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diff --git a/31324-8.txt b/31324-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..09336d4 --- /dev/null +++ b/31324-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16530 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Angel of the Revolution, by George Griffith + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Angel of the Revolution + A Tale of the Coming Terror + +Author: George Griffith + +Illustrator: Fred T. Jane + +Release Date: February 18, 2010 [EBook #31324] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ANGEL OF THE REVOLUTION *** + + + + +Produced by Bruce Albrecht, Michael Roe and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + + + + + + + + +THE ANGEL OF THE REVOLUTION + + +MORRISON AND GIBB, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. + +[Illustration: _Drawn by Edwin S. Hope._ + +NATASHA] + + + + +THE ANGEL +OF THE +REVOLUTION + +A Tale of the Coming Terror + + +BY +GEORGE GRIFFITH + +_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY FRED. T. JANE_ + +FIFTH EDITION + +LONDON +TOWER PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED +91 MINORIES, E.C. +1894 + +_Copyrighted Abroad_] [_All Foreign Rights Reserved_ + +TO +CYRIL ARTHUR PEARSON +TO WHOSE SUGGESTION +THE WRITING OF THIS STORY +WAS PRIMARILY DUE +THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE INSCRIBED +BY +THE AUTHOR + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAP. PAGE + + I. AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR, 1 + + II. AT WAR WITH SOCIETY, 8 + + III. A FRIENDLY CHAT, 16 + + IV. THE HOUSE ON CLAPHAM COMMON, 23 + + V. THE INNER CIRCLE, 30 + + VI. NEW FRIENDS, 37 + + VII. THE DAUGHTER OF NATAS, 46 + + VIII. LEARNING THE PART, 54 + + IX. THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS, 63 + + X. THE "ARIEL," 70 + + XI. FIRST BLOOD, 78 + + XII. IN THE MASTER'S NAME, 85 + + XIII. FOR LIFE OR DEATH, 91 + + XIV. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MOMENT, 98 + + XV. A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY, 103 + + XVI. A WOOING IN MID-AIR, 110 + + XVII. AERIA FELIX, 119 + + XVIII. A NAVY OF THE FUTURE, 127 + + XIX. THE EVE OF BATTLE, 135 + + XX. BETWEEN TWO LIVES, 141 + + XXI. JUST IN TIME, 153 + + XXII. ARMED NEUTRALITY, 162 + + XXIII. A BATTLE IN THE NIGHT, 169 + + XXIV. THE NEW WARFARE, 179 + + XXV. THE HERALDS OF DISASTER, 188 + + XXVI. AN INTERLUDE, 193 + + XXVII. ON THE TRACK OF TREASON, 201 + + XXVIII. A SKIRMISH IN THE CLOUDS, 208 + + XXIX. AN EMBASSY FROM THE SKY, 216 + + XXX. AT CLOSE QUARTERS, 225 + + XXXI. A RUSSIAN RAID, 233 + + XXXII. THE END OF THE CHASE, 241 + + XXXIII. THE BREAKING OF THE CHARM, 247 + + XXXIV. THE PATH OF CONQUEST, 251 + + XXXV. FROM CHAOS TO ARCADIE, 258 + + XXXVI. LOVE AND DUTY, 267 + + XXXVII. THE CAPTURE OF A CONTINENT, 276 + + XXXVIII. THE BEGINNING OF THE END, 289 + + XXXIX. THE BATTLE OF DOVER, 295 + + XL. BELEAGUERED LONDON, 301 + + XLI. AN ENVOY OF DELIVERANCE, 308 + + XLII. THE EVE OF ARMAGEDDON, 315 + + XLIII. THE OLD LION AT BAY, 323 + + XLIV. THE TURN OF THE BATTLE-TIDE, 331 + + XLV. ARMAGEDDON, 339 + + XLVI. VICTORY, 347 + + XLVII. THE JUDGMENT OF NATAS, 355 + + XLVIII. THE ORDERING OF EUROPE, 366 + + XLIX. THE STORY OF THE MASTER, 375 + + EPILOGUE.--"AND ON EARTH PEACE!" 386 + + + + +THE ANGEL OF THE REVOLUTION. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR. + + +"Victory! It flies! I am master of the Powers of the Air at last!" + +They were strange words to be uttered, as they were, by a pale, +haggard, half-starved looking young fellow in a dingy, comfortless +room on the top floor of a South London tenement-house; and yet there +was a triumphant ring in his voice, and a clear, bright flush on his +thin cheeks that spoke at least for his own absolute belief in their +truth. + +Let us see how far he was justified in that belief. + + * * * * * + +To begin at the beginning, Richard Arnold was one of those men whom +the world is wont to call dreamers and enthusiasts before they +succeed, and heaven-born geniuses and benefactors of humanity +afterwards. + +He was twenty-six, and for nearly six years past he had devoted +himself, soul and body, to a single idea--to the so far unsolved +problem of aërial navigation. + +This idea had haunted him ever since he had been able to think +logically at all--first dimly at school, and then more clearly at +college, where he had carried everything before him in mathematics +and natural science, until it had at last become a ruling passion +that crowded everything else out of his life, and made him, +commercially speaking, that most useless of social units--a +one-idea'd man, whose idea could not be put into working form. + +He was an orphan, with hardly a blood relation in the world. He had +started with plenty of friends, mostly made at college, who thought +he had a brilliant future before him, and therefore looked upon him +as a man whom it might be useful to know. + +But as time went on, and no results came, these dropped off, and he +got to be looked upon as an amiable lunatic, who was wasting his +great talents and what money he had on impracticable fancies, when he +might have been earning a handsome income if he had stuck to the +beaten track, and gone in for practical work. + +The distinctions that he had won at college, and the reputation he +had gained as a wonderfully clever chemist and mechanician, had led +to several offers of excellent positions in great engineering firms; +but to the surprise and disgust of his friends he had declined them +all. No one knew why, for he had kept his secret with the almost +passionate jealousy of the true enthusiast, and so his refusals were +put down to sheer foolishness, and he became numbered with the +geniuses who are failures because they are not practical. + +When he came of age he had inherited a couple of thousand pounds, +which had been left in trust to him by his father. Had it not been +for that two thousand pounds he would have been forced to employ his +knowledge and his talents conventionally, and would probably have +made a fortune. But it was just enough to relieve him from the +necessity of earning his living for the time being, and to make it +possible for him to devote himself entirely to the realisation of his +life-dream--at any rate until the money was gone. + +Of course he yielded to the temptation--nay, he never gave the other +course a moment's thought. Two thousand pounds would last him for +years; and no one could have persuaded him that with complete +leisure, freedom from all other concerns, and money for the necessary +experiments, he would not have succeeded long before his capital was +exhausted. + +So he put the money into a bank whence he could draw it out as he +chose, and withdrew himself from the world to work out the ideal of +his life. + +Year after year passed, and still success did not come. He found +practice very different from theory, and in a hundred details he met +with difficulties he had never seen on paper. Meanwhile his money +melted away in costly experiments which only raised hopes that ended +in bitter disappointment. His wonderful machine was a miracle of +ingenuity, and was mechanically perfect in every detail save one--it +would do no practical work. + +Like every other inventor who had grappled with the problem, he had +found himself constantly faced with that fatal ratio of weight to +power. No engine that he could devise would do more than lift itself +and the machine. Again and again he had made a toy that would fly, as +others had done before him, but a machine that would navigate the air +as a steamer or an electric vessel navigated the waters, carrying +cargo and passengers, was still an impossibility while that terrible +problem of weight and power remained unsolved. + +In order to eke out his money to the uttermost, he had clothed and +lodged himself meanly, and had denied himself everything but the +barest necessaries of life. + +Thus he had prolonged the struggle for over five years of toil and +privation and hope deferred, and now, when his last sovereign had +been changed and nearly spent, success--real, tangible, practical +success--had come to him, and the discovery that was to be to the +twentieth century what the steam-engine had been to the nineteenth +was accomplished. + +He had discovered the true motive power at last. + +Two liquefied gases--which, when united, exploded spontaneously--were +admitted by a clockwork escapement in minute quantities into the +cylinders of his engine, and worked the pistons by the expansive +force of the gases generated by the explosion. There was no weight +but the engine itself and the cylinders containing the liquefied +gases. Furnaces, boilers, condensers, accumulators, dynamos--all the +ponderous apparatus of steam and electricity--were done away with, +and he had a power at command greater than either of them. + +There was no doubt about it. The moment that his trembling fingers +set the escapement mechanism in motion, the model that embodied the +thought and labour of years rose into the air as gracefully as a bird +on the wing, and sailed round and round in obedience to its rudder, +straining hard at the string which prevented it from striking the +ceiling. It was weighted in strict proportion to the load that the +full-sized air-ship would have to carry. To increase this was merely +a matter of increasing the power of the engine and the size of the +floats and fans. + +The room was a large one, for the house had been built for a better +fate than letting in tenements, and it ran from back to front with a +window at each end. Out of doors there was a strong breeze blowing, +and as soon as Arnold was sure that his ship was able to hold its own +in still air, he threw both the windows open and let the wind blow +straight through the room. Then he drew the air-ship down, +straightened the rudder, and set it against the breeze. + +In almost agonised suspense he watched it rise from the floor, float +motionless for a moment, and then slowly forge ahead in the teeth of +the wind, gathering speed as it went. It was then that he had uttered +that triumphant cry of "Victory!" All the long years of privation and +hope deferred vanished in that one supreme moment of innocent and +bloodless conquest, and he saw himself master of a kingdom as wide as +the world itself. + +He let the model fly the length of the room before he stopped the +clockwork and cut off the motive power, allowing it to sink gently to +the floor. Then came the reaction. He looked steadfastly at his +handiwork for several moments in silence, and then he turned and +threw himself on to a shabby little bed that stood in one corner of +the room and burst into a flood of tears. + +Triumph had come, but had it not come too late? He knew the boundless +possibilities of his invention--but they had still to be realised. To +do this would cost thousands of pounds, and he had just one +half-crown and a few coppers. Even these were not really his own, for +he was already a week behind with his rent, and another payment fell +due the next day. That would be twelve shillings in all, and if it +was not paid he would be turned into the street. + +As he raised himself from the bed he looked despairingly round the +bare, shabby room. No; there was nothing there that he could pawn or +sell. Everything saleable had gone already to keep up the struggle of +hope against despair. The bed and wash-stand, the plain deal table, +and the one chair that comprised the furniture of the room were not +his. A little carpenter's bench, a few worn tools and odds and ends +of scientific apparatus, and a dozen well-used books--these were all +that he possessed in the world now, save the clothes on his back, and +a plain painted sea-chest in which he was wont to lock up his +precious model when he had to go out. + +His model! No, he could not sell that. At best it would fetch but the +price of an ingenious toy, and without the secret of the two gases it +was useless. But was not that worth something? Yes, if he did not +starve to death before he could persuade any one that there was money +in it. Besides, the chest and its priceless contents would be seized +for the rent next day, and then-- + +"God help me! What _am_ I to do?" + +The words broke from him like a cry of physical pain, and ended in a +sob, and for all answer there was the silence of the room and the +inarticulate murmur of the streets below coming up through the open +windows. + +He was weak with hunger and sick with excitement, for he had lived +for days on bread and cheese, and that day he had eaten nothing since +the crust that had served him for breakfast. His nerves, too, were +shattered by the intense strain of his final trial and triumph, and +his head was getting light. + +With a desperate effort he recovered himself, and the heroic +resolution that had sustained him through his long struggle came to +his aid again. He got up and poured some water from the ewer into a +cracked cup and drank it. It refreshed him for the moment, and he +poured the rest of the water over his head. That steadied his nerves +and cleared his brain. He took up the model from the floor, laid it +tenderly and lovingly in its usual resting-place in the chest. Then +he locked the chest and sat down upon it to think the situation over. + +Ten minutes later he rose to his feet and said aloud-- + +"It's no use. I can't think on an empty stomach. I'll go out and have +one more good meal if it's the last I ever have in the world, and +then perhaps some ideas will come." + +So saying, he took down his hat, buttoned his shabby velveteen coat +to conceal his lack of a waistcoat, and went out, locking the door +behind him as he went. + +Five minutes' walk brought him to the Blackfriars Road, and then he +turned towards the river and crossed the bridge just as the motley +stream of city workers was crossing it in the opposite direction on +their homeward journey. + +At Ludgate Circus he went into an eating-house and fared sumptuously +on a plate of beef, some bread and butter, and a pint mug of coffee. +As he was eating a paper-boy came in and laid an _Echo_ on the table +at which he was sitting. He took it up mechanically, and ran his eye +carelessly over the columns. He was in no humour to be interested by +the tattle of an evening paper, but in a paragraph under the heading +of Foreign News a once familiar name caught his eye, and he read the +paragraph through. It ran as follows:-- + + RAILWAY OUTRAGE IN RUSSIA. + + When the Berlin-Petersburg express stopped last night at Kovno, + the first stop after passing the Russian frontier, a shocking + discovery was made in the smoking compartment of the palace car + which has been on the train for the last few months. Colonel + Dornovitch, of the Imperial Police, who is understood to have + been on his return journey from a secret mission to Paris, was + found stabbed to the heart and quite dead. In the centre of the + forehead were two short straight cuts in the form of a *T* + reaching to the bone. Not long ago Colonel Dornovitch was + instrumental in unearthing a formidable Nihilist conspiracy, in + connection with which over fifty men and women of various social + ranks were exiled for life to Siberia. The whole affair is + wrapped in the deepest mystery, the only clue in the hands of the + police being the fact that the cross cut on the forehead of the + victim indicates that the crime is the work, not of the Nihilists + proper, but of that unknown and mysterious society usually + alluded to as the Terrorists, not one of whom has ever been seen + save in his crimes. How the assassin managed to enter and leave + the car unperceived while the train was going at full speed is an + apparently insoluble riddle. Saving the victim and the + attendants, the only passengers in the car who had not retired to + rest were another officer in the Russian service and Lord + Alanmere, who was travelling to St. Petersburg to resume, after + leave of absence, the duties of the Secretaryship to the British + Embassy, to which he was appointed some two years ago. + +"Why, that must be the Lord Alanmere who was at Trinity in my time, +or rather Viscount Tremayne, as he was then," mused Arnold, as he +laid the paper down. "We were very good friends in those days. I +wonder if he'd know me now, and lend me a ten-pound note to get me +out of the infernal fix I'm in? I believe he would, for he was one of +the few really good-hearted men I have so far met with. + +"If he were in London I really think I should take courage from my +desperation, and put my case before him and ask his help. However, +he's not in London, and so it's no use wishing. Well, I feel more of +a man for that shillingsworth of food and drink, and I'll go and wind +up my dissipation with a pipe and a quiet think on the Embankment." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +AT WAR WITH SOCIETY. + + +When Richard Arnold reached the Embankment dusk had deepened into +night, so far, at least, as nature was concerned. But in London in +the beginning of the twentieth century there was but little night to +speak of, save in the sense of a division of time. The date of the +paper which contained the account of the tragedy on the Russian +railway was September 3rd, 1903, and within the last ten years +enormous progress had been made in electric lighting. + +The ebb and flow in the Thames had at last been turned to account, +and worked huge turbines which perpetually stored up electric power +that was used not only for lighting, but for cooking in hotels and +private houses, and for driving machinery. At all the great centres +of traffic huge electric suns cast their rays far and wide along the +streets, supplementing the light of the lesser lamps with which they +were lined on each side. + +The Embankment from Westminster to Blackfriars was bathed in a flood +of soft white light from hundreds of great lamps running along both +sides, and from the centre of each bridge a million candle-power sun +cast rays upon the water that were continued in one unbroken stream +of light from Chelsea to the Tower. + +On the north side of the river the scene was one of brilliant and +splendid opulence, that contrasted strongly with the half-lighted +gloom of the murky wilderness of South London, dark and forbidding in +its irredeemable ugliness. + +From Blackfriars Arnold walked briskly towards Westminster, bitterly +contrasting as he went the lavish display of wealth around him with +the sordid and seemingly hopeless poverty of his own desperate +condition. + +He was the maker and possessor of a far greater marvel than anything +that helped to make up this splendid scene, and yet the ragged tramps +who were remorselessly moved on from one seat to another by the +policemen as soon as they had settled themselves down for a rest and +a doze, were hardly poorer than he was. + +For nearly four hours he paced backwards and forwards, every now and +then stopping to lean on the parapet, and once or twice to sit down, +until the chill autumn wind pierced his scanty clothing, and +compelled him to resume his walk in order to get warm again. + +All the time he turned his miserable situation over and over again in +his mind without avail. There seemed no way out of it; no way of +obtaining the few pounds that would save him from homeless beggary +and his splendid invention from being lost to him and the world, +certainly for years, and perhaps for ever. + +And then, as hour after hour went by, and still no cheering thought +came, the misery of the present pressed closer and closer upon him. +He dare not go home, for that would be to bring the inevitable +disaster of the morrow nearer, and, besides, it was home no longer +till the rent was paid. He had two shillings, and he owed at least +twelve. He was also the maker of a machine for which the Tsar of +Russia had made a standing offer of a million sterling. That million +might have been his if he had possessed the money necessary to bring +his invention under the notice of the great Autocrat. + +That was the position he had turned over and over in his mind until +its horrible contradictions maddened him. With a little money, riches +and fame were his; without it he was a beggar in sight of starvation. + +And yet he doubted whether, even in his present dire extremity, he +could, had he had the chance, sell what might be made the most +terrific engine of destruction ever thought of to the head and front +of a despotism that he looked upon as the worst earthly enemy of +mankind. + +For the twentieth time he had paused in his weary walk to and fro to +lean on the parapet close by Cleopatra's Needle. The Embankment was +almost deserted now, save by the tramps and a few isolated wanderers +like himself. For several minutes he looked out over the brightly +glittering waters below him, wondering listlessly how long it would +take him to drown if he dropped over, and whether he would be rescued +before he was dead, and brought back to life, and prosecuted the next +day for daring to try and leave the world save in the conventional +and orthodox fashion. + +Then his mind wandered back to the Tsar and his million, and he +pictured to himself the awful part that a fleet of air-ships such as +his would play in the general European war that people said could not +now be put off for many months longer. As he thought of this the +vision grew in distinctness, and he saw them hovering over armies and +cities and fortresses, and raining irresistible death and destruction +down upon them. The prospect appalled him, and he shuddered as he +thought that it was now really within the possibility of realisation; +and then his ideas began to translate themselves involuntarily into +words which he spoke aloud, completely oblivious for the time being +of his surroundings. + +"No, I think I would rather destroy it, and then take my secret with +me out of the world, than put such an awful power of destruction and +slaughter into the hands of the Tsar, or, for the matter of that, any +other of the rulers of the earth. Their subjects can butcher each +other quite efficiently enough as it is. The next war will be the +most frightful carnival of destruction that the world has ever seen; +but what would it be like if I were to give one of the nations of +Europe the power of raining death and desolation on its enemies from +the skies! No, no! Such a power, if used at all, should only be used +against and not for the despotisms that afflict the earth with the +curse of war!" + +"Then why not use it so, my friend, if you possess it, and would see +mankind freed from its tyrants?" said a quiet voice at his elbow. + +The sound instantly scattered his vision to the winds, and he turned +round with a startled exclamation to see who had spoken. As he did +so, a whiff of smoke from a very good cigar drifted past his +nostrils, and the voice said again in the same quiet, even tones-- + +"You must forgive me for my bad manners in listening to what you were +saying, and also for breaking in upon your reverie. My excuse must be +the great interest that your words had for me. Your opinions would +appear to be exactly my own, too, and perhaps you will accept that as +another excuse for my rudeness." + +It was the first really kindly, friendly voice that Richard Arnold +had heard for many a long day, and the words were so well chosen and +so politely uttered that it was impossible to feel any resentment, so +he simply said in answer-- + +"There was no rudeness, sir; and, besides, why should a gentleman +like you apologise for speaking to a"-- + +"Another gentleman," quickly interrupted his new acquaintance. +"Because I transgressed the laws of politeness in doing so, and an +apology was due. Your speech tells me that we are socially equals. +Intellectually you look my superior. The rest is a difference only of +money, and that any smart swindler can bury himself in nowadays if he +chooses. But come, if you have no objection to make my better +acquaintance, I have a great desire to make yours. If you will pardon +my saying so, you are evidently not an ordinary man, or else, +something tells me, you would be rich. Have a smoke and let us talk, +since we apparently have a subject in common. Which way are you +going?" + +"Nowhere--and therefore anywhere," replied Arnold, with a laugh that +had but little merriment in it. "I have reached a point from which +all roads are one to me." + +"That being the case I propose that you shall take the one that leads +to my chambers in Savoy Mansions yonder. We shall find a bit of +supper ready, I expect, and then I shall ask you to talk. Come +along!" + +There was no more mistaking the genuine kindness and sincerity of the +invitation than the delicacy with which it was given. To have refused +would not only have been churlish, but it would have been for a +drowning man to knock aside a kindly hand held out to help him; so +Arnold accepted, and the two new strangely met and strangely assorted +friends walked away together in the direction of the Savoy. + +The suite of rooms occupied by Arnold's new acquaintance was the beau +ideal of a wealthy bachelor's abode. Small, compact, cosy, and richly +furnished, yet in the best of taste withal, the rooms looked like an +indoor paradise to him after the bare squalor of the one room that +had been his own home for over two years. + +His host took him first into a dainty little bath-room to wash his +hands, and by the time he had performed his scanty toilet supper was +already on the table in the sitting-room. Nothing melts reserve like +a good well-cooked meal washed down by appropriate liquids, and +before supper was half over Arnold and his host were chatting +together as easily as though they stood on perfectly equal terms and +had known each other for years. His new friend seemed purposely to +keep the conversation to general subjects until the meal was over and +his pattern man-servant had removed the cloth and left them together +with the wine and cigars on the table. + +As soon as he had closed the door behind him his host motioned Arnold +to an easy-chair on one side of the fireplace, threw himself into +another on the other side, and said-- + +"Now, my friend, plant yourself, as they say across the water, help +yourself to what there is as the spirit moves you, and talk--the more +about yourself the better. But stop. I forgot that we do not even +know each other's name yet. Let me introduce myself first. + +"My name is Maurice Colston; I am a bachelor, as you see. For the +rest, in practice I am an idler, a dilettante, and a good deal else +that is pleasant and utterly useless. In theory, let me tell you, I +am a Socialist, or something of the sort, with a lively conviction as +to the injustice and absurdity of the social and economic conditions +which enable me to have such a good time on earth without having done +anything to deserve it beyond having managed to be born the son of my +father." + +He stopped and looked at his guest through the wreaths of his cigar +smoke as much as to say: "And now who are you?" + +Arnold took the silent hint, and opened his mouth and his heart at +the same time. Quite apart from the good turn he had done him, there +was a genial frankness about his unconventional host that chimed in +so well with his own nature that he cast all reserve aside, and told +plainly and simply the story of his life and its master passion, his +dreams and hopes and failures, and his final triumph in the hour when +triumph itself was defeat. + +His host heard him through without a word, but towards the end of his +story his face betrayed an interest, or rather an expectant anxiety, +to hear what was coming next that no mere friendly concern of the +moment for one less fortunate than himself could adequately account +for. At length, when Arnold had completed his story with a brief but +graphic description of the last successful trial of his model, he +leant forward in his chair, and, fixing his dark, steady eyes on his +guest's face, said in a voice from which every trace of his former +good-humoured levity had vanished-- + +"A strange story, and truer, I think, than the one I told you. Now +tell me on your honour as a gentleman: Were you really in earnest +when I heard you say on the embankment that you would rather smash up +your model and take the secret with you into the next world, than +sell your discovery to the Tsar for the million that he has offered +for such an air-ship as yours?" + +"Absolutely in earnest," was the reply. "I have seen enough of the +seamy side of this much-boasted civilisation of ours to know that it +is the most awful mockery that man ever insulted his Maker with. It +is based on fraud, and sustained by force--force that ruthlessly +crushes all who do not bow the knee to Mammon. I am the enemy of a +society that does not permit a man to be honest and live, unless he +has money and can defy it. I have just two shillings in the world, +and I would rather throw them into the Thames and myself after them +than take that million from the Tsar in exchange for an engine of +destruction that would make him master of the world." + +"Those are brave words," said Colston, with a smile. "Forgive me for +saying so, but I wonder whether you would repeat them if I told you +that I am a servant of his Majesty the Tsar, and that you shall have +that million for your model and your secret the moment that you +convince me that what you have told me is true." + +Before he had finished speaking Arnold had risen to his feet. He +heard him out, and then he said, slowly and steadily-- + +"I should not take the trouble to repeat them; I should only tell you +that I am sorry that I have eaten salt with a man who could take +advantage of my poverty to insult me. Good night." + +He was moving towards the door when Colston jumped up from his chair, +strode round the table, and got in front of him. Then he put his two +hands on his shoulders, and, looking straight into his eyes, said in +a tone that vibrated with emotion-- + +"Thank God, I have found an honest man at last! Go and sit down +again, my friend, my comrade, as I hope you soon will be. Forgive me +for the foolishness that I spoke! I am no servant of the Tsar. He and +all like him have no more devoted enemy on earth than I am. Look! I +will soon prove it to you." + +As he said the last words, Colston let go Arnold's shoulders, flung +off his coat and waistcoat, slipped his braces off his shoulders, and +pulled his shirt up to his neck. Then he turned his bare back to his +guest, and said-- + +"That is the sign-manual of Russian tyranny--the mark of the knout!" + +Arnold shrank back with a cry of horror at the sight. From waist to +neck Colston's back was a mass of hideous scars and wheals, crossing +each other and rising up into purple lumps, with livid blue and grey +spaces between them. As he stood, there was not an inch of +naturally-coloured skin to be seen. It was like the back of a man who +had been flayed alive, and then flogged with a cat-o'-nine-tails. + +Before Arnold had overcome his horror his host had re-adjusted his +clothing. Then he turned to him and said-- + +"That was my reward for telling the governor of a petty Russian town +that he was a brute-beast for flogging a poor decrepit old Jewess to +death. Do you believe me now when I say that I am no servant or +friend of the Tsar?" + +"Yes, I do," replied Arnold, holding out his hand, "you were right to +try me, and I was wrong to be so hasty. It is a failing of mine that +has done me plenty of harm before now. I think I know now what you +are without your telling me. Give me a piece of paper and you shall +have my address, so that you can come to-morrow and see the +model--only I warn you that you will have to pay my rent to keep my +landlord's hands off it. And then I must be off, for I see it's past +twelve." + +"You are not going out again to-night, my friend, while I have a sofa +and plenty of rugs at your disposal," said his host. "You will sleep +here, and in the morning we will go together and see this marvel of +yours. Meanwhile sit down and make yourself at home with another +cigar. We have only just begun to know each other--we two enemies of +Society!" + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A FRIENDLY CHAT. + + +Soon after eight the next morning Colston came into the sitting-room +where Arnold had slept on the sofa, and dreamt dreams of war and +world-revolts and battles fought in mid-air between aërial navies +built on the plan of his own model. When Colston came in he was just +awake enough to be wondering whether the events of the previous night +were a reality or part of his dreams--a doubt that was speedily set +at rest by his host drawing back the curtains and pulling up the +blinds. + +The moment his eyes were properly open he saw that he was anywhere +but in his own shabby room in Southwark, and the rest was made clear +by Colston saying-- + +"Well, comrade Arnold, Lord High Admiral of the Air, how have you +slept? I hope you found the sofa big and soft enough, and that the +last cigar has left no evil effects behind it." + +"Eh? Oh, good morning! I don't know whether it was the whisky or the +cigars, or what it was; but do you know I have been dreaming all +sorts of absurd things about battles in the air and dropping +explosives on fortresses and turning them into small volcanoes. When +you came in just now I hadn't the remotest idea where I was. It's +time to get up, I suppose?" + +"Yes, it's after eight a good bit. I've had my tub, so the bath-room +is at your service. Meanwhile, Burrows will be laying the table for +breakfast. When you have finished your tub, come into my +dressing-room, and let me rig you out. We are about of a size, and I +think I shall be able to meet your most fastidious taste. In fact, I +could rig you out as anything--from a tramp to an officer of the +Guards." + +"It wouldn't take much change to accomplish the former, I'm afraid. +But, really, I couldn't think of trespassing so far on your +hospitality as to take your very clothes from you. I'm deep enough in +your debt already." + +"Don't talk nonsense, Richard Arnold. The tone in which those last +words were said shows me that you have not duly laid to heart what I +said last night. There is no such thing as private property in the +Brotherhood, of which I hope, by this time to-morrow, you will be an +initiate. + +"What I have here is mine only for the purposes of the Cause, +wherefore it is as much yours as mine, for to-day we are going on the +Brotherhood's business. Why, then, should you have any scruples about +wearing the Brotherhood's clothes? Now clear out and get tubbed, and +wash some of those absurd ideas out of your head." + +"Well, as you put it that way, I don't mind, only remember that I +don't necessarily put on the principles of the Brotherhood with its +clothes." + +So saying, Arnold got up from the sofa, stretched himself, and went +off to make his toilet. + +When he sat down to breakfast with his host half an hour later, very +few who had seen him on the Embankment the night before would have +recognised him as the same man. The tailor, after all, does a good +deal to make the man, externally at least, and the change of clothes +in Arnold's case had transformed him from a superior looking tramp +into an aristocratic and decidedly good-looking man, in the prime of +his youth, saving only for the thinness and pallor of his face, and a +perceptible stoop in the shoulders. + +During breakfast they chatted about their plans for the day, and then +drifted into generalities, chiefly of a political nature. + +The better Arnold came to know Maurice Colston the more remarkable +his character appeared to him; and it was his growing wonder at the +contradictions that it exhibited that made him say towards the end of +the meal-- + +"I must say you're a queer sort of conspirator, Colston. My idea of +Nihilists and members of revolutionary societies has always taken the +form of silent, stealthy, cautious beings, with a lively distrust and +hatred of the whole human race outside their own circles. And yet +here are you, an active member of the most terrible secret society in +existence, pledged to the destruction of nearly every institution on +earth, and carrying your life in your hand, opening your heart like a +schoolboy to a man you have literally not known for twenty-four +hours. + +"Suppose you had made a mistake in me. What would there be to prevent +me telling the police who you are, and having you locked up with a +view to extradition to Russia?" + +"In the first place," replied Colston quietly, "you would not do so, +because I am not mistaken in you, and because, in your heart, whether +you fully know it or not, you believe as I do about the destruction +that is about to fall upon Society. + +"In the second place, if you did betray my confidence, I should be +able to bring such an overwhelming array of the most respectable +evidence to show that I was nothing like what I really am, that you +would be laughed at for a madman; and, in the third place, there +would be an inquest on you within twenty-four hours after you had +told your story. Do you remember the death of Inspector Ainsworth, of +the Criminal Investigation Department, about six months ago?" + +"Yes, of course I do. Hermit and all as I was, I could hardly help +hearing about that, considering what a noise it made. But I thought +that was cleared up. Didn't one of that gang of garotters that was +broken up in South London a couple of months later confess to +strangling him in the statement that he made before he was executed?" + +"Yes, and his widow is now getting ten shillings a week for life on +account of that confession. Birkett no more killed Ainsworth than you +did; but he had killed two or three others, and so the confession +didn't do him very much harm. + +"No; Ainsworth met his death in quite another way. He accepted from +the Russian secret police bureau in London a bribe of £250 down and +the promise of another £250 if he succeeded in manufacturing enough +evidence against a member of our Outer Circle to get him extradited +to Russia on a trumped-up charge of murder. + +"The Inner Circle learnt of this from one of our spies in the Russian +London police, and----, well, Ainsworth was found dead with the mark +of the Terror upon his forehead before he had time to put his +treachery into action. He was executed by two of the Brotherhood, who +are members of the Metropolitan police force, and who were afterwards +complimented by the magistrate for the intelligent efforts they had +made in bringing the murderers to justice." + +Colston told the dark story in the most careless of tones between the +puffs of his after-breakfast cigarette. Arnold stifled his horror as +well as he was able, but he could not help saying, when his host had +done-- + +"This Brotherhood of yours is well named the Terror; but was not that +rather a murder than an execution?" + +"By no means," replied Colston, a trifle coldly. "Society hangs or +beheads a man who kills another. Ainsworth knew as well as we did +that if the man he tried to betray by false evidence had once set +foot in Russia, the torments of a hundred deaths would have been his +before he had been allowed to die. + +"He betrayed his office and his faith to his English masters in order +to commit this vile crime, and so he was killed as a murderous and +treacherous reptile that was not fit to live. We of the Terror are +not lawyers, and so we make no distinctions between deliberate +plotting for money to kill and the act of killing itself. Our law is +closer akin to justice than the hair-splitting fraud that is +tolerated by Society." + +Either from emotional or logical reasons Arnold made no reply to this +reasoning, and, seeing he remained silent, Colston resumed his +ordinary nonchalant, good-humoured tone, and went on-- + +"But come, that will be horrors enough for to-day. We have other +business in hand, and we may as well get to it at once. About this +wonderful invention of yours. Of course I believe all you have told +me about it, but you must remember that I am only an agent, and that +I am inexorably bound by certain rules, in accordance with which I +must act. + +"Now, to be perfectly plain with you, and in order that we may +thoroughly understand each other before either of us commits himself +to anything, I must tell you that I want to see this model flying +ship of yours in order to be able to report on it to-night to the +Executive of the Inner Circle, to whom I shall also want to introduce +you. If you will not allow me to do that say so at once, and, for the +present at least, our negotiations must come to a sudden stop." + +"Go on," said Arnold quietly; "so far I consent. For the rest I would +rather hear you to the end." + +"Very well. Then if the Executive approve of the invention, you will +be asked to join the Inner Circle at once, and to devote yourself +body and soul to the Society and the accomplishment of the objects +that will be explained to you. If you refuse there will be an end of +the matter, and you will simply be asked to give your word of honour +to reveal nothing that you have seen or heard, and then allowed to +depart in peace. + +"If, on the other hand, you consent, in consideration of the immense +importance of your secret--which there is no need to disguise from +you--to the Brotherhood, the usual condition of passing through the +Outer Circle will be dispensed with, and you will be trusted as +absolutely as we shall expect you to trust us. + +"Whatever funds you then require to manufacture an air-ship on the +plan of your model will be placed at your disposal, and a suitable +place will be selected for the works that you will have to build. +When the ship is ready to take the air you will, of course, be +appointed to the command of her, and you will pick your crew from +among the workmen who will act under your orders in the building of +the vessel. + +"They will all be members of the Outer Circle, who will not +understand your orders, but simply obey them blindly, even to the +death. One member of the Inner Circle will act as your second in +command, and he will be as perfectly trusted as you will be, so that +in unforeseen emergencies you will be able to consult with him with +perfect confidence. Now I think I have told you all. What do you +say?" + +Arnold was silent for a few minutes, too busy for speech with the +rush of thoughts that had crowded through his brain as Colston was +speaking. Then he looked up at his host and said-- + +"May I make conditions?" + +"You may state them," replied he, with a smile, "but, of course, I +don't undertake to accept them without consultation with my--I mean +with the Executive." + +"Of course not," said Arnold. "Well, the conditions that I should +feel myself obliged to make with your Executive would be, briefly +speaking, these: I would not reveal to any one the composition of the +gases from which I derive my motive force. I should manufacture them +myself in given quantities, and keep them always under my own charge. + +"At the first attempt to break faith with me in this respect I would +blow the air-ship and all her crew, including myself, into such +fragments as it would be difficult to find one of them. I have and +wish for no life apart from my invention, and I would not survive +it." + +"Good!" interrupted Colston. "There spoke the true enthusiast. Go +on." + +"Secondly, I would use the machine only in open warfare--when the +Brotherhood is fighting openly for the attainment of a definite end. +Once the appeal to force has been made I will employ a force such as +no nation on earth can use without me, and I will use it as +unsparingly as the armies and fleets engaged will employ their own +engines of destruction on one another. But I will be no party to the +destruction of defenceless towns and people who are not in arms +against us. If I am ordered to do that I tell you candidly that I +will not do it. I will blow the air-ship itself up first." + +"The conditions are somewhat stringent, although the sentiments are +excellent," replied Colston; "still, of myself I can neither accept +nor reject them. That will be for the Executive to do. For my own +part I think that you will be able to arrive at a basis of agreement +on them. And now I think we have said all we can say for the present, +and so if you are ready we'll be off and satisfy my longing to see +the invention that is to make us the arbiters of war--when war comes, +which I fancy will not be long now." + +Something in the tone in which these last words were spoken struck +Arnold with a kind of cold chill, and he shivered slightly as he said +in answer to Colston-- + +"I am ready when you are, and no less anxious than you to set eyes on +my model. I hope to goodness it is all safe! Do you know, when I am +away from it I feel just like a woman away from her first baby." + +A few minutes later two of the most dangerous enemies of Society +alive were walking quietly along the Embankment towards Blackfriars, +smoking their cigars and chatting as conventionally as though there +were no such things on earth as tyranny and oppression, and their +necessarily ever-present enemies conspiracy and brooding revolution. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE HOUSE ON CLAPHAM COMMON. + + +Twenty minutes' walk took Arnold and Colston to the door of the +tenement-house in which the former had lived since his fast-dwindling +store of money had convinced him of the necessity of bringing his +expenses down to the lowest possible limit if he wished to keep up +the struggle with fate very much longer. + +As they mounted the dirty, evil-smelling staircase, Colston said-- + +"Phew! Verily you are a hero of science if you have brought yourself +to live in a hole like this for a couple of years rather than give up +your dream, and grow fat on the loaves and fishes of +conventionality." + +"This is a palace compared with some of the rookeries about here," +replied Arnold, with a laugh. "The march of progress seems to have +left this half of London behind as hopeless. Ten years ago there were +a good many thousands of highly respectable mediocrities living on +this side of the river, but now I am told that the glory has departed +from the very best of its localities, and given them up to various +degrees of squalor. Vice, poverty, and misery seem to gravitate +naturally southward in London. I don't know why, but they do. Well, +here is the door of my humble den." + +As he spoke he put the key in the lock, and opened the door, bidding +his companion enter as he did so. + +Arnold's anxiety was soon relieved by finding the precious model +untouched in its resting-place, and it was at once brought out. +Colston was delighted beyond his powers of expression with the +marvellous ingenuity with which the miracle of mechanical skill was +contrived and put together; and when Arnold, after showing and +explaining to him all the various parts of the mechanism and the +external structure, at length set the engine working, and the +air-ship rose gracefully from the floor and began to sail round the +room in the wide circle to which it was confined by its mooring-line, +he stared at it for several minutes in wondering silence, following +it round and round with his eyes, and then he said in a voice from +which he vainly strove to banish the signs of the emotion that +possessed him-- + +"It is the last miracle of science! With a few such ships as that one +could conquer the world in a month!" + +"Yes, that would not be a very difficult task, seeing that neither an +army nor a fleet could exist for twelve hours with two or three of +them hovering above it," replied Arnold. + +The trial over, Arnold set to work and took the model partly to +pieces for packing up; and while he was putting it away in the old +sea-chest, Colston counted out ten sovereigns and laid them on the +table. Hearing the clink of the gold, Arnold looked up and said-- + +"What is that for? A sovereign will be quite enough to get me out of +my present scrape, and then if we come to any terms to-night it will +be time enough to talk about payment." + +"The Brotherhood does not do business in that way," was the reply. +"At present your only connection with it is a commercial one, and ten +pounds is a very moderate fee for the privilege of inspecting such an +invention as this. Anyhow, that is what I am ordered to hand over to +you in payment for your trouble now and to-night, so you must accept +it as it is given--as a matter of business." + +"Very well," said Arnold, closing and locking the chest as he spoke, +"if you think it worth ten pounds, the money will not come amiss to +me. Now, if you will remain and guard the household gods for a +minute, I will go and pay my rent and get a cab." + +Half an hour later his few but priceless possessions were loaded on a +four-wheeler and Arnold had bidden farewell for ever to the dingy +room in which he had passed so many hours of toil and dreaming, +suffering and disappointment. Before lunch time they were safely +bestowed in a couple of rooms which Colston had engaged for him in +the same building in which his own rooms were. + +In the afternoon, among other purchases, a more convenient case was +bought for the model, and in this it was packed with the plans and +papers which explained its construction, ready for the evening +journey. + +The two friends dined together at six in Colston's rooms, and at +seven sharp his servant announced that the cab was at the door. +Within ten minutes they were bowling along the Embankment towards +Westminster Bridge in a luxuriously appointed hansom of the newest +type, with the precious case lying across their knees. + +"This is a comfortable cab," said Arnold, when they had gone a +hundred yards or so. "By the way, how does the man know where to go? +I didn't hear you give him any directions." + +"None were necessary," was the reply. "This cab, like a good many +others in London, belongs to the Brotherhood, and the man who is +driving is one of the Outer Circle. Our Jehus are the most useful +spies that we have. Many is the secret of the enemy that we have +learnt from, and many is the secret police agent who has been driven +to his rendezvous by a Terrorist who has heard every word that has +been spoken on the journey." + +"How on earth is that managed?" + +"Every one of the cabs is fitted with a telephonic arrangement +communicating with the roof. The driver has only to button the wire +of the transmitter up inside his coat so that the transmitter itself +lies near to his ear, and he can hear even a whisper inside the cab. + +"The man who is driving us, for instance, has a sort of retainer from +the Russian Embassy to be on hand at certain hours on certain nights +in the week. Our cabs are all better horsed, better appointed, and +better driven than any others in London, and, consequently, they are +favourites, especially among the young attachés, and are nearly +always employed by them on their secret missions or love affairs, +which, by the way, are very often the same thing. Our own Jehu has a +job on to-night, from which we expect some results that will mystify +the enemy not a little. We got our first suspicions of Ainsworth from +a few incautious words that he spoke in one of our cabs." + +"It's a splendid system, I should think, for discovering the +movements of your enemies," said Arnold, not without an uncomfortable +reflection on the fact that he was himself now completely in the +power of this terrible organisation, which had keen eyes and ready +hands in every capital of the civilised world. "But how do you guard +against treachery? It is well known that all the Governments of +Europe are spending money like water to unearth this mystery of the +Terror. Surely all your men cannot be incorruptible." + +"Practically they are so. The very mystery which enshrouds all our +actions makes them so. We have had a few traitors, of course; but as +none of them has ever survived his treachery by twenty-four hours, a +bribe has lost its attraction for the rest." + +In such conversation as this the time was passed, while the cab +crossed the river and made its way rapidly and easily along +Kennington Road and Clapham Road to Clapham Common. At length it +turned into the drive of one of those solid abodes of pretentious +respectability which front the Common, and pulled up before a big +stucco portico. + +"Here we are!" exclaimed Colston, as the doors of the cab +automatically opened. He got out first, and Arnold handed the case to +him, and then followed him. + +Without a word the driver turned his horse into the road again and +drove off towards town, and as they ascended the steps the front door +opened, and they went in, Colston saying as they did so-- + +"Is Mr. Smith at home?" + +"Yes, sir; you are expected, I believe. Will you step into the +drawing-room?" replied the clean-shaven and immaculately respectable +man-servant, in evening dress, who had opened the door for them. + +They were shown into a handsomely furnished room lit with electric +light. As soon as the footman had closed the door behind him, Colston +said-- + +"Well, now, here you are in the conspirators' den, in the very +headquarters of those Terrorists for whom Europe is being ransacked +constantly without the slightest success. I have often wondered what +the rigid respectability of Clapham Common would think if it knew the +true character of this harmless-looking house. I hardly think an +earthquake in Clapham Road would produce much more sensation than +such a discovery would. + +"And now," he continued, his tone becoming suddenly much more +serious, "in a few minutes you will be in the presence of the Inner +Circle of the Terrorists, that is to say, of those who practically +hold the fate of Europe in their hands. You know pretty clearly what +they want with you. If you have thought better of the business that +we have discussed you are still at perfect liberty to retire from it, +on giving your word of honour not to disclose anything that I have +said to you." + +"I have not the slightest intention of doing anything of the sort," +replied Arnold. "You know the conditions on which I came here. I +shall put them before your Council, and if they are accepted your +Brotherhood will, within their limits, have no more faithful adherent +than I. If not, the business will simply come to an end as far as I +am concerned, and your secret will be as safe with me as though I had +taken the oath of membership." + +"Well said!" replied Colston, "and just what I expected you to say. +Now listen to me for a minute. Whatever you may see or hear for the +next few minutes say nothing till you are asked to speak. I will say +all that is necessary at first. Ask no questions, but trust to +anything that may seem strange being explained in due course--as it +will be. A single indiscretion on your part might raise suspicions +which would be as dangerous as they would be unfounded. When you are +asked to speak do so without the slightest fear, and speak your mind +as openly as you have done to me." + +"You need have no fear for me," replied Arnold. "I think I am +sensible enough to be prudent, and I am quite sure that I am +desperate enough to be fearless. Little worse can happen to me than +the fate that I was contemplating last night." + +As he ceased speaking there was a knock at the door. It opened and +the footman reappeared, saying in the most commonplace fashion-- + +"Mr. Smith will be happy to see you now, gentlemen. Will you kindly +walk this way?" + +They followed him out into the hall, and then, somewhat to Arnold's +surprise, down the stairs at the back, which apparently led to the +basement of the house. + +The footman preceded them to the basement floor and halted before a +door in a little passage that looked like the entrance to a coal +cellar. On this he knocked in peculiar fashion with the knuckles of +one hand, while with the other he pressed the button of an electric +bell concealed under the paper on the wall. The bell sounded faintly +as though some distance off, and as it rang the footman said abruptly +to Colston-- + +"Das Wort ist Freiheit." + +Arnold knew German enough to know that this meant "The word is +'Freedom,'" but why it should have been spoken in a foreign language +mystified him not a little. + +While he was thinking about this the door opened, as if by a released +spring, and he saw before him a long, narrow passage, lit by four +electric arcs, and closed at the other end by a door, guarded by a +sentry armed with a magazine rifle. + +He followed Colston down the passage, and when within a dozen feet of +the sentry, he brought his rifle to the "ready," and the following +strange dialogue ensued between him and Colston-- + +"Quien va?" + +"Zwei Freunde der Bruderschaft." + +"Por la libertad?" + +"Für Freiheit über alles!" + +"Pass, friends." + +The rifle grounded as the words were spoken, and the sentry stepped +back to the wall of the passage. + +At the same moment another bell rang beyond the door, and then the +door itself opened as the other had done. + +They passed through, and it closed instantly behind them, leaving +them in total darkness. + +Colston caught Arnold by the arm, and drew him towards him, saying as +he did so-- + +"What do you think of our system of passwords?" + +"Pretty hard to get through unless one knew them, I should think. Why +the different languages?" + +"To make assurance doubly sure every member of the Inner Circle must +be conversant with four European languages. On these the changes are +rung, and even I did not know what the two languages were to be +to-night before I entered the house, and if I had asked for 'Mr. +Brown' instead of 'Mr. Smith,' we should never have got beyond the +drawing-room. + +"When the footman told me in German that the word was 'Freedom,' I +knew that I should have to answer the challenge of the sentry in +German. I did not know that he would challenge in Spanish, and if I +had not understood him, or had replied in any other language but +German, he would have shot us both down without saying another word, +and no one would ever have known what had become of us. You will be +exempt from this condition, because you will always come with me. I +am, in fact, responsible for you." + +"H'm, there doesn't seem much chance of any one getting through on +false pretences," replied Arnold, with an irrepressible shudder. "Has +any one ever tried?" + +"Yes, once. The two gentlemen whose disappearance made the famous +'Clapham Mystery' of about twelve months ago. They were two of the +smartest detectives in the French service, and the only two men who +ever guessed the true nature of this house. They are buried under the +floor on which you are standing at this moment." + +The words were spoken with a cruel inflexible coldness, which struck +Arnold like a blast of frozen air. He shivered, and was about to +reply when Colston caught him by the arm again, and said hurriedly-- + +"H'st! We are going in. Remember what I said, and don't speak again +till some one asks you to do so." + +As he spoke a door opened in the wall of the dark chamber in which +they had been standing for the last few minutes, and a flood of soft +light flowed in upon their dazzled eyes. At the same moment a man's +voice said from the room beyond in Russian-- + +"Who stands there?" + +"Maurice Colston and the Master of the Air," replied Colston in the +same language. + +"You are welcome," was the reply, and then Colston, taking Arnold by +the arm, led him into the room. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE INNER CIRCLE. + + +As soon as Arnold's eyes got accustomed to the light, he saw that he +was in a large, lofty room with panelled walls adorned with a number +of fine paintings. As he looked at these his gaze was fascinated by +them, even more than by the strange company which was assembled round +the long table that occupied the middle of the room. + +Though they were all manifestly the products of the highest form of +art, their subjects were dreary and repulsive beyond description. +There was a horrible realism about them which reminded him +irresistibly of the awful collection of pictorial horrors in the +Musée Wiertz, in Brussels--those works of the brilliant but unhappy +genius who was driven into insanity by the sheer exuberance of his +own morbid imagination. + +Here was a long line of men and women in chains staggering across a +wilderness of snow that melted away into the horizon without a break. +Beside them rode Cossacks armed with long whips that they used on men +and women alike when their fainting limbs gave way beneath them, and +they were like to fall by the wayside to seek the welcome rest that +only death could give them. + +There was a picture of a woman naked to the waist, and tied up to a +triangle in a prison yard, being flogged by a soldier with willow +wands, while a group of officers stood by, apparently greatly +interested in the performance. Another painting showed a poor wretch +being knouted to death in the market-place of a Russian town, and yet +another showed a young and beautiful woman in a prison cell with her +face distorted by the horrible leer of madness, and her little white +hands clawing nervously at her long dishevelled hair. + +Arnold stood for several minutes fascinated by the hideous realism of +the pictures, and burning with rage and shame at the thought that +they were all too terribly true to life, when he was startled out of +his reverie by the same voice that had called them from the dark room +saying to him in English-- + +"Well, Richard Arnold, what do you think of our little picture +gallery? The paintings are good in themselves, but it may make them +more interesting to you if you know that they are all faithful +reproductions of scenes that have really taken place within the +limits of the so-called civilised and Christian world. There are some +here in this room now who have suffered the torments depicted on +those canvases, and who could tell of worse horrors than even they +portray. We should like to know what you think of our paintings?" + +Arnold glanced towards the table in search of Colston, but he had +vanished. Around the long table sat fourteen masked and shrouded +forms that were absolutely indistinguishable one from the other. He +could not even tell whether they were men or women, so closely were +their forms and faces concealed. Seeing that he was left to his own +discretion, he laid the case containing the model, which he had so +far kept under his arm, down on the floor, and, facing the strange +assembly, said as steadily as he could-- + +"My own reading tells me that they are only too true to the dreadful +reality. I think that the civilised and Christian Society which +permits such crimes to be committed against humanity, when it has the +power to stop them by force of arms, is neither truly civilised nor +truly Christian." + +"And would _you_ stop them if you could?" + +"Yes, if it cost the lives of millions to do it! They would be better +spent than the thirty million lives that were lost last century over +a few bits of territory." + +"That is true, and augurs well for our future agreement. Be kind +enough to come to the table and take a seat." + +The masked man who spoke was sitting in the chair at the foot of the +table, and as he said this one of those sitting at the side got up +and motioned to Arnold to take his place. As soon as he had done so +the speaker continued-- + +"We are glad to see that your sentiments are so far in accord with +our own, for that fact will make our negotiations all the easier. + +"As you are aware, you are now in the Inner Circle of the Terrorists. +Yonder empty chair at the head of the table is that of our Chief, +who, though not with us in person, is ever present as a guiding +influence in our councils. We act as he directs, and it was from him +that we received news of you and your marvellous invention. It is +also by his direction that you have been invited here to-night with +an object that you are already aware of. + +"I see from your face that you are about to ask how this can be, +seeing that you have never confided your secret to any one until last +night. It will be useless to ask me, for I myself do not know. We who +sit here simply execute the Master's will. We ask no questions, and +therefore we can answer none concerning him." + +"I have none to ask," said Arnold, seeing that the speaker paused as +though expecting him to say something. "I came at the invitation of +one of your Brotherhood to lay certain terms before you, for you to +accept or reject as seems good to you. How you got to know of me and +my invention is, after all, a matter of indifference to me. With your +perfect system of espionage you might well find out more secret +things than that." + +"Quite so," was the reply. "And the question that we have to settle +with you is how far you will consent to assist the work of the +Brotherhood with this invention of yours, and on what conditions you +will do so." + +"I must first know as exactly as possible what the work of the +Brotherhood is." + +"Under the circumstances there is no objection to your knowing that. +In the first place, that which is known to the outside world as the +Terror is an international secret society underlying and directing +the operations of the various bodies known as Nihilists, Anarchists, +Socialists--in fact, all those organisations which have for their +object the reform or destruction, by peaceful or violent means, of +Society as it is at present constituted. + +"Its influence reaches beyond these into the various trade unions and +political clubs, the moving spirits of which are all members of our +Outer Circle. On the other side of Society we have agents and +adherents in all the Courts of Europe, all the diplomatic bodies, and +all the parliamentary assemblies throughout the world. + +"We believe that Society as at present constituted is hopeless for +any good thing. All kinds of nameless brutalities are practised +without reproof in the names of law and order, and commercial +economics. On one side human life is a splendid fabric of cloth of +gold embroidered with priceless gems, and on the other it is a mass +of filthy, festering rags, swarming with vermin. + +"We think that such a Society--a Society which permits considerably +more than the half of humanity to be sunk in poverty and misery while +a very small portion of it fools away its life in perfectly +ridiculous luxury--does not deserve to exist, and ought to be +destroyed. + +"We also know that sooner or later it will destroy itself, as every +similar Society has done before it. For nearly forty years there has +now been almost perfect peace in Europe. At the same time, over +twenty millions of men are standing ready to take the field in a +week. + +"War--universal war that will shake the world to its foundations--is +only a matter of a little more delay and a few diplomatic hitches. +Russia and England are within rifleshot of each other in Afghanistan, +and France and Germany are flinging defiances at each other across +the Rhine. + +"Some one must soon fire the shot that will set the world in a blaze, +and meanwhile the toilers of the earth are weary of these dreadful +military and naval burdens, and would care very little if the +inevitable happened to-morrow. + +"It is in the power of the Terrorists to delay or precipitate that +war to a certain extent. Hitherto all our efforts have been devoted +to the preservation of peace, and many of the so-called outrages +which have taken place in different parts of Europe, and especially +in Russia, during the last few years, have been accomplished simply +for the purpose of forcing the attention of the administrations to +internal affairs for the time, and so putting off what would have led +to a declaration of war. + +"This policy has not been dictated by any hope of avoiding war +altogether, for that would have been sheer insanity. We have simply +delayed war as long as possible, because we have not felt that we +have been strong enough to turn the tide of battle at the right +moment in favour of the oppressed ones of the earth and against their +oppressors. + +"But this invention of yours puts a completely different aspect on +the European situation. Armed with such a tremendous engine of +destruction as a navigable air-ship must necessarily be, when used in +conjunction with the explosives already at our disposal, we could +make war impossible to our enemies by bringing into the field a force +with which no army or fleet could contend without the certainty of +destruction. By these means we should ultimately compel peace and +enforce a general disarmament on land and sea. + +"The vast majority of those who make the wealth of the world are sick +of seeing that wealth wasted in the destruction of human life, and +the ruin of peaceful industries. As soon, therefore, as we are in a +position to dictate terms under such tremendous penalties, all the +innumerable organisations with which we are in touch all over the +world will rise in arms and enforce them at all costs. + +"Of course, it goes without saying that the powers that are now +enthroned in the high places of the world will fight bitterly and +desperately to retain the rule that they have held for so long, but +in the end we shall be victorious, and then on the ruins of this +civilisation a new and a better shall arise. + +"That is a rough, brief outline of the policy of the Brotherhood, +which we are going to ask you to-night to join. Of course, in the +eyes of the world we are only a set of fiends, whose sole object is +the destruction of Society, and the inauguration of a state of +universal anarchy. That, however, has no concern for us. What is +called popular opinion is merely manufactured by the Press according +to order, and does not count in serious concerns. What I have +described to you are the true objects of the Brotherhood; and now it +remains for you to say, yes or no, whether you will devote yourself +and your invention to carrying them out or not." + +For two or three minutes after the masked spokesman of the Inner +Circle had ceased speaking, there was absolute silence in the room. +The calmly spoken words which deliberately sketched out the ruin of a +civilisation and the establishment of a new order of things made a +deep impression on Arnold's mind. He saw clearly that he was standing +at the parting of the ways, and facing the most tremendous crisis +that could occur in the life of a human being. + +It was only natural that he should look back, as he did, to the life +from which a single step would now part him for ever, without the +possibility of going back. He knew that if he once put his hands to +the plough, and looked back, death, swift and inevitable, would be +the penalty of his wavering. This, however, he had already weighed +and decided. + +Most of what he had heard had found an echo in his own convictions. +Moreover, the life that he had left had no charms for him, while to +be one of the chief factors in a world-revolution was a destiny +worthy both of himself and his invention. So the fatal resolution was +taken, and he spoke the words that bound him for ever to the +Brotherhood. + +"As I have already told Mr. Colston," he began by saying, "I will +join and faithfully serve the Brotherhood if the conditions that I +feel compelled to make are granted"-- + +"We know them already," interrupted the spokesman, "and they are +freely granted. Indeed, you can hardly fail to see that we are +trusting you to a far greater extent than it is possible for us to +make you trust us, unless you choose to do so. The air-ship once +built and afloat under your command, the game of war would to a great +extent be in your own hands. True, you would not survive treachery +very long; but, on the other hand, if it became necessary to kill +you, the air-ship would be useless, that is, if you took your secret +of the motive power with you into the next world." + +"As I undoubtedly should," added Arnold quietly. + +"We have no doubt that you would," was the equally quiet rejoinder. +"And now I will read to you the oath of membership that you will be +required to sign. Even when you have heard it, if you feel any +hesitation in subscribing to it, there will still be time to +withdraw, for we tolerate no unwilling or half-hearted recruits." + +Arnold bowed his acquiescence, and the spokesman took a piece of +paper from the table and read aloud-- + +"_I, Richard Arnold, sign this paper in the full knowledge that in +doing so I devote myself absolutely for the rest of my life to the +service of the Brotherhood of Freedom, known to the world as the +Terrorists. As long as I live its ends shall be my ends, and no human +considerations shall weigh with me where those ends are concerned. I +will take life without mercy, and yield my own without hesitation at +its bidding. I will break all other laws to obey those which it +obeys, and if I disobey these I shall expect death as the just +penalty of my perjury._" + +As he finished reading the oath, he handed the paper to Arnold, +saying as he did so-- + +"There are no theatrical formalities to be gone through. Simply sign +the paper and give it back to me, or else tear it up and go in +peace." + +Arnold read it through slowly, and then glanced round the table. He +saw the eyes of the silent figures sitting about him shining at him +through the holes in their masks. He laid the paper down on the table +in front of him, dipped a pen in an inkstand that stood near, and +signed the oath in a firm, unfaltering hand. Then--committed for +ever, for good or evil, to the new life that he had adopted--he gave +the paper back again. + +The President took it and read it, and then passed it to the mask on +his right hand. It went from one to the other round the table, each +one reading it before passing it on, until it got back to the +President. When it reached him he rose from his seat, and, going to +the fireplace, dropped it into the flames, and watched it until it +was consumed to ashes. Then, crossing the room to where Arnold was +sitting, he removed his mask with one hand, and held the other out to +him in greeting, saying as he did so-- + +"Welcome to the Brotherhood! Thrice welcome! for your coming has +brought the day of redemption nearer!" + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +NEW FRIENDS. + + +As Arnold returned the greeting of the President, all the other +members of the Circle rose from their seats and took off their masks +and the black shapeless cloaks which had so far completely covered +them from head to foot. + +Then, one after the other, they came forward and were formally +introduced to him by the President. Nine of the fourteen were men, +and five were women of ages varying from middle age almost to +girlhood. The men were apparently all between twenty-five and +thirty-five, and included some half-dozen nationalities among them. + +All, both men and women, evidently belonged to the educated, or +rather to the cultured class. Their speech, which seemed to change +with perfect ease from one language to another in the course of their +somewhat polyglot converse, was the easy flowing speech of men and +women accustomed to the best society, not only in the social but the +intellectual sense of the word. + +All were keen, alert, and swift of thought, and on the face of each +one there was the dignifying expression of a deep and settled purpose +which at once differentiated them in Arnold's eyes from the ordinary +idle or merely money-making citizens of the world. + +As each one came and shook hands with the new member of the +Brotherhood, he or she had some pleasant word of welcome and greeting +for him; and so well were the words chosen, and so manifestly +sincerely were they spoken, that by the time he had shaken hands all +round Arnold felt as much at home among them as though he were in the +midst of a circle of old friends. + +Among the women there were two who had attracted his attention and +roused his interest far more than any of the other members of the +Circle. One of these was a tall and beautifully-shaped woman, whose +face and figure were those of a woman in the early twenties, but +whose long, thick hair was as white as though the snows of seventy +winters had drifted over it. As he returned her warm, firm +hand-clasp, and looked upon her dark, resolute, and yet perfectly +womanly features, the young engineer gave a slight start of +recognition. She noticed this at once and said, with a smile and a +quick flash from her splendid grey eyes-- + +"Ah! I see you recognise me. No, I am not ashamed of my portrait. I +am proud of the wounds that I have received in the war with tyranny, +so you need not fear to confess your recognition." + +It was true that Arnold had recognised her. She was the original of +the central figure of the painting which depicted the woman being +flogged by the Russian soldiers. + +Arnold flushed hotly at the words with the sudden passionate anger +that they roused within him, and replied in a low, steady voice-- + +"Those who would sanction such a crime as that are not fit to live. I +will not leave one stone of that prison standing upon another. It is +a blot on the face of the earth, and I will wipe it out utterly!" + +"There are thousands of blots as black as that on earth, and I think +you will find nobler game than an obscure Russian provincial prison. +Russia has cities and palaces and fortresses that will make far +grander ruins than that--ruins that will be worthy monuments of +fallen despotism," replied the girl, who had been introduced by the +President as Radna Michaelis. "But here is some one else waiting to +make your acquaintance. This is Natasha. She has no other name among +us, but you will soon learn why she needs none." + +Natasha was the other woman who had so keenly roused Arnold's +interest. Woman, however, she hardly was, for she was seemingly still +in her teens, and certainly could not have been more than twenty. + +He had mixed but little with women, and during the past few years not +at all, and therefore the marvellous beauty of the girl who came +forward as Radna spoke seemed almost unearthly to him, and confused +his senses for the moment as some potent drug might have done. He +took her outstretched hand in awkward silence, and for an instant so +far forgot himself as to gaze blankly at her in speechless +admiration. + +She could not help noticing it, for she was a woman, and for the same +reason she saw that it was so absolutely honest and involuntary that +it was impossible for any woman to take offence at it. A quick bright +flush swept up her lovely face as his hand closed upon hers, her +darkly-fringed lids fell for an instant over the most wonderful pair +of sapphire-blue eyes that Arnold had ever even dreamed of, and when +she raised them again the flush had gone, and she said in a sweet, +frank voice-- + +"I am the daughter of Natas, and he has desired me to bid you welcome +in his name, and I hope you will let me do so in my own as well. We +are all dying to see this wonderful invention of yours. I suppose you +are going to satisfy our feminine curiosity, are you not?" + +The daughter of Natas! This lovely girl, in the first sweet flush of +her pure and innocent womanhood, the daughter of the unknown and +mysterious being whose ill-omened name caused a shudder if it was +only whispered in the homes of the rich and powerful; the name with +which the death-sentences of the Terrorists were invariably signed, +and which had come to be an infallible guarantee that they would be +carried out to the letter. + +No death-warrants of the most powerful sovereigns of Europe were more +certain harbingers of inevitable doom than were those which bore this +dreaded name. Whether he were high or low, the man who received one +of them made ready for his end. He knew not where or when the fatal +blow would be struck. He only knew that the invisible hand of the +Terror would strike him as surely in the uttermost ends of the earth +as it would in the palace or the fortress. Never once had it missed +its aim, and never once had the slightest clue been obtained to the +identity of the hand that held the knife or pistol. + +Some such thoughts as these flashed one after another through +Arnold's brain as he stood talking with Natasha. He saw at once why +she had only that one name. It was enough, and it was not long before +he learnt that it was the symbol of an authority in the Circle that +admitted of no question. + +She was the envoy of him whose word was law, absolute and +irrevocable, to every member of the Brotherhood; to disobey whom was +death; and to obey whom had, so far at least, meant swift and +invariable success, even where it seemed least to be hoped for. + +Of course, Natasha's almost girlish question about the air-ship was +really a command, which would have been none the less binding had she +only had her own beauty to enforce it. As she spoke the President and +Colston--who had only lost himself for the time behind a mask and +cloak--came up to Arnold and asked him if he was prepared to give an +exhibition of the powers of his model, and to explain its working and +construction to the Circle at once. + +He replied that everything was perfectly ready for the trial, and +that he would set the model working for them in a few minutes. The +President then told him that the exhibition should take place in +another room, where there would be much more space than where they +were, and bade him bring the box and follow him. + +A door was now opened in the wall of the room remote from that by +which he and Colston had entered, and through this the whole party +went down a short passage, and through another door at the end which +opened into a very large apartment, which, from the fact of its being +windowless, Arnold rightly judged to be underground, like the +Council-chamber that they had just left. + +A single glance was enough to show him the chief purpose to which the +chamber was devoted. The wall at one end was covered with arm-racks +containing all the newest and most perfect makes of rifles and +pistols; while at the other end, about twenty paces distant, were +three electric signalling targets, graded, as was afterwards +explained to him, to one, three, and five hundred yards range. + +In a word, the chamber was an underground range for rifle and pistol +practice, in which a volley could have been fired without a sound +being heard ten yards away. It was here that the accuracy of the +various weapons invented from time to time was tested; and here, too, +every member of the Circle, man and woman, practised with rifle and +pistol until an infallible aim was acquired. A register of scores was +kept, and at the head of it stood the name of Radna Michaelis. + +A long table ran across the end at which the arm-racks were, and on +this Arnold laid the case containing the model, he standing on one +side of the table, and the members of the Circle on the other, +watching his movements with a curiosity that they took no trouble to +disguise. + +He opened the case, feeling something like a scientific demonstrator, +with an advanced and critical class before him. In a moment the man +disappeared, and the mechanician and the enthusiast took his place. +As each part was taken out and laid upon the table, he briefly +explained its use; and then, last of all, came the hull of the +air-ship. + +This was three feet long and six inches broad in its midships +diameter. It was made in two longitudinal sections of polished +aluminium, which shone like burnished silver. It would have been +cigar-shaped but for the fact that the forward end was drawn out into +a long sharp ram, the point of which was on a level with the floor of +the hull amidships as it lay upon the table. Two deep bilge-plates, +running nearly the whole length of the hull, kept it in an upright +position and prevented the blades of the propellers from touching the +table. For about half its whole length the upper part of the hull was +flattened and formed a deck from which rose three short strong masts, +each of which carried a wheel of thin metal whose spokes were six +inclined fans something like the blades of a screw. + +A little lower than this deck there projected on each side a broad, +oblong, slightly curved sheet of metal, very thin, but strengthened +by means of wire braces, till it was as rigid as a plate of solid +steel, although it only weighed a few ounces. These air-planes worked +on an axis amidships, and could be inclined either way through an +angle of thirty degrees. At the pointed stern there revolved a +powerful four-bladed propeller, and from each quarter, inclined +slightly outwards from the middle line of the vessel, projected a +somewhat smaller screw working underneath the after end of the +air-planes. + +The hull contained four small double-cylinder engines, one of which +actuated the stern-propeller, and the other three the fan-wheels and +side-propellers. There were, of course, no furnaces, boilers, or +condensers. Two slender pipes ran into each cylinder from suitably +placed gas reservoirs, or power-cylinders, as the engineer called +them, and that was all. + +Arnold deftly and rapidly put the parts together, continuing his +running description as he did so, and in a few minutes the beautiful +miracle of ingenuity stood complete before the wondering eyes of the +Circle, and a murmur of admiration ran from lip to lip, bringing a +flush of pleasure to the cheek of its creator. + +"There," said he, as he put the finishing touches to the apparatus, +"you see that she is a combination of two principles--those of the +Aëronef and the Aëroplane. The first reached its highest development +in Jules Verne's imaginary "Clipper of the Clouds," and the second in +Hiram Maxim's Aëroplane. Of course, Jules Verne's Aëronef was merely +an idea, and one that could never be realised while Robur's +mysterious source of electrical energy remained unknown--as it still +does. + +"Maxim's Aëroplane is, as you all know, also an unrealised ideal so +far as any practical use is concerned. He has succeeded in making it +fly, but only under the most favourable conditions, and practically +without cargo. Its two fatal defects have been shown by experience to +be the comparatively overwhelming weight of the engine and the fuel +that he has to carry to develop sufficient power to rise from the +ground and progress against the wind, and the inability of the +machine to ascend perpendicularly to any required height. + +"Without the power to do this no air-ship can be of any use save +under very limited conditions. You cannot carry a railway about with +you, or a station to get a start from every time you want to rise, +and you cannot always choose a nice level plain in which to come +down. Even if you could the Aëroplane would not rise again without +its rails and carriage. For purposes of warfare, then, it may be +dismissed as totally useless. + +"In this machine, as you see, I have combined the two principles. +These helices on the masts will lift the dead weight of the ship +perpendicularly without the slightest help from the side-planes, +which are used to regulate the vessel's flight when afloat. I will +set the engines that work them in motion independently of the others +which move the propellers, and then you will see what I mean." + +As he spoke, he set one part of the mechanism working. Those watching +saw the three helices begin to spin round, the centre one revolving +in an opposite direction to the other two, with a soft whirring sound +that gradually rose to a high-pitched note. + +When they attained their full speed they looked like solid wheels, +and then the air-ship rose, at first slowly, and then more and more +swiftly, straight up from the table, until it strained hard at the +piece of cord which prevented it from reaching the roof. + +A universal chorus of "bravas" greeted it as it rose, and every eye +became fixed on it as it hung motionless in the air, sustained by its +whirling helices. After letting it remain aloft for a few minutes +Arnold pulled it down again, saying as he did so-- + +"That, I think, proves that the machine can rise from any position +where the upward road is open, and without the slightest assistance +of any apparatus. Now it shall take a voyage round the room. + +"You see it is steered by this rudder-fan under the stern propeller. +In the real ship it will be worked by a wheel, like the rudder of a +sea-going vessel; but in the model it is done by this lever, so that +I can control it by a couple of strings from the ground." + +He went round to the other side of the table while he was speaking, +and adjusted the steering gear, stopping the engines meanwhile. Then +he put the model down on the floor, set all four engines to work, and +stood behind with the guiding-strings in his hands. The spectators +heard a louder and somewhat shriller whirring noise than before, and +the beautiful fabric, with its shining, silvery hull and side-planes, +rose slantingly from the ground and darted forward down the room, +keeping Arnold at a quick run with the rudder-strings tightly +strained. + +Like an obedient steed, it instantly obeyed the slightest pull upon +either of them, and twice made the circuit of the room before its +creator pulled it down and stopped the machinery. + +The experiment was a perfect and undeniable success in every respect, +and not one of those who saw it had the slightest doubt as to +Arnold's air-ship having at last solved the problem of aërial +navigation, and made the Brotherhood lords of a realm as wide as the +atmospheric ocean that encircles the globe. + +As soon as the model was once more resting on the table, the +President came forward and, grasping the engineer by both hands, said +in a voice from which he made but little effort to banish the emotion +that he felt-- + +"Bravo, brother! Henceforth you shall be known to the Brotherhood as +the Master of the Air, for truly you have been the first among the +sons of men to fairly conquer it. Come, let us go back and talk, for +there is much to be said about this, and we cannot begin too soon to +make arrangements for building the first of our aërial fleet. You can +leave your model where it is in perfect safety, for no one ever +enters this room save ourselves." + +So saying the President led the way to the Council-chamber, and +there, after the _Ariel_--as it had already been decided to name the +first air-ship--had been christened in anticipation in twenty-year +old champagne, the Circle settled down at once to business, and for a +good three hours discussed the engineer's estimate and plans for +building the first vessel of the aërial fleet. + +At length all the practical details were settled, and the President +rose in token of the end of the conference. As he did so he said +somewhat abruptly to Arnold-- + +"So far so good. Now there is nothing more to be done but to lay +those plans before the Chief and get his authority for withdrawing +out of the treasury sufficient money to commence operations. I +presume you could reproduce them from memory if necessary--at any +rate, in sufficient outline to make them perfectly intelligible?" + +"Certainly," was the reply. "I could reproduce them in _fac simile_ +without the slightest difficulty. Why do you ask?" + +"Because the Chief is in Russia, and you must go to him and place +them before him from memory. They are far too precious to be trusted +to any keeping, however trustworthy. There are such things as railway +accidents, and other forms of sudden death, to say nothing of the +Russian customs, false arrests, personal searches, and imprisonments +on mere suspicion. + +"We can risk none of these, and so there is nothing for it but your +going to Petersburg and verbally explaining them to the Chief. You +can be ready in three days, I suppose?" + +"Yes, in two, if you like," replied Arnold, not a little taken aback +at the unexpected suddenness of what he knew at once to be the first +order that was to test his obedience to the Brotherhood. "But as I am +absolutely ignorant of Russia and the Russians, I suppose you will +make such arrangements as will prevent my making any innocent but +possibly awkward mistakes." + +"Oh yes," replied the President, with a smile, "all arrangements have +been made already, and I expect you will find them anything but +unpleasant. Natasha goes to Petersburg in company with another lady +member of the Circle whom you have not yet seen. + +"You will go with them, and they will explain everything to you _en +route_, if they have no opportunity of doing so before you start. Now +let us go upstairs and have some supper. I am famished, and I suppose +every one else is too." + +Arnold simply bowed in answer to the President; but one pair of eyes +at least in the room caught the quick, faint flush that rose in his +cheek as he was told in whose company he was to travel. As for +himself, if the journey had been to Siberia instead of Russia, he +would have felt nothing but pleasure at the prospect after that. + +They left the Council-chamber by the passage and the ante-room, the +sentry standing to attention as they passed him, each giving the word +in turn, till the President came last and closed the doors behind +him. Then the sentry brought up the rear and extinguished the lights +as he left the passage. + +Fifteen minutes later there sat down to supper, in the solidly +comfortable dining-room of the upper house, a party of ladies and +gentlemen who chatted through the meal as merrily and innocently as +though there were no such things as tyranny or suffering in the +world, and whom not the most acute observer would have taken for the +most dangerous and desperately earnest body of conspirators that ever +plotted the destruction, not of an empire, but of a civilisation and +a social order that it had taken twenty centuries to build up. