The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1921-05-06


too late. too late"
What do you mean, Dejah ThorisT
/ cried. ''That you would not have
promised yourself to the Zodangar
prince had you known that L lived|
Think you, John Carter, that
would give my heart to you yesterday
/ and today to another? l thought that
/ it lay buried with your ashes in the
/ pits Of WarhOOn, and so today / have
promised my body TO another TO save
my people from the curse of a vic
! torfous Zodangan army. 1 am as good
as married, John Carter. No longer
may you call me your princess. No
longer are you my chieftain."
II know but little of your customs
here upon BarsOOm, Dejah Thoris. but
l do know thar I love you, and if you
meant the last words you spoke to me
that day as the hordes of Warhoon
were charging down upon us. no other
man shall ever claim you as his bride.
You meant them then. my princess.
and you mean them still Say that it
is true"
Il meant them. John Carter" she
whispered. Il cannot repeat them now,
for / have given myself TO another. All.
if you had only known our ways, my
friend" she continued, half to herself,
"the promise would have been yours
long months ago. and you could have
claimed me before all others"
Then aloud she said: do you re-
member the night when you offended
me? You called me your princess
without having asked my hand OF me,
and then YOU boosted that you had
fought for me. You did not know, and
I should not have been offended I see
that now. But there was no one TO tell
YOU, what ] could not, that upon Bar
SOON there are two kinds of women in
the cities Of the red men, The one they
fight for that they may ask them in
marriage the other kind they fight for
also, but never ask their hands. When
Il man has won n woman he may adj
dress her as his princess, or in any of
the several terms which signify posses
sion. You had fought for me, but had
never asked me in marriage, and so
when YOU called me your princess. you
see" she faItered, Il was hurt, but
even then, John Carter, / did not re-
pulse you, as l should have done. until
you made it doubly worse by tauntfng
me with having won me through com
bat"
Il do not need ask your forgiveness
now, Detah ThOris," I cried You
must know that my fault was of
ignorance of your BarsoOmian customs.
What 1 failed TO do. through implicit
belief that nv DetitfOn would be pre-
sumptuOus and unwelcOme l do now,
Dejah ThOris; I ask you to be my wife,
and by all the Virginian fighting blood
that flows in my veins you shall be-"
mo, John Carter, it is useless" she
cried. hopelessly. at is useless, my
friend. You must bear the sorrow with
me. That at least we may share in
common. That, and the memory of
the brief days among the Thanks. You
must 20 now. nor ever see me again
Good-by, my chieftain that was"
Disheartened and detected, I with
drew from the room. but was not en-
tirely discouraged. nor would l admit |
that Dejah Thoris was lost to me I'M
til the ceremony had actually been |
performed
AS l wandered along the corridors. |
was rs absolutely lost in the mazes |
Of winding passageways as l had been |
before I discovered Dejah ThOris' |
apartments.
Presently ] came upon spiral run /
way leading to a lower floor, and this |
downward for several stories
until I reached the doorway of a large