Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-07-05
THE CODSOF MARS
Sequel to Under the Moons Of Mas"

her with sword in hand and not be blasted
into thousand fragments by the mere fury
of her divine wrath.
Ut is the final proof" he said at last.
mo more is needed TO completely shatter
the last remnant of my superstittous pellet
in the divinity of Issus.
"She is only wicked old woman, WELD
ing a mighty power for evil through ma
chinattons that have kept her own people
and all Barsoom in religious Ignorance for
ages"
"she is still all powerful here. however,
I replied 80 II behooves us to leave at
the first moment that appears at all pro-
pitlous"
"r hope that you may find a propitous
moment" he said with laugh. Tor II Is
certain that in all my life 1 have never
seen one In which n prisoner OF the First
Born might escape"
Tonight will do as we'll as any other
time" I replied
"1t will soon be night" said Xodar,
How may aid in the adventure?'
Can you swlm7' I asked him.
mo Shiny slian that haunts the depths
Of Korus Is more at home in water than is
Xodar," he replied.
Good. The red one in all probability
cannot SWIM" said. "Snce there Is
scarce enough water In all their domains to
float the tiniest craft One Of us, therefore.
will have to support him through the sea
to the craft we select.
II had hoped that we might make the en-
tire distance below the surface but fear
that the red youth could not thus perform
the trip. Even the bravest of the brave
among them are terrorlzed at the mere
thought of deep water. for Il has been
ages since their forebears saw lake, a
river or n sea"
THE red one is to accompany us7" asked
Xodar.
Yes"
"It is we'll. Three swords are better than
two Especially when the third is mighty
as this fellows. l have seen him battle in
the arena at the rites of Issus many times.
Never until saw you fight had I seen
one who seemed unconauerable even in the
face of great odds. One m ght think you
two master and pupil. or father and son.
Come to recall his face there is n resem.
blance between YOU,
ut Is very marked when you fight
there Is the same grim smile, the same mad
dening contempt for your adversary appar-
ent In every movement of your bodies and
In every changing expression of your faces"
BE that as 1t may. Xodar. he is great
fighter. | think that we will make n trio
difficult to overcome, and IL my friend Tars
Tarkas Jeddak of Thark, were but one of
us we could fight our way from one end
Of Barsoom to the other, even though the
whole world were pitted against us"
ut will be- said Xodar. when they find
from where you have come. That Is but
one OF the superstitlons which Tssus has
fosted upon credulous humanity. She
works through the holy therns, who are as
ignorant of her real self as are the Bar.
soomlans OF the outer world
Her decrces are borne TO the therns writ.
ten In blood upon strange parchment The
fools think that they are receiving the rev.
elations of a goddess through some super.
natural agency, since they find these mes.
sages upon their guarded affairs to which
none could have access without detection
! myself have borne these messages for
Issus for many years
There is a long tunnel from the temple
of Issus to the principal temple of Natal
Shang. 1t was dug ages ago by the slaves
Of the First Born in such utter secrecy that
no thern ever guessed its existence
THE therns for their part have temples
dotted about the entire civilized world.
Here priests whom the people never see
communicate the doctrine of the mysterious
River Iss, the Valley Dor and the lost Sea