rank so that he might pass, with the least danger of arousing
suspicion, as a common warrior.

To search for Tara of Helium in the vast, dim labyrinth of the pits of
O-Tar seemed to the Gatholian a hopeless quest, foredoomed to failure.
It would be wiser to seek the streets of Manator where he might hope to
learn first if she had been recaptured and, if not, then he could
return to the pits and pursue the hunt for her. To find egress from the
maze he must perforce travel a considerable distance through the
winding corridors and chambers, since he had no idea as to the location
or direction of any exit. In fact, he could not have retraced his steps
a hundred yards toward the point at which he and Tara had entered the
gloomy caverns, and so he set out in the hope that he might find by
accident either Tara of Helium or a way to the street level above.

For a time he passed room after room filled with the cunningly
preserved dead of Manator, many of which were piled in tiers after the
manner that firewood is corded, and as he moved through corridor and
chamber he noticed hieroglyphics painted upon the walls above every
opening and at each fork or crossing of corridors, until by observation
he reached the conclusion that these indicated the designations of
passageways, so that one who understood them might travel quickly and
surely through the pits; but Turan did not understand them. Even could
he have read the language of Manator they might not materially have
aided one unfamiliar with the city; but he could not read them at all
since, though there is but one spoken language upon Barsoom, there are
as many different written languages as there are nations. One thing,
however, soon became apparent to him--the hieroglyphic of a corridor
remained the same until the corridor ended.

It was not long before Turan realized from the distance that he had
traveled that the pits were part of a vast system undermining,
possibly, the entire city. At least he was convinced that he had passed
beyond the precincts of the palace. The corridors and chambers varied
in appearance and architecture from time to time. All were lighted,
though usually quite dimly, with radium bulbs. For a long time he saw
no signs of life other than an occasional ulsio, then quite suddenly he
came face to face with a warrior at one of the numerous crossings. The
fellow looked at him, nodded, and passed on. Turan breathed a sigh of
relief as he realized that his d