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE DAUGHTER OF NATAS. + + +Supper was over about eleven, and then the party adjourned to the +drawing-room, where for an hour or so Arnold sat and listened to such +music and singing as he had never heard in his life before. The songs +seemed to be in every language in Europe, and he did not understand +anything like half of them, so far, at least, as the words were +concerned. + +They were, however, so far removed from the average drawing-room +medley of twaddle and rattle that the music interpreted the words +into its own universal language, and made them almost superfluous. + +For the most part they were sad and passionate, and once or twice, +especially when Radna Michaelis was singing, Arnold saw tears well up +into the eyes of the women, and the brows of the men contract and +their hands clench with sudden passion at the recollection of some +terrible scene or story that was recalled by the song. + +At last, close on midnight, the President rose from his seat and +asked Natasha to sing the "Hymn of Freedom." She acknowledged the +request with an inclination of her head, and then as Radna sat down +to the piano, and she took her place beside it, all the rest rose to +their feet like worshippers in a church. + +The prelude was rather longer than usual, and as Radna played it +Arnold heard running through it, as it were, echoes of all the +patriotic songs of Europe from "Scots Wha Hae" and "The Shan van +Voght" to the forbidden Polish National Hymn and the Swiss Republican +song, which is known in England as "God Save the Queen." The prelude +ended with a few bars of the "Marseillaise," and then Natasha began. + +It was a marvellous performance. As the air changed from nation to +nation the singer changed the language, and at the end of each verse +the others took up the strain in perfect harmony, till it sounded +like a chorus of the nations in miniature, each language coming in +its turn until the last verse was reached. + +Then there was silence for a moment, and then the opening chords of +the "Marseillaise" rang out from the piano, slow and stately at +first, and then quickening like the tread of an army going into +battle. + +Suddenly Natasha's voice soared up, as it were, out of the music, and +a moment later the Song of the Revolution rolled forth in a flood of +triumphant melody, above which Natasha's pure contralto thrilled +sweet and strong, till to Arnold's intoxicated senses it seemed like +the voice of some angel singing from the sky in the ears of men, and +it was not until the hymn had been ended for some moments that he was +recalled to earth by the President saying to him-- + +"Some day, perhaps, you will be floating in the clouds, and you will +hear that hymn rising from the throats of millions gathered together +from the ends of the earth, and when you hear that you will know that +our work is done, and that there is peace on earth at last." + +"I hope so," replied the engineer quietly, "and, what is more, I +believe that some day I shall hear it." + +"I believe so too," suddenly interrupted Radna, turning round on her +seat at the piano, "but there will be many a battle-song sung to the +accompaniment of battle-music before that happens. I wish"-- + +"That all Russia were a haystack, and that you were beside it with a +lighted torch," said Natasha, half in jest and half in earnest. + +"Yes, truly!" replied Radna, turning round and dashing fiercely into +the "Marseillaise" again. + +"I have no doubt of it. But, come, it is after midnight, and we have +to get back to Cheyne Walk. The princess will think we have been +arrested or something equally dreadful. Ah, Mr. Colston, we have a +couple of seats to spare in the brougham. Will you and our Admiral of +the Air condescend to accept a lift as far as Chelsea?" + +"The condescension is in the offer, Natasha," replied Colston, +flushing with pleasure and glancing towards Radna the while. Radna +answered with an almost imperceptible sign of consent, and Colston +went on: "If it were in an utterly opposite direction"-- + +"You would not be asked to come, sir. So don't try to pay compliments +at the expense of common sense," laughed Natasha before he could +finish. "If you do you shall sit beside me instead of Radna all the +way." + +There was a general smile at this retort, for Colston's avowed +devotion to Radna and the terrible circumstances out of which it had +sprung was one of the romances of the Circle. + +As for Arnold, he could scarcely believe his ears when he heard that +he was to ride from Clapham Common to Chelsea sitting beside this +radiantly beautiful girl, behind whose innocence and gaiety there lay +the shadow of her mysterious and terrible parentage. + +Lovely and gentle as she seemed, he knew even now how awful a power +she held in the slender little hand whose nervous clasp he could +still feel upon his own, and this knowledge seemed to raise an +invisible yet impassable barrier between him and the possibility of +looking upon her as under other circumstances it would have been +natural for a man to look upon so fair a woman. + +Natasha's brougham was so far an improvement on those of the present +day that it had two equally comfortable seats, and on these the four +were cosily seated a few minutes after the party broke up. To Arnold, +and, doubtless, to Colston also, the miles flew past at an unheard-of +speed; but for all that, long before the carriage stopped at the +house in Cheyne Walk, he had come to the conviction that, for good or +evil, he was now bound to the Brotherhood by far stronger ties than +any social or political opinions could have formed. + +After they had said good-night at the door, and received an +invitation to lunch for the next day to talk over the journey to +Russia, he and Colston decided to walk to the Savoy, for it was a +clear moonlit night, and each had a good deal to say to the other, +which could be better and more safely said in the open air than in a +cab. So they lit their cigars, buttoned up their coats, and started +off eastward along the Embankment to Vauxhall. + +"Well, my friend, tell me how you have enjoyed your evening, and what +you think of the company," said Colston, by way of opening the +conversation. + +"Until supper I had a very pleasant time of it. I enjoyed the +business part of the proceedings intensely, as any other mechanical +enthusiast would have done, I suppose. But I frankly confess that +after that my mind is in a state of complete chaos, in the midst of +which only one figure stands out at all distinctly." + +"And that figure is?" + +"Natasha. Tell me--who is she?" + +"I know no more as to her true identity than you do, or else I would +answer you with pleasure." + +"What! Do you mean to say"-- + +"I mean to say just what I have said. Not only do I not know who she +is, but I do not believe that more than two or three members of the +Circle, at the outside, know any more than I do. Those are, probably, +Nicholas Roburoff, the President of the Executive, and his wife, and +Radna Michaelis." + +"Then, if Radna knows, how comes it that you do not know? You must +forgive me if I am presuming on a too short acquaintance; but it +certainly struck me to-night that you had very few secrets from each +other." + +"There is no presumption about it, my dear fellow," replied Colston, +with a laugh. "It is no secret that Radna and I are lovers, and that +she will be my wife when I have earned her." + +"Now you have raised my curiosity again," interrupted Arnold, in an +inquiring tone. + +"And will very soon satisfy it. You saw that horrible picture in the +Council-chamber? Yes. Well, I will tell you the whole story of that +some day when we have more time; but for the present it will be +enough for me to tell you that I have sworn not to ask Radna to come +with me to the altar while a single person who was concerned in that +nameless crime remains alive. + +"There were five persons responsible for it to begin with--the +governor of the prison, the prefect of police for the district, a +spy, who informed against her, and the two soldiers who executed the +infernal sentence. It happened nearly three years ago, and there are +two of them alive still--the governor and the prefect of police. + +"Of course the Brotherhood would have removed them long ago had it +decided to do so; but I got the circumstances laid before Natas, by +the help of Natasha, and received permission to execute the sentences +myself. So far I have killed three with my own hand, and the other +two have not much longer to live. + +"The governor has been transferred to Siberia, and will probably be +the last that I shall reach. The prefect is now in command of the +Russian secret police in London, and unless an accident happens he +will never leave England." + +Colston spoke in a cold, passionless, merciless tone, just as a +lawyer might speak of a criminal condemned to die by the ordinary +process of the law, and as Arnold heard him he shuddered. But at the +same time the picture in the Council-chamber came up before his +mental vision, and he was forced to confess that men who could so far +forget their manhood as to lash a helpless woman up to a triangle and +flog her till her flesh was cut to ribbons, were no longer men but +wild beasts, whose very existence was a crime. So he merely said-- + +"They were justly slain. Now tell me more about Natasha." + +"There is very little more that I can tell you, I'm afraid. All I +know is that the Brotherhood of the Terror is the conception and +creation of a single man, and that that man is Natas, the father of +Natasha, as she is known to us. His orders come to us either directly +in writing through Natasha, or indirectly through him you have heard +spoken of as the Chief." + +"Oh, then the Chief is not Natas?" + +"No, we have all of us seen him. In fact, when he is in London he +always presides at the Circle meetings. You would hardly believe it, +but he is an English nobleman, and Secretary to the English Embassy +at Petersburg." + +"Then he is Lord Alanmere, and an old college friend of mine!" +exclaimed Arnold. "I saw his name in the paper the night before last. +It was mentioned in the account of the murder"-- + +"We don't call those murders, my friend," drily interrupted Colston; +"we call them what they really are--executions." + +"I beg your pardon; I was using the phraseology of the newspaper. +What was his crime?" + +"I don't know. But the fact that the Chief was there when he died is +quite enough for me. Well, as I was saying, the Chief, as we call +him, is the visible and supreme head of the Brotherhood so far as we +are concerned. We know that Natas exists, and that he and the Chief +admit no one save Natasha to their councils. + +"They control the treasury absolutely, and apart from the +contributions of those of the members who can afford to make them, +they appear to provide the whole of the funds. Of course, Lord +Alanmere, as you know, is enormously wealthy, and probably Natas is +also rich. At any rate, there is never any want of money where the +work of the Brotherhood is concerned. + +"The estimates are given to Natasha when the Chief is not present, +and at the next meeting she brings the money in English gold and +notes, or in foreign currency as may be required, and that is all we +know about the finances. + +"Perhaps I ought to tell you that there is also a very considerable +mystery about the Chief himself. When he presides at the Council +meetings he displays a perfectly marvellous knowledge of both the +members and the working of the Brotherhood. + +"It would seem that nothing, however trifling, is hidden from him; +and yet when any of us happen to meet him, as we often do, in +Society, he treats us all as the most perfect strangers, unless we +have been regularly introduced to him as ordinary acquaintances. Even +then he seems utterly ignorant of his connection with the +Brotherhood. + +"The first time I met him outside the Circle was at a ball at the +Russian Embassy. I went and spoke to him, giving the sign of the +Inner Circle as I did so. To my utter amazement, he stared at me +without a sign of recognition, and calmly informed me, in the usual +way, that I had the advantage of him. + +"Of course I apologised, and he accepted the apology with perfect +good humour, but as an utter stranger would have done. A little later +Natasha came in with the Princess Ornovski, whom you are going to +Russia with, and who is there one of the most trusted agents of the +Petersburg police. I told her what had happened. + +"She looked at me for a moment rather curiously with those wonderful +eyes of hers; then she laughed softly, and said, 'Come, I will set +that at rest by introducing you; but mind, not a word about politics +or those horrible secret societies, as you value my good opinion.' + +"I understood from this that there was something behind which could +not be explained there, where every other one you danced with might +be a spy, and I was introduced to his Lordship, and we became very +good friends in the ordinary social way; but I failed to gather the +slightest hint from his conversation that he even knew of the +existence of the Brotherhood. + +"When we left I drove home with Natasha and the Princess to supper, +and on the way Natasha told me that his Lordship found it necessary +to lead two entirely distinct lives, and that he adhered so rigidly +to this rule that he never broke it even with her. Since then I have +been most careful to respect what, after all, is a very wise, if not +an absolutely necessary, precaution on his part." + +"And, now," said Arnold, speaking in a tone that betrayed not a +little hesitation and embarrassment, "if you can do so, answer me one +more question, and do so as shortly and directly as you can. Is +Natasha in love with, or betrothed to, any member of the Brotherhood +as far as you know?" + +Colston stopped and looked at him with a laugh in his eyes. Then he +put his hand on his shoulder and said-- + +"As I thought, and feared! You have not escaped the common lot of all +heart-whole men upon whom those terrible eyes of hers have looked. +The Angel of the Revolution, as we call her among ourselves, is +peerless among the daughters of men. What more natural, then, that +all the sons of men should fall speedy victims to her fatal charms? +So far as I know, every man who has ever seen her is more or less in +love with her--and mostly more! + +"As for the rest, I am as much in the dark as you are, save for the +fact that I know, on the authority of Radna, that she is not +betrothed to any one, and, so far as _she_ knows, still in the +blissful state of maiden fancy-freedom." + +"Thank God for that!" said Arnold, with an audible sigh of relief. +Then he went on in somewhat hurried confusion, "But there, of course, +you think me a presumptuous ass, and so I am; wherefore"-- + +"There is no need for you to talk nonsense, my dear fellow. There +never can be presumption in an honest man's love, no matter how +exalted the object of it may be. Besides, are you not now the central +hope of the Revolution, and is not yours the hand that shall hurl +destruction on its enemies? + +"As for Natasha, peerless and all as she is, has not the poet of the +ages said of just such as her-- + + She's beautiful, and therefore to be woo'd; + She is a woman: therefore to be won? + +"And who, too, has a better chance of winning her than you will have +when you are commanding the aërial fleet of the Brotherhood, and, +like a very Jove, hurling your destroying bolts from the clouds, and +deciding the hazard of war when the nations of Europe are locked in +the death-struggle? Why, you see such a prospect makes even me +poetical. + +"Seriously, though, you must not consider the distance between you +too great. Remember that you are a very different person now to what +you were a couple of days ago. Without any offence, I may say that +you were then nameless, while now you have the chance of making a +name that will go down to all time as that of the solver of the +greatest problem of this or any other age. + +"Added to this, remember that Natasha, after all, is a woman, and, +more than that, a woman devoted heart and soul to a great cause, in +which great deeds are soon to be done. Great deeds are still the +shortest way to a woman's heart, and that is the way you must take if +you are to hope for success." + +"I will!" simply replied Arnold, and the tone in which the two words +were said convinced Colston that he meant all that they implied to +its fullest extent. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +LEARNING THE PART. + + +It was nearly eleven the next morning by the time Arnold and Colston +had finished breakfast. This was mostly due to the fact that Arnold +had passed an almost entirely sleepless night, and had only begun to +doze off towards morning. The events of the previous evening kept on +repeating themselves in various sequences time after time, until his +brain reeled in the whirl of emotions that they gave rise to. + +Although of a strongly mathematical and even mechanical turn of mind, +the young engineer was also an enthusiast, and therefore there was a +strong colouring of romance in his nature which lifted him far above +the level upon which his mere intellect was accustomed to work. + +Where intellect alone was concerned--as, for instance, in the working +out of a problem in engineering or mechanics--he was cool, +calculating, and absolutely unemotional. His highly-disciplined mind +was capable of banishing every other subject from consideration save +the one which claimed the attention of the hour, and of incorporating +itself wholly with the work in hand until it was finished. + +These qualities would have been quite sufficient to assure his +success in life on conventional lines. They would have made him rich, +and perhaps famous, but they would never have made him a great +inventor; for no one can do anything really great who is not a +dreamer as well as a worker. + +It was because he was a dreamer that he had sacrificed everything to +the working out of his ideal, and risked his life on the chance of +success, and it was for just the same reason that the tremendous +purposes of the Brotherhood had been able to fire his imagination +with luridly brilliant dreams of a gigantic world-tragedy in which +he, armed with almost supernatural powers, should play the central +part. + +This of itself would have been enough to make all other +considerations of trivial moment in his eyes, and to bind him +irrevocably to the Brotherhood. He saw, it is true, that a frightful +amount of slaughter and suffering would be the price either of +success or failure in so terrific a struggle; but he also knew that +that struggle was inevitable in some form or other, and whether he +took a part in it or not. + +But since the last sun had set a new element had come into his life, +and was working in line with both his imagination and his ambition. +So far he had lived his life without any other human love than what +was bound up with his recollections of his home and his boyhood. As a +man he had never loved any human being. Science had been his only +mistress, and had claimed his undivided devotion, engrossing his mind +and intellect completely, but leaving his heart free. + +And now, as it were in an instant, a new mistress had come forward +out of the unknown. She had put her hand upon his heart, and, though +no words of human speech had passed between them, save the merest +commonplaces, her soul had said to his, "This is mine. I have called +it into life, and for me it shall live until the end." + +He had heard this as plainly as though it had been said to him with +the lips of flesh, and he had acquiesced in the imperious claim with +a glad submission which had yet to be tinged with the hope that it +might some day become a mastery. + +Thus, as the silent, sleepless hours went by, did he review over and +over again the position in which he found himself on the threshold of +his strange new life, until at last physical exhaustion brought sleep +to his eyes if not to his brain, and he found himself flying over the +hills and vales of dreamland in his air-ship, with the roar of battle +and the smoke of ruined towns far beneath him, and Natasha at his +side, sharing with him the dominion of the air that his genius had +won. + +At length Colston came in to tell him that the breakfast was +spoiling, and that it was high time to get up if they intended to be +in time for their appointment at Chelsea. This brought him out of bed +with effective suddenness, and he made a hasty toilet for breakfast, +leaving more important preparations until afterwards. + +During the meal their conversation naturally turned chiefly on the +visit that they were to pay, and Colston took the opportunity of +explaining one or two things that it was necessary for him to know +with regard to the new acquaintance that he was about to make at +Chelsea. + +"So far as the outside world is concerned," said he, "Natasha is the +niece of the Princess Ornovski. She is the daughter of a sister of +hers, who married an English gentleman, named Darrel, who was drowned +with his wife about twelve years ago, when the _Albania_ was wrecked +off the coast of Portugal. The Princess had a sister, who was drowned +with her husband in the _Albania_, and she left a daughter about +Natasha's then age, but who died of consumption shortly after in +Nice. + +"Under these circumstances, it was, of course, perfectly easy for the +Princess to adopt Natasha, and introduce her into Society as her +niece as soon as she reached the age of coming out. + +"This has been of immense service to the Brotherhood, as the Princess +is, as I told you, one of the most implicitly trusted allies of the +Petersburg police. She is received at the Russian Court, and is +therefore able to take Natasha into the best Russian Society, where +her extraordinary beauty naturally enables her to break as many +hearts as she likes, and to learn secrets which are of the greatest +importance to the Brotherhood. + +"Her Society name is Fedora Darrel, and it will scarcely be necessary +to tell you that outside our own Circle no such being as Natasha has +any existence." + +"I perfectly understand," replied Arnold. "The name shall never pass +my lips save in privacy, and indeed it is hardly likely that it will +ever do so even then, for your habit of calling each other by your +Christian names is too foreign to my British insularity." + +"It is a Russian habit, as you, of course, know, and added to that, +we are, so far as the Cause is concerned, all brothers and sisters +together, and so it comes natural to us. Anyhow, you will have to use +it with Natasha, for in the Circle she has no other name, and to call +her Miss Darrel there would be to produce something like an +earthquake." + +"Oh, in that case, I daresay I shall be able to avoid the calamity, +though there will seem to be a presumption about it that will not +make me very comfortable at first." + +"Too much like addressing one's sweetheart, eh?" + +This brought the conversation to a sudden stop, for Arnold's only +reply to it was a quick flush, and a lapse into silence that was a +good deal more eloquent than any verbal reply could have been. +Colston noticed it with a smile, and got up and lit a pipe. + +For the first time for a good few years Arnold took considerable +pains with his toilet that morning. A new fit-out had just been +delivered by a tailor who had promised the things within twenty-four +hours, and had kept his word. The consequences were that he was able +to array himself in perfect morning costume, from his hat to his +boots, and that was what it had not been his to do since he left +college. + +Colston had recommended him in his easy friendly way to pay +scrupulous attention to externals in the part that he would +henceforth have to play before the world. He fully saw the wisdom of +this advice, for he knew that, however well a part may be played, if +it is not dressed to perfection, some sharp eyes will see that it is +a part and not a reality. + +The playing of his part was to begin that day, and he recognised that +at least one of the purposes of his visit to Natasha was the +determining of what that part was to be. He thus looked forward with +no little curiosity to the events of the afternoon, quite apart from +the supreme interest that centred in his hostess. + +They started out nearly a couple of hours before they were due at +Cheyne Walk, as they had several orders to give with regard to +Arnold's outfit for the journey that was before him; and this done, +they reached the house about a quarter of an hour before lunch time. + +They were received in the most delightful of sitting-rooms by a very +handsome, aristocratic-looking woman, who might have been anywhere +between forty and fifty. She shook hands very cordially with Arnold, +saying as she did so-- + +"Welcome, Richard Arnold! The friends of the Cause are mine, and I +have heard much about you already from Natasha, so that I already +seem to know you. I am very sorry that I was not able to be at the +Circle last night to see what you had to show. Natasha tells me that +it is quite a miracle of genius." + +"She is too generous in her praise," replied Arnold, speaking as +quietly as he could in spite of the delight that the words gave him. +"It is no miracle, but only the logical result of thought and work. +Still, I hope that it will be found to realise its promise when the +time of trial comes." + +"Of that I have no doubt, from all that I hear," said the Princess. +"Before long I shall hope to see it for myself. Ah, here is Natasha. +Come, I must introduce you afresh, for you do not know her yet as the +world knows her." + +Arnold heard the door open behind him as the Princess spoke, and, +turning round, saw Natasha coming towards him with her hand +outstretched and a smile of welcome on her beautiful face. Before +their hands met the Princess moved quietly between them and said, +half in jest and half in earnest-- + +"Fedora, permit me to present to you Mr. Richard Arnold, who is to +accompany us to Russia to inspect the war-balloon offered to our +Little Father the Tsar. Mr. Arnold, my niece, Fedora Darrel. There, +now you know each other." + +"I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Mr. Arnold," said Natasha, +with mock gravity as they shook hands. "I have heard much already of +your skill in connection with aërial navigation, and I have no doubt +but that your advice will be of the greatest service to his Majesty." + +"That is as it may be," answered Arnold, at once entering into the +somewhat grim humour of the situation. "But if it is possible I +should like to hear something a little definite as to this mission +with which I have been, I fear, undeservingly honoured. I have been +very greatly interested in the problem of aërial navigation for some +years past, but I must confess that this is the first I have heard of +these particular war-balloons." + +"It is for the purpose of enlightening you on that subject that this +little party has been arranged," said the Princess, turning for the +moment away from Colston, with whom she was talking earnestly in a +low tone. "Ha! There goes the lunch-bell. Mr. Colston, your arm. +Fedora, will you show Mr. Arnold the way?" + +Arnold opened the door for the Princess to go out, and then followed +with Natasha on his arm. As they went out, she said in a low tone to +him-- + +"I think, if you don't mind, you had better begin at once to call me +Miss Darrel, so as to get into the way of it. A slip might be +serious, you know." + +"Your wishes are my laws, Miss Darrel," replied he, the name slipping +as easily off his tongue as if he had known her by it for months. It +may have been only fancy on his part, he thought he felt just the +lightest imaginable pressure on his arm as he spoke. At any rate, he +was vain enough or audacious enough to take the impression for a +reality, and walked the rest of the way to the dining-room on air. + +The meal was dainty and perfectly served, but there were no servants +present, for obvious reasons, and so they waited on themselves. +Colston sat opposite the Princess and carved the partridges, while +Arnold was _vis-à-vis_ to Natasha, a fact which had a perceptible +effect upon his appetite. + +"Now," said the Princess, as soon as every one was helped, "I will +enlighten you, Mr. Arnold, as to your mission to Russia. One part of +the business, I presume, you are already familiar with?" + +Arnold bowed his assent, and she went on-- + +"Then the other is easily explained. Interested as you are in the +question, I suppose there is no need to tell you that for several +years past the Tsar has had an offer open to all the world of a +million sterling for a vessel that will float in the air, and be +capable of being directed in its course as a ship at sea can be +directed." + +"Yes, I am well aware of the fact. Pray proceed." As he said this +Arnold glanced across the table at Natasha, and a swift smile and a +flash from her suddenly unveiled eyes told him that she, too, was +thinking of how the world's history might have been altered had the +Tsar's million been paid for his invention. Then the Princess went +on-- + +"Well, through a friend at the Russian Embassy, I have learnt that a +French engineer has, as he says, perfected a balloon constructed on a +new principle, which he claims will meet the conditions of the Tsar's +offer. + +"My friend also told me that his Majesty had decided to take an +entirely disinterested opinion with regard to this invention, and +asked me if I could recommend any English engineer who had made a +study of aërial navigation, and who would be willing to go to Russia, +superintend the trials of the war-balloon, and report as to their +success or otherwise. + +"This happened a few days ago only, and as I had happened to read an +article that you will remember you wrote about six months ago in the +_Nineteenth_, or, as it is now called, the _Twentieth Century_, I +thought of your name, and said I would try to find some one. Two days +later I got news from the Circle of your invention--never mind how; +you will learn that later on--and called at the Embassy to say I had +found some one whose judgment could be absolutely relied upon. Now, +wasn't that kind of me, to give you such a testimonial as that to his +Omnipotence the Tsar of All the Russias?" + +Once more Arnold bowed his acknowledgments--this time somewhat +ironically, and Natasha interrupted the narrative by saying with a +spice of malice in her voice-- + +"No doubt the Little Father will duly recognise your kindness, +Princess, when he gets quite to the bottom of the matter." + +"I hope he will," replied the Princess, "but that is a matter of the +future--and of considerable doubt as well." Then, turning to Arnold +again, she continued-- + +"You will now, of course, see the immense advantage there appeared to +be in getting you to examine these war-balloons. They are evidently +the only possible rivals to your own invention in the field, and +therefore it is of the utmost importance that you should know their +strength or their weakness, as the case may be. + +"Well, that is all I have to say, so far. It has been decided that +you shall go, if you are willing, with us to Petersburg the day after +to-morrow to see the balloon, and make your report. All your expenses +will be paid on the most liberal scale, for the Tsar is no niggard in +spending either his own or other people's money, and you will have a +handsome fee into the bargain for your trouble." + +"So far as the work is concerned, of course, I undertake it +willingly," said Arnold, as the Princess stopped speaking. "But it +hardly seems to me to be right that I should take even the Tsar's +money under such circumstances. To tell you the truth, it looks to me +rather uncomfortably like false pretences." + +Again Natasha's eyes flashed approval across the table, but +nevertheless she said-- + +"You seem to forget, my friend, that we are at war with the Tsar, and +all's fair in--in love and war. Besides, if you have any scruples +about keeping the fee for your professional services--which, after +all, you will render as honestly as though it were the merest matter +of business--you can put it into the treasury, and so ease your +conscience. Remember, too," she went on more seriously, "how the +enormous wealth of this same Tsar has swollen by the confiscation of +fortunes whose possessors had committed no other crime than becoming +obnoxious to the corrupt bureaucracy." + +"I will take the fee if I fairly earn it, Miss Darrel," replied +Arnold, returning the glance as he spoke, "and it shall be my first +contribution to the treasury of the Brotherhood." + +"Spoken like a sensible man," chimed in the Princess. "After all, it +is no worse than spoiling the Egyptians, and you have scriptural +authority for that. However, you can do as you like with his +Majesty's money when you get it. The main fact is that you have the +opportunity of going to earn it, and that Colonel Martinov is coming +here to tea this afternoon to bring our passports, specially +authorising us to travel without customs examination or any kind of +questioning to any part of the Tsar's dominions, and that, I can +assure you, is a very exceptional honour indeed." + +"Who did you say? Martinov? Is that the Colonel Martinov who is the +director of the secret police here?" asked Colston hurriedly. + +"Yes," replied the Princess, "the same. Why do you ask?" + +"Because," said Colston quietly, "he received the sentence of death +nearly a month ago, and to-morrow night he will be executed, unless +there is some accident. It was he who stood with the governor of +Brovno in the prison-yard and watched Radna Michaelis flogged by the +soldiers. I received news this morning that the arrangements are +complete, and that the sentence will be carried out to-morrow night." + +"Yes, that is so," added Natasha, as Colston ceased speaking. +"Everything is settled. It is therefore well that he should do +something useful before he meets his fate." + +"How curious that it should just happen so!" said the Princess +calmly, as she rose from the table and moved towards the door +followed by Natasha. + +As soon as the ladies had left the room, Colston and Arnold lit their +cigarettes and chatted while they smoked over their last glass of +claret. Arnold would have liked to have asked more about the coming +tragedy, but something in Colston's manner restrained him; and so the +conversation remained on the subject of the Russian journey until +they returned to the sitting-room. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS. + + +On the 6th of March 1904, just six months after Arnold's journey to +Russia, a special meeting of the Inner Circle of the Terrorists took +place in the Council-chamber, at the house on Clapham Common. + +Although it was only attended by twelve persons all told, and those +men and women whose names were unknown outside the circle of their +own Society and the records of the Russian police, it was the most +momentous conference that had taken place in the history of the world +since the council of war that Abdurrhaman the Moslem had held with +his chieftains eleven hundred and seventy-two years before, and, by +taking their advice, spared the remnants of Christendom from the +sword of Islam. + +Then the fate of the world hung in the balance of a council of war, +and the supremacy of the Cross or the Crescent depended, humanly +speaking, upon the decision of a dozen warriors. Now the fate of the +civilisation that was made possible by that decision, lay at the +mercy of a handful of outlaws and exiles who had laboriously brought +to perfection the secret schemes of a single man. + +The work of the Terrorists was finally complete. Under the whole +fabric of Society lay the mines which a single spark would now +explode, and above this slumbering volcano the earth was trembling +with the tread of millions of armed men, divided into huge hostile +camps, and only waiting until Diplomacy had finished its work in the +dark, and gave the long-awaited signal of inevitable and universal +war. + +To-night that spark was to be shaken from the torch of Revolution, +and to-morrow the first of the mines would explode. After that, if +the course to be determined on by the Terrorist Council failed to +arrive at the results which it was designed to reach, the armies of +Europe would fight their way through the greatest war that the world +had ever seen, the Fates would once more decide in favour of the +strongest battalions, the fittest would triumph, and a new era of +military despotism would begin--perhaps neither much better nor much +worse than the one it would succeed. + +If, on the other hand, the plans of the Terrorists were successfully +worked out to their logical conclusion, it would not be war only, but +utter destruction that Society would have to face. And then with +dissolution would come anarchy. The thrones of the world would be +overthrown, the fabric of Society would be dissolved, commerce would +come to an end, the structure that it had taken twenty centuries of +the discipline of war and the patient toil of peace to build up, +would crumble into ruins in a few short months, and then--well, after +that no man could tell what would befall the remains of the human +race that had survived the deluge. The means of destruction were at +hand, and they would be used without mercy, but for the rest no man +could speak. + +When Nicholas Roburoff, the President of the Executive, rose in his +place at eight o'clock to explain the business in hand, every member +present saw at a glance, by the gravity of his demeanour, that the +communication that he had to make was of no ordinary nature, but even +they were not prepared for the catastrophe that he announced in the +first sentence that he uttered. + +"Friends," he said, in a voice that was rendered deeply impressive by +the emotion that he vainly tried to conceal, "it is my mournful duty +to tell you that she whom any one of us would willingly shed our +blood to serve or save from the slightest evil, our beautiful and +beloved Angel of the Revolution, as we so fondly call her, Natasha, +the daughter of the Master, has, in the performance of her duty to +the Cause, fallen into the hands of Russia." + +Save for a low, murmuring groan that ran round the table, the news +was received in silence. It was too terrible, too hideous in the +awful meaning that its few words conveyed, for any exclamations of +grief, or any outburst of anger, to express the emotions that it +raised. + +Not one of those who heard it but had good reason to know what it +meant for a revolutionist to fall into the hands of Russia. For a man +it meant the last extremity of human misery that flesh and blood +could bear, but for a young and beautiful woman it was a fate that no +words could describe--a doom that could only be thought of in silence +and despair; and so the friends of Natasha were silent, though they +did not yet despair. Roburoff bowed his head in acknowledgment of the +inarticulate but eloquent endorsement of his words, and went on-- + +"You already know the outcome of Richard Arnold's visit to Russia; +how he was present at the trial of the Tsar's war-balloon, and was +compelled to pronounce it such a complete success, that the Autocrat +at once gave orders for the construction of a fleet of fifty +aërostats of the same pattern; and how, thanks to the warning +conveyed by Anna Ornovski, he was able to prevent his special +passport being stolen by a police agent, and so to foil the designs +of the chief of the Third Section to stop him taking the secret of +the construction of the war-balloon out of Russia. You also know that +he brought back the Chief's authority to build an air-ship after the +model which was exhibited to us here, and that since his return he +has been prosecuting that work on Drumcraig Island, one of the +possessions of the Chief in the Outer Hebrides, which he placed at +his disposal for the purpose. + +"You know, also, that Natasha and Anna Ornovski went to Russia partly +to discover the terms of the secret treaty that we believed to exist +between France and Russia, and partly to warn, and, if possible, +remove from Russian soil a large number of our most valuable allies, +whose names had been revealed to the Minister of the Interior, +chiefly through the agency of the spy Martinov, who was executed in +this room six months ago. + +"The first part of the task was achieved, not without difficulty, but +with complete success, and of that more anon. The second part was +almost finished when Natasha and Anna Ornovski were surprised in the +house of Alexei Kassatkin, a member of the Moscow Nihilist Circle, in +the Bolshoi Dmitrietka. He had been betrayed by one of his own +servants, and a police visit was the result. + +"Added to this there is reason to believe that she had, quite apart +from this, become acquainted with enough official secrets to make her +removal desirable in high quarters. I need not tell you that that is +the usual way in which the Tsar rewards those of his secret servants +who get to know too much. + +"The fact of her being found in the house of a betrayed Nihilist was +taken as sufficient proof of sympathy or complicity, and she was +arrested. Natasha, as Fedora Darrel, claimed to be a British subject, +and, as such, to be allowed to go free in virtue of the Tsar's safe +conduct, which she exhibited. Instead of that she was taken before +the chief of the Moscow police, rudely interrogated, and then +brutally searched. Unhappily, in the bosom of her dress was found a +piece of paper bearing some of the new police cypher. That was +enough. That night they were thrown into prison, and three days later +taken to the convict depot under sentence of exile by administrative +process to Sakhalin for life. + +"You know what that means for a beautiful woman like Natasha. She +will not go to Sakhalin. They do not bury beauty like hers in such an +abode of desolation as that. If she cannot be rescued, she will only +have two alternatives before her. She will become the slave and +plaything of some brutal governor or commandant at one of the +stations, or else she will kill herself. Of course, of these two she +would choose the latter--if she could and when she could. Should she +be driven to that last resort of despair, she shall be avenged as +woman never yet was avenged; but rescue must, if possible, come +before revenge. + +"The information that we have received from the Moscow agent tells us +that the convict train to which Natasha and Anna Ornovski are +attached left the depot nearly a fortnight ago; they were to be taken +by train in the usual way to Nizhni Novgorod, thence by barge on the +Volga and Kama to Perm, and on by rail to Tiumen, the forwarding +station for the east. Until they reach Tiumen they will be safe from +anything worse than what the Russians are pleased to call +'discipline,' but once they disappear into the wilderness of Siberia +they will be lost to the world, and far from all law but the will of +their official slave-drivers. + +"It has, therefore, been decided that the rescue shall be attempted +before the chain-gang leaves Tiumen, if it can be reached in time. As +nearly as we can calculate, the march will begin on the morning of +Friday the 9th, that is to say, in three nights and one day from now. +Happily we possess the means of making the rescue, if it can be +accomplished by human means. I have received a report from Richard +Arnold saying that the _Ariel_ is complete, and that she has made a +perfectly satisfactory trial trip to the clouds. The _Ariel_ is the +only vehicle in existence that could possibly reach the frontier of +Siberia in the given time, and it is fitting that her first duty +should be the rescue of the Angel of the Revolution from the clutches +of the Tyrant of the North. + +"Alexis Mazanoff, it is the will of the Master that you shall take +these instructions to Richard Arnold and accompany him on the voyage +in order to show him what course to steer, and assist him in every +way possible. You will find the Chief's yacht at Port Patrick ready +to convey you to Drumcraig Island. When you have heard what is +further necessary for you to hear, you will take the midnight express +from Euston. Have you any preparations to make?" + +"No," replied Mazanoff, or Colston, to call him by a name more +familiar to the reader. "I can start in half an hour if necessary, +and on such an errand you may, of course, depend on me not to lose +much time. I presume there are full instructions here?" + +"Yes, both for the rescue and for your conduct afterwards, whether +you are successful or unsuccessful," said the President. Then turning +to the others he continued-- + +"You may now rest assured that all that can be done to rescue Natasha +will be done, and we must therefore turn to other matters. I said a +short time ago that the conditions of the secret treaty between +France and Russia had been discovered by the two brave women who are +now suffering for their devotion to the cause of the Revolution. A +full copy of them is in the hands of the Chief, who arrives in London +to-day, and will at once lay the documents before Mr. Balfour, the +Premier. + +"It is extremely hostile to England, and amounts, in fact, to a +compact on the part of France to declare war and seize the Suez +Canal, as soon as the first shot is fired between Great Britain and +Russia. In return for this, Russia is to invade Germany and Austria, +destroy the eastern frontier fortresses with her fleet of +war-balloons, and then cross over and do the same on the Rhine, while +France at last throws herself upon her ancient foe. + +"Meanwhile, the French fleet is to concentrate in the Mediterranean +as quietly and rapidly as possible, before war actually breaks out, +so as to be able to hold the British and Italians in check, and shut +the Suez Canal, while Russia, who is pushing her troops forward to +the Hindu Kush, gets ready for a dash at the passes, and a rush upon +Cashmere, before Britain can get sufficient men out to India by the +Cape to give her very much trouble. + +"As there also exists a secret compact between Britain and the Triple +Alliance, binding all four powers to declare war the moment one is +threatened, the disclosure of this treaty must infallibly lead to war +in a few weeks. In addition to this, measures have been taken to +detach Italy from the Triple Alliance at the last moment, if +possible. Success in this respect is, however, somewhat uncertain. + +"To make assurance doubly sure, the Chief informs me that he has +ordered Ivan Brassoff, who is in command of a large reconnoitring +party on the Afghan side of the Hindu Kush, to provoke reprisals from +a similar party of Indian troops who have been told off to watch +their movements. Captain Brassoff is one of us, and can be depended +upon to obey at all costs. He will do this in a fortnight from now, +and therefore we may feel confident that Great Britain and Russia +will be at war within a month. + +"With the first outbreak of war our work for the present ceases, so +far as active interference goes. We shall therefore withdraw from the +scene of action until the arrival of the supreme moment when the +nations of Europe shall be locked in the death-struggle, and the fate +of the world will rest in our hands. The will of the Master now is +that all the members of the Brotherhood shall at once wind up their +businesses, and turn all of their possessions that are not portable +and useful into money. + +"A large steamer has been purchased and manned with members of the +Outer Circle who are sailors by profession. She is now being loaded +at Liverpool with all the machinery and materials necessary for the +construction of twelve air-ships like the _Ariel_. This steamer, when +ready for sea, will sail, ostensibly, for Rio de Janeiro with a cargo +of machinery, but in reality for Drumcraig, where she will embark the +workmen who will be left there by the _Ariel_ with all the working +plant on the island, and from there she will proceed to a lonely +island off the West Coast of Africa, between Cape Blanco and Cape +Verde, where new works will be set up and the fleet of air-ships put +together as rapidly as possible. + +"The position of this island is in the instructions which Alexis +Mazanoff takes to Drumcraig to-night, and the _Ariel_ will rendezvous +there when the work that is in hand for her is done. The members of +the Brotherhood will, of course, go in the steamer as passengers for +Rio, so that no suspicions may be aroused, and every one must be +ready to embark in ten days from now. + +"That is all I have to say at present in the name of the Master. And +now, Alexis Mazanoff, it is time you set out. We shall remain here +and discuss every detail fully so that nothing may be overlooked. You +will find that everything has been provided for in the instructions +you have, so go, and may the Master of Destiny be with you!" + +As he spoke he held out his hand, which the young man grasped +heartily, saying-- + +"Farewell! I will obey to the death, and if success can be earned we +will earn it. If not, you shall hear of the _Ariel's_ work in Russia +before the week is out." + +He then took leave of the other members of the Council, coming last +to Radna. As their hands clasped she said-- + +"I wish I could come with you, but that is impossible. But bring +Natasha back to us safe and sound, and there is nothing that you can +ask of me that I will not say 'yes' to. Go, and God speed your good +work. Farewell!" + +For all answer he took her in his arms before them all. Their lips +met in one long silent kiss, and a moment later he had gone to strike +the first blow in the coming world-war, and to bring the beginning of +sorrows on the Tyrant of the North. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE "ARIEL." + + +On the sixth stroke of twelve that night the Scotch express drew out +of Euston Station. At half-past nine the next morning, the _Lurline_, +Lord Alanmere's yacht, steamed out of Port Patrick Harbour, and at +one o'clock precisely she dropped her anchor in the little inlet that +served for a harbour at Drumcraig. + +Colston had the quarter-boat lowered and pulled ashore without a +moment's delay, and as his foot touched the shore Arnold grasped his +hand, and, after the first words of welcome, asked for the latest +news of Natasha. + +Without immediately answering, Colston put his arm through his, drew +him away from the men who were standing about, and told him as +briefly and gently as he could the terrible news of the calamity that +had befallen the Brotherhood, and the errand upon which he had come. + +Arnold received the blow as a brave man should--in silence. His now +bronzed face turned pale, his brows contracted, and his teeth +clenched till Colston could hear them gritting upon each other. Then +a great wave of agony swept over his soul as a picture too horrible +for contemplation rose before his eyes, and after that came calm, the +calm of rapid thought and desperate resolve. + +He remembered the words that Natasha had used in a letter that she +had given him when she took leave of him in Russia. "We shall trust +to you to rescue us, and, if that is no longer possible, to avenge +us." + +Yes, and now the time had come to justify that trust and prove his +own devotion. It should be proved to the letter, and if there was +cause for vengeance, the proof should be written in blood and flame +over all the wide dominions of the Tsar. Grief might come after, when +there was time for it; but this was the hour of action, and a strange +savage joy seemed to come with the knowledge that the safety of the +woman he loved now depended mainly upon his own skill and daring. + +Colston respected his silence, and waited until he spoke. When he did +he was astonished at the difference that those few minutes had made +in the young engineer. The dreamer and the enthusiast had become the +man of action, prompt, stern, and decided. Colston had never before +heard from his lips the voice in which he at length said to him-- + +"Where is this place? How far is it as the crow flies from here?" + +"At a rough guess I should say about two thousand two hundred miles, +almost due east, and rather less than two hundred miles on the other +side of the Ourals." + +"Good! That will be twenty hours' flight for us, or less if this +south-west wind holds good." + +"What!" exclaimed Colston. "Twenty hours, did you say? You must +surely be making some mistake. Don't you mean forty hours? Think of +the enormous distance. Why, even then we should have to travel over +sixty miles an hour through the air." + +"My dear fellow, I don't make mistakes where figures are concerned. +The paradox of aërial navigation is 'the greater the speed the less +the resistance.' + +"In virtue of that paradox I am able to tell you that the speed of +the _Ariel_ in moderate weather is a hundred and twenty miles an +hour, and a hundred and twenty into two thousand two hundred goes +eighteen times and one-third. This is Wednesday, and we have to be on +the Asiatic frontier at daybreak on Friday. We shall start at dusk +to-night, and you shall see to-morrow's sun set over the Ourals." + +"That means from the eastern side of the range!" + +"Of course. There will be no harm in being a few hours too soon. In +case we may have a long cruise, I must have additional stores, and +power-cylinders put on board. Come, you have not seen the _Ariel_ +yet. + +"I have made several improvements on the model, as I expected to do +when I came to the actual building of the ship, and, what is more +important than that, I have immensely increased the motive power and +economised space and weight at the same time. In fact, I don't +despair now of two hundred miles an hour before very long. Come!" + +The engineer and the enthusiast had now come to the fore again, and +the man and the lover had receded, put back, as it were, until the +time for love, or perchance for sorrow, had come. + +He put his arm through Colston's, and led him up a hill-path and +through a little gorge which opened into a deep valley, completely +screened on all sides by heather-clad hills. Sprinkled about the +bottom of this valley were a few wooden dwelling-houses and +workshops, and in the centre was a huge shed, or rather an enclosure +now, for its roof had been taken off. + +In this lay, like a ship in a graving-dock, a long, narrow, +grey-painted vessel almost exactly like a sea-going ship, save for +the fact that she had no funnel, and that her three masts, instead of +yards, each carried a horizontal fan-wheel, while from each of her +sides projected, level with the deck, a plane twice the width of the +deck and nearly as long as the vessel herself. + +They entered the enclosure and walked round the hull. This was +seventy feet long and twelve wide amidships, and save for size it was +the exact counterpart of the model already described. + +As soon as he had taken Colston round the hull, and roughly explained +its principal features, reserving more detailed description and the +inspection of the interior for the voyage, he gave the necessary +orders for preparing for a lengthy journey, and the two went on board +the _Lurline_ to dinner, which Colston had deferred in order to eat +it in Arnold's company. + +After dinner they carefully discussed the situation in order that +every possible accident might be foreseen, argued the pros and cons +of the venture in all their bearings, and even went so far as to plan +the vengeance they would take should, by any chance, the rescue fail +or come too late. + +The instructions, signed by Natas himself, were very precise on +certain essential points, and in their broad outlines, but, like all +wisely planned instructions to such men as these, they left ample +margin for individual initiative in case of emergency. + +Some of the stores of the _Lurline_ had to be transferred to the +_Ariel_, and these were taken ashore after dinner, and at the same +time Colston made his first inspection of the interior of the +air-ship, under the guidance of her creator. What struck him most at +first sight was the apparent inadequacy of the machinery to the +attainment of the tremendous speed at which Arnold had promised they +should travel. + +There were four somewhat insignificant-looking engines in all. Of +these, one drove the stern propeller, one the side propellers, and +two the fan-wheels on the masts. He learnt as soon as the voyage +began, that, by a very simple switch arrangement, the power of the +whole four engines could be concentrated on the propellers; for, once +in the air, the lifting wheels were dispensed with and lowered on +deck, and the ship was entirely sustained by the pressure of the air +under her planes. + +There was not an ounce of superfluous wood or metal about the +beautifully constructed craft, but for all that she was complete in +every detail, and the accommodation she had for crew and passengers +was perfectly comfortable, and in some respects cosy in the extreme. +Forward there was a spacious cabin with berths for six men, and aft +there were separate cabins for six people, and a central saloon for +common use. + +On deck there were three structures, a sort of little conning tower +forward, a wheel-house aft, and a deck saloon amidships. All these +were, of course, so constructed as to offer the least possible +resistance to the wind, or rather the current created by the vessel +herself when flying through the air at a speed greater than that of +the hurricane itself. + +All were closely windowed with toughened glass, for it is hardly +necessary to say that, but for such a protection, every one who +appeared above the level of the deck would be almost instantly +suffocated, if not whirled overboard, by the rush of air when the +ship was going at full speed. Her armament consisted of four long, +slender cannon, two pointing over the bows, and two over the stem. + +The crew that Arnold had chosen for the voyage consisted, curiously +enough, of men belonging to the four nationalities which would be +principally concerned in the Titanic struggle which a few weeks would +now see raging over Europe. Their names were Andrew Smith, +Englishman, and coxswain; Ivan Petrovitch, Russian; Franz Meyer, +German; and Jean Guichard, Frenchman. Diverse as they were, there +never were four better workers, or four better friends. + +They had no country but the world, and no law save those which +governed their Brotherhood. They conversed in assorted but perfectly +intelligible English, for the very simple reason that Mr. Andrew +Smith consistently refused to attempt even the rudiments of any other +tongue. + +While the stores were being put on board, Arnold made a careful +examination of every part of the machinery, and then of the whole +vessel, in order to assure himself that everything was in perfect +order. This done, he gave his final instructions to those of the +little community who were left behind to await the arrival of the +steamer, and as the sun sank behind the western ridges of the island, +he went on board the _Ariel_ with Colston, took his place at the +wheel, and ordered the fan-wheels to be set in motion. + +Colston was standing by the open door of the wheel-house as Arnold +communicated his order to the engine-room by pressing an electric +button, one of four in a little square of mahogany in front of the +wheel. + +There was no vibration or grinding, as would have been the case in +starting a steamer, but only a soft whirring, humming sound, that +rose several degrees in pitch as the engines gained speed, and the +fan-wheels revolved faster and faster until they sang in the air, and +the _Ariel_ rose without a jar or a tremor from the ground, slowly at +first, and then more and more swiftly, until Colston saw the ground +sinking rapidly beneath him, and the island growing smaller and +smaller, until it looked like a little patch on the dark grey water +of the sea. + +Away to the north and west he could see the innumerable islands of +the Hebrides, while to the east the huge mountainous mass of the +mainland of Scotland loomed dark upon the horizon. + +When the barometer marked eight hundred feet above the sea-level, the +_Ariel_ passed through a stratum of light clouds, and on the upper +side of this the sun was still shining, shooting his almost level +rays across it as though over some illimitable sea of white fleecy +billows, whose crests were tipped with rosy, golden light. + +Above the surface of this fairy sea rose north-eastward the black +mass of Ben More on the Island of Mull, and to the southward, the +lesser peaks of Jura and Islay. + +While he was still wrapped in admiration of the strange beauty of +this, to him, marvellous scene, the _Ariel_ had risen to a thousand +feet, still almost in a vertical line from the island. Arnold now +pressed another button, and the stern propeller began to revolve +swiftly and noiselessly, and Colston saw the waves of the cloud-sea +begin to slip behind, although so smooth was the working of the +machinery, and the motion of the air-ship, that, but for this, he +could hardly have guessed that he was in motion. + +Arnold now turned a few spokes of the wheel, and headed the _Ariel_ +due east by the compass. Then he touched a third button. The side +propellers began to turn swiftly on their axes, and, at the same time +the speed of the fan-wheels slackened, and gradually stopped. + +Colston now began to feel the air rushing by him in a stream so rapid +and strong, that he had to take hold of the side of the wheel-house +doorway to steady himself. + +"I think you had better come inside and shut the door," said Arnold. +"We are getting up speed now, and in a few minutes you won't be able +to hold yourself there. You'll be able to see just as well inside." + +Colston did as he was bidden, and as soon as he was safely inside +Arnold pulled a lever beside the wheel, and slightly inclined the +planes from forward aft. At the same time the fan-wheels began to +slide down the masts until they rested upon the deck. + +"Now, you shall see her fly," said Arnold, taking a speaking-tube +from the wall and whistling thrice into it. + +Colston felt a slight tremor in the deck beneath his feet, and then a +lifting movement. He staggered a little, and said to Arnold-- + +"What's that? Are we going higher still?" + +"Yes," replied the engineer. "She is feeling the air-planes now under +the increased speed. I am going up to fifteen hundred feet, so that +we shall only have the highest peaks to steer clear of in crossing +Scotland. Now, use your eyes, and you will see something worth +looking at." + +The upper part of the wheel-house was constructed almost entirely of +glass, and so Colston could see just as well as if he had been on +deck outside. He did use his eyes. In fact, for some time to come, +all his other senses seemed to be merged in that of sight, for the +scene was one of such rare and marvellous beauty, and the sensations +that it called up were of so completely novel a nature, that, for the +time being, he felt as though he had been suddenly transported into +fairyland. + +The cloud-sea now lay about seven hundred feet beneath them. The sun +had sunk quite below the horizon, even at that elevation; but his +absence was more than made up for by the nearly full moon, which had +risen to the southward, as though to greet the conqueror of the air, +and was spreading a flood of silvery radiance over the snowy plain +beneath, through the great gaps in which they could see the darker +sheen of the moving sea-waves. + +Their course lay almost exactly along the fifty-sixth parallel of +latitude, and took them across Argyle, Dumbarton, and Stirlingshire +to the head of the Firth of Forth. As they approached the mainland, +Colston saw one or two peaks rise up out of the clouds, and soon they +were sweeping along in the midst of a score or so of these. To the +left Ben Lomond towered into the clear sky above his attendant peaks, +and to the right the lower summits of the Campsie Fells soon rose a +few miles ahead. + +The rapidity with which these mountain-tops rose up on either side, +and were left behind, proved to Colston that the _Ariel_ must be +travelling at a tremendous speed, and yet, but for a very slight +quivering of the deck, there was no motion perceptible, so smoothly +did the air-ship glide through the elastic medium in which she +floated. + +So engrossed was he with the unearthly beauty of the new world into +which he had risen, that for nearly two hours he stood without +speaking a word. Arnold, wrapped in his own thoughts, maintained a +like silence, and so they sped on amidst a stillness that was only +broken by the soft whirring of the propellers, and the singing of the +wind past the masts and stays. + +At length a faint sound like the dashing of breakers on a rocky coast +roused Colston from his reverie, and he turned to Arnold and said-- + +"What is that? Not the sea, surely!" + +"Yes, those are the waves of the Firth of Forth breaking on the +shores of Fife." + +"What! Do you mean to tell me that we have crossed Scotland already? +Why, we have not been an hour on the way yet!" + +"Oh yes, we have," replied the engineer. "We have been nearly two. +You have been so busy looking about you that you have not noticed how +the time has passed. We have travelled a little over two hundred and +forty miles. We are over the German Ocean now, and as there will be +no more hills until we reach the Ourals we can go down a little." + +As he spoke he moved the lever beside him about an inch, and +instantly the clouds seemed to rise up toward them as the _Ariel_ +swept downwards in her flight. A hundred feet above them Arnold +touched the lever again, and the air-ship at once resumed her +horizontal course. + +Then he put her head a little more to the northward, and called down +the speaking tube for Andrew Smith to come and relieve him. A minute +later Smith's head appeared at the top of the companion-ladder which +led from the saloon to the wheel-house, and Arnold gave him the wheel +and the course, saying at the same time to Colston-- + +"Now, come down and have something to eat, and then we will have a +smoke and a chat and go to bed. There is nothing more to be seen +until the morning, and then I will show you Petersburg as it looks +from the clouds." + +"If you told me you would show me the Ourals themselves, I should +believe you after what I have seen," replied Colston, as together +they descended the companion-way from the wheel-house to the saloon. + +"Ah, I'm afraid that would be too much even for the _Ariel_ to +accomplish in the time," said Arnold. "Still, I think I can guarantee +that you shall cross Europe in such time as no man ever crossed it +before." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +FIRST BLOOD. + + +After supper the two friends ascended to the deck saloon for a smoke, +and to continue their discussion of the tremendous events in which +they were so soon to be taking part. They found the _Ariel_ flying +through a cloudless sky over the German Ocean, whose white-crested +billows, silvered by the moonlight, were travelling towards the +north-east under the influence of the south-west breeze from which +the engineer had promised himself assistance when they started. + +"We seem to be going at a most frightful speed," said Colston, +looking down at the water. "There's a strong south-west breeze +blowing, and yet those white horses seem to be travelling quite the +other way." + +"Yes," replied Arnold, looking down. "This wind will be travelling +about twenty miles an hour, and that means that we are making nearly +a hundred and fifty. The German Ocean here is five hundred miles +across, and we shall cross it at this rate in about three hours and a +half, and if the wind holds over the land we shall sight Petersburg +soon after sunrise. + +"The sun will rise to-morrow morning a few minutes after five by +Greenwich time, which is about two hours behind Petersburg time. +Altogether we shall make, I expect, from two to two and a half hours' +gain on time." + +The two men talked until a few minutes after ten, and then went to +bed. Colston, who had been travelling all the previous night, began +to feel drowsy in spite of the excitement of the novel voyage, and +almost as soon as he lay down in his berth dropped off into a sound, +dreamless sleep, and knew nothing more until Arnold knocked at his +door and said-- + +"If you want to see the sun rise, you had better get up. Coffee will +be ready in a quarter of an hour." + +Colston pulled back the slide which covered the large oblong pane of +toughened glass which was let into the side of his cabin and looked +out. There was just light enough in the grey dawn to enable him to +see that the _Ariel_ was passing over a sea dotted in the distance +with an immense number of islands. + +"The Baltic," he said to himself as he jumped out of bed. "This is +travelling with a vengeance! Why, we must have travelled a good deal +over a thousand miles during the night. I suppose those islands will +be off the coast of Finland. If so, we are not far from Petersburg, +as the _Ariel_ seems to count distance." + +The most magnificent spectacle that Colston had ever seen in his +life, or, for the matter of that, ever dreamed of, was the one that +he saw from the conning-tower of the _Ariel_ while the sun was rising +over the vast plain of mingled land and water which stretched away to +the eastward until it melted away into the haze of early morning. + +The sky was perfectly clear and cloudless, save for a few light +clouds that hung about the eastern horizon, and were blazing gold and +red in the light of the newly-risen sun. The air-ship was flying at +an elevation of about two thousand feet, which appeared to be her +normal height for ordinary travelling. There was land upon both sides +of them, but in front opened a wide bay, the northern shores of which +were still fringed with ice and snow. + +"That is the Gulf of Finland," said Arnold. "The winter must have +been very late this year, and that probably means that we shall find +the eastern side of the Ourals still snow-bound." + +"So much the better," replied Colston. "They will have a much better +chance of escape if there is good travelling for a sleigh." + +"Yes," replied Arnold, his brows contracting as he spoke. "Do you +know, if it were not for the Master's explicit orders, I should be +inclined to smash up the station at Ekaterinburg a few hours +beforehand, and then demand the release of the whole convict train, +under penalty of laying the town in ruins." + +Colston shook his head, saying-- + +"No, no, my friend, we must have a little more diplomacy than that. +Your thirst for the life of the enemy will, no doubt, be fully +gratified later on. Besides, you must remember that you would +probably blow some hundreds of perfectly innocent people to pieces, +and very possibly a good many friends of the Cause among them." + +"True," replied Arnold; "I didn't think of that; but I'll tell you +what we can do, if you like, without transgressing our instructions +or hurting any one except the soldiers of the Tsar, who, of course, +are paid to slaughter and be slaughtered, and so don't count." + +"What is that?" asked Colston. + +"We shall be passing over Kronstadt in a little over an hour, and we +might take the opportunity of showing his Majesty the Tsar what the +_Ariel_ can do with the strongest fortress in Europe. How would you +like to fire the first shot in the war of the Revolution?" + +Colston was silent for a few moments, and then he looked up and +said-- + +"There is not the slightest reason why we should not take a shot at +Kronstadt, if only to give the Russians a foretaste of favours to +come. Still, I won't fire the first shot on any account, simply +because that honour belongs to you. I'll fire the second with +pleasure." + +"Very good," replied Arnold. "We'll have two shots apiece, one each +as we approach the fortress, and one each as we leave it. Now come +and take a preparatory lesson in the new gunnery." + +They went down into the chief saloon, and there Arnold showed Colston +a model of the new weapon with which the _Ariel_ was armed, and +thoroughly explained the working of it. After this they went to the +wheel-house, where Arnold inclined the planes at a sharper angle, and +sent the _Ariel_ flying up into the sky, until the barometer showed +an elevation of three thousand feet. + +Then he signalled to the engine-room, the fan-wheels rose from the +deck, as if by their own volition, and, as soon as they reached their +places, began to spin round faster and faster, until Colston could +again hear the high-pitched singing sound that he had heard as the +_Ariel_ rose from Drumcraig Island. + +At the same time the speed of the vessel rapidly decreased; the side +propellers ceased working, and the stern-screw revolved more and more +slowly, until the speed came down to about thirty miles an hour. + +By this time the great fortress of Kronstadt could be distinctly seen +lying upon its island, like some huge watch-dog crouched at the +entrance to his master's house, guarding the way to St. Petersburg. + +"Now," said Arnold, "we can go outside without any fear of being +blown off into space." + +They went out and walked forward to the bow. Arrived there they found +two of the men, each with a curious-looking shell in his arms. The +projectiles were about two feet long and six inches in diameter, and +were, as Arnold told Colston, constructed of _papier-maché_. There +were three blades projecting from the outside, and running spirally +from the point to the butt. These fitted into grooves in the inside +of the cannon, which were really huge air-guns twenty feet long, +including the air-chamber at the breech. + +The projectiles were placed in position, the breeches of the guns +closed, and a minute later the air-chambers were filled with air at a +pressure of two hundred atmospheres, pumped from the forward engines +through pipes leading up to the guns for the purpose. + +"Now," said Arnold, "we're ready! Meanwhile you two can go and load +the two after guns." + +The men saluted and retired, and Arnold continued-- + +"Just take a look down with your glasses and see if they see us. I +expect they do by this time." + +Colston put his field-glass to his eyes, and looked down at the +fortress, which was now only six or seven miles ahead. + +"Yes," he said, "at any rate I can see a lot of little figures +running about on the roof of one of the ramparts, which I suppose are +soldiers. What's the range of your gun? I should say the fortress is +about six miles off now." + +"We can hit it from here, if you like," replied Arnold, "and if we +were a thousand feet higher I could send a shell into Petersburg. +See! there is the City of Palaces. Away yonder in the distance you +can just see the sun shining on the houses. We could see it quite +plainly if it wasn't for the haze that seems to be lying over the +Neva." + +While he was speaking, Arnold trained the gun according to a scale on +a curved steel rod which passed through a screw socket in the breech +of the piece. + +"Now," he said. "Watch!" + +He pressed a button on the top of the breech. There was a sharp but +not very loud sound as the compressed air was released; something +rushed out of the muzzle of the gun, and a few seconds later, Colston +could see the missile boring its way through the air, and pursuing a +slanting but perfectly direct path for the centre of the fortress. + +A second later it struck. He could see a bright greenish flash as it +smote the steel roof of the central fort. Then the fort seemed to +crumble up and dissolve into fragments, and a few moments later a +dull report floated up into the sky mingled, as he thought, with +screams of human agony. + +For a moment he stared in silence through the glasses, then he turned +to Arnold and said in a voice that trembled with violent emotion-- + +"Good God, that is awful! The whole of the centre citadel is gone as +though it had been swept off the face of the earth. I can hardly see +even the ruins of it. Surely that's murder rather than war!" + +"No more murder than the use of torpedoes in naval warfare, as far as +I can see," replied Arnold coolly. "Remember, too," he continued in a +sterner tone, "that fortress belongs to the power that flogged Radna +and has captured Natasha. Come, let's see what execution you can do." + +He crossed the deck and set the other gun by its scale, saying as he +did so-- + +"Put your finger on the button and press when I tell you." + +Colston did as he was bid, and as his finger touched the little knob +his hand was as firm as though he had been making a shot at +billiards. + +"Now!" + +He pressed the button down hard. There was the same sharp sound, and +a second messenger of destruction sped on its way towards the doomed +fortress. + +[Illustration: "Good God, that is awful." + +_See page 82._] + +They saw it strike, and then came the flash, and after that a huge +cloud of dust mingled with flying objects that might have been blocks +of masonry, guns, or human bodies, rose into the air, and then fell +back again to the earth. + +"There goes one of the angles of the fortification into the sea," +said Arnold, as he saw the effects of the shot. "Kronstadt won't be +much good when the war breaks out, it strikes me. I suppose they'll +be replying soon with a few rifle shots. We'd better quicken up a +bit." + +He went aft to the wheel-house, followed by Colston, and signalled +for the three propellers to work at their utmost speed. The order was +instantly obeyed; the fan-wheels ceased revolving, and under the +impetus of her propellers the _Ariel_ leapt forwards and upwards like +an eagle on its upward swoop, rose five hundred feet in the air, and +then swept over Kronstadt at a speed of more than a hundred miles an +hour. + +As they passed over they saw a series of flashes rise from one of the +untouched portions of the fortress, but no bullets came anywhere near +them. In fact, they must have passed through the air two or three +miles astern of the flying _Ariel_. No soldier who ever carried a +rifle could have sent a bullet within a thousand yards of an object +seventy feet long travelling over a hundred miles an hour at a height +of nearly four thousand feet, and so the Russians wasted their +ammunition. + +As soon as they had passed over the fortress, Arnold signalled for +the propellers to stop, and the fan-wheels to revolve again at half +speed. The air-ship stopped within three miles, and remained +suspended in air over the opening mouth of the Neva. Then the two +after guns were trained upon the fortress, and Colston and Arnold +fired them together. + +The two shells struck at the same moment, one in each of two angles +of the ramparts. Their impact was followed by a tremendous explosion, +far greater than could be accounted for by the shells themselves. + +"There goes one, if not two, of his powder magazines. Look! half the +fortress is a wreck. I wonder which fired the lucky shot." + +The man who a year before had been an inoffensive student of +mechanics and an enthusiast dreaming of an unsolved problem, spoke of +the frightful destruction of life and the havoc that he had caused by +just pressing a button with his finger, as coolly and quietly as a +veteran officer of artillery might have spoken of shelling a fort. + +There were two reasons for this almost miraculous change. One was to +be found in the bitter hatred of Russian tyranny which he had imbibed +during the last six months, and the other was the fact that the woman +for whom he would have himself died a thousand deaths if necessary, +was a captive in Russian chains, being led at that moment to slavery +and degradation. + +As soon as they had seen the effects of the last two shots, Arnold +said with a grim, half-smile on his lips-- + +"I think it will be better if we don't show ourselves too plainly to +Petersburg. It will take some time for the news of the destruction of +Kronstadt to reach the city, and, of course, there will be the +wildest rumours as to the agency by which it was done, so we may as +well leave them to argue the matter out among themselves." + +He signalled again to the engine-room, and with the united aid of her +planes and fan-wheels the _Ariel_ mounted up and up into the sky, +driven only by the stern-propeller and with the force of the other +engines concentrated on the lifting wheels, until a height of five +thousand feet was reached. + +At that height she would have looked, if she could have been seen at +all, nothing more than a little grey spot against the blue of the +sky, and as they heard afterwards she passed over St. Petersburg +without being noticed. + +From St. Petersburg to Tiumen, as the crow flies, the distance is +1150 English miles, and nine hours after she had passed over the +Capital of the North, the _Ariel_ had winged her way over the Ourals +and the still snow-clad forests of the eastern slopes, past the +tear-washed Pillar of Farewells, and had come to a rest after her +voyage of two thousand two hundred miles, including the delay at +Kronstadt, in twenty hours almost to the minute, as her captain had +predicted. