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READ THE NOVEL- Chapters 1-31 - ERBzine

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Tarzan on Mars<br />

about this great Torquasian camp. The usual quiet of the dark<br />

hours preceding the dawn was absent, and in its place, he<br />

sensed a certain excitement and sleeplessness that seemed<br />

to have invaded the place. In distant windows he caught sight<br />

of moving crowds of green men, and he heard the muffled<br />

undertone of distant loud discussions. Voices were sometimes<br />

raised in argument, sometimes in victorious shouting.<br />

Then, suddenly he came upon a building which was<br />

occupied by red men. He held back in the shadows of the<br />

narrow side street he had entered. Through one of the<br />

windows of a second story, he could see several of them<br />

silhouetted against the radium bulb in the ceiling. Obviously,<br />

they were not prisoners. Neither were they bound nor was<br />

the tone of their voices nor their attitude that of slaves. He<br />

could not hear what they were saying, but he noted the<br />

enthusiasm of their movements and gestures which indicated<br />

anything but dejection or, for that matter, secrecy.<br />

Evidently, then, these men must be in some way allied<br />

with the green horde which had occupied the city. It puzzled<br />

him, but he was determined to proceed with caution and to<br />

forearm himself with information before revealing himself to<br />

anyone—if at all.<br />

At that moment, a red Martian warrior entered the<br />

narrow street behind him without warning. He would have<br />

collided with Kar Komak but for the swift movement of the<br />

latter to one side. As he moved, he tripped the stranger and<br />

was at his neck with his dagger before the other could utter<br />

a sound.<br />

"And you would live to speak at all," Kar Komak told him,<br />

"keep your voice low and answer my questions!" He noticed<br />

that his captive wore the harness of Ptarth, whereas he,<br />

himslef, still wore the unknown borrowed harness of the secret<br />

armies of Tarnath.<br />

The stranger's eyes widened at sight of the dagger at his<br />

throat, but he relaxed slightly when he realized he was not in<br />

251

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