The major-domo to whom I reported had been given instructionsto station me near the person of the jeddak, who, in timeof war, is always in great danger of assassination, as therule that all is fair in war seems to constitute the entireethics of Martian conflict.

He therefore escorted me immediately to the apartmentin which Than Kosis then was. The ruler was engaged inconversation with his son, Sab Than, and several courtiersof his household, and did not perceive my entrance.

The walls of the apartment were completely hung withsplendid tapestries which hid any windows or doors whichmay have pierced them. The room was lighted by imprisonedrays of sunshine held between the ceiling proper and whatappeared to be a ground-glass false ceiling a few inchesbelow.

My guide drew aside one of the tapestries, disclosing apassage which encircled the room, between the hangings andthe walls of the chamber. Within this passage I was toremain, he said, so long as Than Kosis was in the apartment.When he left I was to follow. My only duty was to guardthe ruler and keep out of sight as much as possible. Iwould be relieved after a period of four hours. The major-domo then left me.

The tapestries were of a strange weaving which gave theappearance of heavy solidity from one side, but from my hidingplace I could perceive all that took place within the room asreadily as though there had been no curtain intervening.

Scarcely had I gained my post than the tapestry at theopposite end of the chamber separated and four soldiers ofThe Guard entered, surrounding a female figure. As theyapproached Than Kosis the soldiers fell to either side andthere standing before the jeddak and not ten feet from me,her beautiful face radiant with smiles, was Dejah Thoris.

Sab Than, Prince of Zodanga, advanced to meet her, andhand in hand they approached close to the jeddak. ThanKosis looked up in surprise, and, rising, saluted her.

"To what strange freak do I owe this visit from the Princessof Helium, who, two days ago, with rare considerationfor my pride, assured me that she would prefer Tal Hajus,the green Thark, to my son?"

Dejah Thoris only smiled the more and with the roguish dimplesplaying at the corners of her mouth she made answer:

"From the beginning of time upon Barsoom it has beenthe prerogative of woman to change her mind as she listedand to dissemble in matters concerning her heart. That youwill forgive, Than Kosis, as has your son. Two days ago Iwas not sure of his love for me, but now I am, and I havecome to beg of you to forget my rash words and to acceptthe assurance of the Princess of Helium that when the timecomes she will wed Sab Than, Prince of Zodanga."

"I am glad that you have so decided," replied Than Kosis."It is far from my desire to push war further against thepeople of Helium, and, your promise shall be recorded anda proclamation to my people issued forthwith."

"It were better, Than Kosis," interrupted Dejah Thoris,"that the proclamation wait the ending of this war. It wouldlook strange indeed to my people and to yours were thePrincess of Helium to give herself to her country's enemyin the midst of hostilities."

"Cannot the war be ended at once?" spoke Sab Than."It requires but the word of Than Kosis to bring peace.Say it, my father, say the word that will hasten myhappiness, and end this unpopular strife."

"We shall see," replied Than Kosis, "how the people ofHelium take to peace. I shall at least offer it to them."

Dejah Thoris, after a few words, turned and left theapartment, still followed by her guards.

Thus was the edifice of my brief dream of happinessdashed, broken, to the ground of reality. The woman forwhom I had offered my life, and from whose lips I had sorecently heard a declaration of love for me, had lightlyforgotten my very existence and smilingly given herself tothe son of her people's most hated enemy.

Although I had heard it with my own ears I could notbelieve it. I must search out her apartments and force herto repeat the cruel truth to me alone before I would beconvinced, and so I deserted my post and hastened throughthe passage behind the tapestries toward the door by whichshe had left the chamber. Slipping quietly through thisopening I discovered a maze of winding corridors, branchingand turning in every direction.

Running rapidly down first one and then another of themI soon became hopelessly lost and was standing pantingagainst a side wall when I heard voices near me. Apparentlythey were coming from the opposite side of the partitionagainst which I leaned and presently I made out the tonesof Dejah Thoris. I could not hear the words but I knewthat I could not possibly be mistaken in the voice.