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +IN THE MASTER'S NAME. + + +The _Ariel_, in order to avoid being seen from the town, had made a +wide circuit to the northward at a considerable elevation, and as +soon as a suitable spot had been sought out by means of the +field-glasses, she dropped suddenly and swiftly from the clouds into +the depths of the dense forest through which the Tobolsk road runs +from Tiumen to the banks of the Tobol. + +From Tiumen to the Tobol is about twenty-five miles by road. The +railway, which was then finished as far as Tomsk, ran to Tobolsk by a +more northerly and direct route than the road, but convicts were +still marched on foot along the great post road after the gangs had +been divided at Tiumen according to their destinations. + +The spot which had been selected for the resting-place of the _Ariel_ +was a little glade formed by the bend of a frozen stream about five +miles east of the town, and at a safe distance from the road. + +Painted a light whitish-grey all over, she would have been invisible +even from a short distance as she lay amid the snow-laden trees, and +Arnold gave strict orders that all the window-slides were to be kept +closed, and no light shown on any account. + +Every precaution possible was taken to obviate a discovery which +should seriously endanger the success of the rescue, but, +nevertheless, the fan-wheels were kept aloft, and everything was in +readiness to rise into the air at a moment's notice should any +emergency require them to do so. + +It was a little after three o'clock on the Thursday afternoon when +the _Ariel_ settled down in her resting-place, and half an hour later +Colston and Ivan Petrovitch appeared on deck completely disguised, +the former as a Russian fur trader, and the latter as his servant. + +All the arrangements for the rescue had been once more gone over in +every detail, and just before he swung himself over the side Colston +shook hands for the last time with Arnold, saying as he did so-- + +"Well, good-bye again, old fellow! Ivan shall come back and bring you +the news, if necessary; but if he doesn't come, don't be uneasy, but +possess your soul in patience till you hear the whistle from the road +in the morning. I expect the train will get in sometime during the +night, and in that case we shall have everything ready to make the +attempt soon after daybreak, if not before. + +"If we can get as far as this without being pursued we shall come +right on board. If not we must trust to our horses and our pistols to +keep the Cossacks at a distance till you can help us. In any case, +rest assured that once clear of Tiumen, we shall never be taken +alive. Those are the Master's orders, and I will shoot Natasha myself +before she goes back to captivity." + +"Yes, do so," replied Arnold. His lips quivered as he spoke, but +there was no tremor in the hand with which he gripped Colston's in +farewell. "She will prefer death to slavery, and I shall prefer it +for her. But if you have to do it you will at least have the +consolation of knowing that within twelve hours of your death the +Tsar shall be lying buried beneath the ruins of the Peterhof Palace. +I will have his life for hers if only I live to take it." + +"I will tell her," said Colston simply, "and if die she must, she +will die content." + +So saying, he descended the little rope-ladder, followed by Ivan, and +in a few moments the two were lost in the deep shadow of the trees, +while Arnold went down into the saloon to await with what patience he +might the moment that would decide the fate of the daughter of Natas +and the man who had gone, as he would so gladly have done, to risk +his life to restore her to liberty. + +Rather more than half an hour's tramp through the forest brought +Colston and Ivan out on the road at a point a little less than five +miles from Tiumen. + +Colston was provided with passports and permits to travel for himself +and Ivan. These, of course, were forged on genuine forms which the +Terrorists had no difficulty in obtaining through their agents in +high places, who were as implicitly trusted as the Princess Ornovski +had been but a few months before. + +So skilfully were they executed, however, that it would have been a +very keen official eye that had discovered anything wrong with them. +They described him as "Stepan Bakuinin, fur merchant of Nizhni +Novgorod, travelling in pursuit of his business, with his servant, +Peter Petrovitch, also of Nizhni Novgorod." + +Instead of going straight into the town by the main road they made a +considerable detour and entered it by a lane that led them through a +collection of miserable huts occupied by the poorest class of +Siberian mujiks, half peasants, half townsfolk, who cultivate their +patches of ground during the brief spring and summer, and struggle +through the long dreary winter as best they can on their scanty +savings and what work they can get to do from the Government or their +richer neighbours. + +Colston had never been in Tiumen before, but Ivan had, for ten years +before he had voluntarily accompanied his father, who had been +condemned to five years' forced labour on the new railway works from +Tiumen to Tobolsk, for giving a political fugitive shelter in his +house. He had died of hard labour and hard usage, and that was one +reason why Ivan was a member of the Outer Circle of the Terrorists. + +He led his master through the squalid suburb to the business part of +the town, which had considerably developed since the through line to +Tobolsk and Tomsk had been constructed, and at length they stopped +before a comfortable-looking house in the street that ends at the +railway station. + +They knocked, gave their names, and were at once admitted. The +servant who opened the door to them led them to a room in which they +found a man of about fifty in the uniform of a sub-commissioner of +police. As Colston held out his hand to him he said-- + +"In the Master's name!" + +The official took his hand, and, bending over it, replied in a low +tone-- + +"I am his servant. What is his will?" + +"That Anna Ornovski and Fedora Darrel, the English girl who was taken +with her, be released as soon as may be," replied Colston. "Is the +train from Ekaterinburg in yet?" + +"Not yet. The snow is still deep between here and the mountains. The +winter has been very severe and long. We have almost starved in +Tiumen in spite of the railway. There has been a telegram from +Ekaterinburg to say that the train descended the mountain safely, and +one from Kannishlov to say that we expect it soon after ten +to-night." + +"Good! That is sooner than we expected in London. We thought it would +not reach here till to-morrow morning." + +"In London! What do you mean? You cannot have come from London, for +there has been no train for two days." + +"Nevertheless I have come from London. I left England yesterday +evening." + +"Yesterday evening! But, with all submission, that is impossible. If +there were a railway the whole distance it could not be done." + +"To the Master there is nothing impossible. Look! I received that the +evening I left London." + +As he spoke, Colston held out an envelope. The Russian examined it +closely. It bore the Ludgate Hill post-mark, which was dated "March +7." + +Colston's host bent over it with almost superstitious reverence, and +handed it back, saying humbly-- + +"Forgive my doubts, Nobleness! It is a miracle! I ask no more. The +Tsar himself could not have done it. The Master is all powerful, and +I am proud to be his servant, even to the death." + +Although the twentieth century had dawned, the Siberian Russians were +still inclined to look even upon the railway as a miracle. This man, +although he occupied a post of very considerable responsibility and +authority under the Russian Government, was only a member of the +Outer Circle of the Terrorists, as most of the officials were, and +therefore he knew nothing of the existence of the _Ariel_, and +Colston purposely mystified him with the apparent miracle of his +presence in Tiumen after so short an absence from London, in order to +command his more complete obedience in the momentous work that was on +hand. + +He allowed the official a few moments to absorb the full wonder of +the seeming marvel, and then he replied-- + +"Yes, we are all his servants _to the death_. At least I know of none +who have even thought of treason to him and lived to put their +thoughts into action. But tell me, are all the arrangements complete +as far as you can make them? Much depends upon how you carry them +out, you know, to say nothing of the two thousand roubles that I +shall hand to you as soon as the two ladies are delivered into my +charge." + +"All is arranged, Nobleness," replied the official, bowing +involuntarily at the mention of the money. "Such of the prisoners, +that is to say the politicals, who can afford to pay for the +privilege, may, by the new regulations, be lodged in the houses of +approved persons during their sojourn in Tiumen, if it be only for a +night, and so escape the common prison. + +"We knew at the police bureau of the arrest of the Princess Ornovski +some days ago, and I have obtained permission from the chief of +police to lodge her Highness and her companion in misfortune--if they +are prepared to pay what I shall ask. It has come to be looked upon +as a sort of perquisite of diligent officials, and as I have been +very diligent here I had no difficulty in getting the +permission--which I shall have to pay for in due course." + +"Just so! Nothing for nothing in Russian official circles. Very good. +Now listen. If this escape is successfully accomplished you will be +degraded and probably punished into the bargain for letting the +prisoners slip through your fingers. But that must not happen if it +can be prevented. + +"Now this has been foreseen, as everything is with the Master; and +his orders are that you shall take this passport--which you will find +in perfect order, save for the fact that the date has been slightly +altered--from me as soon as I have got the ladies safely in the +troika out on the Tobolsk road, put off the livery of the Tsar, +disguise yourself as effectually as may be, and take the first train +back to Perm and Nizhni Novgorod as Stepan Bakuinin, fur merchant. + +"The servant you can leave behind on any excuse. From Novgorod you +can travel _viâ_ Moscow to Königsberg, and, if you will take my +advice, you will get out of Russia as soon as the Fates will let +you." + +"It shall be done, Nobleness. But how will the disappearance of +Dmitri Soudeikin, sub-commissioner of police, be accounted for?" + +"That also has been provided for. Before you go you will pin this +with a dagger to your sitting-room table." + +The official took the little piece of paper which Colston held out to +him as he spoke. It read thus-- + + Dmitri Soudeikin, sub-commissioner of police at Tiumen, has been + removed for over-zeal in the service of the Tsar. + + NATAS. + +Soudeikin bowed almost to the ground as the dreaded name of the +Master of the Terror met his eyes, and then he said, as he handed the +paper back-- + +"It is so! The Master sees all, and cares for the least of his +servants. My life shall be forfeited if the ladies are not released +as I have said." + +"It probably will be," returned Colston drily. "None of us expect to +get out of this business alive if it does not succeed. Now that is +all I have to say for the present. It is for you to bring the ladies +here as your prisoners, to see us out of the town before daybreak, +and to have the troika in readiness for us on the Tobolsk road. Then +see to yourself and I will be responsible for the rest." + +As it still wanted more than two hours to the expected arrival of the +train, Soudeikin had the samovar, or tea-urn, brought in, and Colston +and Ivan made a hearty meal after their five-mile walk through the +snow. Then they and their host lit their pipes, and smoked and +chatted until a distant whistle warned Soudeikin that the train was +at last approaching the station, and that it was time for him to be +on duty to receive his convict-lodgers. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +FOR LIFE OR DEATH. + + +No time had ever seemed so long to Colston as did the hour and a half +which passed after the departure of Soudeikin until his return. He +would have given anything to have accompanied him to the station, but +it would have been so very unwise to have incurred the risk of being +questioned, and perhaps obliged to show the passport that Soudeikin +was to use, that he controlled his impatience as best he could, and +let events take their course. + +At length, when he had looked at his watch for the fiftieth time, and +found that it indicated nearly half-past eleven, there was a heavy +knock at the door. As it opened, Colston heard a rattle of arms and a +clinking of chains. Then there was a sound of gruff guttural voices +in the entrance-hall, and the next moment the door of the room was +thrown open, and Soudeikin walked in, followed by a young man in the +uniform of a lieutenant of the line, and after them came two +soldiers, to one of whom was handcuffed the Princess Ornovski, and to +the other Natasha. + +Shocked as he was at the pitiable change that had taken place in the +appearance of the two prisoners since he had last seen them in +freedom, Colston was far too well trained in the school of conspiracy +to let the slightest sign of surprise or recognition escape him. + +He and Ivan rose as the party entered, greeted Soudeikin and saluted +the officer, hardly glancing at the two pale, haggard women in their +rough grey shapeless gowns and hoods as they stood beside the men to +whom they were chained. + +As the officer returned Colston's salute he turned to Soudeikin and +said civilly enough-- + +"I did not know you had another guest. I hope we shall not overcrowd +you." + +"By no means," replied the commissioner, waving his hand toward +Colston as he spoke. "This is only my nephew, Ernst Vronski, who is +staying with me for a day or two on his way through to Nizhni +Novgorod with his furs, and that is his servant, Ivan Arkavitch. You +need not be uneasy. I have plenty of rooms, as I live almost alone, +and I have set apart one for the prisoners which I think will satisfy +you in every way. Would it please you to come and see it?" + +"Yes, we will go now and get them put in safety for the night, if you +will lead the way." + +As the party left the room Colston caught one swift glance from +Natasha which told him that she understood his presence in the house +fully, and he felt that, despite her miserable position, he had an +ally in her who could be depended upon. + +The officer carefully examined the room which had been provided for +the two prisoners, tried the heavy shutters with which the windows +were closed, and took from Soudeikin the keys of the padlocks to the +bars which ran across them. He then directed the prisoners to be +released from their handcuffs and locked them in the room, stationing +one of the soldiers at the door and sending the other to patrol the +back of the house from which the two windows of the room looked out. + +At the end of two hours the sentries were to change places, and in +two hours more they were to be relieved by a detachment from the +night patrol. This arrangement had been foreseen by Soudeikin, and it +had been settled that the rescue was to be attempted as soon as the +guard had been changed. + +This would give the prisoners time to get a brief but much needed +rest after their long and miserable journey from Perm, penned up like +sheep in iron-barred cattle trucks, and it would leave the drowsiest +part of the night, from four o'clock to sunrise, for the hazardous +work in hand. + +"That is a pretty girl you have there, captain," said Colston, as the +officer returned to the sitting-room. "Is she for the mines or +Sakhalin?" + +"For Sakhalin by sentence, but as a matter of fact for neither, as +far as I can see." + +"You mean that the Little Father will pardon her or give her a +lighter sentence, I suppose." + +The officer grinned meaningly as he replied-- + +"_Nu vot!_ That is hardly likely. What I mean is that Captain +Kharkov, who is in command of the convict train from here, has had +instructions to convey her as comfortably as possible, and with no +more fatigue than is necessary, to Tchit, in the Trans-Baikal, and +that he is also charged with a letter from the Governor of Perm to +the Governor of Tchit. + +"You know these gentlemen like to do each other a good turn when they +can, and so, putting two and two together, I should say that his +Excellency of Perm has concluded that our pretty prisoner will serve +to beguile the dulness of that Godforsaken hole in which his +Excellency of Tchit is probably dying of _ennui_. She will be more +comfortable there than at Sakhalin, and it is a lucky thing for her +that she has found favour in his Excellency's eyes." + +Colston could have shot the fellow where he sat leering across the +table; but though his blood was at boiling point, he controlled +himself sufficiently to make a reply after the same fashion, and soon +after took his leave and retired for the night. + +At four o'clock the guard was changed. The new officer, after taking +the keys, unlocked the door of the room in which Natasha and the +Princess were confined, and roused them up to satisfy himself that +they were still in safe keeping. It was a brutal formality, but +perfectly characteristic of Siberian officialism. + +The man who had been on guard so far joined the patrol and returned +to the barracks, while the new officer made himself comfortable with +a bottle of brandy, with which Soudeikin had obligingly provided him, +in the sitting-room. It was a bitterly cold night, and he drank a +couple of glasses of it in quick succession. Ten minutes after he had +swallowed the second he rolled backwards on the couch on which he was +sitting and went fast asleep. A few moments later he had ceased to +breathe. + +Then the door opened softly and Soudeikin and Colston slipped into +the room. The former shook him by the shoulder. His eyes remained +half closed, his head lolled loosely from side to side, and his arms +hung heavily downwards. + +"He's gone," whispered Soudeikin; and, without another word, they set +to work to strip the uniform off the lifeless body. Then Colston +dressed himself in it and gave his own clothes to Soudeikin. + +As soon as the change was effected, Colston took the keys and went to +the door at which the sentry was keeping guard. The man was already +half asleep, and blinked at him with drowsy eyes as he challenged +him. For all answer the Terrorist levelled his pistol at his head and +fired. There was a sharp crack that could hardly have been heard on +the other side of the wall, and the man tumbled down with a bullet +through his brain. + +Colston stepped over the corpse, unlocked the door, and found Natasha +and the Princess already dressed in male attire as two peasant boys, +with sheepskin coats and shapkas, and wide trousers tucked into their +half boots. These disguises had been provided beforehand by +Soudeikin, and hidden in the bed in which they were to sleep. + +Colston grasped their hands in silence, and the three left the room. +In the passage they found Ivan and Soudeikin, the former dressed in +the uniform of the soldier who had been on guard outside the house, +and whose half-stripped corpse was now lying buried in the snow. + +"Ready?" whispered Soudeikin. + +"Have you finished in there?" asked Colston, jerking his thumb +towards the sitting-room. + +Soudeikin nodded in reply, and the five left the house by the back +door. + +It was then after half-past four. Fortunately it was a dark cloudy +morning, and the streets of the town were utterly deserted. By ones +and twos they stole through the by-streets and lanes without meeting +a soul, until Soudeikin at length stopped at a house on the eastern +edge of the town about a mile from the Tobolsk road. + +He tapped at one of the windows. The door was softly opened by an +invisible hand, and they entered and passed through a dark passage +and out into a stable-yard behind the house. Under a shed they found +a troika, or three-horse sleigh, with the horses ready harnessed, in +charge of a man dressed as a mujik. + +They got in without a word, all but Soudeikin, who went to the +horses' heads, while the other man went and opened the gates of the +yard. The bells had been removed from the harness, and the horses' +feet made no sound as Soudeikin led them out through the gate. Ivan +took the reins, and Colston held out his hand from the sleigh. There +was a roll of notes in it, and as he gave it to Soudeikin he +whispered-- + +"Farewell! If we succeed, the Master shall know how well you have +done your part." + +Soudeikin took the money with a salute and a whispered farewell, and +Ivan trotted his horses quietly down the lane and swung round into +the road at the end of it. + +So far all had gone well, but the supreme moment of peril had yet to +come. A mile away down the road was the guard-house on the Tobolsk +road leading out of the town, and this had to be passed before there +was even a chance of safety. + +As there was no hope of getting the sleigh past unobserved, Colston +had determined to trust to a rush when the moment came. He had given +Natasha and the Princess a magazine pistol apiece, and held a brace +in his own hands; so among them they had a hundred shots. + +Ivan kept his horses at an easy trot till they were within a hundred +yards of the guard-house. Then, at a sign from Colston, he suddenly +lashed them into a gallop, and the sleigh dashed forward at a +headlong speed, swept round the curve past the guard-house, hurling +one of the sentries on guard to the earth, and away out on to the +Tobolsk road. + +The next instant the notes of a bugle rang out clear and shrill just +as another sounded from the other end of the town. Colston at once +guessed what had happened. The inspector of the patrols, in going his +rounds, had called at Soudeikin's house to see if all was right, and +had discovered the tragedy that had taken place. He looked back and +saw a body of Cossacks galloping down the main street towards the +guard-house, waving their lanterns and brandishing their spears above +their heads. + +"Whip up, Ivan, they will be on us in a couple of minutes!" he cried +and Ivan swung his long whip out over his horses' ears, and shouted +at them till they put their heads down and tore over the smooth snow +in gallant style. + +By the time the race for life or death really began they had a good +mile start, and as they had only four more to go Ivan did not spare +his cattle, but plied whip and voice with a will till the trees +whirled past in a continuous dark line, and the sleigh seemed to fly +over the snow almost without touching it. + +Still the Cossacks gained on them yard by yard, till at the end of +the fourth mile they were less than three hundred yards behind. Then +Colston leant over the back of the sleigh, and taking the best aim he +could, sent half a dozen shots among them. He saw a couple of the +flying figures reel and fall, but their comrades galloped heedlessly +over them, yelling wildly at the tops of their voices, and every +moment lessening the distance between themselves and the sleigh. + +Colston fired a dozen more shots into them, and had the satisfaction +of seeing three or four of them roll into the snow. At the same time +he put a whistle to his lips, and blew a long shrill call that +sounded high and clear above the hoarse yells of the Cossacks. + +Their pursuers were now within a hundred yards of them, and Natasha, +speaking for the first time since the race had begun, said-- + +"I think I can do something now." + +As she spoke she leaned out of the sleigh sideways, and began firing +rapidly at the Cossacks. Shot after shot told either upon man or +beast, for the daughter of Natas was one of the best shots in the +Brotherhood; but before she had fired a dozen times a bright gleam of +white light shot downwards over the trees, apparently from the +clouds, full in the faces of their pursuers. + +Involuntarily they reined up like one man, and their yells of fury +changed in an instant into a general cry of terror. The Cossacks are +as brave as any soldiers on earth, and they can fight any mortal foe +like the fiends that they are, but here was an enemy they had never +seen before, a strange, white, ghostly-looking thing that floated in +the clouds and glared at them with a great blazing, blinding eye, +dazzling them and making their horses plunge and rear like things +possessed. + +They were not long left in doubt as to the intentions of their new +enemy. Something came rushing through the air and struck the ground +almost at the feet of their first rank. Then there was a flash of +green light, a stunning report, and men and horses were rent into +fragments and hurled into the air like dead leaves before a +hurricane. + +Only three or four who had turned tail at once were left alive; and +these, without daring to look behind them, drove their spurs into +their horses' flanks and galloped back to Tiumen, half mad with +terror, to tell how a demon had come down from the skies, annihilated +their comrades, and carried the fugitives away into the clouds upon +its back. + +When they reached the town it was a scene of the utmost panic. +Soldiers were galloping and running hither and thither, bugles were +sounding, and the whole population were turning out into the +snow-covered streets. On every lip there were only two +words--"Natas!" "The Terrorists!" + +The death sentence on Soudeikin, the sub-commissioner of police, had +been found pinned with a dagger to the table in the room in which lay +the body of the lieutenant, with the bloody *T* on his forehead. +Soudeikin had vanished utterly, leaving only his uniform behind him; +so had the two prisoners for whom he had made himself responsible, +and at the door of their room lay the corpse of the sentry with a +bullet-hole clean through his head from front to back, while in the +snow under one of the windows of the room lay the body of the other +sentry, stabbed through the heart. + +From the very midst of one of the strongholds of Russian tyranny in +Siberia, two important prisoners and a police official had been +spirited away as though by magic, and now upon the top of all the +wonder and dismay came the fugitive Cossacks with their wild tale +about the air-demon that had swooped down and destroyed their troop +at a single blow. To crown all, half an hour later three horses, mad +with fear, came galloping up the Tobolsk road, dragging behind them +an empty sleigh, to one of the seats of which was pinned a scrap of +paper on which was written-- + +"The daughter of Natas sends greeting to the Governor of Tiumen, and +thanks him for his hospitality." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MOMENT. + + +On the morning of Tuesday, the 9th of March 1904, the _Times_ +published the following telegram at the head of its Foreign +Intelligence:-- + + ASTOUNDING OCCURRENCE IN RUSSIA. + + _Destruction of Kronstadt by an unknown Air-Ship._ + (_From our own Correspondent._) + + St. Petersburg, _March 8th_, 4 P.M. + + Between six and seven this morning, the fortress of Kronstadt was + partially destroyed by an unknown air-ship, which was first + sighted approaching from the westward at a tremendous speed. + + Four shots in all were fired upon the fortress, and produced the + most appalling destruction. There was no smoke or flame visible + from the guns of the air-ship, and the explosives with which the + missiles were charged must have been far more powerful than + anything hitherto used in warfare, as in the focus of the + explosion masses of iron and steel and solid masonry were + instantly reduced to powder. + + Two shots were fired as the strange vessel approached, and two as + she left the fortress. The two latter exploded over one of the + powder magazines, dissolved the steel roof to dust, and ignited + the whole contents of the magazine, blowing that portion of the + fortification bodily into the sea. At least half the garrison has + disappeared, most of the unfortunate men having been practically + annihilated by the terrific force of the explosions. + + The air-ship was not of the navigable balloon type, and is + described by the survivors as looking more like a flying + torpedo-boat than anything else. She flew no flag, and there is + no clue to her origin. + + After destroying the fortress, she ascended several thousand + feet, and continued her eastward course at such a prodigious + speed, that in less than five minutes she was lost to sight. + + The excitement in St. Petersburg almost reaches the point of + panic. All efforts to keep the news of the disaster secret have + completely failed, and I have therefore received permission to + send this telegram, which has been revised by the Censorship, and + may therefore be accepted as authentic. + +Within an hour of the appearance of this telegram, which appeared +only in the _Times_, the Russian Censorship having refused to allow +any more to be despatched, the astounding news was flying over the +wires to every corner of the world. + +The _Times_ had a lengthy and very able article on the subject, +which, although by no means alarmist in tone, told the world, in +grave and weighty sentences, that there could now be no doubt but +that the problem of aërial navigation had been completely solved, and +that therefore mankind stood confronted by a power that was +practically irresistible, and which changed the whole aspect of +warfare by land and sea. + +In the face of this power, the fortresses, armies, and fleets of the +world were useless and helpless. The destruction of Kronstadt had +proved that to demonstration. From a height of several thousand feet, +and a distance of nearly seven miles, the unknown air-vessel had +practically destroyed, with four shots from her mysterious, +smokeless, and flameless guns, the strongest fortress in Europe. If +it could do that, and there was not the slightest doubt but that it +had done so, it could destroy armies wholesale without a chance of +reprisals, sink fleets, and lay cities in ruins, at the leisure of +those who commanded it. + +And here arose the supreme question of the hour--a question beside +which all other questions of national or international policy sank +instantly into insignificance--Who were those who held this new and +appalling power in their hands? It was hardly to be believed that +they were representatives of any regularly-constituted national +Power, for, although the air was full of rumours of war, there was at +present unbroken peace all over the world. + +Even in the hands of a recognised Power, the possession of such a +frightful engine of destruction could not be viewed by the rest of +the world with anything but the gravest apprehension, for that Power, +however insignificant otherwise, would now be in a position to +terrorise any other nation, or league of nations, however great. +Manifestly those who had built the one air-vessel that had been seen, +and had given such conclusive proof of her terrible powers, could +construct a fleet if they chose to do so, and then the world would be +at their mercy. + +If, however, as seemed only too probable, the machine was in the +hands of a few irresponsible individuals, or, still worse, in those +of such enemies of humanity as the Nihilists, or that yet more +mysterious and terrible society who were popularly known as the +Terrorists, then indeed the outlook was serious beyond forecast or +description. At any moment the forces of destruction and anarchy +might be let loose upon the world, in such fashion that little less +than the collapse of the whole fabric of Society might be expected as +the result. + + * * * * * + +The above necessarily brief and imperfect digest gives only the +headings of an article which filled nearly two columns of the +_Times_, and it is needless to say that such an article in the +leading columns of the most serious and respectable newspaper in the +world produced an intense impression wherever it was read. + +Of course the telegram was instantly copied by the evening papers, +which ran out special editions for the sole purpose of reproducing +it, with their own comments upon it, which, after all, were not much +more original than the telegram. Meanwhile the _Berliner Tageblatt_, +the _Newe Freie Presse_, the _Kölnische Zeitung_, and the _Journal +des Débats_ had received later and somewhat similar telegrams, and +had given their respective views of the catastrophe to the world. + +By noon all the capitals of Europe were in a fever of expectation and +apprehension. The cables had carried the news to America and India; +and when the evening of the same day brought the telegraphic account +of the extraordinary occurrence at Tiumen in the grey dusk of the +early morning, proving almost conclusively that the rescue had been +effected by the same agency that had destroyed Kronstadt, and that, +worse than all, the air-vessel was at the command of Natas, the +unknown Chief of the mysterious Terrorists, excitement rose almost to +frenzy, and everywhere the wildest rumours were accepted as truth. + +In a word, the "psychological moment" had come all over Europe, the +moment in which all men were thinking of the same thing, discussing +the same event, and dreading the same results. To have found a +parallel state of affairs, it would have been necessary to go back +more than a hundred years, to the hour when the head of Louis XVI. +fell into the basket of the guillotine, and the monarchies of Europe +sprang to arms to avenge his death. + +Meanwhile other and not less momentous events had, unknown to the +newspapers or the public, been taking place in three very different +parts of the world. + +On the evening of Saturday, the 6th, Lord Alanmere had called upon +Mr. Balfour in Downing Street, and laid the duplicates of the secret +treaty between France and Russia, and copies of all the memoranda +appertaining to it, before him, and had convinced him of their +authenticity. At the same time he showed him plans of the +war-balloons, of which a fleet of fifty would within a few days be at +the command of the Tsar. + +The result of this interview was a meeting of a Cabinet Council, and +the immediate despatch of secret orders to mobilise the fleet and the +army, to put every available ship into commission, and to double the +strength of the Mediterranean Squadron at once. That evening three +Queen's messengers left Charing Cross by the night mail, one for +Berlin, one for Vienna, and one for Rome, each of them bearing a copy +of the secret treaty. + +On Monday morning a Council of Ministers was held at the Peterhof +Palace in St. Petersburg, presided over by the Tsar, and convened to +discuss the destruction of Kronstadt. + +At this Council it was announced that the fleet of war-balloons would +be ready to take the air in a week's time from then, and that the +concentration of troops on the Afghan frontier was as complete as it +could be without provoking immediate hostilities with Britain. In +fact, so close were the Cossacks and the Indian troops to each other, +both on the Pamirs and on the western slopes of the Hindu Kush, that +a collision might be expected at any moment. + +The Council of the Tsar decided to let matters take their course in +the East, and to make all arrangements with France to simultaneously +attack the Triple Alliance as soon as the war-balloons had been +satisfactorily tested. + +Soon after daybreak on Wednesday, the 10th, an affair of outposts +took place near the northern end of the Sir Ulang Pass of the Hindu +Kush, between two considerable bodies of Cossacks and Ghoorkhas, in +which, after a stubborn fight, the Russians gave way before the +magazine fire of the Indian troops, and fled, leaving nearly a fourth +of their number on the field. + +The news of this encounter reached London on Wednesday night, and was +published in the papers on Thursday morning, together with the +intelligence that the fight had been watched from a height of nearly +three thousand feet by a small party of men and women in an air-ship, +evidently a vessel of war, from the fact that she carried four long +guns. She took no part in the fight, and as soon as it was over went +off to the south-west at a speed which carried her out of sight in a +few minutes. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. + + +While all Europe was thrilling with the apprehension of approaching +war, and the excitement caused by the appearance of the strange +air-ship and the news of its terrible exploits at Kronstadt and +Tiumen, the _Ariel_ herself was quietly pursuing her way in mid-air +south-westerly from the scene of the skirmish outside the Sir Ulang +Pass. + +She was bound for a region in the midst of Africa, which, even in the +first decade of the twentieth century, was still unknown to the +geographer and untrodden by the explorer. + +Fenced in by huge and precipitous mountains, round whose bases lay +vast forests and impenetrable swamps and jungles, from whose deadly +areas the boldest pioneers had turned aside as being too hopelessly +inhospitable to repay the cost and toil of exploration, it had +remained undiscovered and unknown save by two men, who had reached it +by the only path by which it was accessible--through the air and over +the mountains which shut it in on every side from the external world. + +These two adventurous travellers were a wealthy and eccentric +Englishman, named Louis Holt, and Thomas Jackson, his devoted +retainer, and these two had taken it into their heads--or rather +Louis Holt had taken it into his head--to achieve in fact the feat +which Jules Verne had so graphically described in fiction, and to +cross Africa in a balloon. + +They had set out from Zanzibar towards the end of the last year of +the nineteenth century, and, with the exception of one or two vague +reports from the interior, nothing more had been heard of them until, +nearly a year later, a collapsed miniature balloon had been picked up +in the Gulf of Guinea by the captain of a trading steamer, who had +found in the little car attached to it a hermetically sealed +meat-tin, which contained a manuscript, the contents of which will +become apparent in due course. + +The captain of the steamer was a practical and somewhat stupid man, +who read the manuscript with considerable scepticism, and then put it +away, having come to the conclusion that it was no business of his, +and that there was no money in it anyhow. He thought nothing more of +it until he got back to Liverpool, and then he gave it to a friend of +his, who was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and who duly +laid it before that body. + +It was published in the _Transactions_, and there was some talk of +sending out an expedition under the command of an eminent explorer to +rescue Louis Holt and his servant; but when that personage was +approached on the subject, it was found that the glory would not be +at all commensurate with the expense and risk, and so, after being +the usual nine days' wonder, and being duly elaborated by several +able editors in the daily and weekly press, the strange adventures of +Louis Holt had been dismissed, as of doubtful authenticity, into the +limbo of exhausted sensations. + +One man, however, had laid the story to heart somewhat more +seriously, and that was Richard Arnold, who, on reading it, had +formed the resolve that, if ever his dream of aërial navigation were +realised, the first use he would make of his air-ship would be to +discover and rescue the lonely travellers who were isolated from the +rest of the world in the strange, inaccessible region of which the +manuscript had given a brief but graphic and fascinating account. He +was now carrying out that resolve, and at the same time working out a +portion of a plan that was not his own, and which he had been very +far from foreseeing when he made the resolution. + +Louis Holt's original MS. had been purchased by the President of the +Inner Circle, and the _Ariel_ was now, in fact, on a voyage of +exploration, the object of which was the discovery of this unknown +region, with a view to making it the seat of a settlement from which +the members of the Executive could watch in security and peace the +course of the tremendous struggle which would, ere long, be shaking +the world to its foundations. + +In such a citadel as this, fenced in by a series of vast natural +obstacles, impassable to all who did not possess the means of aërial +locomotion, they would be secure from molestation, though all the +armies of Europe sought to attack them; and the _Ariel_ could, if +necessary, traverse in twenty-five hours the three thousand odd miles +which separated it from the centre of Europe. + +After the rescue of Natasha and the Princess on the Tobolsk road, the +_Ariel_, in obedience to the orders of the Council, had shaped her +course southward to the western slopes of the Hindu Kush, in order to +be present at the prearranged attack of the Cossacks on the British +reconnoitring force. + +Arnold's orders were simply to wait for the engagement, and only to +watch it, unless the British were attacked in overwhelming numbers. +In that case he was to have dispersed the Russian force, as the plan +of the Terrorists did not allow of any advantage being gained by the +soldiers of the Tsar in that part of the world just then. + +As the British had defeated them unaided, the _Ariel_ had taken no +part in the affair, and, after vanishing from the sight of the +astonished combatants, had proceeded upon her voyage of discovery. + +As a good month would have to elapse before she could keep her +rendezvous with the steamer that was to bring out the materials for +the construction of the new air-ships from England, there was plenty +of time to make the voyage in a leisurely and comfortable fashion. As +soon, therefore, as he was out of sight of the skirmishers, he had +reduced the speed of the _Ariel_ to about forty miles an hour, using +only the stern-propeller driven by one engine, and supporting the +ship on the air-planes and two fan-wheels. + +At this speed he would traverse the three thousand odd miles which +lay between the Hindu Kush and "Aeria"--as Louis Holt had somewhat +fancifully named the region that could be reached only through the +air--in a little over seventy-five hours, or rather more than three +days. + +Those three days were the happiest that his life had so far +contained. The complete success of his invention, and the absolute +fulfilment of his promises to the Brotherhood, had made him a power +in the world, and a power which, as he honestly believed, would be +used for the highest good of mankind when the time came to finally +confront and confound the warring forces of rival despotisms. + +But far more than this in his eyes was the fact that he had been able +to use the unique power which his invention had placed in his hands, +to rescue the woman that he loved so dearly from a fate which, even +now that it was past, he could not bring himself to contemplate. + +When she had first greeted him in the Council-chamber of the Inner +Circle, the distance that had separated her from him had seemed +immeasurable, and she--the daughter of Natas and the idol of the most +powerful society in the world--might well have looked down upon +him--the nameless dreamer of an unrealised dream, and a pauper, who +would not have known where to have looked for his next meal, had the +Brotherhood not had faith in him and his invention. + +But now all that was changed. The dream had become the reality, and +the creation of his genius was bearing her with him swiftly and +smoothly through a calm atmosphere, and under a cloudless sky, over +sea and land, with more ease than a bird wings its flight through +space. He had accomplished the greatest triumph in the history of +human discovery. He had revolutionised the world, and ere long he +would make war impossible. Surely this entitled him to approach even +her on terms of equality, and to win her for his own if he could. + +Natasha saw this too as clearly as he did--more clearly, perhaps; +for, while he only arrived at the conclusion by a process of +reasoning, she reached it intuitively at a single step. She knew that +he loved her, that he had loved her from the moment that their hands +had first met in greeting, and, peerless as she was among women, she +was still a woman, and the homage of such a man as this was sweet to +her, albeit it was still unspoken. + +She knew, too, that the hopes of the Revolution, which, before all +things human, claimed her whole-souled devotion, now depended mainly +upon him, and the use that he might make of the power that lay in his +hands, and this of itself was no light bond between them, though not +necessarily having anything to do with affection. + +So far she was heart-whole, and though many had attempted the task, +no man had yet made her pulses beat a stroke faster for his sake. +Ever since she had been old enough to know what tyranny meant, she +had been trained to hate it, and prepared to work against it, and, if +necessary, to sacrifice herself body and soul to destroy it. + +Thus hatred rather than love had been the creed of her life and the +mainspring of her actions, and, save her father and her one friend +Radna, she stood aloof from mankind and its loves and friendships, +rather the beautiful incarnation of an abstract principle than a +woman, to whom love and motherhood were the highest aims of +existence. + +More than this, she was the daughter of a Jew, and therefore held +herself absolutely at her father's disposal as far as marriage was +concerned, and if he had given her in wedlock even to a Russian +official, telling her that the Cause demanded the sacrifice, she +would have obeyed, though her heart had broken in the same hour. + +Although he had never hinted directly at such a thing, the conviction +had been growing upon her for the last two or three years that Natas +really intended her to marry Tremayne, and so, in the case of his own +death, form a bond that should hold him to the Brotherhood when the +chain of his own control was snapped. Though she instinctively shrank +from such a union of mere policy, she would enter it without +hesitation at her father's bidding, and for the sake of the Cause to +which her life was devoted. + +How great such a sacrifice would be, should it ever be asked of her, +no one but herself could ever know, for she was perfectly well aware +that in Tremayne's strange double life there were two loves, one of +which, and that not the real and natural one, was hers. + +Had she felt that she had the disposal of herself in her own hands, +she would not, perhaps, have waited with such painful apprehension +the avowal which hour after hour, now that they were brought into +such close and constant relationships on board this little vessel +high in mid-air, she saw trembling on the lips of her rescuer. + +Arnold's life of hard, honest work, and his constant habit of facing +truth in its most uncompromising forms, had made dissimulation almost +impossible to him; and added to that, situated as he was, there was +no necessity for it. Colston knew of his love, and the Princess had +guessed it long ago. Did Natasha know his open secret? Of that he +hardly dared to be sure, though something told him that the +inevitable moment of knowledge was near at hand. + +For the first twenty-four hours of the voyage he had seen very little +of either her or the Princess, as they had mostly remained in their +cabins, enjoying a complete rest after the terrible fatigue and +suffering they had gone through since their capture in Moscow, but on +the Thursday morning they had had breakfast in the saloon with him +and Colston, and had afterwards spent a portion of the morning on +deck, deeply interested in watching the fight between the British and +Russians. Thanks to Radna's foresight, they had each found a trunk +full of suitable clothing on board the _Ariel_. These had been taken +to Drumcraig by Colston, and placed in the cabins intended for their +use, and so they were able to discard the uncouth but useful costumes +in which they had made their escape. + +In the afternoon Arnold had had to perform the pleasant task of +showing them over the _Ariel_, explaining the working of the +machinery, and putting the wonderful vessel through various +evolutions to show what she was capable of doing. + +He rushed her at full speed through the air, took flying leaps over +outlying spurs of mountain ranges that lay in their path, swooped +down into valleys, and flew over level plains fifty yards from the +ground, like an albatross over the surface of a smooth tropic sea. +Then he soared up from the earth again, until the horizon widened out +to vast extent, and they could see the mighty buttresses of "the Roof +of the World" stretching out below them in an endless succession of +ranges as far as the eye could reach. + +Neither Natasha nor the Princess could find words to at all +adequately express all that they saw and learnt during that day of +wonders, and all night Natasha could hardly sleep for waking dreams +of universal empire, and a world at peace equitably ruled by a power +that had no need of aggression, because all the realms of earth and +air belonged to those who wielded it. + +When at last she did go to sleep, it was to dream again, and this +time of herself, the Angel of the Revolution, sharing the aërial +throne of the world-empire with the man who had made revolutions +impossible by striking the sword from the hand of the tyrants of +earth for ever. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A WOOING IN MID AIR. + + +After breakfast on the Friday morning, Natasha and Arnold were +standing in the bows of the _Ariel_, admiring the magnificent +panorama that lay stretched out five thousand feet below them. + +The air-ship had by this time covered a little over 2000 miles of her +voyage, and was now speeding smoothly and swiftly along over the +south-western shore of the Red Sea, a few miles southward of the +sixteenth parallel of latitude. Eastward the bright blue waves of the +sea were flashing behind them in the cloudless morning sun; the high +mountains of the African coast rose to right and left and in front of +them; and through the breaks in the chain they could see the huge +masses of Abyssinia to the southward, and the vast plains that +stretched away westward across the Blue and White Niles, away to the +confines of the Libyan Desert. + +"What a glorious world!" exclaimed Natasha, after gazing for many +silent minutes with entranced eyes over the limitless landscape. "And +to think that, after all, all this is but a little corner of it!" + +"It is yours, Natasha, if you will have it," replied Arnold quietly, +yet with a note in his voice that warned her that the moment which +she had expected and yet dreaded, had already come. There was no use +in avoiding the inevitable for a time. It would be better if they +understood each other at once; and so she looked round at him with +eyebrows elevated in well-simulated surprise, and said-- + +"Mine! What do you mean, my friend?" + +There was an almost imperceptible emphasis on the last word that +brought the blood to Arnold's cheek, and he answered, with a ring in +his voice that gave unmistakable evidence of the effort that he was +making to restrain the passion that inspired his words-- + +"I mean just what I say. All the kingdoms of the world, and the glory +of them, from pole to pole, and from east to west, shall be yours, +and shall obey your lightest wish. I have conquered the air, and +therefore the earth and sea. In two months from now I shall have an +aërial navy afloat that will command the world, and I--is it not +needless to tell you, Natasha, why I glory in the possession of that +power? Surely you must know that it is because I love you more than +all that a subject world can give me, and because it makes it +possible for me, if not to win you, at least not to be unworthy to +attempt the task?" + +It was a distinctly unconventional declaration--such a one, indeed, +as no woman had ever heard since Alexander the Great had whispered in +the ears of Lais his dreams of universal empire, but there was a +straightforward earnestness about it which convinced her beyond +question that it came from no ordinary man, but from one who saw the +task before him clearly, and had made up his mind to achieve it. + +For a moment her heart beat faster than it had ever yet done at the +bidding of a man's voice, and there was a bright flush on her cheeks, +and a softer light in her eyes, as she replied in a more serious tone +than Arnold had ever heard her use-- + +"My friend, you have forgotten something. You and I are not a man and +a woman in the relationship that exists between us. We are two +factors in a work such as has never been undertaken since the world +began; two units in a mighty problem whose solution is the happiness +or the ruin of the whole human race. It is not for us to speak of +individual love while these tremendous issues hang undecided in the +balance. + +"One does not speak of love in the heat of war, and you and I and +those who are with us are at war with the powers of the earth, and +higher things than the happiness of individuals are at stake. You +know my training has been one of hate and not of love, and till the +hate is quenched I must not know what love is. + +"Remember your oath--the oath which I have taken as well as you--'_As +long as I live those ends shall be my ends, and no human +considerations shall weigh with me where those ends are concerned._' +Is not this love of which you speak a human consideration that might +clash with the purposes of the Brotherhood whose ends you and I have +solemnly sworn to hold supreme above all earthly things? + +"My father has told me that when love takes possession of a human +soul, reason abdicates her throne, and great aims become impossible. +No, no; that great power which you hold in your hands was not given +you just to win the love of a woman, and I tell you frankly that you +will never win mine with it. + +"More than this, if I saw you using it for such an end, I would take +care that you did not use it for long. No man ever had such an awful +responsibility laid upon him as the possession of this power lays +upon you. It is yours to make or mar the future of the human race, of +which I am but a unit. It is not the power that will ever win either +my respect or my love, but the wisdom and the justice with which it +may be used." + +"Ah! I see you distrust me. You think that because I have the power +to be a despot, that therefore I may forget my oath and become one. I +forgive you for the thought, unworthy of you as it is, and also, I +hope, of me. No, Natasha; I am no skilled hand at love-making, for I +have never wooed any mistress but one before to-day, and she is won +only by plain honesty and hard service; just what I will devote to +the winning of you, whether you are to be won or not--but I must have +expressed myself clumsily indeed for you to have even thought of +treason to the Cause. + +"You are no more devoted adherent of it than I am. You have suffered +in one way and I in another from the falsehood and rottenness of +present-day Society, but you do not hate it more utterly than I do, +and you would not go to greater lengths than I would to destroy it. +Yours is a hatred of emotion, and mine is a hatred of reason. I have +proved that, as Society is constituted, it is the worst and not the +best qualities of humanity that win wealth and power, and such +respect as the vulgar of all classes can give. But it is not such +power as this that I would lay at your feet, when I ask you to share +the world-empire with me. It is an empire of peace and not of war +that I shall offer to you." + +"Then," said Natasha, taking a step towards him, and laying her hand +on his arm as she spoke, "when you have made war impossible to the +rivalry of nations and races, and have proclaimed peace on earth, +then I will give myself to you, body and soul, to do with as you +please, to kill or to keep alive, for then truly you will have done +that which all the generations of men before you have failed to do, +and it will be yours to ask and to have." + +As she spoke these last words Natasha bowed her proudly-carried head +as though in submission to the dictum that her own lips had +pronounced; and Arnold, laying his hand on hers and holding it for a +moment unresisting in his own, said-- + +"I accept the condition, and as you have said so shall it be. You +shall hear no more words of love from my lips until the day that +peace shall be proclaimed on earth and war shall be no more; and when +that day comes, as it shall do, I will hold you to your words, and I +will claim you and take you, body and soul, as you have said, though +I break every other human tie save man's love for woman to possess +you." + +Natasha looked him full in the eyes as he spoke these last words. She +had never heard such words before, and by their very strength and +audacity they compelled her respect and even her submission. Her +heart was still untamed and unconquered, and no man was its lord, yet +her eyes sank before the steady gaze of his, and in a low sweet voice +she answered-- + +"So be it! There never was a true woman yet who did not love to meet +her master. When that day comes I shall have met my master, and I +will do his bidding. Till then we are friends and comrades in a +common Cause to which both our lives are devoted. Is it not better +that it should be so?" + +"Yes, I am content. I would not take the prize before I have won it. +Only answer me one question frankly, and then I have done till I may +speak again." + +"What is that." + +"Have I a rival--not among men, for of that I am careless--but in +your own heart?" + +"No, none. I am heart-whole and heart-free. Win me if you can. It is +a fair challenge, and I will abide by the result, be it what it may." + +"That is all I ask for. If I do not win you, may Heaven do so to me +that I shall have no want of the love of woman for ever!" + +So saying, he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it, in token of +the compact that was made between them. Then, intuitively divining +that she wished to be alone, he turned away without another word, and +walked to the after end of the vessel. + +Natasha remained where she was for a good half-hour, leaning on the +rail that surrounded the deck, and gazing out dreamily over the +splendid and ever-changing scene that lay spread out beneath her. +Truly it was a glorious world, as she had said, even now, cursed as +it was with war and the hateful atrocities of human selfishness, and +the sordid ambition of its despots. + +What would it be like in the day when the sword should lie rusting on +the forgotten battle-field, and the cannon's mouth be choked with the +desert dust for ever? What was now a hell of warring passions would +then be a paradise of peaceful industry, and he who had the power, if +any man had, to turn that hell into the paradise that it might be, +had just told her that he loved her, and would create that paradise +for her sake. + +Could he do it? Was not this marvellous creation of his genius, that +was bearing her in mid-air over land and sea, as woman had never +travelled before, a sufficient earnest of his power? Truly it was. +And to be won by such a man was no mean destiny, even for her, the +daughter of Natas, and the peerless Angel of the Revolution. + +Situated as they were, it would of course have been impossible, even +if it had been in any way desirable, for Arnold and Natasha to have +kept their compact secret from their fellow-travellers, who were at +the same time their most intimate friends. + +There was not, however, the remotest reason for attempting to do so. +Although with regard to the rest of the world the members of the +Brotherhood were necessarily obliged to live lives of constant +dissimulation, among themselves they had no secrets from each other. + +Thus, for instance, it was perfectly well known that Tremayne, during +those periods of his double life in which he acted as Chief of the +Inner Circle, regarded the daughter of Natas with feelings much +warmer than those of friendship or brotherhood in a common cause, and +until Arnold and his wonderful creation appeared on the scene, he was +looked upon as the man who, if any man could, would some day win the +heart of their idolised Angel. + +Of the other love that was the passion of his other life, no one save +Natasha, and perhaps Natas himself, knew anything; and even if they +had known, they would not have considered it possible for any other +woman to have held a man's heart against the peerless charms of +Natasha. In fact they would have looked upon such rivalry as mere +presumption that it was not at all necessary for their incomparable +young Queen of the Terror to take into serious account. + +In Arnold, however, they saw a worthy rival even to the Chief +himself, for there was a sort of halo of romance, even in their eyes, +about this serious, quiet-spoken young genius, who had come suddenly +forth from the unknown obscurity of his past life to arm the +Brotherhood with a power which revolutionised their tactics and +virtually placed the world at their mercy. In a few months he had +become alike their hero and their supreme hope, so far as all active +operations went; and now that with his own hand he had snatched +Natasha from a fate of unutterable misery, and so signally punished +her persecutors, it seemed to be only in the fitness of things that +he should love her, win her for his own, if won she was to be by any +man. + +This, at any rate, was the line of thought which led the Princess and +Colston each to express their unqualified satisfaction with the state +of affairs arrived at in the compact that had been made between +Natasha and Arnold--"armed neutrality," as the former smilingly +described to the Princess while she was telling her of the strange +wooing of her now avowed lover. Natasha was no woman to be wooed and +won in the ordinary way, and it was fitting that she should be the +guerdon of such an achievement as no man had ever undertaken before, +since the world began. + +The voyage across Africa progressed pleasantly and almost +uneventfully for the thirty-six hours after the crossing of the Red +Sea. After passing over the mountains of the coast, the _Ariel_ had +travelled at a uniform height of about 3000 feet over a magnificent +country of hill and valley, forest and prairie, occasionally being +obliged to rise another thousand feet or so to cross some of the +ridges of mountain chains which rose into peaks and mountain knots, +some of which touched the snow-line. + +Several times the air-ship was sighted by the people of the various +countries over which she passed, and crowds swarmed out of the +villages and towns, gesticulating wildly, and firing guns and beating +drums to scare the flying demon away. + +Once or twice they heard bullets singing through the air, but of +these they took little heed, beyond quickening the speed of the +air-ship for the time, knowing that there was not a chance in a +hundred thousand of the _Ariel_ being hit, and that even if she were +the bullet would glance harmlessly off her smooth hull of hardened +aluminium. + +Once only they descended in a delightful little valley among the +mountains, which appeared to be totally uninhabited, and here they +renewed their store of fresh water, and laid in one of fruit, as well +as taking advantage of the opportunity to stretch their legs on +_terra firma_. + +This was on the Saturday morning; and when they again rose into the +air to continue their voyage, they saw that they had crossed the +great mountain mass that divides the Sahara from the little-known +regions of Equatorial Africa, and that in front of them to the +south-west lay, as far as the eye could reach, a boundless expanse of +dense forest and jungle and swamp, a gloomy and forbidding-looking +region which it would be well-nigh impossible to traverse on foot. + +Early in the afternoon the four voyagers were gathered in the +deck-saloon, closely examining a somewhat rudely-drawn chart that was +spread out on the table. It was the map that formed part of the +manuscript which had been found in the car of Louis Holt's miniature +balloon, and sketched out his route from Zanzibar to Aeria, and the +country lying round so far as he had been able to observe it. + +"This gives us, after all, very little idea of the distance we have +yet to go," said Arnold; "for though Holt has got his latitude +presumably right, we have very little clue to his longitude, for he +says himself that his watch was stopped in a thunder-storm, and that +in the same storm he lost all count of the distance he had travelled. +Added to that, he admits that he was blown about for twelve days in +one direction and another, so that all we really know is that +somewhere across this fearful wilderness beneath us we shall find +Aeria, but where is still a problem." + +"What is your own idea?" asked Colston. + +"Not a very clear one, I must confess. At this elevation we can see +about sixty miles as the atmosphere is now, and as far as we can see +to the south-west there is nothing but the same kind of country that +we have under us. We have travelled rather more than 2700 miles since +we left the Hindu Kush, and according to my reckoning Aeria lies +somewhere between 3000 and 3200 miles south-west of where we started +from on Thursday morning. That means that we are within between three +and five hundred miles of Aeria, unless, indeed, our calculations are +wholly at fault, and at that rate, as we only have about four and a +half hours' daylight left, we shall not get there to-day at our +present speed." + +"Couldn't we go a bit faster?" put in Natasha. "You know I and the +Princess are dying to see this mysterious unknown country that only +two other people have ever seen." + +"You have but to say so, Natasha, and it is already done," replied +Arnold, signalling at the same moment to the engine-room by means of +a similar arrangement of electric buttons to that which was in the +wheel-house. "Only you must remember that you must not go out on deck +now, or you will be blown away like a feather into space." + +While he was speaking the three propellers had begun to revolve at +full speed, and the _Ariel_ darted forward with a velocity that +caused the mountains she had just crossed to sink rapidly on the +horizon. + +All the afternoon the _Ariel_ flew at full speed over the seemingly +interminable wilderness of swamp and jungle, until, when the +equatorial sun was within a few degrees of the horizon, one of the +crew, who had been stationed in the conning tower at the bows, +signalled to call the attention of the man in the wheel-house. +Arnold, who was in the after-saloon at the time, heard the signal, +and hurried forward to the look-out. He gave one quick glance ahead, +signalled "half-speed" to the engine-room, and then went aft again to +the saloon, and said-- + +"Aeria is in sight!" + +Immediately everyone hastened to the deck saloon, from the windows of +which could be seen a huge mass of mountains looming dark and +distinct against the crimsoning western sky. + +It rose like some vast precipitous island out of the sea of forest +that lay about its base; and above the mighty rock-walls that seemed +to rise sheer from the surrounding plain at least a dozen peaks +towered into the sky, two of their summits covered with eternal snow, +and shining like points of rosy fire in the almost level rays of the +sun. + +As nearly as Arnold could judge in the deceptive state of the +atmosphere, they were still between thirty and forty miles from it, +and as it would not be safe to approach its lofty cliffs at a high +rate of speed in the half light that would so soon merge into +darkness, he said to his companions-- + +"We shall have to find a resting-place up among the cliffs on this +side to-night, for we have lost the moon, and unless it were +absolutely necessary to cross the mountains in the dark, I should not +care to do so with the ladies on board. Besides, there is no hurry +now that we are here, and we shall get a much finer first impression +of our new kingdom if we cross at sunrise. What do you think?" + +All agreed that this would be the best plan, and so the _Ariel_ ran +up to within a mile of the rocks, and then the forward engine was +connected with the dynamo, and the searchlight, which had so +disconcerted the Cossacks on the Tobolsk road, was turned on to the +cliffs, which they carefully explored, until they found a little +plateau covered with luxuriant vegetation and well watered, about two +thousand feet above the plain below. + +Here it was decided to come to a halt for the night, and to reserve +the exploration of Aeria for the morning, and so the fan-wheels were +sent aloft, and the _Ariel_, after hovering for a few minutes over +the verdant little plain seeking for a suitable spot to alight in, +sank gently to the earth after her flight of more than three thousand +miles. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +AERIA FELIX. + + +Every one on board the _Ariel_ was astir the next morning as soon as +the first rays of dawn were shooting across the vast plain that +stretched away to the eastward, and by the time it was fairly +daylight breakfast was over and all were anxiously speculating as to +what they would find on the other side of the tremendous cliffs, on +an eyrie in which they had found a resting-place for the night. + +As soon as all was ready for a start, Arnold said to Natasha, who was +standing alone with him on the after part of the deck-- + +"If you would like to steer the _Ariel_ into your new kingdom, I +shall be delighted to give you the lesson in steering that I promised +you yesterday." + +Natasha saw the inner meaning of the offer at a glance, and replied +with a smile that made his blood tingle-- + +"That would be altogether too great a responsibility for a beginner. +I might run on to some of these fearful rocks. But if you will take +the helm when the dangerous part comes, I will learn all I can by +watching you." + +"As long as you are with me in the wheel-house for the next hour or +so," said Arnold, with almost boyish frankness, "I shall be content. +I need scarcely tell you why I want to be alone with you when we +first sight this new home of our future empire." + +"I have half a mind not to come after that very injudicious speech. +Still, if only for the sake of its delightful innocence, I will +forgive you this time. You really must practise the worldly art of +dissimulation a little, or I shall have to get the Princess to play +chaperon." + +Natasha spoke these words in a bantering tone, and with a flush on +her lovely cheeks, that forced Arnold to cut short the conversation +for the moment, by giving an order to Andrew Smith, who at that +instant put his head out of the wheel-house door to say-- + +"All ready, sir!" + +"Very well," replied Arnold. "I will take the wheel, and do you tell +every one to keep under cover." + +Smith saluted, and disappeared, and then Natasha and Arnold went into +the wheel-house, while Colston and the Princess took their places in +the deck-saloon, the two men off duty going into the conning tower +forward. + +"Why every one under cover, Captain Arnold?" asked Natasha, as soon +as the two were ensconced in the wheel-house and the door shut. + +"Because I am going to put the _Ariel_ through her paces, and enter +Aeria in style," replied he, signalling for the fan-wheels to +revolve. "The fact is that, so far as I can see, these mountains are +too high for us to rise over them by means of the lifting-wheels, +which are only calculated to carry the ship to a height of about five +thousand feet. After that the air gets too rarefied for them to get a +solid grip. Now, these mountains look to me more like seven thousand +feet high." + +"Then how will you get over them?" + +"I shall first take a cruise and see if I can find a negotiable gap, +and then leap it." + +"What! Leap seven thousand feet?" + +"No; you forget that we shall be over five thousand up when we take +the jump, and I have no doubt that we shall find a place where a +thousand feet or so more will take us over. That we shall rise easily +with the planes and propellers, and you will see such a leap as man +never made in the world before." + +While he was speaking the _Ariel_ had risen from the ground, and was +hanging a few hundred feet above the little plateau. He gave the +signal for the wheels to be lowered, and the propellers to set to +work at half-speed. Then he pulled the lever which moved the +air-planes, and the vessel sped away forwards and upwards at about +sixty miles an hour. + +Arnold headed her away from the mountains until he had got an offing +of a couple of miles, and then he swung her round and skirted the +cliffs, rising ever higher and higher, and keeping a sharp look-out +for a depression among the ridges that still towered nearly three +thousand feet above them. + +When he had explored some twenty miles of the mountain wall, Arnold +suddenly pointed towards it, and said-- + +"There is a place that I think will do. Look yonder, between those +two high peaks away to the southward. That ridge is not more than six +thousand feet from the earth, and the _Ariel_ can leap that as easily +as an Irish hunter would take a five-barred gate." + +"It looks dreadfully high from here," said Natasha, in spite of +herself turning a shade paler at the idea of taking a six thousand +foot ridge at a flying leap. She had splendid nerves, but this was +her first aërial voyage, and it was also the first time that she had +ever been brought so closely face to face with the awful grandeur of +Nature in her own secret and solitary places. + +She would have faced a levelled rifle without flinching, but as she +looked at that frowning mass of rocks towering up into the sky, and +then down into the fearful depths below, where huge trees looked like +tiny shrubs, and vast forests like black patches of heather on the +earth, her heart stood still in her breast when she thought of the +frightful fate that would overwhelm the _Ariel_ and her crew should +she fail to rise high enough to clear the ridge, or if anything went +wrong with her machinery at the critical moment. + +"Are you sure you can do it?" she asked almost involuntarily. + +"Perfectly sure," replied Arnold quietly, "otherwise I should not +attempt it with you on board. The _Ariel_ contains enough explosives +to reduce her and us to dust and ashes, and if we hit that ridge +going over, she would go off like a dynamite shell. No, I know what +she can do, and you need not have the slightest fear!" + +"I am not exactly afraid, but it _looks_ a fearful thing to attempt." + +"If there were any danger I should tell you--with my usual lack of +dissimulation. But really there is none, and all you have to do is to +hold tight when I tell you, and keep your eyes open for the first +glimpse of Aeria." + +By this time the _Ariel_ was more than ten miles away from the +mountains. Arnold, having now got offing enough, swung her round +again, headed her straight for the ridge between the two peaks, and +signalled "full speed" to the engine-room. + +In an instant the propellers redoubled their revolutions, and the +_Ariel_ gathered way until the wind sang and screamed past her masts +and stays. She covered eight miles in less than four minutes, and it +seemed to Natasha as though the rock-wall were rushing towards them +at an appalling speed, still frowning down a thousand feet above +them. For the instant she was all eyes. She could neither open her +lips nor move a limb for sheer, irresistible, physical terror. Then +she heard Arnold say sharply-- + +"Now, hold on tight!" + +The nearest thing to her was his own arm, the hand of which grasped +one of the spokes of the steering wheel. Instinctively she passed her +own arm under it, and then clasped it with both her hands. As she did +so she felt the muscles tighten and harden. Then with his other hand +he pulled the lever back to the full, and inclined the planes to +their utmost. + +Suddenly, as though some Titan had overthrown it, the huge black wall +of rock in front seemed to sink down into the earth, the horizon +widened out beyond it, and the _Ariel_ soared upwards and swept over +it nearly a thousand feet to the good. + +"Ah!" + +The exclamation was forced from her white lips by an impulse that +Natasha had no power to resist. All the pride of her nature was +conquered and humbled for the moment by the marvel that she had seen, +and by the something, greater and stranger than all, that she saw in +the man beside her who had worked this miracle with a single touch of +his hand. A moment later she had recovered her self-possession. She +unclasped her hands from his arm, and as the colour came back to her +cheeks she said, as he thought, more sweetly than she had ever spoken +to him before-- + +"My friend, you have glorious nerves where physical danger is +concerned, and now I freely forgive you for fainting in the +Council-chamber when Martinov was executed. But don't try mine again +like that if you can help it. For the moment I thought that the end +of all things had come. Oh, look! What a paradise! Truly this is a +lovely kingdom that you have brought me to!" + +[Illustration: "The _Ariel_ sank down after the leap across the +ridge." + +_See page 123._] + +"And one that you and I will yet reign over together," replied Arnold +quietly, as he moved the lever again and allowed the _Ariel_ to sink +smoothly down the other side of the ridge over which she had taken +her tremendous leap. + +When she had called it a paradise, Natasha had used almost the only +word that would fitly describe the scene that opened out before them +as the _Ariel_ sank down after her leap across the ridge. The +interior of the mountain mass took the form of an oval valley, as +nearly as they could guess about fifty miles long by perhaps thirty +wide. All round it the mountains seemed to rise unbroken by a single +gap or chasm to between three and four thousand feet above the lowest +part of the valley, and above this again the peaks rose high into the +sky, two of them to the snow-line, which in this latitude was over +15,000 feet above the sea. + +Of the two peaks which reached to this altitude, one was at either +end of a line drawn through the greater length of the valley, that is +to say, from north to south. At least ten other peaks all round the +walls of the valley rose to heights varying from eight to twelve +thousand feet. + +The centre of the valley was occupied by an irregularly shaped lake, +plentifully dotted with islands about its shores, but quite clear of +them in the middle. In its greatest length it would be about twelve +miles long, while its breadth varied from five miles to a few hundred +yards. Its sloping shores were covered with the most luxuriant +vegetation, which reached upwards almost unbroken, but changing in +character with the altitude, until there was a regular series of +transitions, from the palms and bananas on the shores of the lake, to +the sparse and scanty pines and firs that clung to the upper slopes +of the mountains. + +The lake received about a score of streams, many of which began as +waterfalls far up the mountains, while two of them at least had their +origin in the eternal snows of the northern and southern peaks. So +far as they could see from the air-ship, the lake had no outlet, and +they were therefore obliged to conclude that its surplus waters +escaped by some subterranean channel, probably to reappear again as a +river welling from the earth, it might be, hundreds of miles away. + +Of inhabitants there were absolutely no traces to be seen, from the +direction in which the _Ariel_ was approaching. Animals and birds +there seemed to be in plenty, but of man no trace was visible, until +in her flight along the valley the _Ariel_ opened up one of the many +smaller valleys formed by the ribs of the encircling mountains. + +There, close by a clump of magnificent tree-ferns, and nestling under +a precipitous ridge, covered from base to summit with dark-green +foliage and brilliantly-coloured flowers, was a well-built log-hut +surrounded by an ample verandah, also almost smothered in flowers, +and surmounted by a flagstaff from which fluttered the tattered +remains of a Union-Jack. + +In a little clearing to one side of the hut, a man, who might very +well have passed for a modern edition of Robinson Crusoe, so far as +his attire was concerned, was busily skinning an antelope which hung +from a pole suspended from two trees. His back was turned towards +them, and so swift and silent had been their approach that he did not +hear the soft whirring of the propellers until they were within some +three hundred yards of him. + +Then, just as he looked round to see whence the sound came, Andrew +Smith, who was standing in the bows near the conning tower, put his +hands to his mouth and roared out a regular sailor's hail-- + +"Thomas Jackson, ahoy!" + +The man straightened himself up, stared open-mouthed for a moment at +the strange apparition, and then, with a yell either of terror or +astonishment, bolted into the house as hard as he could run. + +As soon as he was able to speak for laughing at the queer incident, +Arnold sent the fan-wheels aloft and lowered the _Ariel_ to within +about twenty feet of the ground over a level patch of sward, across +which meandered a little stream on its way to the lake. While she was +hanging motionless over this, the man who had fled into the house +reappeared, almost dragging another man, somewhat similarly attired, +after him, and pointing excitedly towards the _Ariel_. + +The second comer, if he felt any astonishment at the apparition that +had invaded his solitude, certainly betrayed none. On the contrary, +he walked deliberately from the hut to the bit of sward over which +the _Ariel_ hung motionless, and, seeing two ladies leaning on the +rail that ran round the deck, he doffed his goatskin cap with a +well-bred gesture, and said, in a voice that betrayed not the +slightest symptom of surprise-- + +"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! Good morning, and welcome to +Aeria! I see that the problem of aërial navigation has been solved; I +always said it would be in the first ten years of the twentieth +century, though I often got laughed at by the wiseacres who know +nothing until they see a thing before their noses. May I ask whether +that little message that I sent to the outside world some years ago +has procured me the pleasure of this visit?" + +"Yes, Mr. Holt. Your little balloon was picked up about three years +ago in the Gulf of Guinea, and, after various adventures and much +discussion, has led to our present voyage." + +"I am delighted to hear it. I suppose there were plenty of noodles +who put it down to a practical joke or something of that sort? What's +become of Stanley? Why didn't he come out and rescue me, as he did +Emin? Not glory enough, I suppose? It would bother him, too, to get +over these mountains, unless he flew over. By the way, has he got an +air-ship?" + +"No," replied Arnold, with a laugh. "This is the only one in +existence, and she has not been a week afloat. But if you'll allow +us, we'll come down and get generally acquainted, and after that we +can explain things at our leisure." + +"Quite so, quite so; do so by all means. Most happy, I'm sure. Ah! +beautiful model. Comes down as easily as a bird. Capital mechanism. +What's your motive-power? Gas, electricity--no, not steam, no +funnels! Humph! Very ingenious. Always said it would be done some +day. Build flying navies next, and be fighting in the clouds. Then +there'll be general smash. Serve 'em right. Fools to fight. Why can't +they live in peace?" + +While Louis Holt was running along in this style, jerking his words +out in little short snappy sentences, and fussing about round the +air-ship, she had sunk gently to the earth, and her passengers had +disembarked. + +Arnold for the time being took no notice of the questions with regard +to the motive-power, but introduced first himself, then the ladies, +and then Colston, to Louis Holt, who may be described here, as +elsewhere, as a little, bronzed, grizzled man, anywhere between +fifty-five and seventy, with a lean, wiry, active body, a good square +head, an ugly but kindly face, and keen, twinkling little grey eyes, +that looked straight into those of any one he might be addressing. + +The introductions over, he was invited on board the _Ariel_, and a +few minutes later, in the deck-saloon, he was chattering away +thirteen to the dozen, and drinking with unspeakable gusto the first +glass of champagne he had tasted for nearly five years. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +A NAVY OF THE FUTURE. + + +Arnold's instructions from the Council had been to remain in Aeria, +and make a thorough exploration of the wonderful region described in +Louis Holt's manuscript, until the time came for him to meet the +_Avondale_, the steamer which was to bring out the materials for +constructing the Terrorists' aërial navy. + +Louis Holt and his faithful retainer, during the three years and a +half that they had been shut up in it from the rest of the world, had +made themselves so fully acquainted with its geography that very +little of its surface was represented by blanks on the map which the +former had spent several months in constructing, and so no better or +more willing guides could have been placed at their service than they +were. + +Holt was an enthusiastic naturalist, and he descanted at great length +on the strangeness of the flora and fauna that it had been his +privilege to discover and classify in this isolated and hitherto +unvisited region. It appeared that neither its animals nor its plants +were quite like those of the rest of the continent, but seemed rather +to belong to an anterior geological age. + +From this fact he had come to the conclusion that at some very remote +period, while the greater portion of Northern Africa was yet +submerged by the waters of that ocean of which what is now the Sahara +was probably the deepest part, Aeria was one of the many islands that +had risen above its surface; and that, as the land rose and the +waters subsided, its peculiar shape had prevented the forms of life +which it contained from migrating or becoming modified in the +struggle for existence with other forms, just as the flora and fauna +of Australia have been shut off from those of the rest of the world. + +There were no traces of human inhabitants to be found; but there were +apparently two or three families of anthropoid apes, that seemed, so +far as Holt had been able to judge--for they were extremely shy and +cunning, and therefore difficult of approach--to be several degrees +nearer to man, both in structure and intelligence, than any other +members of the Simian family that had been discovered in other parts +of the world. + +As may well be imagined, a month passed rapidly and pleasantly away, +what with exploring excursions by land and air, in the latter of +which by no means the least diverting element was the keen and +quaintly-expressed delight of Louis Holt at the new method of travel. +Two or three times Arnold had, for his satisfaction, sent the _Ariel_ +flying over the ridge across which she had entered Aeria, but he had +always been content with a glimpse of the outside world, and was +always glad to get back again to the "happy valley," as he invariably +called his isolated paradise. + +The brief sojourn in this delightful land had brought back all the +roses to Natasha's lovely cheeks, and had completely restored both +her and the Princess to the perfect health that they had lost during +their short but terrible experience of Russian convict life; but +towards the end of the month they both began to get restless and +anxious to get away to the rendezvous with the steamer that was +bringing their friends and comrades out from England. + +So it came about that an hour or so after sunrise on Friday, the 20th +of May, the company of the _Ariel_ bade farewell for a time to Louis +Holt and his companion, leaving with them a good supply of the +creature comforts of civilisation which alone were lacking in Aeria, +rose into the air, and disappeared over the ridge to the north-west. + +They had rather more than 2500 miles of plain and mountain and desert +to cross, before they reached the sea-coast on which they expected to +meet the steamer, and Arnold regulated the speed of the _Ariel_ so +that they would reach it about daybreak on the following morning. + +The voyage was quite uneventful, and the course that they pursued led +them westward through the Zegzeb and Nyti countries, then +north-westward along the valley of the Niger, and then westward +across the desert to the desolate sandy shores of the Western Sahara, +which they crossed at sunrise on the Sunday morning, in the latitude +of the island which was to form their rendezvous with the steamer. + +They sighted the island about an hour later, but there was no sign of +any vessel for fifty miles round it. The ocean appeared totally +deserted, as, indeed, it usually is, for there is no trade with this +barren and savage coast, and ships going to and from the southward +portions of the continent give its treacherous sandbanks as wide a +berth as possible. This, in fact, was the principal reason why this +rocky islet, some sixty miles from the coast, had been chosen by the +Terrorists for their temporary dockyard. + +According to their calculations, the steamer would not be due for +another twenty-four hours at the least, and at that moment would be +about three hundred miles to the northward. The _Ariel_ was therefore +headed in that direction, at a hundred miles an hour, with a view to +meeting her and convoying her for the rest of her voyage, and +obviating such a disaster as Natasha's apprehensions pointed to. + +The air-ship was kept at a height of two thousand feet above the +water, and a man was stationed in the forward conning tower to keep a +bright look-out ahead. For more than three hours she sped on her way +without interruption, and then, a few minutes before twelve, the man +in the conning tower signalled to the wheel-house--"Steamer in +sight." + +The signal was at once transmitted to the saloon, where Arnold was +sitting with the rest of the party; he immediately signalled +"half-speed" in reply to it, and went to the conning tower to see the +steamer for himself. + +She was then about twelve miles to the northward. At the speed at +which the _Ariel_ was travelling a very few minutes sufficed to bring +her within view of the ocean voyagers. A red flag flying from the +stern of the air-ship was answered by a similar one from the mainmast +of the steamer. The _Ariel's_ engines were at once slowed down, the +fan-wheels went aloft, and she sank gently down to within twenty feet +of the water, and swung round the steamer's stern. + +As soon as they were within hailing distance, those on board the +air-ship recognised Nicholas Roburoff and his wife, Radna Michaelis, +and several other members of the Inner Circle, standing on the bridge +of the steamer. Handkerchiefs were waved, and cries of welcome and +greeting passed and re-passed from the air to the sea, until Arnold +raised his hand for silence, and, hailing Roburoff, said-- + +"Are you all well on board?" + +"Yes, all well," was the reply, "though we have had rather a risky +time of it, for war was generally declared a fortnight ago, and we +have had to run the blockade for a good part of the way. That is why +we are a little before our time. Can you come nearer? We have some +letters for you." + +"Yes," replied Arnold. "I'll come alongside. You go ahead, I'll do +the rest." + +So saying, he ran the _Ariel_ up close to the quarter of the +_Avondale_ as easily as though she had been lying at anchor instead +of going twenty miles an hour through the water, and went forward and +shook hands with Roburoff over the rail, taking a packet of letters +from him at the same time. Meanwhile Colston, who had grasped the +situation at a glance, had swung himself on to the steamer's deck, +and was already engaged in an animated conversation with Radna. + +The first advantage that Arnold took of the leisure that was now at +his disposal, was to read the letter directed to himself that was +among those for Natasha, the Princess, and Colston, which had been +brought out by the _Avondale_. He recognised the writing as +Tremayne's, and when he opened the envelope he found that it +contained a somewhat lengthy letter from him, and an enclosure in an +unfamiliar hand, which consisted of only a few lines, and was signed +"Natas." + +He started as his eye fell on the terrible name, which now meant so +much to him, and he naturally read the note to which it was appended +first. There was neither date nor formal address, and it ran as +follows:-- + + You have done well, and fulfilled your promises as a true man + should. For the personal service that you have rendered to me I + will not thank you in words, for the time may come when I shall + be able to do so in deeds. What you have done for the Cause was + your duty, and for that I know that you desire no thanks. You + have proved that you hold in your hands such power as no single + man ever wielded before. Use it well, and in the ages to come men + shall remember your name with blessings, and you, if the Master + of Destiny permits, shall attain to your heart's desire. + + NATAS. + +Arnold laid the little slip of paper down almost reverently, for, few +as the words were, they were those of a man who was not only Natas, +the Master of the Terror, but also the father of the woman whose +love, in spite of his oath, was the object to the attainment of which +he held all things else as secondary, and who therefore had the power +to crown his life-work with the supreme blessing without which it +would be worthless, however glorious, for he knew full well that, +though he might win Natasha's heart, she herself could never be his +unless Natas gave her to him. + +The other letter was from Tremayne, dated more than a fortnight +previously, and gave him a brief _résumé_ of the course of events in +Europe since his voyage of exploration had begun. It also urged him +to push on the construction of the aërial navy as fast as possible, +as there was now no telling where or how soon its presence might be +required to determine the issue of the world-war, the first +skirmishes of which had already taken place in Eastern Europe. Natas +and the Chief were both in London, making the final arrangements for +the direction of the various diplomatic and military agents of the +Brotherhood throughout Europe. From London they were to go to +Alanmere, where they would remain until all arrangements were +completed. As soon as the fleet was built and the crews and +commanders of the air-ships had thoroughly learned their duties, the +flagship was to go to Plymouth, where the _Lurline_ would be lying. +The news of her arrival would be telegraphed to Alanmere, and Natas +and Tremayne would at once come south and put to sea in her. The +air-ship was to wait for them at a point two hundred miles due +south-west of the Land's End, and pick them up. The yacht was then to +be sunk, and the Executive of the Terrorists would for the time being +vanish from the sight of men. + +It is unnecessary to say that Arnold carried out the plans laid down +in this letter in every detail, and with the utmost possible +expedition. The _Avondale_ arrived the next day at the island which +had been chosen as a dockyard, and the ship-building was at once +commenced. + +All the material for constructing the air-ships had been brought out +completely finished as far as each individual part was concerned, and +so there was nothing to do but to put them together. The crew and +passengers of the steamer included the members of the Executive of +the Inner Circle, and sixty picked members of the Outer Circle, +chiefly mechanics and sailors, destined to be first the builders and +then the crews of the new vessels. + +These, under Arnold's direction, worked almost day and night at the +task before them. Three of the air-ships were put together at a time, +twenty men working at each, and within a month from the time that the +_Avondale_ discharged her cargo, the twelve new vessels were ready to +take the air. + +They were all built on the same plan as the _Ariel_, and eleven of +them were practically identical with her as regards size and speed; +but the twelfth, the flagship of the aërial fleet, had been designed +by Arnold on a more ambitious scale. + +This vessel was larger and much more powerful than any of the others. +She was a hundred feet long, with a beam of fifteen feet amidships. +On her five masts she carried five fan-wheels, capable of raising her +vertically to a height of ten thousand feet without the assistance of +her air-planes, and her three propellers, each worked by duplex +engines, were able to drive her through the air at a speed of two +hundred miles an hour in a calm atmosphere. + +She was armed with two pneumatic guns forward and two aft, each +twenty-five feet long and with a range of twelve miles at an altitude +of four thousand feet; and in addition to these she carried two +shorter ones on each broadside, with a range of six miles at the same +elevation. She also carried a sufficient supply of power-cylinders to +give her an effective range of operations of twenty thousand miles +without replenishing them. + +In addition to the building materials and the necessary tools and +appliances for putting them together, the cargo of the _Avondale_ had +included an ample supply of stores of all kinds, not the least +important part of which consisted of a quantity of power-cylinders +sufficient to provide the whole fleet three times over. + +The necessary chemicals and apparatus for charging them were also on +board, and the last use that Arnold made of the engines of the +steamer, which he had disconnected from the propeller and turned to +all kinds of uses during the building operations, was to connect them +with his storage pumps and charge every available cylinder to its +utmost capacity. + +At length, when everything that could be carried in the air-ships had +been taken out of the steamer, she was towed out into deep water, and +then a shot from one of the flagship's broadside guns sent her to the +bottom of the sea, so severing the last link which had connected the +now isolated band of revolutionists with the world on which they were +ere long to declare war. + +The naming of the fleet was by common consent left to Natasha, and +her half-oriental genius naturally led her to appropriately name the +air-ships after the winged angels and air-spirits of Moslem and other +Eastern mythologies. The flagship she named the _Ithuriel_, after the +angel who was sent to seek out and confound the Powers of Darkness in +that terrific conflict between the upper and nether worlds, which was +a fitting antetype to the colossal struggle which was now to be waged +for the empire of the earth. + +Arnold's first task, as soon as the fleet finally took the air, was +to put the captains and crews of the vessels through a thorough +drilling in management and evolution. A regular code of signals had +been arranged, by means of which orders as to formation, speed, +altitude, and direction could be at once transmitted from the +flagship. During the day flags were used, and at night flashes from +electric reflectors. + +The scene of these evolutions was practically the course taken by the +_Ariel_ from Aeria to the island; and as the captains and lieutenants +of the different vessels were all men of high intelligence, and +carefully selected for the work, and as the mechanism of the +air-ships was extremely simple, the whole fleet was well in hand by +the time the mountain mass of Aeria was sighted a week after leaving +the island. + +Arnold in the _Ithuriel_ led the way to a narrow defile on the +south-western side, which had been discovered during his first visit, +and which admitted of entrance to the valley at an elevation of about +3000 feet. Through this the fleet passed in single file soon after +sunrise one lovely morning in the middle of June, and within an hour +the thirteen vessels had come to rest on the shores of the lake. + +Then for the first time, probably, since the beginning of the world, +the beautiful valley became the scene of a busy activity, in the +midst of which the lean wiry figure of Louis Holt seemed to be here, +there, and everywhere at once, doing the honours of Aeria as though +it were a private estate to which the Terrorists had come by his +special invitation. + +He was more than ever delighted with the air-ships, and especially +with the splendid proportions of the _Ithuriel_, and the brilliant +lustre of her polished hull, which had been left unpainted, and shone +as though her plates had been of burnished silver. Altogether he was +well pleased with this invasion of a solitude which, in spite of its +great beauty and his professed contempt for the world in general, had +for the last few months been getting a good deal more tedious than he +would have cared to admit. + +In the absence of Natas and the Chief, the command of the new colony +devolved, in accordance with the latter's directions, upon Nicholas +Roburoff, who was a man of great administrative powers, and who set +to work without an hour's delay to set his new kingdom in order, +marking out sites for houses and gardens, and preparing materials for +building them and the factories for which the water-power of the +valley was to be utilised. + +Arnold, as admiral of the fleet, had transferred the command of the +_Ariel_ to Colston, but he retained him as his lieutenant in the +_Ithuriel_ for the next voyage, partly because he wanted to have him +with him on what might prove to be a momentous expedition, and partly +because Natasha, who was naturally anxious to rejoin her father as +soon as possible, wished to have Radna for a companion in place of +the Princess, who had elected to remain in the valley. As another +separation of the lovers, who, according to the laws of the +Brotherhood, now only waited for the formal consent of Natas to their +marriage, was not to be thought of, this arrangement gave everybody +the most perfect satisfaction. + +Three days sufficed to get everything into working order in the new +colony, and on the morning of the fourth the _Ithuriel_, having on +board the original crew of the _Ariel_, reinforced by two engineers +and a couple of sailors, rose into the air amidst the cheers of the +assembled colonists, crossed the northern ridge, and vanished like a +silver arrow into space. