The Gods of Mars Revoked Read Online Free PDF

redoubled their efforts to
pull me down, and though the ground about me was piled high with
their dead and dying comrades, they succeeded at last in
overwhelming me, and I went down beneath them for the second time
that day, and once again felt those awful sucking lips against my
flesh.
    But scarce had I
fallen ere I felt powerful hands grip my ankles, and in another
second I was being drawn within the shelter of the tree's interior.
For a moment it was a tug of war between Tara Tarkas and a great
plant woman, who clung tenaciously to my breast, but presently I
got the point of my long-sword beneath her and with a mighty thrust
pierced her vitals.
    Torn and bleeding
from many cruel wounds, I lay panting upon the ground within the
hollow of the tree, while Tara Tarkas defended the opening from the
furious mob without.
    For an hour they
howled about the tree, but after a few attempts to reach us they
confined their efforts to terrorizing shrieks and screams, to
horrid growling on the part of the great white apes, and the
fearsome and indescribable purring by the plant women.
    At length, all
but a score, who had apparently been left to prevent our escape,
had left us, and our adventure seemed destined to result in a
siege, the only outcome of which could be our death by starvation;
for even should we be able to slip out after dark, whither in this
unknown and hostile valley could we hope to turn our steps toward
possible escape?
    As the attacks of
our enemies ceased and our eyes became accustomed to the
semi-darkness of the interior of our strange retreat, I took the
opportunity to explore our shelter.
    The tree was
hollow to an extent of about fifty feet in diameter, and from its
flat, hard floor I judged that it had often been used to domicile
others before our occupancy. As I raised my eyes toward its roof to
note the height I saw far above me a faint glow of
light.
    There was an
opening above. If we could but reach it we might still hope to make
the shelter of the cliff caves. My eyes had now become quite used
to the subdued light of the interior, and as I pursued my
investigation I presently came upon a rough ladder at the far side
of the cave.
    Quickly I mounted
it, only to find that it connected at the top with the lower of a
series of horizontal wooden bars that spanned the now narrow and
shaft-like interior of the tree's stem. These bars were set one
above another about three feet apart, and formed a perfect ladder
as far above me as I could see.
    Dropping to the
floor once more, I detailed my discovery to Tara Tarkas, who
suggested that I explore aloft as far as I could go in safety while
she guarded the entrance against a possible attack.
    As I hastened
above to explore the strange shaft I found that the ladder of
horizontal bars mounted always as far above me as my eyes could
reach, and as I ascended, the light from above grew brighter and
brighter.
    For fully five
hundred feet I continued to climb, until at length I reached the
opening in the stem which admitted the light. It was of about the
same diameter as the entrance at the foot of the tree, and opened
directly upon a large flat limb, the well worn surface of which
testified to its long continued use as an avenue for some creature
to and from this remarkable shaft.
    I did not venture
out upon the limb for fear that I might be discovered and our
retreat in this direction cut off; but instead hurried to retrace
my steps to Tara Tarkas.
    I soon reached
her and presently we were both ascending the long ladder toward the
opening above.
    Tara Tarkas went
in advance and as I reached the first of the horizontal bars I drew
the ladder up after me and, handing it to her, she carried it a
hundred feet further aloft, where she wedged it safely between one
of the bars and the side of the shaft. In like manner I dislodged
the lower bars as I passed them, so that we soon had the interior
of the tree denuded of all possible means of ascent for a distance
of a hundred feet from