"01 - Princess of Mars, A" - читать интересную книгу автора (Burroughs Edgar Rice)

the red men, convinced by sudden surprise that not less
than a regiment of regulars was upon them, turned and fled
in every direction for their bows, arrows, and rifles.

The view which their hurried routing disclosed filled me
with apprehension and with rage. Under the clear rays of the
Arizona moon lay Powell, his body fairly bristling with the
hostile arrows of the braves. That he was already dead I
could not but be convinced, and yet I would have saved his
body from mutilation at the hands of the Apaches as
quickly as I would have saved the man himself from death.

Riding close to him I reached down from the saddle,
and grasping his cartridge belt drew him up across the withers
of my mount. A backward glance convinced me that to
return by the way I had come would be more hazardous
than to continue across the plateau, so, putting spurs to my
poor beast, I made a dash for the opening to the pass which
I could distinguish on the far side of the table land.

The Indians had by this time discovered that I was alone
and I was pursued with imprecations, arrows, and rifle balls.
The fact that it is difficult to aim anything but imprecations
accurately by moonlight, that they were upset by the sudden
and unexpected manner of my advent, and that I was a
rather rapidly moving target saved me from the various
deadly projectiles of the enemy and permitted me to reach
the shadows of the surrounding peaks before an orderly
pursuit could be organized.

My horse was traveling practically unguided as I knew
that I had probably less knowledge of the exact location of
the trail to the pass than he, and thus it happened that he
entered a defile which led to the summit of the range and not
to the pass which I had hoped would carry me to the
valley and to safety. It is probable, however, that to this
fact I owe my life and the remarkable experiences and
adventures which befell me during the following ten years.

My first knowledge that I was on the wrong trail came
when I heard the yells of the pursuing savages suddenly
grow fainter and fainter far off to my left.

I knew then that they had passed to the left of the jagged
rock formation at the edge of the plateau, to the right of
which my horse had borne me and the body of Powell.

I drew rein on a little level promontory overlooking the
trail below and to my left, and saw the party of pursuing
savages disappearing around the point of a neighboring peak.