The only way that I could be sure of him was to be with him.

"Send for me when you are restless," I said, "and I will walk and work with you.

You should not go about thus at night alone."

"Very well," he said, "I may do that occasionally."

I hoped that he would do it always, for then I would know that when he failed to

send for me he was safe in his own quarters. Yet I saw that I must henceforth

face the menace of detection; and knowing this I determined to hasten the

completion of my plans and to risk everything on a single bold stroke.

That night I had no opportunity to put it into action as Ras Thavas sent for me

early and informed me that we would walk in the gardens until he was tired. Now,

as I needed a full night for what I had in mind and as Ras Thavas walked until

midnight, I was compelled to forego everything for that evening, but the

following morning I persuaded him to walk early on the pretext that I should

like to go beyond the enclosure and see something of Barsoom beside the inside

of his laboratories and his gardens. I had little confidence that he would grant

my request, yet he did so. I am sure he never would have done it had he

possessed his old body; but thus greatly had young blood changed Ras Thavas.

I had never been beyond the buildings, nor had I seen beyond, since there were

no windows in the outside walls of any of the structures and upon the garden

side the trees had grown to such a height that they obstructed all view beyond

them. For a time we walked in another garden just inside the outer wall, and

then I asked Ras Thavas if I might go even beyond this.

"No," he said. "It would not be safe."

"And why not?" I asked.

"I will show you and at the same time give you a much broader view of the

outside world than you could obtain by merely passing through the gate. Come,

follow me!"

He led me immediately to a lofty tower that rose at the comer of the largest

building of the group that comprised his vast establishment. Within was a

circular runway which led not only upward, but down as well. This we ascended,

passing openings at each floor, until we came at last out upon its lofty summit.

About me spread the first Barsoomian landscape of any extent upon which my eyes

had yet rested during the long months that I had spent upon the Red Planet. For

almost an Earthly year I had been immured within the grim walls of Ras Thavas'

bloody laboratory, until, such creatures of habit are we, the weird life there

had grown to seem quite natural and ordinary; but with this first glimpse of

open country there surged up within me an urge for freedom, for space, for room

to move about, such as I knew would not be long denied.

Directly beneath lay an irregular patch of rocky land elevated perhaps a dozen

feet or more above the general level of the immediately surrounding country. Its

extent was, at a rough guess, a hundred acres. Upon this stood the buildings and

grounds, which were enclosed in a high wall. The tower upon which we stood was

situated at about the centre of the total area enclosed. Beyond the outer wall

was a strip of rocky ground on which grew a sparse forest of fair sized trees

interspersed with patches of a jungle growth, and beyond all, what appeared to

be an oozy marsh through which were narrow water courses connecting occasional

open water – little lakes, the largest of which could have comprised scarce two

acres. This landscape extended as far as the eye could reach, broken by

occasional islands similar to that upon which we were and at a short distance by

the skyline of a large city, whose towers and domes and minarets glistened and

sparkled in the sun as though plated with shining metals and picked out with

precious gems.

This, I knew, must be Toonol and all about us the Great Toonolian Marshes which

extend nearly eighteen hundred Earth miles east and west and in some places have

a width of three hundred miles. Little is known about them in other portions of

Barsoom as they are frequented by fierce beasts, afford no landing places for

fliers and are commanded by Phundahl at their western end and Toonol at the

east, inhospitable kingdoms that invite no intercourse with the outside world

and maintain their independence alone by their inaccessibility and savage

aloofness.

As my eyes returned to the island at our feet I saw a huge form emerge from one

of the nearby patches of jungle a short distance beyond the outer wall. It was

followed by a second and a third. Ras Thavas saw that the creatures had

attracted my notice.

"There," he said, pointing to them, "are three of a number of similar reasons

why it would not have been safe for us to venture outside the enclosure."

They were great white apes of Barsoom, creatures so savage that even that fierce

Barsoomian lion, the banth, hesitates to cross their path.

"They serve two purposes," explained Ras Thavas. "They discourage those who

might otherwise creep upon me by night from the city of Toonol, where I am not

without many good enemies, and they prevent desertion upon the part of my slaves

and assistants."

"But how do your clients reach you?" I asked. "How are your supplies brought

in?"

He tuned and pointed down toward the highest portion of the irregular roof of

the building below us. Built upon it was a large, shed-like structure. "There,"

he said, "I keep three small ships. One of them goes every day to Toonol."

I was overcome with eagerness to know more about these ships, in which I thought

I saw a much needed means of escape from the island; but I dared not question

him for fear of arousing his suspicions.

As we turned to descend the tower runway I expressed interest in the structure

which gave evidence of being far older than any of the surrounding buildings.

"This tower," said Ras Thavas, "was built some twenty-three thousand years ago

by an ancestor of mine who was driven from Toonol by the reigning Jeddak of the

time. Here, and upon other islands, he gathered a considerable following,

dominated the surrounding marshes and defended himself successfully for hundreds

of years. While my family has been permitted to return to Toonol since, this has

been their home; to which, one by one, have been added the various buildings

which you see about the tower, each floor of which connects with the adjacent

building from the roof to the lowest pits beneath the ground.

This information also interested me greatly since I thought that I saw where it

too might have considerable bearing upon my plan of escape, and so, as we

descended the runway, I encouraged Ras Thavas to discourse upon the construction

of the tower, its relation to the other buildings and especially its

accessibility from the pits. We walked again in the outer garden and by the time

we returned to Ras Thavas' quarters it was almost dark and the master surgeon

was considerably fatigued.

"I feel that I shall sleep well to-night," he said as I left him.

"I hope so, Ras Thavas," I replied.

ESCAPE

IT WAS usually about three hours after the evening meal, which was served

immediately after dark, that the establishment quieted down definitely for the

night. While I should have preferred waiting longer before undertaking that

which I had in mind, I could not safely do so, since there was much to be

accomplished before dawn. So it was that with the first indications that the

occupants of the building in which my work was to be performed had retired for

the night, I left my quarters and went directly to the laboratory, where,

fortunately for my plans, the bodies of Gor Hajus, the assassin of Toonol, and

378-J-493811-P both reposed.