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE EVE OF BATTLE. + + +It will now be necessary to go back about six weeks from the day that +the _Ithuriel_ started on her northward voyage, and to lay before the +reader a brief outline of the events which had transpired in Europe +subsequently to the date of Tremayne's letter to Arnold. + +On the evening of that day he went down to the House of Lords, to +make his speech in favour of the Italian Loan. He had previously +spoken some half dozen times since he had taken his seat, and, young +as he was, had always commanded a respectful hearing by his sound +common sense and his intimate knowledge of foreign policy, but none +of his brother peers had been prepared for the magnificent speech +that he had made on this momentous night. + +He had never given his allegiance to any of the political parties of +the day, but he was one of the foremost advocates of what was then +known as the Imperial policy, and which had grown up out of what is +known in the present day as Imperial Federation. To this he +subordinated everything else, and held as his highest, and indeed +almost his only political ideal, the consolidation of Britain and her +colonies into an empire commercially and politically intact and apart +from the rest of the world, self-governing in all its parts as +regards local affairs, but governed as a whole by a representative +Imperial Parliament, sitting in London, and composed of delegates +from all portions of the empire. + +This ideal--which, it is scarcely necessary to say, was still +considered as "beyond the range of practical politics"--formed the +keynote of such a speech as had never before been heard in the +British House of Lords. He commenced by giving a rapid but minute +survey of foreign policy, which astounded the most experienced of his +hearers. Not only was it absolutely accurate as far as they could +follow it, but it displayed an intimate knowledge of involutions of +policy at which British diplomacy had only guessed. + +More than this, members of the Government and the Privy Council saw, +to their amazement, that the speaker knew the inmost secrets of their +own policy even better than they did themselves. How he had become +possessed of them was a mystery, and all that they could do was to +sit and listen in silent wonder. + +He drew a graphic word-picture of the nations of the earth standing +full-armed on the threshold of such a war as the world had never seen +before,--a veritable Armageddon, which would shake the fabric of +society to its foundations, even if it did not dissolve it finally in +the blood of countless battlefields. + +He estimated with marvellous accuracy the exact amount of force which +each combatant would be able to put on to the field, and summed up +the appalling mass of potential destruction that was ready to burst +upon the world at a moment's notice. He showed the position of Italy, +and proved to demonstration that if the loan were not immediately +granted, it would be necessary either for Britain to seize her fleet, +as she did that of Denmark a century before--an act which the +Italians would themselves resist at all hazards--or else to finance +her through the war, as she had financed Germany during the +Napoleonic struggle. + +To grant the loan would be to save the Italian fleet and army for the +Triple Alliance; to refuse it would be to detach Italy from the +Alliance, and to drive her into the arms of their foes, for not only +could she not stand alone amidst the shock of the contending Powers, +but without an immediate supply of ready money she would not be able +to keep the sea for a month. + +Thus, he said in conclusion, the fate of Europe, and perhaps of the +world, lay for the time being in their Lordships' hands. The Double +Alliance was already numerically stronger than the Triple, and, +moreover, they had at their command a new means of destruction, for +the dreadful effectiveness of which he could vouch from personal +experience. + +The trials of the Russian war-balloons had been secret, it was true, +but he had nevertheless witnessed them, no matter how, and he knew +what they could accomplish. It was true that there were in existence +even more formidable engines than these, but they belonged to no +nation, and were in the hands of those whose hands were against every +man's, and whose designs were still wrapped in the deepest mystery. + +He therefore besought his hearers not to trust too implicitly to that +hitherto unconquerable valour and resource which had so far rendered +Britain impregnable to her enemies. These were not the days of +personal valour. They were the days of warfare by machinery, of +wholesale destruction by means which men had never before been called +upon to face, and which annihilated from a distance before mere +valour had time to strike its blow. + +If ever the Fates were on the side of the biggest battalions, they +were now, and, so far as human foresight could predict the issue of +the colossal struggle, the greatest and the most perfectly equipped +armaments would infallibly insure the ultimate victory, quite apart +from considerations of personal heroism and devotion. + +No such speech had been heard in either House since Edmund Burke had +fulminated against the miserable policy which severed America from +Britain, and split the Anglo-Saxon race in two; but now, as then, +personal feeling and class prejudice proved too strong for eloquence +and logic. + +Italy was the most intensely Radical State in Europe, and she was +bankrupt to boot; and, added to this, there was a very strong party +in the Upper House which believed that Britain needed no such ally, +that with Germany and Austria at her side she could fight the world, +in spite of the Tsar's new-fangled balloons, which would probably +prove failures in actual war as similar inventions had done before, +and even if her allies succumbed, had she not stood alone before, and +could she not do it again if necessary? + +She would fulfil her engagement with the Triple Alliance, and declare +war the moment that one of the Powers was attacked, but she would not +pour British gold in millions into the bottomless gulf of Italian +bankruptcy. + +Such were the main points in the speech of the Duke of Argyle, who +followed Lord Alanmere, and spoke just before the division. When the +figures were announced, it was found that the Loan Guarantee Bill had +been negatived by a majority of seven votes. + +The excitement in London that night was tremendous. The two Houses of +Parliament had come into direct collision on a question which the +Premier had plainly stated to be of vital importance, and a deadlock +seemed inevitable. The evening papers brought out special editions +giving Tremayne's speech _verbatim_, and the next morning the whole +press of the country was talking of nothing else. + +The "leading journals," according to their party bias, discussed it +pro and con, and rent each other in a furious war of words, the +prelude to the sterner struggle that was to come. + +Unhappily the parties in Parliament were very evenly balanced, and a +very strong section of the Radical Opposition was, as it always had +been, bitterly opposed to the arrangement with the Triple Alliance, +which every one suspected and no one admitted until Tremayne +astounded the Lords by reciting its conditions in the course of his +speech. + +It was the avowed object of this section of the Opposition to stand +out of the war at any price till the last minute, and not to fight at +all if it could possibly be avoided. The immediate consequence was +that, when the Government on the following day asked for an urgency +vote of ten millions for the mobilisation of the Volunteers and the +Naval Reserve, the Opposition, led by Mr. John Morley, mustered to +its last man, and defeated the motion by a majority of eleven. + +The next day a Cabinet Council was held, and in the afternoon Mr. +Balfour rose in a densely-crowded House, and, after a dignified +allusion to the adverse vote of the previous day, told the House that +in view of the grave crisis which was now inevitable in European +affairs, a crisis in which the fate, not only of Britain, but of the +whole Western world, would probably be involved, the Ministry felt it +impossible to remain in office without the hearty and unequivocal +support of both Houses--a support which the two adverse votes in +Lords and Commons had made it hopeless to look for as those Houses +were at present constituted. + +He had therefore to inform the House that, after consultation with +his colleagues, he had decided to place the resignations of the +Ministry in the hands of his Majesty,[1] and appeal to the country on +the plain issue of Intervention or Non-intervention. Under the +circumstances, there was nothing else to be done. The deplorable +crisis which immediately followed was the logical consequence of the +inherently vicious system of party government. + +While the fate of the world was practically trembling in the balance, +Europe, armed to the teeth in readiness for the Titanic struggle that +a few weeks would now see shaking the world, was amused by the +spectacle of what was really the most powerful nation on earth losing +its head amidst the excitement of a general election, and frittering +away on the petty issues of party strife the energies that should +have been devoted with single-hearted unanimity to preparation for +the conflict whose issue would involve its very existence. + +For a month the nations held their hand, why, no one exactly knew, +except, perhaps, two men who were now in daily consultation in a +country house in Yorkshire. It may have been that the final +preparations were not yet complete, or that the combatants were +taking a brief breathing-space before entering the arena, or that +Europe was waiting to see the decision of Britain at the +ballot-boxes, or possibly the French fleet of war-balloons was not +quite ready to take the air,--any of these reasons might have been +sufficient to explain the strange calm before the storm; but +meanwhile the British nation was busy listening to the conflicting +eloquence of partisan orators from a thousand platforms throughout +the land, and trying to make up its mind whether it should return a +Conservative or a Radical Ministry to power. + +In the end, Mr. Balfour came back with a solid hundred majority +behind him, and at once set to work to, if possible, make up for lost +time. The moment of Fate had, however, gone by for ever. During the +precious days that had been fooled away in party strife, French gold +and Russian diplomacy had done their work. + +The day after the Conservative Ministry returned to power, France +declared war, and Russia, who had been nominally at war with Britain +for over a month, suddenly took the offensive, and poured her Asiatic +troops into the passes of the Hindu Kush. Two days later, the +defection of Italy from the Triple Alliance told Europe how +accurately Tremayne had gauged the situation in his now historic +speech, and how the month of strange quietude had been spent by the +controllers of the Double Alliance. + +The spell was broken at last. After forty years of peace, Europe +plunged into the abyss of war; and from one end of the Continent to +the other nothing was heard but the tramp of vast armies as they +marshalled themselves along the threatened frontiers, and +concentrated at the points of attack and defence. + +On all the lines of ocean traffic, steamers were hurrying homeward or +to neutral ports, in the hope of reaching a place of safety before +hostilities actually broke out. Great liners were racing across the +Atlantic either to Britain or America with their precious freights, +while those flying the French flag on the westward voyage prepared to +run the gauntlet of the British cruisers as best they might. + +All along the routes to India and the East the same thing was +happening, and not a day passed but saw desperate races between fleet +ocean greyhounds and hostile cruisers, which, as a rule, terminated +in favour of the former, thanks to the superiority of private +enterprise over Government contract-work in turning out ships and +engines. + +In Britain the excitement was indescribable. The result of the +general election had cast the final die in favour of immediate war in +concert with the Triple Alliance. The defection of Italy had +thoroughly awakened the popular mind to the extreme gravity of the +situation, and the declaration of war by France had raised the blood +of the nation to fever heat. The magic of battle had instantly +quelled all party differences so far as the bulk of the people was +concerned, and no one talked of anything but the war and its +immediate issues. Men forgot that they belonged to parties, and only +remembered that they were citizens of the same nation. + +[Footnote 1: At the period in which the action of the narrative takes +place, her Majesty Queen Victoria had abdicated in favour of the +present Prince of Wales, and was living in comparative retirement at +Balmoral, retaining Osborne as an alternative residence.] + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +BETWEEN TWO LIVES. + + +Six weeks after he had made his speech in the House of Lords, +Tremayne was sitting in his oak-panelled library at Alanmere, in deep +and earnest converse with a man who was sitting in an invalid chair +by a window looking out upon the lawn. The face of this man exhibited +a contrast so striking and at the same time terrible, that the most +careless glance cast upon it would have revealed the fact that it was +the face of a man of extraordinary character, and that the story of +some strange fate was indelibly stamped upon it. + +The upper part of it, as far down as the mouth, was cast in a mould +of the highest and most intellectual manly beauty. The forehead was +high and broad and smooth, the eyebrows dark and firm but finely +arched, the nose somewhat prominently aquiline, but well shaped, and +with delicate, sensitive nostrils. The eyes were deep-set, large and +soft, and dark as the sky of a moonless night, yet shining in the +firelight with a strange magnetic glint that seemed to fasten +Tremayne's gaze and hold it at will. + +But the lower portion of the face was as repulsive as the upper part +was attractive. The mouth was the mouth of a wild beast, and the lips +and cheeks and chin were seared and seamed as though with fire, and +what looked like the remains of a moustache and beard stood in black +ragged patches about the heavy unsightly jaws. + +When the thick, shapeless lips parted, they did so in a hideous grin, +which made visible long, sharp white teeth, more like those of a wolf +than those of a human being. + +His body, too, exhibited no less strange a contrast than his face +did. To the hips it was that of a man of well-knit, muscular frame, +not massive, but strong and well-proportioned. The arms were long and +muscular, and the hands white and small, but firm, well-shaped, and +nervous. + +But from his hips downwards, this strange being was a dwarf and a +cripple. His hips were narrow and shrunken, one of his legs was some +inches shorter than the other, and both were twisted and distorted, +and hung helplessly down from the chair as he sat. + +Such was Natas, the Master of the Terror, and the man whose wrongs, +whatever they might have been, had caused him to devote his life to a +work of colossal vengeance, and his incomparable powers to the +overthrow of a whole civilisation. + +The tremendous task to which he had addressed himself with all the +force of his mighty nature for twenty years, was now at length +approaching completion. The mine that he had so patiently laid, year +after year, beneath the foundations of Society, was complete in every +detail, the first spark had been applied, and the first rumbling of +the explosion was already sounding in the ears of men, though they +little knew how much it imported. The work of the master-intellect +was almost done. The long days and nights of plotting and planning +were over, and the hour for action had arrived at last. + +For him there was little more to do, and the time was very near when +he could retire from the strife, and watch in peace and confidence +the reaping of the harvest of ruin and desolation that his hands had +sown. Henceforth, the central figure in the world-revolution must be +the young English engineer, whose genius had brought him forth out of +his obscurity to take command of the subjugated powers of the air, +and to arbitrate the destinies of the world. + +This was why he was sitting here, in the long twilight of the June +evening, talking so earnestly with the man who, under the spell of +his mysterious power and master-will, had been his second self in +completing the work that he had designed, and had thought and spoken +and acted as he had inspired him against all the traditions of his +race and station, in that strange double life that he had lived, in +each portion of which he had been unconscious of all that he had been +and had done in the other. The time had now come to draw aside the +veil which had so far divided these two lives from each other, to +show him each as it was in very truth, and to leave him free to +deliberately choose between them. + +Natas had been speaking without any interruption from Tremayne for +nearly an hour, drawing the parallel of the two lives before him with +absolute fidelity, neither omitting nor justifying anything, and his +wondering hearer had listened to him in silence, unable to speak for +the crowding emotions which were swarming through his brain. At +length Natas concluded by saying-- + +"And now, Alan Tremayne, I have shown you faithfully the two paths +which you have trodden since first I had need of you. So far you have +been as clay in the hands of the potter. Now the spell is removed, +and you are free to choose which of them you will follow to the +end,--that of the English gentleman of fortune and high position, +whose country is on the brink of a war that will tax her vast +resources to the utmost, and may end in her ruin; or that of the +visible and controlling head of the only organisation which can at +the supreme moment be the arbiter of peace or war, order or anarchy, +and which alone, if any earthly power can, will evolve order out of +chaos, and bring peace on earth at last." + +As Natas ceased, Tremayne passed his hand slowly over his eyes and +brows, as though to clear away the mists which obscured his mental +vision. Then he rose from his chair, and paced the floor with quick, +uneven strides for several minutes. At length he replied, speaking as +one might who was just waking from some evil dream-- + +"You have made a conspirator and a murderer of me. How is it possible +that, knowing this, I can again become what I was before your +infernal influence was cast about me?" + +"What you have done at my command is nothing to you, and leaves no +stain upon your honour, if you choose to put it so, for it was not +your will that was working within you, but mine. As for the killing +of Dornovitch, it was necessary, and you were the only instrument by +which it could have been accomplished before irretrievable harm had +been done. + +"He alone of the outside world possessed the secret of the Terror. A +woman of the Outer Circle in Paris had allowed her love for him to +overcome her duty to the Brotherhood, and had betrayed what she +could, in order, as she vainly thought, to shield him from its +vengeance for the executive murders of the year before. He too had on +him the draft of the secret treaty, the possession of which has +enabled us to control the drift of European politics at the most +crucial time. + +"Had he escaped, not only would hundreds of lives have been +sacrificed on suspicion to Russian official vengeance, but Russia and +France would now be masters of the British line of communication to +the East, for it would not have been possible for Mr. Balfour to have +been forewarned, and therefore forearmed, in time to double the +Mediterranean Squadron as he has done. Surely one Russian's life is +not too great a price to pay for all that." + +"I do not care for the man's life, for he was an enemy, and even then +plotting the ruin of my own country in the dark. It is not the +killing, but the manner of it. England does not fight her battles +with the assassin's knife, and his blood is on my hands"-- + +"On your hands, perhaps, but not on your soul. It is on mine, and I +will answer for it when we stand face to face at the Bar where all +secrets are laid bare. The man deserved death, for he was plotting +the death of thousands. What matter then how or by whose hands he +died? + +"It is time the world had done with these miserable sophistries, and +these spurious distinctions between murder by wholesale and by +retail, and it soon will have done with them. I, by your hand, killed +Dornovitch in his sleep. That was murder, says the legal casuist. You +read this morning in the _Times_ how one of the Russian war-balloons +went the night before last and hung in the darkness over a sleeping +town on the Austrian frontier, and dropped dynamite shells upon it, +killing and maiming hundreds who had no personal quarrel with Russia. +That is war, and therefore lawful! + +"Nonsense, my friend, nonsense! There is no difference. All violence +is crime, if you will, but it is a question of degree only. The world +is mad on this subject of war. It considers the horrible thing +honourable, and gives its highest distinctions to those who shed +blood most skilfully on the battlefield, and the triumphs that are +won by superior force or cunning are called glorious, and those who +achieve them the nations fall down and worship. + +"The nations must be taught wisdom, for war has had victims enough. +But men are still foolish, and to cure them a terrible lesson will be +necessary. But that lesson shall be taught, even though the whole +earth be turned into a battlefield, and all the dwellings of men into +charnel-houses, in order to teach it to them." + +"In other words, Society is to be dissolved in order that anarchy and +lawlessness may take its place. Society may not be perfect,--nay, I +will grant that its sins are many and grievous, that it has forgotten +its duty both to God and man in its worship of Mammon and its slavery +to externals,--but you who have plotted its destruction, have you +anything better to put in its place? You can destroy, perhaps, but +can you build up?" + +"The jungle must be cleared and the swamp drained before the +habitations of men can be built in their place. It has been mine to +destroy, and I will pursue the work of destruction to the end, as I +have sworn to do by that Name which a Jew holds too sacred for +speech. I believe myself to be the instrument of vengeance upon this +generation, even as Joshua was upon Canaan, and as Khalid the Sword +of God was upon Byzantium in the days of her corruption. You may hold +this for an old man's fancy if you will, but it shall surely come to +pass in the fulness of time, which is now at hand; and then, where I +have destroyed, may you, if you will, build up again!" + +"What do you mean? You are speaking in parables." + +"Which shall soon be made plain. You read in your newspaper this +morning of a mysterious movement that is taking place throughout the +Buddhist peoples of the East. They believe that Buddha has returned +to earth, reincarnated, to lead them to the conquest of the world. +Now, as you know, every fourth man, woman, and child in the whole +human race is a Buddhist, and the meaning of this movement is that +that mighty mass of humanity, pent up and stagnant for centuries, is +about to burst its bounds and overflow the earth in a flood of +desolation and destruction. + +"The nations of the West know nothing of this, and are unsheathing +the sword to destroy each other. Like a house divided against itself, +their power shall be brought to confusion, and their empire be made +as a wilderness. And over the starving and war-smitten lands of +Europe these Eastern swarms shall sweep, innumerable as the locusts, +resistless as the pestilence, and what fire and sword have spared +they shall devour, and nothing shall be left of all the glory of +Christendom but its name and the memory of its fall!" + +Natas spoke his frightful prophecy like one entranced, and when he +had finished he let his head fall forward for a moment on his breast, +as though he were exhausted. Then he raised it again, and went on in +a calmer voice-- + +"There is but one power under heaven that can stand between the +Western world and this destruction, and that is the race to which you +belong. It is the conquering race of earth, and the choicest fruit of +all the ages until now. It is nearly two hundred million strong, and +it is united by the ties of kindred blood and speech the wide world +over. + +"But it is also divided by petty jealousies, and mean commercial +interests. But for these the world might be an Anglo-Saxon planet. +Would it not be a glorious task for you, who are the flower of this +splendid race, so to unite it that it should stand as a solid barrier +of invincible manhood before which this impending flood of yellow +barbarism should dash itself to pieces like the cloud-waves against +the granite summits of the eternal hills?" + +"A glorious task, truly!" exclaimed Tremayne, once more springing +from his chair and beginning to pace the room again; "but the man is +not yet born who could accomplish it." + +"There are fifty men on earth at this moment who can accomplish it, +and of them the two chief are Englishmen,--yourself and this Richard +Arnold, whose genius has given the Terrorists the command of the air. + +"Come, Alan Tremayne! here is a destiny such as no man ever had +before revealed to him. It is not for a man of your nation and +lineage to shrink from it. You have reproached me for using you to +unworthy ends, as you thought them, and with pulling down where I am +not able to build up again. Obey me still, this time of your own free +will and with your eyes open, and, as I have pulled down by your +hand, so by it will I build up again, if the Master of Destiny shall +permit me; and if not, then shall you achieve the task without me. +Now give me your ears, for the words that I have to say are weighty +ones. + +"No human power can stop the war that has now begun, nor can any +curtail it until it has run its appointed course. But we have at our +command a power which, if skilfully applied at the right moment, will +turn the tide of conflict in favour of Britain, and if at that moment +the Mother of Nations can gather her children about her in obedience +to the call of common kindred, all shall be well, and the world shall +be hers. + +"But before that is made possible she must pass through the fire, and +be purged of that corruption which is even now poisoning her blood +and clouding her eyes in the presence of her enemies. The overweening +lust of gold must be burnt out of her soul in the fiery crucible of +war, and she must learn to hold honour once more higher than wealth, +and rich and poor and gentle and simple must be as one family, and +not as master and servant. + +"East and west, north and south, wherever the English tongue is +spoken, men must clasp hands and forget all other things save that +they are brothers of blood and speech, and that the world is theirs +if they choose to take it. This is a work that cannot be done by any +nation, but only by a whole race, which with millions of hands and a +single heart devotes itself to achieve success or perish." + +"Brave words, brave words!" cried Tremayne, pausing in his walk in +front of the chair in which Natas sat; "and if you could make me +believe them true, I would follow you blindly to the end, no matter +what the path might be. But I cannot believe them. I cannot think +that you or I and a few followers, even aided by Arnold and his +aërial fleet, could accomplish such a stupendous task as that. It is +too great. It is superhuman! And yet it would be glorious even to +fail worthily in such a task, even to fall fighting in such a Titanic +conflict!" + +He paused, and stood silent and irresolute, as though appalled by the +prospect with which he was confronted here at the parting of the +ways. He glanced at the extraordinary being sitting near him, and saw +his deep, dark eyes fixed upon him, as though they were reading his +very soul within him. Then he took a step towards the cripple's +chair, took his right hand in his, and said slowly and steadily and +solemnly-- + +"It is a worthy destiny! I will essay it for good or evil, for life +or death. I am with you to the end!" + +As Tremayne spoke the fatal words which once more bound him, and this +time for life and of his own free will, to Natas the Jew, this +cripple who, chained to his chair, yet aspired to the throne of a +world, he fancied he saw his shapeless lips move in a smile, and into +his eyes there came a proud look of mingled joy and triumph as he +returned the handclasp, and said in a softer, kinder voice than +Tremayne had ever heard him use before-- + +"Well spoken! Those words were worthy of you and of your race! As +your faith is, so shall your reward be. Now wheel my chair to yonder +window that looks out towards the east, and you shall look past the +shadows into the day which is beyond. So! that will do. Now get +another chair and sit beside me. Fix your eyes on that bright star +that shows above the trees, and do not speak, but think only of that +star and its brightness." + +Tremayne did as he was bidden in silence, and when he was seated +Natas swept his hands gently downwards over his open eyes again and +again, till the lids grew heavy and fell, shutting out the brightness +of the star, and the dim beauty of the landscape which lay sleeping +in the twilight and the June night. + +Then suddenly it seemed as though they opened again of their own +accord, and were endowed with an infinite power of vision. The trees +and lawns of the home park of Alanmere and the dark rolling hills of +heather beyond were gone, and in their place lay stretched out a +continent which he saw as though from some enormous height, with its +plains and lowlands and rivers, vast steppes and snowclad hills, +forests and tablelands, huge mountain masses rearing lonely peaks of +everlasting ice to a sunlight that had no heat; and then beyond these +again more plains and forests, that stretched away southward until +they merged in the all-surrounding sea. + +[Illustration: "You have seen the Field of Armageddon." + +_See page 149._] + +Then he seemed to be carried forward towards the scene until he could +distinguish the smallest objects upon the earth, and he saw, swarming +southward and westward, vast hordes of men, that divided into long +streams, and poured through mountain passes and defiles, and spread +themselves again over fertile lands, like locusts over green fields +of young corn. And wherever those hordes swept forward, a long line +of fire and smoke went in front of them, and where they had passed +the earth was a blackened wilderness. + +Then, too, from the coasts and islands vast fleets of war-ships put +out, pouring their clouds of smoke to the sky, and making swiftly for +the southward and westward, where from other coasts and islands other +vessels put out to meet them, and, meeting them, were lost with them +under great clouds of grey smoke, through which flashed incessantly +long livid tongues of flame. + +Then, like a panorama rolled away from him, the mighty picture +receded and new lands came into view, familiar lands which he had +traversed often. They too were black and wasted with the tempest of +war from east to west, but nevertheless those swarming streams came +on, countless and undiminished, up out of the south and east, while +on the western verge vast armies and fleets battled desperately with +each other on sea and land, as though they heeded not those locust +swarms of dusky millions coming ever nearer and nearer. + +Once more the scene rolled backwards, and he saw a mighty city +closely beleaguered by two vast hosts of men, who slowly pushed their +batteries forward until they planted them on all the surrounding +heights, and poured a hail of shot and shell upon the swarming, +helpless millions that were crowded within the impassable ring of +fire and smoke. Above the devoted city swam in mid-air strange shapes +like monstrous birds of prey, and beneath where they floated the +earth seemed ever and anon to open and belch forth smoke and flame +into which the crumbling houses fell and burnt in heaps of shapeless +ruins. Then---- + +He felt a cool hand laid almost caressingly on his brow, and the +voice of Natas said beside him-- + +"That is enough. You have seen the Field of Armageddon, and when the +day of battle comes you shall be there and play the part allotted to +you from the beginning. Do you believe?" + +"Yes," replied Tremayne, rising wearily from his chair, "I believe; +and as the task is, so may Heaven make my strength in the stress of +battle!" + +"Amen!" said Natas very solemnly. + +That night the young Lord of Alanmere went sleepless to bed, and lay +awake till dawn, revolving over and over again in his mind the +marvellous things that he had seen and heard, and the tremendous task +to which he had now irrevocably committed himself for good or evil. +In all these waking dreams there was ever present before his mental +vision the face of a woman whose beauty was like and yet unlike that +of the daughter of Natas. It lacked the brilliance and subtle charm +which in Natasha so wondrously blended the dusky beauty of the +daughters of the South with the fairer loveliness of the daughters of +the North; but it atoned for this by that softer grace and sweetness +which is the highest charm of purely English beauty. + +It was the face of the woman whom, in that portion of his strange +double life which had been free from the mysterious influence of +Natas, he had loved with well-assured hope that she would one day +rule his house and broad domains with him. She was now Lady Muriel +Penarth, the daughter of Lord Marazion, a Cornish nobleman, whose +estates abutted on those which belonged to Lord Alanmere as Baron +Tremayne, of Tremayne, in the county of Cornwall, as the _Peerage_ +had it. Noble alike by lineage and nature, no fairer mistress could +have been found for the lands of Tremayne and Alanmere, but--what +seas of blood and flame now lay between him and the realisation of +his love-ideal! + +He must forsake his own, and become a revolutionary and an outcast +from Society. He must draw the sword upon the world and his own race, +and, armed with the most awful means of destruction that the wit of +man had ever devised, he must fight his way through universal war to +that peace which alone he could ask her to share with him. Still much +could be done before he took the final step of severance which might +be perpetual, and he would lose no time in doing it. + +As soon as it was fairly light, he rose and took a long, rapid walk +over the home park, and when he returned to breakfast at nine he had +resolved to execute forthwith a deed of gift, transferring the whole +of his vast property, which was unentailed and therefore entirely at +his own disposal, to the woman who was to have shared it with him in +a few months as his wife. If the Fates were kind, he would come back +from the world-war and reclaim both the lands and their mistress, and +if not he would have the satisfaction of knowing that his broad acres +at least had a worthy mistress. + +At breakfast he met Natas again, and during the meal one of his +footmen entered, bringing the letters that had come by the morning +post. + +There were several letters for each of them, those for Natas being +addressed to "Herr F. Niemand," and for some time they were both +employed in looking through their correspondence. Suddenly Natas +looked up, and said-- + +"When do you expect to hear that Arnold is off the south coast?" + +"Almost any day now; in fact, within the week, if everything has gone +right. Here is a letter from Johnston to say that the _Lurline_ has +arrived at Plymouth, and that a bright look-out is being kept for +him. He will telegraph here and to the club in London as soon as the +air-ship is sighted. Twenty-four hours will then see us on board the +_Ariel_, or whichever of the ships he comes in." + +"I hope the news will come soon, for Michael Roburoff, the +President's brother, who has been in command of the American Section, +cables to say that he sails from New York the day after to-morrow +with detailed accounts. That means that he will come with full +reports of what the Section has done and will be ready to do when the +time comes, and also what the enemy are doing. + +"He sails in the _Aurania_, and as the Atlantic routes are swarming +with war-ships and torpedo-boats, she will probably have to run the +gauntlet, and it is of the last importance that Michael and his +reports reach us safely. It will therefore be necessary for the +air-ship to meet the _Aurania_ as soon as possible on her passage, +and take him off her before any harm happens to him. If he and his +reports fell into the hands of the enemy, there is no telling what +might happen." + +"As nearly as I can calculate," said Tremayne, "the air-ship should +be sighted in three days from now, perhaps in two. It will take the +_Aurania_ over four days to cross the Atlantic, and so we ought to be +able to meet her somewhere in mid-ocean if she is able to get so far +without being overhauled. Unfortunately she is known to be a British +ship and subsidised by the British Government, so there will be very +little chance of her getting through under the American flag. Still +she's about the fastest steamer afloat, and will take a lot of +catching." + +"And if the worst comes and she falls into the hands of the enemy, we +must fight our first naval battle and retake her, even if we have to +sink a few cruisers to do so," added Natas; "for, come what may, +Michael must not be captured." + +"Arnold will almost certainly come in his flagship, and if she is +what he promised, she should be more than a match for a whole fleet, +so I don't think there is much to fear unless the _Aurania_ gets sunk +before we reach her," said Tremayne. + +Natas and his host devoted the rest of the forenoon to their +correspondence, and to making the final arrangements for leaving +Alanmere. Tremayne wrote full instructions to his lawyers for the +drawing up of the deed, and directed them to have it ready for his +signature by two o'clock on the following day. After lunch he rode +over to Knaresborough himself with the post-bag, telegraphed an +abstract of his instructions in advance, and ordered his private +saloon carriage to be attached to the up express which passed through +at eight the next morning. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +JUST IN TIME. + + +As the train drew up in King's Cross station at twelve the next day, +almost the first words that Tremayne heard were-- + +"Special _Pall Mall_, sir! Appearance of the mysterious air-ship over +Plymouth this morning! Great battle in Austria yesterday, defeat of +the Austrians--awful slaughter with war-balloons! Special!" + +The boy was selling the papers as fast as he could hand them out to +the eager passengers. Tremayne secured one, shut the door of the +saloon again, and, turning to the middle page, read aloud to Natas-- + +"We have just received a telegram from our Plymouth correspondent, to +say that soon after daybreak this morning torpedo-boat No. 157 +steamed into the Sound, bringing the news that she had sighted a +large five-masted air-ship about ten miles from the coast, when in +company with the cruiser _Ariadne_, whose commander had despatched +her with the news. Hardly had the report been received when the +air-ship herself passed over Mount Edgcumbe and came towards the +town. + +"The news spread like wildfire, and in a few minutes the streets were +filled with crowds of people, who had thrown on a few clothes and +rushed out to get a look at the strange visitant. At first it was +thought that an attack on the arsenal was intended by the mysterious +vessel, and the excitement had risen almost to the pitch of panic, +when it was observed that she was flying a plain white flag, and that +her intentions were apparently peaceful. + +"Panic then gave place to curiosity. The air-ship crossed the town at +an elevation of about 3000 feet, described a complete circle round it +in the space of a few minutes, and then suddenly shot up into the air +and vanished to the south-westward at an inconceivable speed. The +vessel is described as being about a hundred feet long, and was +apparently armed with eight guns. Her hull was of white polished +metal, probably aluminium, and shone like silver in the sunlight. + +"The wildest rumours are current as to the object of her visit, but +of course no credence can be attached to any of them. The vessel is +plainly of the same type as that which destroyed Kronstadt two months +ago, but larger and more powerful. The inference is that she is one +of a fleet in the hands of the Terrorists, and the profoundest +uncertainty and anxiety prevail throughout naval and military circles +everywhere as to the use that they may make of these appalling means +of destruction should they take any share in the war." + +"Humph!" said Tremayne, as he finished reading. "Johnston's telegram +must have crossed us on the way, but I shall find one at the club. +Well, we have no time to lose, for we ought to start for Plymouth +this evening. Your men will take you straight to the Great Western +Hotel, and I will hurry my business through as fast as possible, and +meet you there in time to catch the 6.30. At this rate we shall meet +the _Aurania_ soon after she leaves New York." + +Within the next six hours Tremayne transferred the whole of his vast +property in a single instrument to his promised wife, thus making her +the richest woman in England; handed the precious deeds to her +astonished father; obtained his promise to take his wife and daughter +to Alanmere at the end of the London season, and to remain there with +her until he returned to reclaim her and his estates together; and +said good-bye to Lady Muriel herself in an interview which was a good +deal longer than that which he had with his bewildered and somewhat +scandalised lawyers, who had never before been forced to rush any +transaction through at such an indecent speed. Had Lord Alanmere not +been the best client in the kingdom, they might have rebelled against +such an outrage on the law's time-honoured delays; but he was not a +man to be trifled with, and so the work was done and an unbeatable +record in legal despatch accomplished, albeit very unwillingly, by +the men of law. + +By midnight the _Lurline_, ostensibly bound for Queenstown, had +cleared the Sound, and, with the Eddystone Light on her port bow, +headed away at full-speed to the westward. She was about the fastest +yacht afloat, and at a pinch could be driven a good twenty-seven +miles an hour through the water. As both Natas and Tremayne were +anxious to join the air-ship as soon as possible, every ounce of +steam that her boilers would stand was put on, and she slipped along +in splendid style through the long, dark seas that came rolling +smoothly up Channel from the westward. + +In an hour and a half after passing the Eddystone she sighted the +Lizard Light, and by the time she had brought it well abeam the first +interruption of her voyage occurred. A huge, dark mass loomed +suddenly up out of the darkness of the moonless night, then a +blinding, dazzling ray of light shot across the water from the +searchlight of a battleship that was patrolling the coast, attended +by a couple of cruisers and four torpedo-boats. One of these last +came flying towards the yacht down the white path of the beam of +light, and Tremayne, seeing that he would have to give an account of +himself, stopped his engines and waited for the torpedo-boat to come +within hail. + +"Steamer ahoy! Who are you? and where are you going to at that +speed?" + +"This is the _Lurline_, the Earl of Alanmere's yacht, from Plymouth +to Queenstown. We're only going at our usual speed." + +"Oh, if it's the _Lurline_, you needn't say that," answered the +officer who had hailed from the torpedo-boat, with a laugh. "Is Lord +Alanmere on board?" + +"Yes, here I am," said Tremayne, replying instead of his +sailing-master. "Is that you, Selwyn? I thought I recognised your +voice." + +"Yes, it's I, or rather all that's left of me after two months in +this buck-jumping little brute of a craft. She bobs twice in the same +hole every time, and if it's a fairly deep hole she just dives right +through and out on the other side; and there are such a lot of +Frenchmen about that we get no rest day or night on this patrolling +business." + +"Very sorry for you, old man; but if you will seek glory in a +torpedo-boat, I don't see that you can expect anything else. Will you +come on board and have a drink?" + +"No, thanks. Very sorry, but I can't stop. By the way, have you heard +of that air-ship that was over this way this morning? I wonder what +the deuce it really is, and what it's up to?" + +"I've heard of it; it was in the London papers this morning. Have you +seen any more of it?" + +"Oh yes; the thing was cruising about in mid-air all this morning, +taking stock of us and the Frenchmen too, I suppose. She vanished +during the afternoon. Where to, I don't know. It's awfully +humiliating, you know, to be obliged to crawl about here on the +water, at twenty-five knots at the utmost, while that fellow is +flying a hundred miles an hour or so through the clouds without +turning a hair, or I ought to say without as much as a puff of smoke. +He seems to move of his own mere volition. I wonder what on earth he +is." + +"Not much on earth apparently, but something very considerable in the +air, where I hope he'll stop out of sight until I get to Queenstown; +and as I want to get there pretty early in the morning, perhaps +you'll excuse me saying good-night and getting along, if you won't +come on board." + +"No, very sorry I can't. Good-night, and keep well in to the coast +till you have to cross to Ireland. Good-bye?" + +"Good-bye!" shouted Tremayne in reply, as the torpedo-boat swung +round and headed back to the battleship, and he gave the order to go +ahead again at full-speed. + +In another hour they were off the Land's End, and from there they +headed out due south-west into the Atlantic. They had hardly made +another hundred miles before it began to grow light, and then it +became necessary to keep a bright look-out for the air-ship, for +according to what they had heard from the commander of the +torpedo-boat she might be sighted at any moment as soon as it was +light enough to see her. + +Another hour passed, but there was still no sign of the air-ship. +This of course was to be expected, for they had still another +seventy-five miles or so to go before the rendezvous was reached. + +"Steamer to the south'ard!" sang out the man on the forecastle, just +as Tremayne came on deck after an attempt at a brief nap. He picked +up his glass, and took a good look at the thin cloud of smoke away on +the southern horizon. + +From what he could see it was a large steamer, and was coming up very +fast, almost at right angles to the course of the _Lurline_. Fifteen +minutes later he was able to see that the stranger was a warship, and +that she was heading for Queenstown. She was therefore either a +British ship attached to the Irish Squadron, or else she was an enemy +with designs on the liners bound for Liverpool. + +In either case it was most undesirable that the yacht should be +overhauled again. Any mishap to her, even a lengthy delay, might have +the most serious consequences. A single unlucky shell exploding in +her engine-room would disable her, and perhaps change the future +history of the world. + +Tremayne therefore altered her course a little more to the northward, +thus increasing the distance between her and the stranger, and at the +same time ordered the engineer to keep up the utmost head of steam, +and get the last possible yard out of her. + +The alteration in her course appeared to be instantly detected by the +warship, for she at once swerved off more to the westward, and +brought herself dead astern of the _Lurline_. She was now near enough +for Tremayne to see that she was a large cruiser, and attended by a +brace of torpedo-boats, which were running along one under each of +her quarters, like a couple of dogs following a hunter. + +There was now no doubt but that, whatever her nationality, she was +bent on overhauling the yacht, if possible, and the dense volumes of +smoke that were pouring out of her funnels told Tremayne that she was +stoking up vigorously for the chase. + +By this time she was about seven miles away, and the _Lurline_, her +twin screws beating the water at their utmost speed, and every plate +in her trembling under the vibration of her engines, rushed through +the water faster than she had ever done since the day she was +launched. As far as could be seen, she was holding her own well in +what had now become a dead-on stern chase. + +Still the stranger showed no flag, and though Tremayne could hardly +believe that a hostile cruiser and a couple of torpedo-boats would +venture so near to the ground occupied by the British battle-ships, +the fact that she showed no colours looked at the best suspicious. +Determined to settle the question, if possible, one way or the other, +he ran up the ensign of the Royal Yacht Squadron. + +This brought no reply from the cruiser, but a column of bluish-white +smoke shot up a moment later from the funnels of one of the +torpedo-boats, telling that she had put on the forced draught, and, +like a greyhound slipped from the leash, she began to draw away from +the big ship, plunging through the long rollers, and half-burying +herself in the foam that she threw up from her bows. + +Tremayne knew that there were some of these viperish little craft in +the French navy that could be driven thirty miles an hour through the +water, and if this was one of them, capture was only a matter of +time, unless the air-ship sighted them and came to the rescue. + +Happily, although there was a considerable swell on, the water was +smooth and free from short waves, and this was to the advantage of +the _Lurline_; for she went along "as dry as a bone," while the +torpedo-boat, lying much lower in the water, rammed her nose into +every roller, and so lost a certain amount of way. The yacht was +making a good twenty-eight miles an hour under the heroic efforts of +the engineers; and at this rate it would be nearly two hours before +she was overhauled, provided that the torpedo-boat was not able to +use the gun that she carried forward of her funnels with any +dangerous effect. + +There could now be no doubt as to the hostility of the pursuers. Had +they been British, they would have answered the flag flying at the +peak of the yacht. + +"Steamer coming down from the nor'ard, sir!" suddenly sang out a man +whom Tremayne had just stationed in the fore cross-trees to look out +for the air-ship that was now so anxiously expected. + +A dense volume of smoke was seen rising in the direction indicated, +and a few minutes later a second big steamer came into view, bearing +down directly on the yacht, and so approaching the torpedo-boat +almost stem on. There was no doubt about her nationality. A glance +through the glass showed Tremayne the white ensign floating above the +horizontal stream of smoke that stretched behind her. She was a +British cruiser, no doubt a scout of the Irish Squadron, and had +sighted the smoke of the yacht and her pursuers, and had come to +investigate. + +Tremayne breathed more freely now, for he knew that his flag would +procure the assistance of the new-comer in case it was wanted, as +indeed it very soon was. + +Hardly had the British cruiser come well in sight than a puff of +smoke rose from the deck of the other warship, and a shell came +whistling through the air, and burst within a hundred yards of the +_Lurline_. Twenty-four hours ago Tremayne had been one of the richest +men in England, and just now he would have willingly given all that +he had possessed to be twenty-five miles further to the +south-westward than he was. + +Another shell from the Frenchman passed clear over the _Lurline_, and +plunged into the water and burst, throwing a cloud of spray high into +the air. Then came one from the torpedo-boat, but she was still too +far off for her light gun to do any damage, and the projectile fell +spent into the sea nearly five hundred yards short. + +Immediately after this came a third shell from the French cruiser, +and this, by an unlucky chance, struck the forecastle of the yacht, +burst, and tore away several feet of the bulwarks, and, worse than +all, killed four of her crew instantly. + +"First blood!" said Tremayne to himself through his clenched teeth. +"That shall be an unlucky shot for you, my friend, if we reach the +air-ship before you sink us." + +Meanwhile the two cruisers, each approaching the other at a speed of +more than twenty miles an hour, had got within shot. A puff of smoke +spurted out from the side of the latest comer. The well-aimed +projectile passed fifty yards astern of the _Lurline_, and struck the +advancing torpedo-boat square on the bow. + +The next instant it was plainly apparent that there was nothing more +to be feared from her. The solid shot had passed clean through her +two sides. Her nose went down and her stern came up. Then bang went +another gun from the British cruiser. This time the messenger of +death was a shell. It struck the inclined deck amidships, there was a +flash of flame, a cloud of steam rose up from her bursting boilers, +and then she broke in two and vanished beneath the smooth-rolling +waves. + +Two minutes later the duel began in deadly earnest. The tricolor ran +up to the masthead of the French cruiser, and jets of mingled smoke +and flame spurted one after the other from her sides, and shells +began bursting in quick succession round the rapidly-advancing +Englishman. Evidently the Frenchman, with his remaining torpedo-boat, +thought himself a good match for the British cruiser, for he showed +no disposition to shirk the combat, despite the fact that he was so +near to the cruising ground of a powerful squadron. + +As the two cruisers approached each other, the fire from their heavy +guns was supplemented by that of their light quick-firing armament, +until each of them became a floating volcano, vomiting continuous +jets of smoke and flame, and hurling showers of shot and shell across +the rapidly-lessening space between them. + +The din of the hideous concert became little short of appalling, even +to the most hardened nerves. The continuous deep booming of the heavy +guns, as they belched forth their three-hundred-pound projectiles, +mingled with the sharp ringing reports of the thirty and forty pound +quick-firers, and the horrible grinding rattle of the machine guns in +the tops that sounded clearly above all, and every few seconds came +the scream and the bang of bursting shells, and the dull, crashing +sound of rending and breaking steel, as the terrible missiles of +death and destruction found their destined mark. + +Happily the _Lurline_ was out of the line of fire, or she would have +been torn to fragments and sent to the bottom in a few seconds. She +continued on her course at her utmost speed, and the French cruiser +was, of course, too busy to pay any further attention to her. Not so +the remaining torpedo-boat, however, which, leaving the two big ships +to fight out their duel for the present, was pursuing the yacht at +the utmost speed of her forced draught. + +Capture or destruction soon only became a matter of a few minutes. +Tremayne, determined to hold on till he was sunk or sighted the +air-ship, kept his flag flying and his engines working to the last +ounce that the quivering boilers would stand, and the Frenchman, +seeing that he was determined to escape if he could, opened fire on +him with his twenty-pounder. + +Owing to the high speed of the two vessels, and the rolling of the +torpedo-boat, not much execution was done at first; but, as the +distance diminished, shell after shell crashed through the bulwarks +of the _Lurline_, ripping them longitudinally, and tearing up the +deck-planks with their jagged fragments. The wheel-house and the +funnel escaped by a miracle, and the yacht being end on to her +pursuer, the engines and boilers were comparatively safe. + +One boat had also escaped, and that was hanging ready to be lowered +at a moment's notice. + +At last a shell struck the funnel, burst, and shattered it to +fragments. Almost at the same moment the man in the fore-cross-trees, +who had stuck to his post in defiance of the cannonade, sang out with +a triumphant shout-- + +"The air-ship! The air-ship!" + +Hardly had the words left his lips when a shell from the torpedo-boat +struck the _Lurline_ under the quarter, and ripped one of her plates +out like a sheet of paper. The next instant the engineer rushed up on +deck, crying-- + +"The bottom's out of her! She'll go down in five minutes!" + +Tremayne, who was the only man on deck save the look-out, ran out of +the wheel-house, dived into the cabin, and a moment later reappeared +with Natas in his arms, and followed by his two attendants. Then, +without the loss of a second, but in perfect order, the quarter-boat +was manned and lowered, and pulled clear of the ill-fated _Lurline_ +just as she pitched backwards into the sea and went down with a run, +stern foremost. + +The air-ship, coming up at a tremendous speed, swooped suddenly down +from a height of two thousand feet, and slowed up within a thousand +yards of the torpedo-boat. A projectile rushed through the air and +landed on the deck of the Frenchman. There was a flash of greenish +flame, a cloud of mingled smoke and steam, and when this had drifted +away there was not a vestige of the torpedo-boat to be seen. Then a +few fragments of iron splashed into the water here and there, and +that was all that betokened her fate. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +ARMED NEUTRALITY. + + +Hardly had the _Lurline_ disappeared than the air-ship was lying +alongside the boat, floating on the water as easily and lightly as a +seagull, and Natas and his two attendants, Tremayne, and the three +men who had been saved from the yacht, were at once taken on board. + +It would be useless to interrupt the progress of the narrative to +describe the welcoming greetings which passed between the rescued +party and the crew of the _Ithuriel_, or the amazement of Arnold and +his companions when Natasha threw her arms round the neck of the +almost helpless cripple, who was rifted over the rail by Tremayne and +his two attendants, kissed him on the brow, and said so that all +could hear her-- + +"We were in time! Thank God we were in time, my father!" + +Her father! This paralytic creature, who could not move a yard +without the assistance of some one else--this was Natas, the father +of Natasha, and the Master of the Terror, the man who had planned the +ruin of a civilisation, and for all they knew might aspire to the +empire of the world! + +It was marvellous, inconceivable, but there was no time to think +about it now, for the two cruisers were still blazing away at each +other, and Tremayne had determined to punish the Frenchman for his +discourtesy in not answering his flag, and his inhumanity in firing +on an unarmed vessel which was well known as a private pleasure-yacht +all round the western and southern shores of Europe. + +As soon as Natas had been conveyed into the saloon, Tremayne, after +returning Arnold's hearty handclasp, said to him-- + +"That rascally Frenchman chased and fired on us, and then sent his +torpedo-boat after us, without the slightest provocation. I purposely +hoisted the Yacht Squadron flag to show that we were non-combatants, +and still he sank us. I suppose he took the _Lurline_ for a fast +despatch boat, but still he ought to have had the sense and the +politeness to let her alone when he saw she was a yacht, so I want +you to teach him better manners." + +"Certainly," replies Arnold. "I'll sink him for you in five seconds +as soon as we get aloft again." + +"I don't want you to do that if you can help it. She has five or six +hundred men on board, who are only doing as they are told, and we +have not declared war on the world yet. Can't you disable her, and +force her to surrender to the British cruiser that came to our +rescue? You know we must have been sunk or captured half an hour ago +if she had not turned up so opportunely, in spite of your so happily +coming fifty miles this side of the rendezvous. I should like to +return the compliment by delivering his enemy into his hand." + +"I quite see what you mean, but I'm afraid I can't guarantee success. +You see, our artillery is intended for destruction, and not for +disablement. Still I'll have a try with pleasure. I'll see if I can't +disable his screws, only you mustn't blame me if he goes to the +bottom by accident." + +"Certainly not, you most capable destroyer of life and property," +laughed Tremayne. "Only let him off as lightly as you can. Ah, +Natasha! Good morning again! I suppose Natas has taken no harm from +the unceremonious way in which I had to almost throw him on board the +boat. Aërial voyaging seems to agree with you, you"-- + +"Must not talk nonsense, my Lord of Alanmere, especially when there +is sterner work in hand," interrupted Natasha, with a laugh. "What +are you going to do with those two cruisers that are battering each +other to pieces down there? Sink them both, or leave them to fight it +out?" + +"Neither, with your permission, fair lady. The British cruiser saved +us by coming on the scene at the right moment, and as the Frenchman +fired upon us without due cause, I want Captain Arnold to disable her +in some way and hand her over a prisoner to our rescuer." + +"Ah, that would be better, of course. One good turn deserves another. +What are you going to do, Captain Arnold?" + +"Drop a small shell under his stern and disable his propellers, if I +can do so without sinking him, which I am afraid is rather doubtful," +replied Arnold. + +While they were talking, the _Ithuriel_ had risen a thousand feet or +so from the water, and had advanced to within about half a mile of +the two cruisers, which were now manoeuvring round each other at a +distance of about a thousand yards, blazing away without cessation, +and waiting for some lucky shot to partially disable one or the +other, and so give an opportunity for boarding, or ramming. + +In the old days, when France and Britain had last grappled in the +struggle for the mastery of the sea, the two ships would have been +laid alongside each other long before this. But that was not to be +thought of while those terrible machine guns were able to rain their +hail of death down from the tops, and the quick-firing cannon were +hurling their thirty shots a minute across the intervening space of +water. + +The French cruiser had so far taken no notice of the sudden +annihilation of her second torpedo-boat by the air-ship, but as soon +as the latter made her way astern of her she seemed to scent +mischief, and turned one of her three-barrelled Nordenfeldts on to +her. The shots soon came singing about the _Ithuriel_ in somewhat +unpleasant proximity, and Arnold said-- + +"Monsieur seems to take us for a natural enemy, and if he wants fight +he shall have it. If I don't disable him with this shot I'll sink him +with the next." + +So saying he trained one of the broadside guns on the stern of the +French cruiser, and at the right moment pressed the button. The shell +bored its way through the air and down into the water until it struck +and exploded against the submerged rudder. + +A huge column of foam rose up under the cruiser's stern; half lifted +out of the water, she plunged forward with a mighty lurch, burying +her forecastle in the green water, and then she righted and lay +helpless upon the sea, deprived of the power of motion and steering, +and with the useless steam roaring in great clouds from her pipes. A +moment later she began to settle by the stern, showing that her after +plates had been badly injured, if not torn away by the explosion. + +Meanwhile the _Ithuriel_ had shot away out of range until the two +cruisers looked like little toy-ships spitting fire at each other, +and Arnold said to Tremayne, who was with him in the wheel-house-- + +"I think that has settled her, as far as any more real fighting is +concerned. Look! She can't stand that sort of thing very long." + +He handed Tremayne the glasses as he spoke. The French cruiser was +lying motionless upon the water, with her after compartments full, +and very much down by the stern. She was still blazing away gamely +with all her available guns, but it was obvious at a glance that she +was now no match for her antagonist, who had taken full advantage of +the help rendered by her unknown ally, and was pouring a perfect hail +of shot and shell point-blank into her half-disabled adversary, +battering her deck-works into ruins, and piercing her hull again and +again. + +At length, when the splendid fabric had been reduced to little better +than a floating wreck by the terrible cannonade, the fire from the +British cruiser stopped, and the signal "Will you surrender?" flew +from her masthead. + +A few moments later the tricolor, for the first time in the war, +dipped to the White Ensign, and the naval duel was over. + +"Now we will leave them to talk it over," said Tremayne, shutting the +glasses. "I should like to hear what they have to say about us, I +must confess, but there is something more important to be done, and +the sooner we are on the other side of the Atlantic the better. The +_Aurania_ started from New York this morning. How soon can you get +across?" + +"In about sixteen hours if we had to go all the way," replied Arnold. +"It is, say, three thousand miles from here to New York, and the +_Ithuriel_ can fly two hundred miles an hour if necessary. But the +_Aurania_, if she starts in good time, will make between four and +five hundred miles during the day, and so we ought to meet her soon +after sundown this evening if we are lucky." + +As Arnold ceased speaking, the report of a single gun came up from +the water, and a string of signal flags floated out from the masthead +of the British cruiser. + +"Hullo!" said Tremayne, once more turning the glasses on the two +vessels, "that was a blank cartridge, and as far as I can make out +that signal reads, 'We want to speak you.' And look: there goes a +white flag to the fore. His intentions are evidently peaceful. What +do you say, shall we go down?" + +"I see no objection to it. It will only make a difference of half an +hour or so, and perhaps we may learn something worth knowing from the +captain about the naval force afloat in the Atlantic. I think it +would be worth while. We have no need for concealment now; and +besides, all Europe is talking about us, so there can be no harm in +showing ourselves a bit more closely." + +"Very well, then, we will go down and hear what he has to say," +replied Tremayne. "But I don't think it would be well for me to show +myself just now, and so I will go below." + +Arnold at once signalled the necessary order from the conning tower +to the engine-room. The fan-wheels revolved more slowly, and the +_Ithuriel_ sank swiftly downwards towards the two cruisers, now lying +side by side. + +As soon as she came to a standstill within speaking distance of the +British man-of-war, discipline was for the moment forgotten on board +of both victor and vanquished, under the influence of the intense +excitement and curiosity aroused by seeing the mysterious and +much-talked-of air-ship at such close quarters. + +The French and British captains were both standing on the +quarter-deck eagerly scanning the strange craft through their glasses +till she came near enough to dispense with them, and every man and +officer on board the two cruisers who was able to be on deck, crowded +to points of 'vantage, and stared at her with all their eyes. The +whole company of the _Ithuriel_, with the exception of Natas, +Tremayne, and those whose duties kept them in the engine-room, were +also on deck, and Arnold stood close by the wheel-house and the after +gun, ready to give any orders that might be necessary in case the +conversation took an unfriendly turn. + +"May I ask the name of that wonderful craft, and to what I am +indebted for the assistance you have given me?" hailed the British +captain. + +"Certainly. This is the Terrorist air-ship _Ithuriel_, and we +disabled the French cruiser because her captain had the bad manners +to fire upon and sink an unarmed yacht that had no quarrel with him. +But for that we should have left you to fight it out." + +"The Terrorists, are you? If I had known that, I confess I should not +have asked to speak you, and I tell you candidly that I am sorry you +did not leave us to fight it out, as you say. As I cannot look upon +you as an ally or a friend, I can only regret the advantage you have +given me over an honourable foe." + +There was an emphasis on the word "honourable" which brought a flush +to Arnold's cheek, as he replied-- + +"What I did to the French cruiser I should have done whether you had +been on the scene or not. We are as much your foes as we are those of +France, that is to say, we are totally indifferent to both of you. As +for _honourable_ foes, I may say that I only disabled the French +cruiser because I thought she had acted both unfairly and +dishonourably. But we are wasting time. Did you merely wish to speak +to us in order to find out who we were?" + +"Yes, that was my first object, I confess. I also wished to know +whether this is the same air-ship which crossed the Mediterranean +yesterday, and if not, how many of these vessels there are in +existence, and what you mean to do with them?" + +"Before I answer, may I ask how you know that an air-ship crossed the +Mediterranean yesterday?" asked Arnold, thoroughly mystified by this +astounding piece of news. + +"We had it by telegraph at Queenstown during the night. She was going +northward, when observed, by Larnaka"-- + +"Oh yes, that was one of our despatch boats," replied Arnold, forcing +himself to speak with a calmness that he by no means felt. "I'm +afraid my orders will hardly allow me to answer your other questions +very fully, but I may tell you that we have a fleet of air-ships at +our command, all constructed in England under the noses of your +intelligent authorities, and that we mean to use them as it seems +best to us, should we at any time consider it worth our while to +interfere in the game that the European Powers are playing with each +other. Meanwhile we keep a position of armed neutrality. When we +think the war has gone far enough we shall probably stop it when a +good opportunity offers." + +This was too much for a British sailor to listen to quietly on his +own quarter-deck, whoever said it, and so the captain of the +_Andromeda_ forgot his prudence for the moment, and said somewhat +hotly-- + +"Confound it, sir! you talk as if you were omnipotent and arbiters of +peace and war. Don't go too far with your insolence, or I shall haul +that flag of truce down and give you five minutes to get out of range +of my guns or take your chance"-- + +For all answer there came a contemptuous laugh from the deck of the +_Ithuriel_, the rapid ringing of an electric bell, and the +disappearance of her company under cover. Then with one mighty leap +she rose two thousand feet into the air, and before the astounded and +disgusted captain of H.M. cruiser _Andromeda_ very well knew what had +become of her, she was a mere speck of light in the sky, speeding +away at two hundred miles an hour to the westward. + +As soon as she was fairly on her course, Arnold gave up the wheel to +one of the crew, and went into the saloon to discuss with Tremayne +and Natas the all-important scrap of news that had fallen from the +lips of the captain of the British cruiser. What was the other +air-ship that had been seen crossing the Mediterranean? + +Surely it must be one of the Terrorist fleet, for there were no +others in existence. And yet strict orders had been given that none +of the fleet were to take the air until the _Ithuriel_ returned. Was +it possible that there were traitors, even in Aeria, and that the +air-ship seen from Larnaka was a deserter going northward to the +enemy, the worst enemy of all, the Russians? + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +A BATTLE IN THE NIGHT. + + +At half-past five on the morning of the 23rd of June, the Cunard +liner _Aurania_ left New York for Queenstown and Liverpool. She was +the largest and swiftest passenger steamer afloat, and on her maiden +voyage she had lowered the Atlantic record by no less than twelve +hours; that is to say, she had performed the journey from Sandy Hook +to Queenstown in four days and a half exactly. Her measurement was +forty-five thousand tons, and her twin screws, driven by quadruple +engines, developing sixty thousand horse-power, forced her through +the water at the unparalleled speed of thirty knots, or thirty-four +and a half statute miles an hour. + +Since the outbreak of the war it had been found necessary to take all +but the most powerful vessels off the Atlantic route, for, as had +long been foreseen, the enemies of the Anglo-German Alliance were +making the most determined efforts to cripple the Transatlantic trade +of Britain and Germany, and swift, heavily-armed French and Italian +cruisers, attended by torpedo-boats and gun-boats, and supported by +battle-ships and depôt vessels for coaling purposes, were swarming +along the great ocean highway. + +These, of course, had to be opposed by an equal or greater force of +British warships. In fact, the burden of keeping the Atlantic route +open fell entirely on Britain, for the German and Austrian fleets had +all the work they were capable of doing nearer home in the Baltic and +Mediterranean. + +The terrible mistake that had been made by the House of Lords in +negativing the Italian Loan had already become disastrously apparent, +for though the Anglo-Teutonic Alliance was putting forth every +effort, its available ships were only just sufficient to keep the +home waters clear and the ocean routes practically open, even for the +fastest steamers. + +The task, therefore, which lay before the _Aurania_ when she cleared +American waters was little less than running the gauntlet for nearly +three thousand miles. The French cruiser which had been captured by +the _Andromeda_, thanks to the assistance of the _Ithuriel_, had left +Brest with the express purpose of helping to intercept the great +Cunarder, for she had crossed the Atlantic five times already without +a scratch since the war had begun, showing a very clean pair of heels +to everything that had attempted to overhaul her, and now on her +sixth passage a grand effort was to be made to capture or cripple the +famous ocean greyhound. + +It was by far her most important voyage in more senses than one. In +the first place, her incomparable speed and good luck had made her +out of sight the prime favourite with those passengers who were +obliged to cross the Atlantic, war or no war, and for the same +reasons she also carried more mails and specie than any other liner, +and this voyage she had an enormously valuable consignment of both on +board. As for passengers, every available foot of space was taken for +months in advance. + +Enterprising agents on both sides of the water had bought up every +berth from stem to stern, and had put them up to auction, realising +fabulous prices, which had little chance of being abated, even when +her sister ship the _Sidonia_, the construction of which was being +pushed forward on the Clyde with all possible speed, was ready to +take the water. + +But the chief importance of this particular passage lay, though +barely half a dozen persons were aware of it, in the fact that among +her passengers was Michael Roburoff, chief of the American Section of +the Terrorists, who was bringing to the Council his report of the +work of the Brotherhood in the United States, together with the +information which he had collected, by means of an army of spies, as +to the true intentions of the American Government with regard to the +war. + +These, so far as the rest of the world was concerned, were a profound +secret, and he was the only man outside the President's Cabinet and +the Tsar's Privy Council who had accurate information with regard to +them. The _Aurania_ was therefore not only carrying mails, treasure, +and passengers, but, in the person of Michael Roburoff, she was +carrying secrets on the revelation of which the whole issue of the +war and the destiny of the world might turn. + +America was the one great Power not involved in the tremendous +struggle that was being waged. The most astute diplomatist in Europe +had no idea what her real policy was, but every one knew that the +side on which she threw the weight of her boundless wealth and vast +resources must infallibly win in the long run. + +The plan that had been adopted by Britain for keeping the Atlantic +route open was briefly as follows:--All along the 3000 miles of the +steamer track a battleship was stationed at the end of every day's +run, that is to say, at intervals of about 500 miles, and patrolled +within a radius of 100 miles. Each of these was attended by two +heavily-armed cruisers and four torpedo-boats, while between these +points swifter cruisers were constantly running to and fro convoying +the liners. + +Thus, when the _Aurania_ left New York, she was picked up on the +limit of the American water by two cruisers, which would keep pace +with her as well as they could until she reached the first +battleship. As she passed the ironclad these two would leave her, and +the next two would take up the running, and so on until she reached +the range of operations of the Irish Squadron. + +No other Power in the world could have maintained such a system of +ocean police, but Britain was putting forth the whole of her mighty +naval strength, and so she spared neither ships nor money to keep +open the American and Canadian routes, for on them nearly half her +food-supply depended, as well as her chief line of communication with +the far East. + +On the other hand, her enemies were making desperate efforts to break +the chain of steel that was thus stretched across the hemisphere, for +they well knew that, this once broken, the first real triumph of the +war would have been won. + +Five hundred miles out from New York the _Aurania_ was joined by the +_Oceana_, the largest vessel on the Canadian Pacific line from +Halifax to Liverpool. So far no enemy had been seen. The two great +liners reached the first battleship together, and were joined by the +second pair of cruisers. Before sunset the Cunarder had drawn ahead +of her companions, and by nightfall was racing away alone over the +water with every light carefully concealed, and keeping an eager +look-out for friend or foe. + +There was no moon, and the sky was so heavily overcast with clouds, +that, under any other circumstances, it would have been the height of +rashness to go rushing through the darkness at such a headlong speed. +But the captain of the _Aurania_ was aware of the state of the road, +and he knew that in speed and secrecy lay his only chances of getting +his magnificent vessel through in safety. + +Soon after ten o'clock lights were sighted dead ahead. The course was +slightly altered, and the great liner swept past one of the North +German Lloyd boats in company with a cruiser. The private signal was +made and answered, and in half an hour she was again alone amidst the +darkness. + +It was nearly eleven o'clock, when Michael Roburoff, who was standing +under the lee of one of the ventilators amidships, smoking a last +pipe before turning in, saw a figure muffled in a huge grey ulster +creeping into the deeper shadows under the bridge. It was so dark +that he could only just make out the outline of the figure, but he +could see enough to rouse his ever ready suspicions in the furtive +movements that the man was making. + +He stole out on the starboard, that is the southward, rail of the +spar-deck, and Michael, straining his eyes to the utmost, saw him +take a round flat object from under his coat, and then look round +stealthily to see if he was observed. As he did so Michael whipped a +pistol out of his pocket, levelled it at the man, and said in a low, +distinct tone-- + +"Put that back, or I'll shoot!" + +For all answer the man raised his arm to throw the object overboard. +Michael, taking the best aim he could in the darkness, fired. The +bullet struck the elbow of the raised arm, the man lurched forward +with a low cry of rage and pain, grasped the object with his other +hand, and, as he fell to the deck, flung it into the sea. + +Scarcely had it touched the water when it burst into flame, and an +intensely bright blaze of bluish-white light shot up, shattering the +darkness, and illuminating the great ship from the waterline to the +trucks of her masts. Instantly the