第 35 节
作者:沸点123      更新:2021-04-30 15:51      字数:9322
  mine I forgot the horrors that I had witnessed and the suffering
  that I had endured in the rapture of my reward。
  THE NEW RULER
  The flier upon whose deck Dejah Thoris and I found ourselves
  after twelve long years of separation proved entirely useless。
  Her buoyancy tanks leaked badly。  Her engine would not start。
  We were helpless there in mid air above the arctic ice。
  The craft had drifted across the chasm which held the corpses of
  Matai Shang; Thurid; and Phaidor; and now hung above a low hill。
  Opening the buoyancy escape valves I permitted her to come slowly
  to the ground; and as she touched; Dejah Thoris and I stepped from
  her deck and; hand in hand; turned back across the frozen waste
  toward the city of Kadabra。
  Through the tunnel that had led me in pursuit of them we passed;
  walking slowly; for we had much to say to each other。
  She told me of that last terrible moment months before when the
  door of her prison cell within the Temple of the Sun was slowly
  closing between us。  Of how Phaidor had sprung upon her with
  uplifted dagger; and of Thuvia's shriek as she had realized the
  foul intention of the thern goddess。
  It had been that cry that had rung in my ears all the long;
  weary months that I had been left in cruel doubt as to my
  princess' fate; for I had not known that Thuvia had wrested
  the blade from the daughter of Matai Shang before it had
  touched either Dejah Thoris or herself。
  She told me; too; of the awful eternity of her imprisonment。
  Of the cruel hatred of Phaidor; and the tender love of Thuvia;
  and of how even when despair was the darkest those two red girls
  had clung to the same hope and beliefthat John Carter would
  find a way to release them。
  Presently we came to the chamber of Solan。  I had been proceeding
  without thought of caution; for I was sure that the city and the
  palace were both in the hands of my friends by this time。
  And so it was that I bolted into the chamber full into
  the midst of a dozen nobles of the court of Salensus Oll。
  They were passing through on their way to the outside world
  along the corridors we had just traversed。
  At sight of us they halted in their tracks; and then an ugly
  smile overspread the features of their leader。
  〃The author of all our misfortunes!〃 he cried; pointing at me。
  〃We shall have the satisfaction of a partial vengeance at least
  when we leave behind us here the dead and mutilated corpses of the
  Prince and Princess of Helium。
  〃When they find them;〃 he went on; jerking his thumb upward toward
  the palace above; 〃they will realize that the vengeance of the
  yellow man costs his enemies dear。  Prepare to die; John Carter;
  but that your end may be the more bitter; know that I may change
  my intention as to meting a merciful death to your princess
  possibly she shall be preserved as a plaything for my nobles。〃
  I stood close to the instrument…covered wallDejah Thoris at my side。
  She looked up at me wonderingly as the warriors advanced upon us with
  drawn swords; for mine still hung within its scabbard at my side;
  and there was a smile upon my lips。
  The yellow nobles; too; looked in surprise; and then as I made
  no move to draw they hesitated; fearing a ruse; but their leader
  urged them on。  When they had come almost within sword's reach of
  me I raised my hand and laid it upon the polished surface of a
  great lever; and then; still smiling grimly; I looked my enemies
  full in the face。
  As one they came to a sudden stop; casting affrighted glances
  at me and at one another。
  〃Stop!〃 shrieked their leader。  〃You dream not what you do!〃
  〃Right you are;〃 I replied。  〃John Carter does not dream。
  He knowsknows that should one of you take another step toward
  Dejah Thoris; Princess of Helium; I pull this lever wide;
  and she and I shall die together; but we shall not die alone。〃
  The nobles shrank back; whispering together for a few moments。
  At last their leader turned to me。
  〃Go your way; John Carter;〃 he said; 〃and we shall go ours。〃
  〃Prisoners do not go their own way;〃 I answered; 〃and you are
  prisonersprisoners of the Prince of Helium。〃
  Before they could make answer a door upon the opposite side of
  the apartment opened and a score of yellow men poured into the
  apartment。  For an instant the nobles looked relieved; and then as
  their eyes fell upon the leader of the new party their faces fell;
