The Chessmen of Mars (34 page)

"I still live!" she whispered inwardly in a last brave attempt to
combat the terrible hopelessness that was overwhelming her, but
her fingers stole for reassurance to the slim blade that she had
managed to transfer, undetected, from her old harness to the new.
And now the groom was at her side and taking her hand was leading
her up the steps to the throne, before which they halted and
stood facing the gathering below. Came then, from the back of the
room a procession headed by the high dignitary whose office it
was to make these two man and wife, and directly behind him a
richly-clad youth bearing a silken pillow on which lay the golden
handcuffs connected by a short length of chain-of-gold with which
the ceremony would be concluded when the dignitary clasped a
handcuff about the wrist of each symbolizing their indissoluble
union in the holy bonds of wedlock.

Would Turan's promised succor come too late? Tara listened to the
long, monotonous intonation of the wedding service. She heard the
virtues of O-Tar extolled and the beauties of the bride. The
moment was approaching and still no sign of Turan. But what could
he accomplish should he succeed in reaching the throne room,
other than to die with her? There could be no hope of rescue.

The dignitary lifted the golden handcuffs from the pillow upon
which they reposed. He blessed them and reached for Tara's wrist.
The time had come! The thing could go no further, for alive or
dead, by all the laws of Barsoom she would be the wife of O-Tar
of Manator the instant the two were locked together. Even should
rescue come then or later she could never dissolve those bonds
and Turan would be lost to her as surely as though death
separated them.

Her hand stole toward the hidden blade, but instantly the hand of
the groom shot out and seized her wrist. He had guessed her
intention. Through the slits in the grotesque mask she could see
his eyes upon her and she guessed the sardonic smile that the
mask hid. For a tense moment the two stood thus. The people below
them kept breathless silence for the play before the throne had
not passed un-noticed.

Dramatic as was the moment it was suddenly rendered trebly so by
the noisy opening of the doors leading to The Hall of Chiefs. All
eyes turned in the direction of the interruption to see another
figure framed in the massive opening—a half-clad figure buckling
the half-adjusted harness hurriedly in place—the figure of
O-Tar, Jeddak of Manator.

"Stop!" he screamed, springing forward along the aisle toward the
throne. "Seize the impostor!"

All eyes shot to the figure of the groom before the throne. They
saw him raise his hand and snatch off the golden mask, and Tara
of Helium in wide-eyed incredulity looked up into the face of
Turan the panthan.

"Turan the slave," they cried then. "Death to him! Death to him!"

"Wait!" shouted Turan, drawing his sword, as a dozen warriors
leaped forward.

"Wait!" screamed another voice, old and cracked, as I-Gos, the
ancient taxidermist, sprang from among the guests and reached the
throne steps ahead of the foremost warriors.

At sight of the old man the warriors paused, for age is held in
great veneration among the peoples of Barsoom, as is true,
perhaps, of all peoples whose religion is based to any extent
upon ancestor worship. But O-Tar gave no heed to him, leaping
instead swiftly toward the throne. "Stop, coward!" cried I-Gos.

The people looked at the little old man in amazement. "Men of
Manator," he cackled in his thin, shrill voice, "wouldst be ruled
by a coward and a liar?"

"Down with him!" shouted O-Tar.

"Not until I have spoken," retorted I-Gos. "It is my right. If I
fail my life is forfeit—that you all know and I know. I demand
therefore to be heard. It is my right!"

"It is his right," echoed the voices of a score of warriors in
various parts of the chamber.

"That O-Tar is a coward and a liar I can prove," continued I-Gos.
"He said that he faced bravely the horrors of the chamber of
O-Mai and saw nothing of the slave Turan. I was there, hiding
behind the hangings, and I saw all that transpired. Turan had
been hiding in the chamber and was even then lying upon the couch
of O-Mai when O-Tar, trembling with fear, entered the room.
Turan, disturbed, arose to a sitting position at the same time
voicing a piercing shriek. O-Tar screamed and swooned."

"It is a lie!" cried O-Tar.

