f Tal Hajus, Jeddak of Thark. Five communities make their
headquarters at the city of Thark, and the balance are scattered among
other deserted cities of ancient Mars throughout the district claimed
by Tal Hajus.

We made our entry into the great central plaza early in the afternoon.
There were no enthusiastic friendly greetings for the returned
expedition. Those who chanced to be in sight spoke the names of
warriors or women with whom they came in direct contact, in the formal
greeting of their kind, but when it was discovered that they brought
two captives a greater interest was aroused, and Dejah Thoris and I
were the centers of inquiring groups.

We were soon assigned to new quarters, and the balance of the day was
devoted to settling ourselves to the changed conditions. My home now
was upon an avenue leading into the plaza from the south, the main
artery down which we had marched from the gates of the city. I was at
the far end of the square and had an entire building to myself. The
same grandeur of architecture which was so noticeable a characteristic
of Korad was in evidence here, only, if that were possible, on a larger
and richer scale. My quarters would have been suitable for housing the
greatest of earthly emperors, but to these queer creatures nothing
about a building appealed to them but its size and the enormity of its
chambers; the larger the building, the more desirable; and so Tal Hajus
occupied what must have been an enormous public building, the largest
in the city, but entirely unfitted for residence purposes; the next
largest was reserved for Lorquas Ptomel, the next for the jed of a
lesser rank, and so on to the bottom of the list of five jeds. The
warriors occupied the buildings with the chieftains to whose retinues
they belonged; or, if they preferred, sought shelter among any of the
thousands of untenanted buildings in their own quarter of town; each
community being assigned a certain section of the city. The selection
of building had to be made in accordance with these divisions, except
in so far as the jeds were concerned, they all occupying edifices which
fronted upon the plaza.

When I had finally put my house in order, or rather seen that it had
been done, it was nearing sunset, and I hastened out with the intention
of locating Sola and her charges, as I had determined upon having
speech with Dejah Thoris and trying to impress on her the necessity of
our at least patching up a tr