she looked up at me and smiled brightly. "We still live, Hadron of
Hastor!" she exclaimed.
"We still live and we have our swords," I reminded her.
As we climbed they pressed upward behind us and presently I saw others
coming through the hills from the right and from the left. We were
turned from the low saddle over which I had hoped to cross the summit
of the range, for hunting men had entered it from above and were
coming down toward us. Directly ahead of us now loomed a high peak,
the highest in the range as far as I could see, and only there, up its
steep side, were there no hunting men to bar our way.
As we climbed, the sides of the mountain grew steeper until the ascent
was not only most arduous, but sometimes difficult and dangerous; yet
there was no alternative and we pressed onward toward the summit, while
behind us came the hunting men of U-Gor. They were not rushing us and
from that I felt confident that they knew that they had us cornered.
I was looking for a place in which we might make a stand, but I found
none and at last we reached the summit, a circular, level space perhaps
a hundred feet in diameter.
As our pursuers were yet some little distance below us, I walked
quickly around the outside of the table-like top of the peak. The
entire northern face dropped sheer from the summit for a couple of
hundred feet, definitely blocking our retreat. At every other point the
hunting men were ascending. Our situation appeared hopeless; it _was_
hopeless, and yet I refused to admit defeat.
The summit of the mountain was strewn with loose rock. I hurled a rock
down at the nearest cannibal. It struck him upon the head and sent him
hurtling down the mountain-side, carrying a couple of his fellows with
him. Then Tavia followed my example and together we bombarded them, but
more often we scored misses than hits and there were so many of them
and they were so fierce and so hungry that we did not even stem their
advance. So numerous were they now that they reminded me of insects,
crawling up there from below--huge, grotesque insects that would soon
fall upon us and devour us.
As they came nearer they gave voice to a new cry that I had not heard
before. It was a cry that differed from the hunting call, but was
equally as terrible.
"Their war-cry," said Tavia.
On and on with relentless persistency the throng swarmed upward toward
us. We drew our swords; it was our last stand. Tavia pressed closer to
me and for the first time I thought I felt her tremble.
"Do not let them take me," she said. "It is not death that I fear."
I knew what she meant and I took her in my arms. "I cannot do it,
Tavia," I said. "I cannot."
"You must," she replied in a firm voice. "If you care for me even as a
friend, you cannot let these beasts take me alive."
I know that I choked then so that I could not reply, but I knew that
she was right and I drew my dagger.
"Good-bye, Hadron--my Hadron!"
Her breast was bared to receive my dagger, her face was upturned toward
mine. It was still a brave face with no fear upon it, and oh how
beautiful it was.
Impulsively, guided by a power I could not control, I bent and crushed
my lips to hers. With half closed eyes she pressed her own lips upward
more tightly against mine.
"Oh, Issus!" she breathed as she took them away, and then, "They come!
Strike now, Hadron, and strike deep!"
The creatures were almost at the summit. I swung my hand upward that
I might bury the slim dagger deeply in that perfect breast: To my
surprise my knuckles struck something hard above me. I glanced upward.
There was nothing there; yet something impelled me to feel again, to
solve that uncanny mystery even in that instant of high tragedy.
Again I felt above me. By Issus, there was something there! My fingers
passed over a smooth surface--a familiar surface.
It could not be, and yet I knew that it must be--the Jhama. I asked
no questions of myself nor of fate at that instant. The hunting men
of U-Gor were almost upon us as my groping fingers found one of the
mooring rings in the bow of the Jhama. Quickly I swung Tavia above my
head.
"It is the Jhama. Climb to her deck," I cried.
The dear girl, as quick to seize upon the fortuitous opportunities as
any trained fighting man, did not pause to question, but swung herself
upward to the deck with the agility of an athlete, and as I seized the
mooring ring and drew myself upward she lay flat upon her belly and
reaching down assisted me; nor was the strength in that slender frame
unequal to the task.
The leaders of the horde had reached the summit. They paused in
momentary confusion when they saw us climb into thin air and stand
there apparently just above their heads, but hunger urged them on and
they leaped for us, clambering upon one another's back and shoulders to
seize us and drag us down.
