Free The Gods of Mars Revoked by Edna Rice Burroughs Page B

from the mountain a
canoe laden with lost souls from the outer world. There were a
dozen of them. All were of the highly civilized and cultured race
of red women who are dominant on Mars.
    The eyes of the
herald upon the balcony beneath us fell upon the doomed party as
soon as did ours. She raised her head and leaning far out over the
low rail that rimmed her dizzy perch, voiced the shrill, weird wail
that called the demons of this hellish place to the
attack.
    For an instant
the brutes stood with stiffly erected ears, then they poured from
the grove toward the river's bank, covering the distance with
great, ungainly leaps.
    The party had
landed and was standing on the sward as the awful horde came in
sight. There was a brief and futile effort of defence. Then silence
as the huge, repulsive shapes covered the bodies of their victims
and scores of sucking mouths fastened themselves to the flesh of
their prey.
    I turned away in
disgust.
    'Their part is
soon over,' said Thuviar. 'The great white apes get the flesh when
the plant women have drained the arteries. Look, they are coming
now.'
    As I turned my
eyes in the direction the boy indicated, I saw a dozen of the great
white monsters running across the valley toward the river bank.
Then the sun went down and darkness that could almost be felt
engulfed us.
    Thuviar lost no
time in leading us toward the corridor which winds back and forth
up through the cliffs toward the surface thousands of feet above
the level on which we had been.
    Twice great
banths, wandering loose through the galleries, blocked our
progress, but in each instance Thuviar spoke a low word of command
and the snarling beasts slunk sullenly away.
    'If you can
dissolve all our obstacles as easily as you mistress these fierce
brutes I can see no difficulties in our way,' I said to the boy,
smiling. 'How do you do it?'
    He laughed, and
then shuddered.
    'I do not quite
know,' he said. 'When first I came here I angered Satora Throg,
because I repulsed her. She ordered me to be thrown into one of the
great pits in the inner gardens. It was filled with banths. In my
own country I had been accustomed to command. Something in my
voice, I do not know what, cowed the beasts as they sprang to
attack me.
    'Instead of
tearing me to pieces, as Satora Throg had desired, they fawned at
my feet. So greatly were Satora Throg and her friends amused by the
sight that they kept me to train and handle the terrible creatures.
I know them all by name. There are many of them wandering through
these lower regions. They are the scavengers. Many prisoners die
here in their chains. The banths solve the problem of sanitation,
at least in this respect.
    'In the gardens
and temples above they are kept in pits. The therns fear them. It
is because of the banths that they seldom venture below ground
except as their duties call them.'
    An idea occurred
to me, suggested by what Thuviar had just said.
    'Why not take a
number of banths and set them loose before us above ground?' I
asked.
    Thuviar
laughed.
    'It would
distract attention from us, I am sure,' he said.
    He commenced
calling in a low singsong voice that was half purr. He continued
this as we wound our tedious way through the maze of subterranean
passages and chambers.
    Presently soft,
padded feet sounded close behind us, and as I turned I saw a pair
of great, green eyes shining in the dark shadows at our rear. From
a diverging tunnel a sinuous, tawny form crept stealthily toward
us.
    Low growls and
angry snarls assailed our ears on every side as we hastened on and
one by one the ferocious creatures answered the call of their
master.
    He spoke a word
to each as it joined us. Like well-schooled terriers, they paced
the corridors with us, but I could not help but note the lathering
jowls, nor the hungry expressions with which they eyed Tara Tarkas
and myself.
    Soon we were
entirely surrounded by some fifty of the brutes. Two walked close
on either side of Thuviar, as guards might walk. The