Sola stared into the brute's wicked-looking eyes, muttered aword or two of command, pointed to me, and left the chamber.I could not but wonder what this ferocious-looking monstrositymight do when left alone in such close proximity to such arelatively tender morsel of meat; but my fears were groundless,as the beast, after surveying me intently for a moment, crossedthe room to the only exit which led to the street, and lay downfull length across the threshold.

This was my first experience with a Martian watch dog, butit was destined not to be my last, for this fellow guarded mecarefully during the time I remained a captive among thesegreen men; twice saving my life, and never voluntarily beingaway from me a moment.

While Sola was away I took occasion to examine moreminutely the room in which I found myself captive. Themural painting depicted scenes of rare and wonderful beauty;mountains, rivers, lake, ocean, meadow, trees and flowers,winding roadways, sun-kissed gardens--scenes which mighthave portrayed earthly views but for the different colorings ofthe vegetation. The work had evidently been wrought by amaster hand, so subtle the atmosphere, so perfect the technique;yet nowhere was there a representation of a living animal,either human or brute, by which I could guess at the likenessof these other and perhaps extinct denizens of Mars.

While I was allowing my fancy to run riot in wild conjectureon the possible explanation of the strange anomalies whichI had so far met with on Mars, Sola returned bearing bothfood and drink. These she placed on the floor beside me,and seating herself a short ways off regarded me intently.The food consisted of about a pound of some solid substance ofthe consistency of cheese and almost tasteless, while the liquidwas apparently milk from some animal. It was not unpleasantto the taste, though slightly acid, and I learned in a short timeto prize it very highly. It came, as I later discovered, not froman animal, as there is only one mammal on Mars and that onevery rare indeed, but from a large plant which grows practicallywithout water, but seems to distill its plentiful supply ofmilk from the products of the soil, the moisture of the air,and the rays of the sun. A single plant of this species will giveeight or ten quarts of milk per day.

After I had eaten I was greatly invigorated, but feeling theneed of rest I stretched out upon the silks and was soonasleep. I must have slept several hours, as it was dark whenI awoke, and I was very cold. I noticed that someone hadthrown a fur over me, but it had become partially dislodgedand in the darkness I could not see to replace it. Suddenly ahand reached out and pulled the fur over me, shortly afterwardsadding another to my covering.

I presumed that my watchful guardian was Sola, nor wasI wrong. This girl alone, among all the green Martians withwhom I came in contact, disclosed characteristics of sympathy,kindliness, and affection; her ministrations to my bodily wantswere unfailing, and her solicitous care saved me from muchsuffering and many hardships.

As I was to learn, the Martian nights are extremely cold,and as there is practically no twilight or dawn, the changesin temperature are sudden and most uncomfortable, as are thetransitions from brilliant daylight to darkness. The nights areeither brilliantly illumined or very dark, for if neither of thetwo moons of Mars happen to be in the sky almost totaldarkness results, since the lack of atmosphere, or, rather, thevery thin atmosphere, fails to diffuse the starlight to anygreat extent; on the other hand, if both of the moons are inthe heavens at night the surface of the ground is brightlyilluminated.

Both of Mars' moons are vastly nearer her than is ourmoon to Earth; the nearer moon being but about five thousandmiles distant, while the further is but little more thanfourteen thousand miles away, against the nearly one-quartermillion miles which separate us from our moon. The nearermoon of Mars makes a complete revolution around the planetin a little over seven and one-half hours, so that she may beseen hurtling through the sky like some huge meteor two orthree times each night, revealing all her phases during eachtransit of the heavens.

The further moon revolves about Mars in something overthirty and one-quarter hours, and with her sister satellitemakes a nocturnal Martian scene one of splendid and weirdgrandeur. And it is well that nature has so graciously andabundantly lighted the Martian night, for the green men ofMars, being a nomadic race without high intellectual development,have but crude means for artificial lighting; dependingprincipally upon torches, a kind of candle, and a peculiar oillamp which generates a gas and burns without a wick.

This last device produces an intensely brilliant far-reachingwhite light, but as the natural oil which it requires can onlybe obtained by mining in one of several widely separated andremote localities it is seldom used by these creatures whoseonly thought is for today, and whose hatred for manual laborhas kept them in a semi-barbaric state for countless ages.

After Sola had replenished my coverings I again slept, nordid I awaken until daylight. The other occupants of the room,five in number, were all females, and they were still sleeping,piled high with a motley array of silks and furs. Across thethreshold lay stretched the sleepless guardian brute, just as Ihad last seen him on the preceding day; apparently he had notmoved a muscle; his eyes were fairly glued upon me, and Ifell to wondering just what might befall me should I endeavorto escape.I have ever been prone to seek adventure and to investigateand experiment where wiser men would have left well enoughalone. It therefore now occurred to me that the surest way oflearning the exact attitude of this beast toward me would beto attempt to leave the room. I felt fairly secure in my beliefthat I could escape him should he pursue me once I wasoutside the building, for I had begun to take great pride inmy ability as a jumper. Furthermore, I could see from theshortness of his legs that the brute himself was no jumper andprobably no runner.

Slowly and carefully, therefore, I gained my feet, only tosee that my watcher did the same; cautiously I advancedtoward him, finding that by moving with a shuffling gait Icould retain my balance as well as make reasonably rapidprogress. As I neared the brute he backed cautiously awayfrom me, and when I had reached the open he moved to oneside to let me pass. He then fell in behind me and followedabout ten paces in my rear as I made my way along thedeserted street.

Evidently his mission was to protect me only, I thought,but when we reached the edge of the city he suddenly sprangbefore me, uttering strange sounds and baring his ugly andferocious tusks. Thinking to have some amusement at hisexpense, I rushed toward him, and when almost upon himsprang into the air, alighting far beyond him and away fromthe city. He wheeled instantly and charged me with the mostappalling speed I had ever beheld. I had thought his shortlegs a bar to swiftness, but had he been coursing withgreyhounds the latter would have appeared as though asleepon a door mat. As I was to learn, this is the fleetest animalon Mars, and owing to its intelligence, loyalty, and ferocity isused in hunting, in war, and as the protector of the Martian man.

I quickly saw that I would have difficulty in escaping thefangs of the beast on a straightaway course, and so I met hischarge by doubling in my tracks and leaping over him as hewas almost upon me. This maneuver gave me a considerableadvantage, and I was able to reach the city quite a bit aheadof him, and as he came tearing after me I jumped for a windowabout thirty feet from the ground in the face of one of thebuildings overlooking the valley.

Grasping the sill I pulled myself up to a sitting posturewithout looking into the building, and gazed down at thebaffled animal beneath me. My exultation was short-lived,however, for scarcely had I gained a secure seat upon the sillthan a huge hand grasped me by the neck from behind anddragged me violently into the room. Here I was thrown uponmy back, and beheld standing over me a colossal ape-likecreature, white and hairless except for an enormous shock ofbristly hair upon its head.