CHAPTER IX
I LEARN THE LANGUAGE
As I came back to myself I glanced at Sola, who had witnessed thisencounter and I was surprised to note a strange expression upon herusually expressionless countenance. What her thoughts were I did notknow, for as yet I had learned but little of the Martian tongue; enoughonly to suffice for my daily needs.
As I reached the doorway of our building a strange surprise awaited me.A warrior approached bearing the arms, ornaments, and fullaccouterments of his kind. These he presented to me with a fewunintelligible words, and a bearing at once respectful and menacing.
Later, Sola, with the aid of several of the other women, remodeled thetrappings to fit my lesser proportions, and after they completed thework I went about garbed in all the panoply of war.
From then on Sola instructed me in the mysteries of the variousweapons, and with the Martian young I spent several hours each daypracticing upon the plaza. I was not yet proficient with all theweapons, but my great familiarity with similar earthly weapons made mean unusually apt pupil, and I progressed in a very satisfactory manner.
The training of myself and the young Martians was conducted solely bythe women, who not only attend to the education of the young in thearts of individual defense and offense, but are also the artisans whoproduce every manufactured article wrought by the green Martians. Theymake the powder, the cartridges, the firearms; in fact everything ofvalue is produced by the females. In time of actual warfare they forma part of the reserves, and when the necessity arises fight with evengreater intelligence and ferocity than the men.
The men are trained in the higher branches of the art of war; instrategy and the maneuvering of large bodies of troops. They make thelaws as they are needed; a new law for each emergency. They areunfettered by precedent in the administration of justice. Customs havebeen handed down by ages of repetition, but the punishment for ignoringa custom is a matter for individual treatment by a jury of theculprit's peers, and I may say that justice seldom misses fire, butseems rather to rule in inverse ratio to the ascendency of law. In onerespect at least the Martians are a happy people; they have no lawyers.
I did not see the prisoner again for several days subsequent to ourfirst encounter, and then only to catch a fleeting glimpse of her asshe was being conducted to the great audience chamber where I had hadmy first meeting with Lorquas Ptomel. I could not but note theunnecessary harshness and brutality with which her guards treated her;so different from the almost maternal kindliness which Sola manifestedtoward me, and the respectful attitude of the few green Martians whotook the trouble to notice me at all.
I had observed on the two occasions when I had seen her that theprisoner exchanged words with her guards, and this convinced me thatthey spoke, or at least could make themselves understood by a commonlanguage. With this added incentive I nearly drove Sola distracted bymy importunities to hasten on my education and within a few more days Ihad mastered the Martian tongue sufficiently well to enable me to carryon a passable conversation and to fully understand practically all thatI heard.
At this time our sleeping quarters were occupied by three or fourfemales and a couple of the recently hatched young, beside Sola and heryouthful ward, myself, and Woola the hound. After they had retired forthe night it was customary for the adults to carry on a desultoryconversation for a short time before lapsing into sleep, and now that Icould understand their language I was always a keen listener, althoughI never proffered any remarks myself.
On the night following the prisoner's visit to the audience chamber theconversation finally fell upon this subject, and I was all ears on theinstant. I had feared to question Sola relative to the beautifulcaptive, as I could not but recall the strange expression I had notedupon her face after my first encounter with the prisoner. That itdenoted jealousy I could not say, and yet, judging all things bymundane standards as I still did, I felt it safer to affectindifference in the matter until I learned more surely Sola's attitudetoward the object of my solicitude.
Sarkoja, one of the older women who shared our domicile, had beenpresent at the audience as one of the captive's guards, and it wastoward her the question turned.
"When," asked one of the women, "will we enjoy the death throes of thered one? or does Lorquas Ptomel, Jed, intend holding her for ransom?"
"They have decided to carry her with us back to Thark, and exhibit herlast agonies at the great games before Tal Hajus," replied Sarkoja.
"What will be the manner of her going out?" inquired Sola. "She isvery small and very beautiful; I had hoped that they would hold her forransom."
Sarkoja and the other women grunted angrily at this evidence ofweakness on the part of Sola.
"It is sad, Sola, that you were not born a million years ago," snappedSarkoja, "when all the hollows of the land were filled with water, andthe peoples were as soft as the stuff they sailed upon. In our day wehave progressed to a point where such sentiments mark weakness andatavism. It will not be well for you to permit Tars Tarkas to learnthat you hold such degenerate sentiments, as I doubt that he would careto entrust such as you with the grave responsibilities of maternity."
"I see nothing wrong with my expression of interest in this red woman,"retorted Sola. "She has never harmed us, nor would she should we havefallen into her hands. It is only the men of her kind who war upon us,and I have ever thought that their attitude toward us is but thereflection of ours toward them. They live at peace with all theirfellows, except when duty calls upon them to make war, while we are atpeace with none; forever warring among our own kind as well as upon thered men, and even in our own communities the individuals fight amongstthemselves. Oh, it is one continual, awful period of bloodshed fromthe time we break the shell until we gladly embrace the bosom of theriver of mystery, the dark and ancient Iss which carries us to anunknown, but at least no more frightful and terrible existence!Fortunate indeed is he who meets his end in an early death. Say whatyou please to Tars Tarkas, he can mete out no worse fate to me than acontinuation of the horrible existence we are forced to lead in thislife."
This wild outbreak on the part of Sola so greatly surprised and shockedthe other women, that, after a few words of general reprimand, they alllapsed into silence and were soon asleep. One thing the episode hadaccomplished was to assure me of Sola's friendliness toward the poorgirl, and also to convince me that I had been extremely fortunate infalling into her hands rather than those of some of the other females.I knew that she was fond of me, and now that I had discovered that shehated cruelty and barbarity I was confident that I could depend uponher to aid me and the girl captive to escape, provided of course thatsuch a thing was within the range of possibilities.
I did not even know that there were any better conditions to escape to,but I was more than willing to take my chances among people fashionedafter my own mold rather than to remain longer among the hideous andbloodthirsty green men of Mars. But where to go, and how, was as muchof a puzzle to me as the age-old search for the spring of eternal lifehas been to earthly men since the beginning of time.
I decided that at the first opportunity I would take Sola into myconfidence and openly ask her to aid me, and with this resolutionstrong upon me I turned among my silks and furs and slept the dreamlessand refreshing sleep of Mars.
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