"The fact that you wore no ornaments is a strong proof of your
un-Barsoomian origin, while the absence of grotesque coverings
might cause a doubt as to your earthliness."
I then narrated the details of my departure from the Earth,
explaining that my body there lay fully clothed in all the, to her,
strange garments of mundane dwellers. At this point Sola returned
with our meager belongings and her young Martian protege, who, of
course, would have to share the quarters with them.
Sola asked us if we had had a visitor during her absence, and seemed
much surprised when we answered in the negative. It seemed that as
she had mounted the approach to the upper floors where our quarters
were located, she had met Sarkoja descending. We decided that she
must have been eavesdropping, but as we could recall nothing of
importance that had passed between us we dismissed the matter as of
little consequence, merely promising ourselves to be warned to the
utmost caution in the future.
Dejah Thoris and I then fell to examining the architecture and
decorations of the beautiful chambers of the building we were
occupying. She told me that these people had presumably flourished
over a hundred thousand years before.
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