The Aberdeen weekly., 1921-03-04

about among the desks and chairs like
some monstrous grasshopper. After
| bruIslng myself severely, much 10 the
/ amusement of the Martians. l again
had recourse to creeping. but this did
not suit them and was roughly
.1erked TO my feet by towering fell
f, low who had laughed most heartily at
my misforUunes.
| As he banged me down upon my
feet his face was bent close to mine
and 1 did the only thing gentleman
might do under the circumstances of
brutality. boorishneSS and lack of con
/ sideration for strangers rights; l
swung my fist squarely TO his Jaw and
/ he Went down like u felled OK. As
he sunk to the floor I wheeled around
with my back toward the nearest desk,
/ expecting TO be overwhelmed by the
vengeance of his fellows, out deter
I mined To give them as good battle
/ as the unequal odds would permit be-
fore l gave up my life.
I, My fears were groundless. however.
I as the other Martians. at first struck
dumb with wonderment. finally broke
I into wild peaIs of laughter and an-
/ plause. I did not recognize the ap-
plause as such. be- Letter when I had
4 become acquainted with their customs.
/ l learned that l had won what they
/ seldom accord, a manifestation of APP
probation.
/ The fellow whom ] had struck lay
+ where he had fallen. nor did any of his
mates approach him. Tars Tarlas ad-
vanced toward me. holding out one of
( his arms andrve thus proceeded to the
/ plaza without further mishap. l did
not. of course. know the reason for
which we had come TO the open, but
I / was not long in being enlightened.
/ They first repeated the word SAX"
/ Il number of times, and then Tars Tar
/ lSas made several jumps. repeating
the same word before each leap; then,
/ turning 70 me, he said. SAX" / saw
what they were after. and gathering
myself together | ''sakked" with such
marvellous success that / cleared a
/ good hundred and fifty feet; nor did
/ this time lose my equilibrium, but
! landed sauarely upon my feet without
falling. I then returned by easy jumps
4 of twenty-five or thirty feet to the
3 iIIIic group Ol WaFTfOIS-
/ My exhibition had been. witnessed
by several hundred lesser Martians,
! and they Immediately broke into de-
mands for a repetition. But l was
both hungry and thirsty, and ignored
! the repeated commands to SAX" and
each time they were made motioned
/ to my mouth and rubbed my stomach.
/ Tars Tarkas and the chief exchanged
/ a few words, and the former, calling
! to a young female among the throng.
gave her some Instructions and mo-
! toned me to accompany her.
! grasped her proffered arm and to-
! gether we crossed the plaza toward a
large building on the far side. e
/ Ny fair companion was about eight
] feet tall. having just arrived at ma
| turity. but not yet to her full height.
/ She was Of light Oliye-green color,
i with a smooth, glossy hide. Her name.
as l afterward learned, was Sola. and
4 she belonged to the retinue of Tars
! Tarkas.. She conducted me to a spa
cious chamber in one of the buildings
/ fronting on the plaza, and which, from
/ the litter of silks and furs upon the
floor, 1 took TO be the sleeping quar-
tiers of several of the natives.
/ Sola motioned me TO be seated upon
! a pile of silks near the center of the
i room, and, turning, made a peculiar
/ kissing sound. as though signaling TO
some one in an adjoining room. In
response TO her call I obtained my
/ first sight of new Martian wonder
1t waddled in on its ten short legs
and squatted down before the girl like
an obedient puppy. The thing was
| about the size of Shetland pony, but
| its head bore a slight resemblance to
that of a frog except that the jaws
were equipped with three rows of
| long, sharp tusks.