A new day dawned on Mars to the news that the Persephone had been lost in the Crocea-Gorlimsk Swamplands.
The Persephone had been chartered by Dr Grant for some sort of expedition to the swamplands. Not only were Dr Grant and the crew lost, but Grant had taken along is erstwhile assistant miss Elizabeth White.
It was quite the talk of the Explorer’s Club public lounge, in which Captain Forsyth and Dr Phipps had received the news that Waldmont would not be remaining on mars, but would be returning to Earth to take up the reins of his family business. Indeed, Forsyth and Phipps were talking about it to a new acquaintance, a former military chap by the name of Hartwell when they became aware of being avidly watched by a young woman scribbling in a notebook.
Forsyth intercepted her and learned she was the author of the newspaper article reporting the loss of the Persephone, and that she was looking for more information on the late Mr Waldmont and Professor Wilhelm, absent from the world of the Brotherhood of Luxor for many months now. Forsyth was polite but firm that neither he nor his friends could add anything of value to the story.
The next day Forsyth was presented with a letter signed by Assistant Deputy Commissioner Mandrake informing him that his presence was required at the Governor’s residence at 4pm where a garden party was being held. He was also informed that he was needed to resolve a … situation … and furthermore, that an “honour guard” would be provided “as a courtesy”. And indeed, at 3:45pm four burly soldiers in the uniform of the Parhoon Rifles arrived to “escort” Captain Forsyth to the party.
As he arrived at the Governor’s residence, Forsyth caught a strong smell of something he hadn’t smelled since he was on Venus. Before he could speculate he emerged into the garden where the sight of two dozen scantily-clad tribal Venusian Lizardmen greeted him. Before he could react, one lizardman, slightly more ornately clad than the rest (a matter of the number and type of feathers in his headband) stepped forward and demanded to know why Fogg was not present. Forsyth immediately recognized his acquaintance Ssassafrash! That very lizardman who had been so helpful on Venus and who had been so impressed by the pugilistic skills of the reverend Fogg. Ssassafrash and his fellow Venusians had come to “honour Fogg” he said, and at the mention of the name “Fogg” each lizardman exulted, hissing the name “Fogg” reverently. The Governor’s representative muttered “you see our problem, Captain Forsyth” and made himself scarce.
Forsyth explained as best he could that Fogg had passed away, fighting bravely to the end, and had been buried in a secret place Fogg himself had forbidden anyone to visit (this because it occurred to Forsyth that even if he could locate the grave-site, it had been improvised with whatever rocks were to hand to form a cairn over Fogg’s body and that the elements and Martian scavengers might likely have disturbed the scene. Heaven alone knew what the reaction of this, this, Cult of Fogg would be to such a discovery. Forsyth waited a decent interval, then made his excuses and left to inform the others of this development.
The next day the Earthmen were contacted by yet another representative of the Governor’s office, a “Mr Smith”, with the news that Dr Grant and Miss White were being held by swamp pirates who were demanding an immense ransom for the hostages, a ransom so large the strategic reserves could not encompass the demand. Furthermore, all military assets were currently occupied with the Oenotrian menace, and an official rescue attempt into neutral Crocean territory would certainly push those neutral city states bordering the swamplands into the Oenotrian camp.
Smith suggested that were a private expedition mounted, a certain amount of funds could perhaps be made available to help equip it.
Forsyth, Phipps and Hartwell discussed the mater among themselves for a few minutes, discarded the idea of using a flying vessel and decided that a large canal barge of narrow draught would be ideal. It was also suggested that Forsyth approach Ssassafrash with a view to asking him and his fellow Venusians to join as extra muscle. Ssassafrash listened to the proposition, then announced it would seem to be the perfect way of honouring Fogg.
And so it was that on the 14th of September, the Krahaanik's Folly left the dockside of Syrtis Major, ostensibly on a scientific expedition mounted by Dr Phipps to search for a certain type of martian leech that would be invaluable in creating new medicines. The machine gun mounted on the bow was simply a precaution against Canal and Swamp Pirates, both of whom were known to interfere with peaceful folk going about their lawful business on the waterways of Mars. The many cases of ammunition were merely an expression of the nature of the hazard involved.
The crew were five loyal Martian boatmen, Ssassafrash and his two dozen spearmen, Forsyth and his batman Jones, Phipps and the new chap, Hartwell. It was quite a crowd, and their departure was watched carefully by several people including the young woman who had accosted Forsyth in the Explorer’s Club, some Martians and a sinister human who was taking pains not to be spotted.
The week long trip to the swamp was mostly uneventful, and each night the Krahaanik's Folly would dock at some canal-side town to trade minor items and gather information. The picture that emerged was grim, if speculative. The crew of the Persephone had, by all accounts, been sold as slaves to some High Martian “king”, while the unfortunate Dr Grant and Miss White were being held for ransom from the British - or whoever could pay it!
There was one encounter with canal pirates, which ended badly for the brave explorers but very badly indeed for the pirates. The Krahaanik's Folly was hailed by an approaching vessel and ordered to heave to for an “inspection”. Suspecting foul play, Forsyth and Phipps opened fire withtheir small arms while Hartwell attempted to fire the machine gun - but it jammed! The pirates returned fire with their sweeper and landed a very (un)lucky shot that dropped two Martian crew and poor Jones. A shot from Phipps aimed at the madly reloading gunner then ignited the pirate’s supply of powder and blew the bows completely off the vessel, sinking it with the loss of all aboard.
Jones was badly wounded, but alive thanks to his stout Welsh constitution. The two Martian crewmen were not so lucky.
Finally reaching the mouth of the swamp, the Krahaanik's Folly cautiously made its way into the network of channels and islets, like and yet unlike the swamps of Venus. On Venus the vegetation is varying shades of green. Here, it was of course varying shades of red. But barely had the crew begun to admire the screnery when a flotilla of swamp pirate skiffs, well prepared and crewed, sprang a classic swamp pirate ambush and surrounded the Krahaanik's Folly!
The Earthmen readied themselves. Hartwell, anxious to redeem himself, gave good account with the machine gun, dropping a pirate. Phipps and Forsyth also began firing, as did Jones. But all were astonished at the military precision of the Lizardmen as they leapt overboard at Ssassafrash’s urging, and in what seemed expert military fashion began attacking the pirates with their spears.
The pirates, desperate now their ruse was up, fired pistols. Rounds tore through Hartwell’s new safari jacket, ruining the tailored line, and struck the proud figure of Ssassafrash, standing in clear view and urging his cohorts on with sibilant commands in whatever Venusian language they all spoke. One lucky shot dropped a Lizardman.
And then … but you will have to wait until next month’s exciting episode to find out what happened then, dear reader.
