ON THE KAOLIAN ROAD
If there be a that is sometimes to me, there surely is a and Providence which over me.
As I from the tower into the I myself already dead; and Thurid must have done likewise, for he did not trouble himself to look after me, but must have and the waiting at once.
Ten only I fell, and then a of my tough, upon one of the in the tower's surface—and held. Even when I had to I not the that had me from death, and for a moment I there, cold from every of my body.
But when at last I had myself to a position I to ascend, since I not know that Thurid was not still me above.
Presently, however, there came to my ears the of the of a flier, and as each moment the I that the party had toward the south without assuring themselves as to my fate.
Cautiously I my way to the roof, and I must admit that it was with no that I my once more above its edge; but, to my relief, there was no one in sight, and a moment later I safely upon its surface.
To the and the only other which it was the work of but an instant; and just as the two Matai Shang had left to prevent this very upon the from the tower's interior, I rose above them with a laugh.
Then I to the where I had last Woola, and to my the still there.
The twelve great in the of their lairs, him and ominously, but they had not Thuvia's injunction; and I thanked the that had her their the Golden Cliffs, and her with the and nature that had the and of these for her.
Woola in when he me; and as the touched the of the for a he to the me, and in the of his all but me to the against the courtyard's wall.
Amid the angry of we rose high above the last of the Holy Therns, and then toward the and Kaol, the which I had from the of Matai Shang.
Far ahead, a in the distance, I out another late in the afternoon. It be none other than that which my love and my enemies.
I had on the by night; and then, that they must have me and would no lights after dark, I set my upon her—that little Martian which, once to the object of destination, points away toward it, of every in its location.
All that night we through the Barsoomian void, over low and sea bottoms; above long-deserted and of red Martian upon the ribbon-like lines of land which border the globe-encircling waterways, which Earth men call the of Mars.
Dawn that I had upon the ahead of me. It was a larger than mine, and not so swift; but so, it had an since the began.
The in me that we were the equator. I was now near to my to have used my gun; but, though I see that Dejah Thoris was not on deck, I to fire upon the which her.
Thurid was by no such scruples; and though it must have been difficult for him to that it was I who them, he not very well the of his own eyes; and so he their gun upon me with his own hands, and an later an close above my deck.
The black's next was more accurate, my full upon the and with the of contact, wide open the and the engine.
So did my after the that I had time to Woola to the and my own to a ring the was up and making her last long to ground.
Her her with great rapidity; but Thurid was now in an attempt to these also, that I might be to death in the that would a successful shot.
Shot after past or into us, but by a neither Woola I was hit, were the after punctured. This good not last indefinitely, and, that Thurid would not again me alive, I the of the next that hit; and then, my hands above my head, I let go my and crumpled, and inert, in my like a corpse.
The worked, and Thurid no more at us. Presently I the of and that again I was safe.
Slowly the to the ground, and when I had myself and Woola from the I that we were upon the of a natural forest—so a thing upon the of Mars that, of the in the Valley Dor the Lost Sea of Korus, I had its like upon the planet.
From books and travelers I had learned something of the little-known land of Kaol, which along the almost the to the east of Helium.
It a area of heat, and is by a nation of red men but little in manners, customs, and from the of the red men of Barsoom.
I that they were among those of the world who still to the religion of the Holy Therns, and that Matai Shang would a welcome and safe among them; while John Carter look for nothing than an death at their hands.
The of the Kaolians is almost complete by the that no their land with that of any other nation, have they any need of a since the low, land which the entire area of their self-waters their crops.
For great in all and of sea with them, and since there is no such thing as upon Barsoom, where each nation is to itself, little has been relative to the of the Jeddak of Kaol and the strange, but interesting, people over he rules.
Occasional parties have to this out-of-the-way of the globe, but the of the has upon them, so that the sport of the and which the of Kaol has of later years proved to the most warriors.
It was upon the of the land of the Kaols that I now myself to be, but in what direction to search for Dejah Thoris, or how into the of the great I might have to I had not the idea.
But not so Woola.
Scarcely had I him than he his high in air and about at the of the forest. Presently he halted, and, to see if I were following, set off into the of trees in the direction we had been going Thurid's had put an end to our flier.
As best I could, I after him a at the forest's edge.
