The Lamar register., 1921-01-26
CHAPTER 10.
Ny Advent on Mari.

anu WelTu lhHuschpt. hHt" TINT
was on Mars not once did ] question
either my sanity or my wakefulness.
II was midday, the sun WAS shining
full upon me and the heat OF II was
rather intense upon my naked body.
yet no greater than would have been
true under similar conditions on al
Arizona desert.
little 10 my left, perhaps a hun
dred yards. appeared low. walled
enclosure about four feet In height
No water. and no other vegetation
than moss was in evidence, and az l
was somewhat thirsty | determined 20
do a little exploring.
Springing to my feet l received my
first Marian surprise. for the effort,
which on Earth would have brought
me standing upright. carried me into
the Martian air 10 the height OF about
three yards alighted softly upon
the ground. however. without appre-
ciable shock or jar. Now commenced
series of evoiutions which even then
seemed ludicrous IN the extreme. My
muscles, perfectly attuned and accus-
toned TO the force OF gravity on
Earth, played the mischief with me In
attempting for the first time TO cope
with the lesser gravitstion and lower
air pressure on Mars.
was determined, however. to eI-
plore the low structure which was the
only evidence Of habitation In sight,
and so hit upon the unique plan Of
reverting to first principles In locotno-
ton. creeping. I did fairly well at
this and In few moments had
reached the low. encircllnR wall OF the
enclosure. ! cautiously gained my feet
and peered over the top upon the
strangest sight IL had ever been given
me TO see.
The roof OF the enclosure was
solid glass about four or fiye inches
in thickness. and beneath this were
several hundred large eggs, perfectly
round and snowy white. The eggs
were nearly uniform in size. being
about two and one-half feet In diane
ter.
Five or six had already hatched
and the grotesque carfcatures which
sat blinking IN the sunlight were
enough to cause me to doubt my san
ity. They seemed mostly head. with
little scrawny bodies. long necks and
six legs. or. as I afterward learned,
two legs and two arms. with an inter
mediary pair OF limbs which could he
used at Will either as arms or legs.
Their eyes were set at the extreme
sides Of their hends trifie above the
center and protruded in such man
ner that they could be directed either
forward or back and also independent
ly OF each other. thus permitting this
queer animal TO look In any direction.
or in two directions at once, without
the necessity OF turning the head.
There was no hair on their bodies
which were OF very light yellow
green color. In the adults, as ! was
TO learn quite soon, this color deepens
to an olive green and Is darker In the
male than In the female.
The iris Of the eyes Is blood red, as
In Alhinos, while the pupil Is dark
The eyebail itself is very white. as
are the teeth These latter add a most
ferocious appearance TO an otherwise
fenrsome and terrible cOuntenance. as
the lower tusks curve upward TO sharp
points which end about where the eyes
of earthly human beings are located.
The whiteness Of the teeth is not that
of ivory. but OF the snowiest and most
cleaning OF china.
WAS given but little time to specu-
late on the wonders OF my new dis
cOvery. had seen that the eggs were
In the process OF Matching. and ns !
stood watching the hideOus little mon
sters break from their shells failed
to note the approach Of score OF
full-grown Martians from behind me.
They might have captured me easily.
but their Intentions were far more
sinister. II WAS the rattling OF the
accoutrements OF the foremost war
riOr which warned me Had not the
rifle of the leader OF the party swung
from its fastenings beside his saddle
In such way as TO strike against the
butt Of his great netal-shod spear
should have snuffed out without ever
knowing that death was near me. Bur
the little sound caused me to turn
and there upon me, not ten feet from
my breast. was the point Of that huge
speur spear forty feet long tipped
with cleaning metal and held low nj
the side of mounted replica OF The
little devils ! had been watching.
But how puny and harmless they