The Hall Of Doom

: Thuvia, Maid Of Mars

As Thuvia of Ptarth saw Carthoris depart from the presence of Tario,

leaving her alone with the man, a sudden qualm of terror seized

her.



There was an air of mystery pervading the stately chamber. Its

furnishings and appointments bespoke wealth and culture, and

carried the suggestion that the room was often the scene of royal

functions which filled it to its capacity.



And yet n where about her, in antechamber or corridor, was there

sign of any other being than herself and the recumbent figure of

Tario, the jeddak, who watched her through half-closed eyes from

the gorgeous trappings of his regal couch.



For a time after the departure of Jav and Carthoris the man eyed

her intently. Then he spoke.



"Come nearer," he said, and, as she approached: "Whose creature

are you? Who has dared materialize his imaginings of woman? It is

contrary to the customs and the royal edicts of Lothar. Tell me,

woman, from whose brain have you sprung? Jav's? No, do not deny

it. I know that it could be no other than that envious realist. He

seeks to tempt me. He would see me fall beneath the spell of your

charms, and then he, your master, would direct my destiny and--my

end. I see it all! I see it all!"



The blood of indignation and anger had been rising to Thuvia's

face. Her chin was up, a haughty curve upon her perfect lips.



"I know naught," she cried, "of what you are prating! I am Thuvia,

Princess of Ptarth. I am no man's 'creature.' Never before to-day

did I lay eyes upon him you call Jav, nor upon your ridiculous city,

of which even the greatest nations of Barsoom have never dreamed.



"My charms are not for you, nor such as you. They are not for

sale or barter, even though the price were a real throne. And as

for using them to win your worse than futile power--" She ended

her sentence with a shrug of her shapely shoulders, and a little

scornful laugh.



When she had finished Tario was sitting upon the edge of his

couch, his feet upon the floor. He was leaning forward with eyes

no longer half closed, but wide with a startled expression in them.



He did not seem to note the LESE MAJESTE of her words and manner.

There was evidently something more startling and compelling about

her speech than that.



Slowly he came to his feet.



"By the fangs of Komal!" he muttered. "But you are REAL! A REAL

woman! No dream! No vain and foolish figment of the mind!"



He took a step toward her, with hands outstretched.



"Come!" he whispered. "Come, woman! For countless ages have I

dreamed that some day you would come. And now that you are here

I can scarce believe the testimony of my eyes. Even now, knowing

that you are real, I still half dread that you may be a lie."



Thuvia shrank back. She thought the man mad. Her hand stole to

the jewelled hilt of her dagger. The man saw the move, and stopped.

A cunning expression entered his eyes. Then they became at once

dreamy and penetrating as they fairly bored into the girl's brain.



Thuvia suddenly felt a change coming over her. What the cause of

it she did not guess; but somehow the man before her began to assume

a new relationship within her heart.



No longer was he a strange and mysterious enemy, but an old and

trusted friend. Her hand slipped from the dagger's hilt. Tario

came closer. He spoke gentle, friendly words, and she answered

him in a voice that seemed hers and yet another's.



He was beside her now. His hand was up her shoulder. His eyes

were down-bent toward hers. She looked up into his face. His

gaze seemed to bore straight through her to some hidden spring of

sentiment within her.



Her lips parted in sudden awe and wonder at the strange revealment

of her inner self that was being laid bare before her consciousness.

She had known Tario for ever. He was more than friend to her.

She moved a little closer to him. In one swift flood of light she

knew the truth. She loved Tario, Jeddak of Lothar! She had always

loved him.



The man, seeing the success of his strategy, could not restrain a

faint smile of satisfaction. Whether there was something in the

expression of his face, or whether from Carthoris of Helium in a

far chamber of the palace came a more powerful suggestion, who may

say? But something there was that suddenly dispelled the strange,

hypnotic influence of the man.



As though a mask had been torn from her eyes, Thuvia suddenly saw

Tario as she had formerly seen him, and, accustomed as she was to

the strange manifestations of highly developed mentality which are

common upon Barsoom, she quickly guessed enough of the truth to

know that she was in grave danger.



