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.'
As we approached the village, a couple of hundred people came to meet us. There were men, women and children; and when I examined the women I realized why the leader of the party that had captured us thought that Janai was not wholly feminine. These Goolians of the Island of Ompt are marsupials, oviparous marsupials. The females lay eggs which they carry in a pouch on the lower part of the abdomen. In this pouch the eggs hatch, and in it the young live and take shelter until they are able to fend for themselves. It was quite amusing to see the little heads protruding from their mothers' pouches as they surveyed us with wondering eyes. Up to this time I had believed that there was only one marsupial upon Barsoom, and that a reptile; so it seemed quite remarkable to see these seemingly quite human people bearing their young in abdominal pouches.
The creatures that came out from the village to meet us were quite rough with us, pulling and hauling us this way and that as they sought to examine us more closely. I towered above them all and they were a little in awe of me; but they were manhandling Janai quite badly when I interfered, pushing several of them away so forcibly that they were thrown to the ground, whereupon two or three of them drew their swords and came for me; but the party that had captured us acted now as a bodyguard and defended us from attack. After this they kept the rabble at a distance, and presently we were ushered into the village and led to a grass hut much larger than the others. This, I assumed, was the magnificent palace of Anatok. Such it proved to be, and presently the Jed himself emerged from the interior with several men and women and a horde of children. The women were his wives and their attendants; the men were his counselors.
Anatok seemed much interested in us and asked many questions about our capture, and then he asked us from whence we came.
'We came from Morbus,' I said, 'and we are on our way to Helium.'
'Morbus-Helium,' he repeated. 'I never heard of them. Little villages, no doubt, inhabited by savages. How fortunate we are to live in such a splendid city as Gooli. Don't you think so?' he asked.
'I think you would be very much happier in Gooli than in Morbus, and far more at ease here than in Helium,' I replied, truthfully.
'Our countries,' I continued, 'have never harmed you. We are not at war; therefore you should let us go on our way in peace.'
At that he laughed. 'What simple people come from other villages!' he exclaimed.
'You are my slaves. When you are no longer of service to me you shall be destroyed. Do you think that we want any strangers to go away from Ompt to lead enemies here to destroy our magnificent city and steal our vast riches?'
'Our people would never bother you,' I said. 'Our country is too far from here. If one of your people should come to our country, he would be treated with kindness. We fight only with our enemies.'
'That reminds me,' said the leader of the party that had captured us, 'this fellow is indeed our enemy by his own words, for he said that he wished to fight us.'
'What!' exclaimed Anatok. 'Well, if that is so, he shall have his wish. There is nothing that we like better than a good fight. With what weapons would you like to fight?'
'I will fight with anything that my antagonist chooses,' I replied.
CHAPTER XXI. DUEL TO THE DEATH
It soon appeared that a personal combat was a matter of considerable importance to the Goolians. The chief and his advisors held a lengthy discussion relative to the selection of an antagonist for me. The qualities of a number of warriors were discussed, and even their ancestors as far back as the fifth and sixth generation were appraised and compared. It might have been a momentous matter of state, so serious were they. The conference was often interrupted by suggestions and comments from other members of the tribe; but at last they selected a husky young buck, who, impressed by the importance now attached to him, launched into a long and windy speech in which he enumerated his many virtues and those of his ancestors while belittling me and bragging about the short work he would make of me. He finally concluded his harangue by selecting swords as the weapons we were to use; and then Anatok asked me if I had anything to say, for it seemed that this speech-making was a part of the ceremony preceding the duel.
'I have only a question to ask,' I replied.
'And what is that?' demanded Anatok.
'What will be my reward if I defeat your warrior?' I asked.
Anatok appeared momentarily confused. 'Now that is an outcome that had not occurred to me,' he said; 'but of course, after all, it is unimportant, as you will not win.'
