It had been apparent to both players and spectators for the past two moves, that Gahan was moving straight across the field into the enemy’s country to seek personal combat with the Orange Chief—­that he was staking all upon his belief in the superiority of his own swordsmanship, since if the two Chiefs engage, the outcome decides the game.  U-Dor could move out and engage Gahan, or he could move his Princess’ Panthan upon the square occupied by Gahan in he hope that the former would defeat the Black Chief and thus draw the game, which is the outcome if any other than a Chief slays the opposing Chief, or he could move away and escape, temporarily, the necessity for personal combat, or at least that is evidently what he had in mind as was obvious to all who saw him scanning the board about him; and his disappointment was apparent when he finally discovered that Gahan had so placed himself that there was no square to which U-Dor could move that it was not within Gahan’s power to reach at his own next move.

U-Dor had placed his own Princess four squares east of Gahan when her position had been threatened, and he had hoped to lure the Black Chief after her and away from U-Dor; but in that he had failed.  He now discovered that he might play his own Odwar into personal combat with Gahan; but he had already lost one Odwar and could ill spare the other.  His position was a delicate one, since he did not wish to engage Gahan personally, while it appeared that there was little likelihood of his being able to escape.  There was just one hope and that lay in his Princess’ Panthan, so, without more deliberation he ordered the piece onto the square occupied by the Black Chief.

The sympathies of the spectators were all with Gahan now.  If he lost, the game would be declared a draw, nor do they think better of drawn games upon Barsoom than do Earth men.  If he won, it would doubtless mean a duel between the two Chiefs, a development for which they all were hoping.  The game already bade fair to be a short one and it would be an angry crowd should it be decided a draw with only two men slain.  There were great, historic games on record where of the forty pieces on the field when the game opened only three survived—­the two Princesses and the victorious Chief.

They blamed U-Dor, though in fact he was well within his rights in directing his play as he saw fit, nor was a refusal on his part to engage the Black Chief necessarily an imputation of cowardice.  He was a great chief who had conceived a notion to possess the slave Tara.  There was no honor that could accrue to him from engaging in combat with slaves and criminals, or an unknown warrior from Manataj, nor was the stake of sufficient import to warrant the risk.