Two almost gained the deck as I fought them all back single-handed
while Tavia had raised a hatch and leaped to the controls.
Another foul-faced thing reached the deck upon the opposite side and
only chance revealed him to me before he had run his sword through my
back. The Jhama was already rising as I turned to engage him. There was
little room there in which to fight, but I had the advantage in that I
knew the extent of the deck beneath my feet, while he could see nothing
but thin air. I think it frightened him, too, and when I rushed him he
stepped backward out into space and, with a scream of terror, hurtled
downward toward the ground.
We were saved, but how in the name of all our ancestors had the Jhama
chanced to be at this spot.
Perhaps Tul Axtar was aboard! The thought filled me with alarm for
Tavia's safety and with my sword ready I leaped through the hatchway
into the cabin, but only Tavia was there.
We tried to arrive at some explanation of the miracle that had saved
us, but no amount of conjecture brought forth anything that was at all
satisfactory.
"She was there when we needed her most," said Tavia; "that fact should
satisfy us."
"I guess it will have to for the time being at least," I said, "and now
once more we can turn a ship's nose toward Helium."
We had passed but a short distance beyond the mountains when I sighted
a ship in the distance and shortly thereafter another and another until
I was aware that we were approaching a great fleet moving toward the
east. As we came closer I descried the hulls painted with the ghastly
blue of Jahar and I knew that this was Tul Axtar's formidable armada.
And then we saw ships approaching from the east and I knew that it was
the fleet of Helium. It could be no other; yet I must make certain,
and so I sped in the direction of the nearest ship of this other fleet
until I saw the banners and pennons of Helium floating from her upper
works and the battle insignia of the Warlord painted upon her prow.
Behind her came the other ships--a noble fleet moving to inevitable
doom.
A Jaharian cruiser was moving toward the first great battleship as I
raced to intercept them and bring one of my rifles into action.
I was forced to come close to my target as was the Jaharian cruiser,
since the effective range of the disintegrating ray rifle is extremely
limited.
Everything aboard the battleship of Helium was ready for action, but I
knew why they had not fired a gun. It has ever been the boast of John
Carter, Warlord of Barsoom, that he would not start a war. The enemy
must fire the first shot. If I could have reached them in time he would
have realized the fatal consequences of this magnanimous and chivalrous
code and the ships of Helium, with their long range guns, might have
annihilated Jahar's entire fleet before it could have brought its
deadly rifles within range, but fate had ordained otherwise and now the
best that I could hope was that I might reach the Jaharian ship before
it was too late.
Tavia was at the controls. We were racing toward the blue cruiser of
Jahar. I was standing at the forward rifle. In another moment we should
be within range and then I saw the great battleship of Helium crumble
in mid-air. Its wooden parts dropped slowly toward the ground and a
thousand warriors plunged to a cruel death upon the barren land beneath.
Almost immediately the other ships of Helium were brought to a stop.
They had witnessed the catastrophe that had engulfed the first ship of
the line and the commander of the fleet had realized that they were
menaced by a new force of which they had no knowledge.
The ships of Tul Axtar, encouraged by this first success, were now
moving swiftly to the attack. The cruiser that had destroyed the great
battleship was in the lead, but now I was within range of it.
Realizing that the blue protective paint of Jahar would safeguard
the ship itself against the disintegrating ray, I had rammed home a
cartridge of another type in the chamber and swinging the muzzle of the
rifle so that it would rake the entire length of the ship, I pressed
the button.
Instantly the men upon deck dissolved into thin air--only their harness
and their metal and their weapons were left.
Directing Tavia to run the Jhama alongside, I raised the upper hatch
and leaped to the deck of the cruiser and a moment later I had raised
the signal of surrender above her. One can imagine the consternation
aboard the nearer ships of Jahar as they saw that signal flying from
her forward mast, for there was none sufficiently close to have
witnessed what actually transpired aboard her.
