Эдгар Райс Берроуз – Princess of Mars / Принцесса Марса. Уровень 2 (страница 3)

The entire cavalcade then turned and galloped away toward the range of hills in the distance.

IV. A Prisoner

Ten miles after, we were nearing the edge of one of Mars' long-dead seas. In a short time, we gained the foot of the mountains. After traversing a narrow gorge, we came to an open valley. At the far extremity of it was a low tableland upon which I saw an enormous city. We entered the city by a ruined roadway that led out from the city but only to the edge of the tableland. Then it ended abruptly in a flight of broad steps.

As we came closer to the buildings, I saw that they were abandoned. They seemed uninhabited for years or even ages. Toward the center of the city was a large plaza. Some nine or ten hundred creatures of the same breed as my captors camped upon this and in the buildings immediately surrounding it.

All were naked with the exception of their ornaments. The women looked much like the men. But their tusks were much larger in proportion to their height and curving nearly to their high-set ears. Their bodies were smaller and lighter in color. Their fingers and toes had the rudiments of nails, which were entirely lacking among the males. The adult females ranged in height from ten to twelve feet.

The children were light in color, even lighter than the women. They all looked precisely alike to me, except that some were taller than others; older, I presumed.

I saw no signs ofextreme age[17] among them and no difference in their appearance from the age of maturity. All looked about forty.

Only about one Martian in a thousand dies of sickness or disease. Possibly about twenty take the voluntary pilgrimage downthe river Iss[18]. No living Martian knows where leads the river and no Martian ever returned from there. The other nine hundred and seventy-nine die violent deaths in duels, in hunting, in aviation and in war. But perhaps by far the greatest death loss comes during the age of childhood. Vast numbers of the little Martians fall victims to the great white apes of Mars.

Theaverage life expectancy[19] of a Martian after the age of maturity, about forty, is about three hundred years. It would be nearer the one-thousand mark if it were not for the waning resources of the planet[20] and the almost continual warfare between the various communities.

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