A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS ACE BOOKS, INC. 1120 Avenue of the Americas New York 36, N.Y. A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS This Ace edition follows the text of the first hard-cover book edition, originally published in 1931. _Cover art and title page illustration by Roy Krenkel, Jr._ Printed in U.S.A. AN UNSEEN FOE STRIKES AGAINST JOHN CARTER Under the double moons of Barsoom, an invisible flier sped to the mysterious city of Jahar where Sanoma Tora, the kidnapped princess of Helium had been taken. Hadron of Hastor was at the controls, hatching a rescue plan that required unusual daring and great ingenuity. For invisibility alone was not a great enough weapon against "The Death." And should Hadron succeed, what fate would await him at the hands of the madman whose very genius had created the means of that rescue? A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS is the exciting story of Martian adventure as transmitted by Ulysses Paxton on Mars to Edgar Rice Burroughs in Tarzana, by means of Pellucidar's Gridley Wave. CONTENTS FOREWORD I SANOMA TORA II BROUGHT DOWN III CORNERED IV TAVIA V TO THE PITS VI SENTENCED TO DIE VII THE DEATH VIII THE SPIDER OF GHASTA IX PHOR TAK OF JHAMA X THE FLYING DEATH XI "LET THE FIRE BE HOT!" XII THE CLOAK OF INVISIBILITY XIII TUL AXTAR'S WOMEN XIV THE CANNIBALS OF U-GOR XV THE BATTLE OF JAHAR XVI DESPAIR XVII I FIND A PRINCESS A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS FOREWORD To Jason Gridley of Tarzana, discoverer of the Gridley Wave, belonged the credit of establishing radio communication between Pellucidar and the outer world. It was my good fortune to be much in his laboratory while he was carrying on his experiments and to be, also, the recipient of his confidences, so that I was fully aware that while he hoped to establish communication with Pellucidar he was also reaching out toward an even more stupendous accomplishment--he was groping through space for contact with another planet; nor did he attempt to deny that the present goal of his ambition was radio communication with Mars. Gridley had constructed a simple, automatic device for broadcasting signals intermittently and for recording whatever might be received during his absence.