Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-20
CHAPTER NVII


A THE speaker ceased he turned to
"A leave the apartment by the door
where I was standing. but I needed to
wait no longer! | had heard enough to
! I'LL my soul with dread. and stealing
| uuitely away ! returned to the courtyard
by the way had come
| My plan of action was formed upon the
! instant, and crossing the square and the
! bordering avenue upon the opposite side
! I soon stood within the courtyard of Tai
Hajus.
! The brilliantly lighted apartments OF the
| first floor told me where first to seek, and
| advancing to the windows peered within.
soon discovered that my approach was
! not to be the easy thing | had hoped, for
! the rear rooms bordering the court were
/ filled with warriors and women.
! I then glanced up at the stories above.
| discovering that the third was apparently
unlighted. and so decided to make my en-
| trance to the building from that point. II
i was the work of but moment for me to
reach the windows above, and soon I had
drawn myself within the sheltering
| shadows of the unlighted third floor.
| Fortunately the room | had selected was
! untenanted, and creeping noiselessly to the
! corridor beyond | discovered light in the
| apartments ahead of me.
Reaching what appeared TO be door
| way | discovered that II was but an open
ing upon an immense inner chamber which
lowered from the first floor, two stories
below me, to the domelike roof of the
building, high above my head. The floor
of this great circular hall was thronged
, with CA,iertains, warriors and women, and
at one end was n great raised platform
upon which sQuatted the most hideous
beast | had ever put my eyes upon.
He had all the cold. hard, cruel. terrible
features of the green warriors, but accent
uatcd and debased by the animal passions
to which he had given himself over for
many years There was not mark oil
dignity or rride upon his bestial counte-
nance while his enormous bulk spread
itself out upon the platform where ne
squatted like some huge devil-hsh ms SIX
limbs accentuatng the similarity III
horrible and startling manner.
But the sight that froZe me with appre-
hension was that - Dejah Thoris and Sola
standing there before him, and the hendlsh
leer of him as he let his great protrudlhs
eyes gloat upon the lines of her beautltul
figure.
She was speaking, but could not hear
what she said nor could make out the
low grumbling of his Nply. She stood
there erect before him. her head htgh held'
and even at the distance was from them
| could read the scorn and disgust upon
her face as she let her naughty glance
rest without sign of fear upon MIN.
She was indeed the proud daughter or
a thousand ieddaks, every inch OF her
dear precious, little body-so smaII. so
frail beside the towering warriors yet IN
her majesty dwarhng them into insig-
nifcance: she was the mightiest hgure
among them, and | verify peheNe 'h"t
they felt It,
Presently Tai Haius made sign that
the chamber be cleared, and that the
prisoners be left alone before him SLOWLY
the chieftains, the warriors and the
women melted away into the shadows of
Hiuu chs
Thorls and Sola stood alone before the
jeddak of the Tharks.
One chieftain alone had hesitated be-
fore departing | saw him standing In the
shadows of mighty column his fingers
nervously toying with the hllt of his great
sword. and his cruel eyes bent in i'm
placable hatred upon Tai Hajus.
IL was Tars Tarkas, and | could read
his thoughts as they were an open BOOK
for the undisguised loathing upon his face
He was thinking of that other woman
who. 40 years ago, had stood before this
beast and could | have spoken word
into his ear at that moment the reign OF
Tai Ha Jus would have been over; but
finally he also strode from the ROOM not
knowing that he left his own daughter
at the mercy of the creature he most
loathed.
Tai Hajus rose, and !. half fearing,
half anticipating his intentions hurried to
the winding runway which led to the
floors below. No one was near to inter-
cept me, and / reached the main floor or
the chamber unobserved, taking my sta
tion in the shadow of the same column
that Tars Tarkas had but just deserted
AS | reached the floor Tai Hajus was
speaking:
Princess of Helium, / might wiring
mighty ransom from your people would |
but return you TO them unharmed, but
thousand times rather would watch that
beautiful face writhe in the agony Of tor
ture II shall be long drawn out, that
promise you; 10 days of pleasure were
all too short TO show the love l harbor
for your race.
THE terrors of your death shall haunt
the slumbers of the red men through all
the ages to come; they will shudder In
the shadows of the night as their fathers
tell them of the awful vengeance of the |
green men; of the power and might and |
hate and cruelty of Tai Hajus
But before the torture you shall be
mine for one short hour. and word of
that too shall go forth TO Tardos MOrs,