  for he was Talu; rebel Prince of Marentina; and they knew that they
  could look for neither aid nor mercy at his hands。
  〃Well done; John Carter;〃 he cried。  〃You turn their own
  mighty power against them。  Fortunate for Okar is it that you were
  here to prevent their escape; for these be the greatest villains
  north of the ice…barrier; and this one〃pointing to the leader of
  the party〃would have made himself Jeddak of Jeddaks in the place
  of the dead Salensus Oll。  Then indeed would we have had a more
  villainous ruler than the hated tyrant who fell before your sword。〃
  The Okarian nobles now submitted to arrest; since nothing but
  death faced them should they resist; and; escorted by the warriors
  of Talu; we made our way to the great audience chamber that had
  been Salensus Oll's。  Here was a vast concourse of warriors。
  Red men from Helium and Ptarth; yellow men of the north;
  rubbing elbows with the blacks of the First Born who had come
  under my friend Xodar to help in the search for me and my princess。
  There were savage; green warriors from the dead sea bottoms
  of the south; and a handful of white…skinned therns who had
  renounced their religion and sworn allegiance to Xodar。
  There was Tardos Mors and Mors Kajak; and tall and mighty in his
  gorgeous warrior trappings; Carthoris; my son。  These three fell
  upon Dejah Thoris as we entered the apartment; and though the lives
  and training of royal Martians tend not toward vulgar demonstration;
  I thought that they would suffocate her with their embraces。
  And there were Tars Tarkas; Jeddak of Thark; and Kantos Kan;
  my old…time friends; and leaping and tearing at my harness
  in the exuberance of his great love was dear old Woola
  frantic mad with happiness。
  Long and loud was the cheering that burst forth at sight of us;
  deafening was the din of ringing metal as the veteran warriors
  of every Martian clime clashed their blades together on high in
  token of success and victory; but as I passed among the throng
  of saluting nobles and warriors; jeds and jeddaks; my heart
  still was heavy; for there were two faces missing that I would have
  given much to have seen thereThuvan Dihn and Thuvia of Ptarth
  were not to be found in the great chamber。
  I made inquiries concerning them among men of every nation;
  and at last from one of the yellow prisoners of war I learned that
  they had been apprehended by an officer of the palace as they
  sought to reach the Pit of Plenty while I lay imprisoned there。
  I did not need to ask to know what had sent them thither
  the courageous jeddak and his loyal daughter。  My informer
  said that they lay now in one of the many buried dungeons
  of the palace where they had been placed pending a decision
  as to their fate by the tyrant of the north。
  A moment later searching parties were scouring the ancient pile
  in search of them; and my cup of happiness was full when I saw
  them being escorted into the room by a cheering guard of honor。
  Thuvia's first act was to rush to the side of Dejah Thoris;
  and I needed no better proof of the love these two bore for
  each other than the sincerity with which they embraced。
  Looking down upon that crowded chamber stood the silent and
  empty throne of Okar。
  Of all the strange scenes it must have witnessed since that
  long…dead age that had first seen a Jeddak of Jeddaks take his
  seat upon it; none might compare with that upon which it now
  looked down; and as I pondered the past and future of that
  long…buried race of black…bearded yellow men I thought that
  I saw a brighter and more useful existence for them among
  the great family of friendly nations that now stretched
  from the south pole almost to their very doors。
  Twenty…two years before I had been cast; naked and a stranger;
  into this strange and savage world。  The hand of every race and
  nation was raised in continual strife and warring against the men
  of every other land and color。  Today; by the might of my sword and
  the loyalty of the friends my sword had made for me; black man and
  white; red man and green rubbed shoulders in peace and good…fellowship。
  All the nations of Barsoom were not yet as one; but a great stride
  forward toward that goal had been taken; and now if I could but
  cement the fierce yellow race into this solidarity of nations
  I should feel that I had rounded out a great lifework;
  and repaid to Mars at least a portion of the immense debt of
  gratitude I owed her