A Princess of Mars

The community of which the green Martians with whom my lot was cast

formed a part was composed of some thirty thousand souls. They roamed

an enormous tract of arid and semi-arid land between forty and eighty

degrees south latitude, and bounded on the east and west by two large

fertile tracts. Their headquarters lay in the southwest corner of this

district, near the crossing of two of the so-called Martian canals.

As the incubator had been placed far north of their own territory in a

supposedly uninhabited and unfrequented area, we had before us a

tremendous journey, concerning which I, of course, knew nothing.

After our return to the dead city I passed several days in comparative

idleness. On the day following our return all the warriors had ridden

forth early in the morning and had not returned until just before

darkness fell. As I later learned, they had been to the subterranean

vaults in which the eggs were kept and had transported them to the

incubator, which they had then walled up for another five years, and

which, in all probability, would not be visited again during that

period.

The vaults which hid the eggs until they were ready for the incubator

were located many miles south of the incubator, and would be visited

yearly by the council of twenty chieftains. Why they did not arrange

to build their vaults and incubators nearer home has always been a

mystery to me, and, like many other Martian mysteries, unsolved and

unsolvable by earthly reasoning and customs.

Sola's duties were now doubled, as she was compelled to care for the

young Martian as well as for me, but neither one of us required much

attention, and as we were both about equally advanced in Martian

education, Sola took it upon herself to train us together.

Her prize consisted in a male about four feet tall, very strong and

physically perfect; also, he learned quickly, and we had considerable

amusement, at least I did, over the keen rivalry we displayed. The

Martian language, as I have said, is extremely simple, and in a week I

could make all my wants known and understand nearly everything that was

said to me. Likewise, under Sola's tutelage, I developed my telepathic

powers so that I shortly could sense practically everything that went

on around me.

What surprised Sola most in me was that while I could catch telepathic

messages easily from others, and often when they were not intended for

me, no one could read a jot from my mind under any circumstances. At

first this vexed me, but later I was very glad of it, as it gave me an

undoubted advantage over the Martians.