A Princess of Mars · Chapter
Lost in the Sky explained
John Carter escapes Zodanga by air, but his compass is destroyed by enemy fire, leaving him lost over the Martian landscape as he tries to find Helium.
What happens
John Carter escapes Zodanga by air, but his compass is destroyed by enemy fire, leaving him lost over the Martian landscape as he tries to find Helium.
Themes in this chapter
Courage and Combat
Carter risks his life climbing the barracks and engaging in aerial combat to escape Zodanga.
Fate and Destiny
Carter leaves his fate to chance and the speed of his machine after losing his compass.
Love and Romance
Carter's love for Dejah Thoris drives his desperate actions, including risking death for her freedom.
Characters to notice
- John Carter
Escapes Zodanga by air, loses his compass, and becomes lost over the dead sea bottom.
- Kantos Kan
Plans to assassinate Sab Than via a secret tower entrance; helps Carter with a gearing trick for speed.
- Dejah Thoris
Mentioned as having promised her hand to Sab Than, motivating Carter and Kantos Kan's actions.
- Sab Than
Target of Kantos Kan's assassination plot; known to use a secret passage from the palace tower.
Key passages
“If I can come within sword’s reach of Sab Than, I can solve the difficulty in so far as Helium is concerned, but for personal reasons I would prefer that another struck the blow that frees Dejah Thoris.”
Carter says he could kill Sab Than himself if he got close enough, but he'd rather someone else do it for personal reasons.
Carter expresses his desire to avoid killing Sab Than directly due to his feelings for Dejah Thoris.
“I only need to pass these guards and I can do it. I know a secret entrance to the palace through the pinnacle of the highest tower.”
Kantos Kan claims he can assassinate Sab Than if he can get past the guards, using a secret passage he discovered.
Kantos Kan reveals his plan to use a hidden entrance to reach Sab Than's quarters.
“By twisting and turning my little machine, now rising and now falling, I managed to elude their searchlights most of the time, but I was also losing ground by these tactics, and so I decided to hazard everything on a straightaway course and leave the result to fate and the speed of my machine.”
Carter evades searchlights by maneuvering, but decides to risk a straight-line course relying on speed and luck.
Carter's tactical shift from evasion to a desperate straight-line flight.