Moving on a few steps I discovered another passagewayat the end of which lay a door. Walking boldly forward Ipushed into the room only to find myself in a small ante-chamber in which were the four guards who had accompaniedher. One of them instantly arose and accosted me, askingthe nature of my business.

"I am from Than Kosis," I replied, "and wish to speakprivately with Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium."

"And your order?" asked the fellow.

I did not know what he meant, but replied that I was amember of The Guard, and without waiting for a replyfrom him I strode toward the opposite door of the ante-chamber, behind which I could hear Dejah Thoris conversing.

But my entrance was not to be so easily accomplished.The guardsman stepped before me, saying,

"No one comes from Than Kosis without carrying anorder or the password. You must give me one or the otherbefore you may pass."

"The only order I require, my friend, to enter where Iwill, hangs at my side," I answered, tapping my long-sword;"will you let me pass in peace or no?"

For reply he whipped out his own sword, calling to theothers to join him, and thus the four stood, with drawnweapons, barring my further progress.

"You are not here by the order of Than Kosis," criedthe one who had first addressed me, "and not only shallyou not enter the apartments of the Princess of Helium butyou shall go back to Than Kosis under guard to explainthis unwarranted temerity. Throw down your sword; youcannot hope to overcome four of us," he added with a grimsmile.

My reply was a quick thrust which left me but threeantagonists and I can assure you that they were worthy ofmy metal. They had me backed against the wall in no time,fighting for my life. Slowly I worked my way to a cornerof the room where I could force them to come at me onlyone at a time, and thus we fought upward of twenty minutes;the clanging of steel on steel producing a veritable bedlamin the little room.

The noise had brought Dejah Thoris to the door of herapartment, and there she stood throughout the conflict withSola at her back peering over her shoulder. Her face wasset and emotionless and I knew that she did not recognizeme, nor did Sola.

Finally a lucky cut brought down a second guardsmanand then, with only two opposing me, I changed my tacticsand rushed them down after the fashion of my fightingthat had won me many a victory. The third fell within tenseconds after the second, and the last lay dead upon thebloody floor a few moments later. They were brave menand noble fighters, and it grieved me that I had been forcedto kill them, but I would have willingly depopulated allBarsoom could I have reached the side of my Dejah Thorisin no other way.

Sheathing my bloody blade I advanced toward my MartianPrincess, who still stood mutely gazing at me withoutsign of recognition.

"Who are you, Zodangan?" she whispered. "Another enemyto harass me in my misery?"

"I am a friend," I answered, "a once cherished friend."

"No friend of Helium's princess wears that metal," she replied,"and yet the voice! I have heard it before; it is not--itcannot be--no, for he is dead."

"It is, though, my Princess, none other than John Carter,"I said. "Do you not recognize, even through paint andstrange metal, the heart of your chieftain?"

As I came close to her she swayed toward me with outstretchedhands, but as I reached to take her in my arms she drew backwith a shudder and a little moan of misery.

"Too late, too late," she grieved. "O my chieftain that was,and whom I thought dead, had you but returned one littlehour before--but now it is too late, too late."

"What do you mean, Dejah Thoris?" I cried. "That youwould not have promised yourself to the Zodangan princehad you known that I lived?"

"Think you, John Carter, that I would give my heart to youyesterday and today to another? I thought that it lay buriedwith your ashes in the pits of Warhoon, and so today I havepromised my body to another to save my people from thecurse of a victorious Zodangan army."

"But I am not dead, my princess. I have come to claimyou, and all Zodanga cannot prevent it."

"It is too late, John Carter, my promise is given, and onBarsoom that is final. The ceremonies which follow later arebut meaningless formalities. They make the fact of marriageno more certain than does the funeral cortege of a jeddakagain place the seal of death upon him. I am as good asmarried, John Carter. No longer may you call me yourprincess. No longer are you my chieftain."

