It would do them no good to remain in the open. Lowar rummaged through the debris which was all that was left after the attack of the earth-saber-tooth tiger. Since Lowar and his slain companion were on a reconnaissance patrol they had been equipped with a long range wireless communicator. It had be been smashed when the thoat rolled over on Lowar during the saber-tooth tiger attack. In that attack, Lowar had sustained a broken leg which was now in a makeshift cast. As the green man tossed the broken wireless aside he glanced over at the man who had set his leg and probably saved him from the tiger.
Nu, son of Nu, lay on the moss covered ground. He was wounded dreadfully and had been recently stitched together by the green man. Lowar had been impressed with the human's fighting ability and courage, enough so that he had administered primitive first aid to the savage. In the grimness of his Martian mind, Lowar considered how far he should extend care to the savage. First he had to find some sort of shelter. He was too injured to travel, so returning to the main Thark camp was out of the question. He needed someplace to hide and heal. It was important to salvage every piece of equipment he could
It was poor luck that his rifle had been damaged. And Vink Var's as well. Remembering the violence of the tiger's attack, it was still a wonder that he was still alive, and it was not difficult to believe that most of his equipment had been destroyed. At least his basic survival kit was intact. He had short rations, a small supply of medical supplies, and the means to make fire.
Scrambling on three legs, which he did by using his intermediary limbs, Lowar dragged his broken leg behind him as he scouted the area for a place to establish his camp. Pain was unimportant to the green man, unless it signaled the encroachment of an incapacity to perform, so he ignored it. He circled the place of the attack had occurred in everwidening rings until he found a small cave in a gentle rise as the sea bed came to an end. Luckily there was room for himself and the human.
It was difficult to transport the man to the cave. Carrying Nu was out of the question because any rough handling would burst open his wounds, and he had already lost too much blood. Lowar placed the savage on a large saddle fur and pulled him across the sea bed. He did so slowly and with great care for he did not wish to lose the patient he had taken so much trouble to tend.
By the end of the day it was done. What little he could salvage, Nu, and some meat he had cut from the dead thoat had been transported to the cave. Exhausted, Lowar fell into a deep sleep.
Lowar had no reason to expect a rescue. His fellow green men would have given him up for lost since he had not reported in. If there would be a rescue then it would be by luck alone. A party of green men might pass by the place where the monster attacked Vink Var and himself and decide to investigate. If Lowar was to make it back to the relative safety of the main camp of wandering Tharks then he would have to do so on his own.
Once again, as he had done for a hundred times, Lowar looked at the sleeping human and wondered why he had bothered to save him. He was not certain that the man would have died if Lowar had not helped him, though his wounds had been severe enough to kill a green man if left unattended in the wilderness. The human was recovering rapidly. The first day or two he had been feverish and fitful; after that he had slept calmly and seemed to be on the mend. Of course, Lowar was not a physician, especially when it concerned the little men. His kind were more at home torturing their captives than curing them.
There was little need for a physician among his people. Wounds were stitched back together and the sick got better on their own or they died. Only the strong lived among the green men of Barsoom. Lowar accepted this as a fundamental principle of his reality. It was the good and proper way.
So the green man wondered at the weakness that continued to urge him to help the human. If he were turning soft in the head then it might have been better if the monster had killed him along with Vink Var. Perhaps he had been injured more than he knew when the thoat had turned over on him. His brains might be addled. Lowar pressed his large hands on either side of his head. He felt no different. And he really didn't think he was getting soft.
Just curious. In a world as bleak as Barsoom, curiosity was a form of entertainment. Lowar was curious about this ferocious man-thing. And the savage presented no danger in his wounded state so he decided to continue tending the human.
The days slipped by. As the human grew stronger, so did Lowar's broken leg mend. The human had did a good job in setting it.
Lowar worked hard to repair his rifle. In his injured state he would only feel secure with the power of a long range weapon in his hands. Piecing parts together from his dead comrade's rifle, with his own, he managed to rebuild a serviceable weapon.
Two nights later, in the blackness of a moonless evening, their cave was attacked by a pack of nameless creatures. Lowar heard the scurrying of many padded feet as they hustled to jam into the small cave where he and the savage lay. His heart racing with alarm, Lowar pumped a radium slug through the darkness into the midst of the pack. Squeals and screams answered the green man's defense. Another shot and the pack was gone.
"Who are you?"
Lowar turned quickly at the human's words. The caveman had been conscious for several days and had spent that time trying to communicate with the green man. His acquisition of the universal language of Barsoom was rapid. His concentration on the task was remarkable, but it was also true that he had nothing else to do.
"I am Lowar," replied the green man. He had just pulled into the cave the body of an ulsio he had killed with his lance. Though it was a small animal it would provide supplemental nourishment to the liquid they obtained from local milk plants.
