We came upon her but a short distance from the palace.
With her was faithful Woola the hound, but none other. When we
overtook her she feigned anger, and ordered us back to the palace,
but for once we disobeyed her, and when she found that we would
not let her go upon the last long pilgrimage alone, she wept and
embraced us, and together we went out into the night toward the
south.
"The following day we came upon a herd of small thoats, and
thereafter we were mounted and made good time. We travelled very
fast and very far due south until the morning of the fifth day
we sighted a great fleet of battleships sailing north. They saw
us before we could seek shelter, and soon we were surrounded by a
horde of black men. The Princess's guard fought nobly to the end,
but they were soon overcome and slain. Only Dejah Thoris and I
were spared.
"When she realized that she was in the clutches of the black pirates,
she attempted to take her own life, but one of the blacks tore her
dagger from her, and then they bound us both so that we could not
use our hands.
"The fleet continued north after capturing us. There were about
twenty large battleships in all, besides a number of small swift
cruisers. That evening one of the smaller cruisers that had been
far in advance of the fleet returned with a prisoner--a young red
woman whom they had picked up in a range of hills under the very
noses, they said, of a fleet of three red Martian battleships.
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