READ THE NOVEL- Chapters 1-31 - ERBzine

Tarzan on Mars
"Ah!" sighed the other. "Then you know. The hideous
city of Morbus, populated by those poor synthetic creatures
which were spawned from the devilish vats of life of Ras
Thavas.
"Then—this Thum, as you call him, is a synthetic man?"
"A hormad," agreed the other.
"But John Carter destroyed Morbus and all that was in
it!" protested Kar Komak, recalling the history of that
adventure as it had been related to him by its principal
character, the famous red swordsman, Vor Daj.
"Indeed, you must be from the outside world!" said the
old man. "For few there are in Tarnath who have heard of the
Warlord by his right name."
"But—how could a hormad from Morbus sill be alive
today—and how came he here to Tarnath?"
"The story is not unimaginable," replied the other. "He
merely escaped from Morbus before the destruction."
"But the Great Marsh, filled with unknown wild beasts
and wilder savages! How could he have fought his way out of
such a vast, hostile territory and crossed thousands of haads
of the sea bottoms, to come here?"
"You do not know him. He has fought green men with his
bare hands, and he is difficult to kill. He is a monster of
strength. I, personally, have seen him strangle a great white
ape. John Carter, himself, would be as an infant in his hands."
"This seems impossible. Even if it were true, how comes
it that he has found employment here?"
"What better dwar of the prisons than one who is jealous
of his terrible strength and who hates all men—except the
Zumorians who first took him in? However, it was Tario who
made him dwar of the prison guards, for prior to the coming
of Tario, and Sardon Dhur and Zithad of the First Born, there
were very few prisoners here."
Further sleep was forgotten that night as Kar Komak
became acquainted with his cellmate and learned many things
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