"I am Nu, son of Nu. I have been watching you during these days we have talked. You are more like a man than I believed. Where does your tribe live?" asked Nu. Of course his words were primitive, and he made use of his tribe's spectacular ability to talk with their hands. Eventually Lowar understood what he was asking. It was easier for Nu to understand Lowar because of the words in his head. On the other hand Lowar couldn't hear the cave-man's thoughts very easily.
"We are a traveling people. We live where we camp. The sea beds of our dying world provide ample room to range," Nu was informed. "Though sometimes we reside in great cities."
"Are all the men in this place like you?"
Lowar considered this question. It implied that the human knew little about the world of his birth or he was from another place. He decided to keep the knowledge of other humans a secret until he uncovered more information about the strange human.
"We are the men of Barsoom," he said simply. The human looked at him blankly for a few minutes as he slipped into silence. Little more was said that day.
Two weeks from the attack of the saber-tooth tiger, Nu was up and around. Each day he went for a longer walk, stretching his long mighty legs, in the hope that he would regain his full strength soon. The wounds that Oo had given him were too terrible for a quick recovery, however, and it would take more time before Nu was able to hunt again.
He and the green man ate whatever scraps they could find. The meat of the dead thoat had gone so bad that no fire could cure it. Occasionally Lowar speared a small animal and they ate better on those days. More often they just got by on the milk of the mantilla plant and some roots the green man dug up. When he was hungry, Nu thought of the meat-stew his mother would cook in their cave in the cliffs. It would be good to taste her cooking now.
He had been told he was on a world called Barsoom. A word like world had little meaning to the cave-man for he recognized only the world described by the place he was in or had been present in the past. His 'world' was a personal one consisting of his experiences with the people and things around him. To know that Barsoom was a different 'world' than the Niocene 'world' he had come from made little sense, nor was it important. What was important was that the place he was in now was radically different from the place he had hunted Oo, Zor and Gluh. Where was the thick humid atmosphere that hid the large turgid red sun? Where were the trees, the jungle and beasts of his world? Barsoom was barren compared to the Niocene and paled poorly in comparison to the energetic place of Nu's birth.
In the clear night sky Nu saw two moons in the place of the single massive moon that had circled his world. Watching one of Barsoom's quickly moving moons now, Nu was unimpressed by this change in celestial bodies. If nothing else, Nu was a practical man and not given to much musing or idle speculation. If he speculated about anything at all it was about Nat-ul. Where was his love?
Over the course of their convalescence the savage and the green man spent much time together talking about their respective cultures and people. As he learned more about Lowar, Nu came to realize that his people and Lowar's were very different in more than just appearance.
Nu had been surprised to learn how long the green men of Barsoom lived. At first it had been a difficult concept to communicate, but finally Lowar convinced Nu that his people lived for hundreds of years. Some lived to be nearly one thousand years old. In contrast, Lowar had been astounded that Nu was only 18 years old or roughly nine years old by the reckoning of Martian time.
"Nu is like a shrew compared to Lowar the tortoise," laughed the cave-man as they discussed these matters. "Of course Lowar is a tortoise without a shell." Lowar demanded that Nu explain what a tortoise was, and after receiving the explanation was not so sure he approved of the comparison.
"I don't think that any of my people would like to called a tortoise. We are a warrior race whose first impulse is to fight not hide in a shell. We are strong and without mercy. Only the strongest children are allowed to live. Any children with the tendency to hide in a shell would be quickly left to die. That is why we are the strongest," boasted Lowar.
"I didn't mean to offend you, Lowar. You are my friend. It was just a joke," said Nu quickly.
"Friendship is little valued among my people, Nu. At best it holds men together against other men. And the jokes we play on each other are cruel and punishing," confessed the green man.
Lowar stretched out his injured leg. He had excavated a larger living space to the natural cave where they lived. More room would be needed soon, now that Nu was swiftly recovering and was moving about more freely, often crossing into the area Lowar had marked as his space. The green man squeezed his leg and it felt solid. Soon he would be able to travel.
"My people value strength as well," said Nu, "although our children gain it differently than yours. We believe that strong love between a man and woman produces the strongest children. The stronger their love, the stronger their children. It may not always be so, but it is a good thing to believe in."
"It is nonsense," retorted Lowar. "Love is a meaningless weakness. Women submit to men, bear children and tend to household duties. They are as much a possession of a man as his sword or thoat. And our children do not know who their parents are, nor do their parents know who they are."
Nu shook his head. "Then what do you think about, Lowar, if it is not about your woman?
Lowar leaned back and rubbed his chin as he considered Nu's question. "I think about conquest. About being better than any other man. The best fighter and greatest chieftain. This is all the green men of Barsoom think about."
