Her great propellers had been drawn and

housed during our descent of the shaft and in their place had been

run out the smaller but more powerful water propellers. As these

commenced to revolve the ship took up its journey once more, riding

the new element as buoyantly and as safely as she had the air.

Phaidor and I were dumbfounded. Neither had either heard or dreamed

that such a world existed beneath the surface of Barsoom.

Nearly all the vessels we saw were war craft. There were a few

lighters and barges, but none of the great merchantmen such as ply

the upper air between the cities of the outer world.

"Here is the harbour of the navy of the First Born," said a voice

behind us, and turning we saw Xodar watching us with an amused

smile on his lips.

"This sea," he continued, "is larger than Korus. It receives the

waters of the lesser sea above it. To keep it from filling above

a certain level we have four great pumping stations that force the

oversupply back into the reservoirs far north from which the red

men draw the water which irrigates their farm lands."

A new light burst on me with this explanation. The red men had

always considered it a miracle that caused great columns of water

to spurt from the solid rock of their reservoir sides to increase

the supply of the precious liquid which is so scarce in the outer

world of Mars.

Never had their learned men been able to fathom the secret of the

source of this enormous volume of water. As ages passed they had

simply come to accept it as a matter of course and ceased to question

its origin.

We passed several islands on which were strangely shaped circular

buildings, apparently roofless, and pierced midway between the ground

and their tops with small, heavily barred windows. They bore the

earmarks of prisons, which were further accentuated by the armed

guards who squatted on low benches without, or patrolled the short

beach lines.

Few of these islets contained over an acre of ground, but presently

we sighted a much larger one directly ahead. This proved to be

our destination, and the great ship was soon made fast against the

steep shore.

Xodar signalled us to follow him and with a half-dozen officers and

men we left the battleship and approached a large oval structure

a couple of hundred yards from the shore.

"You shall soon see Issus," said Xodar to Phaidor. "The few

prisoners we take are presented to her. Occasionally she selects

slaves from among them to replenish the ranks of her handmaidens.

None serves Issus above a single year," and there was a grim smile

on the black's lips that lent a cruel and sinister meaning to his

simple statement.

Phaidor, though loath to believe that Issus was allied to such as

these, had commenced to entertain doubts and fears. She clung very

closely to me, no longer the proud daughter of the Master of Life

and Death upon Barsoom, but a young and frightened girl in the

power of relentless enemies.

The building which we now entered was entirely roofless. In its

centre was a long tank of water, set below the level of the floor

like the swimming pool of a natatorium. Near one side of the pool

floated an odd-looking black object. Whether it were some strange

monster of these buried waters, or a queer raft, I could not at

once perceive.

We were soon to know, however, for as we reached the edge of

the pool directly above the thing, Xodar cried out a few words in

a strange tongue. Immediately a hatch cover was raised from the

surface of the object, and a black seaman sprang from the bowels

of the strange craft.

Xodar addressed the seaman.

"Transmit to your officer," he said, "the commands of Dator Xodar.

Say to him that Dator Xodar, with officers and men, escorting two

prisoners, would be transported to the gardens of Issus beside the

Golden Temple."

"Blessed be the shell of thy first ancestor, most noble Dator,"

replied the man. "It shall be done even as thou sayest," and

raising both hands, palms backward, above his head after the manner

of salute which is common to all races of Barsoom, he disappeared

once more into the entrails of his ship.

A moment later an officer resplendent in the gorgeous trappings of

his rank appeared on deck and welcomed Xodar to the vessel, and in

the latter's wake we filed aboard and below.

The cabin in which we found ourselves extended entirely across the

ship, having port-holes on either side below the water line. No

sooner were all below than a number of commands were given, in

accordance with which the hatch was closed and secured, and the

vessel commenced to vibrate to the rhythmic purr of its machinery.

"Where can we be going in such a tiny pool of water?" asked Phaidor.

"Not up," I replied, "for I noticed particularly that while the

building is roofless it is covered with a strong metal grating."

"Then where?" she asked again.

"From the appearance of the craft I judge we are going down," I

replied.

Phaidor shuddered. For such long ages have the waters of Barsoom's

seas been a thing of tradition only that even this daughter of the

therns, born as she had been within sight of Mars' only remaining

sea, had the same terror of deep water as is a common attribute of

all Martians.

Presently the sensation of sinking became very apparent. We were

going down swiftly. Now we could hear the water rushing past the

port-holes, and in the dim light that filtered through them to the

water beyond the swirling eddies were plainly visible.

Phaidor grasped my arm.

"Save me!" she whispered. "Save me and your every wish shall

be granted. Anything within the power of the Holy Therns to give

will be yours. Phaidor--" she stumbled a little here, and then in

a very low voice, "Phaidor already is yours."

I felt very sorry for the poor child, and placed my hand over hers

where it rested on my arm. I presume my motive was misunderstood,

for with a swift glance about the apartment to assure herself that

we were alone, she threw both her arms about my neck and dragged

my face down to hers.

CHAPTER IX

ISSUS, GODDESS OF LIFE ETERNAL

The confession of love which the girl's fright had wrung from her

touched me deeply; but it humiliated me as well, since I felt that

in some thoughtless word or act I had given her reason to believe

that I reciprocated her affection.

Never have I been much of a ladies' man, being more concerned

with fighting and kindred arts which have ever seemed to me more

befitting a man than mooning over a scented glove four sizes too

small for him, or kissing a dead flower that has begun to smell

like a cabbage. So I was quite at a loss as to what to do or say.

A thousand times rather face the wild hordes of the dead sea bottoms

than meet the eyes of this beautiful young girl and tell her the

thing that I must tell her.

But there was nothing else to be done, and so I did it. Very

clumsily too, I fear.

Gently I unclasped her hands from about my neck, and still holding

them in mine I told her the story of my love for Dejah Thoris.

That of all the women of two worlds that I had known and admired

during my long life she alone had I loved.

The tale did not seem to please her. Like a tigress she sprang,

panting, to her feet. Her beautiful face was distorted in an

expression of horrible malevolence.