Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1923-02-17
CHAPTER XII.



Slowly I regained my composure
and finally essayed again to attempt
to remove the keys from the dead
body of my former jailer But as I
reached out into the darkness to To-
cate 1t ! found 10 my horror that 1t
was gone. Then the truth flashed on
me; the owners of those cleaning
eyes had dragged my prize away from
me to be devoured in their nelghbOring
lair; as they had been waiting for
days, for weeks. for months, through
all this awful eternity of my imprison-
ment to drag my dead carcass to their
feast.
For two days no food was brought
me. but then a new messenger ap-
peared and my Incarceration went on
as before, but not again did I allow
my reason to be submerged by the
horror Of my position.
Shortly after this episode another
prisoner was brought In and chained
near me- BY the dim torch light saw
that he was a red Marian and l could
scarcely await the departure of his
guards to address him. As their re-
treating footsteps died away in the
distance, I called out softly the Mar
tian word Of greeting kaor
who are you who speaks out of
the darkness7" he answered.
John Carter, a friend of the red
men of Helium."
81 am of Helium," he said, but /
do not recall your name"
And then l told nay story as l have
written it here, emitting any reference
TO my love for Dejah Thoris. He was
much excited by the news of Helium's
princess and seemed quite positive
that she and Sofa could easily have
reached point of safety from where
they left me. "Dejah Thoris and Sofa
entered the hills not five miles from
great waterway and are now prob
ably quite SAFE" he assured me.
My fellow prisoner was Kantos Kan,
a padwar QieutenanD in the navy of
Helium He had been q member of
the Inflated expedition which had
fallen into the hands of the Thanks
at the time of Dejah Thoris' capture.
During the period of our incarcera-
ton Kantos Kan and became well
acquainted, and formed warm per
sonaI friendship. A few days only !
elapsed, however before we were /
dragged forth from our dungeon for /
the great games. We were conducted I
early one morning to an enormous
.,,,bftIoo4ov ,,,l,tct, fre&ool % L,-f.s.
been built upon the surface Of the /
ground was excayated below the sur
face. 1t had partially filed with debris
so that how large it had originally
been was difficult to say. In its pres
ent condition It held the entire
twenty thousand warhoons of the as
sembled hordes.
The arena was immense but eH-
tremely uneven and unkempe Around
It the Warhoons had piled building
stone from some of the ruined edifces
of the ancient city to prevent the ami
mails and the captives from escaping
into the audience, and at each end
had been constructed cages to hold
tAACiD uiiAiA Abcll luiib NalJE "
some horrible death upon the arena.
Kantos Kan and were confined to-
gether in one Of the cages. In the
others we're wild calots, thoats, mad
green warriors and women of
other hordes, and many strange and
ferocious wild beasts Of Barsoom,
which 1 had never before seen.
Shortly after we had been Gagged
the amphitheater began to fill and
within an hour every available part Of
the seating space was occupied Oak
Kova, with his jeds and chieftains, sat
At the center Of one side of the arena
upon large raised platform.
At a signal from Oak Kovs the
ioors Of two cages were thrown open
and a dozen green Marian females