Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-07-03

in wiie-eyed expectancy, knowing not
whether to pray for our victory or our
defeat
Several among them, proud daughters
no doubt, of some of Barsoom's noblest
warriors snatched swords from the hands
Of the fallen and fell upon the guards OF
Issus but they were soon cut down. glorious
martyrs to a hopeless cause.
The men with us fought well, but never
since Tars Tarkas and I fought out that
long, hot afternoon shoulder to shoulder
against the hordes of warhoon in the dead
sea bottom before Thark, had seen two
men fight to such good purpose and with
such unconquersble ferocity as the young
red man and fought that day before the
throne Of Issus. Goddess of Death and OF
Life Eternal
Man by man those who stood between
us and the carven sorapus wood bench
went down before our blades. Others
swarmed In to fill the breach, but Inch by
inch, foot by foot, we won nearer and
nearer to our goal. ,N
Presently cry went up from a section
of the stands nearby. Rise, slaves !"
Rise, slaves! =! II rose and fell until 1t
swelled to a mighty volume of sound thak
swept in great blllows round the entire
amphitheatre.
For an instant, as though by common
assent, we ceased our fighting to look for
the meaning of this new note nor did II
take but n moment to translate Its signih-
canoe. In all parts Of the structure the
female slaves were falling upon their mas
ters with whatever weapon came first to
hand.
A dagger snatched from the harness Of
her mistress was waved aloft by some fair
slave, its shimmering blade crimson with
the life-blood of It's owner: swords plucked
from the bodies of the dead about them
heavy ornaments which could be turned
into bludgeons-such we're the implements
with which these fair women wreaked the
fa., x-h trlf az
but partially recompense them for the un-
speakable cruelties and indignities which
their black masters had heaped upon them
And those who could find no other weapons
used their strong fingers and their cleaning
teeth.
It was at once sight to make one shud-
der and to cheer but in a brief second we
were engaged once more in our own battle.
with only the unquenchable battle-cry of
the women to remind US that they still
fought-"Rise, slaves r. 'RiBe, slaves !"
Only a single thin rank of men now stood
between US and Issus. Her face was blue
with terror. Foam fecked her lips. She
seemed too paralyzed with fear to move.
Only the youth and / Fought now. Tho
others all had fallen, and I was like to have
gone down, too, from a nasty longsword
cut had not n hand reached out from behind
my adversary and clutched his elbow as
the blade was falling upon me.
The youth spranB 10 my s'oe anu ran
his sword through the fellow before he
could recover to deliver another blow.
1 should have died even then, for my
sword was tight-wsdged in tho breastbone
of n dator OF the First Born.
AS the fellow went down I snatched his
sword from him, and over his PROSTATE
body looked into the eyes of the one whose
quick hand had saved mo from the first cut
of his sword It was Phaidor, the daughter
of Natal Shang.
less 10 fight them longer. All within the
arena are dead. All who charged the
throne are dead but you and this youth.
only among the seats are there left any
of your fighting men, and they and the
slave women are fast being cut down.
Listen! You can scarce hear the battle.
cry Of the women now, for nearly all are
dead. For each one of you there are ten
thousand blacks within the domains OF the
First Born Break for the open and the
Sea Of Korus.