The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1921-03-26

The roof of the enclosure was
solid glass about four or five 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 dame
ter.
Five or six had already hatched
and the grotesaue caricatures which
sat blinking in the sunlight were
enough to cause, me to doubt my san
fly. 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 be
used at will either as arms or legs.
Their eyes were set at the extreme
sides of their heads trifle above the
center and protruded in such man.
ner that they could be, directed either
forward or back and also independent
1y 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
M Albinos. while the pupil is dark.
The eyehall itself is very white, as
are the teeth. These latter add a most
ferocious appearance to an otherwise
fearsome and terrible countenance. as
the lower tusks curve upward to sharp
points which end about where the eyes
OF earthly human beings are located.
TIE Wilderness 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 as /
stood watching the hideous little mon
sters break from their shells I failed
to note the approach of score Of
fuIl-grown Martians from behind me.
They might have captured me easily.
but their intentions were far more
sinister. 1t was the rafting Of the
accOutrements Of the foremost war
,rior which warned me. Had not the
yifle OF the leader of the party swung
from its fastenings beside his saddle
! n such d way rs to strike against the
hutt OF his great metal-shod spear 1
should have snuffed out without ever
Knowing that death was near me. But
ne little sound caused me to turn,
and there upon me, not ten feet from
NV breast, was the point of that huge
snear. q spear forty feet long, tipped
! vtth cleaning metal, and held low at
the side Of . mounted replica of the
Mttle devils had been watching.
But how puny and harmless they
cov looked beside this huge and ter
,tsc incarnation Of hate, Of vengeance.
ara 81 death. The man himself, for
~uch / may call him, was fully fifteen
eect IN height and, on earth, would
have weighed some four hundred
pounds.
Ana his mount! How can earthly
cords describe It'll It lowered ten feet
II the shoulder; had four legs on
elther side: broad fat tail. larger a:
the tip than at the root, and which
y held straight ont behind while rum
Ming: gaping mouth which split It's
head from its snout to ifs long, mas
! siye neck.
like its master, II was entirely de-
void Of hair, but was Of dark slate
color and exceeding smooth and CLOS
~ Its belly was white and Its legs
ahafied from the slate Of its shoulders
and hips to vivid yellow at the feet.
Unarmed and naked as was, the
flrst law OF nature manifested itself
IN the only possible solution Of my
immediate problem. and that was to
ri out Of the vicinity Of the point
Of the charging spear. Consequently
/ gave q very earthly and at the same
dine s,iperhuman leap to reach the
Ton or the Marian incubator, tor such
had determined It must be.
nv effort was crowned with sue
cess which appalled, me no less than II
seemed to surprise the Marian war
rsors. Tor II carried me fully thirty
feet into the air and landed me hun
dred FEET from my pursners and on
the opposite side Of the enclosure.
alighfed upon the soft moss easily
.ns without mishap. and turning saw
~ er.emies lined up slfpe tne furths1