"09 - Synthetic Men of Mars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Burroughs Edgar Rice)

what I thought at the beginning of our engagement, but I soon commenced to have
a suggestion of a doubt. The fellow was a far better swordsman than any of those
we had encountered at the time of our capture. As I learned later, these
creatures against whom we were pitted were selected for their superior
intelligence, which was slightly above the average of their kind, and specially
schooled in swordsmanship by red Martian officers.
Of course, had he been a normal man I could have easily dispatched him; but to
avoid his mad rushes and his blade and decapitate him presently appeared a much
larger job than I had anticipated. Aside from all else, he was a most unpleasant
antagonist, for his face was absolutely hideous. One eye was far up at the comer
of his forehead and twice as large as its mate. His nose had grown where one of
his ears should have been, while his ear occupied the normal position of his
nose. His mouth was a large and crooked rent filled with great fangs. His
countenance alone might have been quite enough to have unmanned an antagonist.
Occasionally I caught a glimpse of the other duels progressing around me. I saw
one of the Phundahlians fall, and almost simultaneously the head of John
Carter's antagonist rolled upon the floor where it lay cursing and screaming
while its body lunged madly about endangering everyone in the chamber. A number
of other hormads and officers pursued it with nooses and nets in an effort to
catch and bind it, and while they were thus occupied the thing bumbled into my
antagonist throwing it off balance and giving me the opening for which I had
been waiting. I swung a terrific blow then and caught the fellow square across
the neck, sending his head rolling upon the floor. Then there were two headless
bodies dashing about hacking right and left with their heavy swords. I tell you,
the other hormads and the officers had a busy few minutes before they finally
captured and subdued the horrible things; and by the time they had the fighting
was over, but there were two more hormads flopping about the floor, each with a
leg gone. These had been overcome by Pandar and Gan Had. The man from Ptarth and
the man from Duhor had been killed. Only four of us seven were left. The two
heads upon the floor reviled us while other hormads gathered up the debris of
battle and carried it away in nets.
Now we were taken again before the dais of the Council of the Seven Jeds; and
once more they questioned us, but this time more carefully. When they had done
with the questioning they whispered among themselves for a while; then one of
them addressed us.
"You will serve as officers, obeying your superiors and all orders you may
receive from the Council of the Seven Jeds," he said. "You cannot escape from
Morbus. If you serve faithfully you will be permitted to live. If you are guilty
of disobedience or treason you will be sent to the vats. That will be the end of
you." He turned to John Carter and me. "You men from Helium will serve for the
present with the laboratory guard. It is the duty of the laboratory guard to see
that Ras Thavas does not escape and that no harm befalls him. We have chosen you
for this duty for two reasons: you are both extraordinary swordsmen and, being
from distant Helium, cannot feel any partiality either for him or for Toonol or
for Phundahl. You can therefore act wholly in our interests as against those of
these enemies. Ras Thavas would like to escape or regain control of Morbus.
Phundahl would like to rescue him. Toonol would like to destroy him. Either one
of them would be glad to get him away from us so that he could produce no more
hormads. The man from Phundahl and the man from Toonol will be used to train our
warriors as they emerge from the vats. The Council of the Seven Jeds has spoken;