Quickly she took a step backward, tearing herself from his grasp.

But the momentary contact had aroused within Tario all the long-buried

passions of his loveless existence.



With a muffled cry he sprang upon her, throwing his arms about her

and attempting to drag her lips to his.



"Woman!" he cried. "Lovely woman! Tario would make you queen of

Lothar. Listen to me! Listen to the love of the last jeddaks of

Barsoom."



Thuvia struggled to free herself from his embrace.



"Stop, creature!" she cried. "Stop! I do not love you. Stop, or

I shall scream for help!"



Tario laughed in her face.



"'Scream for help,'" he mimicked. "And who within the halls of

Lothar is there who might come in answer to your call? Who would

dare enter the presence of Tario, unsummoned?"



"There is one," she replied, "who would come, and, coming, dare

to cut you down upon your own throne, if he thought that you had

offered affront to Thuvia of Ptarth!"



"Who, Jav?" asked Tario.



"Not Jav, nor any other soft-skinned Lotharian," she replied; "but

a real man, a real warrior--Carthoris of Helium!"



Again the man laughed at her.



"You forget the bowmen," he reminded her. "What could your red

warrior accomplish against my fearless legions?"



Again he caught her roughly to him, dragging her towards his couch.



"If you will not be my queen," he said, "you shall be my slave."



"Neither!" cried the girl.



As she spoke the single word there was a quick move of her right

hand; Tario, releasing her, staggered back, both hands pressed to

his side. At the same instant the room filled with bowmen, and

then the jeddak of Lothar sank senseless to the marble floor.



At the instant that he lost consciousness the bowmen were about to

release their arrows into Thuvia's heart. Involuntarily she gave

a single cry for help, though she knew that not even Carthoris of

Helium could save her now.



Then she closed her eyes and waited for the end. No slender shafts

pierced her tender side. She raised her lids to see what stayed

the hand of her executioners.



The room was empty save for herself and the still form of the jeddak

of Lothar lying at her feet, a little pool of crimson staining the

white marble of the floor beside him. Tario was unconscious.



Thuvia was amazed. Where were the bowmen? Why had they not loosed

their shafts? What could it all mean?



An instant before the room had been mysteriously filled with

armed men, evidently called to protect their jeddak; yet now, with

the evidence of her deed plain before them, they had vanished as

mysteriously as they had come, leaving her alone with the body of

their ruler, into whose side she had slipped her long, keen blade.



The girl glanced apprehensively about, first for signs of the return

of the bowmen, and then for some means of escape.



The wall behind the dais was pierced by two small doorways, hidden

by heavy hangings. Thuvia was running quickly towards one of

these when she heard the clank of a warrior's metal at the end of

the apartment behind her.



Ah, if she had but an instant more of time she could have reached

that screening arras and, perchance, have found some avenue of

escape behind it; but now it was too late--she had been discovered!



With a feeling that was akin to apathy she turned to meet her fate,

and there, before her, running swiftly across the broad chamber to

her side, was Carthoris, his naked long-sword gleaming in his hand.



For days she had doubted his intentions of the Heliumite. She

had thought him a party to her abduction. Since Fate had thrown

them together she had scarce favoured him with more than the most

perfunctory replies to his remarks, unless at such times as the

weird and uncanny happenings at Lothar had surprised her out of

her reserve.



She knew that Carthoris of Helium would fight for her; but whether

to save her for himself or another, she was in doubt.



He knew that she was promised to Kulan Tith, Jeddak of Kaol, but

if he had been instrumental in her abduction, his motives could

not be prompted by loyalty to his friend, or regard for her honour.



And yet, as she saw him coming across the marble floor of the audience

chamber of Tario of Lothar, his fine eyes filled with apprehension

for her safety, his splendid figure personifying all that is finest

in the fighting men of martial Mars, she could not believe that

any faintest trace of perfidy lurked beneath so glorious an exterior.



Never, she thought, in all her life had the sight of any man been

so welcome to her. It was with difficulty that she refrained from

rushing forward to meet him.