"It is not a lie and I can prove it," retorted I-Gos. "Didst
notice the night that he returned from the chambers of O-Mai and
was boasting of his exploit, that when he would summon slaves to
bring wine he reached for his dagger to strike the gong with its
pommel as is always his custom? Didst note that, any of you? And
that he had no dagger? O-Tar, where is the dagger that you
carried into the chamber of O-Mai? You do not know; but I know.
While you lay in the swoon of terror I took it from your harness
and hid it among the sleeping silks upon the couch of O-Mai.
There it is even now, and if any doubt it let them go thither and
there they will find it and know the cowardice of their jeddak."

"But what of this impostor?" demanded one. "Shall he stand with
impunity upon the throne of Manator whilst we squabble about our
ruler?"

"It is through his bravery that you have learned the cowardice of
O-Tar," replied I-Gos, "and through him you will be given a
greater jeddak."

"We will choose our own jeddak. Seize and slay the slave!" There
were cries of approval from all parts of the room. Gahan was
listening intently, as though for some hoped-for sound. He saw
the warriors approaching the dais, where he now stood with drawn
sword and with one arm about Tara of Helium. He wondered if his
plans had miscarried after all. If they had it would mean death
for him, and he knew that Tara would take her life if he fell.
Had he, then, served her so futilely after all his efforts?

Several warriors were urging the necessity for sending at once to
the chamber of O-Mai to search for the dagger that would prove,
if found, the cowardice of O-Tar. At last three consented to go.
"You need not fear," I-Gos assured them. "There is naught there
to harm you. I have been there often of late and Turan the slave
has slept there for these many nights. The screams and moans that
frightened you and O-Tar were voiced by Turan to drive you away
from his hiding place." Shamefacedly the three left the apartment
to search for O-Tar's dagger.

And now the others turned their attention once more to Gahan.
They approached the throne with bared swords, but they came
slowly for they had seen this slave upon the Field of Jetan and
they knew the prowess of his arm. They had reached the foot of
the steps when from far above there sounded a deep boom, and
another, and another, and Turan smiled and breathed a sigh of
relief. Perhaps, after all, it had not come too late. The
warriors stopped and listened as did the others in the chamber.
Now there broke upon their ears a loud rattle of musketry and it
all came from above as though men were fighting upon the roofs of
the palace.

"What is it?" they demanded, one of the other.

"A great storm has broken over Manator," said one.

"Mind not the storm until you have slain the creature who dares
stand upon the throne of your jeddak," demanded O-Tar. "Seize
him!"

Even as he ceased speaking the arras behind the throne parted and
a warrior stepped forth upon the dais. An exclamation of surprise
and dismay broke from the lips of the warriors of O-Tar.
"U-Thor!" they cried. "What treason is this?"

"It is no treason," said U-Thor in his deep voice. "I bring you a
new jeddak for all of Manator. No lying poltroon, but a
courageous man whom you all love."

He stepped aside then and another emerged from the corridor
hidden by the arras. It was A-Kor, and at sight of him there rose
exclamations of surprise, of pleasure, and of anger, as the
various factions recognized the coup d'etat that had been
arranged so cunningly. Behind A-Kor came other warriors until the
dais was crowded with them—all men of Manator from the city of
Manatos.

O-Tar was exhorting his warriors to attack, when a bloody and
disheveled padwar burst into the chamber through a side entrance.
"The city has fallen!" he cried aloud. "The hordes of Manatos
pour through The Gate of Enemies. The slaves from Gathol have
arisen and destroyed the palace guards. Great ships are landing
warriors upon the palace roof and in the Fields of Jetan. The men
of Helium and Gathol are marching through Manator. They cry aloud
for the Princess of Helium and swear to leave Manator a blazing
funeral pyre consuming the bodies of all our people. The skies
are black with ships. They come in great processions from the
east and from the south."

And then once more the doors from The Hall of Chiefs swung wide
and the men of Manator turned to see another figure standing upon
the threshold—a mighty figure of a man with white skin, and
black hair, and gray eyes that glittered now like points of steel
and behind him The Hall of Chiefs was filled with fighting men
wearing the harness of far countries. Tara of Helium saw him and
her heart leaped in exultation, for it was John Carter, Warlord
of Barsoom, come at the head of a victorious host to the rescue
of his daughter, and at his side was Djor Kantos to whom she had
been betrothed.

