Burroughs, Edgar Rice Mars 11 John Carter of Mars

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

knocked three of them unconscious before they overpowered me. Had I but had a
sword! What I should have done to them then! But though I was battered and
bruised as they hustled me down from the tower, I was smiling; for I was happy.
Dejah Thoris had been snatched from the clutches of the skeleton men and was,
temporarily at least, safe. I had good cause for rejoicing.
I was taken to a small, unlighted cell beneath the tower; and here I was
manacled and chained to the wall. A heavy door was slammed shut as my captors
left me, and I heard a key turn in a massive lock.
Alone, in utter darkness, I awaited my fate.
Seven
PHO LAR
IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, unrelieved by even a suggestion of light, one is thrown
entirely upon the resources of one's thoughts for mitigation of absolute boredom
such boredom as sometimes leads to insanity for those of weak wills and feeble
nerves. But my thoughts were pleasant thoughts. I envisaged Dejah Thoris safely
bound for a friendly country in an invisible ship which would be safe from
capture, and I felt that three of those who accompanied her would be definitely
friendly and that one of them, U Dan, might be expected to lay down his life to
protect her were that ever necessary. As to Vorion, I could not even guess what
his attitude toward her would be.
My own situation gave me little concern. I will admit that it looked rather
hopeless, but I had been in tight places before and yet managed to survive and
escape. I still lived, and while life is in me I never give up hope. I am a
confirmed optimist, which, I think, gives me an attitude of mind that more often
than not commands what we commonly term the breaks of life.
Fortunately, I was not long confined in that dark cell. I slept once, for how
long I do not know; and I was very hungry when a detail of warriors came to take
me away, hungry and thirsty, for they had given me neither food nor water while
I had been confined.
I was not taken before Bandolian this time, but to one of his officers a huge
skeleton that continually opened and closed its jaws with a snapping and
grinding sound. The creature was Death incarnate. From the way he questioned me,
I concluded that he must be the lord high inquisitor. In silence, he eyed me
from those seemingly hollow sockets for a full minute before he spoke; then he
bellowed at me.
"Thing," he shouted, "for even a small part of what you have done you deserve
death death after torture."
"You don't have to shout at me," I said; "I am not deaf."
That enraged him, and he pounded upon his desk. "For impudence and disrespect it
will go harder with you."
"I cannot show respect when I do not feel respect," I told him. "I respect only
those who command my respect. I surely could not respect a bag of bones with an
evil disposition."
I do not know why I deliberately tried to infuriate him. Perhaps it is just a
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
weakness of mine to enjoy baiting enemies whom I think contemptible. It is, I
admit, a habit fraught with danger; and, perhaps, a stupid habit; but I have
found that it sometimes so disconcerts an enemy as to give me a certain
advantage. In this instance I was at least successful in part: the creature was
so furious that for some time it remained speechless; then it leaped to its feet
with drawn sword.
My situation was far from enviable. I was unarmed, and the creature facing me
was in an uncontrollable rage. In addition to all this, there were four or five
other Morgors in the room, two of whom were holding my arms one on either
side. I was as helpless as a sheep in an abattoir. But as my would-be
executioner came around the end of his desk to spit me on his blade, another
Morgor entered the room.
The newcomer took in the situation at a glance, and shouted, "Stop, Gorgum!" The
thing coming for me hesitated a moment; then he dropped his point.
"The creature deserves death," Gorgum said, sullenly. "It defied and insulted me
me, an officer of the Great Bandolian!"
"Vengeance belongs to Bandolian," said the other, "and he has different plans
for this insolent worm. What has your questioning developed?"
"He has been so busy screaming at me that he had had no time to question me," I
said.
"Silence, low one!" snapped the newcomer. "I can well understand," he said to
Gorgum, "that your patience must have been sorely tried; but we must respect the
wishes of the Great Bandolian. Proceed with the investigation."
Gorgum returned his sword to its scabbard and reseated himself at his desk.
"What is your name?" he demanded.
"John Carter, Prince of Helium," I replied. A scribe at Gorgum's side scribbled
in a large book. I supposed that he was recording the question and the answer.
He kept this up during the entire interview.
"How did you and the other conspirators escape from the cell in which you were
confined?" Gorgum asked,
"Through the doorway," I replied.
"That is impossible. The door was locked when you were placed in the cell. It
was locked at the time your absence was discovered."
"If you know so much, why bother to question me?"
Gorgum's jaws snapped and ground more viciously than ever. "You see, Horur," he
said angrily, turning to the other officer, "the insolence of the creature."
"Answer the noble Gorgum's question," Horur snapped at me. "How did you pass
through a locked door?"
"It was not locked."
"It was locked," shouted Gorgum.
I shrugged. "What is the use?" I asked. "It is a waste of time to answer the
questions of one who knows more about the subject than I, notwithstanding the
fact that he was not there."
"Tell me, then, in your own words how you escaped from the cell," said Horur in
a less irritating tone of voice.
"We picked the lock." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Tematy