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


| year from the horrid fate that awaited
them at the conclusion of the voluntary
| pilgrimage.
If 1t could open to the red men the
fair valley Dor it would have accom-.
! plished much. and in the land of lost
souls, between the mountains of Otz
! and the ice barrier. were many broad
acres that needed no irrigation to bear
rich harvests.
| Here at the bottom of d.;ing world
was the only naturally productive area
! upon its surface. Here alone were
dews and rains; here alone was an
| open sea; here was water In plenty
and all this was but the stamping
ground of fierce brutes. and from its
beauteous and fertile expanse the
wicked remnants of two once mighty
races barred all the other millions Of
| Barsoom.
| Could 1 but succeed in once breaking
! down the barrier of religious superstl-
ton which had kept the red races from
this El Dorado it would be a fitting
memorial to the immortal virtues of
my princess-I should have again serv-
ed Barsoom, and Dejah Thoris' martyr
! dom would not have been in vain.
On the morning of the second day
we raised the great feet of transports
and their consorts at the first flood of
dawn and soon were near enough to
exchange signals.
! I may mention here that rado-aero-
grams are seldom if ever used in war
time or for the transmission of secret
dispatches at any time, for as often as
one nation discovers n new cipher or
inverts new instrument for wireless
purposes its neighbors bend every ef-
fort until they are able to intercept and
translate the messages.
For so long time has this gone on
that practically every possibility of
| wireless communication had been eX.
hausted, and no nation dares transmit
dispatches of Importance in this way.
Tars Tarkas reported all we'll with
the transports. The battleships passed
through to take an advanced position,
and the combined fleets moved slowly
over the ice cap, hugging the surface
closely to prevent detection by the
therns whose land we were approach
ing.
Far in advance of all thin line of
one man air scouts protected us from
surprise, and on either side they flank
ed us, while smaller number brought
up the rear some twenty miles behind
the transports.
In this formation we had progressed
toward the entrance to Omean for sew
eral hours when one of our scouts re
turned from the front to report that
the conelike summit of the entrance
was in sight. At almost the same in
stant another scout from the left flank
came racing toward the flagship.
His very speed bespoke the impor
tance of his information. Kantos Kan
and l awaited him upon the little for
ward deck which corresponds with the
bridge of earthly battleships. Scarce
ly had his tiny fier come to rest upon
the brodd landing deck of the flagship
ere he was bounding UP the stairway
to the deck where we stood.
"a great feet of battleships south
southeast, my prince!" he cried. "There
and they are bearing down directly
upon u.s."
"The thern spies We're not in the
palace of John Carter for nothing"
said Kantos Kan TO me. "Your or.
ders, prince"
Dispatch ten battleships to guard
the entrance to Omean. with orders to
let no hostile vessel enter or leave
the shaft. That will bottle up the
great feet of the Black Pirates"
Form the balance of the battleships
into great V, with the apex pointing
directly south-southeast, Order the
transports, surrounded by their con
voys. to follow closely in the wake of
the battleships until the point of the
V has entered the enemy's line; then
the V must open outward at the apex,
the battleships of each leg engage the
enemy fiercely, and drive him back to
form lane through his line into
which the transports, with their con-
voys, must race at top speed that they
may gain position above the temples
and garoens of the therns.
Here let them land and teach the
holy therns such, q lesson in feroGious
warfare as they will not forget for
countless ages. 1t had not been my
intention to be distracted from the
main issue of the campaign, but we
must settle this attack with the therns
once and for all or there will be no
peace for us while our fleet remains
near por and our chances Of ever re-
turning to the outer world Will be
greatly minimized."