A Fight That Won Friends

: A Princess Of Mars

The thing, which more nearly resembled our earthly men than it did the

Martians I had seen, held me pinioned to the ground with one huge foot,

while it jabbered and gesticulated at some answering creature behind

me. This other, which was evidently its mate, soon came toward us,

bearing a mighty stone cudgel with which it evidently intended to brain

me.



The creatures were about ten or fifteen feet tall, s
anding erect, and

had, like the green Martians, an intermediary set of arms or legs,

midway between their upper and lower limbs. Their eyes were close

together and non-protruding; their ears were high set, but more

laterally located than those of the Martians, while their snouts and

teeth were strikingly like those of our African gorilla. Altogether

they were not unlovely when viewed in comparison with the green

Martians.



The cudgel was swinging in the arc which ended upon my upturned face

when a bolt of myriad-legged horror hurled itself through the doorway

full upon the breast of my executioner. With a shriek of fear the ape

which held me leaped through the open window, but its mate closed in a

terrific death struggle with my preserver, which was nothing less than

my faithful watch-thing; I cannot bring myself to call so hideous a

creature a dog.



As quickly as possible I gained my feet and backing against the wall I

witnessed such a battle as it is vouchsafed few beings to see. The

strength, agility, and blind ferocity of these two creatures is

approached by nothing known to earthly man. My beast had an advantage

in his first hold, having sunk his mighty fangs far into the breast of

his adversary; but the great arms and paws of the ape, backed by

muscles far transcending those of the Martian men I had seen, had

locked the throat of my guardian and slowly were choking out his life,

and bending back his head and neck upon his body, where I momentarily

expected the former to fall limp at the end of a broken neck.



In accomplishing this the ape was tearing away the entire front of its

breast, which was held in the vise-like grip of the powerful jaws.

Back and forth upon the floor they rolled, neither one emitting a sound

of fear or pain. Presently I saw the great eyes of my beast bulging

completely from their sockets and blood flowing from its nostrils.

That he was weakening perceptibly was evident, but so also was the ape,

whose struggles were growing momentarily less.



Suddenly I came to myself and, with that strange instinct which seems

ever to prompt me to my duty, I seized the cudgel, which had fallen to

the floor at the commencement of the battle, and swinging it with all

the power of my earthly arms I crashed it full upon the head of the

ape, crushing his skull as though it had been an eggshell.



Scarcely had the blow descended when I was confronted with a new

danger. The ape's mate, recovered from its first shock of terror, had

returned to the scene of the encounter by way of the interior of the

building. I glimpsed him just before he reached the doorway and the

sight of him, now roaring as he perceived his lifeless fellow stretched

upon the floor, and frothing at the mouth, in the extremity of his

rage, filled me, I must confess, with dire forebodings.



I am ever willing to stand and fight when the odds are not too

overwhelmingly against me, but in this instance I perceived neither

glory nor profit in pitting my relatively puny strength against the

iron muscles and brutal ferocity of this enraged denizen of an unknown

world; in fact, the only outcome of such an encounter, so far as I

might be concerned, seemed sudden death.



I was standing near the window and I knew that once in the street I

might gain the plaza and safety before the creature could overtake me;

at least there was a chance for safety in flight, against almost

certain death should I remain and fight however desperately.



It is true I held the cudgel, but what could I do with it against his

four great arms? Even should I break one of them with my first blow,

for I figured that he would attempt to ward off the cudgel, he could

reach out and annihilate me with the others before I could recover for

a second attack.



In the instant that these thoughts passed through my mind I had turned

to make for the window, but my eyes alighting on the form of my

erstwhile guardian threw all thoughts of flight to the four winds. He

lay gasping upon the floor of the chamber, his great eyes fastened upon

me in what seemed a pitiful appeal for protection. I could not

withstand that look, nor could I, on second thought, have deserted my

rescuer without giving as good an account of myself in his behalf as he

had in mine.



Without more ado, therefore, I turned to meet the charge of the

infuriated bull ape. He was now too close upon me for the cudgel to

prove of any effective assistance, so I merely threw it as heavily as I

could at his advancing bulk. It struck him just below the knees,

eliciting a howl of pain and rage, and so throwing him off his balance

that he lunged full upon me with arms wide stretched to ease his fall.



Again, as on the preceding day, I had recourse to earthly tactics, and

swinging my right fist full upon the point of his chin I followed it

with a smashing left to the pit of his stomach. The effect was

marvelous, for, as I lightly sidestepped, after delivering the second

blow, he reeled and fell upon the floor doubled up with pain and

gasping for wind. Leaping over his prostrate body, I seized the cudgel

and finished the monster before he could regain his feet.



As I delivered the blow a low laugh rang out behind me, and, turning, I

beheld Tars Tarkas, Sola, and three or four warriors standing in the

doorway of the chamber. As my eyes met theirs I was, for the second

time, the recipient of their zealously guarded applause.



My absence had been noted by Sola on her awakening, and she had quickly

informed Tars Tarkas, who had set out immediately with a handful of

warriors to search for me. As they had approached the limits of the

city they had witnessed the actions of the bull ape as he bolted into

the building, frothing with rage.



They had followed immediately behind him, thinking it barely possible

that his actions might prove a clew to my whereabouts and had witnessed

my short but decisive battle with him. This encounter, together with

my set-to with the Martian warrior on the previous day and my feats of

jumping placed me upon a high pinnacle in their regard. Evidently

devoid of all the finer sentiments of friendship, love, or affection,

these people fairly worship physical prowess and bravery, and nothing

is too good for the object of their adoration as long as he maintains

his position by repeated examples of his skill, strength, and courage.



Sola, who had accompanied the searching party of her own volition, was

the only one of the Martians whose face had not been twisted in

laughter as I battled for my life. She, on the contrary, was sober

with apparent solicitude and, as soon as I had finished the monster,

rushed to me and carefully examined my body for possible wounds or

injuries. Satisfying herself that I had come off unscathed she smiled

quietly, and, taking my hand, started toward the door of the chamber.



Tars Tarkas and the other warriors had entered and were standing over

the now rapidly reviving brute which had saved my life, and whose life

I, in turn, had rescued. They seemed to be deep in argument, and

finally one of them addressed me, but remembering my ignorance of his

language turned back to Tars Tarkas, who, with a word and gesture, gave

some command to the fellow and turned to follow us from the room.



There seemed something menacing in their attitude toward my beast, and

I hesitated to leave until I had learned the outcome. It was well I

did so, for the warrior drew an evil looking pistol from its holster

and was on the point of putting an end to the creature when I sprang

forward and struck up his arm. The bullet striking the wooden casing

of the window exploded, blowing a hole completely through the wood and

masonry.



I then knelt down beside the fearsome-looking thing, and raising it to

its feet motioned for it to follow me. The looks of surprise which my

actions elicited from the Martians were ludicrous; they could not

understand, except in a feeble and childish way, such attributes as

gratitude and compassion. The warrior whose gun I had struck up looked

enquiringly at Tars Tarkas, but the latter signed that I be left to my

own devices, and so we returned to the plaza with my great beast

following close at heel, and Sola grasping me tightly by the arm.



I had at least two friends on Mars; a young woman who watched over me

with motherly solicitude, and a dumb brute which, as I later came to

know, held in its poor ugly carcass more love, more loyalty, more

gratitude than could have been found in the entire five million green

Martians who rove the deserted cities and dead sea bottoms of Mars.



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