1899- Journey to Mars

“Farther than that,” Carter said. He stood and reached for her hand, only to have four swords immediately drawn and pointed at him. Carter’s hand ceased in mid-air, and he reluctantly withdrew it.

Dejah motioned to her guard.

“You must be from very far indeed. No man except my husband may touch a Princess of Barsoom.”

“You are married then?” Carter asked.

“No,” Dejah said, laughing as if he had made a joke. “When I marry, I shall be a Queen, and not merely a Princess.”

Carter nodded. “A fellow has to know these things.”

“Come, all of you,” Dejah said. “We must withdraw from the floor of the canyon to our encampments in the caverns. Here, we are vulnerable.”

Guthrie stepped into view from behind the Argent, where he had been inspecting the damage to the ship.

The red men in Dejah Thoris’s retinue gasped. As one they drew swords and made as if to charge, but Dakota threw his arms out and backed his way in front of Guthrie, defending him.

“Cease!” Dejah commanded. She turned to Billy, anger etched in her features. “You have brought a Golden Man among us! Explain yourself.”

“This is Guthrie!” Dakota shouted. “He is my FRIEND! Stay BACK!”

Guthrie stepped in front of the boy. “Billy,” he said. “If these are your friends, then they are my friends.” Guthrie then bent to one knee, bowing as John Carter had done moments before. He looked up to Dejah Thoris and spoke. “My name is Guthrie. I am a Tesla Guardian Ultra Three robot. It is my duty to defend this boy and his family. If you attack them or me, you will cease to live.”

“He means it,” Billy whispered to Dejah Thoris.

“That he does,” Pat said, nodding.

Another barrage of cannon fire came from the opposite cliff and arced overhead. A moment later there was a lower rumble in the ground beneath them.

“Tardos!” Dejah called. “We will not kill this Golden Man. Yet. The people may ride, but the Golden Man must walk. No mount would dare carry him.”

Billy readied a protest, but Guthrie shook his head. “I will walk beside Dakota and his mount. That is my preferred mode of transportation.”

Billy nodded.

Edgar Burroughs had revived enough to try to stand. Ian helped him to his feet.

“Can you walk, Eddie?” Ekka asked him.

Burroughs nodded.

“He won’t have to walk,” Billy said, then to the rest of the crew, “You heard her, everybody. Let’s saddle up!”

[ 71 ]

After a ten-minute ride, the column of travelers stopped in the deepening shadows of the cliff face. Here the formerly mile-wide canal narrowed to a passage of less than fifty meters. The Martian night was coming on.

“Are we to camp here?” Billy asked the guard he rode behind. There were no spare mounts, so the Argent crew had to double-up with Dejah Thoris’s retinue. Billy’s helmet had begun to fog up and he was having difficulty seeing well. “We don’t have enough air for the night out here.”

“No,” the guard said. “You will not need air from a can where we are going.”

As Billy gazed up into the scant patch of purplish sky a large object traversed canal’s length with great speed.

“What’s that?” Ekka asked, and pointed.

“It is the lesser moon,” her lead stated as he a

ssisted her to dismount. “It passes quickly, day and night. It is best seen at night.”