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outcome decides the game. U-Dor could move out and engage Gahan, or he could
move his Princess' Panthan upon the square occupied by Gahan in he hope that
the former would defeat the Black Chief and thus draw the game, which is the
outcome if any other than a Chief slays the opposing Chief, or he could move
away and escape, temporarily, the necessity for personal combat, or at least that
is evidently what he had in mind as was obvious to all who saw him scanning the
board about him; and his disappointment was apparent when he finally
discovered that Gahan had so placed himself that there was no square to which
U-Dor could move that it was not within Gahan's power to reach at his own next
move.
U-Dor had placed his own Princess four squares east of Gahan when her position
had been threatened, and he had hoped to lure the Black Chief after her and
away from U-Dor; but in that he had failed. He now discovered that he might play
his own Odwar into personal combat with Gahan; but he had already lost one
Odwar and could ill spare the other. His position was a delicate one, since he did
not wish to engage Gahan personally, while it appeared that there was little
likelihood of his being able to escape. There was just one hope and that lay in his
Princess' Panthan, so, without more deliberation he ordered the piece onto the
square occupied by the Black Chief.
The sympathies of the spectators were all with Gahan now. If he lost, the game
would be declared a draw, nor do they think better of drawn games upon
Barsoom than do Earth men. If he won, it would doubtless mean a duel between
the two Chiefs, a development for which they all were hoping. The game already
bade fair to be a short one and it would be an angry crowd should it be decided a
draw with only two men slain. There were great, historic games on record where
of the forty pieces on the field when the game opened only three survived--the two
Princesses and the victorious Chief.
They blamed U-Dor, though in fact he was well within his rights in directing his
play as he saw fit, nor was a refusal on his part to engage the Black Chief
necessarily an imputation of cowardice. He was a great chief who had conceived a
notion to possess the slave Tara. There was no honor that could accrue to him
from engaging in combat with slaves and criminals, or an unknown warrior from
Manataj, nor was the stake of sufficient import to warrant the risk.
But now the duel between Gahan and the Orange Panthan was on and the
decision of the next move was no longer in other hands than theirs. It was the
first time that these Manatorians had seen Gahan of Gathol fight, but Tara of
Helium knew that he was master of his sword. Could he have seen the proud
light in her eyes as he crossed blades with the wearer of the Orange, he might
easily have wondered if they were the same eyes that had flashed fire and hatred
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