Her eyes fairly blazed into

mine.

"Dog," she hissed. "Dog of a blasphemer! Think you that Phaidor,

daughter of Matai Shang, supplicates? She commands. What to her

is your puny outer world passion for the vile creature you chose

in your other life?

"Phaidor has glorified you with her love, and you have spurned her.

Ten thousand unthinkably atrocious deaths could not atone for the

affront that you have put upon me. The thing that you call Dejah

Thoris shall die the most horrible of them all. You have sealed

the warrant for her doom.

"And you! You shall be the meanest slave in the service of the

goddess you have attempted to humiliate. Tortures and ignominies

shall be heaped upon you until you grovel at my feet asking the

boon of death.

"In my gracious generosity I shall at length grant your prayer,

and from the high balcony of the Golden Cliffs I shall watch the

great white apes tear you asunder."

She had it all fixed up. The whole lovely programme from start

to finish. It amazed me to think that one so divinely beautiful

could at the same time be so fiendishly vindictive. It occurred

to me, however, that she had overlooked one little factor in her

revenge, and so, without any intent to add to her discomfiture, but

rather to permit her to rearrange her plans along more practical

lines, I pointed to the nearest port-hole.

Evidently she had entirely forgotten her surroundings and her

present circumstances, for a single glance at the dark, swirling

waters without sent her crumpled upon a low bench, where with her

face buried in her arms she sobbed more like a very unhappy little

girl than a proud and all-powerful goddess.

Down, down we continued to sink until the heavy glass of the

port-holes became noticeably warm from the heat of the water without.

Evidently we were very far beneath the surface crust of Mars.

Presently our downward motion ceased, and I could hear the propellers

swirling through the water at our stern and forcing us ahead at

high speed. It was very dark down there, but the light from our

port-holes, and the reflection from what must have been a powerful

searchlight on the submarine's nose showed that we were forging

through a narrow passage, rock-lined, and tube-like.

After a few minutes the propellers ceased their whirring. We

came to a full stop, and then commenced to rise swiftly toward the

surface. Soon the light from without increased and we came to a

stop.

Xodar entered the cabin with his men.

"Come," he said, and we followed him through the hatchway which

had been opened by one of the seamen.

We found ourselves in a small subterranean vault, in the centre of

which was the pool in which lay our submarine, floating as we had

first seen her with only her black back showing.

Around the edge of the pool was a level platform, and then the walls

of the cave rose perpendicularly for a few feet to arch toward the

centre of the low roof. The walls about the ledge were pierced

with a number of entrances to dimly lighted passageways.

Toward one of these our captors led us, and after a short walk

halted before a steel cage which lay at the bottom of a shaft rising

above us as far as one could see.

The cage proved to be one of the common types of elevator cars that

I had seen in other parts of Barsoom. They are operated by means

of enormous magnets which are suspended at the top of the shaft. By

an electrical device the volume of magnetism generated is regulated

and the speed of the car varied.

In long stretches they move at a sickening speed, especially on

the upward trip, since the small force of gravity inherent to Mars

results in very little opposition to the powerful force above.

Scarcely had the door of the car closed behind us than we were

slowing up to stop at the landing above, so rapid was our ascent

of the long shaft.

When we emerged from the little building which houses the upper

terminus of the elevator, we found ourselves in the midst of

a veritable fairyland of beauty. The combined languages of Earth

men hold no words to convey to the mind the gorgeous beauties of

the scene.

One may speak of scarlet sward and ivory-stemmed trees decked

with brilliant purple blooms; of winding walks paved with crushed

rubies, with emerald, with turquoise, even with diamonds themselves;

of a magnificent temple of burnished gold, hand-wrought with marvellous

designs; but where are the words to describe the glorious colours

that are unknown to earthly eyes? where the mind or the imagination

that can grasp the gorgeous scintillations of unheard-of rays as

they emanate from the thousand nameless jewels of Barsoom?

Even my eyes, for long years accustomed to the barbaric splendours

of a Martian Jeddak's court, were amazed at the glory of the scene.

Phaidor's eyes were wide in amazement.

"The Temple of Issus," she whispered, half to herself.

Xodar watched us with his grim smile, partly of amusement and partly

malicious gloating.

The gardens swarmed with brilliantly trapped black men and women.

Among them moved red and white females serving their every want.

The places of the outer world and the temples of the therns had

been robbed of their princesses and goddesses that the blacks might

have their slaves.

Through this scene we moved toward the temple. At the main

entrance we were halted by a cordon of armed guards. Xodar spoke

a few words to an officer who came forward to question us. Together

they entered the temple, where they remained for some time.

When they returned it was to announce that Issus desired to look

upon the daughter of Matai Shang, and the strange creature from

another world who had been a Prince of Helium.

Slowly we moved through endless corridors of unthinkable beauty;

through magnificent apartments, and noble halls. At length we were

halted in a spacious chamber in the centre of the temple. One of

the officers who had accompanied us advanced to a large door in

the further end of the chamber. Here he must have made some sort

of signal for immediately the door opened and another richly trapped

courtier emerged.

We were then led up to the door, where we were directed to get down

on our hands and knees with our backs toward the room we were to

enter. The doors were swung open and after being cautioned not to

turn our heads under penalty of instant death we were commanded to

back into the presence of Issus.

Never have I been in so humiliating a position in my life, and only

my love for Dejah Thoris and the hope which still clung to me that

I might again see her kept me from rising to face the goddess of

the First Born and go down to my death like a gentleman, facing my

foes and with their blood mingling with mine.

After we had crawled in this disgusting fashion for a matter of a

couple of hundred feet we were halted by our escort.

"Let them rise," said a voice behind us; a thin, wavering voice, yet

one that had evidently been accustomed to command for many years.

"Rise," said our escort, "but do not face toward Issus."

"The woman pleases me," said the thin, wavering voice again after

a few moments of silence. "She shall serve me the allotted time.

The man you may return to the Isle of Shador which lies against the

northern shore of the Sea of Omean. Let the woman turn and look

upon Issus, knowing that those of the lower orders who gaze upon

the holy vision of her radiant face survive the blinding glory but

a single year."

I watched Phaidor from the corner of my eye. She paled to a ghastly

hue. Slowly, very slowly she turned, as though drawn by some

invisible yet irresistible force. She was standing quite close to

me, so close that her bare arm touched mine as she finally faced

Issus, Goddess of Life Eternal.

I could not see the girl's face as her eyes rested for the first

time on the Supreme Deity of Mars, but felt the shudder that ran

through her in the trembling flesh of the arm that touched mine.

"It must be dazzling loveliness indeed," thought I, "to cause such

emotion in the breast of so radiant a beauty as Phaidor, daughter

of Matai Shang."

"Let the woman remain. Remove the man. Go." Thus spoke Issus, and

the heavy hand of the officer fell upon my shoulder.