Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-14

go on down the ages to your final ex.
tinction but little above the plane Of the
dumb brutes that serve you! a people
without written language, without art,
without homes without love; the victims
Of cons of the horrible community idea.
owning everything in common. even to
your women and children, has resulted in
your owning nothing in common You
hate each other as you hate all else except
yourselves. Come back to the ways of our
common ancestors, come back to the light
Of kindlness and fellowship.
The way Is open to you; you will find
the hands of the red men stretched out
to aid you. Together we may do still
more to reEenerate our dying planet. The
granddaughter of the greatest and might.
lest Of the red jeddaks has asked you
Will you Gomez"
Lorquas Ptomel and the warriors sat
looking silently and intently at the young
woman for several moments after she had
ceased speaking What was passing i'm
their minds no man may know, but that
they were moved | truly believe, and If
one man high among them had been
strong enough to rise above custom. that
moment would have marked a new and
mighty era for Mars.
saw Tars Tarias rise to speak and
on his face was such an expression as |
had never seen upon the Countenance Of a
green Martian warrior. 1t bespoke an in.
ward and mighty battle with self. with
heredity, with age.old custom, and as he
opened his mouth to speak look almost
of benignlty. of kindliness, momentarily
lighted up his fierce and terrible counte-
nance.
What words OF moment were to have
fallen from his lips were never spoken as
just then q young warrior, evidently
sensing the trend of thought among the
4 4. q
the rostrum, and striking the frail captive
a powerful blow across the face, which
felled her to the floor. placed his foot upon
her prostrate form. and turning toward
the assembled council broke into peals of
horrid, mrthless laughter.
For an instant l thought Tars Tarkas
would strike him dead. nor did the aspect
of Lorquas Ptomel augur any too favor.
ably for the brute, but the mood passed.
their old selves reasserted their ascend
ency and they smiled.
1t was portentous however. that they
did not laugh aloud. for the brute's act
constituted side-splittng witticism ac-
Cording to the ethics which rule green
Martian humor.
| think l must have sensed something
of what was coming, for I realize now
that was crouched as for a spring. as l
saw the blow aimed at her beautiful up
turned, pleading face, and ere the hand
descended / was half way across the hall.
Scarcely had his hideous laugh rang out
but once when was upon him. The brute
was II feet in height and armed to the
teeth. but | believe that / could have ac.
counted for the whole room full in the ter
rife intensity of my rage.
l struck him full in the face as he
turned at my warning cry, and then, as he
drew his shortsword, | drew mine and
sprang in upon his breast, hooking one leg
over the butt of his pistol. and grasping
one of his huge tusks with my left hand l
delivered blow after blow upon his enor-
nous chest.
He could not use hts short-sword to adj
vantage because | was too close to him.
nor could he draw his pistol. which he at.
tempted to do in direct opposition to Mar
tian custom, which demands that you may
not fight fellow warrior in private COM
bat with any other than the weapon with
which you are attacked
In fact he could do nothing but make a
wild and futile attempt to dislodge me-
With all his immense bulk he was little II
any stronger than I, and it was but the