"But how did you know that I had been recaptured and that I would be returned to Morbus today? It is all very confusing and baffling; I cannot understand it."
"Did you not hear that a malagor was stolen from your camp last night?" I asked.
"Tor-dur-bar!" she exclaimed. "It was you? What were you doing there?"
"I had set out in search of you and was beside the island when your party landed."
"I see," she said. "How very clever and how very brave."
"If you had believed in me and trusted me," I said, "we might have escaped; but I do not believe that I would have been such a fool as to be recaptured, as was Sytor."
"I believed in you and trusted you more than any other," she said.
"Then why did you run away with Sytor?" I demanded.
"I did not run away with Sytor. He tried to persuade me, telling me many stories about you which I did not wish to believe. Finally I told him definitely that I would not go with him, but he and Pandar came in the night and took me by force."
"I am glad that you did not go away with him willingly," I said. I can tell you that it made me feel very good to think that she had not done so; and now I loved her more than ever, but little good it would do me as long as I sported this hideous carcass and monstrously inhuman face.
"And what of Vor Daj?" she asked presently.
"We shall have to leave his body where it is until Ras Thavas returns; there is no alternative."
"But if Ras Thavas never returns?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Then Vor Daj will lie where he is through all eternity," I replied.
"How horrible," she breathed. "He was so handsome, so wonderful."
"You thought well of him?" I asked. And I was immediately ashamed of myself for taking this unfair advantage of her.
"I thought well of him," she said, in a matter-of-fact tone, a reply which was neither very exciting nor very encouraging. She might have spoken in the same way of a thoat or a calot.
Sometime after noon, it became apparent that the malagor had about reached the limit of its endurance. It began to drop closer and closer toward the marshes, and presently it came to the ground upon one of the largest islands that I had seen. It was a very attractive island, with hill and dale and forest land, and a little stream winding down to the lake, a most unusual sight upon Barsoom. The moment that the malagor alighted, it rolled over upon its side throwing us to the ground, and I thought that it was about to die as it lay there struggling and gasping.
"Poor thing!" said Janai. "It has been carrying double for three days now, and with insufficient food, practically none at all."
"Well, it has at least brought us away from Morbus," I said, "and if it recovers it is going to take us on to Helium."
"Why to Helium?" she asked.
"Because it is the only country where I am sure you will find safe asylum."
"And why should I find safety there?" she demanded.
"Because you are a friend of Vor Daj; and John Carter, Warlord of Barsoom, will see that any friend of Vor Daj is well received and well treated."
"And you?" she asked. I must have shuddered visibly at the thought of entering Helium in this horrible guise, for she said quickly, "I am sure that you will be received well, too, for you certainly deserve it far more than I." She thought for a moment in silence, and then she asked, "Do you know what became of the brain of Vor Daj? Sytor told me that it was destroyed."
I wanted to tell her the truth; but I could not bring myself to it, and so I said, "It was not destroyed. Ras Thavas knows where it is; and if I ever find him, it will be restored to Vor Daj."
"It does not seem possible that we two shall ever find Ras Thavas," she said, sadly.
It did not seem likely to me either, but I would not give up hope. John Carter must live! Ras Thavas must live! And some day I should find them.
But what of my body lying there beneath the laboratory building of Morbus? What if the mass from Vat Room No. 4 found its way into 3-17? The very thought made me feel faint; and yet it was not impossible. If the building and the corridor filled with the mass, the great pressure that it would exert might conceivably break down even the massive door of 3-17. Then those horrid heads would devour me; or, if the mass spread from the island across the marshes, it would be impossible ever to retrieve my body even though it remained forever untouched.
It was not a very cheerful outlook, and I found it extremely depressing; but my thoughts were suddenly recalled to other channels by an exclamation from Janai.
"Look!" she cried.
I turned in the direction she was pointing, to see a number of strange creatures coming toward us in prodigious leaps and bounds. That they were some species of human being was apparent, but there were variations which rendered them unlike any other animal on Mars. They had long, powerful legs, the knees of which were always flexed except immediately after the take-off of one of their prodigious leaps, and they had long, powerful tails; otherwise, they seemed quite human in conformation. As they came closer, I noted that they were entirely naked except for a simple harness which supported a shortsword on one side and a dagger on the other. Besides these weapons, each of them carried a spear in his right hand. They quickly surrounded us, remaining at a little distance from us, squatting down with their knees bent as they supported themselves on their broad, flat feet and their tails.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" demanded one of them, surprising me by the fact that he possessed speech.
"We were flying over your island," I replied, "when our malagor became tired and was forced to come to ground to rest. As soon as we are able, we shall continue on our way."
The fellow shook his head. "You will never leave Gooli," he said. He was examining me closely. "What are you?" he asked.
"I am a man," I said, stretching the point a little.
He shook his head. "And what is that?" He pointed at Janai.
"A woman," I replied.
Again he shook his head.
"She is only half a woman," he said. "She has no way of rearing her young or keeping them warm. If she had any, they would die as soon as they were hatched."
Well, that was a subject I saw no reason for going into, and so I kept silent.
Janai seemed slightly amused, for if she were nothing else she was extremely feminine.
"What do you intend to do with us?" I demanded.
"We shall take you to the Jed, and he will decide. Perhaps he will let you live and work; perhaps he will destroy you. You are very ugly, but you look strong; you should be a good worker. The woman appears useless, if she can be called a woman."
I was at a loss as to what to do. We were surrounded by fully fifty warriors, well though crudely armed. With my terrific strength, I might have destroyed many of them; but eventually I was sure that they would overpower and kill me.
It would be better to go with them to their Jed and await a better opportunity for escape. "Very well," I said, "we will go with you."
"Of course you will," he said. "What else could you do?"
"I could fight," I said.
"Ho ho, you would like to fight, would you?" he demanded. "Well, I think that if that is the case, the Jed will accommodate you. Come with us."
They led us back along the stream and up over a little rise of ground beyond which we saw a forest, at the edge of which lay a village of thatched huts.
"That," said the leader, pointing, "is Gooli, the largest city in the world. There, in his great palace, dwells Anatok, Jed of Gooli and all of the Island of Ompt."