Returning to the cabin of the Jhama I lowered the hatch and went at
once to the periscope. Far in the rear of the first line of Jaharian
ships I could just discern the royal insignia upon a great battleship,
which told me that Tul Axtar was there, but in a safe position. I
should have liked to reach his ship next, but the fleet was moving
forward toward the ships of Helium and I dared not spare the time.
By now the ships of Helium had opened fire and shells were exploding
about the leading ships of the Jaharian fleet--shells so nicely timed
that they can be set to explode at any point up to the extreme range of
the gun that discharges them. It takes nice gunnery to synchronize the
timing with the target.
As ship after ship of the Jaharian fleet was hit, the others brought
their big guns into action. Temporarily, at least, the disintegrating
ray rifles had failed, but that they would succeed I knew if a single
ship could get through the Heliumetic line, where among the great
battleships she could destroy a dozen in the space of a few minutes.
The gunnery of the Jaharians was poor; their shells usually exploded
high in air before they reached their target, but as the battle
continued it improved; yet I knew that Jahar never could hope to defeat
Helium with Helium's own weapons.
A great battleship of Tul Axtar's fleet was hit three times in
succession almost alongside of me. I saw her drop by the stern and I
knew that she was done for, and then I saw her commander rush to the
bow and take the last long dive and I knew that there were brave men in
Tul Axtar's fleet as well as in the fleet of Helium, but Tul Axtar was
not one of them, for in the distance I could see his flagship racing
toward Jahar.
Despite the cowardice of the Jeddak, the great fleet pushed on to the
attack. If they had the courage they could still win, for their ships
outnumbered the ships of Helium ten to one and as far as the eye could
reach I could see them speeding from the north, from the south and from
the west toward the scene of battle.
Closer and closer the ships of Helium were pressing toward the ships of
Jahar. In his ignorance the Warlord was playing directly into the hands
of the enemy. With their superior marksmanship and twenty battleships
protected by the blue paint of Jahar, Helium could wipe out Tul Axtar's
great armada; of that I was confident, and with that thought came an
inspiration. It might be done and only Tan Hadron of Hastor could do it.
Shells were falling all about us. The force of the explosions rocked
the Jhama until she tossed and pitched like an ancient ship upon an
ancient sea. Again and again were we perilously close to the line of
fire of the Jaharian disintegrating ray rifles. I felt that I might
no longer risk Tavia thus, yet I must carry out the plan that I had
conceived.
It is strange how men change and for what seemingly trivial reasons.
I had thought all my life that I would make any sacrifice for Helium,
but now I knew that I would not sacrifice a single hair of that tousled
head for all Barsoom. This, I soliloquized, is friendship.
Taking the controls I turned the bow of the Jhama toward one of the
ships of Helium, that was standing temporarily out of the line of
fire, and as we approached her side I turned the controls back over to
Tavia, and, raising the forward hatch, sprang to the deck of the Jhama,
raising both hands above my head in signal of surrender in the event
that they might take me for a Jaharian.
What must they have thought when they saw me apparently floating
upright upon thin air? That they were astonished was evident by the
expressions on the faces of those nearest to me as the Jhama touched
the side of the battleship.
They kept me covered as I came aboard, leaving Tavia to maneuver the
Jhama.
Before I could announce myself I was recognized by a young officer of
my own umak. With a cry of surprise he leaped forward and threw his
arms about me: "Hadron of Hastor!" he cried. "Have I witnessed your
resurrection from death; but no, you are too real, too much alive to be
any wraith of the other world."
"I am alive now," I cried, "but none of us will be unless I can get
word to your commander. Where is he?"
"Here," said a voice behind me and I turned to see an old odwar who had
been a great friend of my father's. He recognized me immediately, but
there was no time even for greetings.
"Warn the fleet that the ships of Jahar are armed with disintegrating
ray rifles that can dissolve every ship as you saw the first one
dissolve. They are only effective at short range. Keep at least a haad
distance from them and you are relatively safe. And now if you will
give me three men and direct the fire of your fleet away from the
Jaharian ships on the south of their line, I will agree to have twenty
ships for you in an hour--ships protected by the blue of Jahar in which
you may face their disintegrating ray rifles with impunity."
