ging device. The Captain suddenly
felt unaccountably warm. It was a heavy responsibility--he hoped these
Martians wouldn't be the type of madmen who believed in the "shoot
first, inquire later" theory.

Even as he stood there, outwardly calm but jittering internally, the
Martian riders pulled up ten feet from the Earthmen. Their leader, tall,
dark-haired, and subtly lighter in hue than his companions, dismounted
and approached the Captain. With outstretched hand he took the Captain's
in a firm grip.

Let it be recorded here, to the shame of an Earth where reading for
pleasure is virtually a lost pastime, that not one man on the _Goddard_
realized the significance of what followed.

"How do you do?" he said in perfect English, with an unmistakable trace
of Southern accent.

"Welcome to Barsoom! My name is John Carter."

Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from _Fantastic Universe_ September 1957.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
typographical errors have been corrected without note.

End of Project Gutenberg's It's a Small Solar System, by Allan Howard

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