The Prince of Mars Returns
Philip Francis Nowlan (1940)
Country of origin: U.S.A.
Available texts by the same author here
Chapter 14: We Reach Gakalu
We were allowed no time to rest. Our arms were freed; but then we were tied to the saddles of fresh dogs. Away we went, at breakneck speed, over the causeway and up the road toward the sea.The Ildin who raced at our sides kept strict military order and maintained a wary watch. But at length the Eps, a handsome though evil-faced young fellow, drew up beside us and ordered the others to follow.
He glanced at me with arrogant curiosity and then at Lil-rin, whose scanty desert garb concealed but little of her youthful curves. The expression in his eyes was not good to see.
"And so," he drawled at length, "Danan-lih, the 'God' from the Green Star, comes to Gakalu! Is your name really Danan-lih?"
"It is Dan Hanley," I replied.
He scowled. "It sounds much the same. And did you really come from the Green Star?"
"What do you think?" I snapped. And at this he laughed mockingly.
"It is a good story, anyhow," he said, "and one that the people love to swallow. With what, pray, did you darken your hair?"
"That is its natural color," Lil-rin cut in.
The Eps turned to gaze appraisingly at her again with that expression that made my blood boil.
"Do that again," I gritted, "and I'll find the strength to break these bonds and tear you apart!"
He glanced at me in pretended surprise, as though he did not understand, but underneath was that air of arrogant mockery.
"I'll make a bargain with you, Danan-lih," he said after a bit. "Gakko knows of your coming, but not of the girl's. These men are mine. Their loyalty to me is above even their loyalty to Gakko. Turn the girl over to me, and say nothing to Gakko about her.
"After I have delivered you at the Council Hall and am no longer technically responsible for you, I will contrive your escape. For Gakko surely intends to have your life," he added smugly to give weight to his evil argument.
The Lesser Lord's eagerness to double-cross Gakko, his commander-in-chief, is not to be wondered at. Throughout history, tyrants like Gakko, who depend on unscrupulous underlings to maintain their power have been stabbed in the back when they least expected. Indeed, from this history-proven fact may come the original thought behind the saying that "They who live by the sword, shall die by the sword."
I saw Lil-rin stiffen in her saddle and turn scarlet. The Eps, misinterpreting my own silence, went on in the conceit that his proposal would be received as reasonable.
"The girl appeals to my fancy. To have a warrior lass of the Ta n'Ur among my wives would be most interesting and undoubtedly amusing—"
He never finished that sentence. Although my legs were tied under the dog saddle, my arms were free. At that moment his mount brought him within reach.
I swayed toward the Lesser Lord and grasped his collar with one hand. With a wrench, I jerked him clear of his mount and planted a crashing blow in his face with my other fist.
"Now, Lil-rin, now!" I yelled. "Make a break for it, straight ahead!"
But the attempt was useless. The dogs on which we were mounted would not obey us, and in a moment we were borne helplessly to the ground by the avalanche of Ildin who leaped at us from behind.
When the pile was unscrambled I still held onto the Eps, choking and gasping from the twisting of his collar. I managed to drive my fist once more into his face before his minions pried me loose and my dog scrambled to his feet.
The Lesser Lord stood there spluttering and cursing, wiping the blood from his face. After a flood of invectives, he thrust his battered features forward into mine, for his men were holding me so that I could hardly move.
His voice rasped with bitter malevolence. "Were it not for Gakko, I would—and by the seven Alarin, I believe I will in spite of him! When he does see you, I can tell him you were hurt in resisting capture—"
"And," I interrupted him sharply, "I shall tell Gakko of your treason to him! Perhaps Gakko knows enough of your reputation even now to credit the infamous proposal you just made."
He grew suddenly pale, in strange contrast to the blood on his face. His manner changed just as abruptly.
"Enough!" he said. "It was my mistake. I did not understand your, ah, viewpoint, or I should not have asked you to do anything, er, dishonorable in your own eyes. But I will offer you another bargain."
Ah, so I had won the upper hand, prisoner and all!
"Say nothing of this to Gakko, and I will agree that you and the girl shall have every possible courtesy and comfort as long as you are in my hands. Is it agreed?" he demanded anxiously.
"Agreed," I said; and at this, the fear went out of his eyes, though there was much of worry left in his expression. Enough worry, I thought, to make him keep his promise. Or was it?
Through all this the Ildin had sat with wooden faces, though once or twice I caught the suspicion of a fleeting smile here and there among them. The Eps' followers may have been loyal, but evidently they were not personally displeased at his discomfiture. Lil-rin too was smiling a bit, but pretending she had noticed nothing.
So we went on, by easier stages now. Nor were our legs bound so tightly, and frequently the Eps had water offered to us and several times food. Once we stopped for a rest, which was most welcome. But I knew that every time my back was to him, the Lesser Lord's eyes were boring into me with baffled hatred.
Finally we reached our destination. Gakalu looked more like a great park or flower garden than the teeming city it was. For miles in every direction the gardens lay, diamond-patterned, between diagonal rows of streets paved in dull red, but with scarcely a building above ground. That is, if the little ornate structures constituting the entrances to the underground city were excepted.
Just below ground another system of streets was laid out in squares, at an angle of forty-five degrees to the paths above. The main arteries of this underground system emerged at strategic traffic points beyond the city. The ground level, in other words, was in reality the "roof" of the city.
The gardens, each surrounded by a low wall made from fragments of the iridescent stone, were places of recreation, rest and amusement. Here an open air cafe, with tables of intricate golden metal or carved stone, where refreshments were being served among gorgeous varicolored blooms; there, a recreation center, with crowds watching some game or performance.
Gakko's palace, castle, or Council Hall, whatever one chose to call it, for it served all three purposes was an edifice of such transcendent beauty as I had never seen before. In general lines it resembled somewhat the modified pyramidal motif that became so general on Earth in the second quarter of the Twentieth Century.
The structure stood at the very edge of the Polar Sea. In fact, abortive little waves of that windless expanse of water lapped and broke against one face of it, and reached halfway down the two sides.
As we approached down one of the diagonal streets, my heart leaped with satisfaction. There before us lay anchored the Ilmon fleet, our allies, about two hundred yards offshore: great raft-like, flat-bottomed craft on which huge spring-guns were mounted. Every few moments one of these would hurl a half ton of rock at the castle which would shatter quite futilely against the iridescent monolith, leaving its surface, as far as I could see, unmarred.
I cursed silently under my breath. It was quite obvious that the Ilmon attack was nothing but a gesture. Gakko had more "men" than the Ilmon could possibly crowd on their ships. Besides, the ruler of Gakalu had the advantage of mobility.
No matter what spot the Ilmon fleet might select for a landing, the defenders could concentrate a superior force there before the maneuver could be made effective. So Lil-rin and I had no hope of rescue from the ships.