The Warlord eyed the assemblage for a moment before he spoke.
"Lay down your arms, men of Manator," he said. "I see my daughter
and that she lives, and if no harm has befallen her no blood need
be shed. Your city is filled with the fighting men of U-Thor, and
those from Gathol and from Helium. The palace is in the hands of
the slaves from Gathol, beside a thousand of my own warriors who
fill the halls and chambers surrounding this room. The fate of
your jeddak lies in your own hands. I have no wish to interfere.
I come only for my daughter and to free the slaves from Gathol. I
have spoken!" and without waiting for a reply and as though the
room had been filled with his own people rather than a hostile
band he strode up the broad main aisle toward Tara of Helium.

The chiefs of Manator were stunned. They looked to O-Tar; but he
could only gaze helplessly about him as the enemy entered from
The Hall of Chiefs and circled the throne room until they had
surrounded the entire company. And then a dwar of the army of
Helium entered.

"We have captured three chiefs," he reported to The Warlord, "who
beg that they be permitted to enter the throne room and report to
their fellows some matter which they say will decide the fate of
Manator."

"Fetch them," ordered The Warlord.

They came, heavily guarded, to the foot of the steps leading to
the throne and there they stopped and the leader turned toward
the others of Manator and raising high his right hand displayed a
jeweled dagger. "We found it," he said, "even where I-Gos said
that we would find it," and he looked menacingly upon O-Tar.

"A-Kor, jeddak of Manator!" cried a voice, and the cry was taken
up by a hundred hoarse-throated warriors.

"There can be but one jeddak in Manator," said the chief who held
the dagger; his eyes still fixed upon the hapless O-Tar he
crossed to where the latter stood and holding the dagger upon an
outstretched palm proffered it to the discredited ruler. "There
can be but one jeddak in Manator," he repeated meaningly.

O-Tar took the proffered blade and drawing himself to his full
height plunged it to the guard into his breast, in that single
act redeeming himself in the esteem of his people and winning an
eternal place in The Hall of Chiefs.

As he fell all was silence in the great room, to be broken
presently by the voice of U-Thor. "O-Tar is dead!" he cried. "Let
A-Kor rule until the chiefs of all Manator may be summoned to
choose a new jeddak. What is your answer?"

"Let A-Kor rule! A-Kor, Jeddak of Manator!" The cries filled the
room and there was no dissenting voice.

A-Kor raised his sword for silence. "It is the will of A-Kor," he
said, "and that of the Great Jed of Manatos, and the commander of
the fleet from Gathol, and of the illustrious John Carter,
Warlord of Barsoom, that peace lie upon the city of Manator and
so I decree that the men of Manator go forth and welcome the
fighting men of these our allies as guests and friends and show
them the wonders of our ancient city and the hospitality of
Manator. I have spoken." And U-Thor and John Carter dismissed
their warriors and bade them accept the hospitality of Manator.
As the room emptied Djor Kantos reached the side of Tara of
Helium. The girl's happiness at rescue had been blighted by sight
of this man whom her virtuous heart told her she had wronged. She
dreaded the ordeal that lay before her and the dishonor that she
must admit before she could hope to be freed from the
understanding that had for long existed between them. And now
Djor Kantos approached and kneeling raised her fingers to his
lips.

"Beautiful daughter of Helium," he said, "how may I tell you the
thing that I must tell you—of the dishonor that I have all
unwittingly done you? I can but throw myself upon your generosity
for forgiveness; but if you demand it I can receive the dagger as
honorably as did O-Tar."

"What do you mean?" asked Tara of Helium. "What are you talking
about—why speak thus in riddles to one whose heart is already
breaking?"

Her heart already breaking! The outlook was anything but
promising, and the young padwar wished that he had died before
ever he had had to speak the words he now must speak.

"Tara of Helium," he continued, "we all thought you dead. For a
long year have you been gone from Helium. I mourned you truly and
then, less than a moon since, I wed with Olvia Marthis." He
stopped and looked at her with eyes that might have said: "Now,
strike me dead!"