I think that Phaidor regretted the thrill that the spectacle would
have afforded her rather than the fact that my decision left another
enemy alive to threaten us.
The man had now regained full possession of his faculties, and
was regarding us intently from where he lay bound upon the deck.
He was a handsome fellow, clean limbed and powerful, with an
intelligent face and features of such exquisite chiselling that
Adonis himself might have envied him.
The vessel, unguided, had been moving slowly across the valley;
but now I thought it time to take the helm and direct her course.
Only in a very general way could I guess the location of the Valley
Dor. That it was far south of the equator was evident from the
constellations, but I was not sufficiently a Martian astronomer
to come much closer than a rough guess without the splendid charts
and delicate instruments with which, as an officer in the Heliumite
Navy, I had formerly reckoned the positions of the vessels on which
I sailed.
That a northerly course would quickest lead me toward the more
settled portions of the planet immediately decided the direction
that I should steer. Beneath my hand the cruiser swung gracefully
about. Then the button which controlled the repulsive rays sent us
soaring far out into space. With speed lever pulled to the last
notch, we raced toward the north as we rose ever farther and farther
above that terrible valley of death.
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