Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1921-07-29

| rlOrs anu women, and at one end was u
great raised platform upon which
squatted the most hldeous beast I had
ever put my eyes upon. He had all
the cold, hard, cruel. terrible features
of the green warriors, but accentuated
and debased by the animal passions to
which he had given himself over for
many years. There was not mark Of
| dignity or pride upon his bestia coun.
tenance, while his enormous bulk
spread itself out upon the platform
| where he squatted like some huge
devil fish, his six limbs accentuatng
the similarity In horrible and star.
Ting manner
But the sight that froze me with ap.
! prehenSion wac nat of Delah Thoris
and Sofa standing there before him,
aud the Gendish leer of him as he let
his great protruding eyes gloat upon
the lines of her beautiful figure. She
stood there erect before him, her head
high held, and even at the distance
was from them could read the scoru
and disgust upon her face as she let
her naughty glance rest without sign
of fear upon him.
Presently TAI Halus made sign
that the chamber be cleared. and that
the prisoners be left alone with him.
Slowly the chieftaIns, the warriors
! and the women melted away into the
shadows of the surrounding chambers.
aud Deiah Thoris and Sofa stood
alone before the ieddak of the Thanks.
One chieftain alone had hesitated
before departing; saw him standing
IN the shadows Of n mighty column,
his fingers neryously toying with the
hit of his great sword and his cruel
eyes bent In implacabe hatred upon
Tai Hajus. II was Tars Tarkas, and
! could read his thoughts as If they
were an open book, for the undls-
guised loathing upon his face. He was
thinking of that other woman who
forty years ago. had stood before this
beast and could have spoken n word
into his ear ut that moment the reign
of Tai HajuS would have been over;
but finally he also strobe from the
room. not knowing that he left his own
daughter al the mercy of the creature
he most ioathed
Tai llajus arose, aud |. half fearing.
half anticipating his intentions, hur.
ried TO the winding runway which led
TO the floors below. No one was near
To intercept me, and reached the
main floor of the chamber unobserved,
taking my station in the shadow of
the same column thai Tars Tarkas had
hut just deserted. As | reached the
floor Tai lIujus was speaking.
princess of Ilelium. | might wiring
mighty ransom from your people
would but retdrn YOU To them un.
harmed, hut thousand times rather
would ! watch that beautiful face
Wrilhe In the agony of torture; il shall
he long drawn OUT that promise You:
ten days of pleasure were all too Shorl
20 show the love harbOr for your
race. The tcrrOrs OF your death shall
haunt the slumbcrs of the red men
through all the ages 10 come; they Will
shudder in the shadows of the night
as their fathers tell them Of the awful
vengeance of the green men; of the
f'''N' "''' h'lSHN anu llult ullu Cruelty
OF Tai Hajus. But before that torture
you shall be mine for one short hour,
and word Of that too shall 20 forth to
TardOs Mors, Jedd:k of Hellum. your
grandfather that he may grOvel upon I
the ground In the agony of his sorrow.
Tomorrow the torture viii commence:
tonight thou art Tai Hajus' come"
He sprang down from the platform
and grasped her roughly by the arm,
but scarcely had he touched her than
| leaped between them. My short.
sword, sharp and cleaning, was in my
right hand; ! could have plunged II
into his putrid heart before he realized
that ! was upon him; but as raised
my arm TO strike | thought OF Tars
Tarkas, and, with all my rage, with all
my hatred, ! could not rob him OF that
sweet moment for which he had lived
ADD hoped all these long, weary years.
and so, Instead, swung my good right z
list full upon the point OF his law. &
without sound he slipped to the floor
10 one dead
In the same deathly silence | grasp 8
(To be Continued.) &