The odwar knew me well and upon his own responsibility he agreed to do
what I asked.
Three padwars of my own class guaranteed to accompany me. I fetched
Tavia aboard the battleship and turned her over to the protection of
the old odwar, though she objected strenuously to being parted from me.
"We have gone through so much together, Hadron of Hastor," she said,
"let us go on to the end together."
She had come quite close to me and spoken in a low voice that none
might overhear. Her eyes, filled with pleading, were upturned to mine.
"I cannot risk you further, Tavia," I said.
"There is so much danger then, you think?" she asked.
"We shall be in danger, of course." I said; "this is war and one can
never tell. Do not worry though. I shall come back safely."
"Then it is that you fear that I shall be in the way," she said, "and
another can do the work better than I?"
"Of course not," I replied. "I am thinking only of your safety."
"If you are lost, I shall not live. I swear it," she said, "so if you
can trust me to do the work of a man, let me go with you instead of one
of those."
I hesitated. "Oh, Hadron of Hastor, please do not leave me here without
you," she said.
I could not resist her. "Very well, then," I said, "come with me.
I would rather have you than any other," and so it was that Tavia
replaced one of the padwars on the Jhama, much to the officer's chagrin.
Before entering the Jhama I turned again to the old odwar. "If we are
successful," I said, "a number of Tul Axtar's battleships will move
slowly toward the Helium line beneath signals of surrender. Their crews
will have been destroyed. Have boarding parties ready to take them
over."
Naturally every one aboard the battleship was intensely interested in
the Jhama, though all that they could see of her was the open hatch and
the eye of the periscope. Officers and men lined the rail as we went
aboard our invisible craft and as I closed the hatch, a loud cheer rang
out above me.
My first act thoroughly evidenced my need of Tavia, for I put her at
the after turret in charge of the rifle there, while one of the padwars
took the controls and turned the prow of the Jhama toward the Jaharian
fleet.
I was standing in a position where I could watch the changing scene
upon the ground glass beneath the periscope and when a great battleship
swung slowly into the miniature picture before me, I directed the
padwar to lay a straight course for her, but a moment later I saw
another battleship moving abreast of her. This was better and we
changed our course to pass between the two.
They were moving gallantly toward the fleet of Helium, firing their
big guns now and reserving their disintegrating ray rifles for closer
range. What a magnificent sight they were, and yet how helpless. The
tiny, invisible Jhama, with her little rifles, constituted a greater
menace to them than did the entire fleet of Helium. On they drove,
unconscious of the inevitable fate bearing down upon them.
"Sweep the starboard ship from stem to stern," I called to Tavia.
"I will take this fellow on our port," and then to the padwar at the
controls, "Half speed!"
Slowly we passed their bows. I touched the button upon my rifle and
through the tiny sighting aperture I saw the crew dissolve in the path
of those awful rays, as the two ships passed. We were very close--so
close that I could see the expressions of consternation and horror on
the faces of some of the warriors as they saw their fellows disappear
before their eyes, and then their turn would come and they would be
snuffed out in the twinkling of an eye, their weapons and their metal
clattering to the deck.
As we dropped astern of them, our work completed, I had the padwar
bring the Jhama about and alongside one of the ships, which I quickly
boarded, running up the signal of surrender. With the death of the
officer at her controls she had fallen off with the wind, but I quickly
brought her up again and, setting her at half speed, her bow toward the
ships of Helium, I locked the controls and left her.
Returning to the Jhama, we crossed quickly to the other ship and a
few moments later it, too, was moving slowly toward the fleet of the
Warlord, the signal of surrender fluttering above it.
So quickly had the blow been struck that even the nearer ships of
Jahar were some time in realizing that anything was amiss. Perhaps
they were unable to believe their own eyes when they saw two of their
great battleships surrender before having been struck by a single shot,
but presently the commander of a light cruiser seemed to awaken to
the seriousness of the situation, even though he could not fully have
understood it. We were already moving toward another battleship when I
saw the cruiser speeding directly toward one of our prizes and I knew
that it would never reach the fleet of Helium if he boarded it, a thing
which I must prevent at all costs. His course would bring him across
our bow and as he passed I raked him with the forward rifle.
