The thing, which more nearly resembled our earthly men than it did the

Martians I had seen, held me pinioned to the ground with one huge foot,

while it jabbered and gesticulated at some answering creature behind

me. This other, which was evidently its mate, soon came toward us,

bearing a mighty stone cudgel with which it evidently intended to brain

me.

The creatures were about ten or fifteen feet tall, standing erect, and

had, like the green Martians, 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, but more

laterally located than those of the Martians, while their snouts and

teeth were strikingly like those of our African gorilla. Altogether

they were not unlovely when viewed in comparison with the green

Martians.

The cudgel was swinging in the arc which ended upon my upturned face

when a bolt of myriad-legged horror hurled itself through the doorway

full upon the breast of my executioner. With a shriek of fear the ape

which held me leaped through the open window, but its mate closed in a

terrific death struggle with my preserver, which was nothing less than

my faithful watch-thing; I cannot bring myself to call so hideous a

creature a dog.

As quickly as possible I gained my feet and backing against the wall I

witnessed such a battle as it is vouchsafed few beings to see. The

strength, agility, and blind ferocity of these two creatures is

approached by nothing known to earthly man. My beast had an advantage

in his first hold, having sunk his mighty fangs far into the breast of

his adversary; but the great arms and paws of the ape, backed by

muscles far transcending those of the Martian men I had seen, had

locked the throat of my guardian and slowly were choking out his life,

and bending back his head and neck upon his body, where I momentarily

expected the former to fall limp at the end of a broken neck.

In accomplishing this the ape was tearing away the entire front of its

breast, which was held in the vise-like grip of the powerful jaws.

Back and forth upon the floor they rolled, neither one emitting a sound

of fear or pain. Presently I saw the great eyes of my beast bulging

completely from their sockets and blood flowing from its nostrils.

That he was weakening perceptibly was evident, but so also was the ape,

whose struggles were growing momentarily less.

Suddenly I came to myself and, with that strange instinct which seems

ever to prompt me to my duty, I seized the cudgel, which had fallen to

the floor at the commencement of the battle, and swinging it with all

the power of my earthly arms I crashed it full upon the head of the

ape, crushing his skull as though it had been an eggshell.




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