life. She did not see me at first, but just as she was disappearing
through the portal of the building which was to be her prison she
turned, and her eyes met mine. Her face was oval and beautiful in
the extreme, her every feature was finely chiseled and exquisite,
her eyes large and lustrous and her head surmounted by a mass of
coal black, waving hair, caught loosely into a strange yet becoming
coiffure. Her skin was of a light reddish copper color, against
which the crimson glow of her cheeks and the ruby of her beautifully
molded lips shone with a strangely enhancing effect.

She was as destitute of clothes as the green Martians who
accompanied her; indeed, save for her highly wrought ornaments she
was entirely naked, nor could any apparel have enhanced the beauty
of her perfect and symmetrical figure.

As her gaze rested on me her eyes opened wide in astonishment, and
she made a little sign with her free hand; a sign which I did not,
of course, understand. Just a moment we gazed upon each other, and
then the look of hope and renewed courage which had glorified her
face as she discovered me, faded into one of utter dejection,
mingled with loathing and contempt. I realized I had not answered
her signal, and ignorant as I was of Martian customs, I intuitively
felt that she had made an appeal for succor and protection which my
unfortunate ignorance had prevented me from answering. And then she
was dragged out of my sight into the depths of the deserted edifice.




CHAPTER IX