Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-17

at the hands of these cruel creatures but
at the moment of the Shrek each member
of the herd turned in the direction of the
| sound, and at the same instant every par
| ticular snakelike hair upon their heads rose
stifly perpendicular, as If each had been a
| sentient organism looking or listening for
the source or meaning Of the wall.
And indeed the latter proved 10 be the
| truth for this strange growth upon the
craniums of the plant-men of Barsoom req.
| resents the thousand ears of these hideous
creatures the last remnant of the strange
| race which sprung from the original Tree
| of Life.
Instantly every eye turned toward one
| member of the herd, a large fellow who
evidently was the leader A strange pur-
| ring sound issued from the mouth in the
palm of one of his hands, and at the same
time he started rapidly toward the bluff
followed by the entire herd
Their speed and method of locomotlon
were both remarkable, springing as they
did in great leaps of 20 or 80 feet, much
after the manner of kangaroo.
They were rapidly disappearing when 1t
occurred TO me to follow them. and so, hurl-
ing caution to the winds, I sprang across
the meadow In their wake with leaps and
bounds even more prodtgous than their
own, for the muscles of an athletic earth
man produce remarkable results when pitted
against the lesser gravity and air pressure
Of Mars
Their way led directly toward the ap-
parent source of the river at the base OF
the cliffs and as neared this point found
the meadow dotted with huge boulders dis
lodged from the towering crags above.
For this reason came quite close TO the
cause of the disturbance before the scene
broke upon my horrified gaze.
AS / topped a great boulder I saw the
herd of plant-men surrounding a little
group of perhaps five or six green men and
women of Barsoom.
That / was indeed upon Mars I now
had no doubt, for here were members of
the wild hOrdes that people the dead sea
bottoms and deserted cities of that dying
planet
Here were the great males towering In
all the majesty Of their imposing height;
here were the cleaning white tusks pro
trudlng from their massive lower Jaws to
a point near the centre of their foreheads
the laterally placed, protrudlng eyes with
which they could look forward or backward,
or TO either side. without turning their
heads: here the strange antennaeike ears
rising from the tops OF their foreheads and
the additional pair of arms extending from
midway between the shoulders and the
hips
Even without the glossy green hide and
the metal ornaments which denoted the
tribes to which they belonged l would have
known them on the instant Tor what they
were, for where else in all the universe Is
theM IKE uupAcaNcaA
There were two men and four females
In the party and their ornaments denoted
them as members OF different hordes
The fact puzzled me, since the various
hoFdes of green men OF Barsoom are
eternaIly at war with one another, and
never had seen green MartiaRs OF diner
ent hordes associated IN otller than mortal
combat save on that historic instance
when the great Tars Tarkas Of Thark
gathered a hundred and Atty thousand
green WARRIORS from seye9al hordes 10
march upon the doomed city OF zodanRa
ana rescue Dsiah Thoris Princess 81
Helium. from the clutches Of Than Kosls
But now they stood back 10 back fac
ing In wida-eyed amusement the ery evi
IDENTIFY hostile delnonstratlona Of common
enemy.
Bon men aud women were armed with
longszo ords and daEEsra, but no drsarns
we're Ii evidence. efzs i had been short
shrifE Tor ths greeaome plant-men Of Bar
Presently + lssass q las ulsnt-men