Princess of Mars / Принцесса Марса. Уровень 2. Эдгар Райс Берроуз

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and then Tars Tarkas made several jumps. He repeated the same word before each leap. Then, turning to me, he said, “sak!” I saw what they were after[25]. I “sakked” with such marvelous success that I cleared a good hundred and fifty feet, and landed squarely upon my feet without falling. Then I returned by easy jumps of twenty-five or thirty feet to the little group of warriors.

      They wanted me to repeat the leap immediately, but I was both hungry and thirsty. Every time they repeated the commands to “sak”, I motioned to my mouth and rubbed my stomach.

      Tars Tarkas and the chief exchanged a few words. The former called a young female among the throng and gave her some instructions. He then motioned me to accompany her. I grasped her proffered arm and together we crossed the plaza toward a large building on the far side.

      My fair companion was about eight feet tall. She just arrived at maturity[26], but not yet to her full height. She was of a light olive-green color, with a smooth, glossy hide. Her name, as I afterward learned, was Sola, and she belonged to the retinue of Tars Tarkas. She conducted me to a spacious chamber in one of the buildings fronting on the plaza.

      The room was well lighted by a number of large windows and was beautifully decorated with mural paintings and mosaics.

      Sola motioned me to seat upon a pile of silks near the center of the room. She made a peculiar hissing sound. In response to her call, I saw a new Martian wonder. It waddled in on its ten short legs, and squatted down before the girl like an obedient puppy. The thing was about the size of a Shetland pony. Its head bore a slight resemblance to that of a frog, except that the jaws were equipped with three rows of long, sharp tusks.

      V. I Elude My Watch Dog

      Sola stared into the brute's wicked-looking eyes, muttered a word or two of command, pointed to me, and left the chamber. The beast examined me intently for a moment, crossed the room to the only exit, which led to the street, and lay down full length across the threshold.

      While Sola was away, I took occasion to examine more minutely the room. The mural painting depicted scenes of rare and wonderful beauty – mountains, rivers, lake, ocean, meadow, trees and flowers, winding roadways, sun-kissed[27] gardens. One could think those paintings portrayed earthly views but the coloring of the vegetation was different. And not a single one portrayed a living animal or human.

      Sola returned with both food and drink. She placed them on the floor beside me and regarded me intently. The food consisted of about a pound of some solid substance of the consistency of cheese and almost tasteless, while the liquid was apparently milk from some animal. It came, as I later discovered, not from an animal, but from a large plant, which grows practically without water. A single plant of this species will give eight or ten quarts of milk per day.

      When I was full, I felt the need of rest. I stretched out upon the silks and was soon asleep. When I woke up, it was dark and cold. A hand reached out and pulled the fur over me and I presumed that was Sola. I was not wrong. This girl disclosed characteristics of[28] sympathy, kindliness, and affection. Her ministrations to my bodily wants[29] were unfailing, and her solicitous care saved me from much suffering and many hardships.

      As I was to learn, the Martian nights are extremely cold. There is practically no twilight or dawn. The changes in temperature are sudden and most uncomfortable, as are the transitions from brilliant daylight to darkness. When two of the moon happen to be in the sky, the surface of the ground is brightly illuminated. The absence of both of the moons results in total darkness.

      The green men of Mars is a nomadic race without high intellectual development and have crude means for artificial lighting[30]. They depend principally upon torches, a kind of candle, and a peculiar oil lamp, which generates a gas and burns without a wick.

      The last device produces an intensely brilliant far-reaching white light. It requires the natural oil, which can only be obtained by mining in one of the several localities. But these creatures use it rarely as their thought is for today and they hate the manual labor, which kept them in a semi-barbaric state[31] for countless ages.

      I fell asleep again and woke up in the next morning. There were five other female occupants in the room. They were still sleeping, piled high with a motley array of silks and furs. The sleepless guardian brute lay across the threshold. His eyes were fairly glued upon me[32]. I was wondering what might befall me if I try to escape.

      I could see from the shortness of the beast's legs that the brute himself was no jumper and probably no runner. I was sure I could escape easily.

      Slowly and carefully, I gained my feet. My watcher did the same. I advanced toward him and found out that I could retain my balance if I move with a shuffling gait[33]. As I neared the brute, he backed cautiously away from me. When I reached the open, he moved to one side to let me pass. He then fell in behind me and followed about ten paces in my rear as I made my way along the deserted street.

      Evidently, his mission was to protect me only. But when we reached the edge of the city he suddenly sprang before me, uttering strange sounds and baring his ugly and ferocious tusks. I rushed toward him and sprang into the air, alighting far beyond him and away from the city. He wheeled instantly and charged me with the most appalling speed ever. As I was to learn, this is the fastest animal on Mars. Owing to its intelligence, loyalty, and ferocity the Martian man uses it in hunting and war.

      I quickly saw, that it would be difficult to escape the fangs of the beast on a straightaway. I doubled in my tracks and leaped over him when he was almost upon me. This maneuver let me reach the city quite a bit of him. I jumped for a window about thirty feet from the ground in the face of one of the buildings overlooking the valley.

      I grasped the sill and sat. Suddenly, a huge hand grasped me by the neck from behind and dragged me violently into the room. A colossal ape-like creature, white and hairless except for an enormous shock of bristly hair upon its head, threw me upon my back.

      VI. A Fight That Won Friends

      The thing pinched me to the ground with one huge foot, while it jabbered and gesticulated at some answering creature behind me. This other came toward us with a mighty stone club in his hands with which it evidently intended to brain[34] me.

      The creatures were about ten or fifteen feet tall. Like the green Martians, they had an intermediary set of arms or legs, midway between their upper and lower limbs. Their eyes were close together and non-protruding; their ears were high set. Snouts and teeth were strikingly like those of our African gorilla.

      The club was swinging in the arc when my faithful watch-thing hurled itself full upon the breast of my executioner. The ape, which held me, leaped through the open window. Its mate closed in a terrific death struggle with my preserver.

      My beast had an advantage in his first hold as he sunk his mighty fangs far into the breast of his adversary. But the great arms and paws of the ape locked the throat of my guardian and slowly were choking out his life. It was evident that the beast was weakening, but so also was the ape. Instinctively I seized the club and crashed it full upon the head of the ape, crushing his skull as it was an eggshell.

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