The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-02-16

after the sun has set. because or THIS
have moved with caution"
But we reachv the upper galleries
without detection, and presently Thu
via halted us at the foot of short,
steep ascent.
CHAPTER viii.
The Black Pirstes OF Barsoom.
=" 4 lBOvE u.s." Thuvia said, "is
Ia doorway which opens on to
IH the inner gardens. have
brought you thus far. From
here on for four miles to the outer
ramparts our way will be beset by
countless dangers.
Guards patrol the courts; the tenn
pies, the gardens. Every inch Of the
ramparts themselves is beneath, the
eye of sentry"
for such an enormous force Of armed
men about . spot SO surrounded by
mystery and superstition that not
soul upon Barsoom would have dared
to approach It even had they known its
exact location.
1 questioned Thuvia, asking her
what enemies the therns could fear in
their impregnable fortress.
We had reached the doorway now,
and Thuvia was opening it.
''They fear the black pirates Of Bar
SOON, o princer' she said: From
whom may our first ancestors preserve
u.s."
The dodr swung open. The smell Of
growing things greeted my nostrils;
the cool night air blew against my
cheek.
The great banths shifted the unfa-
miliar odors, ans then with rush
they broke past as with low growls,
swarming across the gardens Of the
therns beneath the lur1d light of the
nearer moon.
Suddenly great cry arose from the
roofs Of the temples, cry Of alarm
and warning that, taken up from point
70 point, ran of to the east and to the
west, from temple, court and rampant,
until It sounded as . dim echo In the
distance.
The great Thanks long sword leaped
from it's scabbard. Thuvia shrank,
shuddering, to my side.
"What is it," asked of the girl.
For answer she pointed into the sky.
1 looked, and there, above, us, I
saw shadowy,b bodies fitting hither and
thither high over temple, courts and
garden.
Almost Immediately flashes Of light
broke from these strange objects
There was a roar Of musketry and
then answering flashes and roars from
temple and rampant.
"The Black Pirates of Barsoom, 0
princev' said Thuvia.
In great circles the air craft of the
marauders swept lower and lower to-
ward the defending forces Of the
therns. o.
volley after volley they vomited
upon the temple guards. Volley on
volley crashed through the thin air
toward the feeting and Elusive fliers.
AS the pirates swooped closer to-
ward the ground thern soldiery poured
from the temples into the gardens and
courts. The sight Of them in the open
brought, score of fliers darling to-
ward us from all directions.
"a The therns fired upon them through
shields affixed to their rifles, but on,
steadily on, came the grim black craft.
They were small fiers, for the most
part, built for two to three men. A
few larger ones there were, but these
kept high aloft, dropping bombs upon
the templest from their keel batteries.
At length, with a concerted rush, ev-
identity in response to signal Of COM
mand, the pirates in our immediate vi
cinity dashed recklessly toNthe ground
in the very midst of the thern soldiery.
Scarcely waiting for their craft to
touch, the creatures manning them
leaped among the therns with the fury
of demons.
Such fighting! Never had witness
ed it's like before. had thought the
green Martians the most ferocious
warriors in the universe, but the aw-
full abandon with which the Black Pr
rates threw themselves upon their foes
transcribed everything ever before
had seen.
Beneath the brilliant light Of Mars
two glorious moons the whole scene
presented itself in vivid distinctness.
The golden haired, white skinned
therns hattled with desperate courage
In hand to hand conflict with their
ebony skinned foemen.
title e enc side stood Thuvia, the