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both Moons rode together in the sky, lending their far mysteries to make weird
the Martian dawn. Tara of Helium looked out across the fair valley that spread
upon all sides of her. It was rich and beautiful, but even as she looked upon it
she shuddered, for to her mind came a picture of the headless things that the
towers and the walls hid. Those by day and the banths by night! Ah, was it any
wonder that she shuddered?
With the coming of the Sun the great Barsoomian lion rose to his feet. He turned
angry eyes upon the girl above him, voiced a single ominous growl, and slunk
away toward the hills. The girl watched him, and she saw that he gave the towers
as wide a berth as possible and that he never took his eyes from one of them
while he was passing it. Evidently the inmates had taught these savage creatures
to respect them. Presently he passed from sight in a narrow defile, nor in any
direction that she could see was there another. Momentarily at least the
landscape was deserted. The girl wondered if she dared to attempt to regain the
hills and her flier. She dreaded the coming of the workmen to the fields as she
was sure they would come. She shrank from again seeing the headless bodies,
and found herself wondering if these things would come out into the fields and
work. She looked toward the nearest tower. There was no sign of life there. The
valley lay quiet now and deserted. She lowered herself stiffly to the ground. Her
muscles were cramped and every move brought a twinge of pain. Pausing a
moment to drink again at the stream she felt refreshed and then turned without
more delay toward the hills. To cover the distance as quickly as possible seemed
the only plan to pursue. The trees no longer offered concealment and so she did
not go out of her way to be near them. The hills seemed very far away. She had
not thought, the night before, that she had traveled so far. Really it had not been
far, but now, with the three towers to pass in broad daylight, the distance seemed
great indeed.
The second tower lay almost directly in her path. To make a detour would not
lessen the chance of detection, it would only lengthen the period of her danger,
and so she laid her course straight for the hill where her flier was, regardless of
the tower. As she passed the first enclosure she thought that she heard the
sound of movement within, but the gate did not open and she breathed more
easily when it lay behind her. She came then to the second enclosure, the outer
wall of which she must circle, as it lay across her route. As she passed close
along it she distinctly heard not only movement within, but voices. In the world-
language of Barsoom she heard a man issuing instructions--so many were to pick
usa, so many were to irrigate this field, so many to cultivate that, and so on, as a
foreman lay out the day's work for his crew.
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