deck of the liner was a scene of +wild excitement. In a moment the man whom Roburoff had wounded was +secured in the act of trying to throw himself overboard. Michael +himself was rapidly questioned by the captain, who was immediately on +the spot. + +He told his story in a dozen words, and explained that he had fired +to disable the man and prevent the fire-signal falling into the sea. +There was no doubt about the guilt of the traitor, for he himself cut +the captain's interrogation short by saying defiantly, in broken +English that at once betrayed him as a Frenchman-- + +"Yees, I do it! I give signal to ze fleet down there. If I succeeded, +I got half million francs. I fail, so shoot! C'est la fortune de la +guerre! Voilà, look! They come!" + +As the spy said this he pointed to the south-eastern horizon. A brief +bright flash of white light went up through the night and vanished. +It was the answering signal from the French or Italian cruisers, +which were making all speed up from the south-east to head off the +_Aurania_ before she reached the next station and gained the +protection of the British battleship. + +The spy's words were only too true. He had gone to America for the +sole purpose of returning in the _Aurania_ and giving the signal at +this particular point on the passage. Within ten miles were four of +the fleetest French and Italian cruisers, six torpedo-boats, and two +battleships, which, by keeping well to the southward during the day, +and then putting on all steam as soon as night fell, had managed to +head off the ocean greyhound at last. + +Two cruisers and a battleship with two torpedo-boats were coming up +from the south-east; one cruiser, the other battleship, and two +torpedo-boats were bearing down from the south-west, and the +remaining cruiser and brace of torpedo-boats had managed to slip +through the British line and gain a position to the northward. + +This large force had not been brought up without good reason. The +_Aurania_ was the biggest prize afloat, and well worth fighting for, +if it came to blows, as it very probably would do; added to which +there was a very good chance of one or two other liners falling +victims to a well-planned and successful raid. + +The French spy was at once sent below and put into safe keeping, and +the signal to "stoke up" was sent to the engine-rooms. The firemen +responded with a will, extra hands were put on in the stokeholes, and +the furnaces taxed to their utmost capacity. The boilers palpitated +under the tremendous head of steam, the engines throbbed and groaned +like labouring giants, and the great ship, trembling like some live +animal under the lash, rushed faster and faster over the long dark +rollers under the impulse of her whirling screws. + +There was no longer any need for concealment even if it had been +possible. Speed and speed only afforded the sole chance of escape. Of +course the captain of the _Aurania_ had no idea of the strength or +disposition of the force that had undertaken his capture. Had he +known the true state of the case, his anxiety would have been a good +deal greater than it was. He fully believed that he could outsteam +the vessels to the south-east, and, once past these, he knew that he +would be in touch with the British ships at the next station before +any harm could come to him. He therefore headed a little more to the +northward, and trusted with perfect confidence to his heels. + +Michael Roburoff was the hero of the moment, and the captain +cordially thanked him for his prompt attempt to frustrate the +atrocious act of the spy which deliberately endangered the liberty +and perhaps the lives of more than a thousand non-combatants. +Michael, however, cut his thanks short by taking him aside and asking +him what he thought of the position of affairs. He spoke so seriously +that the captain thought he was frightened, and by way of reassuring +him replied cheerily-- + +"Don't have any fear for the _Aurania_, Mr. Roburoff. That's only a +cruiser, or perhaps a couple, down there, and the enemy haven't a +ship that I can't give a good five knots and a beating to. We shall +sight the British ships soon after daybreak, and by that time those +fellows will be fifty miles behind us." + +"I have as much confidence in the _Aurania's_ speed as you have, +Captain Frazer," replied Michael, "but I'm afraid you are underrating +the enemy's strength. Do you know that within the last few days it +has been almost doubled, and that a determined effort is to be made, +not only to catch or sink the _Aurania_, but also to break the +British line of posts, and cut the line of American and Canadian +communication altogether?" + +"No, sir," replied the captain, looking sharply at Michael. "I don't +know anything of the sort, neither do the commanders of the British +warships on this side. If your information is correct, I should like +to know how you came by it. You are a Russian by name"-- + +"But not a subject of the Tsar," quickly interrupted Michael. "I am +an American citizen, and I have come by this information not as the +friend of Russia, as you seem to suspect, but as her enemy, or rather +as the enemy of her ruler. How I got it is my business. It is enough +for you to know that it is correct, and that you are in far greater +danger than you think you are. The signal given by that French spy +was evidently part of a prearranged plan, and for all you know you +may even now be surrounded, or steaming straight into a trap that has +been laid for you. If I may advise, I would earnestly counsel you to +double on your course and make every effort to rejoin the other liner +and the cruisers we have passed." + +"Nonsense, sir, nonsense!" answered the captain testily. "Our +watch-dogs are far too wide awake to be caught napping like that. You +have been deceived by one of the rumours that are filling the air +just now. You can go to your berth and sleep in peace, and to-morrow +you shall be half-way across the Atlantic without an enemy's ship in +sight." + +"Captain Frazer," said Michael very seriously, "with your leave I +shall not go to my berth; and what is more, I can tell you that very +few of us will get much sleep to-night, and that if you do not back I +hardly think you will be flying the British flag to-morrow. Ha! look +there--and there!" + +Michael seized the captain's arm suddenly, and pointed rapidly to the +south-east and north-east. Two thin rays of light flashed up into the +sky one after the other. Then came a third from the south-west, and +then darkness again. At the same instant came the hails from the +look-outs announcing the lights. + +Captain Frazer was wrong, and he saw that he was at a glance. The +flash in the north-east could not be from a friend, for it was a +plain answer to the known enemy in the south-east, and so too in all +probability was the third. If so, the _Aurania_ was almost +surrounded. + +The captain wasted no words in confessing his error, but ran up on to +the bridge to rectify it as far as he could at once. The helm was put +hard over, the port screw was reversed, and the steamer swung round +in a wide sweep, and was soon speeding back westward over her own +tracks. An hour's run brought her in sight of the lights of the +_North German_ and her escort. She slowed as she passed them, and +told the news. Then she sped on again at full-speed to meet the +_Oceana_ and the two cruisers, which were about fifty miles behind. + +By one A.M. the three cruisers and the three liners had joined +forces, and were steaming westward at twenty knots an hour, the +liners in single file led by a cruiser, and having one on each beam. +Soon the flashes on the horizon grew more frequent, always drawing +closer together. + +Then those in the westward dropped from the perpendicular to the +horizontal, and swept the water as though seeking something. It was +not long before the darting rays of one of the searchlights fell +across the track of the British flotilla. Instantly from all three +points converging flashes were concentrated upon it, revealing the +outline of every ship with the most perfect distinctness. + +The last hope of running through the hostile fleet unperceived had +now vanished. There was nothing for it but to go ahead full-speed, +and trust to the chances of a running fight to get clear. With a view +of finding out the strength of the enemy, the British cruisers now +turned their searchlights on and swept the horizon. + +A very few moments sufficed to show that an overwhelming force was +closing in on them from three sides. They were completely caught in a +trap, from which there was no escape save by running the gauntlet. +Whichever way they headed they would have to pass through the +converging fire of the enemy. + +The weakest point, so far as they could see, was the one cruiser and +two torpedo-boats to the northward, and so towards them they headed. +At the speed at which they were travelling it needed but a few +minutes to bring them within range, and the British commanders +rightly decided to concentrate their fire for the present on the +single cruiser and her two attendants, in the hope of sinking them +before the others could get into action. + +At three thousand yards the heavy guns came into play, and a storm of +shell was hurled upon the advancing foe, who lost no time in replying +in the same terms. As the vessels approached each other the shooting +became closer and terribly effective. + +The searchlights of the British cruisers were kept full ahead, and +every attempt of the torpedo-boats to get round on the flank was +foiled by a hail of shot from the quick-firing guns. Within fifteen +minutes of opening fire one of these was sunk and the other disabled. +The French cruiser, too, suffered fearfully from the tempest of shot +and shell that was rained upon her. + +Had the British got within range of her half an hour sooner the plan +would have been completely foiled. As it was, her fate was sealed, +but it was too late. The three British warships rushed at her +together, vomiting flame and smoke and iron across the +rapidly-decreasing distance, until within five hundred yards of her. +Then the fire from the two on either flank suddenly stopped. + +The centre one, still blazing away, put on her forced draught, +swerved sharply round, and then darted in on her with the ram. There +was a terrific shock, a heavy, grinding crunch, and then the mighty +mass of the charging vessel, hurled at nearly thirty miles an hour +upon her victim, bored and ground her resistless way into her side. + +Then she suddenly reversed her engines and backed out. In less than +thirty seconds it was all over. The Frenchman, almost cut in half by +the frightful blow, reeled once, and once only, and then went down +like a stone. + +But by this time the other two divisions of the enemy were within +range, and through the roar of the lighter artillery now came the +deep, sullen boom of the big guns on the battleships, and the great +thousand-pound projectiles began to scream through the air and fling +the water up into mountains of foam where they pitched. + +Where one of them struck, death and destruction would follow as +surely as though it were a thunderbolt from Heaven. The three liners +scattered and steamed away to the northward as fast as their +propellers would drive them. But what was their utmost speed to that +of the projectiles cleaving through the air at more than two thousand +feet a second? + +See! one at length strikes the German liner square amidships, and +bursts. There is a horrible explosion. The searchlight thrown on her +shows a cloud of steam and smoke and flame rising up from her riven +decks. Where her funnels were is a huge ragged black hole. This is +visible for an instant, then her back breaks, and in two halves she +follows the French cruiser to the bottom of the Atlantic. + +The sinking of the German liner was the signal for the appearance of +a new actor on the scene, and the commencement of a work of +destruction more appalling than anything that human warfare had so +far known. + +Michael Roburoff, standing on the spar-deck of the flying _Aurania_, +suddenly saw a bright stream of light shoot down from the clouds, and +flash hither and thither, till it hovered over the advancing French +and Italian squadron. For the moment the combat ceased, so astounded +were the combatants on both sides at this mysterious apparition. + +Then, without the slightest warning, with no flash or roar of guns, +there came a series of frightful explosions among the ships of the +pursuers. They followed each other so quickly that the darkness +behind the electric lights seemed lit with a continuous blaze of +livid green flame for three or four minutes. + +Then there was darkness and silence. Black darkness and absolute +silence. The searchlights were extinguished, and the roar of the +artillery was still. The British waited in dazed silence for it to +begin again, but it never did. The whole of the pursuing squadron had +been annihilated. + +[Illustration: "This mysterious apparition." + +_See page 178._] + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +THE NEW WARFARE. + + +It will now be necessary, in order to insure the continuity of the +narrative, to lay before the reader a brief sketch of the course of +events in Europe from the actual commencement of hostilities on a +general scale between the two immense forces which may be most +conveniently designated as the Anglo-Teutonic Alliance and the +Franco-Slavonian League. + +In order that these two terms may be fully understood, it will be +well to explain their general constitution. When the two forces, into +which the declaration of war ultimately divided the nations of +Europe, faced each other for the struggle which was to decide the +mastery of the Western world, the Anglo-Teutonic Alliance consisted +primarily of Britain, Germany, and Austria, and, ranged under its +banner, whether from choice or necessity, stood Holland, Belgium, and +Denmark in the north-west, with Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey in the +south-west. + +Egypt was strongly garrisoned for the land defence of the Suez Canal +and the high road to the East by British, Indian, and Turkish troops. +British and Belgian troops held Antwerp and the fortresses of the +Belgian Quadrilateral in force. + +A powerful combined fleet of British, Danish, and Dutch war vessels +of all classes held the approaches by the Sound and Kattegat to the +Baltic Sea, and co-operated in touch with the German fleet; the Dutch +and the German having, at any rate for the time being, and under the +pressure of irresistible circumstances, laid aside their hereditary +national hatred, and consented to act as allies under suitable +guarantees to Holland. + +The co-operation of Denmark had been secured, in spite of the family +connections existing between the Danish and the Russian Courts, and +the rancour still remaining from the old Schleswig-Holstein quarrel, +by very much the same means that had been taken in the historic days +of the Battle of the Baltic. It is true that matters had not gone so +far as they went when Nelson disobeyed orders by putting his +telescope to his blind eye, and engaged the Danish fleet in spite of +the signals; but a demonstration of such overwhelming force had been +made by sea and land on the part of Britain and Germany, that the +House of Dagmar had bowed to the inevitable, and ranged itself on the +side of the Anglo-Teutonic Alliance. + +Marshalled against this imposing array of naval and military force +stood the Franco-Slavonian League, consisting primarily of France, +Russia, and Italy, supported--whether by consent or necessity--by +Spain, Portugal, and Servia. The co-operation of Spain had been +purchased by the promise of Gibraltar at the conclusion of the war, +and that of Portugal by the guarantee of a largely increased sphere +of influence on the West Coast of Africa, plus the Belgian States of +the Congo. + +Roumania and Switzerland remained neutral, the former to be a +battlefield for the neighbouring Powers, and the latter for the +present safe behind her ramparts of everlasting snow and ice. +Scandinavia also remained neutral, the sport of the rival diplomacies +of East and West, but not counted of sufficient importance to +materially influence the colossal struggle one way or the other. + +In round numbers the Anglo-Teutonic Alliance had seven millions of +men on the war footing, including, of course, the Indian and Colonial +forces of the British Empire, while in case of necessity urgent +levies were expected to produce between two and three millions more. +Opposed to these, the Franco-Slavonian League had about ten millions +under arms, with nearly three millions in reserve. + +As regards naval strength, the Alliance was able to pit rather more +than a thousand warships of all classes, and about the same number of +torpedo-boats, against nearly nine hundred warships and about seven +hundred torpedo-boats at the disposal of the League. + +In addition to this latter armament, it is very necessary to name a +fleet of a hundred war-balloons of the type mentioned in an earlier +chapter, fifty of which belonged to Russia and fifty to France. No +other European Power possessed any engine of destruction that was +capable of being efficiently matched against the invention of M. +Riboult, who was now occupying the position of Director of the aërial +fleet in the service of the League. + +It would be both a tedious repetition of sickening descriptions of +scenes of bloodshed and a useless waste of space, to enumerate in +detail all the series of conflicts by sea and land which resulted +from the collision of the tremendous forces which were thus arrayed +against each other in a conflict that was destined to be unparalleled +in the history of the human race. + +To do so would be to occupy pages filled with more or less technical +descriptions of strategic movements, marches, and countermarches, +skirmishes, reconnaissances, and battles, which followed each other +with such unparalleled rapidity that the combined efforts of the war +correspondents of the European press proved entirely inadequate to +keep pace with them in the form of anything like a continuous +narrative. + +It will therefore be necessary to ask the reader to remain content +with such brief summary as has been given, supplemented with the +following extracts from a very lengthy _résumé_ of the leading events +of the war up to date, which were published in a special War +Supplement issued by the _Daily Telegraph_ on the morning of Tuesday +the 28th of June 1904:-- + +"Although little more than a period of six weeks has elapsed since +the actual outbreak of hostilities which marked the commencement of +what, be its issue what it may, must indubitably prove the most +colossal struggle in the history of human warfare, changes have +already occurred which must infallibly mark their effect upon the +future destiny of the world. Almost as soon as the first shot was +fired the nations of Europe, as if by instinct or under the influence +of some power higher than that of international diplomacy, +automatically marshalled themselves into the two most mighty hosts +that have ever trod the field of battle since man first fought with +man. + +"Not less than twenty millions of men are at this moment facing each +other under arms throughout the area of the war. These are almost +equally divided; for, although what is now known as the +Franco-Slavonian League has some three millions of men more on land, +it may be safely stated that the preponderance of naval strength +possessed by the Anglo-Teutonic Alliance fully counterbalances this +advantage. + +"There is, however, another most important element which has now for +the first time been introduced into warfare, and which, although it +is most unhappily arrayed amongst the forces opposed to our own +country and her gallant allies, it would be both idle and most +imprudent to ignore. We refer, of course, to the two fleets of +war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable +aerostats, possessed by France and Russia. + +"So tremendous has been the influence which these terrible inventions +have exercised upon the course of the war, that we are not +transgressing the bounds of sober truth when we say that they have +utterly disconcerted and brought to nought the highest strategy and +the most skilfully devised plans of the brilliant array of masters of +the military art whose presence adorns the ranks and enlightens the +councils of the Alliance. + +"Since the day when the Russians crossed the German and Austrian +frontiers, and the troops of France and Italy simultaneously flung +themselves across the western frontiers of Germany and through the +passes of the Tyrol, their progress, unparalleled in rapidity even by +the marvellous marches of Napoleon, has been marked, not by what we +have hitherto been accustomed to call battles, but rather by a series +of colossal butcheries. + +"In every case of any moment the method of procedure on the part of +the attacking forces has been the same, and, with the deepest regret +we confess it, it has been marked with the same unvarying success. +Whenever a large army has been set in motion upon a predetermined +point of attack, whether a fortress, an entrenched camp, or a +strongly occupied position in the field, a squadron of aerostats has +winged its way through the air under cover of the darkness of night, +and silently and unperceived has marked the disposition of forces, +the approximate strength of the army or the position to be attacked, +and, as far as they were observable, the points upon which the attack +could be most favourably delivered. Then they have returned with +their priceless information, and, according to it, the assailants +have been able, in every case so far, to make their assault where +least expected, and to make it, moreover, upon an already partially +demoralised force. + +"From the detailed descriptions which we have already published of +battles and sieges, or rather of the storming of great fortresses, it +will be remembered that every assault on the part of the troops of +the League has been preceded by a preliminary and irresistible attack +from the clouds. + +"The aerostats have stationed themselves at great elevations over the +ramparts of fortresses and the bivouacs of armies, and have rained +down a hail of dynamite, melinite, fire-shells and cyanogen +poison-grenades, which have at once put guns out of action, blown up +magazines, rendered fortifications untenable, and rent masses of +infantry and squadrons of cavalry into demoralised fragments, before +they had the time or the opportunity to strike a blow in reply. Then +upon these silenced batteries, these wrecked fortifications, and +these demoralised brigades, there has been poured a storm of +artillery fire from the untouched enemy, advancing in perfect order, +and inspired with high-spirited confidence, which has been +irresistibly opposed to the demoralisation of their enemies. + +"Is it any wonder, or any disgrace, to the defeated, that under such +novel and appalling conditions the orderly and disciplined onslaughts +of the legions of the League have in almost every case been +completely successful? The sober truth is that the invention and +employment of these devastating appliances have completely altered +the face of the field of battle and the conditions of modern warfare. +It is not in human valour, no matter how heroic or self-devoted it +may be, to oppose itself with anything like confidence to an enemy +which strikes from the skies, and cannot be struck in return. + +"It was thus that the battles of Alexandrovo, Kalisz, and Czernowicz +were won in the early stages of the war upon the Austro-German +frontier. So, too, in the Rhine Provinces, were the battles of +Treves, Mulhausen, and Freiburg turned by the aid of the French +aerostats from battles into butcheries. It was under the assault of +these irresistible engines that the great fortresses of Königsberg, +Thorn, Breslau, Strasburg, and Metz, to say nothing of many minor, +but strongly fortified, places, were first reduced to a state of +impotence for defence, and then battered into ruins by the siege-guns +of the assailants. + +"All these terrible events, forming a series of catastrophes +unparalleled in the annals of war, are still fresh in the minds of +our readers, for they have followed one upon the other with almost +stupefying rapidity, and it is yet hardly six weeks since the +Cossacks and Uhlans were engaged in their first skirmish near Gnesen. + +"This is an amazingly brief space of time for the fate of empires to +be decided, and yet we are forced, with the utmost sorrow and +reluctance, to admit that what were two months ago the magnificently +disciplined and equipped armies of Germany and Austria, are now +completely shattered and broken up into fragmentary and isolated army +corps, decimated as to numbers and demoralised as to discipline, +gathered in and about such strong places as are left to them, and +awaiting only with the courage of desperation the moment, we fear the +inevitable moment, when they shall be finally crushed between the +rapidly converging hosts of the victorious League. + +"Within the next few days, Berlin, Hanover, Prague, Munich, and +Vienna must be invested, and may possibly be destroyed or compelled +to ignominious and unconditional surrender by the irresistible forces +that will be arrayed against them. + +"Meanwhile, with still deeper regret, we are forced to confess that +those operations in the Low Countries and the east of Europe and Asia +Minor in which our own gallant troops have been engaged in +conjunction with their several allies, have been, if not equally +disastrous, at least void of any tangible success. + +"Erzeroum, Trebizond, and Scutari have fallen; the passes of the +Balkans have been forced, although at immense cost to the enemy; +Belgrade has been stormed; Adrianople is invested, and Constantinople +is therefore most seriously threatened. + +"By heroic efforts the French attack upon the Quadrilateral has been +rolled back at a fearful expense of human life. Antwerp is still +untouched, and the command of the Baltic is still ours. In our own +waters, as well as in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, we have won +victories which prove that Great Britain is still the unconquered, +and we trust unconquerable, mistress of the seas. We have kept the +Dardanelles open, and the Suez Canal is still inviolate. + +"Two combined attacks, delivered by the allied French and Italian +squadrons on Malta and Gibraltar, have been repulsed by Admiral +Beresford with heavy loss to the enemy, thanks to the timely warning +delivered to Mr. Balfour by the Earl of Alanmere--upon whose +mysterious disappearance we comment in another column--and the Prime +Minister's prompt and statesmanlike action in doubling the strength +of the Mediterranean fleet before the outbreak of hostilities. + +"Thanks to the tireless activity and splendid handling of the Channel +fleet, the North Sea Division, and the Irish Squadron, the enemy's +flag has been practically swept from the home waters, and the shores +of our beloved country are as inviolate as they have been for more +than seven centuries. These brilliant achievements go far to +compensate us as an individual nation for the disasters which have +befallen our allies on the Continent, and, in addition, we have the +satisfaction of knowing that, so far, the most complete success has +attended our arms in the East, and that the repeated and determined +assaults of our Russian foes have been triumphantly hurled back from +the impregnable bulwarks of our Indian Empire. + +"It has been pointed out, and it would be vain to ignore the fact, +that not only have all our victories been won in the absence of the +aërial fleets of the League; but that we, in common with our allies, +have been worsted in each of the happily few cases in which even one +of these terrible aerostats has delivered its assaults upon us. +Against this, however, we take leave to set our belief that these +machines do not yet inspire sufficient confidence in their possessors +to warrant them in undertaking operations above the sea, or at any +considerable distance from their bases of manoeuvring. It is true +that we are entirely ignorant of the essentials of their +construction; but the fact that no attempt has yet been made to send +them into action over blue water inspires us with the hope and belief +that their effective range of operations is confined to the land.... + +"It would be superfluous to say that the British Empire is now +involved in a struggle in comparison with which all our former wars +sink into absolute insignificance, a struggle which will tax its +immense resources to the very utmost. Nothing, however, has yet +occurred to warrant the belief that those resources will not prove +equal to the strain, or that the greatest empire on earth will not +emerge from this combat of the giants with her ancient glory enhanced +by new and hitherto unequalled triumphs. + +"Certainly at no period in our history have we been so splendidly +prepared to face our enemies both at home and abroad. All arms of the +Services are in the highest state of efficiency, and the Government +dockyards and arsenals, as well as private firms, are working day and +night to still further strengthen them, and provide ample supplies of +munitions of war. The hearts of all the nations united under our flag +are beating as that of one man, and from the highest to the lowest +ranks of Society all are inspired by a spirit of whole-souled +patriotism which, if necessary, will make any sacrifice to preserve +the flag untarnished, and the honour of Britain without a spot. + +"At the head of affairs stands the man who of all others has proved +himself to be the most fitted to direct the destinies of the empire +in this tremendous crisis of her history. Party feeling for the time +being has almost entirely disappeared, save amongst the few scattered +bands of isolated Revolutionaries and malcontents, and Mr. Balfour +possesses the absolute confidence of his Majesty on the one hand, and +the undivided support of an impregnable majority in both Houses of +Parliament on the other. He is admirably seconded by such lieutenants +as Lord Randolph Churchill, Sir Joseph Chamberlain, and Sir George J. +Goschen on his own side of the House, and by the Earls of Rosebery +and Morley, Lord Brassey, and Sir Charles Dilke in what, previous to +the outbreak of the war, was the opposing political camp, but which +is now a party as loyal as that of the Government to the best +interests of the Empire, and fully determined to give the utmost +possible moral support consistent with fair and impartial criticism. + +"The disastrous mistake which was made by a very small majority of +the Upper House in rejecting the Government guarantee for the +ill-fated Italian loan is now, of course, past repair; for Italy, as +events have proved, exasperated by what her spokesmen termed her +selfish betrayal by Britain, has passionately thrown herself into the +arms of the League, and the Alliance has now no more bitter enemy +than she is. It is, however, only justice to those who defeated the +loan to add that they have now clearly seen and frankly owned their +grievous mistake, and rallied as one man to the support of the +Government." + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +THE HERALDS OF DISASTER. + + +Another column in the same issue contained an account of the +"Mysterious Disappearance of Lord Alanmere" and the doings of the +_Ithuriel_ in the Atlantic. The account concluded as follows:-- + +"As the enemy's squadron came up in chase it was annihilated without +warning and with appalling suddenness by the air-ship, which must +have crossed the Atlantic in something like sixteen hours. After this +fearful achievement it descended to the _Aurania_, took off a saloon +passenger named Michael Roburoff, evidently, from his reception, a +Terrorist himself, and then vanished through the clouds. For the +present, and until we have fuller information, we attempt no detailed +analysis of these astounding events. We merely content ourselves with +saying in the most solemn words that we can use, that, awful and +disastrous as is the war that is now raging throughout the greatest +part of the old world, it is our firm belief that, behind the +smoke-clouds of battle, and beneath the surface of visible events, +there is working a secret power, possibly greater than any which has +yet been called into action, and which at an unexpected moment may +suddenly put forth its strength, upheave the foundations of Society, +and bury existing institutions in the ruins of Civilisation. + +"One fact is quite manifest, and that is, that although the League +possesses a weapon of fearful efficiency for destruction in their +fleet of aerostats, the Terrorists, controlled by no law save their +own, and hampered by no traditions or limitations of civilised +warfare, are in command of another fleet of unknown strength, the +air-ships of which are apparently as superior to the aerostats of the +League as a modern battleship would be to a three-decker of the time +of Nelson. + +"The power represented by such a fleet as this is absolutely +inconceivable. The aerostats are large, clumsy, and comparatively +slow. They do not carry guns, and can only drop their projectiles +vertically downwards. Moreover, their sphere of operations has so far +been entirely confined to the land. + +"Very different, however, would seem to be the powers of the +Terrorist air-ships. They have proved conclusively that they are +swift almost beyond imagination. They have crossed oceans and +continents in a few hours; they can ascend to enormous heights, and +they carry artillery of unknown design and tremendous range, whose +projectiles excel in destructiveness the very lightnings of heaven +itself. + +"In the presence of such an awful and mysterious power as this even +the quarrels of nations seem to shrink into unimportance, and almost +to pettiness. Where and when it may strike, no man knows save those +who wield it, and therefore there is nothing for the peoples of the +earth, however mighty they may be, to do but to await the blow in +humiliating impotence, but still with a humble trust in that Higher +Power which alone can save it from accomplishing the destruction of +Society and the enslavement of the human race." + +It may well be imagined with what interest, and it may fairly be +added with what intense anxiety, these words were read by hundreds of +thousands of people throughout the British Islands. Even the news +from the Seat of War began to pall in interest before such tidings as +these, invested as they were with the irresistible if terrible charm +of the unknown and the mysterious. + +By noon it was almost impossible to get any one in London or any of +the large towns to talk of anything but the disappearance of Lord +Alanmere, the Terrorists, and their marvellous aërial fleet. But it +goes without saying that nowhere did the news produce greater +distress or more utter bewilderment than it did among the occupants +of Alanmere Castle, and especially in the breast of her who had been +so quickly and so strangely installed as its new owner and mistress. + +Everywhere the wildest rumours passed from lip to lip, growing in +sensation and absurdity as they went. A report, telegraphed by an +anonymous idiot from Liverpool, to the effect that six air-ships had +appeared over the Mersey, and demanded a ransom of £10,000,000 from +the town, was eagerly seized on by the cheaper evening papers, which +rushed out edition after edition on the strength of it, until the +_St. James's Gazette_ put an end to the excitement by publishing a +telegram from the Mayor of Liverpool denouncing the report as an +insane and criminal hoax. + +The next edition of the _St. James's_, however, contained a telegram +from Hiorring, in Denmark, _viâ_ Newcastle, which was of almost, if +not quite, as startling and disquieting a nature, and which, +moreover, contained a very considerable measure of truth. The +telegram ran as follows:-- + + NAVAL DISASTER IN THE BALTIC. + + _The Sound forced by a Russian Squadron, assisted by a + Terrorist Air-Ship._ + + (_From our own Correspondent._) + + Hiorring, _June 28th_, 8 A.M. + + With the deepest regret I have to record the first naval disaster + to the British arms during the present war. As soon as it became + dark last night heavy firing was heard from Copenhagen to the + southward, and before long the sound deepened into an almost + continuous roar of light and heavy guns. + + Our naval force in the Baltic was so strong that it was deemed + incredible that the Russian fleet, which we have held imprisoned + here since the commencement of hostilities, should dream even of + making an attempt to escape. The cannonade, however, was the + beginning of such an attempt, and it is useless disguising the + fact that it has been completely successful. That this would have + been the case, or, indeed, that the attempt would ever have been + made by the Russian fleet alone, cannot be for a moment credited. + But, incredible as it seems, it is nevertheless true that it was + assisted, and that in a practically irresistible fashion, by one + of those air-ships which have hitherto been believed to belong + exclusively to the Terrorists, that is to say, to the deadliest + enemies that Russia possesses. + + As nearly as is known the Russian fleet consisted of twelve + battleships, twenty-five armoured and unarmoured cruisers, and + about forty torpedo-boats. These came charging ahead at full + speed into the entrance to the Sound in spite of the overwhelming + force of the Allied fleets, supported by the fortresses of + Copenhagen and Elsinore. The attack was so sudden and so + completely unexpected, that it must be confessed the defenders + were to a certain extent taken unawares. The Russians came on in + the form of an elongated wedge, their most powerful vessels being + at the apex and external sides. + + [Illustration: "On the water the results of the air-ship's attack + were destructive almost beyond description." + + _See page 191._] + + The firing was furious and sustained from beginning to end of the + rush, but the damage inflicted by the cannonade of the Russian + fleet and the torpedo-boats, which every now and then darted out + from between the warships as opportunity offered to employ their + silent and deadly weapons, was as nothing in comparison with the + frightful havoc achieved by the air-ship. + + This extraordinary craft hovered over the attacking force, + darting hither and thither with bewildering rapidity, and raining + down shells charged with an unknown explosive of fearful power + among the crowded ships of the great force which was blocking the + Sound. Half a dozen of these shells were fired upon the seaward + fortifications of Copenhagen in passing, and produced a perfectly + paralysing effect. + + On the water the results of the air-ship's attack were + destructive almost beyond description, particularly when she + stationed herself over the Allied fleet and began firing her four + guns right and left, ahead and astern. Every time a shell struck + either a battleship or a cruiser, the terrific explosion which + resulted either sank the ship in a few minutes, or so far + disabled it that it fell an easy prey to the guns and rams of the + Russians. As for the torpedo-boats which were struck, they were + simply scattered over the water in indistinguishable fragments. + + Under these conditions maintenance of formation and effective + fighting were practically impossible, and the huge iron wedge of + the Russian squadron was driven almost without a check through + the demoralised ranks of the Allied fleet. The Gut of Elsinore + was reached in a little more than three hours after the first + sounds of the cannonade were heard. Shortly before this the + air-ship had stationed itself about a thousand feet above the + water, and a mile from the fortifications. + + From this position it commenced a brief, rapid cannonade from its + smokeless and flameless guns, the effects of which on the + fortress are said to have been indescribably awful. Great blocks + of steel-sheathed masonry were dislodged from the ramparts and + hurled bodily into the sea, carrying with them guns and men to + irretrievable destruction. In less than half an hour the once + impregnable fortress of Elsinore was little better than a heap of + ruins. The last shell blew up the central magazine; the + tremendous explosion was heard for miles along the coast, and + proved to be the closing act of the briefest but most deadly + great naval action in the history of war. + + The Russian fleet steamed triumphantly past the silenced Cerberus + of the Sound with flashing searchlights, blazing rockets, and + jubilant salvos of blank cartridge in honour of their really + brilliant victory. + + The losses of the Allied fleet, so far as they are at present + known, are distressingly heavy. We have lost the battleships + _Neptune_, _Hotspur_, _Anson_, _Superb_, _Black Prince_, and + _Rodney_, the armoured cruisers _Narcissus_, _Beatrice_, and + _Mersey_, the unarmoured cruisers _Arethusa_, _Barossa_, _Clyde_, + _Lais_, _Seagull_, _Grasshopper_, and _Nautilus_, and not less + than nineteen torpedo-boats of the first and second classes. + + The Germans and Danes have lost the battleships _Kaiser Wilhelm_, + _Friedrich der Grosse_, _Dantzig_, _Viborg_, and _Funen_, five + German and three Danish cruisers, and about a dozen + torpedo-boats. + + Under whatever circumstances the Russians have obtained the + assistance of the air-ship, which rendered them services that + have proved so disastrous to the Allies, there can be no doubt + but that her arrival on the scene puts a completely different + aspect on the face of affairs at sea. + + I have written this telegram on board first-class torpedo-boat, + No. 87, which followed the Russian fleet from the Sound round the + Skawe. They passed through the Kattegat in two columns of line + ahead, with the air-ship apparently resting after her flight on + board one of the largest steamers. We could see her quite + distinctly by the glare of the rockets and the electric light. + She is a small three-masted vessel almost exactly resembling the + one which partially destroyed Kronstadt in the middle of March. + + After rounding the Skawe, the Russian fleet steamed away westward + into the German Ocean, and we put in here to send off our + despatches. This telegram has, of course, been officially + revised, and my information, as far as it goes, can therefore be + relied upon. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +AN INTERLUDE. + + +At noon on the 26th, as the tropical sun was pouring down its +vertical rays upon the lovely valley of Aeria, the _Ithuriel_ crossed +the Ridge which divided it from the outer world, and came to rest on +the level stretch of sward on the northern shore of the lake. + +Before she touched the earth Arnold glanced rapidly round and +discovered his aërial fleet resting under a series of large +palm-thatched sheds which had already been erected to protect them +from the burning sun, and the rare but violent tropical rain-storms. +He counted them. There were only eleven, and therefore the evil +tidings that they had heard from the captain of the _Andromeda_ was +true. + +Even before greetings were exchanged with the colonists Natas ordered +Nicholas Roburoff to be summoned on board alone. He received him in +the lower saloon, on either side of which, as he went in, he found a +member of the crew armed with a magazine rifle and fixed bayonet. + +Seated at the cabin table were Natas, Tremayne, and Arnold. The +President was received in cold and ominous silence, not even a glance +of recognition was vouchsafed to him. He stood at the other end of +the table with bowed head, a prisoner before his judges. Natas looked +at him for some moments in dead silence, and there was a dark gleam +of anger in his eyes which made Arnold tremble for the man whose life +hung upon a word of a judge from whose sentence there could be no +appeal. + +At length Natas spoke; his voice was hard and even; there were no +modulations in it that displayed the slightest feeling, whether of +anger or any other emotion. It was like the voice of an impassive +machine speaking the very words of Fate itself. + +"You know why we have returned, and why you have been sent for?" + +"Yes, Master." + +Roburoff's voice was low and respectful, but there was no quaver of +fear in it. + +"You were left here in command of the settlement and in charge of the +fleet. You were ordered to permit no vessel to leave the valley till +the flagship returned. One of them was seen crossing the +Mediterranean in a northerly direction three days ago. Either you are +a traitor, or that vessel is in the hands of traitors. Explain." + +Nicholas Roburoff remained silent for a few moments. His breast +heaved once or twice convulsively, as though he were striving hard to +repress some violent emotion. Then he drew himself up like a soldier +coming to attention, and, looking straight in front of him, told his +story briefly and calmly, though he knew that, according to the laws +of the Order, its sequel might, and probably would, be his own death. + +"The night of the day on which the flagship left the valley was +visited by a violent storm, which raged for about four hours without +cessation. We had no proper shelter but the air-ships, and so I +distributed the company among them. + +"When nearly all had been provided for, there was one vessel left +unoccupied, and four of the unmarried men had not been accommodated. +They therefore took their places in the spare vessel. They were Peter +Tamboff, Amos Vornjeh, Ivan Tscheszco, and Paul Oreloff, all +Russians. + +"We closed the hatches of the vessels, and remained inside till the +storm ceased. When we were able to open the hatches again, it was +pitch dark--so dark that it was impossible to see even a yard from +one's face. Suspecting no evil, we retired to rest again till +sunrise. When day dawned it was found that the vessel in which the +four men I have named had taken shelter had disappeared. + +"I at once ordered three vessels to rise and pass through the defile. +On the outside we separated and made the entire circuit of Aeria, +rising as high as the fan-wheels would take us, and examining the +horizon in all directions for the missing vessel. + +"We failed to discover her, and were forced to the conclusion that +the deserters had taken her away early in the night at full speed, +and would, therefore, be far beyond the possibility of capture, as we +possessed no faster vessel than the missing one. So we returned. That +is all." + +"Go to the forward cabin and remain there till you're sent for," said +Natas. + +The President instantly turned and walked mechanically through the +door that was opened for him by one of the sentinels. The other went +in front of him, the second behind, closing the door as he left the +saloon. + +A brief discussion took place between Natas and his two lieutenants, +and within a quarter of an hour Nicholas Roburoff was again standing +at the end of the table to hear the decision of his judges. Without +any preamble it was delivered by Natas in these words-- + +"We have heard your story, and believe it. You have been guilty of a +serious mistake, for these four men were all ordinary members of the +Outer Circle, who had only been brought here on account of their +mechanical skill to occupy subordinate positions. You therefore +committed a grave error, amounting almost to a breach of the rule +which states that no members of the Outer Circle shall be entrusted +with any charge, or work, save under the supervision of a member of +the Inner Circle responsible for them. + +"Had such a breach been even technically committed your life would +have been forfeited, and you would have been executed for breach of +trust. We have considered the circumstances, and find you guilty of +indiscretion and want of forethought. + +"You will cease from now to be President of the Inner Circle. Your +place will be taken for the time by Alan Tremayne as Chief of the +Executive. You will cease also to share the Councils of the Order for +a space of twelve months, during which time you will be incapable of +any responsible charge or authority. Your restoration will, of +course, depend upon your behaviour. I have said." + +As he finished speaking Natas waved his hand towards the door. It was +opened, the sentries stepped aside, and Nicholas Roburoff walked out +in silence, with bowed head and a heart heavy with shame. The penalty +was really the most severe that could be inflicted on him, for he +found himself suddenly deprived both of authority and the confidence +of his chiefs at the very hour when the work of the Brotherhood was +culminating to its fruition. + +Yet, heavy as the punishment seemed in comparison with the fault, it +was justified by the necessities of the case. Without the strictest +safeguards, not only against treachery or disobedience, but even mere +carelessness, it would have been impossible to have carried on the +tremendous work which the Brotherhood had silently and secretly +accomplished, and which was soon to produce results as momentous as +they would be unexpected. No one knew this better than the late +President himself, who frankly acknowledged the justice and the +necessity of his punishment, and prepared to devote himself heart and +soul to regaining his lost credit in the eyes of the Master. + +No sooner was the sentence pronounced than the matter was instantly +dismissed and never alluded to again, so far as Roburoff was +concerned, by any one. No one presumed even to comment upon a word or +deed of the Master. The disgraced President fell naturally, and +apparently without observation, into his humbler sphere of duties, +and the members of the colony treated him with exactly the same +friendliness and fraternity as they had done before. Natas had +decided, and there was nothing more for any one to say or do in the +matter. + +Arnold, as soon as he had exchanged greetings with the Princess, now +known simply as Anna Ornovski, and his other friends and +acquaintances in the colony, not, of course, forgetting Louis Holt, +at once shut himself up in his laboratory by the turbine, and for the +next four hours remained invisible, preparing a large supply of his +motor gases, and pumping them into the exhausted cylinders of the +_Ithuriel_, and all the others that were available, by means of his +hydraulic machinery. + +Soon after four he had finished his task, and come out to take his +part in a ceremony of a very different character to that at which he +had been obliged to assist earlier in the day. This was the +fulfilment of the promise which Radna Michaelis had made to Colston +in the Council-chamber of the house on Clapham Common on the evening +of his departure on the expedition which had so brilliantly proved +the powers of the _Ariel_, and brought such confusion on the enemies +of the Brotherhood. + +Almost the first words that Colston had said to Radna when he boarded +the _Avondale_ were-- + +"Natasha is yonder, safe and sound, and you are mine at last!" + +And she had replied very quietly, yet with a thrill in her voice that +told her lover how gladly she accepted her own condition-- + +"What you have fairly won is yours to take when you will have it. +Besides, you cannot do justice on Kastovitch now, for it has already +been done. We had news before we left England that he had been shot +through the heart by the brother of a girl whom he treated worse than +he treated me." + +But, as has been stated before, the laws of the Brotherhood did not +permit of the marriage of any of its members without the direct +sanction of Natas, and therefore it had been necessary to wait until +now. + +As Radna and Colston were two of the most trusted and prominent +members of the Inner Circle, it was fitting that their wedding should +be honoured by the presence of the Master in person. An added +solemnity was also given to it by the fact that, in all human +probability, it was the first time since the world began that the +mighty hills which looked down upon Aeria had witnessed the plighting +of the troth of a man and a woman. + +Like all other formal acts of the Brotherhood, the ceremony was +simple in the extreme; but, in this case at least, it was none the +less impressive on that account. In a lovely glade, through which a +crystal stream ran laughing on its way to the lake, Natas sat under +the shade of a spreading tree-fern. In front of him was a small table +covered with a white cloth, on which lay a roll of parchment and a +copy of the Hebrew Scriptures. + +At this table, facing Natas, stood the betrothed pair with their +witnesses, Natasha for Radna, and Arnold for Colston, or Alexis +Mazanoff, to give him his true name, which must, of course, be used +on such an occasion. In a wide semicircle some four yards off stood +all the members of the little community, Louis Holt and his faithful +servitor not excepted. + +In the midst of a silence broken only by the whispering of the warm, +scented wind in the tree-tops, the Master of the Terror spoke in a +kindly yet solemn tone-- + +"Alexis Mazanoff and Radna Michaelis, you stand here before Heaven, +and in the presence of your comrades, to take each other for wedded +wife and husband, till death shall part the hands that now are +joined! + +"Your mutual vows have long ago been pledged, and what you are about +to do is good earnest of their fulfilment. But above the duty that +you owe to each other stands your duty to that great Cause to which +you have already irrevocably devoted your lives. You have already +sworn that as long as you shall live its ends shall be your ends, and +that no human considerations shall weigh with you where those ends +are concerned. Do you take each other for husband and wife subject to +that condition and all that it implies?" + +"We do!" replied the lovers with one voice, and then Natas went on-- + +"Then by the laws of our Order, the only laws that we are permitted +to obey, I pronounce you man and wife before Heaven and this company. +Be faithful to each other and the Cause in the days to come as you +have been in the days that are past, and if it shall please the +Master of Destiny that you shall be blessed with children, see to it +that you train them up in the love of truth, freedom, and justice, +and in the hatred of tyranny and wrong. + +"May the blessings of life be yours as you shall deserve them, and +when the appointed hour shall come, may you be found ready to pass +from the mystery of the things that are into the deeper mystery of +the things that are to be!" + +So saying, the Master raised his hands as though in blessing, and as +Alexis and Radna bent their heads the slanting sunrays fell upon the +thickly coiled white hair of the new-made wife, crowning her shapely +head like a diadem of silver. + +All that remained to do now was to sign the Marriage Roll of the +Brotherhood, and when they had done this the entry stood as +follows:-- + + "Married on the tenth day of the Month Tamuz, in the Year of the + World five thousand six hundred and sixty-four, in the presence + of me, Natas, and those of the Brotherhood now resident in the + Colony of Aeria:-- + + {ALEXIS MAZANOFF, + {RADNA MICHAELIS MAZANOFF. + + Witnesses {RICHARD ARNOLD, + {NATASHA. + +As Natasha laid down the pen after signing she looked up quickly, as +though moved by some sudden impulse, her eyes met Arnold's, and an +instant later the happy flush on Radna's cheek was rivalled by that +which rose to her own. Her lips half parted in a smile, and then she +turned suddenly away to be the first to offer her congratulations to +the newly-wedded wife, while Arnold, his heart beating as it had +never done since the model of the _Ariel_ first rose from the floor +of his room in the Southwark tenement-house, grasped Mazanoff by the +hand and said simply-- + +"God bless you both, old man!" + +The whole ceremony had not taken more than fifteen minutes from +beginning to end. After Arnold came Tremayne with his good wishes, +and then Anna Ornovski and the rest of the friends and comrades of +the newly-wedded lovers. + +One usually conspicuous feature in similar ceremonies was entirely +wanting. There were no wedding presents. For this there was a very +sufficient reason. All the property of the members of the Inner +Circle, saving only articles of personal necessity, were held in +common. Articles of mere convenience or luxury were looked upon with +indifference, if not with absolute contempt, and so no one had +anything to give. + +After all, this was not a very serious matter for a company of men +and women who held in their hands the power of levying indemnities to +any amount upon the wealth-centres of the world under pain of +immediate destruction. + +That evening the supper of the colonists took the shape of a sylvan +marriage feast, eaten in the open air under the palms and tree ferns, +as the sun was sinking down behind the western peaks of Aeria, and +the full moon was rising over those to the eastward. + +The whole earth might have been searched in vain for a happier +company of men and women than that which sat down to the marriage +feast of Radna Michaelis and Alexis Mazanoff in the virgin groves of +Aeria. For the time being the world-war and all its horrors were +forgotten, and they allowed their thoughts to turn without restraint +to the promise of the days when the work of the Brotherhood should be +accomplished, and there should be peace on earth at last. + +It had been decided that three of the air-ships would be sufficient +for the chase and capture or destruction, as the case might be, of +the deserters. These were the _Ithuriel_, under the command of +Arnold; the _Ariel_, commanded by Mazanoff, who, of course, did not +sail alone; and the _Orion_, in charge of Tremayne, who had already +mastered the details of aërial navigation under Arnold's tuition. + +To the unspeakable satisfaction of the latter, Natas had signified +his intention of accompanying him in the _Ithuriel_. As Natasha +utterly refused to be parted so soon from her father again, one of +his attendants was dispensed with and she took his place. This fact +had, of course, something to do with the Admiral's satisfaction with +the arrangement. + +By nine o'clock the moon was high in the heavens. At that hour the +fan-wheels of the little squadron rose from the decks, and at a +signal from Arnold began to revolve. The three vessels ascended +quietly into the air amidst the cheers and farewells of the +colonists, and in single file passed slowly down the beautiful valley +bathed in the brilliant moonlight. One by one they disappeared +through the defile that led to the outer world, and, once clear of +the mountains, the _Ithuriel_, with one of her consorts on either +side, headed away due north at the speed of a hundred miles an hour. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +ON THE TRACK OF TREASON. + + +The _Ithuriel_ and her consorts crossed the northern coast of Africa +soon after daybreak on the 27th, in the longitude of Alexandria, at +an elevation of nearly 4000 feet. From thence they pursued almost the +same course as that steered by the deserters, as Natas had rightly +judged that they would first make for Russia, probably St. +Petersburg, and there hand the air-ship over to the representatives +of the Tsar. + +There was, of course, another alternative, and that was the +supposition that they had stolen the _Lucifer_--the "fallen Angel," +as Natasha had now re-named her--for purposes of piracy and private +revenge; but that was negatived by the fact that Tamboff knew that he +only had a certain supply of motive power which he could not renew, +and which, once exhausted, left his air-ship as useless as a steamer +without coal. His only reasonable course, therefore, would be to sell +the vessel to the Tsar, and leave his Majesty's chemists to discover +and renew the motive power if they could. + +These conclusions once arrived at, it was an easy matter for the keen +and subtle intellect of Natas to deduce from them almost the exact +sequence of events that had actually taken place. The _Lucifer_ had a +sufficient supply of power-cylinders and shells for present use, and +these would doubtless be employed at once by the Tsar, who would +trust to his chemists and engineers to discover the nature of the +agents employed. + +For this purpose it would be absolutely necessary for him to give +them one or two of the shells, and at least two of the spare +power-cylinders as subjects for their experiments. + +Now Natas knew that if there was one man in Russia who could discover +the composition of the explosives, that man was Professor Volnow of +the Imperial Arsenal Laboratory, and therefore the shells and +cylinders would be sent to him at the Arsenal for examination. The +whereabouts of the deserters for the present mattered nothing in +comparison with the possible discovery of the secret on which the +whole power of the Terrorists depended. + +That once revealed, the sole empire of the air was theirs no longer. +The Tsar, with millions of money at his command, could very soon +build an aërial fleet, not only equal, but, numerically at least, +vastly superior to their own, and this would practically give him the +command of the world. + +Natas therefore came to the conclusion that no measures could be too +extreme to be justified by such a danger as this, and so, after a +consultation with the commanders of the three vessels, it was decided +to, if necessary, destroy the Arsenal at St. Petersburg, on the +strength of the reasoning that had led to the logical conclusion that +within its precincts the priceless secret either might be or had +already been discovered. + +As the crow flies, St. Petersburg is thirty degrees of latitude, or +eighteen hundred geographical miles, north of Alexandria, and this +distance the _Ithuriel_ and her consorts, flying at a speed of a +hundred and twenty miles an hour, traversed in fifteen hours, +reaching the Russian capital a few minutes after seven on the evening +of the 27th. + +The Rome of the North, basking in the soft evening sunlight of the +incomparable Russian summer, lay vast and white and beautiful on the +islands formed by the Neva and its ten tributaries; its innumerable +palaces, churches, and theatres, and long straight streets of stately +houses, its parks and gardens, and its green shady suburbs, making up +a picture which forced an exclamation of wonder from Arnold's lips as +the air-ships slowed down and he left the conning-tower of the +_Ithuriel_ to admire the magnificent view from the bows. They passed +over the city at a height of four thousand feet, and so were quite +near enough to see and enjoy the excitement and consternation which +their sudden appearance instantly caused among the inhabitants. The +streets and squares filled in an inconceivably short space of time +with crowds of people, who ran about like tiny ants upon the ground, +gesticulating and pointing upwards, evidently in terror lest the fate +of Kronstadt was about to fall upon St. Petersburg. + +The experimental department of the Arsenal had within the last two or +three years been rebuilt on a large space of waste ground outside the +northern suburbs, and to this the three air-ships directed their +course after passing over the city. It was a massive three-storey +building, built in the form of a quadrangle. The three air-ships +stopped within a mile of it at an elevation of two thousand feet. It +had been decided that, before proceeding to extremities, which, after +all, might still leave them in doubt as to whether or not they had +really destroyed all means of analysing the explosives, they should +make an effort to discover whether Professor Volnow had received them +for experiment, and, if so, what success he had had. + +Mazanoff had undertaken this delicate and dangerous task, and so, as +soon as the _Ithuriel_ and the _Orion_ came to a standstill, and hung +motionless in the air, with all their guns ready trained on different +parts of the building, the _Ariel_ sank suddenly and swiftly down, +and stopped within forty feet of the heads of a crowd of soldiers and +mechanics, who had rushed pell-mell out of the building, under the +impression that it was about to be destroyed. + +The bold manoeuvre of the _Ariel_ took officers and men completely by +surprise. So intense was the terror in which these mysterious +air-ships were held, and so absolute was the belief that they were +armed with perfectly irresistible means of destruction, that the +sight of one of them at such close quarters paralysed all thought and +action for the time being. The first shock over, the majority of the +crowd took to their heels and fled incontinently. Of the remainder a +few of the bolder spirits handled their rifles and looked inquiringly +at their officers. Mazanoff saw this, and at once raised his hand +towards the sky and shouted-- + +"Ground arms! If a shot is fired the Arsenal will be destroyed as +Kronstadt was, and then we shall attack Petersburg." + +The threat was sufficient. A grey-haired officer in undress uniform +glanced up at the _Ithuriel_ and her consort, and then at the guns of +the _Ariel_, all four of which had been swung round and brought to +bear on the side of the building near which she had descended. He was +no coward, but he saw that Mazanoff had the power to do what he said, +and that even if this one air-ship were captured or destroyed, the +other two would take a frightful vengeance. He thought of Kronstadt, +and decided to parley. The rifle butts had come to the ground before +Mazanoff had done speaking. + +"Order arms, and keep silence!" said the officer, and then he +advanced alone from the crowd and said-- + +"Who are you, and what is your errand?" + +"Alexis Mazanoff, late prisoner of the Tsar, and now commander of the +Terrorist air-ship _Ariel_. I have not come to destroy you unless you +force me to do so, but to ask certain questions, and demand the +giving up of certain property delivered into your hands by deserters +and traitors." + +"What are your questions?" + +"First, is Professor Volnow in the building?" + +"He is." + +"Then I must ask you to send for him at once." + +It went sorely against the grain of the servant of the Tsar to +acquiesce in the demand of an outlaw, but there was nothing else for +it. The outlaw could blow him and all his subordinates into space +with a pressure of his finger; and so he sent an orderly with a +request for the presence of the professor. Meanwhile Mazanoff +continued-- + +"An air-ship similar to this arrived here three days ago, I believe?" + +The officer bit his lips with rage at his helpless position, and +bowed affirmatively. + +"And certain articles were taken out of her for examination here--two +gas cylinders and a projectile, I believe?" + +Again the officer bowed, wondering how on earth the Terrorist could +have come by such accurate information. + +"And the air-ship has been sent on to the seat of war, while the +Professor is trying to discover the composition of the gases and the +explosive used in the shell?" went on Mazanoff, risking a last shot +at the truth. + +The officer did not bow this time. Giving way at last to his rising +fury, he stamped on the ground and almost screamed-- + +"Great God! you insolent scoundrel! Why do you ask me questions when +you know the answers as well as I do, and better? Yes, we have got +one of your diabolical ships of the air, and we will build a fleet +like it and hunt you from the world!" + +"All in good time, my dear sir," replied Mazanoff ironically. "When +you have found a place in which to build them that we cannot blow off +the face of the earth before you get one finished. Meanwhile, let me +beg of you to keep your temper, and to remember that there is a lady +present. That girl standing yonder by the gun was once stripped and +flogged by Russians calling themselves men and soldiers. Her fingers +are itching to make the movement that would annihilate you and every +one standing near you, so pray try keep your temper; for if we fire a +shot the air-ships up yonder will at once open fire, and not stop +while there is a stone of that building left upon another. Ah! here +comes the Professor." + +As he spoke the man of science advanced, looking wonderingly at the +air-ship. Mazanoff made a sign to the old officer to keep silence, +and continued in the same polite tone that he had used all along-- + +"Good evening, Professor! I have come to ask you whether you have yet +made any experiments on the contents of the shell and the two +cylinders that were given to you for examination?" + +"I must first ask for your authority to put such an inquiry to me on +a confidential subject," replied the Professor stiffly. + +"On the authority given me by the power to enforce an answer, sir," +returned the Terrorist quietly. "I know that Professor Volnow will +not lie to me, even at the order of the Tsar, and when I tell you +that your refusal to reply will cost the lives of every one here, and +possibly involve the destruction of Petersburg itself, I feel sure +that, as a mere matter of humanity, you will comply with my request." + +"Sir, the orders of my master are absolute secrecy on this subject, +and I will obey them to the death. I have analysed the contents of +one of the cylinders, but what they are I will tell to no one save by +the direct command of his Majesty. That is all I have done." + +"Then in that case, Professor, I must ask you to surrender yourself +prisoner of war, and to come on board this vessel at once." + +As Mazanoff said this the _Ariel_ dropped to within ten feet of the +ground, and a rope-ladder fell over the side. + +"Come, Professor, there is no time to be lost. I shall give the order +to fire in one minute from now." + +He took out his watch, and began to count the seconds. Ten, twenty, +thirty passed and the Professor stood irresolute. Two of the +_Ariel's_ guns pointed at the gables of the Arsenal, and two swept +the crowded space in front. + +Konstantin Volnow knew enough to see clearly the frightful slaughter +and destruction that twenty seconds more would bring if he refused to +give himself up. As Mazanoff counted "forty" he threw up his hands +with a gesture of despair, and cried-- + +"Stop! I will come. The Tsar has as good servants as I am! Colonel, +tell his Majesty that I gave myself up to save the lives of better +men." + +Then the Professor mounted the ladder amidst a murmur of relief and +applause from the crowd, and, gaining the deck of the _Ariel_, bowed +coldly to Mazanoff and said-- + +"I am your prisoner, sir!" + +The captain of the _Ariel_ bowed in reply, and stamped thrice on the +deck. The fan-wheels whirled round, and the air-ship rapidly +ascended, at the same time moving diagonally across the quadrangle of +the Arsenal. + +Scarcely had she reached the other side when there was a tremendous +explosion in the north-eastern angle of the building. A sheet of +flame shot up through the roof, the walls split asunder, and masses +of stone, wood, and iron went flying in all directions, leaving only +a fiercely burning mass of ruins where the gable had been. + +The Professor turned ashy pale, staggered backwards with both his +hands clasped to his head, and gasped out brokenly as he stared at +the conflagration-- + +"God have mercy on me! My laboratory! My assistant--I told him"-- + +"What did you tell him, Professor?" said Mazanoff sternly, grasping +him suddenly by the arm. + +"I told him not to open the other cylinder." + +"And he has done so, and paid for his disobedience with his life," +said Mazanoff calmly. "Console yourself, my dear sir! He has only +saved me the trouble of destroying your laboratory. I serve a sterner +and more powerful master than yours. He ordered me to make your +experiments impossible if it cost a thousand lives to do so, and I +would have done it if necessary. Rest content with the knowledge that +you have saved, not only the rest of the Arsenal, but also +Petersburg, by your surrender; for sooner than that secret had been +revealed, we should have laid the city in ruins to slay the man who +had discovered it." + +The prisoner of the Terrorists made no reply, but turned away in +silence to watch the rapidly receding building, in the angle of which +the flames were still raging furiously. A few minutes later the +_Ariel_ had rejoined her consorts. Her captain at once went on board +the flagship to make his report and deliver up his prisoner to Natas, +who looked sharply at him and said-- + +"Professor, will you give me your word of honour to attempt no +communication with the earth while it may be found necessary to +detain you? If not, I shall be compelled to keep you in strict +confinement till it is beyond your power to do so." + +"Sir, I give you my word that I will not do so," said the Professor, +who had now somewhat regained his composure. + +"Very well," replied Natas. "Then on that condition you will be made +free of the vessel, and we will make you as comfortable as we can. +Captain Arnold, full speed to the south-westward, if you please." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +A SKIRMISH IN THE CLOUDS. + + +A few minutes after two on the following morning, that is to say on +the 28th, the electric signal leading from the conning-tower of the +_Ithuriel_ to the wall of Arnold's cabin, just above his berth, +sounded. As it was only permitted to be used on occasions of urgency, +he knew that his presence was immediately required forward for some +good reason, and so he turned out at once, threw a dressing-gown over +his sleeping suit, and within three minutes was standing in the +conning-tower beside Andrew Smith, whose watch it then happened to +be. + +"Well, Smith, what's the matter?" + +"Fleet of war-balloons coming up from the south'ard, sir. You can +just see 'em, sir, coming on in line under that long bank of cloud." + +The captain of the _Ithuriel_ took the night-glasses, and looked +eagerly in the direction pointed out by his keen-eyed coxswain. As +soon as he picked them up he had no difficulty in making out twelve +small dark spots in line at regular intervals sharply defined against +a band of light that lay between the earth and a long dark bank of +clouds. + +It was a division of the Tsar's aërial fleet, returning from some +work of death and destruction in the south to rejoin the main force +before Berlin. Arnold's course was decided on in an instant. He saw a +chance of turning the tables on his Majesty in a fashion that he +would find as unpleasant as it would be unexpected. He turned to his +coxswain and said-- + +"How is the wind, Smith?" + +"Nor'-nor'-west, with perhaps half a point more north in it, sir. +About a ten-knot breeze--at least that's the drift that Mr. Marston's +allowing for." + +"Yes, that's near enough. Then those fellows, if they are going full +speed, are coming up at about twenty miles an hour, or not quite +that. They're nearly twenty miles off, as nearly as I can judge in +this light. What do you make it?" + +"That's about it, sir; rather less than more, if anything, to my +mind." + +"Very well, then. Now signal to stop, and send up the fan-wheels; and +tell the _Ariel_ and the _Orion_ to close up and speak." + +"Ay, ay, sir," said the coxswain, as he saluted and disappeared. +Arnold at once went back to his cabin and dressed, telling his second +officer, Frank Marston, a young Englishman, whom he had chosen to +take Mazanoff's place, to do the same as quietly as possible, as he +did not wish to awaken any of his three passengers just at present. + +By the time he got on deck the three air-ships had slowed down +considerably, and the two consorts of the _Ithuriel_ were within easy +speaking distance. Mazanoff and Tremayne were both on deck, and to +them he explained his plans as follows-- + +"There are a dozen of the Tsar's war-balloons coming up yonder to the +southward, and I am going to head them off and capture the lot if I +can. If we can do that, we can make what terms we like for the +surrender of the _Lucifer_. + +"You two take your ships and get to windward of them as fast as you +can. Keep a little higher than they are, but not much. On no account +let one of them get above you. If they try to descend, give each one +that does so a No. 1 shell, and blow her up. If one tries to pass +you, ram her in the upper part of the gas-holder, and let her down +with a smash. + +"I am going up above them to prevent any of them from rising too far. +They can outfly us in that one direction, so I shall blow any that +attempt it into little pieces. If you have to fire on any of them, +don't use more than No. 1; you'll find that more than enough. + +"Keep an eye on me for signals, and remember that the whole fleet +must be destroyed rather than one allowed to escape. I want to give +the Tsar a nice little surprise. He seems to be getting a good deal +too cock-sure about these old gas-bags of his, and it's time to give +him a lesson in real aërial warfare." + +There was not a great newspaper in the world that would not have +given a very long price to have had the privilege of putting a +special correspondent on the deck of the _Ithuriel_ for the two hours +which followed the giving of Arnold's directions to his brother +commanders of the little squadron. The journal which could have +published an exclusive account of the first aërial skirmish in the +history of the world would have scored a triumph which would have +left its competitors a long way behind in the struggle to be "up to +date." + +As soon as Arnold had given his orders, the three air-ships at once +separated. The _Ariel_ and the _Orion_ shot away to the southward on +only a slightly upward course, while the _Ithuriel_ soared up beyond +the stratum of clouds which lay in thin broken masses rather more +than four thousand feet above the earth. + +It was still rather more than an hour before sunrise, and, as the +moon had gone down, and the clouds intercepted most of the starlight, +it was just "the darkest hour before the dawn," and therefore the +most favourable for the carrying out of the plan that Arnold had in +view. + +Shortly after half-past two he knocked at Natasha's cabin-door, and +said-- + +"If you would like to see an aërial battle, get up and come into the +conning-tower at once. We have overtaken a squadron of Russian +war-balloons, and we are going either to capture or destroy them." + +"Glorious!" exclaimed Natasha, wide awake in an instant at such +startling news. "I'll be with you in five minutes. Tell my father, +and please don't begin till I come." + +"I shouldn't think of opening the ball without your ladyship's +presence," laughed Arnold in reply, and then he went and called Natas +and his attendant and the Professor before going to the +conning-tower, where in a very few minutes he was joined by Natasha. +The first words she said were-- + +"I have told Ivan to send us some coffee as soon as he has attended +to my father. You see how thoughtful I am for your creature comforts. +Now, where are the war-balloons?" + +[Illustration: "Come now, and fire the first shot in the warfare of +the future." + +_See page 211._] + +"On the other side of those clouds. There, look down through that big +rift, and you will see one of them." + +"Why, what a height we must be from the earth! The balloon looks like +a little toy thing, but it must be a great clumsy contrivance for all +that." + +"The barometer gives five thousand three hundred feet. You will soon +see why I have come up so high. The balloons can rise to fifteen or +twenty thousand feet, if they wish to, and in that way they could +easily escape us; therefore, if one of them attempts to rise through +those clouds, I shall send him back to earth in little bits." + +"And what are the other two air-ships doing?" + +"They are below the clouds, heading the balloons off from the Russian +camp, which is about fifty miles to the north-westward. Ha! look, +there go the searchlights!" + +As he spoke, two long converging beams of light darted across a broad +space of sky that was free from cloud. They came from the _Ariel_ and +the _Orion_, which thus suddenly revealed themselves to the +astonished and disgusted Russians, one at each end of their long +line, and only a little more than half a mile ahead of it. + +The searchlights flashed to and fro along the line, plainly showing +the great masses of the aerostats' gas-holders, with their long +slender cars beneath them. A blue light was burnt on the largest of +the war-balloons, and at once the whole flotilla began to ascend +towards the clouds, followed by the two air-ships. + +"Here they come!" said Arnold, as he saw them rising through a +cloud-rift. "Come out and watch what happens to the first one that +shows herself." + +He went out on deck, followed by Natasha, and took his place by one +of the broadside guns. At the same time he gave the order for the +_Ithuriel's_ searchlight to be turned on, and to sweep the +cloud-field below her. Presently a black rounded object appeared +rising through the clouds like a whale coming to the surface of the +sea. + +He trained the gun on to it as it came distinctly into view, and said +to Natasha-- + +"Come, now, and fire the first shot in the warfare of the future. Put +your finger on the button, and press when I tell you." + +Natasha did as he told her, and at the word "Fire!" pressed the +little ivory button down. The shell struck the upper envelope of the +balloon, passed through, and exploded. A broad sheet of flame shot +up, brilliantly illuminating the sea of cloud for an instant, and all +was darkness again. A few seconds later there came another blaze, and +the report of a much greater explosion from below the clouds. + +"What was that?" asked Natasha. + +"That was the car full of explosives striking the earth and going off +promiscuously," replied Arnold. "There isn't as much of that aerostat +left as would make a pocket-handkerchief or a walking-stick." + +"And the crew?" + +"Never knew what happened to them. In the new warfare people will not +be merely killed, they will be annihilated." + +"Horrible!" exclaimed Natasha, with a shudder. "I think you may do +the rest of the shooting. The effects of that shot will last me for +some time. Look, there's another of them coming up!" + +The words were hardly out of her mouth before Arnold had crossed to +the other side of the deck and sped another missile on its errand of +destruction with almost exactly the same result as before. This +second shot, as it was afterwards found, threw the Russian squadron +into complete panic. + +The terrific suddenness with which the two aerostats had been +destroyed convinced those in command of the others that there was a +large force of air-ships above the clouds ready to destroy them one +by one as they ascended. Arnold waited for a few minutes, and then, +seeing that no others cared to risk the fate that had overwhelmed the +first two that had sought to cross the cloud-zone, sank rapidly +through it, and then stopped again. + +He found himself about six hundred feet above the rest of the +squadron. The _Ithuriel_ coming thus suddenly into view, her eight +guns pointing in all directions, and her searchlight flashing hither +and thither as though seeking new victims, completed the +demoralisation of the Russians. For all they knew there were still +more air-ships above the clouds. Even this one could not be passed +while those mysterious guns of unknown range and infallible aim were +sweeping the sky, ready to hurl their silent lightnings in every +direction. + +Ascend they dare not. To descend was to be destroyed in detail as +they lay helpless upon the earth. There was only one chance of +escape, and that was to scatter. The commander of the squadron at +once signalled for this to be done, and the aerostats headed away to +all points of the compass. But here they had reckoned without the +incomparable speed of their assailants. + +Before they had moved a hundred yards from their common centre the +_Ariel_ and the _Orion_ headed away in different directions, and in +an inconceivably short space of time had described a complete circle +round them, and then another and another, narrowing each circle that +they made. One of the aerostats, watching its opportunity, put on +full speed and tried to get outside the narrowing zone. She had +almost succeeded, when the _Orion_ swerved outwards and dashed at her +with the ram. + +In ten seconds she was overtaken. The keen steel prow of the +air-ship, driven at more than a hundred miles an hour, ripped her +gas-holder from end to end as if it had been tissue paper. It +collapsed like broken bubble, and the wreck, with its five occupants +and its load of explosives, dropped like a stone to the earth, three +thousand feet below, exploding like one huge shell as it struck. + +This was the last blow struck in the first aërial battle in the +history of warfare. The Russians had no stomach for this kind of +fighting. It was all very well to sail over armies and fortresses on +the earth and drop shells upon them without danger of retaliation; +but this was an entirely different matter. + +Three of the aerostats had been destroyed in little more than as many +minutes, so utterly destroyed that not a vestige of them remained, +and the whole squadron had not been able to strike a blow in +self-defence. They carried no guns, not even small arms, for they had +no use for them in the work that they had to do. There were only two +alternatives before them--surrender or piecemeal destruction. + +As soon as she had destroyed the third aerostat, the _Orion_ swerved +round again, and began flying round the squadron as before in an +opposite direction to the _Ariel_. None of the aerostats made an +attempt to break the strange blockage again. As the circles narrowed +they crowded closer and closer together, like a flock of sheep +surrounded by wolves. + +Meanwhile the _Ithuriel_, floating above the centre of the disordered +squadron, descended slowly until she hung a hundred feet above the +highest of them. Then Arnold with his searchlight flashed a signal to +the _Ariel_ which at once slowed down, the _Orion_ continuing on her +circular course as before. + +As soon as the _Ariel_ was going slowly enough for him to make +himself heard, Mazanoff shouted through a speaking-trumpet-- + +"Will you surrender, or fight it out?" + +"_Nu vot_! how can we fight with those devil-ships of yours? What is +your pleasure?" + +The answering hail came from one of the aerostats in the centre of +the squadron. Mazanoff at once replied-- + +"Unconditional surrender for the present, under guarantee of safety +to every one who surrenders. Who are you?" + +"Colonel Alexei Alexandrovitch, in command of the squadron. I +surrender on those terms. Who are you?" + +"The captain of the Terrorist air-ship _Ariel_. Be good enough to +come out here, Colonel Alexei Alexandrovitch." + +One of the aerostats moved out of the midst of the Russian squadron +and made its way towards the _Ariel_. As she approached Mazanoff +swung his bow round and brought it level with the car of the +aerostat, at the same time training one of his guns full on it. Then, +with his arm resting on the breach of the gun, he said,-- + +"Come on board, Colonel, and bid your balloon follow me. No nonsense, +mind, or I'll blow you into eternity and all your squadron after +you." + +The Russian did as he was bidden, and the _Ariel_, followed by the +aerostat, ascended to the _Ithuriel_, while the _Orion_ kept up her +patrol round the captive war-balloons. + +"Colonel Alexandrovitch, in command of the Tsar's aërial squadron, +surrenders unconditionally, save for guarantee of personal safety to +himself and his men," reported Mazanoff, as he came within earshot of +the flagship. + +"Very good," replied Arnold from the deck of the _Ithuriel_. "You will +keep Colonel Alexandrovitch as hostage for the good behaviour of the +rest, and shoot him the moment one of the balloons attempts to +escape. After that destroy the rest without mercy. They will form in +line close together. The _Ariel_ and the _Orion_ will convoy them on +either flank, and you will follow me until you have the signal to +stop. On the first suspicion of any attempt to escape you will know +what to do. You have both handled your ships splendidly." + +Mazanoff saluted formally, more for the sake of effect than anything +else, and descended again to carry out his orders. The captured +flotilla was formed in line, the balloons being closed up until there +was only a couple of yards or so between any of them and her next +neighbour, with the _Orion_ and the _Ariel_ to right and left, each +with two guns trained on them, and the _Ithuriel_ flying a couple of +hundred feet above them. In this order captors and captured made +their way at twenty miles an hour to the north-west towards the +headquarters of the Tsar. