that I must enter the palace. The moment
that I quitted the invisibility of my flier, I should be menaced by
the greatest danger at every turn, and, clothed as I was in home-made
harness fashioned by the hands of the slaves of Phor Tak, I should
arouse the active suspicion of the first person who laid eyes upon me.
I must enter the palace and to do it in any degree of safety I must
have a disguise.
All my ports were now closed, the periscope being my only eye. I turned
it slowly about as I tried to plan some method of procedure that might
have within it some tiny seed of success.
As the panorama slowly unfolded itself upon the ground glass before
me there appeared the main palace hangar and the single warrior upon
watch. Here my periscope came to rest, for here was an entrance to the
palace and here a disguise.
Slowly maneuvering my ship in the direction of the hangar, I brought it
down upon the roof of that structure. I should have been glad to moor
it, but here there were no means at hand. I must depend upon its own
weight and hope that no high wind would rise.
Realizing that the instant that I emerged from the interior of the flier
I should be entirely visible, I waited, watching through my periscope
until the warrior upon the roof just below me turned his back; then
I emerged quickly from the ship through one of the upper hatches and
dropped to the roof upon the side closest to the warrior. I was about
four feet from the edge of the roof and he was standing almost below
me, his back toward me. Should he turn he would discover me instantly
and would give an alarm before I could be upon him. My only hope of
success, therefore, was to silence him before he realized that he was
menaced.
I have learned from the experiences of John Carter that first thoughts
are often inspirations, while sober afterthought may lead to failure,
or so delay action as to nullify all its effect.
Therefore, in this instance, I acted upon inspiration. I did not
hesitate. I stepped quickly to the edge of the roof and hurled myself
straight at the broad shoulders of the sentry. In my hand was a slim
dagger.
The end came quickly. I think the poor fellow never knew what happened
to him. Dragging his body to the interior of the hangar I stripped
the harness from it, at the same time, though almost mechanically, I
noted the ships within the hangar. With the exception of one, a patrol
boat, they all bore the personal insignia of the Jed of Tjanath. They
were the king's ships--an ornate cruiser heavily armed, two smaller
pleasure crafts, a two-man scout flier and a one-man scout flier. They
were not much, of course, by comparison with the ships of Helium, but
I was quite sure that they were absolutely the best that Tjanath could
afford. However, having my own ship, I was not particularly concerned
with these other than that I am always interested in ships of all
descriptions.
Not far from where I stood was the entrance to a ramp leading down into
the palace. Realizing that only through boldness might I succeed, I
walked directly to the ramp and entered it. As I rounded the first turn
I was appalled to see that the ramp passed directly through a guard
room. Upon the floor fully a score of warriors were stretched upon
their sleeping silks and furs.
I did not dare to pause; I must keep on. Perhaps I could pass them
without arousing their curiosity. I had had but a brief glimpse of
the room before I entered it, and in that glimpse I had seen only men
apparently wrapped in sleep and an instant later, as I emerged into
the room itself, I saw that it contained only those whom I had first
seen. No one within it was awake, but I heard voices in an adjoining
room. Hurrying quickly across the apartment I entered the ramp upon the
opposite side.
I think my heart had stood still as I strode silently across that room
among those sleeping men, for had a single one of them awakened he
would have inevitably known that I was no fellow member of the guard.
Further down within the palace itself I should be in less danger, for
so great is the number of retainers in the palace of a jed that no one
may know them all by sight, so that strange and unfamiliar faces are
almost as customary as they are upon the avenues of a city.
My plan was to try to reach the tower room in which Tavia had been
confined, for I was positive that, from my position in the flier, I
could not see the entire interior and it was just possible that Tavia
was there.
Owing to the construction of my ship I had been unable to attract her
attention without raising a hatch and taking the chance of revealing
my presence, which would have, I felt, jeopardized Tavia's chances for
escape far too greatly to warrant my doing so.
Perhaps I should have waited until night; perhaps I was over-anxious
and in my zeal might be running far greater risks than were necessary.
I thought of these things now and perhaps I upbraided myself, but I had
gone too far now to retreat. I was properly in for it, whatever might
follow.
As I followed the ramp down to different levels I tried to discover
some familiar landmark that might lead me to the east tower, and as I
emerged into a corridor at one of the levels I saw almost directly in
front of me a door which I instantly recognized--it was the door to the
office of Yo Seno, the keeper of the keys.
"Good!" I thought. "Fate certainly has led me here."
Crossing to the door I opened it and stepped quickly within the room,
closing the door behind me. Yo Seno was sitting at his desk. He was
alone. He did not look up. He was one of those arrogant men--a small
man with a little authority--who liked to impress his importance
upon all inferiors. Therefore, doubtless, it was his way to ignore
his visitors for a moment or two. This time he made a mistake. After
quietly locking the door behind me I crossed to the door at the
opposite end of the room and bolted it, too.
It was then that, doubtless compelled by curiosity, Yo Seno looked
up. At first he did not recognize me. "What do you want?" he demanded
gruffly.
"You, Yo Seno," I said.
He looked at me steadily for a moment with growing astonishment, then
with his eyes wide he leaped to his feet. "You?" he screamed. "By
Issus, no! You are dead!"
