A PRINCESS OF MARS
MY ADVENT ON MARS
I opened my upon a and landscape. I that I was on Mars; not once did I question either my or my wakefulness. I was not asleep, no need for here; my told me as that I was upon Mars as your mind tells you that you are upon Earth. You do not question the fact; neither did I.
I myself upon a of yellowish, which around me in all for miles. I to be in a deep, basin, along the of which I the of low hills.
It was midday, the sun was full upon me and the of it was upon my body, yet no than would have been true under on an Arizona desert. Here and there were of quartz-bearing which in the sunlight; and a little to my left, a hundred yards, appeared a low, about four in height. No water, and no other than the was in evidence, and as I was thirsty I to do a little exploring.
Springing to my I my Martian surprise, for the effort, which on Earth would have me upright, me into the Martian air to the of about three yards. I upon the ground, however, without or jar. Now a series of which then in the extreme. I that I must learn to walk all over again, as the which me easily and safely upon Earth played with me upon Mars.
Instead of in a and manner, my to walk resulted in a of which took me clear of the ground a of at each step and me upon my or at the end of each second or third hop. My muscles, perfectly and to the of on Earth, played the with me in attempting for the time to with the and air pressure on Mars.
I was determined, however, to the low which was the only of in sight, and so I upon the plan of reverting to in locomotion, creeping. I did well at this and in a moments had the low, of the enclosure.
There appeared to be no doors or upon the nearest me, but as the was but about four high I my and over the top upon the it had been me to see.
The of the was of solid about four or five in thickness, and this were hundred large eggs, perfectly and white. The eggs were nearly in size being about two and one-half in diameter.
Five or six had already and the which sat in the were to me to my sanity. They mostly head, with little bodies, long necks and six legs, or, as I learned, two and two arms, with an pair of which be used at will either as arms or legs. Their were set at the of their a above the center and in such a manner that they be either or and also of each other, thus this animal to look in any direction, or in two at once, without the of the head.
The ears, which were above the and closer together, were small, cup-shaped antennae, not more than an on these specimens. Their were but in the center of their faces, their mouths and ears.
There was no on their bodies, which were of a very light yellowish-green color. In the adults, as I was to learn soon, this color to an green and is in the male than in the female. Further, the of the are not so out of to their as in the case of the young.
The of the is blood red, as in Albinos, while the is dark. The itself is very white, as are the teeth. These add a most to an otherwise and terrible countenance, as the to points which end about where the of beings are located. The of the teeth is not that of ivory, but of the and most of china. Against the dark of their skins their out in a most manner, making these present a appearance.
Most of these I noted later, for I was but little time to on the of my new discovery. I had that the eggs were in the of hatching, and as I the little from their I failed to note the approach of a score of full-grown Martians from me.
Coming, as they did, over the soft and moss, which the entire surface of Mars with the of the at the and the districts, they might have me easily, but their were more sinister. It was the of the of the which me.
On such a little thing my life that I often that I so easily. Had not the of the leader of the party from its his in such a way as to against the of his great metal-shod I should have out without that death was near me. But the little me to turn, and there upon me, not ten from my breast, was the point of that spear, a long, with metal, and low at the of a of the little I had been watching.
But how and they now looked this and of hate, of and of death. The man himself, for such I may call him, was fifteen in and, on Earth, would have some four hundred pounds. He sat his as we a horse, the animal's with his limbs, while the hands of his two right arms his low at the of his mount; his two left arms were to help his balance, the thing he having neither or of any for guidance.
And his mount! How can it! It ten at the shoulder; had four on either side; a tail, larger at the than at the root, and which it out while running; a mouth which its from its to its long, neck.
Like its master, it was of hair, but was of a dark color and and glossy. Its was white, and its from the of its and to a yellow at the feet. The themselves were and nailless, which had also to the of their approach, and, in common with a of legs, is a of the of Mars. The type of man and one other animal, the only on Mars, alone have well-formed nails, and there are no animals in there.
Behind this others, in all respects, but, as I learned later, to themselves; as no two of us are although we are all in a mold. This picture, or nightmare, which I have at length, but one terrible and on me as I to meet it.
Unarmed and as I was, the law of nature itself in the only possible of my problem, and that was to out of the of the point of the spear. Consequently I gave a very and at the same time to the top of the Martian incubator, for such I had it must be.
My was with a success which me no less than it to the Martian warriors, for it me thirty into the air and me a hundred from my and on the opposite of the enclosure.
I upon the soft easily and without mishap, and saw my up along the wall. Some were me with which I marked astonishment, and the others were satisfying themselves that I had not their young.
They were together in low tones, and and pointing toward me. Their that I had not the little Martians, and that I was unarmed, must have them to look upon me with less ferocity; but, as I was to learn later, the thing which most in my was my of hurdling.
While the Martians are immense, their are very large and they are only in to the which they must overcome. The result is that they are less and less powerful, in to their weight, than an Earth man, and I that were one of them to be to Earth he his own weight from the ground; in fact, I am that he not do so.
My then was as upon Mars as it would have been upon Earth, and from to me they looked upon me as a to be and among their fellows.
The my had me permitted me to plans for the and to note more closely the of the warriors, for I not these people in my mind from those other who, only the day before, had been me.
I noted that each was with other in to the which I have described. The which me to decide against an attempt at by was what was a of some description, and which I felt, for some reason, they were in handling.
These rifles were of a white metal with wood, which I learned later was a very light and hard much prized on Mars, and unknown to us of Earth. The metal of the is an of and which they have learned to to a that of the with which we are familiar. The weight of these rifles is little, and with the small caliber, explosive, radium which they use, and the great length of the barrel, they are in the and at which would be on Earth. The of this is three hundred miles, but the best they can do in service when with their and is but a over two hundred miles.
This is to me with great respect for the Martian firearm, and some must have me against an attempt to in from under the of twenty of these death-dealing machines.
The Martians, after for a time, and away in the direction from which they had come, one of their number alone by the enclosure. When they had two hundred yards they halted, and their toward us sat the by the enclosure.
He was the one had so nearly me, and was the leader of the band, as I had noted that they to have moved to their present position at his direction. When his had come to a he dismounted, his and small arms, and came around the end of the toward me, and as as I, for the upon his head, limbs, and breast.
When he was about fifty of me he an metal armlet, and it toward me in the open of his hand, me in a clear, resonant voice, but in a language, it is needless to say, I not understand. He then stopped as though waiting for my reply, up his antennae-like ears and his strange-looking still toward me.
As the painful I to a little on my own part, as I had that he was making of peace. The of his and the of his his toward me would have a peaceful mission on Earth, so why not, then, on Mars!
Placing my hand over my I low to the Martian and to him that while I did not his language, his spoke for the peace and that at the present moment were most dear to my heart. Of I might have been a for all the my speech to him, but he the action with which I my words.
Stretching my hand toward him, I and took the from his open palm, it about my arm above the elbow; at him and waiting. His wide mouth spread into an smile, and locking one of his arms in mine we and walked toward his mount. At the same time he his to advance. They started toward us on a wild run, but were by a from him. Evidently he that were I to be again I might jump out of the landscape.
He a with his men, to me that I would one of them, and then his own animal. The two or three hands and me up him on the of his mount, where I on as best I by the belts and which the Martian's and ornaments.
The entire then and away toward the range of in the distance.
