the southeast, rising higher and higher as the flames ate away her wooden
parts and diminished the weight upon her. Ascending to the roof of the
building I watched her for hours, until finally she was lost in the dim
vistas of the distance. The sight was awe-inspiring in the extreme as one
contemplated this mighty floating funeral pyre, drifting unguided and
unmanned through the lonely wastes of the Martian heavens; a derelict of
death and destruction, typifying the life story of these strange and
ferocious creatures into whose unfriendly hands fate had carried it.
Much depressed, and, to me, unaccountably so, I slowly
descended to the street. The scene I had witnessed seemed to mark the
defeat and annihilation of the forces of a kindred people, rather than the
routing by our green warriors of a horde of similar, though unfriendly,
creatures. I could not fathom the seeming hallucination, nor could I free
myself from it; but somewhere in the innermost recesses of my soul I felt
a strange yearning toward these unknown foemen, and a mighty hope surged
through me that the fleet would return and demand a reckoning from the
green warriors who had so ruthlessly and wantonly attacked it.
Close at my heel, in his now accustomed place, followed
Woola, the hound, and as I emerged upon the street Sola rushed up to me as
though I had been the object of some search on her part. The cavalcade was
returning to the plaza, the homeward march having been given up for that
day; nor, in fact, was it recommenced for more than a week, owing to the
fear of a return attack by the air craft.
Lorquas Ptomel was too astute an old
warrior to be caught upon the open plains with a caravan of chariots and
children, and so we remained at the deserted city until the danger seemed
passed.
As Sola and I entered the plaza a
sight met my eyes which filled my whole being with a great surge of
mingled hope, fear, exultation, and depression, and yet most dominant was
a subtle sense of relief and happiness; for just as we neared the throng
of Martians I caught a glimpse of the prisoner from the battle craft who
was being roughly dragged into a nearby building by a couple of green
Martian females.
And the sight which met my eyes
was that of a slender, girlish figure, similar in every detail to the
earthly women of my past life. She did not see me at first, but just as
she was disappearing through the portal of the building which was to be
her prison she turned, and her eyes met mine. Her face was oval and
beautiful in the extreme, her every feature was finely chiseled and
exquisite, her eyes large and lustrous and her head surmounted by a mass
of coal black, waving hair, caught loosely into a strange yet becoming
coiffure. Her skin was of a light reddish copper color, against which the
crimson glow of her cheeks and the ruby of her beautifully molded lips
shone with a strangely enhancing effect.
She was as
destitute of clothes as the green Martians who accompanied her; indeed,
save for her highly wrought ornaments she was entirely naked, nor could
any apparel have enhanced the beauty of her perfect and symmetrical
figure.
As her gaze rested on me her eyes opened
wide in astonishment, and she made a little sign with her free hand; a
sign which I did not, of course, understand. Just a moment we gazed upon
each other, and then the look of hope and renewed courage which had
glorified her face as she discovered me, faded into one of utter
dejection, mingled with loathing and contempt. I realized I had not
answered her signal, and ignorant as I was of Martian customs, I
intuitively felt that she had made an appeal for succor and protection
which my unfortunate ignorance had prevented me from answering. And then
she was dragged out of my sight into the depths of the deserted
edifice.
As I came back to myself I glanced at
Sola, who had witnessed this encounter and I was surprised to note a
strange expression upon her usually expressionless countenance. What her
thoughts were I did not know, for as yet I had learned but little of the
Martian tongue; enough only to suffice for my daily needs.
As I reached the doorway of our building a strange
surprise awaited me. A warrior approached bearing the arms, ornaments, and
full accouterments of his kind. These he presented to me with a few
unintelligible words, and a bearing at once respectful and
menacing.