Immense trees their above us, their off the of the sky. It was easy to see why the Kaolians needed no navy; their cities, in the of this forest, must be from above, a landing be by any but the smallest fliers, and then only with the of accident.
How Thurid and Matai Shang were to land I not imagine, though later I was to learn that to the level of the top there in each city of Kaol a which the Kaolians by day and by night against the approach of a fleet. To one of these the of the Holy Therns had no in approaching, and by its means the party was safely to the ground.
As Woola and I approached the of the the ground soft and mushy, so that it was with the that we any whatever.
Slender with red and yellow fern-like all about us to the of above my head.
Myriad in from tree to tree, and among them were of the Martian "man-flower," have and hands with which to see and the which their diet.
The tree was, too, much in evidence. It is a plant of about the of a large sage-brush such as our western plains. Each branch ends in a set of jaws, which have been to and large and of prey.
Both Woola and I had narrow from these greedy, monsters.
Occasional of gave us of from the labor of this gorgeous, swamp, and it was upon one of these that I to make for the night which my me would soon be upon us.
Many of fruit in about us; and as Martian are omnivorous, Woola had no in making a square after I had the for him. Then, having eaten, too, I with my to that of my hound, and into a and sleep.
The was in when a low from Woola me. All about us I the movement of great, feet, and now and then the of green upon us. Arising, I my long-sword and waited.
Suddenly a deep-toned, from some almost at my side. What a I had been not to have for myself and Woola among the of one of the trees that us!
By it would have been easy to have Woola in one manner or another, but now it was too late. There was nothing for it but to our ground and take our medicine, though, from the which now our ears, and for which that had to be the signal, I that we must be in the of hundreds, thousands, of the fierce, man-eating of the Kaolian jungle.
All the of the night they up their din, but why they did not attack us I not guess, am I sure to this day, unless it is that none of them upon the of which the swamp.
When they were still there, walking about as in a circle, but always just the of the sward. A more of and blood-thirsty it would be difficult to imagine.
Singly and in they off into the after sunrise, and when the last of them had Woola and I our journey.
Occasionally we of all the day; but, fortunately, we were from a island, and when they saw us their always ended at the of the solid sod.
Toward we upon a well-constructed road in the direction we had been pursuing. Everything about this marked it as the work of engineers, and I was confident, from the of which it bore, as well as from the very of its being still in use, that it must lead to one of the of Kaol.
Just as we entered it from one a from the upon the other, and at of us in our direction.
Imagine, if you can, a bald-faced of your to the size of a prize Hereford bull, and you will have some of the and of the that upon me.
Frightful in and mighty, my long-sword a of defense indeed. Nor I to the lightning-like movements or from those which three-fourths of the head, the to see in all at one and the same time.
Even my powerful and Woola was as as a that thing. But to were useless, had it been to my to turn my upon a danger; so I my ground, Woola at my side, my only to die as I had always lived—fighting.
The was upon us now, and at the there to me a single for victory. If I but remove the terrible of death in the that the the would be less unequal.
At the I called to Woola to upon the creature's and there, and as his closed upon that face, and themselves in the and and part of one of the eyes, I the great as the rose, Woola from the ground, that it might its and the of the thing to its head.
To put myself in the path of that poison-laden was to death, but it was the only way; and as the thing lightning-like toward me I my long-sword in a cut that the close to the marked body.
Then, like a battering-ram, one of the powerful me full in the and me, and winded, clear across the and into the of the that it.
Fortunately, I passed the of trees; had I one of them I should have been injured, if not killed, so had I been by that leg.
Dazed though I was, I to my and to Woola's assistance, to his ten above the ground, at the with all six powerful legs.
Even my through the air I had not once my upon my long-sword, and now I ran the two monsters, the terror with its point.
The thing might easily have out of my reach, but it as little in the of as either Woola or I, for it toward me, and I had my its powerful jaws.
Time and again the now of its against my body, but the alone were almost as as the of a horse; so that when I say futilely, I only to the natural of the member—eventually the thing would have me to a pulp. Nor was it from this when an that put an end to its hostilities.
From where I a above the road I see along the a hundred yards to where it toward the east, and just as I had about up all of the position in which I now was I saw a red come into view from around the bend.
He was on a thoat, one of the smaller used by red men, and in his hand was a long, light lance.
