Cheyenne Wells record., 1921-08-11

We C4npe0 tn8L ulSut II uso AoSe
se tie hills We had been approaching
~ TIVE days and which marked ths
ssutheFa boundary sf this particular
"a. Our animals had been two days
wtthout drink. nsr had they had water
fer neaFiy two months. not since
shortly after leaving Thark: but -
Tars Tarkas explained to me, they ~
quire but little and can live almost In.
definitely upon the moss which covers
Barsoom, and which. he told me. holds
In its tiny stems sufncient moisture
to meet The limited demands Of the
animals.
After partaking Of my evening meal
Of cheese-like food and vegetable milk
I sought out Sola. whom found work.
Ing by the light Of q torch upon some
Of Tars Tarkas' trappings. She looked
up at my approach, her face lighting
with pleasure and with welcome.
II am glad you came" she said;
"Dejah Thorls sleeps and am lonely.
I promised to tell you my story. or
rather the story Of my parents. From
what I 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 1t has no
parallel within the memory Of the old
est living Thark, nor do our legends
hold many similar tales.
my mother was rather small. In
fact too small to be allowed the re-
sponsibilities Of maternity. As our
chieftains breed principally for size.
She was alao 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 I believe done among Thark-
Ian women today may understand. for
am not the child Of my motherf
And there among the hills she met
q young warrior, whose duty 1t was 70
guard the feeding xitidars and thoats
and $50 that they roamed not beyond
the hills. Shs trusted him and told Of
the awful repugnance she felt for the
cruslties Of their kind. for the hideous,
loveless lives they must ever lead. and
then she waited for the storm Of de-
nunciatien to break from his cold. hard
lips; but instead he took her II his
arms and kissed her.
"They kept their love . secret for
SIX long years. She, my mother. was
Of the retinus Of the great Tai Hiatus,
while her lover was Q simple warrior,
wearing only his own metal. Had
their detection from the traditions Of
the Tharks been discovered both
would have paid the penalty In the
great arena before Tai Hajus and the
assembled hordes.
The egg from which came was
hidden beneath . great glass vessel
upon the highest and most inaccessible
Of the partially ruined towers Of an
cient Thark. Once each year my moth.
or visited 1t for the favs 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
ther gained great distinction a.
warrior and had taken the metal from
several chieftains. His advance was
rapid. and he soon stood high in the
councils of Thark. But one day he was
ordered away upon q long expedition
to the ice-clad 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 year after his
departure, and shortly before the time
for the return of an expedition which
had gone forth to fetch the fruits Of
a 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 US both Of.
''She taught me rapidly the Language
and customs Of my kind, and one nigAl
she told me the story have told to you
up to this point, impresslng upon me
the necessity for absolute secrecy and
the great caution must exercise after
she had placed me with the other
young Thanks to permit no one to guess
that ! was further advanced in 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.
and there stood Sarkoja. her cleaning,
baleful eyes fixed in q frenzy Of loath-
ing and contempt upon my mother.
That she had heard the entire story
was apparent, and that she had sus-
pected something wrong from my
mothers long nightly absences from
her quarters accounted for her pres
ence there ON that fateful night.
"Sarkoja hastened to Tai Hajus to
report her discovery, and while she
was gone my mother. wrapping me in
the silks and furs Of her night cover
ings, % that was scarcely noticeable,
descended to the streets and ran wild
ly toward the outskirts Of the city, in