Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-04-17
CHAPTER XIV. -teontinued)

7No MY surprise, ia felt much as did lie
l. said he had always hated the war with
other Mezops when there were so many
alien races to fight against I suggested
.nat we hail the chief and request a parley |;
but when ia did so tho old fool thought
mat we were afraid and with loud cries
OF exultatlon urged his warriors upon us
So we opened up on them, but at my sug-
gestlon centered our fire upon the chiefs
canoe The result was that In about thirty
seconds there was nothing left Of that war
dugout but handful of splnters while
IT'S crew-thosc who were not killed-were
Struggling in the water battling with the
myriad terrible creatures that had risen to
devour them.
We saved some of them but the ma iority
died Just as had Hooja and the crew of his
canoe that time our second shot capsized
them.
Again we called to the remaining war
riors 10 enter into parley with us but the
chefs son was there and he would not
now that he had seen his father killed lie
was all for revenge. So we had to omen
up on the brave fellows with all our guns ;
but u didn't last long at that for there
chahced TO be wiser heads among the
Luanians than their chief or his son had
possessed. Presently an old warrior who
commanded one of the dugouts surrendered
AFTER that they came in one by one until
all had laid their weapons upon our decks
Then we called together upon the flagship
all our captains to give the affair greater
Welsht and dignity. and all the principal
men OF Iuana We had conquered them
and they expected either death or slavery !:
nut they deserved neither and | told them
so. III Is always my habit here in pelucidar
10 impress upon these savage people that
mercy is as noble a quality as physical
'raNerN. ana that next to the mon who fight
shoulder To shoulder with one we should
ubilOf the brave lo Uth
ana u we are victorious, award them both
the mercy aud honor that are their due
bF adhering To this policy | have won
To the federation many great and noble pco-
PIES VINO under the ancient traditions Of
the inner world would have been massarrcd
or enslaved after we had conouered then, I.
ana thus ! won the I.uanians | gave them
their freedom and returned their weapons
to them after they had sworn LOYALTY to
me and friendship and peace With ia. and
maze the old fellow VINO had had the
good sense to surrender King of I,uana
for both the old chief and his only son had
died in the batt,.
When | sailed away from Iuana she was
included among the kinsdoms of the en-
pre-. whose boundaries we're thus pu.. ID
eastward several hundred miles
We now returned t. Anoroc and theuc,
To the mainland where | again took up the
campaign against the NIahars. marching
from one great bIried city to another until
we had passed FAR north of Amoz into "A
country where | had never been. At each
city we were victorious killing or capturing
the Sagoths and driving the Mahars further
away
] noticed that they always fed toward
the north. The Sagoth prisoners we usually
round quite ready &c transfer their allegi-
ance to us, for they are little more than
brutes. and when they found that we could
MI their stomachs and give them plenty of
hghting, they were nothing loath to march
with us against the next Mahar city and
battle with men of their own race.
Thus we proceeded. swinging in a great
half-circle north and west and south again
until we had come back to the edge of the
l.idi Plains north of Thura. Here we
overc;tme the Mahar city that had ravaged
the Land of Awful Shadow for so many
ages. When we marched on to Thuria
Goork and his people went mad with Joy
at the tidings we brought them.
During. this long march of conquest we
had passed through seven countries peo-
pied by primitive human tribes who had
not yet heard OF the federation. and sue
ceedsd in joining them all to the empire
1t was noticeable that each of these peo-
pies had Mahar city situated near by
which had drawn upon them for slaves
and human food for so many ages that not
even in legend had the population any folk
tale which did not in some degree reflect
an inherent terror of the reptlians.
In each of these countries left an officer
and warriors TO train them in military dis
cipline and prepare them to receive the
arms that I intended furnishing them as
rapidly as Perrys arsenal could turn them
out, for we felt that il would be a long long
time before we should see the last of the
Mahars That they had flown north but
until we should be gone with
our great army and terrifying guns I was
positive, and equally sure was | that they
would presently return.
The task of Kidding Pellucidar of these
hideous creatures is one which in all prob
ability Will never be entirely completed. for