"I know but little of your customs here upon Barsoom,Dejah Thoris, but I do know that I love you, and if youmeant the last words you spoke to me that day as the hordesof Warhoon were charging down upon us, no other man shallever claim you as his bride. You meant them then, myprincess, and you mean them still! Say that it is true."

"I meant them, John Carter," she whispered. "I cannotrepeat them now for I have given myself to another. Ah,if you had only known our ways, my friend," she continued,half to herself, "the promise would have been yours longmonths ago, and you could have claimed me before all others.It might have meant the fall of Helium, but I would havegiven my empire for my Tharkian chief."

Then aloud she said: "Do you remember the night whenyou offended me? You called me your princess without havingasked my hand of me, and then you boasted that you hadfought for me. You did not know, and I should not havebeen offended; I see that now. But there was no one to tellyou what I could not, that upon Barsoom there are twokinds of women in the cities of the red men. The one theyfight for that they may ask them in marriage; the other kindthey fight for also, but never ask their hands. When a manhas won a woman he may address her as his princess, or inany of the several terms which signify possession. You hadfought for me, but had never asked me in marriage, and sowhen you called me your princess, you see," she faltered,"I was hurt, but even then, John Carter, I did not repulse you,as I should have done, until you made it doubly worse bytaunting me with having won me through combat."

"I do not need ask your forgiveness now, Dejah Thoris,"I cried. "You must know that my fault was of ignorance ofyour Barsoomian customs. What I failed to do, throughimplicit belief that my petition would be presumptuous andunwelcome, I do now, Dejah Thoris; I ask you to be my wife,and by all the Virginian fighting blood that flows in myveins you shall be."

"No, John Carter, it is useless," she cried, hopelessly,"I may never be yours while Sab Than lives."

"You have sealed his death warrant, my princess--Sab Than dies."

"Nor that either," she hastened to explain. "I may notwed the man who slays my husband, even in self-defense.It is custom. We are ruled by custom upon Barsoom. It isuseless, my friend. You must bear the sorrow with me. Thatat least we may share in common. That, and the memory ofthe brief days among the Tharks. You must go now, nor eversee me again. Good-bye, my chieftain that was."

Disheartened and dejected, I withdrew from the room,but I was not entirely discouraged, nor would I admit thatDejah Thoris was lost to me until the ceremony had actuallybeen performed.

As I wandered along the corridors, I was as absolutelylost in the mazes of winding passageways as I had beenbefore I discovered Dejah Thoris' apartments.

I knew that my only hope lay in escape from the city ofZodanga, for the matter of the four dead guardsmen wouldhave to be explained, and as I could never reach my originalpost without a guide, suspicion would surely rest on me sosoon as I was discovered wandering aimlessly through thepalace.

Presently I came upon a spiral runway leading to a lowerfloor, and this I followed downward for several stories untilI reached the doorway of a large apartment in which were anumber of guardsmen. The walls of this room were hung withtransparent tapestries behind which I secreted myself withoutbeing apprehended.

The conversation of the guardsmen was general, andawakened no interest in me until an officer entered the roomand ordered four of the men to relieve the detail who wereguarding the Princess of Helium. Now, I knew, my troubleswould commence in earnest and indeed they were uponme all too soon, for it seemed that the squad had scarcelyleft the guardroom before one of their number burst inagain breathlessly, crying that they had found their fourcomrades butchered in the antechamber.

In a moment the entire palace was alive with people.Guardsmen, officers, courtiers, servants, and slaves ranhelter-skelter through the corridors and apartments carryingmessages and orders, and searching for signs of the assassin.

This was my opportunity and slim as it appeared I grasped it,for as a number of soldiers came hurrying past my hiding placeI fell in behind them and followed through the mazes of thepalace until, in passing through a great hall, I saw the blessedlight of day coming in through a series of larger windows.

Here I left my guides, and, slipping to the nearest window,sought for an avenue of escape. The windows openedupon a great balcony which overlooked one of the broadavenues of Zodanga. The ground was about thirty feet below,and at a like distance from the building was a wall fullytwenty feet high, constructed of polished glass about a footin thickness. To a red Martian escape by this path would haveappeared impossible, but to me, with my earthly strengthand agility, it seemed already accomplished. My only fearwas in being detected before darkness fell, for I could notmake the leap in broad daylight while the court below andthe avenue beyond were crowded with Zodangans.

