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Warhoons had piled building stone from some of the ruined edifices of
the ancient city to prevent the animals and the captives from escaping
into the audience, and at each end had been constructed cages to hold
them until their turns came to meet some horrible death upon the arena.

Kantos Kan and I were confined together in one of the cages. In the
others were wild calots, thoats, mad zitidars, green warriors, and
women of other hordes, and many strange and ferocious wild beasts of
Barsoom which I had never before seen. The din of their roaring,
growling and squealing was deafening and the formidable appearance of
any one of them was enough to make the stoutest heart feel grave
forebodings.

Kantos Kan explained to me that at the end of the day one of these
prisoners would gain freedom and the others would lie dead about the
arena. The winners in the various contests of the day would be pitted
against each other until only two remained alive; the victor in the
last encounter being set free, whether animal or man. The following
morning the cages would be filled with a new consignment of victims,
and so on throughout the ten days of the games.

Shortly after we had been caged the amphitheater began to fill and
within an hour every available part of the seating space was occupied.
Dak Kova, with his jeds and chieftains, sat at the center of one side
of the arena upon a large raised platform.

At a signal from Dak Kova the doors of two cages were thrown open and a
dozen green Martian females were driven to the center of the arena.
Each was given a dagger and then, at the far end, a pack of twelve
calots, or wild dogs were loosed upon them.

As the brutes, growling and foaming, rushed upon the almost defenseless
women I turned my head that I might not see the horrid sight. The
yells and laughter of the green horde bore witness to the excellent
quality of the sport and when I turned back to the arena, as Kantos Kan
told me it was over, I saw three victorious calots, snarling and
growling over the bodies of their prey. The women had given a good
account of themselves.

Next a mad zitidar was loosed among the remaining dogs, and so it went
throughout the long, hot, horrible day.

During the day I was pitted against first men and then beasts, but as I
was armed with a long-sword and always outclassed my adversary in
agility and generally in strength as well, it proved but child's play
to me. Time and time agai