Princess of Mars / Принцесса Марса. Уровень 2

I did not know what she was thinking, because I just began to learn the Martian tongue. I knew enough only to suffice for my daily needs.

There was a strange surprise when I reached the doorway of our building. An armed warrior with arms, ornaments and full equipment of his kind approached me and gave them to me. He talked to me with a few unintelligible words. He was respectful and menacing at the same time.

Later, Sola remodeled the trappings to fit my lesser proportions with the aid of several of the other women.

After they completed the work, I was garbed in all the panoply of war.

After that Sola instructed me in the mysteries of the various weapons. I spent several hours each day practicing upon the plaza with the young Martians. I was not yet familiar with all the weapons, but my great knowledge about similar weapons from Earth made me a quick learner and I progressed very fast.

Solely the women conducted my training with the young Martians.

They were not only teaching the young about individual defense and offense, but also did a production of manufactures. They create all they need for the green Martians:the powder, the cartridges, the firearms. The females produced everything valuable. In the wartime, they form a part of the reserves and, if needed, fight with even greater intelligence and fury than the men.

The men learn higher branches of the art of war:strategy and the maneuvering of large units. They also make the laws; aВ new law for each emergency.

These customs are old. The punishment for ignoring a custom is determined by individual treatment in a jury of the criminal's peers. I may say that justice is rarely wrong.

I did not see the prisoner again for several days after our first encounter. I only caught a fleeting glimpse of her when she was being conducted to the great audience chamber. I noted the unnecessary harshness and brutality by her guards; so different from the almost maternal Sola's kindliness to me.

I noticed that the prisoner exchanged words with her guards for two times when I saw her. That meant that they spoke, or at least could make themselves understood by a common language.

With this added incentive, I nearly drove Sola distracted by my importunities to hasten on my education. Within a few more days I was able fully communicate and understand practically all that I heard.