«I could take you as my slave,» he said to her; «but it pleases me to make you my wife. You shall be Jeddara of Manator. You shall have seven days in which to prepare for the great honor that O-Tar is conferring upon you, and at this hour of the seventh day you shall become an empress and the wife of O-Tar in the throne room of the jeddaks of Manator.» He struck a gong that stood beside him upon the table and when a slave appeared he bade him recall the company. Slowly the chiefs filed in and took their places at the table. Their faces were grim and scowling, for there was still unanswered the question of their jeddak's courage. If O-Tar had hoped they would forget he had been mistaken in his men.

O-Tar arose. «In seven days,» he announced, «there will be a great feast in honor of the new Jeddara of Manator,» and he waved his hand toward Tara of Helium. «The ceremony will occur at the beginning of the seventh zode[3] in the throne room. In the meantime the Princess of Helium will be cared for in the tower of the women's quarters of the palace. Conduct her thither, E-Thas, with a suitable guard of honor and see to it that slaves and eunuchs be placed at her disposal, who shall attend upon all her wants and guard her carefully from harm.»

Now E-Thas knew that the real meaning concealed in these fine words was that he should conduct the prisoner under a strong guard to the women's quarters and confine her there in the tower for seven days, placing about her trustworthy guards who would prevent her escape or frustrate any attempted rescue.

As Tara was departing from the chamber with E-Thas and the guard, O-Tar leaned close to her ear and whispered: «Consider well during these seven days the high honor I have offered you, and-its sole alternative.» As though she had not heard him the girl passed out of the banquet hall, her head high and her eyes straight to the front.

After Ghek had left him Gahan roamed the pits and the ancient corridors of the deserted portions of the palace seeking some clue to the whereabouts or the fate of Tara of Helium. He utilized the spiral runway in passing from level to level until he knew every foot of it from the pits to the summit of the high tower, and into what apartments it opened at the various levels as well as the ingenious and hidden mechanism that operated the locks of the cleverly concealed doors leading to it. For food he drew upon the stores he found in the pits and when he slept he lay upon the royal couch of O-Mai in the forbidden chamber sharing the dais with the dead foot of the ancient jeddak.

In the palace about him seethed, all unknown to Gahan, a vast unrest. Warriors and chieftains pursued the duties of their vocations with dour faces, and little knots of them were collecting here and there and with frowns of anger discussing some subject that was uppermost in the minds of all. It was upon the fourth day following Tara's incarceration in the tower that E-Thas, the major-domo of the palace and one of O-Tar's creatures, came to his master upon some trivial errand. O-Tar was alone in one of the smaller chambers of his personal suite when the major-domo was announced, and after the matter upon which E-Thas had come was disposed of the jeddak signed him to remain.

«From the position of an obscure warrior I have elevated you, E-Thas, to the honors of a chief. Within the confines of the palace your word is second only to mine. You are not loved for this, E-Thas, and should another jeddak ascend the throne of Manator what would become of you, whose enemies are among the most powerful of Manator?»

«Speak not of it, O-Tar,» begged E-Thas. «These last few days I have thought upon it much and I would forget it; but I have sought to appease the wrath of my worst enemies. I have been very kind and indulgent with them.»

«You, too, read the voiceless message in the air?» demanded the jeddak.

E-Thas was palpably uneasy and he did not reply.

«Why did you not come to me with your apprehensions?» demanded O-Tar. «Be this loyalty?»

«I feared, O mighty jeddak!» replied E-Thas. «I feared that you would not understand and that you would be angry.»

«What know you? Speak the whole truth!» commanded O-Tar.

«There is much unrest among the chieftains and the warriors,» replied E-Thas. «Even those who were your friends fear the power of those who speak against you.»

«What say they?» growled the jeddak.

«They say that you are afraid to enter the apartments of O-Mai in search of the slave Turan-oh, do not be angry with me, Jeddak; it is but what they say that I repeat. I, your loyal E-Thas, believe no such foul slander.»

«No, no; why should I fear?» demanded O-Tar. «We do not know that he is there. Did not my chiefs go thither and see nothing of him?»

«But they say that you did not go,» pursued E-Thas, «and that they will have none of a coward upon the throne of Manator.»

«They said that treason?» O-Tar almost shouted.

«They said that and more, great jeddak,» answered the major-domo. «They said that not only did you fear to enter the chambers of O-Mai, but that you feared the slave Turan, and they blame you for your treatment of A-Kor, whom they all believe to have been murdered at your command. They were fond of A-Kor and there are many now who say aloud that A-Kor would have made a wondrous jeddak.»

«They dare?» screamed O-Tar. «They dare suggest the name of a slave's bastard for the throne of O-Tar!»

«He is your son, O-Tar,» E-Thas reminded him, «nor is there a more beloved man in Manator-I but speak to you of facts which may not be ignored, and I dare do so because only when you realize the truth may you seek a cure for the ills that draw about your throne.»

O-Tar had slumped down upon his bench-suddenly he looked shrunken and tired and old. «Cursed be the day,» he cried, «that saw those three strangers enter the city of Manator. Would that U-Dor had been spared to me. He was strong-my enemies feared him; but he is gone-dead at the hands of that hateful slave, Turan; may the curse of Issus be upon him!»

«My jeddak, what shall we do?» begged E-Thas. «Cursing the slave will not solve your problems.»

«But the great feast and the marriage is but three days off,» plead O-Tar. «It shall be a great gala occasion. The warriors and the chiefs all know that-it is the custom. Upon that day gifts and honors shall be bestowed. Tell me, who are most bitter against me? I will send you among them and let it be known that I am planning rewards for their past services to the throne. We will make jeds of chiefs and chiefs of warriors, and grant them palaces and slaves. Eh, E-Thas?»

The other shook his head. «It will not do, O-Tar. They will have nothing of your gifts or honors. I have heard them say as much.»

«What do they want?» demanded O-Tar.

«They want a jeddak as brave as the bravest,» replied E-Thas, though his knees shook as he said it.

«They think I am a coward?» cried the jeddak.

«They say you are afraid to go to the apartments of O-mai the Cruel.»

For a long time O-Tar sat, his head sunk upon his breast, staring blankly at the floor.

«Tell them,» he said at last in a hollow voice that sounded not at all like the voice of a great jeddak; «tell them that I will go to the chambers of O-Mai and search for Turan the slave.»