READ THE NOVEL- Chapters 1-31 - ERBzine

Tarzan on Mars
had defied in the pits of Lothar, yet they were composed of
the same mild metal as the others. As he pretended to gaze
out the window, he overheard the comments of the other
prisoners behind him.
"How futile it is, stranger, to contemplate escape through
the window! Even were it possible to remove the bars, you
would find beyond the sill a sheer drop of a full haad and
more, into the Lake of Darkness, where men say a giant
whirlpool will such you down into the bowels of Barsoom."
"I know this rock," said another. "Fifty ads 13 below here
is a balcony. It gives entrance into the lower regions of the
fortress."
"I, too, know the rock," said yet another, who was
evidently a native of Tarnath. "Below the level of this dungeon
lies a region which is given over to the ghosts of our
ancestors—uninhabited by any others save banths and great
white apes."
Tarzan had not turned to face the others meanwhile.
Instead, he continued quietly to observe the bars before him,
remembering a story he had once read concerning a giant
grizzly bear that refused to be imprisoned. The author of the
story had humanized the bear's thoughts and caused it to
philosophize that "iron will bend and steel will bread."
As he realized that his own beloved wife breathed and
moved close above his head, Tarzan smiled a cold, hard smile,
knowing full well these bars would fail to hold him if this
window were to be the chosen avenue of his escape.
Finally, he turned to seek out his companion, Kar
Komak, whom he found close beside him in a corner, staring
moodily into space.
"There is a thing I must tell you," said Tarzan, seating
himself beside him. Out of earshot of the others, he continued
13 Ad—Martian foot, or about 11.694 inches.
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