A Princess of Mars Rethroned by Edna Rice Burroughs Page B

visited
again during that period.
    The vaults which
hid the eggs until they were ready for the incubator were located
many miles south of the incubator, and would be visited yearly by
the council of twenty chieftains. Why they did not arrange to build
their vaults and incubators nearer home has always been a mystery
to me, and, like many other Martian mysteries, unsolved and
unsolvable by earthly reasoning and customs.
    Solan's duties
were now doubled, as he was compelled to care for the young Martian
as well as for me, but neither one of us required much attention,
and as we were both about equally advanced in Martian education,
Solan took it upon himself to train us together.
    His prize
consisted in a female about four feet tall, very strong and
physically perfect; also, she learned quickly, and we had
considerable amusement, at least I did, over the keen rivalry we
displayed. The Martian language, as I have said, is extremely
simple, and in a week I could make all my wants known and
understand nearly everything that was said to me. Likewise, under
Solan's tutelage, I developed my telepathic powers so that I
shortly could sense practically everything that went on around
me.
    What surprised
Solan most in me was that while I could catch telepathic messages
easily from others, and often when they were not intended for me,
no one could read a jot from my mind under any circumstances. At
first this vexed me, but later I was very glad of it, as it gave me
an undoubted advantage over the Martians.

    CHAPTER
VIII
    A FAIR CAPTIVE
FROM THE SKY

    The third day
after the incubator ceremony we set forth toward home, but scarcely
had the head of the procession debouched into the open ground
before the city than orders were given for an immediate and hasty
return. As though trained for years in this particular evolution,
the green Martians melted like mist into the spacious doorways of
the nearby buildings, until, in less than three minutes, the entire
cavalcade of chariots, mastodons and mounted warriors was nowhere
to be seen.
    Solan and I had
entered a building upon the front of the city, in fact, the same
one in which I had had my encounter with the apes, and, wishing to
see what had caused the sudden retreat, I mounted to an upper floor
and peered from the window out over the valley and the hills
beyond; and there I saw the cause of their sudden scurrying to
cover. A huge craft, long, low, and gray-painted, swung slowly over
the crest of the nearest hill. Following it came another, and
another, and another, until twenty of them, swinging low above the
ground, sailed slowly and majestically toward us.
    Each carried a
strange banner swung from stem to stern above the upper works, and
upon the prow of each was painted some odd device that gleamed in
the sunlight and showed plainly even at the distance at which we
were from the vessels. I could see figures crowding the forward
decks and upper works of the air craft. Whether they had discovered
us or simply were looking at the deserted city I could not say, but
in any event they received a rude reception, for suddenly and
without warning the green Martian warriors fired a terrific volley
from the windows of the buildings facing the little valley across
which the great ships were so peacefully advancing.
    Instantly the
scene changed as by magic; the foremost vessel swung broadside
toward us, and bringing his guns into play returned our fire, at
the same time moving parallel to our front for a short distance and
then turning back with the evident intention of completing a great
circle which would bring his up to position once more opposite our
firing line; the other vessels followed in his wake, each one
opening upon us as he swung into position. Our own fire never
diminished, and I doubt if twenty-five per cent of our shots went
wild. It had never been given me to see such deadly accuracy of
aim, and it seemed as though a little figure on one of the craft
dropped at the explosion of each