His was walking when I them, but the that the red man's upon us a word to the the animal at full upon us. The long of the toward us, and as and beneath, the point passed through the of our antagonist.
With a the thing stiffened, the relaxed, me to the ground, and then, once in air, the to the road, full upon Woola, who still to its head.
By the time I had my the red man had and to us. Woola, his enemy and lifeless, his at my and from the that had him, and together we the looking upon us.
I started to thank the for his timely assistance, but he cut me off peremptorily.
"Who are you," he asked, "who enter the land of Kaol and in the of the jeddak?"
Then, as he noted my white skin through the of and blood that me, his wide and in an he whispered: "Can it be that you are a Holy Thern?"
I might have the for a time, as I had others, but I had away the yellow and the in the presence of Matai Shang, and I that it would not be long my new that I was no at all.
"I am not a thern," I replied, and then, to the winds, I said: "I am John Carter, Prince of Helium, name may not be unknown to you."
If his had gone wide when he that I was a Holy Thern, they now that he that I was John Carter. I my long-sword more as I spoke the which I was sure would an attack, but to my they nothing of the kind.
"John Carter, Prince of Helium," he slowly, as though he not the truth of the statement. "John Carter, the of Barsoom!"
And then he and his hand upon my after the manner of most upon Mars.
"It is my duty, and it should be my pleasure, to kill you, John Carter," he said, "but always in my of have I your and in your the while I have questioned and the and their religion.
"It would my death were my to be in the of Kulan Tith, but if I may you, Prince, you have but to Torkar Bar, Dwar of the Kaolian Road."
Truth and were large upon the warrior's countenance, so that I not but have him, enemy though he should have been. His title of Captain of the Kaolian Road his timely presence in the of the forest, for every upon Barsoom is by of the class, is there any service more than this and in the less of the of the red men of Barsoom.
"Torkar Bar has already a great of upon my shoulders," I replied, pointing to the of the from he was his long spear.
The red man smiled.
"It was that I came when I did," he said. "Only this the very of a can kill it to save its prey. In this of Kaol we are all with a long spear, point is with the of the it is to kill; no other so upon the as its own.
"Look," he continued, his and making an in the a above the of the sting, from which he presently two sacs, each of which a of the liquid.
"Thus we maintain our supply, though were it not for to which the is put, it would be necessary to add to our present store, since the is almost extinct.
"Only occasionally do we now upon one. Of old, however, Kaol was with the that often came in of twenty or thirty, from above into our and away women, children, and warriors."
As he spoke I had been just how much I might safely tell this man of the mission which me to his land, but his next the of the on my part, and me that I had not spoken too soon.
"And now as to yourself, John Carter," he said, "I shall not ask your here, do I wish to it. I have and ears and ordinary intelligence, and yesterday I saw the party that came to the city of Kaol from the north in a small flier. But one thing I ask of you, and that is: the word of John Carter that he no act against either the nation of Kaol or its jeddak."
"You may have my word as to that, Torkar Bar," I replied.
"My way leads along the Kaolian road, away from the city of Kaol," he continued. "I have no one—John Carter least of all. Nor have you Torkar Bar, of him. You understand?"
"Perfectly," I replied.
He his hand upon my shoulder.
"This road leads directly into the city of Kaol," he said. "I wish you fortune," and to the of his he away without a glance.
It was after dark when Woola and I through the the great which the city of Kaol.
We had the entire way without or adventure, and though the we had met had the great wonderingly, none had the red with which I had every square of my body.
But to the country, and to enter the city of Kulan Tith, Jeddak of Kaol, were two very different things. No man enters a Martian city without a very and satisfactory account of himself, did I myself with the that I for a moment upon the of the officers of the to I should be taken the moment I at any one of the gates.
My only to in entering the city under of the darkness, and once in, trust to my own to myself in some where would be less to occur.
With this idea in view I the great wall, the of the forest, which is cut away for a from the all about the city, that no enemy may the trees as a means of ingress.
Several times I to the at different points, but not my overcome that rampart. To a of thirty the of the outward, and then for almost an equal it was perpendicular, above which it in again for some fifteen to the crest.
And smooth! Polished not be more so. Finally I had to admit that at last I had a Barsoomian which I not negotiate.