"I have returned from the grave, Yo Seno. I have come back to haunt
you," I said.
"What do you want?" he demanded. "Stand aside! You are under arrest."
"Where is Tavia?" I asked.
"How do I know?" he demanded.
"You are the keeper of the keys, Yo Seno. Who should know better than
you where the prisoners are?"
"Well, what if I do know? I shall not tell," he said.
"You shall tell, Yo Seno, or you shall die," I warned him.
He had walked from behind his desk and was standing not far from me
when, without warning and with far greater celerity than I gave him
credit for possessing, he snatched his long sword from its scabbard and
was upon me.
I was forced to jump backward quickly to avoid his first cut, but when
he swung the second time my own sword was out and I was on my guard. Yo
Seno proved himself no mean antagonist. He was clever with the sword
and he knew that he was fighting for his life. I wondered at first why
he did not call for help and then I came to the conclusion that it
was because there were no warriors in the adjoining room, as there
had been upon my previous visit to Yo Seno's quarters. We fought in
silence, only the din of metal upon metal reflecting the deadliness of
the combat.
I was in a hurry to be done with him and I was pressing him closely
when he resorted to a trick which came near to proving my undoing. I
had backed him up against his desk and thought that I had him where he
could not escape. I could not see his left hand behind him; nor the
heavy vase for which it was groping, but an instant later I saw the
thing flying straight at my head and I also saw the opening which Yo
Seno made in the instant that he cast the missile, for so occupied was
he with his aim that he let his point drop. Stooping beneath the vase
I sprang into close quarters, driving my sword through the heart of Yo
Seno.
As I wiped the blood from my blade upon the hair of my victim I could
not repress a feeling of elation that it had been my hand that had cut
down the seducer of Phao and in some measure avenged the honor of my
friend, Nur An.
Now, however, was no time for meditation. I heard footsteps approaching
in the corridor without and hastily seizing the harness of the corpse,
I dragged it toward the panel which hid the entrance to the secret
corridor that led to the room in the east tower--that familiar corridor
where I had passed happy moments alone with Tavia.
With more haste than reverence, I dumped the corpse of Yo Seno into the
dark interior and then, closing the panel after me, I groped my way
through the darkness toward the tower room, my heart high with the hope
that I might find Tavia still there.
As I approached the panel at the tower end of the corridor I could
feel my heart beating rapidly--a sensation to which I was unaccustomed
and which I could not explain. I was positive that I was in excellent
physical condition, and, while it is not at all unusual that surprise
or imminent danger causes the heart of some men to palpitate, even
though they may be endowed with exceptional courage, yet, for my part,
I had never experienced such a sensation and I must admit that I was
deeply mystified.
The anticipation of seeing Tavia again soon caused me to forget the
unpleasant sensation and as I stopped behind the panel my whole mind
was occupied with pleasurable consideration of what I hoped awaited me
beyond--the longed for reunion with this best of friends.
I was upon the point of springing the catch and opening the panel when
my attention was attracted by voices from the room beyond. I heard
a man's voice and that of a woman, but I could understand no words.
Cautiously, I opened the panel sufficiently to permit me to view the
interior of the apartment.
The scene that met my gaze sent the hot fighting blood surging through
my frame. In the center of the room a young warrior in rich trappings
had Tavia in his grasp and was dragging her across the room toward the
doorway. Tavia struggled, striking at him.
"Don't be a fool," snarled the man. "Haj Osis has given you to me. You
will lead a better life as my slave than most free women live."
"I prefer prison or death," replied Tavia.
Phao was standing helplessly at one side, her eyes filled with
compassion for Tavia. It was obvious that she could do nothing to
defend her friend, for the trappings of the warrior proclaimed him of
high rank, but just what that rank was I did not discern at the time
for I was not interested. In a bound I was in the center of the room
and seizing the warrior roughly by the shoulder, I hurled him backward
so heavily that he fell sprawling to the floor. I heard gasps of
astonishment from both Phao and Tavia and my name breathed in the soft
accents of the latter.
As I drew my sword the warrior scrambled to his feet, but did not draw.
"Fool! Idiot! Knave!" he shrieked. "Do you not realize what you have
done? Do you not know who I am?"
"In a moment it will be 'who you were'," I told him in a low voice. "On
guard!"
"No," he cried, backing away. "You wear the harness and the metal of a
warrior of the guard. You cannot dare draw your sword against the son
of Haj Osis. Back, fellow, I am Prince Haj Alt."
"I could pray to Issus that you might be Haj Osis himself," I replied,
"but at least there will be some recompense in the knowledge that I
have destroyed his spawn. On guard, you fool, unless you wish to die
like a sorak."
He was still backing away and now he looked about him with every
evidence of terror written upon his weak countenance. He espied the
panel door that I had inadvertently left open and before I could
prevent he had darted through and closed it behind him. I leaped in
pursuit, but the lock had clicked and I did not know where to find the
mechanism to release it.
"Quick, Phao!" I cried. "You know the secret of the panel. Open it for
me. We must not permit this fellow to escape or he will sound the alarm
and we shall all be lost."