"11 - John Carter of Mars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Burroughs Edgar Rice)

"Never!" the word shot back at him.
Pew Mogel flung another command to the ape.
The creature planted his great, pendulous lips on those of the princess. Dejah
Thoris went limp in his embrace, while Tars Tarkas surged vainly at the steel
chains. The girl had fainted.
The earthman again hurled himself futilely against the barrier that he could not
see.
"Fool," yelled Pew Mogel, "I gave you your chance to retain your princess by
turning over to me the Helium iron works; but you and the Jeddak thought you
could thwart me and regain Dejah Thoris without paying me the price I asked for
her safe return. For that mistake, you all die."
Pew Mogel again reached over to the instrument board beside his throne. He began
to turn several dials, and Carter heard a strange, droning noise that increased
steadily in volume.
Suddenly the earthman turned and raced for the door through which he came.
But before he had covered fifteen feet, another barrier had closed down. Escape
through the door was impossible.
There was a window over on the wall to his right. He leaped for it. He struck
another glass barrier.
There was another window on the left side of the room. He had nearly reached it
when he was met by another wall of invisible glass.
In a flash he became acutely conscious of his predicament. The walls were moving
in upon him. He could see now that the glass barriers had moved out from
cleverly concealed slits in the adjoining walls.
The two side barriers, however, were fastened to horizontal pistons in the
ceiling. These pistons were moving together, bringing the glass walls toward
each other, and would eventually crush the earthman between them.
Upon John Carter's finger was a jeweled ring. Set in the center of the ring was
a large diamond.
Diamonds can cut glass!
Here was a new type of glass, but the chances were it was not as hard as the
diamond on Carter's finger!
The earthman clenched his fist, pressed the diamond ring against the barrier in
front of him and quickly made a large circular scratch in the glass surface.
Then he crashed his body with all his strength against the area of glass
enclosed by the scratch.
The section broke out neatly at the blow, and the earthman found himself face to
face with Pew Mogel.
Dejah Thoris had regained consciousness, a set, intent expression on her
beautiful face. A grim smile had settled over Tars Tarkas's lips when he saw
that his friend was no longer impeded by the invisible barriers.
Pew Mogel shrank back on his throne and gasped in a cracked voice.
"Seize him, Gore, seize him!" Little beads of sweat stood forth on his brow.
Gore, the white ape, released his hold on Dejah Thoris and, turning, saw the
earthman advancing toward them. Gore snarled viciously, revealing jagged, mighty
fangs. He crouched low, so that his four massive fists supported his weight on
the floor. His little, beady, blood-shot eyes gleamed hatred, for Gore hated all
men save Pew Mogel.
Seven
THE FLYING TERROR