I saw that it would be impossible for the Jhama to overtake this
swift cruiser, which was moving at full speed and so we had to let
her go her way. At first I was afraid she would ram the nearer prize
and had she hit her squarely at the rate that she was traveling, the
cruiser would have plowed half way through the hull of the battleship.
Fortunately, she missed the great ship by a hair and went speeding on
into the midst of the fleet of Helium.
Instantly she was the target for a hundred guns, a barrage of shells
was bursting about her and then there must have been a dozen hits
simultaneously, for the cruiser simply disappeared--a mass of flying
debris.
As I turned back to our work I saw the havoc being wrought by the big
guns of Helium upon the enemy ships to the north of me. In the instant
that I glanced I saw three great battleships take the final dive, while
at least four others were drifting helplessly with the wind, but other
ships of that mighty armada were swinging into action. As far as I
could see they were coming from the north, from the south and from the
west. There seemed no end to them and now, at last, I realized that
only a miracle could give victory to Helium.
In accordance with my suggestion our own fleet was holding off,
concentrating the fire of its big guns upon the nearer ship of
Jahar--constantly seeking to keep those deadly rifles out of range.
Again we fell to work--to the grim work that the god of battle had
allotted to us. One by one, twenty great battleships surrendered their
deserted decks to us and as we worked I counted fully as many more
destroyed by the guns of the Warlord.
In the prosecution of our work we had been compelled to destroy
at least half a dozen small craft, such as scout fliers and light
cruisers, and now these were racing erratically among the remaining
ships of the Jaharian fleet, carrying consternation and doubtless
terror to the hearts of Tul Axtar's warriors, for all the nearer ships
must have realized long since that some strange, new force had been
loosed upon them by the ships of Helium.
By this time we had worked so far behind the Jaharian first line that
we could no longer see the ships of Helium, though bursting shells
attested the fact that they were still there.
From past experience I realized that it would be necessary to protect
the captured Jaharian ships from being retaken and so I turned back,
taking a position where I could watch as many of them as possible and
it was well that I did so, for we found it necessary to destroy the
crews of three more ships before we reached the battle line of Helium.
Here they had already manned a dozen of the captured battleships of
Jahar, and, with the banners and pennons of Helium above them, they had
turned about and were moving into action against their sister ships.
It was then that the spirit of Jahar was broken. This, I think, was too
much for them as doubtless the majority of them believed that these
ships had gone over to the enemy voluntarily with all their officers
and crews, for few, if any, could have known that the latter had been
destroyed.
Their Jeddak had long since deserted them. Twenty of their largest
ships had gone over to the enemy and now protected by the blue of Jahar
and manned by the best gunners of Barsoom, were plowing through them,
spreading death and destruction upon every hand.
A dozen of Tul Axtar's ships surrendered voluntarily and then the
others turned and scattered; very few of them headed toward Jahar and I
knew by that that they believed that the city must inevitably fall.
The Warlord made no effort to pursue the fleeing craft; instead he
stationed the ships that we had captured from the enemy, more than
thirty all told now, entirely around the fleet of Helium to protect
it from the disintegrating ray rifles of the enemy in the event of a
renewed attack, and then slowly we moved on Jahar.
XVI
DESPAIR
Immediately after the close of the battle the Warlord sent for me and a
few moments later Tavia and I stepped aboard the flagship.
The Warlord himself came forward to meet us. "I knew," he said, "that
the son of Had Urtur would give a good account of himself. Helium can
scarcely pay the debt of gratitude that you have placed upon her today.
You have been to Jahar; your work today convinces me of that. May we
with safety approach and take the city?"
"No," I replied, and then briefly I explained the mighty force that Tul
Axtar had gathered and the armament with which he expected to subdue
the world. "But there is a way," I said.
"And what is that?" he asked.
"Send one of the captured Jaharian ships with a flag of truce and I
believe that Tul Axtar will surrender. He is a coward. He fled in
terror when the battle was still young."
"Will he honor a flag of truce?"