The Buccaneers of Venus Collection (Three novels in one volume!) by Otis Adelbert Kline

regained consciousness it was daylight. His first thought was for the girl who lay face downward beside him. As he lifted her tenderly in his arms he gave silent thanks, for she was breathing.
        Presently she opened her eyes and, for a moment, there was a startled expression in them. "Where are we?" she asked.
        "I haven't the slightest idea," replied Grandon. "I have no knowledge of Zarovian geography."
        "A prince, and you know naught of geography? That is indeed strange. Do they not teach it in your country?"
        "I am fairly well acquainted with the geography of the planet Earth—Terra—on which I was born, but we of that world know nothing of the geography of this one because of your cloud-filled atmosphere."
        She looked up at him in amazement. "But you wear the garments and insignia of the royal house of Uxpo. Moreover, you very closely resemble a prince of that house. Who are you?"
        "I am Robert Grandon, of Terra."
        "Grandon, of Terra? Ah, I recall the name. A Grandon, of Terra, was recently acclaimed Prince of Uxpo. It was said that he came in fulfillment of a prophecy from another world. And you are he. Truly the pranks of fortune are most amazing! Yesterday I made war on you; today I look to you for protection."
        "You made war on me? May I ask who you are?"
        "Can it be that you do not recognize me? I am Vernia, of Reabon."
        It all came to him in a flash. The lifelike painting in the shrine at the marble quarries. "How did you happen to be wandering alone and unarmed in the fern forest?"
        "I did not set out alone. When I started away from the camp I was accompanied by my four guards, and was armed with a tork and scarbo. Zueppa sent a messenger from the front to inform me that your men had broken through our lines and were headed for the camp. He advised me to leave at once, saying that the guards would conduct me to a safe place until your army had been overcome. I followed Zueppa's counsel, but had gone only a short distance when the guards disarmed me, and informed me that I was their prisoner.
        "They were about to bind my hands when the giant reptile appeared on the scene. Though traitors, they were brave men, for they stood their ground to do battle with the monster. He killed the foremost man with a single snap of his jaws. A second man met a like fate, and I believe he devoured all four of them—although I am not certain, as I turned and ran through the forest. When the storm came, I lost my bearings completely. I reached the river's edge where I fainted when I saw those terrible jaws poised above me. I presume that I should have been devoured then and there had the reptile not already eaten my guards."
        "Who is Zueppa?"
        "He is one of my officers—a good commander and strategist."
        "He may be a good soldier, but he is unquestionably a liar. My men did not break through your lines at all until after the storm had struck, and then only in small, scattered groups."
        "Then Zueppa was implicated in the plot. But who could have planned it, and for what purpose?"
        "That, I am unable to tell you."
        He looked at her so long and so searchingly that she grew uneasy. "Of what are you thinking?"
        "I was wondering what fate you would have meted out to me had your men captured me yesterday."
        She smiled. "I should probably have had you beheaded.
        "And now if we reach Reabon in safety I shall make you supreme commander over all the armies."
        "Why?"
        "As your reward for saving my life."
        "I ask no reward for that, nor could I accept it, much as I appreciate the honor."
        "It is the second highest in the greatest nation of Zarovia, an office second only to my own. Why, any king on the globe would be glad to exchange his position for it."
        "I have been made Prince of Uxpo," replied Grandon, "under my own name and because of my