Almost immediately flashes of light broke from these strange objects.
There was a roar of musketry, and then answering flashes and roars
from temple and rampart.
"The black pirates of Barsoom, O Prince," said Thuvia.
In great circles the air craft of the marauders swept lower and
lower toward the defending forces of the therns.
Volley after volley they vomited upon the temple guards; volley on
volley crashed through the thin air toward the fleeting and illusive
fliers.
As the pirates swooped closer toward the ground, thern soldiery
poured from the temples into the gardens and courts. The sight of
them in the open brought a score of fliers darting toward us from
all directions.
The therns fired upon them through shields affixed to their rifles,
but on, steadily on, came the grim, black craft. They were small
fliers for the most part, built for two to three men. A few larger
ones there were, but these kept high aloft dropping bombs upon the
temples from their keel batteries.
At length, with a concerted rush, evidently in response to a signal
of command, the pirates in our immediate vicinity dashed recklessly
to the ground in the very midst of the thern soldiery.
Scarcely waiting for their craft to touch, the creatures manning
them leaped among the therns with the fury of demons. Such fighting!
Never had I witnessed its like before.
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