The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1921-05-06

1 ~
some monstrous grasshopper. After
bruising myself severely, much to the
amusement of the Martians, / again
had recourse to creeping, but this did
not suit them and / was roughly
jerked to my feet by a towering fell
low who had laughed most heartily at
my misfortunes.
| AS he banged me down upon my
feet his face was bent close to mine
and l did the only thing gentleman
might do under the circumstances of
brutality, boorishness and lack of con-
sideration for strangers rights; /
swung my fist squarely to his jaw and
he went down like 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, but deter
mined to give them as good a battle
as the unequal odds would permit be-
fore l gave up my life.
My fears were groundless, however.
as the other Martians, at first struck
dumb with wonderment, finally broke
into wild peals Of laughter and ap-
plause. I did not recognize the ap-
plause as such, but later, when I had
become acquainted with their customs,
/ learned that I had won what they
seldom accord, a manifestation of APP
probation.
The fellow whom 1 had struck lay
where he had fallen, nor did any of his
mates approach him. TaEs Tarkas ad-
vanced toward me, holding out one of
his arms, and we thus proceeded to the
plaza without further mishap. / did
| not, of course, know the reason for
which we had come to the open, but
was not long in being enlightened.
They first repeated the word "Sak"
a number Of times, and then Tars Tar
kas made several jumps, repeating
the same word before each leap; then,
| turning to me, he said "Sak!" / saw
what they were after, and gathering
myself together sacked" with such
marvellous success that I cleared a
| good hundred and fifty feet; nor did
l this time lose my equilibrium, but
landed squarely upon my feet without
falling. 1 then returned by easy jumps
| of twenty-five or thirty feet to the
| little group of warriors.
My exhibition had been witnessed
by several hundred lesser Martians,
and they Immediately broke into de-
mands for repetition. But 1 was
both hungry and thirsty, and ignored
| the repeated commands to "sak," and
each time they were made motioned
! to my mouth and rubbed my stomach.
| Tars Tarkas and the chief exchanged
few words, and the former calling
to q 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.
Mysfair companion was about eight
feet tall, having just arrived at ma
turity, but not yet to her full height.
She was of light olive-green color,
with smooth, glossy hide. Her name,
as / afterward learned, was Sofa, and
| Sue DelOuSeu 10 the reIlnue OF IarS
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, I took to be the sleeping quar-
tiers Of several Of the natives.
Sofa motioned me to be seated upon
a pile of silks near the center Of the
room, and, turning, made a peculiar
kissing sound, as though signaling to
some one in an adjoining room. In
response to her call obtained my
first sight of new Marian wonder.
It waddled in on its ten short legs,
and squatted down before the girl like
an obedient puppy. The thing was
about the size Of a Shetland pony, but
its head bore a slight resemblance to
that Of frog, except that the jaws
were equipped with three rows of
long, sharp tusks.