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +AN EMBASSY FROM THE SKY. + + +By the time the captured war-balloons had been formed in order, and +the voyage fairly commenced, the eastern sky was bright with the +foreglow of the coming dawn, and, as the flotilla was only floating +between eight and nine hundred feet above the earth, it was not long +before the light was sufficiently strong to render the landscape +completely visible. + +Far and wide it was a scene of desolation and destruction, of wasted, +blackened fields trampled into wildernesses by the tread of countless +feet, of forests of trees broken, scorched, and splintered by the +iron hail of artillery, and of towns and villages, reduced to heaps +of ruins, still smouldering with the fires that had destroyed them. + +No more eloquent object-lesson in the horrors of what is called +civilised warfare could well have been found than the scene which was +visible from the decks of the air-ships. The promised fruits of a +whole year of patient industry had been withered in a few hours under +the storm-blast of war; homes which but a few days before had +sheltered stalwart, well-fed peasants and citizens, were now mere +heaps of blackened brick and stone and smoking thatches. + +Streets which had been the thoroughfares of peaceful industrious +folk, who had no quarrel with the Powers of the earth, or with any of +their kind, were now strewn with corpses and encumbered with ruins, +and the few survivors, more miserable than those who had died, were +crawling, haggard and starving, amidst the wrecks of their vanished +prosperity, seeking for some scanty morsels of food to prolong life +if only for a few more days of misery and nights of sleepless +anxiety. + +As the sun rose and shed its midsummer splendour, as if in sublime +mockery, over the scene of suffering and desolation, hideous features +of the landscape were brought into stronger and more horrifying +relief; the scorched and trampled fields were seen to be strewn with +unburied corpses of men and horses, and ploughed up with cannon shot +and torn into great irregular gashes by shells that had buried +themselves in the earth and then exploded. + +It was evident that some frightful tragedy must have taken place in +this region not many hours before the air-ships had arrived upon the +scene. And this, in fact, had been the case. Barely three days +previously the advance guard of the Russian army of the North had +been met and stubbornly but unsuccessfully opposed by the remnants of +the German army of the East, which, driven back from the frontier, +was retreating in good order to join the main force which had +concentrated about Berlin, under the command of the Emperor, there to +fight out the supreme struggle, on the issue of which depended the +existence of that German Empire which fifty years before had been so +triumphantly built up by the master-geniuses of the last generation. + +After a flight of a little over two hours the flotilla came in sight +of the Russian army lying between Cüstrin on the right and +Frankfort-on-Spree on the left. The distance between these two towns +is nearly twelve English miles, and yet the wings of the vast host +under the command of the Tsar spread for a couple of miles on either +side to north and south of each of them. + +In spite of the colossal iniquity which it concealed, the spectacle +was one of indescribable grandeur. Almost as far as the eye could +reach the beams of the early morning sun were gleaming upon +innumerable white tents, and flashing over a sea of glittering metal, +of bare bayonets and sword scabbards, of spear points and helmets, of +gold-laced uniforms and the polished accoutrements of countless +batteries of field artillery. + +Far away to the westward the stately city of Berlin could be seen +lying upon its intersecting waters, and encircled by its +fortifications bristling with guns, and in advance of it were the +long serried lines of its defenders gathered to do desperate battle +for home and fatherland. + +As soon as the Russian army was fairly in sight the _Ithuriel_ shot +ahead, sank to the level of the flotilla, and then stopped until she +was overtaken by the _Orion_. Tremayne was on deck, and Arnold as +soon as he came alongside said-- + +"You must stop here for the present. I want the aerostat commanded by +Colonel Alexandrovitch to come with me; meanwhile you and the _Ariel_ +will rise with the rest of the balloons to a height of four thousand +feet; you will keep strict guard over the balloons, and permit no +movement to be made until my return. We are going to bring his +Majesty the Tsar to book, or else make things pretty lively for him +if he won't listen to reason." + +"Very well," replied Tremayne. "I will do as you say, and await +developments with considerable interest. If there is going to be a +fight, I hope you're not going to leave us out in the cold." + +"Oh no," replied Arnold. "You needn't be afraid of that. If his +Majesty won't come to terms, you will smash up the war-balloons and +then come and join us in the general bombardment. I see, by the way, +that there are ten or a dozen more of these unwieldy monsters with +the Russian force moored to the ground yonder on the outskirts of +Cüstrin. It will be a little amusement for us if we have to come to +blows to knock them to pieces before we smash up the Tsar's +headquarters. + +So saying, Arnold increased the speed of the _Ithuriel_, swept round +in front of the line, and communicated the same instructions to the +captain of the _Ariel_. + +A few minutes later the _Ariel_ and the _Orion_ began to rise with +their charges to the higher regions of the air, leaving the +_Ithuriel_ and the one aerostat to carry out the plan which had been +arranged by Natas and Arnold an hour previously. + +As the speed of the aerostat was only about twenty miles an hour +against the wind, a rope was passed from the stern of the _Ithuriel_ +to the cordage connecting the car with the gas-holder, and so the +aerostat was taken in tow by the air-ship, and dragged through the +air at a speed of about forty miles an hour, as a wind-bound sailing +vessel might have been towed by a steamer. + +On the journey the elevation was increased to more than four thousand +feet,--an elevation at which both the _Ithuriel_ and her captive, and +especially the former, presented practically impossible marks for the +Russian riflemen. Almost immediately over Cüstrin they came to a +standstill, and then Colonel Alexandrovitch and Professor Volnow were +summoned by Natas into the deck saloon. + +He explained to them the mission which he desired them to undertake, +that is to say, the conveyance of a letter from himself to the Tsar +offering terms for the surrender of the _Lucifer_. They accepted the +mission; and in order that they might fully understand the gravity of +it, Natas read them the letter, which ran as follows:-- + + ALEXANDER ROMANOFF,-- + + Three days ago one of my fleet of air-ships, named the _Lucifer_, + was delivered into your hands by traitors and deserters, whose + lives are forfeit in virtue of the oaths which they took of their + own free will. I have already taken measures to render abortive + the analysis which you ordered to be performed in the chemical + department of your Arsenal at St. Petersburg, and I have now come + to make terms, if possible, for the restoration of the air-ship. + Those terms are as follows-- + + An hour before daybreak this morning I captured nine of your + war-balloons, after destroying three others which attempted to + escape. I have no desire to take any present part in the war + which you are now carrying on with the Anglo-Teutonic Alliance, + and if you will tell me where the _Lucifer_ is now to be found, + and will despatch orders both by land and through Professor + Volnow, who brings this letter to you, and will return with your + answer, for her to be given up to me forthwith with everything + she has on board, and will surrender with her the four traitors + who delivered her into your hands, I will restore the nine + war-balloons to you intact, and when I have recovered the + _Lucifer_ I will take no further part in the war unless either + you or your opponents proceed to unjustifiable extremities. + + If you reject these terms, or if I do not receive an answer to + this letter within two hours of the time that the bearer of it + descends in the aerostat, I shall give orders for the immediate + destruction of the war-balloons now in my hands, and I shall then + proceed to destroy Cüstrin and the other aerostats which are + moored near the town. That done I shall, for the time being, + devote the force at my disposal to the defence of Berlin, and do + my utmost to bring about the defeat and dispersal of the army + which will then no longer be commanded by yourself. + + In case you may doubt what I say as to the capture of the fleet + of war-balloons, Professor Volnow will be accompanied by Colonel + Alexei Alexandrovitch, late in command of the squadron, and now + my prisoner of war. + + NATAS. + +The ambassadors were at once transferred to the aerostat, and with a +white flag hoisted on the after stays of the balloon she began to +sink rapidly towards the earth, and at the same time Natas gave +orders for the _Ithuriel_ to ascend to a height of eight thousand +feet in order to frustrate any attempts that might be made, whether +with or without the orders of the Tsar, to injure her by means of a +volley from the earth. + +Even from that elevation, those on board the _Ithuriel_ were able +with the aid of their field-glasses to see with perfect ease the +commotion which the appearance of the air-ship with the captured +aerostat had produced in the Russian camp. The whole of the vast +host, numbering more than four millions of men, turned out into the +open to watch their aërial visitors, and everywhere throughout the +whole extent of the huge camp the plainest signs of the utmost +excitement were visible. + +In less than half an hour they saw the aerostat touch the earth near +to a large building, above which floated the imperial standard of +Russia. An hour had been allowed for the interview and for the Tsar +to give his decision, and half an hour for the aerostat to return and +meet the air-ship. + +In all the history of the world there had probably never been an hour +so pregnant with tremendous consequences, not only to Europe, but to +the whole civilised world, as that was; and though apparently a +perfect calm reigned throughout the air-ship, the issue of the +embassy was awaited with the most intense anxiety. + +Another half hour passed, and hardly a word was spoken on the deck of +the _Ithuriel_, hanging there in mid-air over the mighty Russian +host, and in range of the field-glasses of the outposts of the German +army of Berlin lying some ten or twelve miles away to the westward. + +It was the calm before the threatening storm,--a storm which in less +than an hour might break in a hail of death and destruction from the +sky, and turn the fields of earth into a volcano of shot and flame. +Certainly the fate of an empire, and perhaps of Europe, or indeed the +world, hung in the balance over that field of possible carnage. + +If the Russians regained their war-balloons and were left to +themselves, nothing that the heroic Germans could do would be likely +to save Berlin from the fate that had overwhelmed Strassburg and +Metz, Breslau and Thorn. + +On the other hand, should the aerostat not return in time with a +satisfactory answer, the victorious career of the Tsar would be cut +short by such a bolt from the skies as had wrecked his fortress at +Kronstadt,--a blow which he could neither guard against nor return, +for it would come from an unassailable vantage point, a little vessel +a hundred feet long floating in the air six thousand feet from the +earth, and looking a mere bright speck amidst the sunlight. She +formed a mark that the most skilful rifle-shot in his army could not +hit once in a thousand shots, and against whose hull of hardened +aluminium, bullets, even if they struck, would simply splash and +scatter, like raindrops on a rock. + +The remaining minutes of the last half hour were slipping away one by +one, and still no sign came from the earth. The aerostat remained +moored near the building surmounted by the Russian standard, and the +white flag, which, according to arrangement, had been hauled down to +be re-hoisted if the answer of the Tsar was favourable, was still +invisible. When only ten minutes of the allotted time were left, +Arnold, moving his glass from his eyes, and looking at his watch, +said to Natas-- + +"Ten minutes more; shall I prepare?" + +"Yes," said Natas. "And let the first gun be fired with the first +second of the eleventh minute. Destroy the aerostats first and then +the batteries of artillery. After that send a shell into Frankfort, +if you have a gun that will carry the distance, so that they may see +our range of operations; but spare the Tsar's headquarters for the +present." + +"Very good," replied Arnold. Then, turning to his lieutenant, he +said-- + +"You have the guns loaded with No. 3, I presume, Mr. Marston, and the +projectile stands are filled, I see. Very good. Now descend to six +thousand feet and go a mile to the westward. Train one broadside gun +on that patch of ground where you see those balloons, another to +strike in the midst of those field-guns yonder by the +ammunition-waggons, and train the starboard after-gun to throw a +shell into Frankfort. The distance is a little over twelve miles, so +give sufficient elevation." + +By the time these orders had been executed, swiftly as the necessary +evolution had been performed, only four minutes of the allotted time +were left. Arnold took his stand by the broadside gun trained on the +aerostats, and, with one hand on the breech of the gun and the other +holding his watch, he waited for the appointed moment. Natasha stood +by him with her eyes fastened to the eye-pieces of the glasses +watching for the white flag in breathless suspense. + +"One minute more!" said Arnold. + +"Stop, there it goes!" cried Natasha as the words left his lips. "His +Majesty has yielded to circumstances!" + +Arnold took the glasses from her, and through them saw a tiny white +speck shining against the black surface of the gas-holder of the +balloon. He handed the glasses back to her, saying-- + +"We must not be too sure of that. His message may be one of +defiance." + +"True," said Natasha. "We shall see." + +Ten minutes later the aerostat was released from her moorings and +rose swiftly and vertically into the air. As soon as it reached her +own altitude the _Ithuriel_ shot forward to meet it, and stopped +within a couple of hundred yards, a gun ready trained upon the car in +case of treachery. In the car stood Professor Volnow and Colonel +Alexandrovitch. The former held something white in his hand, and +across the intervening space came the reassuring hail: "All well!" + +In five minutes he was standing on the deck of the _Ithuriel_ +presenting a folded paper to Natas. He was pale to the lips, and his +whole body trembled with violent emotion. As he handed him the paper, +he said to Natas in a low, husky voice that was barely recognisable +as his-- + +"Here is the answer of the Tsar. Whether you are man or fiend, I know +not, but his Majesty has yielded and accepted your terms. May I never +again witness such anger as was his when I presented your letter. It +was not till the last moment that he yielded to my entreaties and +those of his staff, and ordered the white flag to be hoisted." + +"Yes," replied Natas. "He tempted his fate to the last moment. The +guns were already trained upon Cüstrin, and thirty seconds more would +have seen his headquarters in ruins. He did wisely, if he acted +tardily." + +So saying, Natas broke the imperial seal. On a sheet of paper bearing +the imperial arms were scrawled three or four lines in the Autocrat's +own handwriting-- + + I accept your main terms. The air-ship has joined the Baltic + fleet. She will be delivered to you with all on board. The four + men are my subjects, and I feel bound to protect them; they will + therefore not be delivered up. Do as you like. + + ALEXANDER. + +"A Royal answer, though it comes from a despot," said Natas as he +refolded the paper. "I will waive that point, and let him protect the +traitors, if he can. Colonel Alexandrovitch," he continued, turning +to the Russian, who had also boarded the air-ship, "you are free. You +may return to your war-balloon, and accompany us to give the order +for the release of your squadron." + +"Free!" suddenly screamed the Russian, his face livid and distorted +with passion. "Free, yes, but disgraced! Ruined for life, and +degraded to the ranks! I want no freedom from you. I will not even +have my life at your hands, but I will have yours, and rid the earth +of you if I die a thousand deaths!" + +As he spoke he wrenched his sword from its scabbard, thrust the +Professor aside, and rushed at Natas with the uplifted blade. Before +it had time to descend a stream of pale flame flashed over the back +of the Master's chair, accompanied by a long, sharp rattle, and the +Russian's body dropped instantly to the deck riddled by a hail of +bullets. + +"I saw murder in that man's eyes when he began to speak," said +Natasha, putting back into her pocket the magazine pistol that she +had used with such terrible effect. + +"I saw it too, daughter," quietly replied Natas. "But you need not +have been afraid; the blow would never have reached me, for I would +have paralysed him before he could have made the stroke." + +"Impossible! No man could have done it!" + +The exclamation burst involuntarily from the lips of Professor +Volnow, who had stood by, an amazed and horrified spectator of the +rapidly enacted tragedy. + +"Professor," said Natas, in quick, stern tones, "I am not accustomed +to say what is not true, nor yet to be contradicted by any one in +human shape. Stand there till I tell you to move." + +As he spoke these last words Natas made a swift, sweeping downward +movement with one of his hands, and fixed his eyes upon those of the +Professor. In an instant Volnow's muscles stiffened into immovable +rigidity, and he stood rooted to the deck powerless to move so much +as a finger. + +"Captain Arnold," continued Natas, as though nothing had happened. +"We will rejoin our consorts, please, and release the aerostats in +accordance with the terms. This man's body will be returned in one of +them to his master, and the Professor here will write an account of +his death in order that it may not be believed that we have murdered +him. Konstantin Volnow, go into the saloon and write that letter, and +bring it to me when it is done." + +Like an automaton the Professor turned and walked mechanically into +the deck-saloon. Meanwhile the _Ithuriel_ started on her way towards +the captive squadron. Before she reached it Volnow returned with a +sheet of paper in his hand filled with fresh writing, and signed with +his name. + +Natas took it from him, read it, and then fixing his eyes on his +again, said-- + +"That will do. I give you back your will. Now, do you believe?" + +The Professor's body was suddenly shaken with such a violent +trembling that he almost fell to the deck. Then he recovered himself +with a violent effort, and cried through his chattering teeth-- + +"Believe! How can I help it? Whoever and whatever you are, you are +well named the Master of the Terror." + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +AT CLOSE QUARTERS. + + +As soon as the captive war-balloons had been released, the _Ithuriel_ +and her consorts, without any further delay or concern for the issue +of the decisive battle which would probably prove to be the +death-struggle of the German Empire, headed away to the northward at +the utmost speed of the two smaller vessels. Their objective point +was Copenhagen, and the distance rather more than two hundred and +sixty miles in a straight line. + +This was covered in under two hours and a half, and by noon they had +reached the Danish capital. In crossing the water from Stralsund they +had sighted several war-vessels, all flying British, German, or +Danish colours, and all making a northerly course like themselves. +They had not attempted to speak to any of these, because, as they +were all apparently bound for the same point, and, as the speed of +the air-ships was more than five times as great as that of the +swiftest cruiser, to do so would have been a waste of time, when +every moment might be of the utmost consequence. + +Off Copenhagen the aërial travellers saw the first signs of the +terrible night's work, with the details of which the reader has +already been made acquainted. Wrecked fortifications, cruisers and +battleships bearing every mark of a heavy engagement, some with their +top-works battered into ruins, their military masts gone, and their +guns dismounted; some down by the head, and some by the stern, and +others evidently run ashore to save them from sinking; and the +harbour crowded with others in little better condition--everywhere +there were eloquent proofs of the disaster which had overtaken the +Allied fleets on the previous night. + +"There seems to have been some rough work going on down there within +the last few hours," said Arnold to Natas as they came in sight of +this scene of destruction. "The Russians could not have done this +alone, for when the war began they were shut up in the Baltic by an +overwhelming force, of which these seem to be the remains. And those +forts yonder were never destroyed by anything but our shells." + +"Yes," replied Natas. "It is easy to see what has happened. The +_Lucifer_ was sent here to help the Russian fleet to break the +blockade, and it looks as though it had been done very effectually. +We are just a few hours too late, I fear. + +"That one victory will have an immense effect on the course of the +war, for it is almost certain that the Russians will make for the +Atlantic round the north of the Shetland Islands, and co-operate with +the French and Italian squadrons along the British line of +communication with the West. That once cut, food will go up to famine +prices in Britain, and the end will not be far off." + +Natas spoke without the slightest apparent personal interest in the +subject; but his words brought a flush to Arnold's cheeks, and make +him suddenly clench his hands and knit his brows. After all he was an +Englishman, and though he owed England nothing but the accident of +his birth, the knowledge that one of his own ships should be the +means of bringing this disaster upon her made him forget for the +moment the gulf that he had placed between himself and his native +land, and long to go to her rescue. But it was only a passing +emotion. He remembered that his country was now elsewhere, and that +all his hopes were now alien to Britain and her fortunes. + +If Natas noticed the effect of his words he made no sign that he did, +and he went on in the same even tone as before-- + +"We must overtake the fleet, and either recapture the _Lucifer_ or +destroy her before she does any more mischief in Russian hands. The +first thing to do is to find out what has happened, and what course +they have taken. Hoist the Union Jack over a flag of truce on all +three ships, and signal to Mazanoff to come alongside. We had better +stop here till we get the news." + +The Master's orders were at once executed, and as soon as the _Ariel_ +was floating beside the flagship he said to her captain-- + +"Go down and speak that cruiser lying at anchor off the harbour, and +learn all you can of what has happened. Tell them freely how it +happened that the _Lucifer_ assisted the Russian, if it turns out +that she did so. Say that we have no hostility to Britain at present, +but rather the reverse, and that our only purpose just now is to +retake the air-ship and prevent her doing any more damage. If you can +get any newspapers, do so." + +"I understand fully," replied Mazanoff, and a minute later his vessel +was sinking rapidly down towards the cruiser. + +His reception was evidently friendly, for those on board the +_Ithuriel_ saw that he ran the _Ariel_ close alongside the +man-of-war, after the first hails had been exchanged, and conversed +for some time with a group of officers across the rails of the two +vessels. Then a large roll of newspapers was passed from the cruiser +to the air-ship, salutes were exchanged, and the _Ariel_ rose +gracefully into the air to rejoin her consorts, followed by the +envious glances of the crews of the battered warships. + +Mazanoff presented his report, the facts of which were substantially +those given in the _St. James's Gazette_ telegram, and added that the +British officers had confessed to him that the damage done was so +great, both to the fleet and the shore fortifications, that the Sound +was now practically as open as the Atlantic, and that it would be two +or three weeks before even half the Allied force would be able to +take the sea in fighting trim. + +They added that there was not the slightest need to conceal their +condition, as the Russians, who had steamed in triumph past their +shattered ships and silenced forts, knew it just as well as they did. +As regards the Russian fleet, it had been followed past the Skawe, +and had headed out westward. + +In their opinion it would consider itself strong enough, with the aid +of the air-ship, to sweep the North Sea, and would probably attempt +to force the Straits of Dover, as it has done the Sound, and effect a +junction with the French squadrons at Brest and Cherbourg. This done, +a combined attack might possibly be made upon Portsmouth, or the +destruction of the Channel fleet attempted. The effects of the +air-ship's shells upon both forts and ships had been so appalling +that the Russians would no doubt think themselves strong enough for +anything as long as they had possession of her. + +"They were extremely polite," said Mazanoff, as he concluded his +story. "They asked me to go ashore and interview the Admiral, who, +they told me, would guarantee any amount of money on behalf of the +British Government if we would only co-operate with their fleets for +even a month. They said Britain would gladly pay a hundred thousand a +month for the hire of each ship and her crew; and they looked quite +puzzled when I refused point-blank, and said that a million a month +would not do it. + +"They evidently take us for a new sort of pirates, corsairs of the +air, or something of that kind; for when I said that a few odd +millions were no good to people who could levy blackmail on the whole +earth if they chose, they stared at me and asked me what we did want +if we didn't want money. The idea that we could have any higher aims +never seemed to have entered their heads, and, of course, I didn't +enlighten them." + +"Quite right," said Natas, with a quiet laugh. "They will learn our +aims quite soon enough. And now we must overtake the Russian fleet as +soon as possible. You say they passed the Skawe soon after five this +morning. That gives them nearly six hours' start, and if they are +steaming twenty miles an hour, as I daresay they are, they will now +be some hundred and twenty miles west of the Skawe. Captain Arnold, +if we cut straight across Zeeland and Jutland, about what distance +ought we to travel before we meet them?" + +Arnold glanced at the chart which lay spread out on the table of the +saloon in which they were sitting, and said-- + +"I should say a course of about two hundred miles due north-west from +here ought to take us within sight of them, unless they are making +for the Atlantic, and keep very close to the Swedish coast. In that +case I should say two hundred and fifty in the same direction." + +"Very well, then, let us take that course and make all the speed we +can," said Natas; and within ten minutes the three vessels were +speeding away to the north-westward at a hundred and twenty miles an +hour over the verdant lowlands of the Danish peninsula. + +The _Ithuriel_ kept above five miles ahead of the others, and when +the journey had lasted about an hour and three-quarters, the man who +had been stationed in the conning-tower signalled, "Fleet in sight" +to the saloon. The air-ships were then travelling at an elevation of +3000 feet. A good ten miles to the northward could be seen the +Russian fleet steering to the westward, and, judging by the dense +clouds of smoke that were pouring out of the funnels of the vessels, +making all the speed they could. + +Arnold, who had gone forward to the conning-tower as soon as the +signal sounded, at once returned to the saloon and made his formal +report to Natas. + +"The Russian fleet is in sight, heading to the westward, and +therefore evidently meaning to reach the Atlantic by the north of the +Shetlands. There are twelve large battleships, about twenty-five +cruisers of different sizes, eight of them very large, and a small +swarm of torpedo-boats being towed by the larger vessels, I suppose +to save their coal. I see no signs of the _Lucifer_ at present, but +from what we have learnt she will be on the deck of one of the large +cruisers. What are your orders?" + +"Recover the air-ship if you can," replied Natas. "Send Mazanoff with +Professor Volnow to convey the Tsar's letter to the Admiral, and +demand the surrender of the _Lucifer_. If he refuses, let the _Ariel_ +return at once, and we will decide what to do. I leave the details +with you with the most perfect confidence." + +Arnold bowed in silence and retired, catching, as he turned to leave +the saloon, a glance from Natasha which, it must be confessed, meant +more to him than even the command of the Master. From the expression +of his face as he went to the wheel-house to take charge of the ship, +it was evident that it would go hard with the Russian fleet if the +Admiral refused to recognise the order of the Tsar. + +When he got to the wheel-house the _Ithuriel_ was almost over the +fleet. He signalled "stop" to the engine-room. Immediately the +propellers slowed and then ceased their rapid revolutions, and at the +same time the fan-wheels went aloft and began to revolve. This was a +prearranged signal to the others to do the same, and by the time they +had overtaken the flagship they also came to a standstill. As soon as +they were within speaking distance Arnold hailed the _Orion_ and the +_Ariel_ to come alongside. + +After communicating to Tremayne and Mazanoff the orders of Natas, he +said to the latter-- + +"You will take Professor Volnow to present the Tsar's letter to the +Admiral in command of the fleet. Fly the Russian flag over a flag of +truce, and if he acknowledges it say that if the _Lucifer_ is given +up we shall allow the fleet to go on its way unmolested and without +asking any question. + +"The cruiser that has her on board must separate from the rest of the +fleet and allow two of your men to take possession of her and bring +her up here. The lives of the four traitors are safe for the present +if the air-ship is given up quietly." + +"And if they will not recognise the authority of the Tsar's letter, +and refuse to give the air-ship up, what then?" asked Mazanoff. + +"In that case haul down the Russian flag, and get aloft as quickly as +you can. You can leave the rest to us," said Arnold. "Meanwhile, +Tremayne, will you go down to two thousand feet or so, and keep your +eye on that big cruiser a bit ahead of the rest of the fleet. I fancy +I can make out the _Lucifer_ on her deck. Train a couple of guns on +her, and don't let the air-ship rise without orders. I shall stop up +here for the present, and be ready to make things lively for the +Admiral if he refuses to obey his master's orders." + +The _Ariel_ took the Professor on board, and hoisted the Russian +colours over the flag of truce, and began to sink down towards the +fleet. As she descended, the Admiral in command of the squadron, +already not a little puzzled by the appearance of the three +air-ships, was still more mystified by seeing the Russian ensign +flying from her flagstaff. + +Was this only a ruse of the Terrorists, or were they flying the +Russian flag for a legitimate reason? As he knew from the experience +of the previous night that the air-ships, if their intentions were +hostile, could destroy his fleet in detail without troubling to +parley with him, he concluded that there was a good reason for the +flag of truce, and so he ordered one to be flown from his own +masthead in answer to it. + +The white flag at once enabled Mazanoff to single out the huge +battleship on which it was flying as the Admiral's flagship. The +fleet was proceeding in four columns of line abreast. First two long +lines of cruisers, each with one or two torpedo boats in tow, and +with scouts thrown out on each wing, and then two lines of +battleships, in the centre of the first of which was the flagship. + +It was a somewhat risky matter for the _Ariel_ to descend thus right +in the middle of the whole fleet, but Mazanoff had his orders, and +they had to be obeyed, and so down he went, running his bow up to +within a hundred feet of the hurricane deck, on which stood the +Admiral surrounded by several of his officers. + +"I have a message for the Admiral of the fleet," he shouted, as soon +as he came within hail. + +"Who are you, and from whom is your message?" came the reply. + +"Konstantin Volnow, of the Imperial Arsenal at Petersburg, brings the +message from the Tsar in writing.' + +"His Majesty's messenger is welcome. Come alongside." + +The _Ariel_ ran ahead until her prow touched the rail of the +hurricane deck, and the Professor advanced with the Tsar's letter in +his hand, and gave it to the Admiral, saying-- + +"You are acquainted with me, Admiral Prabylov. Though I bear it +unwillingly, I can vouch for the letter being authentic. I saw his +Majesty write it, and he gave it into my hands." + +"Then how do you come to be an unwilling bearer of it?" asked the +Admiral, scowling and gnawing his moustache as he read the unwelcome +letter. "What are these terms, and with whom were they made?" + +"Pardon me, Admiral," interrupted Mazanoff, "that is not the +question. I presume you recognise his Majesty's signature, and see +that he desires the air-ship to be given up." + +"His Majesty's signature can be forged, just as Nihilists' passports +can be, Mr. Terrorist, for that's what I presume you are, and"-- + +"Admiral, I solemnly assure you that that letter is genuine, and that +it is really his Majesty's wish that the air-ship should be given +up," the Professor broke in before Mazanoff had time to reply. "It is +to be given in exchange for nine war-balloons which these air-ships +captured before daybreak this morning." + +"How do you come to be the bearer of it, sir? Please answer me that +first." + +"I am a prisoner of war. I surrendered to save the Arsenal and +perhaps Petersburg from destruction under circumstances which I +cannot now explain"-- + +"Thank you, sir, that is quite enough! A pretty story, truly! And you +ask me to believe this, and to give up that priceless air-ship on +such grounds as these--a story that would hardly deceive a child? You +captured nine of the Tsar's war-balloons this morning, had an +interview with his Majesty, got this letter from him at Cüstrin--more +than five hundred miles away, and bring it here, and it is barely two +in the afternoon! + +"No, gentlemen, I am too old a sailor to be taken in by a yarn like +that. I believe this letter to be a forgery, and I will not give the +air-ship up on its authority." + +"That is your last word, is it?" asked Mazanoff, white with passion, +but still forcing himself to speak coolly. + +"That is my last word, sir, save to tell you that if you do not haul +that flag you are masquerading under down at once I will fire upon +you," shouted the Admiral, tearing the Tsar's letter into fragments +as he spoke. + +"If I haul that flag down it will be the signal for the air-ships up +yonder to open fire upon you, so your blood be on your own heads!" +said Mazanoff, stamping thrice on the deck as he spoke. The +propellers of the _Ariel_ whirled round in a reverse direction, and +she sprang swiftly back from the battleship, at the same time rising +rapidly in the air. + +Before she had cleared a hundred yards, and before the flag of truce +was hauled down, there was a sharp, grinding report from one of the +tops of the man-of-war, and a hail of bullets from a machine gun +swept across the deck. Mazanoff heard a splintering of wood and +glass, and a deep groan beside him. He looked round and saw the +Professor clasp his hand to a great red wound in his breast, and fall +in a heap on the deck. + +This was the event of an instant. The next he had trained one of the +bow-guns downwards on the centre of the deck of the Russian flagship +and sent the projectile to its mark. Then quick as thought he sprang +over and discharged the other gun almost at random. He saw the +dazzling green flash of the explosions, then came a shaking of the +atmosphere, and a roar as of a hundred thunder-claps in his ears, and +he dropped senseless to the deck beside the corpse of the Professor. + +[Illustration: "There was a sharp, grinding report from one of the +tops of the man-of-war." + +_See page 232._] + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +A RUSSIAN RAID. + + +Mazanoff came to himself about ten minutes later, lying on one of the +seats in the after saloon, and all that he saw when he first opened +his eyes was the white anxious face of Radna bending over him. + +"What is the matter? What has happened? Where am I?" he asked, as +soon as his tongue obeyed his will. His voice, although broken and +unsteady, was almost as strong as usual, and Radna's face immediately +brightened as she heard it. A smile soon chased away her anxious +look, and she said cheerily-- + +"Ah, come! you're not killed after all. You are still on board the +_Ariel_, and what has happened is this as far as I can see. In your +hurry to return the shot from the Russian flagship you fired your +guns at too close range, and the shock of the explosion stunned you. +In fact, we thought for the moment you had blown the _Ariel_ up too, +for she shook so that we all fell down; then her engines stopped, and +she almost fell into the water before they could be started again." + +"Is she all right now? Where's the Russian fleet, and what happened +to the flagship? I must get on deck," exclaimed Mazanoff, sitting up +on the seat. As he did so he put his hand to his head and said: "I +feel a bit shaky still. What's that--brandy you've got there? Get me +some champagne, and put the brandy into it. I shall be all right when +I've had a good drink. Now I think of it, I wonder that explosion +didn't blow us to bits. You haven't told me what became of the +flagship," he continued, as Radna came back with a small bottle of +champagne and uncorked it. + +"Well, the flagship is at the bottom of the German Ocean. When +Petroff told me that you had fallen dead, as he said, on deck, I ran +up in defiance of your orders and saw the battleship just going down. +The shells had blown the middle of her right out, and a cloud of +steam and smoke and fire was rising out of a great ragged space where +the funnels had been. Before I got you down here she broke right in +two and went down." + +"That serves that blackguard Prabylov right for saying we forged the +Tsar's letter, and firing on a flag of truce. Poor Volnow's dead, I +suppose?" + +"Oh yes," replied Radna sadly. "He was shot almost to pieces by the +volley from the machine gun. The deck saloon is riddled with bullets, +and the decks badly torn up, but fortunately the hull and propellers +are almost uninjured. But come, drink this, then you can go up and +see for yourself." + +So saying she handed him a tumbler of champagne well dashed with +brandy. He drank it down at a gulp, like the Russian that he was, and +said as he put the glass down-- + +"That's better. I feel a new man. Now give me a kiss, _batiushka_, +and I'll be off." + +When he reached the deck he found the _Ariel_ ascending towards the +_Ithuriel_, and about a mile astern of the Russian fleet, the vessels +of which were blazing away into the air with their machine guns, in +the hope of "bringing him down on the wing," as he afterwards put it. +He could hear the bullets singing along underneath him; but the +_Ariel_ was rising so fast, and going at such a speed through the +air, that the moment the Russians got the range they lost it again, +and so merely wasted their ammunition. + +Neither the _Ithuriel_ nor the _Orion_ seemed to have taken any part +in the battle so far, or to have done anything to avenge the attack +made upon the _Ariel_. Mazanoff wondered not a little at this, as +both Arnold and Tremayne must have seen the fate of the Russian +flagship. As soon as he got within speaking distance of the +_Ithuriel_, he sang out to Arnold, who was on the deck-- + +"I got in rather a tight place down there. That scoundrel fired upon +us with the flag of truce flying, and when I gave him a couple of +shells in return I thought the end of the world was come." + +"You fired at too close range, my friend. Those shells are sudden +death to anything within a hundred yards of them. Are you all well on +board? You've been knocked about a bit, I see." + +"No; poor Volnow's dead. He was killed standing close beside me, and +I wasn't touched, though the explosion of the shell knocked the +senses out of me completely. However, the machinery's all right, and +I don't think the hull is hurt to speak of. But what are you doing? I +should have thought you'd have blown half the fleet out of the water +by this time." + +"No. We saw that you had amply avenged yourself, and the Master's +orders were not to do anything till you returned. You'd better come +on board and consult with him." + +Mazanoff did so, and when he had told his story to Natas, the latter +mystified him not a little by replying-- + +"I am glad that none of you are injured, though, of course, I'm sorry +that I sent Volnow to his death; but that is the fortune of war. If +one of us fell into his master's hands his fate would be worse than +that. You avenged the outrage promptly and effectively. + +"I have decided not to injure the Russian fleet more than I can help. +It has work to do which must not be interfered with. My only object +is to recover the _Lucifer_, if possible, and so we shall follow the +fleet for the present across the North Sea on our way to the +rendezvous with the other vessels from Aeria which are to meet us on +Rockall Island, and wait our opportunity. Should the opportunity not +come before then, we must proceed to extremities, and destroy her and +the cruiser that has her on board. + +"And do you think we shall get such an opportunity?" + +"I don't know," replied Natas. "But it is possible. I don't think it +likely that the fleet will have coal enough for a long cruise in the +Atlantic, and therefore it is possible that they will make a descent +on Aberdeen, which they are quite strong enough to capture if they +like, and coal up there. In that case it is extremely probable that +they will make use of the air-ship to terrorise the town into +surrender, and as soon as she takes the air we must make a dash for +her, and either take her or blow her to pieces." + +Arnold expressed his entire agreement with this idea, and, as the +event proved, it was entirely correct. Instead of steering +nor'-nor'-west, as they would have done had they intended to go round +the Shetland Islands, or north-west, had they chosen the course +between the Orkneys and the Shetlands, the Russian vessels kept a due +westerly course during the rest of the day, and this course could +only take them to the Scotch coast near Aberdeen. + +The distance from where they were was a little under five hundred +miles, and at their present rate of steaming they would reach +Aberdeen about four o'clock on the following afternoon. The air-ships +followed them at a height of four thousand feet during the rest of +the day and until shortly before dawn on the following morning. + +They then put on speed, took a wide sweep to the northward, and +returned southward over Banffshire, and passing Aberdeen to the west, +found a secluded resting-place on the northern spur of the +Kincardineshire Hills, about five miles to the southward of the +Granite City. + +Here the repairs which were needed by the _Ariel_ were at once taken +in hand by her own crew and that of the _Ithuriel_, while the _Orion_ +was sent out to sea again to keep a sharp look-out for the Russian +fleet, which she would sight long before she herself became visible, +and then to watch the movements of the Russians from as great a +distance as possible until it was time to make the counter-attack. + +As Aberdeen was then one of the coaling depots for the North Sea +Squadron, it was defended by two battleships, the _Ascalon_ and the +_Menelaus_, three powerful coast-defence vessels, the _Thunderer_, +the _Cyclops_, and the _Pluto_, six cruisers, and twelve +torpedo-boats. The shore defences consisted of a fort on the north +bank at the mouth of the Dee, mounting ten heavy guns, and the +Girdleness fort, mounting twenty-four 9-inch twenty-five ton guns, in +connection with which was a station for working navigable torpedoes +of the Brennan type, which had been considerably improved during the +last ten years. + +Shortly after two o'clock on the afternoon of the 30th the _Orion_ +returned to her consorts with the news that the Russian fleet was +forty miles off the land, heading straight for Aberdeen, and that +there were no other warships in sight as far as could be seen to the +southward. From this fact it was concluded that the Russians had +escaped the notice of the North Sea Squadron, and so would only have +the force defending Aberdeen to reckon with. + +Even had they not possessed the air-ship, this force was so far +inferior to their own that there would be little chance of +successfully defending the town against them. They had eleven +battleships, twenty-five cruisers, eight of which were very large and +heavily armed, and forty torpedo-boats, to pit against the little +British force and the two forts. + +But given the assistance of the _Lucifer_, and the town practically +lay at their mercy. They evidently feared no serious opposition in +their raid, for, without even waiting for nightfall, they came on at +full speed, darkening the sky with their smoke, the battleships in +the centre, a dozen cruisers on either side of them, and one large +cruiser about a mile ahead of their centre. + +When the captain of the _Ascalon_, who was in command of the port, +saw the overwhelming force of the hostile fleet, he at once came to +the conclusion that it would be madness for him to attempt to put to +sea with his eleven ships and six torpedo-boats. The utmost that he +could do was to remain inshore and assist the forts to keep the +Russians at bay, if possible, until the assistance, which had already +been telegraphed for to Dundee and the Firth of Forth, where the bulk +of the North Sea Squadron was then stationed, could come to his aid. + +Five miles off the land the Russian fleet stopped, and the _Lucifer_ +rose from the deck of the big cruiser and stationed herself about a +mile to seaward of the mouth of the river at an elevation of three +thousand feet. Then a torpedo-boat flying a flag of truce shot out +from the Russian line and ran to within a mile of the shore. + +The Commodore of the port sent out one of his torpedo-boats to meet +her, and this craft brought back a summons to surrender the port for +twelve hours, and permit six of the Russian cruisers to fill up with +coal. The alternative would be bombardment of the town by the fleet +and the air-ship, which alone, as the Russians said, held the fort +and the ships at its mercy. + +To this demand the British Commodore sent back a flat refusal, and +defiance to the Russian Commander to do his worst. + +Where the _Ithuriel_ and her consorts were lying the hills between +them and the sea completely screened them from the observation of +those on board the _Lucifer_. Arnold and Tremayne had climbed to the +top of a hill above their ships, and watched the movements of the +Russians through their glasses. As soon as they saw the _Lucifer_ +rise into the air they returned to the _Ithuriel_ to form their plans +for their share in the conflict that they saw impending. + +"I'm afraid we can't do much until it gets a good deal darker than it +is now," said Arnold, in reply to a question from Natas as to his +view of the situation. "If we take the air now the _Lucifer_ will see +us; and we must remember that she is armed with the same weapons as +we have, and a shot from one of her guns would settle any of us that +it struck. Even if we hit her first we should destroy her, and we +could have done that easily yesterday. + +"It has felt very like thunder all day, and I see there are some very +black-looking clouds rolling up there over the hills to the +south-west. My advice is to wait for those. I'm afraid we can't do +anything to save the town under the circumstances, but in this state +of the atmosphere a heavy bombardment is practically certain to bring +on a severe thunderstorm, and to fetch those clouds up at the double +quick. + +"I don't for a moment think that the British will surrender, big and +all as the Russian force is, and as they have never seen the effects +of our shells they won't fear the _Lucifer_ much until she commences +operations, and then it will be too late. Listen! They've begun. +There goes the first gun!" + +A deep, dull boom came rolling up the hills from the sea as he spoke, +and was almost immediately followed by a rapid series of similar +reports, which quickly deepened into a continuous roar. Every one who +could be spared from the air-ship at once ran up to the top of the +hill to watch the progress of the fight. The Russian fleet had +advanced to within three miles of the land, and had opened a furious +cannonade on the British ships and the forts, which were manfully +replying to it with every available gun. + +By the time the watchers on the hill had focussed their glasses on +the scene, the _Lucifer_ discharged her first shell on the fort on +Girdleness. They saw the blaze of the explosion gleam through the +smoke that already hung thick over the low building. Another and +another followed in quick succession, and the firing from the fort +ceased. The smoke drifted slowly away, and disclosed a heap of +shapeless ruins. + +"That is horrible work, isn't it?" said Arnold to Tremayne through +his clenched teeth. "Anywhere but on British ground would not be so +bad, but the sight of that makes my blood boil. I would give my ears +to take our ships into the air, and smash up that Russian fleet as we +did the French Squadron in the Atlantic." + +"There spoke the true Briton, Captain Arnold," said Natasha, who was +standing beside him under a clump of trees. "Yes, I can quite +understand how you feel watching a scene like that, for country is +country after all. Even my half-English blood is pretty near boiling +point; and though I wouldn't give my ears, I would give a good deal +to go with you and do as you say. + +"But you may rest assured that the Master's way is the best, and will +prove the shortest road to the universal peace which can only come +through universal war. Courage, my friend, and patience! There will +be a heavy reckoning to pay for this sort of thing one day, and that +before very long." + +"Ha!" exclaimed Tremayne. "There goes the other fort. I suppose it +will be the turn of the ships next. What a frightful scene! Twenty +minutes ago it was as peaceful as these hills, and look at it now." + +The second fort had been destroyed as rapidly as the first, and the +cessation of the fire of both had made a very perceptible difference +in the cannonade, though the great guns of the Russian fleet still +roared continuously and poured a hurricane of shot and shell into the +mouth of the river across which the British ships were drawn, keeping +up the unequal conflict like so many bull-dogs at bay. + +Over them and the river hung a dense pall of bluish-white smoke, +through which the _Lucifer_ sent projectile after projectile in the +attempt to sink the British ironclads. As those on board her could +only judge by the flash of the guns, the aim was very imperfect, and +several projectiles were wasted, falling into the sea and exploding +there, throwing up mountains of water, but not doing any further +damage. At length a brilliant green flash shot up through the smoke +clouds over the river mouth. + +"He's hit one of the ships at last!" exclaimed Tremayne, as he saw +the flash. "It'll soon be all up with poor old Aberdeen." + +"I don't think so," exclaimed Arnold. "At any rate the _Lucifer_ +won't do much more harm. There comes the storm at last! Back to the +ships all of you at once, it's time to go aloft!" + +As he spoke a brilliant flash of lightning split the inky clouds +which had now risen high over the western hills, and a deep roll of +thunder came echoing up the valleys as if in answer to the roar of +the cannonade on the sea. The moment every one was on board, Arnold +gave the signal to ascend. As soon as the fan-wheels had raised them +a hundred feet from the ground he gave the signal for full speed +ahead, and the three air-ships swept upwards to the west as though to +meet the coming storm. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +THE END OF THE CHASE. + + +The flight of the _Ithuriel_ and her consorts was so graduated, that +as they rose to the level of the storm-cloud they missed it and +passed diagonally beyond it at a sufficient distance to avoid +disturbing the electrical balance between it and the earth. The +object of doing so was not so much to escape a discharge of +electricity, since all the vital parts of the machinery and the +power-cylinders were carefully insulated, but rather in order not to +provoke a lightning flash which might have revealed their rapid +passage to the occupants of the _Lucifer_. + +As it was, they swept upwards and westward at such a speed that they +had gained the cover of the thunder-cloud, and placed a considerable +area of it between themselves and the town, long before the storm +broke over Aberdeen, and so they were provided with ample shelter +under, or rather over, which they were to make their attack on the +_Lucifer_. + +They waited until the clouds coming up from the westward joined those +which had begun to gather thick and black and threatening over the +Russian fleet soon after the tremendous cannonade had begun. The +shock of the meeting of the two cloud-squadrons formed a fitting +counterpart to the drama of death and destruction that was being +played on land and sea. + +The brilliant sunshine of the midsummer afternoon was suddenly +obscured by a darkness born of smoke and cloud like that of a +midwinter night. The smoke of the cannonade rose heavily and mingled +with the clouds, and the atmospheric concussions produced by the +discharge of hundreds of heavy guns, brought down the rain in +torrents. Almost continuous streams of lightning flashed from cloud +to cloud, and from heaven to earth, eclipsing the spouting fire of +the guns, while to the roar of the bombardment was added an almost +unbroken roll of thunder. + +Above all this hideous turmoil of human and elemental strife, the +three air-ships floated for awhile in a serene and sunlit atmosphere. +But this was only for a time. Arnold had taken the position and +altitude of the _Lucifer_ very carefully by means of his sextant and +compass before he rose into the air, and as soon as his preparations +were complete he made another observation of the angle of the sun's +elevation, allowing, of course, for his own, and placed his three +ships as nearly perpendicular as he could over the _Lucifer_, +floating on the under side of the storm-cloud. + +His preparations had been simple in the extreme. Four light strong +grappling-irons hung downwards from the _Ithuriel_, two at the bow +and two at the stern, by thin steel-wire rope; two similar ones hung +from the starboard side of the _Orion_, which was on his left hand, +and two from the port side of the _Ariel_, which was on his right +hand. As they gained the desired position, a man was stationed at +each of the ropes, with instructions how to act when the word was +given. Then the fan-wheels were slowed down, and the three vessels +sank swiftly through the cloud. + +Through the mist and darkness underneath they saw the white shape of +the _Lucifer_ almost immediately below them, so accurately had the +position been determined. They sank a hundred feet farther, and then +Arnold shouted-- + +"Now is your time. Cast!" + +Instantly the eight grappling-irons dropped and swung towards the +_Lucifer_, hooking themselves in the stays of her masts and the +railing that ran completely round her deck. + +"Now, up again, and ahead!" shouted Arnold once more, and the +fan-wheels of the three ships revolved at their utmost speed; the +air-planes had already been inclined to the full, the nine propellers +whirled round, and the recaptured _Lucifer_ was dragged forward and +upwards through the mist and darkness of the thunder-cloud into the +bright sunshine above. + +[Illustration: "Now is your time, cast!" + +_See page 242._] + +So suddenly had the strange manoeuvre been executed that those on +board her had not time to grasp what had really happened to them +before they found themselves captured and utterly helpless. As she +hung below her three captors it was impossible to bring one of the +_Lucifer's_ guns to bear upon them, while four guns, two from the +_Ariel_ and two from the _Orion_, grinned down upon her ready to blow +her into fragments at the least sign of resistance. + +Added to this, a dozen magazine rifles covered her deck, threatening +sudden death to the six bewildered men who were still staring +helplessly about them in wonderment at the strange thing that had +happened to them. + +"Who are the Russian officers in command of that air-ship?" hailed +Mazanoff from the _Ariel_. + +Two men in Russian uniform raised their hands in reply, and Mazanoff +hailed again-- + +"Which will you have--surrender or death? If you surrender your lives +are safe, and we will put you on to the land as soon as possible; if +not you will be shot." + +"We surrender!" exclaimed one of the officers, drawing his sword and +dropping it on the deck. The other followed suit, and Mazanoff +continued-- + +"Very good. Remain where you are. The first man that moves will be +shot down." + +Almost before the last words had left his lips half a dozen men had +slid down the wire ropes and landed on the deck of the _Lucifer_. The +moment their feet had touched the deck each whipped a magazine pistol +out of his belt and covered his man. + +Within a couple of minutes the captives were all disarmed; indeed, +most of them had thrown their weapons down on the first summons. The +arms were tossed overboard, and all but the two Russian officers were +rapidly bound hand and foot. Then three of the six men descended to +the engine-room, and one went to the wheel-house. In another minute +the fan-wheels of the _Lucifer_ began to spin round faster, and +quickly raised her to the level of the other three ships, and so the +recapture of the deserter was completed. + +The two officers were at once summoned on board the _Ithuriel_ and +shut up under guard in separate cabins. The rest of the crew of the +_Lucifer_ was found to consist of the four traitors who had carried +her away, and two Russian engineers who had been put on board to +assist in the working of the vessel. + +As soon as these had been replaced by a crew drafted from the +_Ithuriel_ and her consorts under the command of Lieutenant Marston, +Arnold gave the order to go ahead at fifty miles an hour to the +northward, and the four air-ships immediately sped away in that +direction, leaving Aberdeen to its fate, and within a little over an +hour the sounds of both storm and battle had died away in silence +behind them. + +When they were fairly under way Natas ordered the four deserters to +be brought before him in the after saloon of the flagship. He sat at +one end of the table, and they were placed in a line in front of him +at the other, each with a guard behind him, and the muzzle of a +pistol at his head. + +"Peter Tamboff, Amos Vornjeh, Ivan Tscheszco, and Paul Oreloff! you +have broken your oaths, betrayed your companions, deserted the Cause +to which you devoted your lives, and placed in the hands of the +Russian tyrant the means of destruction which has enabled him to +break the blockade of the Baltic, and so perhaps to change the whole +course of the war which he is now waging, as you well know, with the +object of conquering Europe and enslaving its peoples. + +"Already the lives of thousands of better men than you have been lost +through this vile treason of yours, the vilest of all treason, for it +was committed for love of money. By the laws of the Brotherhood your +lives are forfeit, and if you had a hundred lives each they would be +forfeited again by the calamities that your treason has brought, and +will bring, upon the world. You will die in half an hour. If you have +any preparations to make for the next world, make them. I have done +with you. Go!" + +Half an hour later the four deserters were taken up on to the deck of +the _Ithuriel_. The signal was given to stop the flotilla, which was +then flying three thousand feet above the waters of the Moray Firth. +As soon as they came to a standstill their crews were summoned on +deck. The three smaller vessels floated around the _Ithuriel_ at a +distance of about fifty yards from her. The traitors, bound hand and +foot, were stood up facing the rail of the flagship, and four of her +crew were stationed opposite to them on the other side of the deck +with loaded rifles. + +They were allowed one last look upon sun and sky, and then their eyes +were bandaged. As soon as this was done Arnold raised his hand; the +four rifles came up to the ready; a stream of flame shot from the +muzzles, and the bodies of the four traitors lurched forward over the +rail and disappeared into the abyss beneath. + +"Now, gentlemen," said Arnold in French, turning to the two Russian +officers who had been spectators of the scene, "that is how we punish +traitors. Your own lives are spared because we do not murder +prisoners of war. You will, I hope, in due time return to your +master, and you will tell him why we have been obliged to retake the +air-ship which he surrendered to us by force, and therefore why we +destroyed his flagship in the North Sea. If Admiral Prabylov had +obeyed his orders, the _Lucifer_ would have been surrendered to us +quietly, and there would have been for the present no further +trouble. + +"Tell him also from me, as Admiral of the Terrorist fleet, that, so +far as matters have now gone, we shall take no further part in the +war; but that the moment he brings his war-balloons across the waters +which separate Britain from Europe, the last hour of his empire will +have struck. + +"If he neglects this warning with which I now entrust you, I will +bring a force against him before which he shall be as helpless as the +armies of the Alliance have so far been before him and his +war-balloons; and, more than this, tell him that if I conquer I will +not spare. I will hold him and his advisers strictly to account for +all that may happen after that moment. + +"There will be no treaties with conquered enemies in the hour of our +victory. We will have blood for blood, and life for life. Remember +that, and bear the message to him faithfully. For the present you +will be prisoners on parole; but I warn you that you will be watched +night and day, and at the first suspicion of treachery you will be +shot, and cast into the air as those traitors were just now. + +"You will remain on board this ship. The two engineers will be placed +one on board of each of two of our consorts. In twenty-four hours or +so you will be landed on Spanish soil and left to your own devices. +Meanwhile we shall make you as comfortable as the circumstances +permit." + +The two Russian officers bowed their acknowledgments, and Arnold gave +the signal for the flotilla to proceed. + +It was then about seven o'clock in the evening. Flying at the rate of +a hundred miles an hour, the squadron crossed the mouth of the Moray +Firth trending to the westward until they passed over Thurso, and +then took a westerly course to Rockall Island, four hundred miles to +the west. Here they met the two other air-ships which had been +despatched from Aeria with extra power-cylinders and munitions of war +in case they had been needed for a prolonged campaign. + +The cylinders, which had been exhausted on board the _Ithuriel_ and +her three consorts, were replaced, and then the whole squadron rose +into the air from one of the peaks of Rockall Island and winged its +way southward to the north-western coast of Spain. They made the +Spanish land near Corunna shortly before eight on the following +evening, and here the four Russian prisoners were released on the +sea-shore and provided with money to take them as far as Valladolid, +whence they would be able to communicate with the French military +authorities at Toulouse. + +The Terrorist Squadron then rose once more into the air, ascended to +a height of two thousand feet, skirted the Portuguese coast, and then +took a south-easterly course over Morocco through one of the passes +of the Atlas Mountains, and so across the desert of Sahara and the +wilds of Central Africa to Aeria. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +THE BREAKING OF THE CHARM. + + +The first news of the Russian attack on Aberdeen was received in +London soon after five o'clock on the afternoon of the 30th, and +produced an effect which it is quite beyond the power of language to +describe. The first telegram containing the bare announcement of the +fact fell like a bolt from the blue on the great Metropolis. It ran +as follows:-- + + Aberdeen, 4.30 P.M. + + A large fleet, supposed to be the Russian fleet which broke the + blockade of the Baltic on the morning of the 28th, has appeared + off the town. About forty large vessels can be made out. Our + defences are quite inadequate to cope with such an immense force, + but we shall do our best till help comes. + +After that the wires were kept hot with messages until well into the +night. The newspapers rushed out edition after edition to keep pace +with them, and in all the office windows of the various journals +copies of the telegrams were posted up as soon as they arrived. + +As the messages multiplied in number they brought worse and worse +tidings, until excitement grew to frenzy and frenzy degenerated into +panic. The thousand tongues of rumour wagged faster and faster as +each hour went by. The raid upon a single town was magnified into a +general invasion of the whole country. + +Very few people slept in London that night, and the streets were +alive with anxious crowds till daybreak, waiting for the +confidently-expected news of the landing of the Russian troops, in +spite of the fact that the avowed and real object of the raid had +been made public early in the evening. The following are the most +important of the telegrams which were received, and will suffice to +inform the reader of the course of events after the departure of the +four air-ships from the scene of action-- + + 5 P.M. + + A message has been received from the Commander of the Russian + fleet demanding the surrender of the town for twelve hours to + allow six of his ships to fill up with coal. The captain of the + _Ascalon_, in command of the port, has refused this demand, and + declares that he will fight while he has a ship that will float + or a gun that can be fired. The Russians are accompanied by the + air-ship which assisted them to break the blockade of the Sound. + She is now floating over the town. The utmost terror prevails + among the inhabitants, and crowds are flying into the country to + escape the bombardment. Aid has been telegraphed for to Edinburgh + and Dundee; but if the North Sea Squadron is still in the Firth + of Forth, it cannot get here under nearly twelve hours' steaming. + + 5.30 P.M. + + The bombardment has commenced, and fearful damage has been done + already. With three or four shells the air-ship has blown up and + utterly destroyed the fort on Girdleness, which mounted + twenty-four heavy guns. But for the ships, this leaves the town + almost unprotected. News has just come from the North Shore that + the batteries there have met with the same fate. The Russians are + pouring a perfect storm of shot and shell into the mouth of the + river where our ships are lying, but the town has so far been + spared. + + 5.45 P.M. + + We have just received news from Edinburgh that the North Sea + Squadron left at daybreak this morning under orders to proceed to + the mouth of the Elbe to assist in protecting Hamburg from an + anticipated attack by the same fleet which has attacked us. There + is now no hope that the town can be successfully defended, and + the Provost has called a towns-meeting to consider the + advisability of surrender, though it is feared that the Russians + may now make larger demands. The whole country side is in a state + of the utmost panic. + + 7 P.M. + + The towns-meeting empowered the Provost to call upon Captain + Marchmont, of the _Ascalon_, to make terms with the Russians in + order to save the town from destruction. He refused point blank, + although one of the coast-defence ships, the _Thunderer_, has + been disabled by shells from the air-ship, and all his other + vessels have been terribly knocked about by the incessant + cannonade from the fleet, which has now advanced to within two + miles of the shore, having nothing more to fear from the land + batteries. A terrific thunderstorm is raging, and no words can + describe the horror of the scene. The air-ship ceased firing + nearly an hour ago. + + 10 P.M. + + Five of our eleven ships--two battleships and three + cruisers--have been sunk; the rest are little better than mere + wrecks, and seven torpedo-boats have been destroyed in attempting + to torpedo some of the enemy's ships. Heavy firing has been heard + to the southward, and we have learnt from Dundee that four + battleships and six cruisers have been sent to our relief. A + portion of the Russian fleet has been detached to meet them. We + cannot hope anything from them. Captain Marchmont has now only + four ships capable of fighting, but refuses to strike his flag. + The storm has ceased, and a strong land breeze has blown the + clouds and smoke to seaward. The air-ship has disappeared. Six + large Russian ironclads are heading at full speed towards the + mouth of the river-- + +The telegram broke off short here, and no more news was received from +Aberdeen for several hours. Of this there was only one possible +explanation. The town was in the hands of the Russians, and they had +cut the wires. The long charm was broken, and the Isle Inviolate was +inviolate no more. The next telegram from the North came from Findon, +and was published in London just before ten o'clock on the following +morning. It ran thus-- + + Findon, N.B., 9.15. + + About ten o'clock last night the attack on Aberdeen ended in a + rush of six ironclads into the river mouth. They charged down + upon the four half-crippled British ships that were left, and in + less than five minutes rammed and sank them. The Russians then + demanded the unconditional surrender of the town, under pain of + bombardment and destruction. There was no other course but to + yield, and until eight o'clock this morning the town has been in + the hands of the enemy. + + The Russians at once landed a large force of sailors and marines, + cut the telegraph wires and the railway lines, and fired without + warning upon every one who attempted to leave the town. The + stores of coal and ammunition were seized, and six large cruisers + were taking in coal all night. The banks were also entered, and + the specie taken possession of, as indemnity for the town. At + eight o'clock the cruisers and battleships steamed out of the + river without doing further damage. The squadron from the Tay was + compelled to retire by the overwhelming force that the Russians + brought to bear upon it after Aberdeen surrendered. + + Half an hour ago the Russian fleet was lost sight of proceeding + at full speed to the north-eastward. Our loss has been terribly + heavy. The fort and batteries have been destroyed, all the ships + have been sunk or disabled, and of the whole defending force + scarcely three hundred men remain. Captain Marchmont went down on + the _Ascalon_ with his flag flying, and fighting to the last + moment. + +While the excitement caused by the news of the raid upon Aberdeen was +at its height, that is to say, on the morning of the 2nd of July, +intelligence was received in London of a tremendous disaster to the +Anglo-Teutonic Alliance. It was nothing less, in short, than the fall +of Berlin, the collapse of the German Empire, and the surrender of +the Kaiser and the Crown Prince to the Tsar. After nearly sixty hours +of almost continuous fighting, during which the fortifications had +been wrecked by the war-balloons, the German ammunition-trains burnt +and blown up by the fire-shells rained from the air, and the heroic +defenders of the city disorganised by the aërial bombardment of +melinite shells and cyanogen poison-bombs, and crushed by an +overwhelming force of not less than four million assailants. So fell +like a house of cards the stately fabric built up by the genius of +Bismarck and Moltke; and so, after bearing his part gallantly in the +death-struggle of his empire, had the grandson of the conqueror of +Sedan yielded up his sword to the victorious Autocrat of the Russias. + +The terrible news fell upon London like the premonitory echo of an +approaching storm. The path of the triumphant Muscovites was now +completely open to the forts of the Belgian Quadrilateral, under the +walls of which they would form a junction, which nothing could now +prevent, with the beleaguering forces of France. Would the Belgian +strongholds be able to resist any more effectually than the +fortifications of Berlin had done the assaults of the terrible +war-balloons of the Tsar? + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +THE PATH OF CONQUEST. + + +This narrative does not in any sense pretend to be a detailed history +of the war, but only of such phases of it as more immediately concern +the working out of those deep-laid and marvellously-contrived plans +designed by their author to culminate in nothing less than the +collapse of the existing fabric of Society, and the upheaval of the +whole basis of civilisation. + +It will therefore be impossible to follow the troops of the Alliance +and the League through the different campaigns which were being +simultaneously carried out in different parts of Europe. The most +that can be done will be to present an outline of the leading events +which, operating throughout a period of nearly three months, prepared +the way for the final catastrophe in which the tremendous issues of +the world-war were summed up. + +The fall of Berlin was the first decisive blow that had been struck +during the war. Under it the federation of kingdoms and states which +had formed the German Empire fell asunder almost instantly, and the +whole fabric collapsed like a broken bubble. The shock was felt +throughout the length and breadth of Europe, and it was immediately +seen that nothing but a miracle could save the whole of Central +Europe from falling into the hands of the League. + +Its immediate results were the surrender of Magdeburg, Brunswick, +Hanover, and Bremen. Hamburg, strongly garrisoned by British and +German troops, supported by a powerful squadron in the Elbe, and +defended by immense fortifications on the landward side, alone +returned a flat defiance to the summons of the Tsar. The road to the +westward, therefore, lay entirely open to his victorious troops. As +for Hamburg, it was left for the present under the observation of a +corps of reconnaissance to be dealt with when its time came. + +When Berlin fell the position of affairs in Europe may be briefly +described as follows:--The French army had taken the field nearly +five millions strong, and this immense force had been divided into an +Army of the North and an Army of the East. The former, consisting of +about two millions of men, had been devoted to the attack on the +British and German forces holding an almost impregnable position +behind the chain of huge fortresses known at present as the Belgian +Quadrilateral. + +This Army of the North, doubtless acting in accordance with the +preconceived schemes of operations arranged by the leaders of the +League, had so far contented itself with a series of harassing +attacks upon different points of the Allied position, and had made no +forward movement in force. The Army of the East, numbering nearly +three million men, and divided into fifteen army corps, had crossed +the German frontier immediately on the outbreak of the war, and at +the same moment that the Russian Armies of the North and South had +crossed the eastern Austro-German frontier, and the Italian army had +forced the passes of the Tyrol. + +The whole of the French fleet of war-balloons had been attached to +the Army of the East with the intention, which had been realised +beyond the most sanguine expectations, of overrunning and subjugating +Central Europe in the shortest possible space of time. It had swept +like a destroying tempest through the Rhine Provinces, leaving +nothing in its track but the ruins of towns and fortresses, and wide +wastes of devastated fields and vineyards. + +Before the walls of Munich it had effected a junction with the +Italian army, consisting of ten army corps, numbering two million +men. The ancient capital of Bavaria fell in three days under the +assault of the aërial fleet and the overwhelming numbers of the +attacking force. Then the Franco-Italian armies advanced down the +valley of the Danube and invested Vienna, which, in spite of the +heroic efforts of what had been left of the Austrian army after the +disastrous conflicts on the Eastern frontier, was stormed and sacked +after three days and nights of almost continuous fighting, and the +most appalling scenes of bloodshed and destruction, four days after +the surrender of the German Emperor to the Tsar had announced the +collapse of what had once been the Triple Alliance. + +From Vienna the Franco-Italian armies continued their way down the +valley of the Danube, and at Budapest was joined by the northern +division of the Russian Army of the South, and from there the mighty +flood of destruction rolled south-eastward until it overflowed the +Balkan peninsula, sweeping everything before it as it went, until it +joined the force investing Constantinople. + +The Turkish army, which had retreated before it, had concentrated +upon Gallipoli, where, in conjunction with the allied British and +Turkish Squadrons holding the Dardanelles, it prepared to advance to +the relief of Constantinople. + +The final attack upon the Turkish capital had been purposely delayed +until the arrival of the French war-balloons, and as soon as these +appeared upon the scene the work of destruction instantly +recommenced. After four days of bombardment by sea and land, and from +the air, and a rapid series of what can only be described as +wholesale butcheries, the ancient capital of the Sultan shared the +fate of Berlin and Vienna, and after four centuries and a half the +Turkish dominion in Europe died in its first stronghold. + +Meanwhile one of the wings of the Franco-Italian army had made a +descent upon Gallipoli, and after forty-eight hours' incessant +fighting had compelled the remnant of the Turkish army, which it thus +cut off from Constantinople, to take refuge on the Turkish and +British men-of-war under the protection of the guns of the fleet. In +view of the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, and the terrible +effectiveness of the war-balloons, it was decided that any attempt to +retake Constantinople, or even to continue to hold the Dardanelles, +could only result in further disaster. + +The forts of the Dardanelles were therefore evacuated and blown up, +and the British and Turkish fleet, with the remains of the Turkish +army on board, steamed southward to Alexandria to join forces with +the British Squadron that was holding the northern approaches to the +Suez Canal. There the Turkish troops were landed, and the Allied +fleets prepared for the naval battle which the release of the Russian +Black Sea Squadron, through the opening of the Dardanelles, was +considered to have rendered inevitable. + +Five days later was fought a second battle of the Nile, a battle +compared with which the former conflict, momentous as it had been, +would have seemed but child's play. On the one side Admiral +Beresford, in command of the Mediterranean Squadron, had collected +every available ship and torpedo-boat to do battle for the defence of +the all-important Suez Canal, and opposed to him was an immense +armament formed by the junction of the Russian Black Sea Squadron +with the Franco-Italian fleet, or rather those portions of it which +had survived the attacks, or eluded the vigilance of the British +Admiral. + +The battle, fought almost on the ancient battle-ground of Nelson and +Collingwood, was incomparably the greatest sea-fight in the history +of war. + +The fleet under Admiral Beresford's command consisted of fifty-five +battleships of the first and second class, forty-six armoured and +seventy-two unarmoured cruisers, fifty-four gunboats, and two hundred +and seventy torpedo-boats; while the Franco-Italian Allied fleets +mustered between them forty-six battleships, seventy-five armoured +and sixty-three unarmoured cruisers, forty gunboats, and two hundred +and fifty torpedo-boats. + +The battle began soon after sundown on the 24th of August, and raged +continuously for over sixty hours. The whole issue of the fight was +the question of the command of the Mediterranean, and the British +line of communication with India and the East _viâ_ the Suez Canal. + +The prize was well worthy of the tremendous struggle that the two +contending forces waged for it; and from the two Admirals in command +to the boys employed on the most insignificant duties about the +ships, every one of the combatants seemed equally impressed with the +magnitude of the momentous issues at stake. + +To the League, victory meant a deadly blow inflicted upon the only +enemy now seriously to be reckoned with. It meant the severing of the +British Empire into two portions, and the cutting of the one +remaining channel of supply upon which the heart of the Empire now +depended for its nutrition. To destroy Admiral Beresford's fleet +would be to achieve as great a triumph on the sea as the armies of +the League had achieved on land by the taking of Berlin, Vienna, and +Constantinople. On the other hand, the defeat of the Franco-Italian +fleets meant complete command of the Mediterranean, and the ability +to destroy in detail all the important sea-board fortresses and +arsenals of the League that were situated on its shores. + +It meant the keeping open of the Suez Canal, the maintenance of +communication with India and Australia by the shortest route, and, +what was by no means the least important consideration, the +vindication of British prestige in Egypt, the Soudan, and India. It +was with these enormous gains and losses before their eyes that the +two forces engaged and fought as perhaps men had never fought with +each other in the world before. Everything that science and +experience could suggest was done by the leaders of both sides. Human +life was counted as nothing in the balance, and deeds of the most +reckless heroism were performed in countless instances as the mighty +struggle progressed. + +With such inflexible determination was the battle waged on either +side, and so appalling was the destruction accomplished by the +weapons brought into play, that by sunrise on the morning of the +27th, more than half the opposing fleets had been destroyed, and of +the remainder the majority were so crippled that a continuance of the +fight had become a matter of physical impossibility. + +What advantage remained appeared to be on the side of the remains of +the Franco-Italian fleet; but this was speedily negatived an hour +after sunrise by the appearance of a fresh British Squadron, +consisting of the five battleships, fifteen cruisers, and a large +flotilla of gunboats and torpedo-boats which had passed through the +Canal during the night from Aden and Suakim, and appeared on the +scene just in time to turn the tide of battle decisively in favour of +the British Admiral. + +As soon as this new force got into action it went to work with +terrible effectiveness, and in three hours there was not a single +vessel that was still flying the French or Italian flag. The victory +had, it is true, been bought at a tremendous price, but it was +complete and decisive, and at the moment that the last of the ships +of the League struck her flag, Admiral Beresford stood in the same +glorious position as Sir George Rodney had done a hundred and +twenty-two years before, when he saved the British Empire in the +ever-memorable victory of the 12th of April 1782. + +The triumph in the Mediterranean was, however, only a set-off to a +disaster which had occurred more than five weeks previously in the +Atlantic. The Russian fleet, which had broken the blockade of the +Sound, with the assistance of the _Lucifer_, had, after coaling at +Aberdeen, made its way into the Atlantic, and there, in conjunction +with the Franco-Italian fleets operating along the Atlantic steamer +route, had, after a series of desperate engagements, succeeded in +breaking up the line of British communication with America and +Canada. + +This result had been achieved mainly in consequence of the contrast +between the necessary methods of attack and defence. On the one hand, +Britain had been compelled to maintain an extended line of ocean +defence more than three thousand miles in length, and her ships had +further been hampered by the absolute necessity of attending, first, +to the protection of the Atlantic liners, and, secondly, to warding +off isolated attacks which were directed upon different parts of the +line by squadrons which could not be attacked in turn without +breaking the line of convoy which it was all-essential to preserve +intact. + +For two or three weeks there had been a series of running fights; but +at length the ocean chain had broken under the perpetual strain, and +a repulse inflicted on the Irish Squadron by a superior force of +French, Italian, and Spanish warships had settled the question of the +command of the Atlantic in favour of the League. The immediate result +of this was that food supplies from the West practically stopped. + +Now and then a fleet Atlantic greyhound ran the blockade and brought +her priceless cargo into a British port; but as the weeks went by +these occurrences became fewer and further between, till the time +news was received in London of the investment of the fortresses of +the Quadrilateral by the innumerable hosts of the League, brought +together by the junction of the French and Russian Armies of the +North and the conquerors of Vienna and Constantinople, who had +returned on their tracks after garrisoning their conquests in the +East. + +Food in Britain, already at war prices, now began to rise still +further, and soon touched famine prices. Wheat, which in the last +decade of the nineteenth century had averaged about £9 a ton, rose to +over £31 a ton, its price two years before the Battle of Waterloo. +Other imported food-stuffs, of course, rose in proportion with the +staple commodity, and the people of Britain saw, at first dimly, then +more and more clearly, the real issue that had been involved in the +depopulation of the rural districts to swell the populations of the +towns, and the consequent lapse of enormous areas of land either into +pasturage or unused wilderness. + +In other words, Britain began to see approaching her doors an enemy +before whose assault all human strength is impotent and all valour +unavailing. Like Imperial Rome, she had depended for her food supply +upon external sources, and now these sources were one by one being +cut off. + +The loss of the command of the Atlantic, the breaking of the Baltic +blockade, and the consequent closing of all the continental ports +save Hamburg, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerp, had left her +entirely dependent upon her own miserably insufficient internal +resources and the Mediterranean route to India and the East. + +More than this, too, only Hamburg, Antwerp, and the fortresses of the +Quadrilateral now stood between her and actual invasion,--that +supreme calamity which, until the raid upon Aberdeen, had been for +centuries believed to be impossible. + +Once let the League triumph in the Netherlands, as it had done in +Central and South-Eastern Europe, and its legions would descend like +an avalanche upon the shores of England, and the Lion of the Seas +would find himself driven to bay in the stronghold which he had held +inviolate for nearly a thousand years. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +FROM CHAOS TO ARCADIE. + + +During the three months of incessant strife and carnage which deluged +the plains and valleys of Europe with blood after the fall of Berlin, +the Terrorists took no part whatever in the war. At long intervals an +air-ship was seen from the earth flying at full speed through the +upper regions of the atmosphere, now over Europe, now over America, +and now over Australia or the Cape of Good Hope; but if they held any +communication with the earth they did so secretly, and only paid the +briefest of visits, the objects of which could only be guessed at. + +When one was sighted the fact was mentioned in the newspapers, and +vague speculations were indulged in; but there was soon little room +left for these in the public attention, especially in Britain, for as +the news of disaster after disaster came pouring in, and the hosts of +the League drew nearer and nearer to the western shores of Europe, +all eyes were turned more and more anxiously across "the silver +streak" which now alone separated the peaceful hills and valleys of +England and Scotland from the destroying war-storm which had so +swiftly desolated the fields of Europe, and all hearts were heavy +with apprehension of coming sorrows. + +The rapidity of their movements had naturally led to the supposition +that several of the air-ships had taken the air for some unknown +purpose, but in reality there were only two of them afloat during +nearly the whole of the three mouths. + +Of these, one was the _Orion_, on board of which Tremayne was +visiting the various centres of the Brotherhood throughout the +English-speaking world, making everything ready for the carrying out +at the proper time of the great project to which he had devoted +himself since the memorable night at Alanmere, when he had seen the +vision of the world's Armageddon. The other was under the command of +Michael Roburoff, who was busy in America and Canada perfecting the +preparations for checkmating the designs of the American Ring, which +were described in a former chapter. + +The remainder of the members of the Inner Circle and those of the +Outer Circle, living in Aeria, were quietly pursuing the most +peaceful avocations, building houses and water-mills, clearing fields +and laying out gardens, fishing in the lake and streams, and hunting +in the forests as though they had never heard of the horrors of war, +and had no part or share in the Titanic strife whose final issue they +would soon have to go forth and decide. + +One of the hardest workers in the colony was the Admiral of the +aërial fleet. Morning after morning he shut himself up in his +laboratory for three or four hours experimenting with explosives of +various kinds, and especially on a new form of fire-shell which he +had invented, and which he was now busy perfecting in preparation for +the next, and, as he hoped, final conflict that he would have to wage +with the forces of despotism and barbarism. + +The afternoons he spent supervising the erection of the mills, and +the construction of new machinery, and in exploring the mountain +sides in search of mineral wealth, of which he was delighted to find +abundant promise that was afterwards realised beyond his +expectations. + +On these exploring expeditions he was frequently accompanied by +Natasha and Radna and her husband. Sometimes Arnold would be enticed +away from his chemicals, and his designs on the lives of his enemies, +and after breakfasting soon after sunrise would go off for a long +day's ramble to some unknown part of their wonderful domain, in +which, like children in a fairyland, they were always discovering +some new wonders and beauties. And, indeed, no children could have +been happier or freer from care than they were during this delightful +interval in the tragedy in which they were so soon to play such +conspicuous parts. The two wedded lovers, with the dark past put far +behind them for ever, found perfect happiness in each other's +society, and so left, it is almost needless to add, Arnold and +Natasha pretty much to their own devices. Indeed, Natasha had more +than once declared that she would have to get the Princess to join +the party, as Radna had proved herself a hopeless failure as a +chaperone. + +Every one in the valley by this time looked upon Arnold and Natasha +as lovers, though their rank in the Brotherhood was so high that no +one ventured to speak of them as betrothed save by implication. How +Natas regarded them was known only to himself. He, of course, saw +their intimacy, and since he said nothing he doubtless looked upon it +with approval; but whether he regarded it as an intimacy of friends +or of lovers, remained a mystery even to Natasha herself, for he +never by any chance made an allusion to it. + +As for Arnold, he had scrupulously observed the compact tacitly made +between them on the first and only occasion that he had ever spoken +words of love to her. They were the best of friends, the closest +companions, and their intercourse with each other was absolutely +frank and unrestrained, just as it would have been between two close +friends of the same sex; but they understood each other perfectly, +and by no word or deed did either cross the line that divides +friendship from love. + +She trusted him absolutely in all things, and he took this trust as a +sacred pledge between them that until his part of their compact had +been performed, love was a forbidden subject, not even to be +approached. + +So perfectly did Natasha play her part that though he spent hours and +hours alone with her on their exploring expeditions, and in rowing +and sailing on the lake, and though he spent many another hour in +solitude, weighing her every word and action, he was utterly unable +to truthfully congratulate himself on having made the slightest +progress towards gaining that love without which, even if he held her +to the compact in the day of victory, victory itself would be robbed +of its crowning glory and dearest prize. + +To a weaker man it would have been an impossible situation, this +constant and familiar companionship with a girl whose wonderful +beauty dazzled his eyes and fired his blood as he looked upon it, and +whose winning charm of manner and grace of speech and action seemed +to glorify her beauty until she seemed a being almost beyond the +reach of merely human love--rather one of those daughters of men whom +the sons of God looked upon in the early days of the world, and found +so fair that they forsook heaven itself to woo them. + +Trained and disciplined as he had been in the sternest of all +schools, and strengthened as he was by the knowledge of the compact +that existed between them, there were moments when his self-control +was very sorely tried, moments when her hand would be clasped in his, +or rested on his shoulder as he helped her across a stream or down +some steep hillside, or when in the midst of some animated discussion +she would stop short and face him, and suddenly confound his logic +with a flash from her eyes and a smile on her lips that literally +forced him to put forth a muscular effort to prevent himself from +catching her in his arms and risking everything for just one kiss, +one taste of the forbidden fruit within his reach, and yet parted +from him by a sea of blood and flame that still lay between the world +and that empire of peace which he had promised to win for her sweet +sake. + +Once, and once only, she had tried him almost too far. They had been +discussing the possibility of ruling the world without the ultimate +appeal to force, when the nations, weary at length of war, should +have consented to disarm, and she, carried away by her own eloquent +pleading for the ultimate triumph of peace and goodwill on earth, had +laid her hand upon his arm, and was looking up at him with her lovely +face aglow with the sweetest expression even he had ever seen upon +it. + +Their eyes met, and there was a sudden silence between them. The +eloquent words died upon her lips, and a deep flush rose to her +cheeks and then faded instantly away, leaving her pale and with a +look almost of terror in her eyes. He took a quick step backwards, +and, turning away as though he feared to look any longer upon her +beauty, said in a low tone that trembled with the strength of his +repressed passion-- + +"Natasha, for God's sake remember that I am only made of flesh and +blood!" + +In a moment she was by his side again, this time with her eyes +downcast and her proud little head bent as though in acknowledgment +of his reproof. Then she looked up again, and held out her hand and +said-- + +"Forgive me; I have done wrong! Let us be friends again!" + +There was a gentle emphasis on the word "friends" that was +irresistible. He took her hand in silence, and after a pressure that +was almost imperceptibly returned, let it go again, and they walked +on together; but there was very little more said between them that +evening. + +This had happened one afternoon towards the middle of September, and +two days later their delightful companionship came suddenly to an +end, and the bond that existed between them was severed in a moment +without warning, as a nerve thrilling with pleasure might be cut by +an unexpected blow with a knife. + +On the 16th of September the _Orion_ returned from Australia. She +touched the earth shortly after mid-day, and before sunset the +_Azrael_, the vessel in which Michael Roburoff had gone to America, +also returned, but without her commander. Her lieutenant, however, +brought a despatch from him, which he delivered at once to Natas, +who, immediately on reading it, sent for Tremayne. + +It evidently contained matters of great importance, for they remained +alone together discussing it for over an hour. At the end of that +time Tremayne left the Master's house and went to look for Arnold. He +found him just helping Natasha out of a skiff at a little +landing-stage that had been built out into the lake for boating +purposes. As soon as greetings had been exchanged, he said-- + +"Natasha, I have just left your father. He asked me, if I saw you, to +tell you that he wishes to speak to you at once." + +"Certainly," said Natasha. "I hope you have not brought bad news home +from your travels. You are looking very serious about something," and +without waiting for an answer, she was gone to obey her father's +summons. As soon as she was out of earshot Tremayne put his arm +through Arnold's, and, drawing him away towards a secluded portion of +the shore of the lake, said-- + +"Arnold, old man, I have some very serious news for you. You must +prepare yourself for the severest strain that, I believe, could be +put on your loyalty and your honour." + +"What is it? For Heaven's sake don't tell me that it has to do with +Natasha!" exclaimed Arnold, stopping short and facing round, white to +the lips with the sudden fear that possessed him. "You know"-- + +"Yes, I know everything," replied Tremayne, speaking almost as gently +as a woman would have done, "and I am sorry to say that it has to do +with her. I know what your hopes have been with regard to her, and no +man on earth could have wished to see those hopes fulfilled more +earnestly than I have done, but"-- + +"What do you mean, Tremayne? Speak out, and let me know the worst. If +you tell me that I am to give her up, I tell you that I am"-- + +"'That I am an English gentleman, and that I will break my heart +rather than my oath'--that is what you will tell me when I tell you +that you must not only give up your hopes of winning Natasha, but +that it is the Master's orders that you shall have the _Ithuriel_ +ready to sail at midnight to take her to America to Michael Roburoff, +who has written to Natas to ask her for his wife." + +Arnold heard him out in dazed, stupefied silence. It seemed too +monstrous, too horrible, to be true. The sudden blow had stunned him. +He tried to speak, but the words would not come. Tremayne, still +standing with his arm through his, felt his whole body trembling, as +though stricken with some sudden palsy. He led him on again, saying +in a sterner tone than before-- + +"Come, come! Play the man, and remember that the work nearest to your +hand is war, and not love. Remember the tremendous issues that are +gathering to their fulfilment, and the part that you have to play in +working them out. This is not a question of the happiness or the +hopes of one man or woman, but of millions, of the whole human race. +You, and you alone, hold in your hands the power to make the defeat +of the League certain." + +"And I will use it, have no fear of that!" replied Arnold, stopping +again and passing his hand over his eyes like a man waking from an +evil dream. "What I have sworn to do I will do; I am not going back +from my oath. I will obey to the end, for she will do the same, and +what would she think of me if I failed! Leave me alone for a bit now, +old man. I must fight this thing out with myself, but the _Ithuriel_ +shall be ready to start at twelve." + +Tremayne saw that he was himself again, and that it was better that +he should do as he said; so with a word of farewell he turned away +and left him alone with his thoughts. Half-way back to the settlement +he met Natasha coming down towards the lake. She was deadly pale, but +she walked with a firm step, and carried her head as proudly erect as +ever. As they met she stopped him and said-- + +"Where is he?" + +Tremayne's first thought was to try and persuade her to go back and +leave Arnold to himself, but a look at Natasha's white set face and +burning eyes warned him that she was not in a mood to take advice, +and so he told her, and without another word she went on swiftly down +the path that led to the lake. + +The brief twilight of the tropics had passed before he reached a +grove of palms on the western shore of the lake, towards which he had +bent his steps when he left Tremayne. He walked with loose, aimless +strides, now quickly and now slowly, and now stopping to watch the +brightening moon shining upon the water. + +He caught himself thinking what a lovely night it would be to take +Natasha for a row, and then his mind sprang back with a jerk to the +remembrance of the horrible journey that he was to begin at +midnight--to take Natasha to another man, and leave her with him as +his wife. + +No, it could not be true. It was impossible that he should have +fought and triumphed as he had done, and all for this. To give up the +one woman he had ever loved in all his life, the woman he had +snatched from slavery and degradation when not another man on earth +could have done it. + +What had this Roburoff done that she should be given to him for the +mere asking? Why had he not come in person like a man to woo and win +her if he could, and then he would have stood aside and bowed to her +choice. But this curt order to take her away to him as though she +were some piece of merchandise--no, if such things were possible, +better that he had never-- + +"Richard!" + +He felt a light touch on his arm, and turned round sharply. Natasha +was standing beside him. He had been so engrossed by his dark +thoughts that he had not heard her light step on the soft sward, and +now he seemed to see her white face and great shining eyes looking up +at him in the moonlight as though there was some mist floating +between him and her. Suddenly the mist seemed to vanish. He saw tears +under the long dark lashes, and the sweet red lips parted in a faint +smile. + +Lose her he might to-morrow, but for this one moment she was his and +no other man's, let those who would say nay. That instant she was +clasped helpless and unresisting in his arms, and her lips were +giving his back kiss for kiss. Wreck and chaos might come now for all +he cared. She loved him, and had given herself to him, if only for +that one moonlit hour. + +After that he could plunge into the battle again, and slay and spare +not--yes, and he would slay without mercy. He would hurl his +lightnings from the skies, and where they struck there should be +death. If not love and life, then hate and death--it was not his +choice. Let those who had chosen see to that; but for the present +love and life were his, why should he not live? Then the mad, sweet +delirium passed, and saner thoughts came. He released her suddenly, +almost brusquely, and said with a harsh ring in his voice-- + +"Why did you come? Have you forgotten what so nearly happened the day +before yesterday?" + +"No, I have not forgotten it. I have remembered it, and that is why I +came to tell you--what you know now." + +Her face was rosy enough now, and she looked him straight in the eyes +as she spoke, proud to confess the mastery that he had won. + +"Now listen," she went on, speaking in a low, quick, passionate tone. +"The will of the Master must be done. There is no appeal from that, +either for you or me. He can dispose of me as he chooses, and I shall +obey, as I warned you I should when you first told me that you would +win me if you could. + +"Well, you have won me, so far as I can be won. I love you, and I +have come to tell you so before the shadow falls between us. And I +have come to tell you that what you have won shall belong to no one +else. I will obey my father to the letter, but the spirit is my +affair. Now kiss me again, dear, and say good-bye. We have had our +glimpse of heaven, and this is not the only life." + +For one more brief moment she surrendered herself to him again. Their +lips met and parted, and in an instant she had slipped out of his +arms and was gone, leaving him dazed with her beauty and her +winsomeness. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +LOVE AND DUTY. + + +An hour later he walked back to the settlement, looking five years +older than he had done a couple of hours before, but with his nerves +steady and with the light of a solemn resolve burning in his eyes. He +went straight to the _Ithuriel_, and made a minute personal +inspection of the whole vessel, inside and out. He saw that every +cylinder was charged, and that there was an ample supply of spare +ones and ammunition on board, including a number of his new +fire-shells. Then he went to Lieutenant Marston's quarters, and told +him to have the crew in their places by half-past eleven; and this +done, he paid a formal visit to the Master to report all ready. + +Natas received him as usual, just as though nothing out of the common +had happened; and if he noticed the change that had come over him, he +made no sign that he did so. When Arnold had made his report, he +merely said-- + +"Very good. You will start at twelve. The Chief has told you the +nature and purpose of the voyage you are about to make, I presume?" + +He bowed a silent affirmative, and Natas went on-- + +"The Chief and Anna Ornovski will go with you as witnesses for +Michael Roburoff and Natasha, and the Chief will be provided with my +sealed orders for your guidance in the immediate future. The +rendezvous is a house on one of the spurs of the Alleghany Mountains. +What time will it take to reach there?" + +"The distance is about seven thousand miles. That will be from thirty +to thirty-five hours' flight according to the wind. With a fair wind +we shall reach the Alleghanies a little before sunrise on the 18th." + +"Then to make sure of that, if possible, you had better start an hour +earlier. Natasha is making her preparations, and will be on board at +eleven." + +"Very well; I will be ready to start then," replied Arnold, speaking +as calmly and formally as Natas had done. Then he saluted and walked +out. + +When he got into the open air he drew a deep breath. His teeth came +together with a sharp snap, and his hands clenched. So it was true, +then, this horrible thing, this sacrilege, this ruin, that had fallen +upon his life and hers. Natas had spoken of giving her to this man as +quietly as though it had been the most natural proceeding possible, +an understood arrangement about which there could be no question. +Well, he had sworn, and he would obey, but there would be a heavy +price to pay for his obedience. + +He did not see Natasha again that night. When the _Ithuriel_ rose +into the air she was in her cabin with the Princess, and did not +appear during the voyage save at meals, when all the others were +present, and then she joined in the conversation with a composure +which showed that, externally at least, she had quite regained her +habitual self-control. + +Arnold spent the greater part of the voyage in the deck-saloon with +Tremayne, talking over the events of the war, and arranging plans of +future action. By mutual consent the object of their present voyage +was not mentioned. As Arnold was more than two months and a half +behind the news, he found not a little relief in hearing from +Tremayne of all that had taken place since the recapture of the +_Lucifer_. + +The two men, who were now to be the active leaders of the Revolution +which, as they hoped, was soon to overturn the whole fabric of +Society, and introduce a new social order of things, conversed in +this fashion, quietly discussing the terrific tragedy in which they +were to play the leading parts, and arranging all the details of +their joint action, until well into the night of the 17th. + +About eleven Tremayne went to his cabin, and Arnold, going to the +conning-tower, told the man on the look-out to go below until he was +called. Then he took his place, and remained alone with his thoughts +as the _Ithuriel_ sped on her way a thousand feet above the deserted +waters of the Atlantic, until the dark mass of the American Continent +loomed up in front of him to the westward. + +As soon as he sighted land he went aft to the wheel-house, and +slightly inclined the air-planes, causing the _Ithuriel_ to soar +upwards until the barometer marked a height of 6000 feet. At this +elevation he passed over the mouth of the Chesapeake, and across +Virginia; and a little more than an hour before sunrise the +_Ithuriel_ sank to the earth on one of the spurs of the Alleghanies, +in sight of a lonely weather-board house, in one of the windows of +which three lights were burning in the form of a triangle. + +This building was used ostensibly as a shooting and hunting-box by +Michael Roburoff and a couple of his friends, and in reality as a +meeting-place for the Inner Circle or Executive Council of the +American Section of the Brotherhood. This Section was, numerically +speaking, the most important of the four branches into which the +Outer Circle of the Brotherhood was divided--that is to say, the +British, Continental, American, and Colonial Sections. + +All told, the Terrorists had rather more than five million adherents +in America and Canada, of whom more than four millions were men in +the prime of life, and nearly all of Anglo-Saxon blood and English +speech. All these men were not only armed, but trained in the use of +firearms to a high degree of skill; their organisation, which had +gradually grown up with the Brotherhood for twenty years, was known +to the world only under the guise of the different forms of +industrial unionism, but behind these there was a perfect system of +discipline and command which the outer world had never even +suspected. + +The Section was divided first into squads of ten under the command of +an eleventh, who alone knew the leaders of the other squads in his +neighbourhood. Ten of these squads made a company, commanded by one +man, who was only known to the squad-captains, and who alone knew the +captain of the regiment, which was composed of ten companies. + +The next step in the organisation was the brigade, consisting of ten +regiments, the captains of which alone knew the commander of the +brigade, while the commanders of the brigades were alone acquainted +with the members of the Inner Circle or Executive Council which +managed the affairs of the whole Section, and whose Chief was the +only man in the Section who could hold any communication with the +Inner Circle of the Brotherhood itself, which, under the immediate +command of Natas, governed the whole organisation throughout the +world. + +This description will serve for all the Sections, as all were +modelled upon exactly the same plan. The advantages of such an +organisation will at once be obvious. In the first place, no member +of the rank and file could possibly betray more than ten of his +fellows, including his captain; while his treachery could, if +necessary, be made known in a few hours to ten thousand others, not +one of whom he knew, and thus it would be impossible for him to +escape the invariable death penalty. The same is, of course, equally +true of the captains and the commanders. + +On the other hand, the system was equally convenient for the +transmission of orders from headquarters. An order given to ten +commanders of brigades could, in a single night, be transmitted +individually to the whole of the Section, and yet those in command of +the various divisions would not know whence the orders came, save as +regards their immediate superiors. + +It will be necessary for the reader to bear these few particulars in +mind in order to understand future developments, which, without them, +might seem to border on the impossible. It is only necessary to add +that the full fighting strength of the four Sections of the +Brotherhood amounted to about twelve millions of men, a considerable +proportion of whom were serving as soldiers in the armies of the +League and the Alliance, and that in its cosmopolitan aspect it was +known to the rank and file as the Red International, whose members +knew each other only by the possession of a little knot of red ribbon +tied into the button-hole in a peculiar fashion on occasions of +meetings for instruction or drill. + +The three lights burning in the form of a triangle in the window of +the house were a prearranged signal to avoid mistake on the part of +those on board the air-ship. When they reached the earth, Arnold, +acting under the instructions of Tremayne, who was his superior on +land though his voluntary subordinate when afloat, left the +_Ithuriel_ and her crew in charge of Lieutenant Marston and Andrew +Smith, the coxswain. + +The remainder disembarked, and then the air-ship rose from the ground +and ascended out of sight through a layer of clouds that hung some +eight hundred feet above the high ground of the hills. Lieutenant +Marston's orders were to remain out of sight for an hour and then +return. + +Arnold had not seen Natasha for several hours previous to the +landing, and he noticed with wonder, by no means unmixed with +something very like anger, that she looked a great deal more cheerful +than she had done during the voyage. She had preserved her composure +all through, but the effort of restraint had been visible. Now this +had vanished, although the supreme hour of the sacrifice that her +father had commanded her to make was actually at hand. When her feet +touched the earth she looked round with a smile on her lips and a +flush on her cheeks, and said, in a voice in which there was no +perceptible trace of anxiety or suffering-- + +"So this is the place of my bridal, is it? Well, I must say that a +more cheerful one might have been selected; yet perhaps, after all, +such a gloomy spot is more suitable to the ceremony. Come along; I +suppose the bridegroom will be anxiously waiting the coming of the +bride. I wonder what sort of a reception I shall have. Come, my Lord +of Alanmere, your arm; and you, Captain Arnold, bring the Princess. +We have a good deal to do before it gets light." + +These were strange words to be uttered by a girl who but a few hours +before had voluntarily confessed her love for one man, and was on the +eve of compulsorily giving herself up to another one. Had it been any +one else but Natasha, Arnold could have felt only disgust; but his +love made it impossible for him to believe her guilty of such +unworthy lightness as her words bespoke, even on the plain evidence +before him, so he simply choked back his anger as best he might, and +followed towards the house, speechless with astonishment at the +marvellous change that had come over the daughter of Natas. + +Tremayne knocked in a peculiar fashion on the window, and then +repeated the knock on the door, which was opened almost immediately. + +"Who stands there?" asked a voice in French. + +"Those who bring the expected bride," replied Tremayne in German. + +"And by whose authority?" This time the question was in Spanish. + +"In the Master's name," said Tremayne in English. + +"Enter! you are welcome." + +A second door was now opened inside the house, and through it a light +shone into the passage. The four visitors entered, and, passing +through the second door, found themselves in a plainly-furnished +room, down the centre of which ran a long table, flanked by five +chairs on each side, in each of which, save one, sat a masked and +shrouded figure exactly similar to those which Arnold had seen when +he was first introduced to the Council-chamber in the house on +Clapham Common. In a chair at one end of the table sat another figure +similarly draped. + +The door was closed as they entered, and the member of the Circle who +had let them in returned to his seat. No word was spoken until this +was done. Then Natasha, leaving her three companions by the door, +advanced alone to the lower end of the table. + +As she did so, Arnold for the first time noticed that she carried her +magazine pistol in a sheath at her belt. He and Tremayne were, as a +matter of course, armed with a brace of these weapons, but this was +the first time that he had ever seen Natasha carry her pistol openly. +Wondering greatly what this strange sight might mean, he waited with +breathless anxiety for the drama to begin. + +As Natasha took her stand at the opposite end of the table, the +figure in the chair at the top rose and unmasked, displaying the +pallid countenance of the Chief of the American Section. He looked to +Arnold anything but a bridegroom awaiting his bride, and the ceremony +which was to unite him to her for ever. His cheeks and lips were +bloodless, and his eyes wandered restlessly from Natasha to Tremayne +and back again. He glanced to and fro in silence for several moments, +and when he at last found his voice he said, in half-choked, broken +accents-- + +"What is this? Why am I honoured by the presence of the Chief and the +Admiral of the Air? I asked only that if the Master consented to +grant my humble petition in reward for my services, the daughter of +Natas should come attended simply by a sister of the Brotherhood and +the messenger that I sent." + +They let him finish, although it was with manifest difficulty that he +stammered to the end of his speech. Arnold, still wondering at the +strange turn events had taken, saw Tremayne's lips tighten and his +brows contract in the effort to repress a smile. The other masked +figures at the table moved restlessly in their seats, and glanced +from one to another. Seeing this, Tremayne stepped quickly forward to +Natasha's side, and said in a stern, commanding tone-- + +"I am the Chief of the Central Council, and I order every one here to +keep his seat and remain silent until the daughter of Natas has +spoken." + +The ten masked and hooded heads instantly bowed consent. Then +Tremayne stepped back again, and Natasha spoke. There was a keen, +angry light in her eyes, and a bright flush upon her cheek, but her +voice was smooth and silvery, and in strange contrast to the words +that she used, almost to the end. + +"Did you think, Michael Roburoff, that the Master of the Terror would +send his daughter to her bridal so poorly escorted as you say? Surely +that would have been almost as much of a slight as you put upon me +when, instead of coming to woo me as a true lover should have done, +you contented yourself with sending a messenger as though you were +some Eastern potentate despatching an envoy to demand the hand of the +daughter of a vassal. + +"It would seem that this sudden love which you do me the honour to +profess for me has destroyed your manners as well as your reason. But +since you have assumed so high a dignity, it is not seemly that you +should stand to hear what I have to say; sit down, for it looks as +though standing were a trouble to you." + +Michael Roburoff, who by this time could scarcely support himself on +his trembling limbs, sank suddenly back into his chair and covered +his face with his hands. + +"That is not very lover-like to cover your eyes when the bride that +you have asked for is standing in front of you; but as long as you +don't cover your ears as well, I will forgive you the slight. Now, +listen. + +"I have come, as you see, and I have brought with me the answer of +the Master to your request. Until an hour ago I did not know what it +was myself, for, like the rest of the faithful members of the +Brotherhood, I obey the word of the Master blindly. + +"You, as it would appear, maddened by what you are pleased to call +your love for me, have dared to attempt to make terms where you swore +to obey blindly to the death. You have dared to place me, the +daughter of Natas, in the balance against the allegiance of the +American Section on the eve of the supreme crisis of its work, thus +imperilling the results of twenty years of labour. + +"If you had not been mad you would have foreseen the results of such +treachery. As it is you must learn them now. What I have said has +been proved by your own hand, and the proof is here in the hand of +the Chief. This is the answer of Natas to the servant who would have +betrayed him in the hour of trial." + +She took a folded paper from her belt as she spoke, and, unfolding +it, read in clear, deliberate tones-- + + Michael Roburoff, late chief of the American Section of the + Brotherhood. When you joined the Order, you took an oath to obey + the directions of its chiefs to the death, and you acknowledged + that death would be the just penalty of perjury. My orders to you + were to complete the arrangements for bringing the American + Section into action when you received the signal to do so. + Instead of doing that, you have sought to bargain with me for the + price of its allegiance. That is treachery, and the penalty of + treachery is death. + + NATAS. + +"Those are the words of the Master," continued Natasha, throwing the +paper down upon the table with one hand, and drawing her pistol with +the other. "It rests with the Chief to say when and where the +sentence of the Master shall be carried out." + +[Illustration: "He dropped back into his chair with a bullet in his +brain." + +_See page 275._] + +"Let it be carried out here, and now," said Tremayne, "and let him +who has anything to say against it speak now, or for ever hold his +peace." + +The ten heads bowed once more in silence, and Natasha went on still +addressing the trembling wretch who sat huddled in the chair in front +of her. + +"You have asked for a bride, Michael Roburoff, and she has come to +you, and I can promise you that you shall sleep soundly in her +embrace. Your bride is Death, and I have chosen to bring her to you +with my own hand, that all here may see how the daughter of Natas can +avenge an insult to her womanhood. + +"You have been guilty of treachery to the Brotherhood, and for that +you might have been punished by any hand; but you would also have +condemned me to the infamy of a loveless marriage, and that is an +insult that no one shall punish but myself. Look up, and, if you can, +die like a man." + +Roburoff took his hands from his face, and with an inarticulate cry +started to his feet. The same instant Natasha's hand went up, her +pistol flashed, and he dropped back again into his chair with a +bullet in his brain. Then she replaced the pistol in her belt, and +going up to Arnold held out both her hands and said, as he clasped +them in his own-- + +"If the Master's reply had been different, that bullet would by this +time have been in my own heart." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + +THE CAPTURE OF A CONTINENT. + + +Within an hour after the execution of Michael Roburoff the _Ithuriel_ +was winging her way back to Aeria, and at least two of her company +were anticipating their return to the valley with feelings very +different to those with which they had contemplated their departure. + +When the last farewells and congratulations had been spoken, and the +air-ship rose from the earth, Tremayne returned to the house to +commence forthwith the great task which now developed upon him; for +in addition to being Chief of the Central Executive, he now assumed +the direct command of the American Section, which, after long +consideration, had been selected as the nucleus of the Federation of +the English-speaking peoples of the world. + +For a fortnight he worked almost night and day, attending to every +detail with the utmost care, and bringing into play all those rare +powers of mind which in the first instance had led Natas to select +him as the visible head of the Executive. In this way the chief +consequence of the love-madness of Roburoff had been to place at the +head of affairs in America the one man of all others most fitted by +descent and ability to carry out such a work, and to this fact its +complete success must in a great measure be attributed. + +So perfectly were his plans laid and executed, that right up to the +moment when the signal was given and the plans became actions, +American society went about its daily business without the remotest +suspicion that it was living on the slope of a slumbering volcano +whose fires were so soon to burst forth and finally consume the +social fabric which, despite its splendid exterior, was inwardly as +rotten as were the social fabrics of Rome and Byzantium on the eve of +their fall. + +On the 1st of October the cables brought the news of the fall of the +Quadrilateral, the storming of Hamburg, and the retreat of the +British forces on Antwerp. Four days later came the tidings of a +great battle under the walls of Antwerp, in which the British and +German forces, outnumbered ten to one by the innumerable hosts of the +League, had suffered a decisive defeat, which rendered it imperative +for them to fall back upon the Allied fleets in the Scheldt, and to +leave the Netherlands to the mercy of the Tsar and his allies, who +were thus left undisputed masters of the continent of Europe. + +This last and crowning victory had been achieved by exactly the same +means which had accomplished all the other triumphs of the campaign, +and therefore there will be no need to enter into any detailed +description of it. Indeed, the fall of the Quadrilateral and the +defeat of the last army of the Alliance round Antwerp would have been +accomplished much more easily and speedily than it had been but for +the fact that the weather, which had been fine up to the end of July, +had suddenly broken, and a succession of violent storms and gales +from the north and north-west had made it impossible for the +war-balloons to be brought into action with any degree of +effectiveness. + +During the last week of September the storms had ceased, and then the +work of destruction began. Not even the hitherto impregnable +fortresses of Tournay, Mons, Namur, and Liége had been able to +withstand the assault from the air any better than the forts of +Berlin or the walls of Constantinople. A day's bombardment had +sufficed to reduce them to ruins, and, the chain once broken, the +armies of the League swept in wave after wave across the plains which +they had guarded. + +The loss of life had been unparalleled even in this the greatest of +all wars, for the British and Germans had fought with a dogged +resolution which, but for the vastly superior numbers and the +irresistible means of destruction employed against them, must +infallibly have triumphed. As it was, it was only when valour had +achieved its last sacrifice, and further resistance became rather +madness than devotion, that the retreat was finally sounded in time +to embark the remnants of the armies of the Alliance on board the +warships. Happily at the very hour when this was being done the +weather broke again, and the ships of the Allied fleets were +therefore able to make their way to sea through storm and darkness, +unmolested by the war-balloons. + +While the American press was teeming with columns of description +telegraphed at enormous cost from the seat of war, and with +absolutely misleading articles as to the policy of the League and the +attitude of studious neutrality that was to be observed by the United +States Government, the dockyards, controlled directly and indirectly +by the American Ring, were working night and day putting the +finishing touches to the flotilla of dynamite cruisers and other +war-vessels intended to carry out the plan revealed by Michael +Roburoff on board the _Ithuriel_, after he had been taken off the +_Aurania_ in the Mid-Atlantic. + +Briefly described, this was as follows:--Representative government in +America had by this time become a complete sham. The whole political +machinery and internal resources of the United States were now +virtually at the command of a great Ring of capitalists who, through +the medium of the huge monopolies which they controlled, and the +enormous sums of money at their command, held the country in the +hollow of their hand. These men were as totally devoid of all human +feeling or public sentiment as it was possible for human beings to +be. They had grown rich in virtue of their contempt of every +principle of justice and mercy, and they had no other object in life +than to still further increase their gigantic hoards of wealth, and +to multiply the enormous powers which they already wielded. The then +condition of affairs in Europe had presented them with such an +opportunity as no other combination of circumstances could have given +them, and ignoring, as such wretches would naturally do, all ties of +blood and kindred speech, they had determined to take advantage of +the situation to the utmost. + +In the guise of the United States Government the Ring had concluded a +secret treaty with the commanders of the League, in virtue of which, +at a stipulated point in the struggle, America was to declare war on +Britain, invade Canada by land, and send to sea an immense flotilla +of swift dynamite cruisers of tremendously destructive power, which +had been constructed openly in the Government dockyards, ostensibly +for coast defence, and secretly in private yards belonging to the +various Corporations composing the Ring. + +This flotilla was to co-operate with the fleet of the League as soon +as England had been invaded, and complete the blockade of the British +ports. Were this once accomplished nothing could save Britain from +starvation into surrender, and the British Empire from disintegration +and partition between the Ring and the Commanders of the League, who +would then practically divide the mastery of the world among them. + +On the night of the 4th of October the five words: "The hour and the +man," went flying over the wires from Washington throughout the +length and breadth of the North American Continent. The next morning +half the industries of the United States were paralysed; all the +lines of communication by telegraph and rail between the east and +west were severed, the shore ends of the Atlantic cables were cut, no +newspapers appeared, and every dockyard on the eastern coast was in +the hands of the Terrorists. + +To complete the stupor produced by this swift succession of +astounding events, when the sun rose an air-ship was seen floating +high in the air over the ten arsenals of the United States--that is +to say, over Portsmouth, Charlestown, Brooklyn, League Island, New +London, Washington, Norfolk, Pensacola, Mare Island, and Port Royal, +while two others held Chicago and St. Louis, the great railway +centres for the west and south, at their mercy, and the _Ithuriel_, +with a broad red flag flying from her stern, swept like a meteor +along the eastern coast from Maine to Florida. + +To attempt to describe the condition of frenzied panic into which the +inhabitants of the threatened cities, and even the whole of the +Eastern States were thrown by the events of that ever-memorable +morning, would be to essay an utterly hopeless task. From the +millionaire in his palace to the outcasts who swarmed in the slums, +not a man or a woman kept a cool head save those who were in the +councils of the Terrorists. The blow had fallen with such stupefying +suddenness that as far as America was concerned the Revolution was +practically accomplished before any one very well knew what had +happened. + +Out of the midst of an apparently peaceful and industrious population +five millions of armed men had sprung in a single night. Factories +and workshops had opened their doors, but none entered them; ships +lay idle by the wharves, offices were deserted, and the great reels +of paper hung motionless beside the paralysed machines which should +have converted them into newspapers. + +It was not a strike, for no mere trade organisation could have +accomplished such a miracle. It was the force born of the +accumulation of twenty years of untiring labour striking one mighty +blow which shattered the commercial fabric of a continent in a single +instant. Those who had been clerks or labourers yesterday, patient, +peaceful, and law-abiding, were to-day soldiers, armed and +disciplined, and obeying with automatic regularity the unheard +command of some unknown chief. + +This of itself would have been enough to throw the United States into +a panic; but, worse than all, the presence of the air-ships, holding +at their mercy the arsenals and the richest cities in the Eastern +States, proved that tremendous and all as it was, this was only a +phase of some vast and mysterious cataclysm which might as easily +involve the whole civilised world as it could overwhelm the United +States of America. + +By noon, almost without striking a blow, every dynamite cruiser and +warship on the eastern coast had been seized and manned by the +Terrorists. To the dismay of the authorities, it was found that more +than half the army and navy, officers and men alike, had obeyed the +mysterious summons that had gone throughout the land the night +before; and matters reached a climax when, as the clocks of +Washington were striking twelve, the President himself was arrested +in the White House. + +All the streets of Washington were in the hands of the Terrorists, +and at one o'clock Tremayne, after posting guards at all the +approaches, entered the Senate, and in the name of Natas proclaimed +the Constitution of the United States null and void, and the +Government dissolved. + +Then with a copy of the Constitution in his hand he proceeded to the +steps of the Capitol, and, in the presence of a vast throng of the +armed members of the American Section, he proclaimed the Federation +of the English-speaking races of the world, in virtue of their bonds +of kindred blood and speech and common interests; and amidst a scene +of the wildest enthusiasm called upon all who owned those bonds to +forget the artificial divisions that had separated them into hostile +nations and communities, and to follow the leadership of the +Brotherhood to the conquest of the earth. + +Then in a few strong and simple phrases he exposed the subservience +of the Government to the capitalist Ring, and described the inhuman +compact that it had entered into with the arch-enemies of national +freedom and personal liberty to crush the motherland of the +Anglo-Saxon nations, and for the sake of sordid gain to rivet the +fetters of oppression upon the limbs of the race which for a thousand +years had stood in the forefront of the battle for freedom. + +As he concluded his appeal, one mighty shout of wrath and execration +rose up to heaven from a million throats. He waited until this died +away into silence, then, raising the copy of the Constitution above +his head, he cried in clear ringing tones-- + +"For a hundred and fifty years this has been boasted as the bulwark +of liberty, and used as the instrument of social and commercial +oppression. The Republic of America has been governed, not by +patriots and statesmen, but by millionaires and their hired political +puppets. It is therefore a fraud and a sham, and deserves no longer +to exist!" + +So saying, he tore the paper into fragments and cast them into the +air amidst a storm of cheers and volley after volley of musketry. +While the enthusiasm was at its height the _Ithuriel_ suddenly swept +downwards from the sky in full view of the mighty assemblage that +swarmed round the Capitol. She was greeted with a roar of wondering +welcome, for her appearance was the fulfilment of a promise upon +which the success of the Revolution in America had largely depended. + +This was the promise, issued by Tremayne several days previously +through the commanders of the various divisions of the Section, that +as soon as the Anglo-Saxon Federation was proclaimed and accepted in +America, the whole Brotherhood throughout the world would fall into +line with it, and place its aërial navy at the disposal of its +leaders. Practically this was giving the empire of the world in +exchange for a money-despotism, of which every one save the +millionaires and their servants had become heartily sick. + +There were few who in their hearts did not believe the Republic to be +a colossal fraud, and therefore there were few who regretted it. + +The _Ithuriel_ passed slowly over the heads of the wondering crowd, +and came to a standstill alongside the steps on which Tremayne was +standing. The crowd saw a man on her deck shake hands with Tremayne +and give him a folded paper. Then the air-ship swept gracefully +upward again in a spiral curve until she hung motionless over the +dome of the Capitol. + +Amidst a silence born of breathless interest to know the import of +this message from the sky, Tremayne opened the paper, glanced at its +contents, and handed it to the senior officer in command of the +brigades, who stood beside him. This man, a veteran who had grown +grey in the service of the Brotherhood, advanced with the open paper +in his hand, and read out in a loud voice-- + + Natas sends greeting to the Brotherhood in America. The work has + been well done, and the reward of patient labour is at hand. This + is to name Alan Tremayne, Chief of the Central Executive, first + President of the Anglo-Saxon Federation throughout the world, and + to invest him with the supreme authority for the ordering of its + affairs. The aërial navy of the Brotherhood is placed at his + disposal to co-operate with the armies and fleets of the + Federation. + + NATAS. + +When the mighty shout of acclamation which greeted the reading of +this commission had died away, Tremayne stepped forward again and +spoke the few words that now remained to be said-- + +"I accept the office and all that it implies. The fate of the world +lies in our hands, and as we decide it so will the future lot of +humanity be good or evil. The armies of the Franco-Slavonian League +are now masters of the continent of Europe, and are preparing for the +invasion of Britain. The first use that I shall make of the authority +now vested in me will be to summon the Tsar in the name of the +Federation to sheathe the sword at once, and relinquish his designs +on Britain. The moment that one of his soldiers sets foot on the +sacred soil of our motherland I shall declare war upon him, and it +shall be a war, not of conquest, but of extermination, and we will +make an end of tyranny on earth for ever. + +"Now let those who are not on guard-duty go to their homes, and +remember that they are now citizens of a greater realm than the +United States, and endowed with more than national duties and +responsibilities. Let every man's person and property be respected, +and let the penalty of all violence be death. Those who have plotted +against the public welfare will be dealt with in due course, and +yonder air-ship will be despatched with our message to the Tsar at +sundown. Long live the Federation!" + +Millions of throats took up the cry as the last words left his lips +until it rolled away from the Capitol in mighty waves of sound, +flowing along the crowded streets and overrunning the utmost confines +of the capital. + +Thus, without the loss of a hundred lives, and in a space of less +than twelve hours, was the Revolution in America accomplished. The +triumph of the Terrorists was as complete as it had been unexpected. +Menaced by air and sea and land, the great centres of population made +no resistance, and, when they learnt the true object of the +Revolution, wanted to make none. No one really believed in the late +Government, and every one in his soul hated and despised the +millionaires. + +There was no bond between them and their fellow-men but money, and +the moment that was snapped they were looked upon in their true +nature as criminals and outcasts from the pale of humanity. By +sundown, when the _Ithuriel_ left for the seat of war, the members of +the Ring and those of the late Government who refused to acknowledge +the Federation were lodged in prison, and news had been received from +Montreal that the simultaneous rising of the Canadian Section had +been completely successful, and that all the railways and arsenals +and ships of war were in the hands of the Terrorists, so completing +the capture of the North American continent. + +The President of the Federation and his faithful subordinates went to +work, without losing an hour, to reorganise as far as was necessary +the internal affairs of the continent of which they had so suddenly +become the undisputed masters. There was some trouble with the +British authorities in Canada, who, from mistaken motives of duty to +the mother country, at first refused to recognise the Federation. + +The consequence of this was that Tremayne went north the next day and +had an interview with the Governor-General at Montreal. At the same +time he ordered six air-ships and twenty-five dynamite cruisers to +blockade the St. Lawrence and the eastern ports. The Canadian Pacific +Railway and the telegraph lines to the west were already in the hands +of the Terrorists, and a million men were under arms waiting his +commands. + +A very brief explanation, therefore, sufficed to show the Governor +that forcible resistance would not only be the purest madness, but +that it would also seriously interfere with the working of the great +scheme of Federation, the object of which was, not merely to place +Britain in the first place among the nations, but to make the +Anglo-Saxon race the one dominant power in the whole world. + +To all the Governor's objections on the score of loyalty to the +British Crown, Tremayne, who heard him to the end without +interruption, simply replied in a tone that precluded all further +argument-- + +"The day of states and empires, and therefore of loyalty to +sovereigns, has gone by. The history of nations is the history of +intrigue, quarrelling, and bloodshed, and we are determined to put a +stop to warfare for good and all. We hold in our hands the only power +that can thwart the designs of the League and avert an era of tyranny +and retrogression. That power we intend to use whether the British +Government likes it or not. + +"We shall save Britain, if necessary, in spite of her rulers. If they +stand in the way, so much the worse for them. They will be called +upon to resign in favour of the Federation and its Executive within +the next seven days. If they consent, the forces of the League will +never cross the Straits of Dover. If they refuse we shall allow +Britain to taste the results of their choice, and then settle the +matter in our own way." + +The next day the Governor dissolved the Canadian Legislatures "under +protest," and retired into private life for the present. He felt that +it was no time to argue with a man who had millions of men behind +him, to say nothing of an aërial fleet which alone could reduce +Montreal to ruins in twelve hours. + +After arranging matters in Canada the President returned to +Washington in the _Ariel_, which he had taken into his personal +service for the present, and set about disposing of the Ring and +those members of the late Government who were most deeply implicated +in the secret alliance with the leaders of the League. When the facts +of this scheme were made public they raised such a storm of popular +indignation, that if those responsible for it had been turned loose +in the streets of Washington they would have been torn to pieces like +vermin. + +As it was, however, they were placed upon their trial before a +Commission of seven members of the Inner Circle of the American +Section, presided over by the President. Their guilt was speedily +proved beyond the shadow of a doubt. Documents, memoranda, and +telegrams were produced by men who had seemed their most trusted +servants, but had been in reality members of the Brotherhood told off +to unearth their schemes. + +Cyphers were translated which showed that they had practically sold +the resources of the country in advance to the Tsar and his allies, +and that they were only waiting the signal to declare war without +warning and without cause upon Britain, blockade her ports, and +starve her into surrender and acceptance of any terms that the +victors might choose to impose. Last of all, the terms of the bargain +between the League and the Ring were produced, signed by the late +President and the Secretary of State, and countersigned by the +Russian Minister at Washington. + +The Court sat for three days, and reassembled on the fourth to +deliver its verdict and sentence. Fifteen members of the late +Government, including the President, the Vice-President, and the +Secretary of State, and twenty-four great capitalists composing the +Ring, were found guilty of giving and receiving bribes, directly and +indirectly, and of betraying and conspiring to betray the confidence +of the American people in its elected representatives, and also of +conspiring to make war without due cause on a friendly Power for +purely commercial reasons. + +At eleven o'clock on the morning of the 9th of October the President +of the Federation rose in the Senate House, amidst breathless +silence, to pronounce the sentence of the Court. + +"All the accused," he said, speaking in slow, deliberate tones, "have +been proved guilty of such treason against their own race and the +welfare of humanity as no men ever were guilty of before in all the +disreputable history of state-craft. In view of the suffering and +misery to millions of individuals, and the irreparable injury to the +cause of civilisation that would have resulted from the success of +their schemes, it would be impossible for human wit to devise any +punishment which in itself would be adequate. The sentence of the +Court is the extreme penalty known to human justice--Death!" + +A shudder passed through the vast assembly as he pronounced the +ominous word, and the accused, who but a few days before had looked +upon the world as their footstool, gazed with blanched faces and +terror-stricken eyes upon each other. He paused for a moment, and +looked sternly upon them. Then he went on-- + +"But the Federation does not seek a punishment of revenge, but of +justice; nor shall its first act of government be the shedding of +blood, however guilty. Therefore, as President I override the +sentence of death, and instead condemn you, who have been proved +guilty of this unspeakable crime, to confiscation of the wealth that +you have acquired so unscrupulously and used so mercilessly, and to +perpetual banishment with your wives and families, who have shared +the profits of your infamous traffic. + +"You will be at once conveyed to Kodiak Island, off the south coast +of Alaska, and landed there. Once every six months you will be +visited by a steamer, which will supply you with the necessaries of +life, and the original penalty of death will be the immediate +punishment of any one of you who attempts to return to a world of +which you from this moment cease to be citizens." + +The sentence was carried out without an hour's delay. The exiles, +with their wives and families, were placed under a strong guard in a +special train, which conveyed them from Washington _viâ_ St. Louis to +San Francisco, where they were transferred to a steamer which took +them to the lonely and desolate island in the frozen North which was +to be their home for the rest of their lives. They were followed by +the execrations of a whole people and the regrets of none save the +money-worshippers who had respected them, not as men, but as +incarnations of the purchasing power of wealth. + +The huge fortunes which they had amassed, amounting in the aggregate +to more than three hundred millions in English money, were placed in +the public treasury for the immediate purposes of the war which the +Federation was about to wage for the empire of the world. All their +real estate property was transferred to the various municipalities in +which it was situated, and their rents devoted to the relief of +taxation, while the railways and other enterprises which they had +controlled were declared public property, and placed in the hands of +boards of management composed of their own officials. + +Within a week everything was working as smoothly as though no +Revolution had ever taken place. All officials whose honesty there +was no reason to suspect were retained in their offices, while those +who were dismissed were replaced without any friction. All the +affairs of government were conducted upon purely business principles, +just as though the country had been a huge commercial concern, save +for the fact that the chief object was efficiency and not +profit-making. + +Money was abundantly plentiful, and the necessaries of life were +cheaper than they had ever been before. Perhaps the principal reason +for this happy state of affairs was the fact that law and politics +had suddenly ceased to be trades at which money could be made. People +were amazed at the rapidity with which public business was +transacted. + +The President and his Council had at one stroke abrogated every civil +and criminal law known to the old Constitution, and proclaimed in +their place a simple, comprehensive code which was practically +identical with the Decalogue. To this a final clause was added, +stating that those who could not live without breaking any of these +laws would not be considered as fit to live in civilised society, and +would therefore be effectively removed from the companionship of +their fellows. + +While the internal affairs of the Federation in America were being +thus set in order, events had been moving rapidly in other parts of +the world. The Tsar, the King of Italy, and General le Gallifet, who +was now Dictator of France in all but name, were masters of the +continent of Europe. The Anglo-Teutonic Alliance was a thing of the +past. Germany, Austria, and Turkey were completely crushed, and the +minor Powers had succumbed. + +Britain, crippled by the terrible cost in ships and men of the +victory of the Nile, had evacuated the Mediterranean after +dismantling the fortifications of Gibraltar and Malta, and had +concentrated the remains of her fleets in the home waters, to prepare +for the invasion which was now inevitable as soon as fair winds and +fine weather made it possible for the war-balloons of the League to +cross the water and co-operate with the invading forces. + +The Tsar, as had been expected, had not even deigned to reply to +Tremayne's summons to disarm, and so the last arrangements for +bringing the forces of the Federation into action at the proper time +were pushed on with the utmost speed. The blockade of the American +and Canadian coasts was rigidly maintained, and no vessels allowed to +enter or leave any of the ports. All the warships of the League had +been withdrawn from the Atlantic, and the great ocean highway +remained unploughed by a single keel. + +On the 10th of October the _Ithuriel_ had returned from her second +trip to the West, with the refusal of the British Government to +recognise the Federation as a duly constituted Power, or to have any +dealings with its leaders. "Great Britain," the reply concluded, +"will stand or fall alone; and even in the event of ultimate defeat, +the King of England will prefer to make terms with the sovereigns +opposed to him rather than with those whose acts have proved them to +be beyond the pale of the law of nations." + +"Ah!" said Tremayne to Arnold, as he read the royal words, "the +policy which lost the American Colonies for the sake of an idea still +rules at Westminster, it seems. But I'm not going to let the old Lion +be strangled in his den for all that. + +"Natas was right when he said that Britain would have to pass through +the fire before she would accept the Federation, and so I suppose she +must, more's the pity. Still, perhaps it will be all for the best in +the long run. You can't expect to root up a thousand-year-old oak as +easily as a mushroom that only came up the day before yesterday." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + +THE BEGINNING OF THE END. + + +It is now time to return to Britain, to the land which the course of +events had so far appeared to single out as the battle-ground upon +which was to be fought the Armageddon of the Western World--that +conflict of the giants, the issue of which was to decide whether the +Anglo-Saxon race was still to remain in the forefront of civilisation +and progress, or whether it was to fall, crushed and broken, beneath +the assaults of enemies descending upon the motherland of the +Anglo-Saxon nations; whether the valour and personal devotion, which +for a thousand years had scarcely known a defeat by flood or field, +was still to pursue its course of victory, or whether it was to +succumb to weight of numbers and mechanical discipline, reinforced by +means of assault and destruction which so far had turned the +world-war of 1904 into a succession of colossal and unparalleled +butcheries, such as had never been known before in the history of +human strife. + +When the Allied fleets, bearing the remains of the British and German +armies which had been driven out of the Netherlands, reached England, +and the news of the crowning disaster of the war in Europe was +published in detail in the newspapers, the popular mind seemed +suddenly afflicted with a paralysis of stupefaction. + +Men looked back over the long series of triumphs in which British +valour and British resolution had again and again proved themselves +invulnerable to the assaults of overwhelming numbers. They thought of +the glories of the Peninsula, of the unbreakable strength of the thin +red line at Waterloo, of the magnificent madness of Balaclava, and +the invincible steadiness and discipline that had made Inkermann a +word to be remembered with pride as long as the English name endured. + +Then their thoughts reverted to the immediate past, and they heard +the shock of colossal armaments, compared with which the armies of +the past appeared but pigmies in strength. They saw empires defended +by millions of soldiers crushed in a few weeks, and a wave of +conquest sweep in one unbroken roll from end to end of a continent in +less time than it would have taken Napoleon or Wellington to have +fought a single campaign. Huge fortresses, rendered, as men had +believed, impregnable by the employment of every resource known to +the most advanced military science, had been reduced to heaps of +defenceless ruins in a few hours by a bombardment, under which their +magnificent guns had lain as impotent as though they had been the +culverins of three hundred years ago. + +It seemed like some hideous nightmare of the nations, in which Europe +had gone mad, revelling in superhuman bloodshed and destruction,--a +conflict in which more than earthly forces had been let loose, +accomplishing a carnage so immense that the mind could only form a +dim and imperfect conception of it. And now this red tide of +desolation had swept up to the western verge of the Continent, and +was there gathering strength and volume day by day against the hour +when it should burst and oversweep the narrow strip of water which +separated the inviolate fields of England from the blackened and +blood-stained waste that it had left behind it from the Russian +frontier to the German Ocean. + +It seemed impossible, and yet it was true. The first line of defence, +the hitherto invincible fleet, magnificently as it had been managed, +and heroically as it had been fought, had failed in the supreme hour +of trial. It had failed, not because the sailors of Britain had done +their duty less valiantly than they had done in the days of Rodney +and Nelson, but simply because the conditions of naval warfare had +been entirely changed, because the personal equation had been almost +eliminated from the problem of battle, and because the new warfare of +the seas had been waged rather with machinery than with men. + +In all the war not a single battle had been fought at close quarters; +there had been plenty of instances of brilliant manoeuvring, of +torpedo-boats running the gauntlet and hurling their deadly missiles +against the sides of battleships and cruisers, and of ships rammed +and sunk in a few instants by consummately-handled opponents; but the +days of boarding and cutting out, of night surprises and fire-ships, +had gone by for ever. + +The irresistible artillery with which modern science had armed the +warships of all nations had made these feats impossible, and so had +placed the valour which achieved them out of court. Within the last +few weeks scarcely a day had passed but had witnessed the return of +some mighty ironclad or splendid cruiser, which had set out a miracle +of offensive and defensive strength, little better than a floating +ruin, wrecked and shattered almost beyond recognition by the awful +battle-storm through which she had passed. + +The magnificent armament which had held the Atlantic route had come +back represented only by a few crippled ships almost unfit for any +further service. True, they and those which never returned had +rendered a splendid account of themselves before the enemy, but the +fact remained--they were not defeated, but they were no longer able +to perform the Titanic task which had been allotted to them. + +So, too, with the Mediterranean fleet, which, so far as sea-fighting +was concerned, had achieved the most splendid triumph of the war. It +had completely destroyed the enemy opposed to it, but the victory had +been purchased at such a terrible price that, but for the squadron +which had come to its aid, it would hardly have been able to reach +home in safety. + +In a word, the lesson of the struggle on the sea had been, that +modern artillery was just as effective whether fired by Englishmen, +Frenchmen, or Russians; that where a torpedo struck a warship was +crippled, no matter what the nationality or the relative valour of +her crew; and that where once the ram found its mark the ship that it +struck went down, no matter what flag she was flying. + +And then, behind and beyond all that was definitely known in England +of the results of the war, there were vague rumours of calamities and +catastrophes in more distant parts of the world, which seemed to +promise nothing less than universal anarchy, and the submergence of +civilisation under some all-devouring wave of barbarism. + +All regular communications with the East had been stopped for several +weeks; that India was lost, was guessed by intuition rather than +known as a certainty. Australia was as isolated from Britain as +though it had been on another planet, and now every one of the +Atlantic cables had suddenly ceased to respond to the stimulus of the +electric current. No ships came from the East, or West, or South. The +British ports were choked with fleets of useless merchantmen, to +which the markets of the world were no longer open. + +Some few venturesome craft that had set out to explore the now silent +ocean had never returned, and every warship that could be made fit +for service was imperatively needed to meet the now inevitable attack +on the shores of the English Channel and the southern portions of the +North Sea. Only one messenger had arrived from the outside world +since the remains of Admiral Beresford's fleet had returned from the +Mediterranean, and she had come, not by land or sea, but through the +air. + +On the 6th of October an air-ship had been seen flying at an +incredible speed across the south of England. She had reached London, +and touched the ground during the night on Hampstead Heath; the next +day she had descended again in the same place, taken a single man on +board, and then vanished into space again. What her errand had been +is well known to the reader; but outside the members of the Cabinet +Council no one in England, save the King and his Ministers, knew the +object of her mission. + +For fifteen days after that event the enemy across the water made no +sign, although from the coast of Kent round about Deal and Dover +could be seen fleets of transports and war-vessels hurrying along the +French coast, and on clear days a thousand telescopes turned towards +the French shore made visible the ominous clusters of moving black +spots above the land, which betokened the presence of the terrible +machines which had wrought such havoc on the towns and fortresses of +Europe. + +It was only the calm before the final outburst of the storm. The Tsar +and his allies were marshalling their hosts for the invasion, and +collecting transports and fleets of war-vessels to convoy them. For +several days strong north-westerly gales had made the sea impassable +for the war-balloons, as though to the very last the winds and waves +were conspiring to defend their ancient mistress. But this could not +last for ever. + +Sooner or later the winds must sink or change, and then these +war-hawks of the air would wing their flight across the silver +streak, and Portsmouth, and Dover, and London would be as defenceless +beneath their attack as Berlin, Vienna, and Hamburg had been. And +after them would come the millions of the League, descending like a +locust swarm upon the fields of eastern England; and after that would +come the deluge. + +But the old Lion of the Seas was not skulking in his lair, or +trembling at the advent of his enemies, however numerous and mighty +they might be. On sea not a day passed but some daring raid was made +on the transports passing to and fro in the narrow seas, and all the +while a running fight was kept up with cruisers and battleships that +approached too near to the still inviolate shore. So surely as they +did so the signals flashed along the coast; and if they escaped at +all from the fierce sortie that they provoked, it was with +shot-riddled sides and battered top-works, sure signs that the Lion +still had claws, and could strike home with them. + +On shore, from Land's End to John o' Groats, and from Holyhead to the +Forelands, everything that could be done was being done to prepare +for the struggle with the invader. It must, however, be confessed +that, in comparison with the enormous forces of the League, the ranks +of the defenders were miserably scanty. Forty years of universal +military service on the Continent had borne their fruits. + +Soldiers are not made in a few weeks or months; and where the League +had millions in the field, Britain, even counting the remnant of her +German allies, that had been brought over from Antwerp, could hardly +muster hundreds of thousands. All told, there were little more than a +million men available for the defence of the country; and should the +landing of the invaders be successfully effected, not less than six +millions of men, trained to the highest efficiency, and flushed with +a rapid succession of unparalleled victories, would be hurled against +them. + +This was the legitimate outcome of the policy to which Britain had +adhered since first she had maintained a standing army, instead of +pursuing the ancient policy of making every man a soldier, which had +won the triumphs of Creçy and Agincourt. She had trusted everything +to her sea-line of defence. Now that was practically broken, and it +seemed inevitable that her second line, by reason of its miserable +inadequacy, should fail her in a trial which no one had ever dreamt +it would have to endure. + +A very grave aspect was given to the situation by the fact that the +great mass of the industrial population seemed strangely indifferent +to the impending catastrophe which was hanging over the land. It +appeared to be impossible to make them believe that an invasion of +Britain was really at hand, and that the hour had come when every man +would be called upon to fight for the preservation of his own hearth +and home. + +Vague threats of "eating the Russians alive" if they ever did dare to +come, were heard on every hand; but beyond this, and apart from the +regular army and the volunteers, men went about their daily +avocations very much as usual, grumbling at the ever-increasing price +of food, and here and there breaking out into bread riots wherever it +was suspected that some wealthy man was trying to corner food for his +own commercial benefit, but making no serious or combined efforts to +prepare for a general rising in case the threatened invasion became a +fact. + +Such was the general state of affairs in Britain when, on the night +of the 27th of October, the north-west gales sank suddenly to a calm, +and the dawn of the 28th brought the news from Dover to London that +the war-balloons of the League had taken the air, and were crossing +the Straits. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. + +THE BATTLE OF DOVER. + + +Until the war of 1904, it had been an undisputed axiom in naval +warfare that a territorial attack upon an enemy's coast by a fleet +was foredoomed to failure unless that enemy's fleet had been either +crippled beyond effective action, or securely blockaded in distant +ports. As an axiom secondary to this, it was also held that it would +be impossible for an invading force, although convoyed by a powerful +fleet, to make good its footing upon any portion of a hostile coast +defended by forts mounting heavy long-range guns. + +These principles have held good throughout the history of naval +warfare from the time when Sir Walter Raleigh first laid them down in +the early portion of his _History of the World_, written after the +destruction of the Spanish Armada. + +But now two elements had been introduced which altered the conditions +of naval warfare even more radically than one of them had changed +those of military warfare. Had it not been for this the attack upon +the shores of England made by the commanders of the League would +probably either have been a failure, or it would have stopped at a +demonstration of force, as did that of the great Napoleon in 1803. + +The portion of the Kentish coast selected for the attack was that +stretching from Folkestone to Deal, and it would perhaps have been +difficult to find in the whole world any portion of sea-coast more +strongly defended than this was on the morning of October 28, 1904; +and yet, as the event proved, the fortresses which lined it were as +useless and impotent for defence as the old Martello towers of a +hundred and fifty years before would have been. + +As the war-balloons rose into the air from the heights above +Boulogne, good telescopes at Dover enabled their possessors to count +no less than seventy-five of them. Fifty of these were quite newly +constructed, and were of a much improved type, as they had been built +in view of the practical experience gained by the first fleet. + +This aërial fleet divided into three squadrons; one, numbering +twenty-five, steered south-westward in the direction of Folkestone, +twelve shaped their course towards Deal, and the remaining +thirty-eight steered directly across the Straits to Dover. As they +approached the English coast they continually rose, until by the time +they had reached the land, aided by the light south-easterly breeze +which was then blowing, they floated at a height of more than five +thousand feet. + +All this while not a warship or a transport had put to sea. The whole +fleet of the League lay along the coast of France between Calais and +Dieppe, under the protection of shore batteries so powerful that it +would have been madness for the British fleet to have assumed the +offensive with regard to them. With the exception of two squadrons +reserved for a possible attack upon Portsmouth and Harwich, all that +remained from the disasters and costly victories of the war of the +once mighty British naval armament was massed together for the +defence of that portion of the coast which would evidently have to +bear the brunt of the attack of the League. + +Ranged along the coast from Folkestone to Deal was an armament +consisting of forty-five battleships of the first, second, and third +classes, supported by fifteen coast-defence ironclads, seventy +armoured and thirty-two unarmoured cruisers, forty gunboats, and a +hundred and fifty torpedo-boats. + +Such was the still magnificent fleet that patrolled the waters of the +narrow sea,--a fleet as impotent for the time being as a flotilla of +Thames steamboats would have been in face of the tactics employed +against it by the League. Had the enemy's fleet but come out into the +open, as it would have been compelled to do under the old conditions +of warfare, to fight its way across the narrow strip of water, there +is little doubt but that the issue of the day would have been very +different, and that what had been left of it would have been driven +back, shattered and defeated, to the shelter of the French shore +batteries. + +But, in accordance with the invariable tactics of the League, the +first and most deadly assault was delivered from the air. The +war-balloons stationed themselves above the fortifications on land, +totally ignoring the presence of the fleet, and a few minutes after +ten o'clock began to rain their deadly hail of explosives down upon +them. Fifteen were placed over Dover Castle, and five over the fort +on the Admiralty Pier, while the rest were distributed over the town +and the forts on the hills above it. In an hour everything was in a +state of the most horrible confusion. The town was on fire in a +hundred places from the effects of the fire-shells. The Castle hill +seemed as if it had been suddenly turned into a volcano; jets of +bright flame kept leaping up from its summit and sides, followed by +thunderous explosions and masses of earth and masonry hurled into the +air, mingled with guns and fragments of human bodies. + +The end of the Admiralty Pier, with its huge blocks of stone wrenched +asunder and pulverised by incessant explosions of dynamite and +emmensite, collapsed and subsided into the sea, carrying fort, guns, +and magazine with it; and all along the height of the Shakespeare +cliff the earthworks had been blown up and scattered into dust, and a +huge portion of the cliff itself had been blasted out and hurled down +on to the beach. + +Meanwhile the victims of this terrible assault had, in the nature of +the case, been able to do nothing but keep up a vertical fire, in the +hope of piercing the gas envelopes of the balloons, and so bringing +them to the earth. For more than an hour this fusilade produced no +effect; but at length the concentrated fire of several Maxim and +Nordenfelt guns, projecting a hail of missiles into the sky, brought +about a result which was even more disastrous to the town than it was +to its assailants. + +Four of the aerostats came within the zone swept by the bullets. +Riddled through and through, their gas-holders collapsed, and their +cars plunged downwards from a height of more than 5000 feet. A few +seconds later four frightful explosions burst forth in different +parts of the town, for the four cargoes exploded simultaneously as +they struck the earth. + +The emmensite and dynamite tore whole streets of houses to fragments, +and hurled them far and wide into the air, to fall back again on +other parts of the town, and at the same time the fire-shells +ignited, and set the ruins blazing like so many furnaces. No more +shots were fired into the air after that. + +There was nothing for it but for British valour to bow to the +inevitable, and evacuate the town and what remained of its +fortifications; and so with sad and heavy hearts the remnant of the +brave defenders turned their faces inland, leaving Dover to its fate. +Meanwhile exactly the same havoc had been wrought upon Folkestone and +Deal. Hour after hour the merciless work continued, until by three +o'clock in the afternoon there was not a gun left upon the whole +range of coast that was capable of firing a shot. + +All this time the ammunition tenders of the aërial fleet had been +winging their way to and fro across the Strait constantly renewing +the shells of the war-balloons. + +As soon as it began to grow dusk the naval battle commenced. +Numerically speaking the attacking force was somewhat inferior to +that of the defenders, but now the second element, which so +completely altered the tactics of sea fighting, was for the first +time in the war brought into play. + +As the battleships of the League steamed out to engage the opponents, +who were thirsting to avenge the destruction that had been wrought +upon the land, a small flotilla of twenty-five insignificant-looking +little craft, with neither masts nor funnels, and looking more like +half-submerged elongated turtles than anything else, followed in tow +close under their quarters. Hardly had the furious cannonade broken +out into thunder and flame along the two opposing lines, than these +strange craft sank gently and silently beneath the waves. They were +submarine vessels belonging to the French navy, an improved type of +the _Zédé_ class, which had been in existence for more than ten +years.[1] + +These vessels were capable of sinking to a depth of twenty feet, and +remaining for four hours without returning to the surface. They were +propelled by twin screws worked by electricity at a speed of twenty +knots, and were provided with an electric searchlight, which enabled +them to find the hulls of hostile ships in the dark. + +Each carried three torpedoes, which could be launched from a tube +forward so as to strike the hull of the doomed ship from beneath. As +soon as the torpedo was discharged the submarine boat spun round on +her heel and headed away at full speed in an opposite direction out +of the area of the explosion. + +The effects of such terrible and, indeed, irresistible engines of +naval warfare were soon made manifest upon the ships of the British +fleet. In the heat of the battle, with every gun in action, and +raining a hail of shot and shell upon her adversary, a great +battleship would receive an unseen blow, struck in the dark upon her +most vulnerable part, a huge column of water would rise up from under +her side, and a few minutes later the splendid fabric would heel over +and go down like a floating volcano, to be quenched by the waves that +closed over her. + +But as if it were not enough that the defending fleet should be +attacked from the surface of the water and the depths of the sea, the +war-balloons, winging their way out from the scene of ruin that they +had wrought on shore, soon began to take their part in the work of +death and destruction. + +Each of them was provided with a mirror set a little in front of the +bow of the car, at an angle which could be varied according to the +elevation. A little forward of the centre of the car was a tube fixed +on a level with the centre of the mirror. The ship selected for +destruction was brought under the car, and the speed of the balloon +was regulated so that the ship was relatively stationary to it. + +As soon as the glare from one of the funnels could be seen through +the tube reflected in the centre of the mirror, a trap was sprung in +the floor of the car, and a shell charged with dynamite, which, it +will be remembered, explodes vertically downwards, was released, and, +where the calculations were accurately made, passed down the funnel +and exploded in the interior of the vessel, bursting her boilers and +reducing her to a helpless wreck at a single stroke. + +Every time this horribly ingenious contrivance was successfully +brought into play a battleship or a cruiser was either sunk or +reduced to impotence. In order to make their aim the surer, the +aerostats descended to within three hundred yards of their prey, and +where the missile failed to pass through the funnel it invariably +struck the deck close to it, tearing up the armour sheathing, and +wrecking the funnel itself so completely that the steaming-power of +the vessel was very seriously reduced. + +All night long the battle raged incessantly along a semicircle some +twelve miles long, the centre of which was Dover. Crowds of anxious +watchers on the shore watched the continuous flashes of the guns +through the darkness, varied ever and anon by some tremendous +explosion which told the fate of a warship that had fired her last +shot. + +All night long the incessant thunder of the battle rolled to and fro +along the echoing coast, and when morning broke the light dawned upon +a scene of desolation and destruction on sea and shore such as had +never been witnessed before in the history of warfare. On land were +the smoking ruins of houses, still smouldering in the remains of the +fires which had consumed them; forts which twenty-four hours before +had grinned defiance at the enemy were shapeless heaps of earth and +stone, and armour-plating torn into great jagged fragments; and on +sea were a few half-crippled wrecks, the remains of the British +fleet, with their flags still flying, and such guns as were not +disabled firing their last rounds at the victorious foe. + +To the eastward of these about half the fleet of the League, in but +little better condition, was advancing in now overwhelming force upon +them, and behind these again a swarm of troopships and transports +were heading out from the French shore. About an hour after dawn the +_Centurion_, the last of the British battleships, was struck by one +of the submarine torpedoes, broke in two, and went down with her flag +flying and her guns blazing away to the last moment. So ended the +battle of Dover, the most disastrous sea-fight in the history of the +world, and the death-struggle of the Mistress of the Seas. + +The last news of the tremendous tragedy reached the now +panic-stricken capital half an hour before the receipt of similar +tidings from Harwich, announcing the destruction of the defending +fleet and forts, and the capture of the town by exactly the same +means as those employed against Dover. Nothing now lay between London +and the invading forces but the utterly inadequate army and the lines +of fortifications, which could not be expected to offer any more +effective resistance to the assault of the war-balloons than had +those of the three towns on the Kentish coast. + +[Footnote 1: _The Naval Annual_ for 1893 mentions two types of +submarine boats, the _Zédé_ and the _Goubet_, both belonging to the +French navy, which had then been tried with success. The same work +mentions no such vessels belonging to Britain, nor yet any prospect +of her possessing one. The effects described here as produced by +these terrible machines are little, if at all, exaggerated. Granted +ten years of progress, and they will be reproduced to a +certainty.