Accordingly I searched for a hiding place and finally foundone by accident, inside a huge hanging ornament whichswung from the ceiling of the hall, and about ten feet fromthe floor. Into the capacious bowl-like vase I sprang withease, and scarcely had I settled down within it than I hearda number of people enter the apartment. The group stoppedbeneath my hiding place and I could plainly overhear theirevery word.

"It is the work of Heliumites," said one of the men.

"Yes, O Jeddak, but how had they access to the palace? Icould believe that even with the diligent care of yourguardsmen a single enemy might reach the inner chambers,but how a force of six or eight fighting men could havedone so unobserved is beyond me. We shall soon know, however,for here comes the royal psychologist."

Another man now joined the group, and, after making hisformal greetings to his ruler, said:

"O mighty Jeddak, it is a strange tale I read in the deadminds of your faithful guardsmen. They were felled not by anumber of fighting men, but by a single opponent."

He paused to let the full weight of this announcementimpress his hearers, and that his statement was scarcelycredited was evidenced by the impatient exclamation ofincredulity which escaped the lips of Than Kosis.

"What manner of weird tale are you bringing me, Notan?" he cried.

"It is the truth, my Jeddak," replied the psychologist."In fact the impressions were strongly marked on the brainof each of the four guardsmen. Their antagonist was a verytall man, wearing the metal of one of your own guardsmen,and his fighting ability was little short of marvelous for hefought fair against the entire four and vanquished them byhis surpassing skill and superhuman strength and endurance.Though he wore the metal of Zodanga, my Jeddak, such aman was never seen before in this or any other country uponBarsoom.

"The mind of the Princess of Helium whom I have examinedand questioned was a blank to me, she has perfectcontrol, and I could not read one iota of it. She said thatshe witnessed a portion of the encounter, and that when shelooked there was but one man engaged with the guardsmen;a man whom she did not recognize as ever having seen."

"Where is my erstwhile savior?" spoke another of theparty, and I recognized the voice of the cousin of Than Kosis,whom I had rescued from the green warriors. "By the metalof my first ancestor," he went on, "but the description fitshim to perfection, especially as to his fighting ability."

"Where is this man?" cried Than Kosis. "Have him broughtto me at once. What know you of him, cousin? It seemedstrange to me now that I think upon it that there shouldhave been such a fighting man in Zodanga, of whose name,even, we were ignorant before today. And his name too,John Carter, who ever heard of such a name upon Barsoom!"

Word was soon brought that I was nowhere to be found,either in the palace or at my former quarters in thebarracks of the air-scout squadron. Kantos Kan, they hadfound and questioned, but he knew nothing of my whereabouts,and as to my past, he had told them he knew as little, since hehad but recently met me during our captivity among the Warhoons.

"Keep your eyes on this other one," commanded Than Kosis."He also is a stranger and likely as not they both hailfrom Helium, and where one is we shall sooner or laterfind the other. Quadruple the air patrol, and let every manwho leaves the city by air or ground be subjected to theclosest scrutiny."

Another messenger now entered with word that I was stillwithin the palace walls.

"The likeness of every person who has entered or left thepalace grounds today has been carefully examined," concludedthe fellow, "and not one approaches the likeness of this newpadwar of the guards, other than that which was recorded ofhim at the time he entered."

"Then we will have him shortly," commented Than Kosiscontentedly, "and in the meanwhile we will repair to theapartments of the Princess of Helium and question her inregard to the affair. She may know more than she cared todivulge to you, Notan. Come."

They left the hall, and, as darkness had fallen without, Islipped lightly from my hiding place and hastened to thebalcony. Few were in sight, and choosing a moment whennone seemed near I sprang quickly to the top of the glasswall and from there to the avenue beyond the palace grounds.