in advance lay a range of hills--the farther shore of the
dead sea we had been crossing. Could we but reach these hills our
chances of escape would be greatly enhanced, but Thuvia's mount,
although carrying the lightest burden, already was showing signs of
exhaustion. I was riding beside her when suddenly her animal staggered
and lurched against mine. I saw that he was going down, but ere he
fell I snatched the girl from his back and swung her to a place upon my
own thoat, behind me, where she clung with her arms about me.

This double burden soon proved too much for my already overtaxed beast,
and thus our speed was terribly diminished, for the others would
proceed no faster than the slowest of us could go. In that little
party there was not one who would desert another; yet we were of
different countries, different colours, different races, different
religions--and one of us was of a different world.

We were quite close to the hills, but the Warhoons were gaining so
rapidly that we had given up all hope of reaching them in time. Thuvia
and I were in the rear, for our beast was lagging more and more.
Suddenly I felt the girl's warm lips press a kiss upon my shoulder.
"For thy sake, O my Prince," she murmured. Then her arms slipped from
about my waist and she was gone.

I turned and saw that she had deliberately slipped to the ground in the
very path of the cruel demons who pursued us, thinking that by
lightening the burden of my mount it might thus be enabled to bear me
to the safety of the hills. Poor child! She should have known John
Carter better than that.

Turning my thoat, I urged him after her, hoping to reach her side and
bear her on again in our hopeless flight. Carthoris must have glanced
behind him at about the same time and taken in the situation, for by
the time I had reached Thuvia's side he was there also, and, springing
from his mount, he threw her upon its back and, turning the animal's
head toward the hills, gave the beast a sharp crack across the rump
with the flat of his sword. Then he attempted to do the same with mine.

The brave boy's act of chivalrous self-sacrifice filled me with pride,
nor did I care that it had wrested from us our last frail chance for
escape. The Warhoons were now close upon us. Tars Tarkas and Xodar
had discovered our absence and were charging rapidly to our support.
Everything pointed toward a splendid ending of my second journey to
Barsoom. I hated to g