I am inordinately proud of this Jetan set; and because the figures are so tiny, I always carry a small but powerful reading glass, not alone that I may enjoy them but that others may. I offered it now to Pan Dan Chee, who examined the figures minutely.
"Extraordinary," he said. "I have never seen anything more beautiful." He had examined one figure much longer than he had the others, and he held it in his hand now as though loath to relinquish it. "What an exquisite imagination the artist must have had who created this figure, for he could have had no model for such gorgeous beauty; since nothing like it exists on Barsoom."
"Every one of those figures was carved from life," I told him.
"Perhaps the others," he said, "but not this one. No such beautiful woman ever lived."
"Which one is it?" I asked, and he handed it to me. "This," I said, "is Llana of Gathol, the daughter of Tara of Helium, who is my daughter. She really lives, and this is a most excellent likeness of her. Of course it cannot do her justice since it cannot reflect her animation nor the charm of her personality."
He took the little figurine back and held it for a long time under the glass; then he replaced it in the box. "Shall we play?" I asked.
He shook his head. "It would be sacrilege," he said, "to play at a game with the figure of a goddess."
I packed the pieces back in the tiny box, which was also the playing board, and returned it to my pouch. Pan Dan Chee sat silent. The light of the single torch cast our shadows deep and dark upon the floor.
These torches of Horz were a revelation to me.
<<BackPagesTo menuNext>>