READ THE NOVEL- Chapters 1-31 - ERBzine

Tarzan on Mars
for the fuel of a heavy hunting spear in his hand.
But, for the moment he chose the only weapon at hand,
which was his automatic. A good hunting rifle would have
suited him better, but the computer had denied him the
luxury of its added weight. Pulling the gun from his pocket,
he stood the almost motionlessly in the wild, moonlit night
and pumped full ten rounds into the beast.
At first, it shrieked in rage and started to charge, but ere
it reached him, it was jerking spasmodically on the ground.
And with the last shot, aimed at its brain, it straightened out
convulsively and died.
Tarzan still stood there looking down at the utterly huge
carnivores, but if his eyes were engaged in examining them
his other senses were not thus restricted. His nostrils quivered,
analyzing the wind, and his ears listened for sounds
which you and I could never have detected.
Evidently, he thought with a grim smile, as he at last
looked about him again, he would have to remember that the
very soundlessness of this mossy terrain was its most treacherous
characteristic and undoubtedly the greatest contributing
factor to the continued existence of this tawny, lion-like
species before him.
There was not much choice, after this encounter, but to
strike out in some given direction in an attempt to contact the
civilization of red men of which Jules Carter had apprised him.
He carried in his pockets a flat canteen of water, concentrated
food, and additional ammunition. Inside his flying suit, he also
carried his hunting knife, and a sealed package which contained
the prime cause of his present predicament—the Great
Star of Issus.
Thus simply equipped, Tarzan started off in the direction
of the hill country. If he had been a master of the long trek in
the jungles and on the equatorial plains of his own world, here
in the presence of a lighter gravity, he was almost unlimited.
At first, he proceeded with some awkwardness resulting from
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