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

Then he shook his victim until the man's teeth rattled.
But quite suddenly the giant was quiet, listening; then Carter became aware of
muffled words coming, apparently, from Joog's ear.
Then John Carter realized that the command was coming from Pew Mogel,
transmitted by short wave to a receiving device attached to one of Joog's ears.
"To the arena," repeated the voice. "Fasten him over the pit!"
The pit Ц what new form of devilish torture was this? Carter tried vaguely to
ease the awful pressure that was crushing him.
But his arms were pinned to his sides by the giant's grasp, All the man could do
was breathe laboriously and hope that Joog's great strides would soon bring them
to his destination, whatever that might be.
The giant's tremendous pace, stepping over tall, ancient edifices or across
wide, spacious plazas in single, mighty strides, soon brought them to a large,
crowded amphitheatre on the outskirts of the city.
The amphitheatre apparently was fashioned from a natural crater. Row upon row of
circular tiers had been carved within the inner wall of the crater, forming a
series of levels upon which sat thousands of white apes.
In the center of the arena was a circular pit about fifty feet across. The pit
contained what appeared to be water whose level was about fifteen feet from the
top of the pit.
Three iron-barred cages hung suspended over the center of the pit by means of
three heavy ropes, one attached to the top of each cage and running up through a
pulley in the scaffolding built overhead and down to the edge of the pit where
it was anchored.
Joog climbed partly over the edge of the coliseum and deposited Carter on the
brink of the pit. Five great apes held him there while another ape lowered one
of the cages to ground level.
Then he reached out with a hooked pole and swung the cage over the edge. He
unlocked the cage door with a large key.
The keeper of the key was a short, heavy-set ape with a bull neck and
exceedingly cruel, close-set eyes.
This brute now came up to Carter; and although the captive was being held by
five other apes, he grabbed him cruelly by the hair and jerked Carter into the
cage, at the same time kicking him viciously.
The cage door was slammed immediately, its padlock bolted closed. Now Carter's
cage was pulled up over the pit and the rope end anchored to a davit at the
edge.
It was not long before Joog returned with Dejah Thoris and Tars Tarkas. Their
chains had been removed.
They were placed in the other two cages that hung over the pit next to that of
John Carter.
"Oh, John Carter, my chieftain!" cried Dejah Thoris, when she saw him in the
cage next to hers. "Thank Issus you are still alive!" The little princess was
crying softly.
John Carter reached through the bars and took her hand in his. He tried to speak
reassuring words to her; but he knew, as did Tars Tarkas, who sat grim-faced in
the other cage beside his, that Pew Mogel had ordained their deaths Ц but in
what manner they would die, Carter, as yet, was uncertain.
"John Carter," spoke Tars Tarkas softly, "do you notice that all these thousands
of apes gathered here in the arena apparently are paying no attention to us?"