The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1921-04-08

! After partdklng OF my evening mea
! of cheese-like food and vegetable mill
l sought out Sofa. whom l found work
| ing by the light of torch upon some
of Tars Tarkas' trappings. She looked
| up at my approach. her face lighting
with pleasure and with welcome.
Il am glad you came" she said
''Dejah Thoris sleeps and am lonely
promised to tell you my story. OF
rather the story of my parents From
what l have learned of you and the
ways of your people I am sure that
the tale will not seem strange To you
but among green Martians it has ne
parallel within the memory of the old
est living Thank nor do our legends
hold many similar tales
My mother was rather small, i'm
fact too small to be allowed the re-
sponSibiIities of maternity. as our
chieftains breed principally for size.
She was also less cold and cruel than
most green Marian women, and caring
little for their society. she often
roamed the deserted avenues of Thark
alone. or went and sat among the wild
flowers that deck the nearby hills,
thinking thoughts and wishing wishes
which | believe | alone among Thank
tan women today may understand. for
am | not the child OF my mother?
"And there among the hills she met
a young warrior, whose duty it was TO
guard the feeding zitidars and thoats
and see that they rOamed not beyond
the hills. She trusted him and told of
the awful repugnance she felt for the
crueltfes of their kind for the hideouS.
Ioveless lives they must ever lead, and
then she waited for the storm of de
nunciation to break from his cold. hard
lips; but instead he took her in his
arms and kissed her.
They kept their love a secret for
six long years. She. my mother, was
of the retinue of the great Tai Hajus.
while her lover was simple warrior,
wearing only his own metal. Had
their detection from the traditions of
the Thanks been discovered both
would have paid the penalty in the
great arena before Tai Hajus and the
assembled hordes.
The egg from which I came was
hidden beneath great glass vessel
upon the highest and most inaccessible
of the partially ruined towers of an
cient Thank. Once each year my moth
er visited il for the five long years it
lay there in the process of incubation.
She dared not come oftener. for in
the mighty guilt of her conscience she
feared that her every move was
watched. During this period my IA
liz.
warrior and had taken the metal from
several chieftains. His advance was
rapid. and he soon stood high in the
councils of Thank. But one day he was
ordered away upon a long expedition
to the ice-cad south, to make war up
on the natives there and despoil them
of their furs.
He was gone for four years, and
when he returned all had been over
for three; for about a year after his
departure. and shortly before the time
for the return of AN expedition which
had gone forth TO fetch the fruits of
Il community Incubator. the egg had
hatched Thereafter my mother con
tinued TO keep me in the old tower.
visiting me nightly and lavishing upon
me the love the community life would
have robbed rs both Of.
she taught ME rapidly the language
and customs Of my kind, and one night
she told me the story have told to you
UP 10 this point. impreSSing upon me
the necessity for absolute secrecy and
the great caution ! must exercise after
She had placed me With the other
Young Tharks 10 permit no one to guess
that / was further advanced i'm edu-
cation than they and then drawing me
close to her she whispered in my ear
the name of my father.
And then a light flashed out upon
the darkness of the tower chamber.
md there stood Sarkoja, her cleaning.
laleful eyes fixed in a frenzy of lOath- !
ng and contempt upon my mother !
That she had heard the entire story
was apparent, and that she had suS-
1ected something wrong from my
long nightly absences from |
ler quarters accounted for her pres /
.nee there on that fatefu night.
''Sarkoja FASTENED TO Tai Haius TO |
'eport her discovery. ana while she T
vas gone my mother, wrapping me in I
he silks and furs of her night cover
ngs, so that ! was scarcely noticeable, /
descended to the streets and ran Wild
V toward the outskirts of the city. i'm
he direction which led to the far
outh. out toward the man whose pro-
ection she might not claim, but on
whose face she wished to look once
more before she died.
AS we neared the city's southern
a sound came 10 Us from
cross the messy fiat, from the direc-
ion of the only pass through the hills
which led TO the gates. the pass by
which caravans from either north or
Outh or east or west would enter the
fly My mother from her hiding
lace saw that the expedition was the
caravan bearing the young
'harks. Instantly her plan was
and as a great chariot swung
lose to our hiding place she slipped
tealthily in upon the trailing tail
GARD. crouching low in the shadow of
he high side. strainng me TO her
osom in a frenzy Of love.
"She knew, what | did not. that
ever again after that night would she
old me to@her breast, nor was it like
,,-a, lonT- ,,v.o,, o.,.b !