Free A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

conversation and to fully understand
practically all that I heard.
    At this time our sleeping quarters were occupied by three or four
females and a couple of the recently hatched young, beside Sola and
her youthful ward, myself, and Woola the hound. After they had
retired for the night it was customary for the adults to carry on a
desultory conversation for a short time before lapsing into sleep,
and now that I could understand their language I was always a keen
listener, although I never proffered any remarks myself.
    On the night following the prisoner's visit to the audience chamber
the conversation finally fell upon this subject, and I was all ears
on the instant. I had feared to question Sola relative to the
beautiful captive, as I could not but recall the strange expression
I had noted upon her face after my first encounter with the
prisoner. That it denoted jealousy I could not say, and yet,
judging all things by mundane standards as I still did, I felt it
safer to affect indifference in the matter until I learned more
surely Sola's attitude toward the object of my solicitude.
    Sarkoja, one of the older women who shared our domicile, had been
present at the audience as one of the captive's guards, and it
was toward her the question turned.
    "When," asked one of the women, "will we enjoy the death throes of
the red one? or does Lorquas Ptomel, Jed, intend holding her for
ransom?"
    "They have decided to carry her with us back to Thark, and exhibit
her last agonies at the great games before Tal Hajus," replied
Sarkoja.
    "What will be the manner of her going out?" inquired Sola. "She
is very small and very beautiful; I had hoped that they would hold
her for ransom."
    Sarkoja and the other women grunted angrily at this evidence of
weakness on the part of Sola.
    "It is sad, Sola, that you were not born a million years ago,"
snapped Sarkoja, "when all the hollows of the land were filled with
water, and the peoples were as soft as the stuff they sailed upon.
In our day we have progressed to a point where such sentiments mark
weakness and atavism. It will not be well for you to permit Tars
Tarkas to learn that you hold such degenerate sentiments, as I
doubt that he would care to entrust such as you with the grave
responsibilities of maternity."
    "I see nothing wrong with my expression of interest in this red
woman," retorted Sola. "She has never harmed us, nor would she
should we have fallen into her hands. It is only the men of her
kind who war upon us, and I have ever thought that their attitude
toward us is but the reflection of ours toward them. They live at
peace with all their fellows, except when duty calls upon them to
make war, while we are at peace with none; forever warring among
our own kind as well as upon the red men, and even in our own
communities the individuals fight amongst themselves. Oh, it is
one continual, awful period of bloodshed from the time we break the
shell until we gladly embrace the bosom of the river of mystery,
the dark and ancient Iss which carries us to an unknown, but at
least no more frightful and terrible existence! Fortunate indeed is
he who meets his end in an early death. Say what you please to Tars
Tarkas, he can mete out no worse fate to me than a continuation of
the horrible existence we are forced to lead in this life."
    This wild outbreak on the part of Sola so greatly surprised and
shocked the other women, that, after a few words of general
reprimand, they all lapsed into silence and were soon asleep. One
thing the episode had accomplished was to assure me of Sola's
friendliness toward the poor girl, and also to convince me that I
had been extremely fortunate in falling into her hands rather than
those of some of the other females. I knew that she was fond of me,
and now that I had discovered that she hated cruelty and barbarity
I was confident that I could depend upon her to aid me and the girl
captive to escape, provided of course that such a thing was within
the range of