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And I knew too that Xodar spoke the truth when he lauded the speed of his little craft, for nothing that cleaves the thin air of Mars can approximate the speed of the ships of Helium. We decided to wait for an hour at least until all the stragglers had sought their silks.
"It will make escape more difficult," I said, and then I shrugged my shoulders; for what, pray, is the pleasure of doing an easy thing? "Let us sleep on it to-night," said Xodar. "A plan may come with our awakening." So we threw ourselves upon the hard stone floor of our prison and slept the sleep of tired men. Early the next morning Xodar and I commenced work upon our plans for escape.
It had been my first audience with deity, but I am free to confess that I was not greatly impressed other than with the ridiculous figure I cut scrambling about on my marrow bones. Once without the chamber the doors closed behind us and I was bid to rise. Xodar joined me and together we slowly retraced our steps toward the gardens.
When this crack closes no smoke can reach them, and if we hasten to extinguish the flames I believe they will be safe." "Go, then, yourself and take these others with you," I replied. "I shall remain here beside my Princess until a merciful death releases me from my anguish. I care not to live." As I spoke Xodar had been tossing a great number of tiny cans within the prison cell.
"You have much to learn, thern," replied Xodar, with an ugly smile, "nor do I envy you the manner in which you will learn it." As we came on deck I saw to my surprise that the vessel was passing over a great field of snow and ice. As far as the eye could reach in any direction naught else was visible. There could be but one solution to the mystery. We were above the south polar ice cap.
Xodar listened in incredulous astonishment to my narration of the events which had transpired within the arena at the rites of Issus. He could scarce conceive, even though he had already professed his doubt as to the deity of Issus, that one could threaten her with sword in hand and not be blasted into a thousand fragments by the mere fury of her divine wrath.
Only a second I hung there before tearing away, but that second was amply long to swarm my deck with black devils. There was no fight. In the first place there was no room to fight. We were simply submerged by numbers. Then as swords menaced me a command from Xodar stayed the hands of his fellows. "Secure them," he said, "but do not injure them." Several of the pirates already had released Xodar.
"Follow me, John Carter," replied Xodar, and without waiting for my reply he dashed down into the tunnel at our feet. At his heels I ran down through a half-dozen tiers of galleries, until at last he led me along a level floor at the end of which I discerned a lighted chamber.
"I glean that your name is Xodar, but whom, pray, are the First Born, and what a Dator, and why, if you were conquered by a Barsoomian, could you not acknowledge it?" "The First Born of Barsoom," he explained, "are the race of black men of which I am a Dator, or, as the lesser Barsoomians would say, Prince. My race is the oldest on the planet.
Here we discussed the details of our expedition until long after dark. Xodar was positive that Issus would choose both Dejah Thoris and Thuvia to serve her for a year. "For that length of time at least they will be comparatively safe," he said, "and we will at least know where to look for them." In the matter of equipping a fleet to enter Omean the details were left to Kantos Kan and Xodar.
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