Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-17
CHAPTER III
a Forest RnffIn

by the corpses of our grotesuue assaIIar,.s
From all directions down the broad vsu..
was streaming perfect torrent OF tsrr,,r.
ing creatures in response to the weird ssn
OF the strange figure far above us
| Come" cried Tars Tarkas, I'VE ma.
| make for the cliffs. There lies o,,r astI
| hope OF even temporary escape. Thera !.
may flnd cave or a narrow ledge wheh
TWO may defend forever against this mon.
| ley, unarmed horde"
Together we raced across the scaris,
| sward, timing my speed that might M
outdistanoe my slower companion. We haS az
| perhaps, 900 yards to cover between ovr
boulder and the cliffs, and then to searchi
out a suitable shelter for our stand against
the terrifying things that were pursuing ~
They were rapidly overhauling us whes
Tars Tarkas cried to me to hasten ahs,a
and discover, If possible, the sanctuary ws
| sought The suggestion was good on
| Tor thus many valuable minutes m,Rn, NJ
saved to us, and, throwing every ounce of
my earthly muscles into the effort, cleared
the remaining distance between myself and
the cliffs in great leaps that put me at theft
base In moment. ~
The cliffs rose perpendicularly directlv
from the almost level sward of the yallev
There was no accumulation of fallen debria
forming more or less rough ascent to them
as is the case with nearly all other cliffs 4
have ever| seen. -
The scattering boulders that had fallen
from above and lay upon or partly buried
In the turf were the only indication that
any dislntegration of the massive, towering
pile OF rocks ever had taken place.
My first cursory inspection of the fan.
of the cliffs filled my heart with forebodIngs
since nowhere could discern, except whers
the weird herald stood still shrleking hi,
shrill summons, the faintest Indication Of
even bare foothold upon the lofty escarp.
ment.
To my right the bottom of the cliff was
lost in the dense foliage of the forest which
terminated at it's very foot rearing its gor-
geous plumage hundreds of feet against its
stern and forbidding neighbor. Z
To the left the cliff ran, apparently un.
broken, across the head of the broad yal-
ley, to be lost in the outlines Of what ap.
peared to be range of mighty mountains
that skirted and confined the valley in every
direction.
Perhaps a thousand feet from me the
river broke, as 1t seemed, directly from the
base of the. cliffs and as there seemed not
the remotest chance for escape in that
direction, l turned my attention again to.
ward the forest.
The cliffs lowered above me good ave
tlouSaUu leels -lHe sun was hot quite upon
them and they loomed a dull yellow In their
own shade. Here and there they were
broken with streaks and patches of duslV
red, green and occasional areas of whia
quartz
Altogether, they were very beautiful bit
fear that I did not regard them with
particularly appreciative eye on this M
first inspection of them.
Just then I was absorbed in them only
dtttpo Of aRaa md g1xf Oh
ran quickly, time and again, over their yaa
expanse in search of some Granny Ct
crevice I came suddenly to loathe them
as the prisoner must loathe the walls of
his dungeon.
Tars Tarkas was approaching me rapidly
and still more rapidly came the awful hofde
at his heels. A sa
1t seemed the forest now or nothing
and / was just on the point of motionlpS
Tars Tar!Sas to follow me in that dlreclon
when the sun passed the cliffs zenith, ana
as the bright rays touched the dull surface
It burst out into n million scintillant llgha
of FURNISHED gold, of flaming red, OF soh
green and cleaning whites--a more kof
geous and inspiring spectacle human sls
has never rested upon.
The face of the entire cliff was, as lalsL
inspection conclusively proved, SO shot VIII
veins and patches OF solid gold as t9pFE
seut the appearance of solid wall OF WAt
metal except where IL was broken py oaf
groupings of ruby emerald and dlamops
alluring indication OF the ssA
and unguessable riches which lay asspN
buried behind this magnificent snrlaos'
But what caught NV most interesIea -
tention az the moment that the sun - e.
set the el4f'S face .ashimmer was the -
eFal black spots which now appeared ouss
plainly In evidence high across the EoFsssAs
wall close to the fsrest's top ana eAtshaitz
apparently below and behind the pfahsnss
Almost Immediately I recognised -
for what they We're the dark openlnss =
caves entering the solid walls-possipis -
nues of escape or temporary sheller pes-=
we but reach them
There was but a single way, ana -
led through the mighty, towering tresf -
our right That could scale them -
full we'll, but Tars rarkas, with MS masp1
bulk and enormous weight would me
a task possibly quite beyond his proves :
his skill.
Martians are at best but poor ellmesla
Upon the entire surface OF thar a1s'7s
planet /. before never had seen 2 nln
that exceeded 1000 feet IN nslzs
above the dead sea bottoms, and =
ascent was usually gradual, nearly g u
they present but few oppoftph's'z=
for the practice of. climbing.
However, there was nothing else 70 -
slider than an attempt 20 scale tns - -
to the elf. in an EFFORT 70 Fsass
tie caves above.
The Thark grasped the possibilities ~
The difficulties Of the plan az once pnt -
vas no alternative, and so We SET eas -
aly for the trees nearest the elin
Our relentless puTsaeFs were nov -
% u.s. 50 close that Il seemed that : Has
1e an utter impozslbillty for the JsdaHz
fhark 70 reach the forest in adfanss
hem nor was there any eonsiazIz
sill Ia the efforts that TaTs Tarkas -
1or the green naen Of Barsoom DO %.
sh night, nos ever before had I aeaa
leelng from death Ia Whatsoever Iafh
night haye confronted him.
But that Tare Tarkas was tue
u the brave he had proved thonaaaas
ines yes, tens OF thousands IN eoaaz
Mortal copbafs with men and nszsz
And 50 l knew that there vas -
'eason than fear Of death behind hls
Is he knew that greater noAsz
ride O. honor sDurred me 20 eseap7 -
leree destroyers. =.
In my case L was l0Te-leFe g
llvIna Deiah Tharls ana tAe ezaze z.
fhark's great and sudden love e
'oQld not fathom Tor Il il eflsHsI
hey seek death than lIaEfheAa =Az=
rnsl iotelesa. anhappx heepie
ff4.zs*s..sse<z - aEanzznHz