"In some ways it is the same with my people, the Cliff Dwellers. We hunt the most dangerous animals, not for their meat, but for the trophies we bring back to our women. Oo, the saber-tooth tiger was the greatest trophy of them all," Nu said with a smile. There was no need to continue his thought. Lowar was not a being who was interested in words of romance and women. The cave-man let the matter die.
One month was a long time to be together. Nu spent the time constructing a new spear from the wood of the green man's discarded lance. He practiced with it daily as his strength increased, until he was as proficient with it as any stone bladed spear from the Niocene World he came from. Lowar once took him out and showed him how the Barsoomian rifle worked. He didn't reveal the way a man can use the rifle; he showed Nu the effect of the rifle to impress the caveman with its power.
"It did little good against Oo," was Nu's only comment, and he went back to practicing with his spear. The green man watched him for a while, then hobbled away with a grunt.
Eventually the time came to part. As he prepared his pack and adjusted his weapons, Lowar stared at the human with troubled eyes. It was not often that a green man was bothered by consideration for another living being, especially a human. There was a sense of something that had not been done. Lowar regretted his dishonesty when he had discussed with Nu the existence of other humans on Barsoom. Now that they were parting, Lowar felt it was better to part honestly.
"Nu, I have not told you everything you want to know. Once you asked if there were other men on Barsoom besides the green men. Now I tell you that there are. There are men like yourself, of a different color, but otherwise the same," said Lowar.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" asked the cave man.
Lowar sighed. "The Green Men of Barsoom are a warlike race. We are at war with everyone, including the humans who populate this world. I didn't tell you because I didn't trust you. I have grown to know you better through the time we have spent recovering, and I know you have told me the truth about yourself. You are a stranger to Barsoom. You might be happier with men more like yourself. And because I no longer believe you will stick a spear in my back once I have turned away, I see no reason not to tell you something that might make you happy."
"Finding Nat-ul will make me happy. Perhaps she will be among these people you speak of. Or they might know of her," mused Nu. Lowar laughed.
"In all the time we have been together all you have spoken about is your Nat-ul. Truly, you have eyes that see in only one direction, Nu," said Lowar. "May you have success in your hunt for your mate."
"And may you conquer many foes," returned Nu with a smile.
"That would be grand. Remember, Nu, that most of my foes are the red men of Barsoom. Men like yourself. When we part we will no longer be friends. We may meet in battle one day and I may have to kill you. Do you understand?" Lowar stood over the savage, leaning close to him so he could meet Nu's eyes.
"Yes, I do," admitted the savage. "But I hope that we do not meet in combat, Lowar. It would be hard to slay a man I helped heal."
Lowar laughed again: a cruel harsh sound with a touch of irony. He clasped Nu's shoulder with one long, green hand and turned and walked away. Never a backward glance.
Nu watched the green man limp away until he was just a small smudge on the horizon. The savage shouldered his traveling pack, hefted his spear and set out in the direction that Oo had taken after their fight over a month ago. He had no thought on where he should start looking for Nat-ul. Perhaps the direction that Oo had chosen would be the right one. In any case it was away from where the green men dwelled, as he had learned from Lowar, and if the giant had been truthful, the Green Men of Barsoom were creatures to avoid.
Nu's path cut a 45 degree angle with Lowar's. He had traveled only about an hour when he crossed a strange trail. Huge feet had squashed the moss and left imprints in the dirt. The savage spent some time studying the tracks to determine how many creatures had passed and where they were going. He thought about four of the monsters were together and if they continued along their present direction they would intercept Lowar. Nu was not absolutely sure of this, but it was a good possibility.
He was uncertain what to do. There were many things he didn't know about this strange land. These creatures might be friends or allies of Lowar's people. Allies perhaps, not friends. Lowar had insisted that his people held little value for friendship. In fact, he recalled no mention of allies either. Nu turned slowly along the new trail when curiosity and concern for Lowar made the decision for him.
The roar of beasts hailed him from beyond a small ridge. It was a sound very familiar to the caveman; one that injected fire in his veins. Hunching over, he crept to the top of the ridge and peered over the edge. Nu gasped as he saw four massive, white simian creatures surrounding the one friend he had on Barsoom. If these white hued creatures were apelike, it was a broad comparison only. Like the green man, they had an intermediary set of arms and were huge. Lowar held them at a distance by waving his long sword. The white apish monsters circled around Lowar, hoping to charge him from behind and score an easy kill. Apparently one of them had already bitten the Green man because he was dripping blood from a wound on his good leg. Only one of the apes held a weapon which was a long cudgel made of stone.
