Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-03-03
(Continued.)

(Continued.)
nodded to one of the soldiers, who
left the chamber, returning presently
with the things that Xodar had re-
quested. The black knet beside the
body and, dipping corner of the cloth
in the thoat oil, rubbed for a moment
on the dead face before him.
Then he turned to me with a smile.
| pointing to his work | looked and
saw that where Xodar had applied
the thoat oil the face was white-as
white as mine-and then Xodar seized
the black hair of the CORPSE and with
sudden wrench tore it all away. re-
vealing a hairless pate beneath.
Guardsmen and mobiles pressed close
about the silent witness upon the mar
BILE floor. Many were the exclama-
tlons of astonishment and questioning
wonder as Xodars acts confirmed the
suspicion which he had held all the
time.
"A thern!' whispered Tars Tarkas.
Worse than that, fear" replied
~AbNuts Dul lGL uS see.
With that he drew his dagger and
cut open locked pouch which had
dangled from the thern's harness, and
from it he brought forth a circlet of
gold set with large gem. 1t was the
mate to that which I had taken from
Sator Throg.
He was holy thern," said Xodar.
Fortunate, indeed, it is for us that he
did not escape"
The officer of the guard entered the
chamber at this juncture.
MY prince" he said, 81 have to re-
port that this fellows companion es-
capped us. think that 1t was with the
connivance of one or more of the men
at the gate. have ordered them all
under arrest"
Zodar handed him the thoat oil and
cloth. t,
with this you may discover the spy
among you," he said.
l at once ordered a secret search
within the city, for every Martian no.
BILE maintains n secret service of his
own.
A half hour later the officer of the
guard came to the chamber again to
report. This time it was to confirm
our worst fears-half the guards at the
gate that night had been theTns dis
guised as red men.
Come l cried. 'IVe must lose no
time. On to Hastor at once! Should
the therns attempt to check us at the
southern verge of the ice cap 1t may
result in the wrecking of all our plans
and the total destruction of the expe-
dition."
Ten minutes later we were speeding
through the night toward Hastor, pre-
pared to strike the first blow for the
preservation of Dejah Thoris.
Two hours after leaving my palace
in Helium, or about midnight, Kantos
Kan and | arrived at Hastor. Cartho-
ris, Tars Tarkas and Hor Vastus had
gone directly to Thark upon another
cruiser.
The transports were to get under
way Immediately and move slowly
south. The fleet of battleships would
overtake them on the morning of the
second day.
At Hastor we found all in readiness,
and so perfectly had Kantos Kan plan
ned every detail of the campaign that
within ten minutes of our arrival the
first of the fleet had scared aloft from
its dock. And thereafter. at the rate
of one second, the great ships foated
gracefully out into the night to form
a long, thin line which stretched for
miles toward the south.
The expedition could yet do much
besides rescuing Dejah Thoris If it
could but teach the people of Barsoom
the facts of the cruel deception that
had been worked upon them for count.
less ages and thus save thousands each