She knew that he loved her; but, in time, she recalled that she was

promised to Kulan Tith. Not even might she trust herself to show

too great gratitude to the Heliumite, lest he misunderstand.



Carthoris was by her side now. His quick glance had taken in the

scene within the room--the still figure of the jeddak sprawled upon

the floor--the girl hastening toward a shrouded exit.



"Did he harm you, Thuvia?" he asked.



She held up her crimsoned blade that he might see it.



"No," she said, "he did not harm me."



A grim smile lighted Carthoris' face.



"Praised be our first ancestor!" he murmured. "And now let us see

if we may not make good our escape from this accursed city before

the Lotharians discover that their jeddak is no more."



With the firm authority that sat so well upon him in whose veins

flowed the blood of John Carter of Virginia and Dejah Thoris

of Helium, he grasped her hand and, turning back across the hall,

strode toward the great doorway through which Jav had brought them

into the presence of the jeddak earlier in the day.



They had almost reached the threshold when a figure sprang into the

apartment through another entrance. It was Jav. He, too, took in

the scene within at a glance.



Carthoris turned to face him, his sword ready in his hand, and his

great body shielding the slender figure of the girl.



"Come, Jav of Lothar!" he cried. "Let us face the issue at once,

for only one of us may leave this chamber alive with Thuvia of

Ptarth." Then, seeing that the man wore no sword, he exclaimed:

"Bring on your bowmen, then, or come with us as my prisoner until

we have safely passed the outer portals of thy ghostly city."



"You have killed Tario!" exclaimed Jav, ignoring the other's

challenge. "You have killed Tario! I see his blood upon the

floor--real blood--real death. Tario was, after all, as real as I.

Yet he was an etherealist. He would not materialize his sustenance.

Can it be that they are right? Well, we, too, are right. And all

these ages we have been quarrelling--each saying that the other

was wrong!



"However, he is dead now. Of that I am glad. Now shall Jav come

into his own. Now shall Jav be Jeddak of Lothar!"



As he finished, Tario opened his eyes and then quickly sat up.



"Traitor! Assassin!" he screamed, and then: "Kadar! Kadar!"

which is the Barsoomian for guard.



Jav went sickly white. He fell upon his belly, wriggling toward

Tario.



"Oh, my Jeddak, my Jeddak!" he whimpered. "Jav had no hand in

this. Jav, your faithful Jav, but just this instant entered the

apartment to find you lying prone upon the floor and these two

strangers about to leave. How it happened I know not. Believe me,

most glorious Jeddak!"



"Cease, knave!" cried Tario. "I heard your words: 'However, he

is dead now. Of that I am glad. Now shall Jav come into his own.

Now shall Jav be Jeddak of Lothar.'



"At last, traitor, I have found you out. Your own words have

condemned you as surely as the acts of these red creatures have

sealed their fates--unless--" He paused. "Unless the woman--"



But he got no further. Carthoris guessed what he would have said,

and before the words could be uttered he had sprung forward and

struck the man across the mouth with his open palm.



Tario frothed in rage and mortification.



"And should you again affront the Princess of Ptarth," warned the

Heliumite, "I shall forget that you wear no sword--not for ever

may I control my itching sword hand."



Tario shrank back toward the little doorways behind the dais. He

was trying to speak, but so hideously were the muscles of his face

working that he could utter no word for several minutes. At last

he managed to articulate intelligibly.



"Die!" he shrieked. "Die!" and then he turned toward the exit at

his back.



Jav leaped forward, screaming in terror.



"Have pity, Tario! Have pity! Remember the long ages that I have

served you faithfully. Remember all that I have done for Lothar.

Do not condemn me now to the death hideous. Save me! Save me!"



But Tario only laughed a mocking laugh and continued to back toward

the hangings that hid the little doorway.



Jav turned toward Carthoris.



"Stop him!" he screamed. "Stop him! If you love life, let him

not leave this room," and as he spoke he leaped in pursuit of his

jeddak.



Carthoris followed Jav's example, but the "last of the jeddaks

of Barsoom" was too quick for them. By the time they reached the

arras behind which he had disappeared, they found a heavy stone

door blocking their further progress.