For Nu there was no need to take time to consider what he should do next. He was a pure man of action. Vaulting over the edge of the ridge, the cave man ran a few yards and took a mighty leap. The fight was taking place about a hundred yards away so Nu had to take several jumps before he got into range. As he got closer his black eyes sparkled with mayhem and mirth.
Nu sprang into the air, holding his right arm back to cast his spear. His savage war cry burst from his lips, and his spear exploded from his hand as he reached the apex of his jump. All four apes jerked their ugly heads toward the newcomer, momentarily startled by the war cry of Nu's people. Then an ape's chest split like a melon as the spear drove through and pinned the monster to the ground. It was the ape holding the cudgel. Nu drew his sword as he fell among the enemy.
Lowar took advantage of the confusion resulting from Nu's attack to stab one of the apes in the heart. Now the odds were even. An ape charged Lowar as he withdrew his blade from the slain monster, bowled him over and sent both of them head over heels on the moss covered ground. Lowar stabbed at the ape with a dagger, while the beast hit him with granitelike fists and tried to bit him. Lowar was still weak from his injuries, and no match for the Barsoomian gorilla. Slowly the ape inched his fangs closer to his neck. When they got there long canine tusks would stab and crush the life out of the green man.
Nu cut a deep wound across the other ape's belly as he bounded like a rabbit underneath the monster's outreaching arms. The beast roared shrilly in pain as Nu sliced into one of its legs and dropped it to the ground. Avoiding the swipes of its long muscular arms, Nu buried his blade in its skull.
And immediately regretted it, because it wouldn't come out. It was wedged in the bone. As Nu set himself to tug the sword loose he saw that Lowar was failing under the attack of the last white ape. Abandoning his sword, the cave man hurled his body at the ape and knocked it off the green man.
Nu and the ape leaped upright at the same time. Now the caveman found himself in the dangerous position of facing off against a monster nearly thirteen feet in height, and Nu had lost his sword in the tumble. Dwarved by this alien giant, Nu back pedaled away while looking out of the corner of his eyes for some weapon to use against his enormous foe. With a roar, endowed with natural weapons, the ape charged the caveman. Nu leaped straight up, high over the charging ape, and landed behind it. He had achieved no safety however, as the ape wheeled and came at him again.
A long green body stretched across the ape's path, knocked its stout legs out from under it and dropped it to the moss covered sea bed floor. Lowar scrambled about on four legs, and wrestled with the disadvantaged ape, until he sunk one of his lower lip tusks into the ape's belly and tore a terrible wound there. With no utterance to betray its pain, the ape smashed one of its malletlike fists on Lowar's head and rendered him senseless. Then the ape reared up over Lowar's slumping body, seized his head with two hands and attempted to break his limp neck.
Nu had not been idle. While Lowar wrestled with the ape, he dug his fingers into the ground and wrenched a huge boulder from its ancient resting place. His face twisted into a warlike grimace as the Cliff Dweller used the full power of his muscular arms to drop the stone on the ape's skull. The brute's bones were no match for that awful force. Its brains burst from the caved-in skull, and it dropped as dead as the stone that killed it.
With a quick shove, Nu removed the ape's body from that of his friend. He was relieved to discover that Lowar was still alive. His olive green neck was unbroken.
The savage resisted the urge to execute the death dance of his people, as they often did when an enemy had been slain. But without Nat-ul to provide the rhythm by beating her lovely hands on the ground it seemed pointless.
Nu glanced over his broad shoulder with a speculative eye at the dead apes. He wondered if they were good eating.
Once again they parted. This time Lowar gave Nu one of his armlets as a token of their friendship.
"Nu, it seems we are meant to be friends. I accept this fate," said the green giant solemnly.
"Does this mean you won't try to kill me if we meet again?" asked Nu with a smile.
"It was not meant to be a joke. You must listen to me and understand. Barsoom is a hostile world. Every thing you encounter will probably be your enemy. In the case of men, either green or red, they will try to kill you or enslave you. This behavior has been bred into our bodies by thousands of lifetimes of hardship. Be cautious in your travels, my friend."
"It was not so different in my world, Lowar. Do not fear for Nu. I have not been bested yet," said the savage.
Lowar scrutinized the savage. "Nu, there is one thing I must know. When you saved me from Oo, did you attack the tiger with the intentions of saving me, or was it just to fight Oo?"
"I wanted to fight Oo. I must still prove my love to Nat-ul by bringing her the head of Oo. Wherever she is," admitted Nu. "But I am glad that I saved you, Lowar. Isn't it the same in the end?"
"I believe it is, Nu. Thank you for the truth. Green men know no fear," laughed Lowar as he clapped Nu on the shoulder, " and I think neither does Nu."
copyright by Rod Hunsicker12-4-1997
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