The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-02-20


 the bosom of Iss, the river of mystery,
 back from the shore of the sea of Ko-
 rus and the valley Dor.
 "Ah, my prince," he continued, as though no thought had interrupted his greeting, "that you are back is suf1- ! cient, and let Hor Vastus' sword have
 the high honor of being first at they feet"
 With these words the noble fellow
 unbuckled his scabbard and flung his sword upon the ground before me- E Could you know the customs and the ! character of red Martians you would
 appreciate the depth of meaning that that simple act conveyed to me and to all about us who witnessed it. The thing was equivalent to saying: My sword, my body, my life, my soul, are yours, to do with as you wish. UEtil death and after death look to you alone for authority for my every
 act. Be you right or wrong, your word l shall be my only truth. Whoso raises
 his hand against you must answer to my sword"
 It is the cath of fealty that men oc- i casionally pay to jeddak whose high 1 character and chivalrous acts have in- spired their enthusiastic love of his fol- lowers. Never had I known this high tribute paid to & lesser mortal. There was but one response pos
 sihle.' stopped and lifted the sword
 from the ground, raised the hilt to my
 lips, and then, stepping to Hor vastus,
 I buckled the weapon upon him with
 my own hands. "Hor vastus,' said, placing my hand upon his shoulder, "you know best the promptings of your own heart.
 That shall need your sword have little doubt, but accept from John Car ter upon his sacred honor the assur- ance that he will never call upon you to draw this sword other than in the
 cause of truth, justice and righteous ness."
 'sThat I knew, my prince,' he re- piled, "ere ever threw my beloved blade at thy feet"
 As we spoke other fliers came and ] went between the ground and the bat
 tleship, and presently a larger boat was launched from above, one capable of carrying dozen persons perhaps, and dropped lightly near us. As she ] touched, an officer sprang from her deck to the ground and, advancing to Hor Vastus, saluted.
 'Kantos Kan desires that this party l whom we have met be brought i'm l mediately to the deck of the Xava- rian,' he said.
 As we approached the little craft I
 looked about for the members of my party and for the first time noticed that Thuvia was not among them. Immediately Hor vastus dispatched l dozen air scouts in as many direc- 1 tions to search for her. It could not be possible that she had gone far since we had last seen her. We others stepped to the deck of the craft that
 had been sent to fetch US and mo
 ment later were upon the Xavarian. The first man to greet me was Kan tos Kan himself. My old friend had 1 won to the highest place in the navy of Helium,. but he was still to me the same brave comrade who had shared I with me the privations of Warhoon dungeon, the terrible atrocities of the great games and later the dangers of
 our search for Dejah Thoris within the hostile city of Zodanga. Then had been an unknown wan
 derer upon strange planet and he a simple padwar in the navy of Helium. Today he commanded all Helium's great terrors of the skies, and was a prince of the house of Tardos Mors,
 jeddak of Helium.
 He did not ask me where had been.
 Like Hor Vastus, he, too,l dreaded the truth and would not be the one to
 wrest statement from me. That it | must come some time he we'll knew, but until 1t came he seemed satisfied to but know that was with him once more.
 | He greeted Carthoris and Tars Tar kas' with the keenest delight, but he asked neither where he had been. He could scarcely keep his hands off the boy. n
 aYou do not know, John Carter" he
  this son of. yours. It is as though all the great love we bore his noble father
 and his poor mother had been centered in him. When it became known that
 he was lost 1O,OOO,OO0 people wept."
 f'What mean you, Kantos Kan,"
 whispered, "by his poor mother?" for
 the words had seemed to carry sinis- ter meaning which could not fathom. He drew me to one side. "For year." he said, lever since Carthoris disappeared, Dejah Thoris | has grieved and mourned for her lost
 boy. The blow of years ago when you did not return from the atmosphere plant was lessened to some extent by the duties of motherhood, for your son was born that very night.
 "That she suffered terribly then all Helium knew, for did not all Helium suffer with her the loss of her lord?
 "But with the boy gone there was
 nothing left, and after expedition upon expedition returned with the same
 hopeless tale of no clew as to his where abouts our beloved princess dropped
 lower and lower until all who saw her felt that it could be but matter of | days ere she went to join her loved 1 ones within the precincts of the valley Dor.
 | "As last resort Mors Kajak, her 1 father, and Tardos Mors, her grandfa- | ther took command of two mighty eX-