Jav sank to the floor in a spasm of terror.



"Come, man!" cried Carthoris. "We are not dead yet. Let us

hasten to the avenues and make an attempt to leave the city. We

are still alive, and while we live we may yet endeavour to direct

our own destinies. Of what avail, to sink spineless to the floor?

Come, be a man!"



Jav but shook his head.



"Did you not hear him call the guards?" he moaned. "Ah, if we

could have but intercepted him! Then there might have been hope;

but, alas, he was too quick for us."



"Well, well," exclaimed Carthoris impatiently. "What if he did

call the guards? There will be time enough to worry about that

after they come--at present I see no indication that they have any

idea of over-exerting themselves to obey their jeddak's summons."



Jav shook his head mournfully.



"You do not understand," he said. "The guards have already

come--and gone. They have done their work and we are lost. Look

to the various exits."



Carthoris and Thuvia turned their eyes in the direction of the

several doorways which pierced the walls of the great chamber.

Each was tightly closed by huge stone doors.



"Well?" asked Carthoris.



"We are to die the death," whispered Jav faintly.



Further than that he would not say. He just sat upon the edge of

the jeddak's couch and waited.



Carthoris moved to Thuvia's side, and, standing there with naked

sword, he let his brave eyes roam ceaselessly about the great

chamber, that no foe might spring upon them unseen.



For what seemed hours no sound broke the silence of their living

tomb. No sign gave their executioners of the time or manner of

their death. The suspense was terrible. Even Carthoris of Helium

began to feel the terrible strain upon his nerves. If he could

but know how and whence the hand of death was to strike, he could

meet it unafraid, but to suffer longer the hideous tension of this

blighting ignorance of the plans of their assassins was telling

upon him grievously.



Thuvia of Ptarth drew quite close to him. She felt safer with the

feel of his arm against hers, and with the contact of her the man

took a new grip upon himself. With his old-time smile he turned

toward her.



"It would seem that they are trying to frighten us to death," he

said, laughing; "and, shame be upon me that I should confess it,

I think they were close to accomplishing their designs upon me."



She was about to make some reply when a fearful shriek broke from

the lips of the Lotharian.



"The end is coming!" he cried. "The end is coming! The floor!

The floor! Oh, Komal, be merciful!"



Thuvia and Carthoris did not need to look at the floor to be aware

of the strange movement that was taking place.



Slowly the marble flagging was sinking in all directions toward

the centre. At first the movement, being gradual, was scarce

noticeable; but presently the angle of the floor became such that

one might stand easily only by bending one knee considerably.



Jav was shrieking still, and clawing at the royal couch that had

already commenced to slide toward the centre of the room, where both

Thuvia and Carthoris suddenly noted a small orifice which grew in

diameter as the floor assumed more closely a funnel-like contour.



Now it became more and more difficult to cling to the dizzy

inclination of the smooth and polished marble.



Carthoris tried to support Thuvia, but himself commenced to slide

and slip toward the ever-enlarging aperture.



Better to cling to the smooth stone he kicked off his sandals

of zitidar hide and with his bare feet braced himself against the

sickening tilt, at the same time throwing his arms supportingly

about the girl.



In her terror her own hands clasped about the man's neck. Her

cheek was close to his. Death, unseen and of unknown form, seemed

close upon them, and because unseen and unknowable infinitely more

terrifying.



"Courage, my princess," he whispered.



She looked up into his face to see smiling lips above hers and

brave eyes, untouched by terror, drinking deeply of her own.



Then the floor sagged and tilted more swiftly. There was a sudden

slipping rush as they were precipitated toward the aperture.



Jav's screams rose weird and horrible in their ears, and then the

three found themselves piled upon the royal couch of Tario, which

had stuck within the aperture at the base of the marble funnel.



For a moment they breathed more freely, but presently they discovered

that the aperture was continuing to enlarge. The couch slipped

downward. Jav shrieked again. There was a sickening sensation as

they felt all let go beneath them, as they fell through darkness

to an unknown death.