第9章

And so she drove her motor forward again and then with her firm, white teeth set in grim determination she drove the steering lever far down to port with the intention of forcing the nose of her craft straight into the teeth of the wind, and the wind seized the frail thing and toppled it over upon its back, and twisted and turned it and hurled it over and over; the propellor raced for an instant in an air pocket and then the tempest seized it again and twisted it from its shaft, leaving the girl helpless upon an unmanageable atom that rose and fell, and rolled and tumbled--the sport of the elements she had defied.Tara of Helium's first sensation was one of surprise--that she had failed to have her own way.Then she commenced to feel concern--not for her own safety but for the anxiety of her parents and the dangers that the inevitable searchers must face.She reproached herself for the thoughtless selfishness that had jeopardized the peace and safety of others.She realized her own grave danger, too; but she was still unterrified, as befitted the daughter of Dejah Thoris and John Carter.She knew that her buoyancy tanks might keep her afloat indefinitely, but she had neither food nor water, and she was being borne toward the least-known area of Barsoom.

Perhaps it would be better to land immediately and await the coming of the searchers, rather than to allow herself to be carried still further from Helium, thus greatly reducing the chances of early discovery; but when she dropped toward the ground she discovered that the violence of the wind rendered an attempt to land tantamount to destruction and she rose again, rapidly.

Carried along a few hundred feet above the ground she was better able to appreciate the Titanic proportions of the storm than when she had flown in the comparative serenity of the zone above the clouds, for now she could distinctly see the effect of the wind upon the surface of Barsoom.The air was filled with dust and flying bits of vegetation and when the storm carried her across an irrigated area of farm land she saw great trees and stone walls and buildings lifted high in air and scattered broadcast over the devastated country; and then she was carried swiftly on to other sights that forced in upon her consciousness a rapidly growing conviction that after all Tara of Helium was a very small and insignificant and helpless person.It was quite a shock to her self-pride while it lasted, and toward evening she was ready to believe that it was going to last forever.There had been no abatement in the ferocity of the tempest, nor was there indication of any.She could only guess at the distance she had been carried for she could not believe in the correctness of the high figures that had been piled upon the record of her odometer.

They seemed unbelievable and yet, had she known it, they were quite true--in twelve hours she had flown and been carried by the storm full seven thousand haads.Just before dark she was carried over one of the deserted cities of ancient Mars.It was Torquas, but she did not know it.Had she, she might readily have been forgiven for abandoning the last vestige of hope, for to the people of Helium Torquas seems as remote as do the South Sea Islands to us.And still the tempest, its fury unabated, bore her on.

All that night she hurtled through the dark beneath the clouds, or rose to race through the moonlit void beneath the glory of Barsoom's two satellites.She was cold and hungry and altogether miserable, but her brave little spirit refused to admit that her plight was hopeless even though reason proclaimed the truth.Her reply to reason, sometime spoken aloud in sudden defiance, recalled the Spartan stubbornness of her sire in the face of certain annihilation: "I still live!"That morning there had been an early visitor at the palace of The Warlord.It was Gahan, Jed of Gathol.He had arrived shortly after the absence of Tara of Helium had been noted, and in the excitement he had remained unannounced until John Carter had happened upon him in the great reception corridor of the palace as The Warlord was hurrying out to arrange for the dispatch of ships in search of his daughter.

Gahan read the concern upon the face of The Warlord."Forgive me if I intrude, John Carter," he said."I but came to ask the indulgence of another day since it would be fool-hardy to attempt to navigate a ship in such a storm.""Remain, Gahan, a welcome guest until you choose to leave us,"replied The Warlord; "but you must forgive any seeming inattention upon the part of Helium until my daughter is restored to us.""You daughter! Restored! What do you mean?" exclaimed the Gatholian."I do not understand.""She is gone, together with her light flier.That is all we know.

We can only assume that she decided to fly before the morning meal and was caught in the clutches of the tempest.You will pardon me, Gahan, if I leave you abruptly--I am arranging to send ships in search of her;" but Gahan, Jed of Gathol, was already speeding in the direction of the palace gate.There he leaped upon a waiting thoat and followed by two warriors in the metal of Gathol, he dashed through the avenues of Helium toward the palace that had been set aside for his entertainment.