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

catapulted over his head. In an instant the two had regained their feet; but the
thoat lay very still.
Carter jerked his long sword from its scabbard and motioned Dejah Thoris to stay
at his back.
The silence of the forest was abruptly shattered by an uncanny roar directly
above them.
"An arbok!" Dejah Thoris cried.
The tree reptile launched itself straight for the hated man-things. Carter
lifted his sword and swung quickly to one side, drawing the monster's attention
away from Dejah Thoris who crouched behind the fallen thoat.
The earthman's first thrust sliced harmlessly through the beast's outer skin. A
huge claw knocked him off balance, and he found himself lying on the ground with
the great fangs at his throat.
"Dejah Thoris, get the atom gun from the thoat's back," Carter called hoarsely
to the girl. There was no answer.
Calling upon every ounce of his great strength, Carter drove his sword into the
arbok's neck. The creature shuddered. A stream of blood gushed from the wound.
The man wriggled from under the dead body and sprang to his feet.
"Dejah Thoris! Dejah Thoris!"
Wildly Carter searched the ground and trees surrounding the dead thoat and
arbok. There was no sign of Dejah Thoris. She had utterly vanished.
A shaft of light from the rising sun filtering through the foliage glistened on
an object at the earthman's feet. Carter picked up a large shell, a shell
recently ejected from a silent atom gun.
Springing to the dead thoat, he examined the saddle trappings. The atom gun that
he had told Dejah Thoris to fire was still in its leather boot!
The earthman stooped beside the dead thoat's head. There was a tiny, bloody hole
through its skull. That shot and the charging arbok had been part of a well
conceived plan to abduct Dejah Thoris, and kill him!
But Dejah Thoris Ц how had she disappeared so quickly, so completely?
Grimly, Carter set off at a run back to the forest toward Helium.
Noon found the earthman in a private audience chamber of Tardos Mors, Jeddak of
Helium, grandfather of Dejah Thoris.
The old jeddak was worried. He thrust a rough piece of parchment into John
Carter's hand. Crude, bold letters were inscribed upon the parchment; and as
Carter scanned the note his eyes burned with anger: It read:
I, Pew Mogel, the most powerful ruler on Mars, have decided to take over the
iron works of Helium. The iron will furnish me with all the ships I need to
protect Helium and the other cities of Barsoom from invasion. If you have not
evacuated all your workers from the iron mines and factories in three days, then
I will start sending you the fingers of the Royal Princess of Helium. Hurry,
because I may decide to send her tongue, which wags too much of John Carter.
Remember, obey Pew Mogel, for he is all-powerful."
Tardos Mors dug his nails into the palms of his hands.
"Who is this upstart who calls himself the most powerful ruler of Mars?"
Carter looked thoughtfully at the note.
"He must have spies here," he said. "Pew Mogel knew that I was to leave this
morning with Dejah Thoris on a tour of inspection."
"A spy it must have been," Tardos Mors groaned. I found this note pinned to the
curtains in my private audience-chamber. "But what can we do? Dejah Thoris is