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At the clash of steel, palace guards rushed to the scene fro until those ould have defended U-Thor were outnumbered two to one, and then the jed of Manatos sloithdreith his forces, and fighting his way through the corridors and chambers of the palace came at last to the avenue Here he was reinforced by the little army that had marched with him into Manator Slowly they retreated toward The Gate of Ene down upon them from the balconies and there, within the city walls, they hted chamber beneath the palace of O-Tar the jeddak, Turan the panthan lowered Tara of Helium from his arms and faced her "I am sorry, Princess," he said, "that I was forced to disobey your commands, or to abandon Ghek; but there was no other way Could he have saved you I would have stayed in his place Tell ive raciously "But it seehting men it had been different," he said "We could only have re; but you know, Tara of Heliuh we risk the loss of honor"

"I know that, Turan," she said; "but no one may say that you have risked honor, who knows the honor and bravery that are yours"

He heard her with surprise for these were the first words that she had spoken to him that did not savor of the attitude of a princess to a panthan-though it was more in her tone than the actual words that he apprehended the difference How at variance were they to her recent repudiation of him! He could not fathom her, and so he blurted out the question that had been in his mind since she had told O-Tar that she did not know him

"Tara of Heliuave me in the throne room of O-Tar Tell reat, deep eyes up to his and in theuess," she asked, "that it was my lips alone and not my heart that denied you? O-Tar had ordered that I die, more because I was a coainst ed you as one of us, you would be slain, too"