--AUTHOR.] + +[Illustration: "The _Centurion_, the last of the British battleships, +was struck by one of the submarine torpedoes." + +_See page 300._] + + + + +CHAPTER XL. + +BELEAGUERED LONDON. + + +A month had passed since the battle of Dover. It had been a month of +incessant fighting, of battles by day and night, of heroic defences +and dearly-bought victories, but still of constant triumphs and +irresistible progress for the ever-increasing legions of the League. +From sunrise to sunrise the roar of artillery, the rattle of +musketry, and the clash of steel had never ceased to sound to the +north and south of London as, over battlefield after battlefield, the +two hosts which had poured in constant streams through Harwich and +Dover had fought their way, literally mile by mile, towards the +capital of the modern world. + +Day and night the fighting never stopped. As soon as two hostile +divisions had fought each other to a standstill, and from sheer +weariness of the flesh the battle died down in one part of the huge +arena, the flame sprang up in another, and raged on with ever renewed +fury. Outnumbered four and five to one in every engagement, and with +the terrible war-balloons raining death on them from the clouds, the +British armies had eclipsed all the triumphs of the long array of +their former victories by the magnificent devotion that they showed +in the hour of what seemed to be the death-struggle of the Empire. + +The glories of Inkermann and Balaclava, of Albuera and Waterloo, +paled before the achievements of the whole-souled heroism displayed +by the British soldiery standing, as it were, with its back to the +wall, and fighting, not so much with any hope of victory, for that +was soon seen to be a physical impossibility, but with the invincible +determination not to permit the invader to advance on London save +over the dead bodies of its defenders. + +Such a gallant defence had never been made before in the face of such +irresistible odds. When the soldiers of the League first set foot on +British soil the defending armies of the North and South had, with +the greatest exertions, been brought up to a fighting strength of +about twelve hundred thousand men. So stubborn had been the heroism +with which they had disputed the progress of their enemies that by +the time that the guns of the League were planted on the heights that +commanded the Metropolis, more than a million and a half of men had +gone down under the hail of British bullets and the rush of British +bayonets. + +Of all the battlefields of this the bloodiest war in the history of +human strife, none had been so deeply dyed with blood as had been the +fair and fertile English gardens and meadows over which the hosts of +the League had fought their way to the confines of London. Only the +weight of overwhelming numbers, reinforced by engines of destruction +which could strike without the possibility of effective retaliation, +had made their progress possible. + +Had they met their heroic foes as they had met them in the days of +the old warfare, their superiority of numbers would have availed them +but little. They would have been hurled back and driven into the sea, +and not a man of them all would have left British soil alive had it +been but a question of military attack and defence. + +But this was not a war of men. It was a war of machines, and those +who wielded the most effective machinery for the destruction of life +won battle after battle as a matter of course, just as a man armed +with a repeating rifle would overcome a better man armed with a bow +and arrow. + +Natas had formed an entirely accurate estimate of the policy of the +leaders of the League when he told Tremayne, in the library at +Alanmere, that they would concentrate all their efforts on the +reduction of London. The rest of the kingdom had been for the present +entirely ignored. + +London was the heart of the British Empire and of the +English-speaking world, for the matter of that, and therefore it had +been determined to strike one deadly blow at the vital centre of the +whole huge organism. That paralysed, the rest must fall to pieces of +necessity. The fleet was destroyed, and every soldier that Britain +could put into the field had been mustered for the defence of London. +Therefore the fall of London meant the conquest of Britain. + +After the battles of Dover and Harwich the invading forces advanced +upon London in the following order: The Army of the South had landed +at Deal, Dover, and Folkestone in three divisions, and after a series +of terrific conflicts had fought its way _viâ_ Chatham, Maidstone, +and Tunbridge to the banks of the Thames, and occupied all the +commanding positions from Shooter's Hill to Richmond. These three +forces were composed entirely of French and Italian army corps, and +numbered from first to last nearly four million men. + +On the north the invading force was almost wholly Russian, and was +under the command of the Tzar in person, in whom the supreme command +of the armies of the League had by common consent been now vested. A +constant service of transports, plying day and night between Antwerp +and Harwich, had placed at his disposal a force about equal to that +of the Army of the South, although he had lost over seven hundred +thousand men before he was able to occupy the line of heights from +Hornsey to Hampstead, with flanking positions at Brondesbury and +Harlesden to the west, and at Tottenham, Stratford, and Barking to +the east. + +By the 29th of November all the railways were in the hands of the +invaders. A chain of war-balloons between Barking and Shooter's Hill +closed the Thames. The forts at Tilbury had been destroyed by an +aërial bombardment. A flotilla of submarine torpedo-vessels had blown +up the defences of the estuary of the Thames and Medway, and led to +the fall of Sheerness and Chatham, and had then been docked at +Sheerness, there being no further present use for them. + +The other half of the squadron, supported by a few battleships and +cruisers which had survived the battle of Dover, had proceeded to +Portsmouth, destroyed the booms and submarine defences, while a +detachment of aerostats shelled the land defences, and then in a +moment of wanton revenge had blown up the venerable hulk of the +_Victory_, which had gone down at her moorings with her flag still +flying as it had done a hundred years before at the fight of +Trafalgar. After this inglorious achievement they had been laid up in +dock to wait for their next opportunity of destruction, should it +ever occur. + +London was thus cut off from all communication, not only with the +outside world, but even from the rest of England. The remnants of the +armies of defence had been gradually driven in upon the vast +wilderness of bricks and mortar which now held more than eight +millions of men, women, and children, hemmed in by long lines of +batteries and entrenched camps, from which thousands of guns hurled +their projectiles far and wide into the crowded masses of the houses, +shattering them with bursting shells, and laying the whole streets in +ruins, while overhead the war-balloons slowly circled hither and +thither, dropping their fire-shells and completing the ruin and havoc +wrought by the artillery of the siege-trains. + +Under such circumstances surrender was really only a matter of time, +and that time had very nearly come. The London and North-Western +Railway, which had been the last to fall into the hands of the +invaders, had been closed for over a week, and food was running very +short. Eight millions of people massed together in a space of thirty +or forty square miles' area can only be fed and kept healthy under +the most favourable conditions. Hemmed in as London now was, from +being the best ordered great city in the world, it had degenerated +with frightful rapidity into a vast abode of plague and famine, a +mass of human suffering and misery beyond all conception or +possibility of description. + +Defence there was now practically none; but still the invaders did +not leave their vantage ground on the hills, and not a soldier of the +League had so far set foot in London proper. Either the besiegers +preferred to starve the great city into surrender at discretion, and +then extort ruinous terms, or else they hesitated to plunge into that +tremendous gulf of human misery, maddened by hunger and made +desperate by despair. If they did so hesitate they were wise, for +London was too vast to be carried by assault or by any series of +assaults. + +No army could have lived in its wilderness of streets swarming with +enemies, who would have fought them from house to house and street to +street. Once they had entered that mighty maze of streets and squares +both their artillery and their war-balloons would have been useless, +for they would only have buried friend and foe in common destruction. +There were plenty of ways into London, but the way out was a very +different matter. + +Had a general assault been attempted, not a man would ever have got +out of London alive. The commanders of the League saw this clearly, +and so they kept their position on the heights, wasted the city with +an almost constant bombardment, and, while they drew their supplies +from the fertile lands in their rear, lay on their arms and waited +for the inevitable. + +Within the besieged area martial law prevailed universally. Riots +were of daily, almost hourly, occurrence, but they were repressed +with an iron hand, and the rioters were shot down in the streets +without mercy; for, though siege and famine were bad enough, anarchy +breaking out amidst that vast sweltering mass of human beings would +have been a thousand times worse, and so the King, who, assisted by +the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Council, had assumed the control +of the whole city, had directed that order was to be maintained at +any price. + +The remains of the army were quartered in the parks under canvas, and +billeted in houses throughout the various districts, in order to +support the police in repressing disorder and protecting property. +Still, in spite of all that could be done, matters were rapidly +coming to a terrible pass. In a week, at the latest, the horses of +the cavalry would be eaten. For a fortnight London had almost lived +upon horse-flesh. In the poorer quarters there was not a dog to be +seen, and a sewer rat was considered a delicacy. + +Eight million mouths had made short work of even the vast supplies +that had been hurriedly poured into the city as soon as the invasion +had become a certainty, and absolute starvation was now a matter of a +few days at the outside. There were millions of money lying idle, but +very soon a five-pound note would not buy even a little loaf of +bread. + +But famine was by no means the only horror that afflicted London +during those awful days and nights. All round the heights the booming +of cannon sounded incessantly. Huge shells went screaming through the +air overhead to fall and burst amidst some swarming hive of humanity, +scattering death and mutilation where they fell; and high up in the +air the fleet of aerostats perpetually circled, dropping their +fire-shells and blasting cartridges on the dense masses of houses, +until a hundred conflagrations were raging at once in different parts +of the city. + +No help had come from outside. Indeed none was to be expected. There +was only one Power in the world that was now capable of coping with +the forces of the victorious League, but its overtures had been +rejected, and neither the King nor any of his advisers had now the +slightest idea as to how those who controlled it would now use it. No +one knew the real strength of the Terrorists, or the Federation which +they professed to control. + +All that was known was that, if they choose, they could with their +aërial fleet sweep the war-balloons from the air in a few moments and +destroy the batteries of the besiegers; but they had made no sign +after the rejection of their President's offer to prevent the landing +of the forces of the League on condition that the British Government +accepted the Federation, and resigned its powers in favour of its +Executive. + +The refusal of those terms had now cost more than a million British +lives, and an incalculable amount of human suffering and destruction +of property. Until the news of the disaster of Dover had actually +reached London, no one had really believed that it was possible for +an invading force to land on British soil and exist for twenty-four +hours. Now the impossible had been made possible, and the last +crushing blow must fall within the next few days. After that who knew +what might befall? + +So far as could be seen, Britain lay helpless at the mercy of her +foes. Her allies had ceased to exist as independent Powers, and the +Russian and the Gaul were thundering at her gates as, fifteen hundred +years before, the Goth had thundered at the gates of the Eternal City +in the last days of the Roman Empire. + +If the terms of the Federation could have been offered again, it is +probable that the King of England would have been the first man to +own his mistake and that of his advisers and accept them, for now the +choice lay between utter and humiliating defeat and the breaking up +of the Empire, and the recognition of the Federation. After all, the +kinship of a race was a greater fact in the supreme hour of national +disaster than the maintenance of a dynasty or the perpetuation of a +particular form of government. + +It was not now a question of nation against nation, but of race +against race. The fierce flood of war had swept away all smaller +distinctions. It was necessary to rise to the altitude of the problem +of the Government, not of nations, but of the world. Was the genius +of the East or of the West to shape the future destinies of the human +race? That was the mighty problem of which the events of the next few +weeks were to work out the solution, for when the sun set on the +Field of Armageddon the fate of Humanity would be fixed for centuries +to come. + + + + +CHAPTER XLI. + +AN ENVOY OF DELIVERANCE. + + +From the time that the Tsar had received the conditional declaration +of war from the President of the Anglo-Saxon Federation in America to +nightfall on the 29th of November, when the surrender of the capital +of the British Empire was considered to be a matter of a few days +only, the Commander-in-Chief of the forces of the League was +absolutely in the dark, not only as to the actual intentions of the +Terrorists, if they had any, but also as to the doings of his allies +in America. + +According to the stipulations arranged between himself and the +confidential agent of the American Government, the blockading +flotilla of dynamite cruisers ought to have sailed from America as +soon as the cypher message containing the news of the battle of Dover +reached New York. The message had been duly sent _viâ_ Queenstown and +New York, and had been acknowledged in the usual way, but no definite +reply had come to it, and a month had elapsed without the appearance +of the promised squadron. The explanation of this will be readily +guessed. The American end of the Queenstown cable had been +reconnected with Washington, but it was under the absolute control of +Tremayne, who permitted no one to use it save himself. + +Other messages had been sent to which no reply had been received, and +a swift French cruiser, which had been launched at Brest since the +battle of Dover, had been dispatched across the Atlantic to discover +the reason of this strange silence. She had gone, but she had never +returned. The Atlantic highway appeared to be barred by some +invisible force. No vessels came from the westward, and those which +started from the east were never heard of again. + +His Majesty had treated the summons of the President of the +Federation with silent contempt, just as such a victorious autocrat +might have been expected to do. True, he knew the terrific power +wielded by the Terrorists through their aërial fleet, and he had an +uncomfortable conviction, which refused to be entirely stifled, that +in the days to come he would have to reckon with them and it. + +But that a member of the Terrorist Brotherhood could by any possible +means have placed himself at the head of any body of men sufficiently +numerous or well-disciplined to make them a force to be seriously +reckoned with in military warfare, his Majesty had never for a moment +believed. + +And, more than this, however disquieting might be the uncertainty due +to the ominous silence on the other side of the Atlantic, and the +non-arrival of the expected fleet, there stood the great and +significant fact that the army of the League had been permitted, +without molestation either from the Terrorists or the Federation in +whose name they had presumed to declare war upon him, not only to +destroy what remained of the British fleet, but to completely invest +the very capital of Anglo-Saxondom itself. + +All this had been done; the sacred soil of Britain itself had been +violated by the invading hosts; the army of defence had been slowly, +and at a tremendous sacrifice of life on both sides, forced back from +line after line, and position after position, into the city itself; +his batteries were raining their hail of shot and shell from the +heights round London, and his aerostats were hurling ruin from the +sky upon the crowded millions locked up in the beleaguered space; and +yet the man who had presumed to tell him that the hour in which he +set foot on British soil would be the last of his Empire, had done +absolutely nothing to interrupt the march of conquest. + +From this it will be seen that Alexander Romanoff was at least as +completely in the dark as to the possible course of the events of the +near future as was the King of England himself, shut up in his +capital, and cut off from all communication from the rest of the +world. + +On the morning of the 29th of November there was held at the Prime +Minister's rooms in Downing Street a Cabinet Council, presided over +by the King in person. After the Council had remained for about an +hour in earnest consultation, a stranger was admitted to the room in +which they were sitting. + +The reader would have recognised him in a moment as Maurice Colston, +otherwise Alexis Mazanoff, for he was dressed almost exactly as he +had been on that memorable night, just thirteen months before, when +he made the acquaintance of Richard Arnold on the Thames Embankment. + +Well-dressed, well-fed, and perfectly at ease, he entered the Council +Chamber without any aggressive assumption, but still with the quiet +confidence of a man who knows that he is practically master of the +situation. How he had even got into London, beleaguered as it was on +every side in such fashion that no one could get out of it without +being seen and shot by the besiegers, was a mystery; but how he could +have in his possession, as he had, a despatch dated thirty-six hours +previously in New York was a still deeper mystery; and upon neither +of these points did he make the slightest attempt to enlighten the +members of the British Cabinet. + +All that he said was that he was the bearer of a message from the +President of the Anglo-Saxon Federation in America, and that he was +instructed to return that night to New York with such answer as the +British Government might think fit to make to it. It was this message +that had been the subject of the deliberations of the Council before +his admission, and its net effect was as follows. + +It was now practically certain, indeed proved to demonstration, that +the forces at the command of the British Government were not capable +of coping with those brought against them by the commanders of the +League, and that therefore Britain, if left to her own resources, +must inevitably succumb, and submit to such terms as her conquerors +might think fit to impose upon her. The choice before the British +Government thus lay between surrender to her foreign enemies, whose +objects were well known to be dismemberment of the Empire and the +reduction of Great Britain to the rank of a third-class Power,--to +say nothing of the payment of a war indemnity which could not fail to +be paralysing,--and the consent of those who controlled the destinies +of the mother country to accept a Federation of the whole Anglo-Saxon +race, to waive the merely national idea in favour of the racial one, +and to permit the Executive Council of the Federation to assume those +governmental functions which were exercised at present by the King +and the British Houses of Parliament. + +In a word, the choice lay between conquest by a league of foreign +powers and the merging of Britain into the Federation of the +English-speaking peoples of the world. + +If the former choice were taken, the only prospect possible under the +condition of things was a possibly enormous sacrifice of human life +on the side of both Britain and its enemies, a gigantic loss in +money, the crippling of British trade and commerce, and then a +possible, nay probable, social revolution to which the message +distinctly pointed. + +If the latter choice were taken, the forces of the Federation would +be at once brought into the field against those of the League, the +siege of London would be raised, the power of the invaders would be +effectually broken for ever, and the stigma of conquest finally wiped +away. + +It is only just to record the fact that in this supreme crisis of +British history the man who most strongly insisted upon the +acceptance of the terms which he had previously, as he now confessed +in the most manly and outspoken fashion, rejected in ignorance of the +true situation of affairs, was the man who believed that he would +lose a crown by accepting them. + +When the Ambassador of the Federation had been presented to the +Council, the King rose in his place and handed to him with his own +hands a sealed letter, saying as he did so-- + +"Mr. Mazanoff, I am still to a great extent in ignorance as to the +inexplicable combination of events which has made it necessary for me +to return this affirmative answer to the message of which you are the +bearer. I am, however, fully aware that the Earl of Alanmere, whose +name I have seen at the foot of this document with the most profound +astonishment, is in a position to do what he says. + +"The course of events has been exactly that which he predicted. I +know, too, that whatever causes may have led him to unite himself to +those known as the Terrorists, he is an English nobleman, and a man +to whom falsehood or bad faith is absolutely impossible. In your +marvellous aërial fleet I know also that he wields the only power +capable of being successfully opposed to those terrible machines +which had wrought such havoc upon the fleets and armies, not only of +Britain, but of Europe. + +"To a certain extent this is a surrender, but I feel that it will be +better to surrender the destinies of Britain into the hands of her +own blood and kindred than to the tender mercies of her alien +enemies. My own personal feelings must weigh as nothing in the +balance where the fate, not only of this country, but perhaps of the +whole world, is now poised. + +"After all, the first duty of a Constitutional King is not to himself +and his dynasty, but to his country and his people, and therefore I +feel that it will be better for me and mine to be citizens of a free +Federation of the English-speaking peoples, and of the nations to +which Britain has given birth, than the titular sovereign and Royal +family of a conquered country, holding the mockery of royalty on the +sufferance of their conquerors. + +"Tell Lord Alanmere from me that I now accept the terms he has +offered as President of the Anglo-Saxon Federation, first, because at +all hazards I would see Britain delivered from her enemies; and, +secondly, because I have chosen rather to be an English gentleman +without a crown, than to wear a crown which after all would only be +gift from my conquerors." + +Edward VII. spoke with visible emotion, but with a dignity which even +Mazanoff, little and all as he respected the name of king, felt +himself compelled to recognise and respect. He took the letter with a +bow that was more one of reverence than of courtesy, and as he put it +into his breast-pocket of his coat he said-- + +"The President will receive your Majesty's reply with as genuine +pleasure and satisfaction as I shall give it to him. Though I am a +Russian without a drop of English blood in my veins, I have always +looked upon the British race as the real bulwark of freedom, and I +rejoice that the King of England has not permitted either tradition +or personal feeling to stand in the way of the last triumph of the +Anglo-Saxon race. + +"As long as the English language is spoken your Majesty's name will +be held in greater honour for this sacrifice which you make to-day, +than will that of any other English king for the greatest triumph of +arms ever achieved in the history of your country. + +"I must now take my leave, for I must be in New York to-morrow night. +I have your word that I shall not be watched or followed after I +leave here. Hold the city for six days more at all costs, and on the +seventh at the latest the siege shall be raised and the enemies of +Britain destroyed in their own entrenchments." + +So saying, the envoy of the Federation bowed once more to the King +and the astonished members of his Council, and was escorted to the +door. + +Once in the street he strode away rapidly through Parliament Street +and the Strand, then up Drury Lane, until he reached the door of a +mean-looking house in a squalid court, and entering this with a +latch-key, disappeared. + +Three hours later a Russian soldier of the line, wearing an almost +imperceptible knot of red ribbon in one of the button-holes of his +tunic, passed through the Russian lines on Hampstead Heath +unchallenged by the sentries, and made his way northward to Northaw +Wood, which he reached soon after nightfall. + +Within half an hour the _Ithuriel_ rose from the midst of a thick +clump of trees like a grey shadow rising into the night, and darted +southward and upward at such a speed that the keenest eyes must soon +have lost sight of her from the earth. + +She passed over the beleaguered city at a height of nearly ten +thousand feet, and then swept sharply round to the eastward. She +stopped immediately over the lights of Sheerness, and descended to +within a thousand feet of the dock, in which could be seen the +detachment of the French submarine vessels lying waiting to be sent +on their next errand of destruction. + +As soon as those on board her had made out the dock clearly she +ascended a thousand feet and went about half a mile to the southward. +From that position she poured a rapid hail of shells into the dock, +which was instantly transformed into a cavity vomiting green flame +and fragments of iron and human bodies. In five minutes nothing was +left of the dock or its contents but a churned-up swamp of muddy +water and shattered stonework. + +Then, her errand so far accomplished, the air-ship sped away to the +south-westward, and within an hour she had destroyed in like fashion +the submarine squadron in the Government dock at Portsmouth, and was +winging her way westward to New York with the reply of the King of +England to the President of the Federation. + + + + +CHAPTER XLII. + +THE EVE OF ARMAGEDDON. + + +When the news of the destruction of the two divisions of the +submarine squadron reached the headquarters of the League on the +night of the 29th, it would have been difficult to say whether anger +or consternation most prevailed among the leaders. A council of war +was hurriedly summoned to discuss an event which it was impossible to +look upon as anything less than a calamity. + +The destruction which had been wrought was of itself disastrous +enough, for it deprived the League of the chief means by which it had +destroyed the British fleet and kept command of the sea. But even +more terrible than the actual destruction was the unexpected +suddenness with which the blow had been delivered. + +For five months, that is to say, from the recapture of the _Lucifer_ +at Aberdeen, the Tsar and his coadjutors had seen nothing of the +operations of the Terrorists; and now, without a moment's warning, +this apparently omnipresent and yet almost invisible force had struck +once more with irresistible effect, and instantly vanished back into +the mystery out of which it had come. + +Who could tell when the next blow would fall, or in what shape the +next assault would be delivered? In the presence of such enemies, +invisible and unreachable, the commanders of the League, to their +rage and disgust, felt themselves, on the eve of their supreme +victory, as impotent as a man armed with a sword would have felt in +front of a Gatling gun. + +Consternation naturally led to divided councils. The French and +Italian commanders were for an immediate general assault on London at +all hazards, and the enforcement of terms of surrender at the point +of the sword. The Tsar, on the other hand, insisted on the pursuance +of the original policy of reduction by starvation, as he rightly +considered that, great as the attacking force was, it would be +practically swamped amidst the infuriated millions of the besieged, +and that, even if the assault were successful, the loss of life would +be so enormous that the conquest of the rest of Britain--which in +such a case would almost certainly rise to a man--would be next door +to impossible. + +He, however, so far yielded as to agree to send a message to the King +of England to arrange terms of surrender, if possible at once, in +order to save further bloodshed, and then, if these terms were +rejected, to prepare for a general assault on the seventh day from +then. + +These terms were accepted as a compromise, and the next morning the +bombardment ceased both from the land batteries and the air. At +daybreak on the 30th an envoy left the Tsar's headquarters in one of +the war-balloons, flying a flag of truce, and descended in Hyde Park. +He was received by the King in Council at Buckingham Palace, and, +after a lengthy deliberation, an answer was returned to the effect +that on condition the bombardment ceased for the time being, London +would be surrendered at noon on the 6th of December if no help had by +that time arrived from the other cities of Britain. These terms, +after considerable opposition from General le Gallifet and General +Cosensz, the Italian Commander-in-Chief, were adopted and ratified at +noon that day, almost at the very moment that Alexis Mazanoff was +presenting the reply of the King of England to the President of the +Federation in New York. + +As the relief expedition had been fully decided upon, whether the +British Government recognised the Federation or not, everything was +in readiness for an immediate start as soon as the _Ithuriel_ brought +definite news as to the acceptation or rejection of the President's +second offer. For the last seven weeks the ten dockyards of the east +coast of America, and at Halifax in Nova Scotia, had been thronged +with shipping, and swarming with workmen and sailors. + +All the vessels which had been swept off the Atlantic by the +war-storm, and which were of sufficient size and speed to take part +in the expedition, had been collected at these eleven ports. Whole +fleets of liners of half a dozen different nationalities, which had +been laid up since the establishment of the blockade, were now lying +alongside the quays, taking in vast quantities of wheat and +miscellaneous food-stuffs, which were being poured into their holds +from the glutted markets of America and Canada. Every one of these +vessels was fitted up as a troopship, and by the time all +arrangements were complete, more than a thousand vessels, carrying on +an average twelve hundred men each, were ready to take the sea. + +In addition to these there was a fleet of warships as yet unscathed +by shot or shell, consisting of thirty battleships, a hundred and ten +cruisers, and the flotilla of dynamite cruisers which had been +constructed by the late Government at the expense of the capitalist +Ring. There were no less than two hundred of these strange but +terribly destructive craft, the lineal descendants of the _Vesuvius_, +which, as the naval reader will remember, was commissioned in 1890. + +They were double-hulled vessels built on the whale-back plan, and the +compartments between the inner and outer hull could be wholly or +partially filled with water. When they were entirely filled the hull +sank below the surface, leaving nothing as a mark to an enemy save a +platform standing ten feet above the water. This platform, +constructed throughout of 6-inch nickel-steel, was of oval shape, a +hundred feet long and thirty broad in its greatest diameter, and +carried the heavily armoured wheel-house and conning-tower, two +funnels, six ventilators, and two huge pneumatic guns, each +seventy-five feet long, working on pivots nearly amidships. These +weapons, with an air-charge of three hundred atmospheres, would throw +four hundred pounds of dynamite to a distance of three miles with +such accuracy that the projectile would invariably fall within a +space of twenty feet square. The guns could be discharged once a +minute, and could thus hurl 48,000 lbs. of dynamite an hour upon a +hostile fleet or fortifications. + +Each cruiser also carried two under-water torpedo tubes ahead and two +astern. The funnels emitted no smoke, but merely supplied draught to +the petroleum furnaces, which burned with practically no waste, and +developed a head of steam which drove the long submerged hulls +through the water at a rate of thirty-two knots, or more than +thirty-six miles an hour. + +Such was the enormous naval armament, manned by nearly a hundred +thousand men, which hoisted the Federation flag at one o'clock on the +afternoon of the 30th of November, when orders were telegraphed north +and south from Washington to get ready for sea. Two hours later the +vast flotilla of warships and transports had cleared American waters, +and was converging towards a point indicated by the intersection of +the 41st parallel of latitude with the 40th meridian of longitude. + +At this ocean rendezvous the divisions of the fleet and its convoys +met and shaped their course for the mouth of the English Channel. +They proceeded in column of line abreast three deep, headed by the +dynamite cruisers, after which came the other warships which had +formed the American Navy, and after these again came the troopships +and transports properly protected by cruisers on their flanks and in +their rear. + +The commander of every warship and transport had the most minute +instructions as to how he was to act on reaching British waters, and +what these were will become apparent in due course. The weather was +fairly good for the time of year, and, as there was but little danger +of collision on the now deserted waters of the Atlantic, the whole +flotilla kept at full speed all the way. As, however, its speed was +necessarily limited by that of its slowest steamer until the scene of +action was reached, it was after midnight on the 5th of December when +its various detachments had reached their appointed stations on the +English coast. + +At the entrance of the English Channel and St. George's Channel a few +scouting cruisers, flying French, Russian, and Italian colours, had +been run down and sunk by the dynamite cruisers. Strict orders had +been given by Tremayne to destroy everything flying a hostile flag, +and not to permit any news to be taken to England of the approach of +the flotilla. The Federation was waging a war, not merely of conquest +and revenge, but of extermination, and no more mercy was to be shown +to its enemies than they had shown in their march of victory from one +end of Europe to the other. + +While the Federation fleet had been crossing the Atlantic, other +events no less important had been taking place in England and +Scotland. The hitherto apparently inert mass of the population had +suddenly awakened out of its lethargy. In town and country alike men +forsook their daily avocations as if by one consent. As in America, +artisans, pitmen, clerks, and tradesmen were suddenly transformed +into soldiers, who drilled, first in squads of ten, and then in +hundreds and thousands, and finally in tens of thousands, all +uniformed alike in rough grey breeches and tunics, with a knot of red +ribbon in the button-hole, and all armed with rifle, bayonet, and +revolver, which they seemed to handle with a strange and ominous +familiarity. + +All the railway traffic over the island was stopped, and the +rolling-stock collected at the great stations along the lines to +London, and at the same time all the telegraph wires communicating +with the south and east were cut. As day after day passed, signs of +an intense but strongly suppressed excitement became more and more +visible all over the provinces, and especially in the great towns and +cities. + +In London very much the same thing had happened. Hundreds of +thousands of civilians vanished during that seven days of anxious +waiting for the hour of deliverance, and in their place sprang up +orderly regiments of grey-clad soldiers, who saw the red knot in each +other's button-holes, and welcomed each other as comrades unknown +before. + +To the surprise of the commanders of the regular army, orders had +been issued by the King that all possible assistance was to be +rendered to these strange legions, which had thus so suddenly sprang +into existence; and the result was that when the sun set on the 5th +of December, the twenty-first day of the total blockade of London, +the beleaguered space contained over two millions of armed men, +hungering both for food and vengeance, who, like the five millions of +their fellow-countrymen outside London, were waiting for a sign from +the sky to fling themselves upon the entrapped and unsuspecting +invader. + +That night countless eyes were upturned throughout the length and +breadth of Britain to the dun pall of wintry cloud that overspread +the land. Yet so far, so perfect was the discipline of this gigantic +host, not a sign of overt hostile movement had been made, and the +commanders of the armies of the League looked forward with exulting +confidence to the moment, now only a few hours distant, when the +capital of the British Empire, cut off from all help, should be +surrendered into their hands in accordance with the terms agreed +upon. + +When night fell the _Ithuriel_ was floating four thousand feet above +Aberdeen. Arnold and Natasha, wrapped in warm furs, were standing on +deck impatiently watching the sun sinking down over the sea of clouds +which lay between them and the earth. + +"There it goes at last!" exclaimed Natasha, as the last of the level +beams shot across the cloud-sea and the rim of the pale disc sank +below the surface of the vapoury ocean. "The time that we have waited +and worked for so long has come at last. This is the eve of +Armageddon! Who would think it, floating up here above the clouds and +beneath those cold, calmly shining stars! And yet the fate of the +whole world is trembling in the balance, and the doings of the next +twenty-four hours will settle the destiny of mankind for generations +to come. The hour of the Revolution has struck at last"-- + +"And therefore it is time that the Angel of the Revolution should +give the last signal with her own hand!" said Arnold, seized with a +sudden fancy, "Come, you shall start the dynamo yourself." + +"Yes I will, and, I hope, kindle a flame that shall purge the earth +of tyranny and oppression for ever. Richard, what must my father be +thinking of just now down yonder in the cabin?" + +"I dare not even guess. To-morrow or the next day will be the day of +reckoning, and then God help those of whom he demands payment, for +they will need it. The vials of wrath are full, and before long the +oppressors of the earth will have drained them to the dregs. Come, it +is time we went down." + +They descended together to the engine-room, and meanwhile the +air-ship sank through the clouds until the lights of Aberdeen lay +about a thousand feet below. A lens of red glass had been fitted to +the searchlight of the _Ithuriel_, and all that was necessary was to +connect the forward engine with the dynamo. + +Arnold put Natasha's hand on a little lever. As she took hold of it +she thought with a shudder of the mighty forces of destruction which +her next movement would let loose. Then she thought of all that those +nearest and dearest to her had suffered at the hands of Russian +despotism, and of all the nameless horrors of the rule whose +death-signal she was about to give. + +As she did so her grip tightened on the lever, and when Arnold, +having given his orders to the head engineer as to speed and course, +put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Now!" she pulled it back with +a sharp, determined motion, and the next instant a broad fan of +blood-red light shot over the _Ithuriel's_ bows. + +At the same moment the air-ship's propellers began to spin round, and +then with the flood of red light streaming in front of her, she +headed southward at full speed towards Edinburgh. The signal flashed +over the Scottish capital, and then the _Ithuriel_ swerved round to +the westward. + +Half an hour later Glasgow saw it, and then away she sped southward +across the Border to Carlisle; and so through the long December night +she flew hither and thither, eastward and westward, flashing the red +battle-signal over field and village and town; and wherever it shone +armed men sprang up like the fruit of the fabled dragon's teeth, +companies were mustered in streets and squares and fields and marched +to railway stations; and soon long trains, one after another in +endless succession, got into motion, all moving towards the south and +east, all converging upon London. + +Last of all, after it had made a swift circuit of northern and +central and western England, the red light swept along the south +coast, and then swerved northward again till it flashed thrice over +London, and then it vanished into the darkness of the hour before the +dawn of Armageddon. + +Since the ever-memorable night of Thursday the 29th of July 1588, +three hundred and sixteen years before, when "The beacon blazed upon +the roof of Edgcumbe's lofty Hall," and the answering fires sprang up +"From Eddystone to Berwick bounds, from Lynn to Milford Bay," to tell +that the Spanish Armada was in sight, there had been no such night in +England, nor had men ever dreamed that there should be. + +But great as had been the deeds done by the heroes of the sixteenth +century with the pigmy means at their command, they were but the +merest child's play to the awful storm of devastation which, in a few +hours, was to burst over southern England. Then it was England +against Spain; now it was Anglo-Saxondom against the world; and the +conquering race of earth, armed with the most terrific powers of +destruction that human wit had ever devised, was rising in its wrath, +millions strong, to wipe out the stain of invasion from the sacred +soil of the motherland of the Anglo-Saxon nations. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII. + +THE OLD LION AT BAY. + + +The morning of the 6th of December dawned grey and cold over London +and the hosts that were waiting for its surrender. Scarcely any smoke +rose from the myriad chimneys of the vast city, for the coal was +almost all burnt, and what was left was selling at £12 a ton. Wood +was so scarce that people were tearing up the woodwork of their +houses to keep a little fire going. + +So the steel-grey sky remained clear, for towards daybreak the clouds +had been condensed by a cold north-easter into a sharp fall of fine, +icy snow, and as the sun gained power it shone chilly over the +whitened landscape, the innumerable roofs of London, and the miles of +tents lining the hills to the north and south of the Thames valley. + +The havoc wrought by the bombardment on the public buildings of the +great city had been terrible. Of the Houses of Parliament only a +shapeless heap of broken stones remained, the Law Courts were in +ruins, what had been the Albert Hall was now a roofless ring of +blackened walls, Nelson's Column lay shattered across Trafalgar +Square, and the Royal Exchange, the Bank of England, and the Mansion +House mingled their fragments in the heart of the almost deserted +city. + +Only three of the great buildings of London had suffered no damage. +These were the British Museum, Westminster Abbey, and St Paul's, +which had been spared in accordance with special orders issued by the +commanders of the League. The two former were spared for the same +reason that the Germans had spared Strasburg Cathedral in +1870--because their destruction would have been a loss, not to +Britain alone, but to the world. + +The great church of the metropolis had been left untouched chiefly +because it had been arranged that, on the fall of London, the Tsar +was to be proclaimed Emperor of Asia under its dome, and at the same +time General le Gallifet was to assume the Dictatorship of France and +abolish the Republic, which for more than ten years had been the +plaything of unprincipled financiers, and the laughing-stock of +Europe. As the sun rose the great golden cross, rising high out of +the wilderness of houses, shone more and more brightly under the +brightening sky, and millions of eyes looked upon it from within the +city and from without with feelings far asunder as triumph and +defeat. + +At daybreak the last meal had been eaten by the defenders of the +city. To supply it almost every animal left in London had been +sacrificed, and the last drop of liquor was drunk, even to the last +bottle of wine in the Royal cellars, which the King shared with his +two commanders-in-chief, Lord Roberts and Lord Wolseley, in the +presence of the troops on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. At nine +o'clock the King and Queen attended service in St. Paul's, and when +they left the Cathedral half an hour later the besiegers on the +heights were astounded to hear the bells of all the steeples left +standing in London ring out in a triumphant series of peals which +rippled away eastward and westward from St. Paul's and Westminster +Abbey, caught up and carried on by steeple after steeple, until from +Highgate to Dulwich, and from Hammersmith to Canning Town, the +beleaguered and starving city might have been celebrating some great +triumph or deliverance. + +The astonished besiegers could only put the extraordinary +manifestation down to joy on the part of the citizens at the near +approaching end of the siege; but before the bells of London had been +ringing for half an hour this fallacious idea was dispelled from +their minds in a very stern and summary fashion. + +Since nightfall there had been no communication with the secret +agents of the League in the various towns of England and Scotland. At +ten o'clock a small company of Cossacks spurred and flogged their +jaded horses up the northern slope of Muswell Hill, on which the Tsar +had fixed his headquarters. Nearly every man was wounded, and the +horses were in the last stages of exhaustion. Their captain was at +once admitted to the presence of the Tsar, and, flinging himself on +the ground before the enraged Autocrat, gasped out the dreadful +tidings that his little company were the sole survivors of the army +of occupation that had been left at Harwich, and which, twelve hours +before, had been thirty thousand strong. + +A huge fleet of strange-looking vessels, flying a plain blood-red +flag, had just before four A.M. forced the approaches to the harbour, +sunk every transport and warship with guns that were fired without +flame, or smoke, or report, and whose projectiles shattered +everything that they struck. Immediately afterwards an immense +flotilla of transports had steamed in, and, under the protection of +those terrible guns, had landed a hundred thousand men, all dressed +in the same plain grey uniform, with no facings or ornaments save a +knot of red ribbon at the button-hole, and armed with magazine rifle +and a bayonet and a brace of revolvers. All were English by their +speech, and every man appeared to know exactly what to do with very +few orders from his officers. + +This invading force had hunted the Russians out of Harwich like +rabbits out of a warren, while the ships in the harbour had hurled +their shells up into the air so that they fell back to earth on the +retreating army and exploded with frightful effect. The general in +command had at once telegraphed to London for a detachment of +war-balloons and reinforcements, but no response had been received. + +After four hours' fighting the Russian army was in full retreat, +while the attacking force was constantly increasing as transport +after transport steamed into the harbour and landed her men. At +Colchester the Russians had been met by another vast army which had +apparently sprung from the earth, dressed and armed exactly as the +invading force was. What its numbers were there was no possibility of +telling. + +By this time, too, treachery began to show itself in the Russian +ranks, and whole companies suddenly appeared with the red knot of +ribbon in their tunics, and instantly turned their weapons against +their comrades, shooting them down without warning or mercy. No +quarter had been given to those who did not show the ribbon. Most of +them died fighting, but those who had thrown away their arms were +shot down all the same. + +Whoever commanded this strange army had manifestly given orders to +take no prisoners, and it was equally certain that its movements were +directed by the Terrorists, for everywhere the battle-cries had been, +"In the Master's name!" and "Slay, and spare not!" + +The whole of the army, save the deserters, had been destroyed, and +the deserters had immediately assumed the grey uniforms of those of +the Terrorist army who had fallen. The Cossack captain and his forty +or fifty followers were the sole remains of a body of three thousand +men who had fought their way through the second army. The whole +country to the north and east seemed alive with the grey soldiery, +and it was only after a hundred hair-breadth escapes that they had +managed to reach the protection of the lines round London. + +Such was the tale of the bringer of bad tidings to the Tsar at the +moment when he was looking forward to the crowning triumph of his +reign. Like the good soldier that he was, he wasted no time in +thinking at a moment when everything depended on instant action. + +He at once despatched a war-balloon to the French and Italian +headquarters with a note containing the terrible news from Harwich, +and requesting Generals le Gallifet and Cosensz to lose no time in +communicating with the eastern and southern ports, and in throwing +out corps of observation supported by war-balloons. Evidently the +American Government had played the League false at the last moment, +and had allied herself with Britain. + +As soon as he had sent off this message, the Tsar ordered a fleet of +forty aerostats to proceed to the north-eastward, in advance of a +force of infantry and cavalry numbering three hundred thousand men, +and supported by fifty batteries of field and machine guns, which he +detached to stop the progress of the Federation army towards London. +Before this force was in motion a reply came back from General le +Gallifet to the effect that all communication with the south and east +was stopped, and that an aerostat, which had been on scout duty +during the night, had returned with the news that the whole country +appeared to be up in arms from Portsmouth to Dover. Corps of +observation and a fleet of thirty aerostats had been sent out, and +three army corps were already on the march to the south and east. + +Meanwhile, the hour for the surrender of London was drawing very +near, and all the while the bells were sending their mingled melody +of peals and carillons up into the clear frosty air with a defiant +joyousness that seemed to speak of anything but surrender. As twelve +o'clock approached the guns of all the batteries on the heights were +loaded and trained on different parts of the city, and the whole of +the forces left after the detachment of the armies that had been sent +to engage the battalions of the Federation prepared to descend upon +the devoted city from all sides after the two hours' incessant +bombardment that had been ordered to precede the general attack. + +It had been arranged that if the city surrendered a white flag was to +be hoisted on the cross of St. Paul's. + +Within a few minutes of twelve the Tsar ascended to the roof of the +Alexandra Palace on Muswell Hill, and turned his field-glasses on the +towering dome. His face and lips were bloodless with repressed but +intense anxiety, but the hands that held his glasses to his eyes were +as steady as though he had been watching a review of his own troops. +It was the supreme moment of his victorious career. He was +practically master of Europe. Only Britain held out. The relieving +forces would be rent to fragments by his war-balloons, and then +decimated by his troops as the legions of Germany and Austria had +been. The capital of the English-speaking world lay starving at his +feet, and a few minutes would see-- + +Ha! there goes the flag at last. A little ball of white bunting +creeps up from the gallery above the dark dome. It clears the railing +under the pedestal, and climbs to the apex of the shining cross. As +it does so the wild chorus of the bells suddenly ceases, and out of +the silence that follows come the deep booming strokes of the great +bell of St. Paul's sounding the hour of twelve. + +As the last stroke dies away the ball bursts, and the White Ensign of +Britain crossed by the Red Cross of St. George, and with the Jack in +the corner, floats out defiantly on the breeze, greeted by the +reawakening clamour of the bells, and a deep hoarse cry from millions +of throats, that rolls like a vast sea of sound up the slopes to the +encampments of the League. + +With an irrepressible cry of rage, Alexander dashed his field-glass +to the ground, and shouted, in a voice broken with passion-- + +"So! They have tricked us. Let the bombardment begin at once, and +bring that flag down with the first shots!" + +But before the words were out of his mouth, the bombardment had +already commenced in a very different fashion to that in which he had +intended that it should begin. So intense had been the interest with +which all eyes had been turned on the Cross of St. Paul's that no one +had noticed twelve little points of shining light hanging high in air +over the batteries of the besiegers, six to the north and six to the +south. + +But the moment that the Ensign of St. George floated from the summit +of St. Paul's a rapid series of explosions roared out like a +succession of thunder-claps along the lines of the batteries. The +hills of Surrey, and Kent, and Middlesex were suddenly transformed +into volcanoes spouting flame and thick black smoke, and flinging +clouds of dust and fragments of darker objects high into the air. + +The order of the Tsar was obeyed in part only, for by the time that +the word to recommence the bombardment had been flashed round the +circuit of the entrenchments, more than half the batteries had been +put out of action. The twelve air-ships stationed at equal intervals +round the vast ellipse, and discharging their No. 3 shell from their +four guns ahead and astern, from an elevation of four thousand feet, +had simultaneously wrecked half the batteries of the besiegers before +their occupants had any clear idea of what was really happening. + +Wherever one of those shells fell and exploded, earth and stone and +iron melted into dust under the terrific force of the exploding +gases, and the air-ships, moving with a velocity compared with which +the utmost speed of the aerostats was as a snail's pace, flitted +hither and thither wherever a battery got into action, and destroyed +it before the second round had been fired. + +There were still twenty-five aerostats at the command of the Tsar +which had not been sent against the relieving forces, and as soon as +it was realised that the aërial bombardment of the batteries came +from the air-ships of the Terrorist fleet, they were sent into the +air to engage them at all hazards. They outnumbered them two to one, +but there was no comparison between the manoeuvring powers of the two +aërial squadrons. + +As soon as the aerostats rose into the air, the Terrorist fleet +receded northward and southward from the batteries. Their guns had a +six-mile range, and it did not matter to them which side of the +assailed area they lay. They could still hurl their explosives with +the same deadly precision on the appointed mark. But with the +aerostats it was a very different matter. They could only drop their +shells vertically, and where they were not exactly above the object +of attack their shells exploded with comparative harmlessness. + +As a natural consequence they had to follow the air-ships, not only +away from London, but over their own encampments, in order to bring +them to anything like close quarters. The aerostats possessed one +advantage, and one only, over the air-ships. They were able to rise +to a much greater height. But this advantage the air-ships very soon +turned into a disadvantage by reason of their immensely superior +speed and ease of handling. They darted about at such a speed over +the heads of the massed forces of the League on either side of +London, that it was impossible to drop shells upon them without +running the inevitable risk of missing the small and swiftly-moving +air-ship, and so causing the shell to burst amidst friends instead of +foes. + +Thus the Terrorist fleet, sweeping hither and thither, in wide and +ever changing curves, lured the most dangerous assailants of the +beleaguered city farther and farther away from the real scene of +action, at the very time when they were most urgently needed to +support the attacking forces which at that moment were being poured +into London. + +To destroy the air-ships seemed an impossibility, since they could +move at five times the speed of the swiftest aerostat, and yet to +return to the bombardment of the city was to leave them free to +commit what havoc they pleased upon the encampments of the armies of +the League. So they were drawn farther and farther away from the +beleaguered city, while their agile enemies, still keeping within +their six-mile range, evaded their shells, and yet kept up a constant +discharge of their own projectiles upon the salient points of the +attack on London. + +By four o'clock in the afternoon all the batteries of the besiegers +had been put out of action by the aërial bombardment. It was now a +matter of man to man and steel to steel, and so the gage of final +battle was accepted, and as dusk began to fall over the beleaguered +city, the Russian, French and Italian hosts left their lines, and +descended from their vantage ground to the assault on London, where +the old Lion at bay was waiting for them with claws bared and teeth +grinning defiance. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV. + +THE TURN OF THE BATTLE-TIDE. + + +The force which the Tsar had detached to operate against the +Federation Army of the North left the headquarters at eleven o'clock, +and proceeded in four main divisions by Edmonton, Chingford, +Chigwell, and Romford. The aerostats, regulating their speed so as to +keep touch with the land force, maintained a position two miles ahead +of it at three thousand feet elevation. + +Strict orders had been given to press on at the utmost speed, and to +use every means to discover the Federationists, and bring them to an +engagement with as little delay as possible; but they marched on hour +after hour into the dusk of the early winter evening, with the sounds +of battle growing fainter in their rear, without meeting with a sign +of the enemy. + +As it would have been the height of imprudence to have advanced in +the dark into a hostile country occupied by an enemy of great but +unknown strength, General Pralitzin, the Commander of the Russian +force, decided to bring his men to a halt at nightfall, and therefore +took up a series of positions between Cheshunt, Epping, Chipping +Ongar, and Ingatestone. From these points squadrons of Cossacks +scoured the country in all directions, north, east, and west, in +search of the so far invisible army; and at the same time he sent +mounted messengers back to headquarters to report that no enemy had +been found, and to ask for further orders. + +The aerostats slowed down their engines until their propellers just +counteracted the force of the wind and they hung motionless at a +height of a thousand feet, ranged in a semicircle about fifteen miles +long over the heads of the columns. + +All this time the motions of the Russian army had been watched by the +captain of the _Ithuriel_ from an elevation of eight thousand feet, +five miles to the rear. As soon as he saw them making preparations +for a halt, and had noticed the disposition of the aerostats, he left +the conning-tower which he had occupied nearly all day, and went into +the after saloon, where he found Natas and Natasha examining a large +plan of London and its environs. + +"They have come to a halt at last," he said. "And if they only remain +where they are for three hours longer, we have the whole army like +rats in a trap, war-balloons and all. They have not seen us so far, +for if they had they would certainly have sent an aerostat aloft to +reconnoitre, and, of course, I must have destroyed it. The whole +forty are arranged in a semicircle over the heads of the four main +columns in divisions of ten." + +"And what do you propose to do with them now you have got them?" said +Natasha, looking up with a welcoming smile. + +"Give me a cup of coffee first, for I am cold to the marrow, and then +I'll tell you," replied Arnold, seating himself at the table, on +which stood a coffee-urn with a spirit lamp beneath it, something +after the style of a Russian samovar. + +Natasha filled a cup and passed it to him, and he went on-- + +"You remember what I said to Tremayne in the Princess's sitting-room +at Petersburg about the eagle and the crows just before the trial of +the Tsar's first war-balloon. Well, if you like to spend a couple of +hours with me in the conning-tower as soon as it is dark enough for +us to descend, I will show you what I meant then. I suppose the +original general orders stand good?" he said, turning to Natas. + +"Yes," replied the Master gravely. "They must all be destroyed. This +is the day of vengeance and not of mercy. If my orders have been +obeyed, all the men belonging to the International in this force will +have managed to get to the rear by nightfall. They can be left to +take care of themselves. Mazanoff assured me that all the members in +the armies of the League fully understood what they are to do. Some +of the war-balloons have been taken possession of by our men, but we +don't know how many. As soon as you destroy the first of the fleet, +these will rise and commence operations on the army, and they will +also fly the red flag, so there will be no fear of your mistaking +them." + +"Very well," said Arnold, who had been quietly sipping his coffee +while he listened to the utterance of this death sentence on more +than a quarter of a million of men. "If our fellows to the northward +only obey orders promptly, there will not be many of the Russians +left by sunrise. Now, Natasha, you had better put on your furs and +come to the conning-tower; it's about time to begin." + +It did not take her many moments to wrap up, and within five minutes +she and Arnold were standing in the conning-tower watching the camp +fires of the Russian host coming nearer and nearer as the _Ithuriel_ +sank down through the rapidly increasing darkness towards the long +dotted line which marked the position of the aerostats, whose great +gas-holders stood out black and distinct against the whitened earth +beneath them. + +By means of electric signals to the engineers the captain of the +_Ithuriel_ was able to regulate both the speed and the elevation of +the air-ship as readily as though he had himself been in charge of +the engine-room. Giving Natasha a pair of night-glasses, and telling +her to keep a bright look-out ahead, he brought the _Ithuriel_ round +by the westward to a position about five miles west of the extremity +of the line of war-balloons, and as soon as he got on a level with it +he advanced comparatively slowly, until Natasha was able to make it +out distinctly with the night-glass. + +Then he signalled to the wheel-house aft to disconnect the +after-wheel, and at the same moment he took hold of the spokes of the +forward-wheel in the conning-tower. The next signal was "Full speed +ahead," and as the _Ithuriel_ gathered way and rushed forward on her +errand of destruction he said hurriedly to Natasha-- + +"Now, don't speak till it's over. I want all my wits for this work, +and you'll want all your eyes." + +Without speaking, Natasha glanced up at his face, and saw on it +somewhat of the same expression that she had seen at the moment when +he put the _Ariel_ at the rock-wall which barred the entrance to +Aeria. His face was pale, and his lips were set, and his eyes looked +straight out from under his frowning brows with an angry gleam in +them that boded ill for the fate of those against whom he was about +to use the irresistible engine of destruction under his command. + +Twenty feet in front of them stretched out the long keen ram of the +air-ship, edged and pointed like a knife. This was the sole weapon +that he intended to use. It was impossible to train the guns at the +tremendous speed at which the _Ithuriel_ was travelling, but under +the circumstance the ram was the deadliest weapon that could have +been employed. + +In four minutes from the time the _Ithuriel_ started on her eastward +course the nearest war-balloon was only fifty yards away. The +air-ship, travelling at a speed of nearly two hundred miles an hour, +leapt out of the dusk like a flash of white light. In ten seconds +more her ram had passed completely through the gas-holder without so +much as a shock being felt. The next one was only five hundred yards +away. Obedient to her rudder the _Ithuriel_ swerved, ripped her +gas-holder from end to end, and then darted upon the next one even +before a terrific explosion in their rear told that the car of the +first one had struck the earth. + +So she sped along the whole line, darting hither and thither in +obedience to the guiding hand that controlled her, with such +inconceivable rapidity that before any of the unwieldy machines, +saving only those whose occupants had been prepared for the assault, +had time to get out of the way of the destroying ram, she had rent +her way through the gas-holders of twenty-eight out of the forty +balloons, and flung them to the earth to explode and spread +consternation and destruction all along the van of the army encamped +below. + +From beginning to end the attack had not lasted ten minutes. When the +last of the aerostats had gone down under his terrible ram, Arnold +signalled "Stop, and ascend," to the engine-room. A second signal +turned on the searchlight in the bow, and from this a rapid series of +flashes were sent up to the sky to the northward and eastward. + +[Illustration: "Her ram had passed completely through the gasholder." + +_See page 334._] + +The effect was as fearful as it was instantaneous. The twelve +war-balloons which had escaped by flying the red flag took up their +positions above the Russian lines, and began to drop their fire-shell +and cyanogen bombs upon the masses of men below. The air-ship, +swerving round again to the westward, with her fan-wheels aloft, +moved slowly across the wide area over which men and horses were +wildly rushing hither and thither in vain attempts to escape the rain +of death that was falling upon them from the sky. + +Her searchlight, turned downwards to the earth, sought out the spots +where they were crowded most thickly together, and then the +air-ship's guns came into play also. Arnold had given orders to use +the new fire-shell exclusively, and its effects proved to be +frightful beyond description. Wherever one fell a blaze of intense +light shone for an instant upon the earth. Then this burst into a +thousand fragments, which leapt into the air and spread themselves +far and wide in all directions, burning with inextinguishable fury +for several minutes, and driving men and horses mad with agony and +terror. + +No human fortitude or discipline could withstand the fearful rain of +fire, in comparison with which even the deadly hail from the +aerostats seemed insignificant. For half an hour the eight guns of +the _Ithuriel_ hurled these awful projectiles in all directions, +scattering death and hopeless confusion wherever they alighted, until +the whole field of carnage seemed ablaze with them. + +At the end of this time three rockets soared up from her deck into +the dark sky, and burst into myriads of brilliant white stars, which +for a few moments shed an unearthly light upon the scene of +indescribable confusion and destruction below. But they made more +than this visible, for by their momentary light could be seen +seemingly interminable lines of grey-clad figures swiftly closing in +from all sides, chasing the Cossack scouts before them in upon the +completely disorganised Russian host. + +A few minutes later a continuous roll of musketry burst out on front, +and flank, and rear, and a ceaseless hail of rifle bullets began to +plough its way through the helpless masses of the soldiers of the +Tsar. They formed as well as they could to confront these new +enemies, but the moment that the searchlight of the air-ship, +constantly sweeping the field, fell upon a company in anything like +order, a shell descended in the midst of it and broke it up again. + +All night long the work of death and vengeance went on; the grey +lines ever closing in nearer and nearer upon the dwindling remnants +of the Russian army. Hour after hour the hail of bullets never +slackened. There was no random firing on the part of the Federation +soldiers. Every man had been trained to use his rifle rapidly but +deliberately, and never to fire until he had found his mark; and the +consequence was that the long nickel-tipped bullets, fired +point-blank into the dense masses of men, rent their way through half +a dozen bodies before they were spent. + +At last the grey light began to break over an indescribably hideous +scene of slaughter. Scarcely ten thousand men remained of the three +hundred thousand who had started the day before in obedience to the +order of the Tsar; and these were split up into formless squads and +ragged companies fighting desperately amidst heaps of corpses for +dear life, without any pretence at order or formation. + +The cannonade from the air had ceased, and the last scene in the +drama of death had come. With bayonets fixed and rifles lowered to +the charge, the long grey lines closed up, and, as the bugles rang +out the long-awaited order, they swept forward at the double, horses +and men went down like a field of standing corn under the +irresistible rush of a million bayonets, and in twenty minutes all +was over. Not a man of the whole Russian army was left alive, save +those whose knot of red ribbon at the button-hole proclaimed them +members of the International. + +As soon as it was light enough for Arnold to see clearly that the +fate of the Russians was finally decided, he descended to the earth, +and, after complimenting the commander and officers of the Federation +troops on the splendid effectiveness of their force, and their +admirable discipline and coolness, he gave orders for a two hours' +rest and then a march on the Russian headquarters at Muswell Hill +with every available man. The Tsar and his Staff were to be taken +alive at all hazards; every other Russian who did not wear the +International ribbon was to be shot down without mercy. + +These orders given, the _Ithuriel_ mounted into the air again, and +disappeared in the direction of London. She passed over the now +shattered and silent entrenchments of the Russians at a speed which +made it possible to remain on deck without discomfort or danger, and +at an elevation of two thousand feet. Natas was below in the saloon, +alone with his own thoughts, the thoughts of twenty years of waiting +and working and gradual approach to the hour of vengeance which was +now so near. Andrew Smith was steering in the wheel-house, Lieutenant +Marston was taking his watch below, after being on deck nearly the +whole of the previous night, and Arnold and Natasha, wrapped in their +warm furs, were pacing up and down the deck engaged in conversation +which had not altogether to do with war. + +The sun had risen before the _Ithuriel_ passed over London, and +through the clear, cold air they could see with their field-glasses +signs of carnage and destruction which made Natasha's soul sicken +within her to gaze upon them, and even shook Arnold's now hardened +nerves. All the main thoroughfares leading into London from the north +and south were choked with heaps of dead bodies in Russian, French, +and Italian uniforms, in the midst of which those who still survived +were being forced forward by the pressure of those behind. Every +house that remained standing was spouting flames upon them from its +windows; and where the streets opened into squares and wider streets +there were barricades manned with British and Federation troops, and +from their summits and loopholes the quick-firing guns were raining +an incessant hail of shot and shell upon the struggling masses pent +up in the streets. + +A horrible chorus of the rattle of small arms, the harsh, grinding +roar of the machine guns, the hurrahs of the defenders, and the cries +of rage and agony from the baffled and decimated assailants, rose +unceasingly to their ears as they passed over the last battlefield of +the Western nations, where the Anglo-Saxon, the Russ, and the Gaul +were locked in the death struggle. + +"There is some awful work going on down there," said Arnold, as they +headed away towards the south, where, from behind the Surrey hills, +soon came the sound of some tremendous conflict. "For the present we +must leave them to fight it out. They don't seem to have had such +easy work of it to the south as we have had to the north; but I +didn't expect they would, for they have probably detached a very much +larger force of French and Italians to attack the Army of the South +than the Russian lot we had to deal with." + +"Is all this frightful slaughter really necessary?" asked Natasha, +slipping her arm through his, and looking up at him with eyes which +for the first time were moistened by the tears of pity for her +enemies. + +"Necessary or not," replied Arnold, "it is the Master's orders, and I +have only to obey them. This is the day of vengeance for which he has +waited so long, and you can hardly expect him to show much mercy. It +lies between him and Tremayne. For my part I will stay my hand only +when I am ordered to do so. + +"Still, if any one can influence Natas to mercy, you can. Nothing can +now stop the slaughter on the north, I'm afraid, for the Russians are +caught in a hopeless trap. The Londoners are enraged beyond control, +and if the men spared them I believe the women would tear them to +pieces. But there are two or three millions of lives or so to be +saved at the south, and perhaps there is still time to do it. It +would be a task worthy of the Angel of the Revolution; why should you +not try it?" + +"I will do so," said Natasha, and without another word she turned +away and walked quickly towards the entrance to the saloon. + + + + +CHAPTER XLV. + +ARMAGEDDON. + + +On the southern side of London the struggle between the +Franco-Italian armies and the troops of the Federation had been +raging all night with unabated fury along a curved line extending +from Bexley to Richmond. + +The railways communicating with the ports of the south and east had, +for their own purposes, been left intact by the commanders of the +League; and so sudden and utterly unexpected had been the invasion of +the force from America, and the simultaneous uprising of the British +Section of the Brotherhood, that they had fallen into the hands of +the Federationists almost without a struggle. This had enabled the +invaders and their allies to concentrate themselves rapidly along the +line of action which had been carefully predetermined upon. + +Landing almost simultaneously at Southampton, Portsmouth, Shoreham, +Newhaven, Hastings, Folkestone, Dover, Deal, Ramsgate, and Margate, +they had been joined everywhere by their comrades of the British +Section, whose first action, on receiving the signal from the sky, +had been to seize the railways and shoot down, without warning or +mercy, every soldier of the League who opposed them. + +What had happened at Harwich had at the same time and in the same +fashion happened at Dover and Chatham. The troops in occupation had +been caught and crushed at a blow between overwhelming forces in +front and rear. Added to this, the International was immensely +stronger in France and Italy than in Russia, and therefore the +defections from the ranks of the League had been far greater than +they had been in the north. + +Tens of thousands had donned the red ribbon as the Signal flashed +over their encampments, and when the moment came to repel the assault +of the mysterious grey legions that had sprung from no one knew +where, the bewildered French and Italian officers found their +regiments automatically splitting up into squads of tens and +companies of hundreds, obeying other orders, and joining in the +slaughter of their former comrades with the most perfect _sang +froid_. By daybreak on the 6th the various divisions of the +Federationists were well on their way to the French and Italian +positions to the south of London. The utmost precautions had been +taken to prevent any news reaching headquarters, and these, as has +been seen, were almost entirely successful. + +The three army corps sent southward by General le Gallifet met with a +ruinous disaster long before they came face to face with the enemy. +Ten of the fleet of thirty war-balloons which had been sent to +co-operate with them, had been manned and commanded by men of the +International. They were of the newest type and the swiftest in the +fleet, and their crews were armed with the strangest weapons that had +yet been used in the war. These were bows and arrows, a curious +anachronism amidst the elaborate machinery of destruction evolved by +the science of the twentieth century, but none the less effective on +that account. The arrows, instead of being headed in the usual way, +carried on the end of the shaft two little glass tubes full of +liquid, bound together, and tipped with fulminate. + +When the fleet had been in the air about an hour these ten aerostats +had so distributed themselves that each of them, with a little +manoeuvring, could get within bowshot of two others. They also rose a +little higher than the rest. The flutter of a white handkerchief was +the signal agreed upon, and when this was given by the man in command +of the ten, each of them suddenly put on speed, and ran up close to +her nearest neighbour. A flight of arrows was discharged at the +gas-holder, and then she headed away for the next nearest, and +discharged a flight at her. + +Considering the apparent insignificance of the means employed, the +effects were absolutely miraculous. The explosion of the fulminate on +striking either the hard cordage of the net or one of the steel ribs +used to give the gas-holder rigidity, broke the two tubes full of +liquid. Then came another far more violent explosion, which tore +great rents in the envelope. The imprisoned gas rushed out in +torrents, and the crippled balloons began to sink, at first slowly, +and then more and more rapidly, till the cars, weighted with crews, +machinery, and explosives, struck the earth with a crash, and +exploded, like so many huge shells, amidst the dense columns of the +advancing army corps. In fifteen minutes each of the ten captured +aerostats had sent two others to the earth, and then, completely +masters of the position, those in charge of them began their assault +on the helpless masses below them. This was kept up until the +Federation troops appeared. Then they retired to the rear of the +French and Italian columns, and devoted themselves to burning their +stores and blowing up their ammunition trains with fire-shell. + +Assailed thus in front and rear, and demoralised by the defection of +the thousands who, as soon as the battle became general, showed the +red ribbon and echoed the fierce battle-cry of the Federation, the +splendid force sent out by General le Gallifet was practically +annihilated by midnight, and by daybreak the Federationists, after +fifteen hours of almost continuous fighting, had stormed all the +outer positions held by the French and Italians to the south of +London, the batteries of which had already been destroyed by the +air-ships. + +Thus, when the _Ithuriel_ passed over London on the morning of the +7th the position of affairs was as follows: The two armies which had +been detached by the Tsar and General le Gallifet to stop the advance +of the Federationists had been destroyed almost to a man. Of the two +fleets of war-balloons there remained twenty-two aerostats in the +hands of the Terrorists, while the twenty-five sent by the Tsar +against the air-ships had retired at nightfall to the depot at +Muswell Hill to replenish their stock of fuel and explosives. Their +ammunition-tenders, slow and unwieldy machines, adapted only for +carrying large cargoes of shells, had been rammed and destroyed with +ease by the air-ships during the running, or rather flying, fight of +the previous afternoon. + +At sunset on the 6th the whole available forces of the League which +could be spared from the defence of the positions, numbering more +than three million men, had descended to the assault on London at +nearly fifty different points. + +No human words could convey any adequate conception of that night of +carnage and terror. The assailants were allowed to advance far into +the mighty maze of streets and byways with so little resistance, that +they began to think that the great city would fall an easy prey to +them after all. But as they approached the main arteries of central +London they came suddenly upon barricades so skilfully disposed that +it was impossible to advance without storming them, and from which, +as they approached them, burst out tempests of rifle and machine +gunfire, under which the heads of their columns melted away faster +than they advanced. + +Light, quick-firing guns, posted on the roofs of lofty buildings, +rained death and mutilation upon them. The air-ships, flying hither +and thither a few hundred feet above the house-tops, like spirits of +destruction, sent their shells into their crowded masses and wrought +the most awful havoc of all with their frightful explosives, blowing +hundreds of men to indistinguishable fragments at every shot, while +from the windows of every house that was not in ruins came a +ceaseless hail of missiles from every kind of firearm, from a +magazine rifle to a shot-gun. + +When morning came the Great Eastern Railway and the Thames had been +cleared and opened, and the hearts of the starving citizens were +gladdened by the welcome spectacle of train after train pouring in +laden with provisions from Harwich, and of a fleet of steamers, +flying the Federation flag, which filled the Thames below London +Bridge, and was rapidly discharging its cargoes of food at the +wharves and into lighters. + +As fast as the food could be unloaded it was distributed first to the +troops manning the barricades, and then to the markets and shops, +whence it was supplied free in the poorer districts, and at the usual +prices in the richer ones. All that day London feasted and made +merry, for now the Thames was open there seemed to be no end to the +food that was being poured into the city which twelve hours before +had eaten its last scanty provisions. As soon as one vessel was +discharged another took its place, and opened its hold filled with +the necessaries and some of the luxuries of life. + +The frightful butcheries at the barricades had stopped for the time +being from sheer exhaustion on both sides. One cannot fight without +food, and the defenders were half-starved when they began. Rage and +the longing for revenge had lent them strength for the moment, but +twelve hours of incessant street fighting, the most wearing of all +forms of battle, had exhausted them, and they were heartily glad of +the tacit truce which gave them time to eat and drink. + +As for the assailants, as soon as they saw conclusive proof that the +blockade had been broken and the city victualled, they found +themselves deserted by the ally on whose aid they had most counted. +While the grip of famine remained on London they knew that its fall +was only a matter of time; but now--if food could get in so could +reinforcements, and they had not the remotest idea as to the number +of the mysterious forces which had so suddenly sprung into existence +outside their own lines. + +Added to this their losses during the night had been something +appalling. The streets were choked with their dead, and the houses +into which they had retired were filled with their wounded. So they, +too, were glad of a rest, and many spoke openly of returning to their +lines and abandoning the assault. If they did so it might be possible +to fight their way to the coast, and escape out of this huge +death-trap into which they had fallen on the very eve of their +confidently-anticipated victory. + +So, during the whole of the 7th there was little or no hard fighting +in London, but to the north and south the grey legions of the +Federation fought their way mile by mile over the field of +Armageddon, gradually driving in the two halves of the Russian and +the Franco-Italian armies which had been faced about to oppose their +progress while the other halves were making their assault on London. + +As soon as news reached the Tsar that the blockade of the river had +been broken, he had ordered twelve of his remaining war-balloons to +destroy the ships that were swarming below London Bridge. Their fuel +and cargoes of explosives had been renewed, and they rose into the +air to execute the Autocrat's command just as Natasha had taken leave +of Arnold on her errand of mercy. He fathomed their design at once, +swung the _Ithuriel_ rapidly round to the northward, and said to his +lieutenant, who had just come on deck-- + +"Mr. Marston, those fellows mean mischief. Put a three-minute time +fuze on a couple of No. 3 fire-shell, and load the bow guns." + +The order was at once executed. He trained one of the guns himself, +giving it an elevation sufficient to throw the shell over the rising +balloons. As the sixtieth second of the first minute passed, he +released the projectile. It soared away through the air, and burst +with a terrific explosion about fifty feet over the ascending +aerostats. + +The rain of fire spread out far and wide, and showered down upon the +gas-holders. Then came a concussion that shook the air like a +thunder-clap as the escaping gas mixed with the air, took fire, and +exploded. Seven of the twelve aerostats instantly collapsed and +plunged back again to the earth, spending the collective force of +their explosives on the slopes of Muswell Hill. Meanwhile the second +gun had been loaded and fired with the same effect on the remaining +five. + +Arnold then ran the _Ithuriel_ up to within a mile of Muswell Hill, +and found the remaining thirteen war-balloons in the act of making +off to the northward. + +"Two more time-shells, quick!" he cried. "They are off to take part +in the battle to the north, and must be stopped at once. Look lively, +or they'll see us and rise out of range!" + +Almost before the words were out of his mouth one of the guns was +ready. A moment later the messenger of destruction was speeding on +its way, and they saw it explode fairly in the midst of the squadron. +The second followed before the glare of the first explosion had +passed, and this was the last shot fired in the aërial warfare +between the air-ships and the war-balloons. + +[Illustration: "The rain of fire spread out far and wide." + +_See page 344._] + +The effects of these two shots were most extraordinary. The +accurately-timed shells burst, not over, but amidst the aerostats, +enveloping their cars in a momentary mist of fire. The intense heat +evolved must have suffocated their crews instantaneously. Even if it +had not done so their fate would have been scarcely less sudden or +terrible, for the fire falling in the cars exploded their own shells +even before it burst their gas-envelopes. With a roar and a shock as +though heaven and earth were coming together, a vast dazzling mass of +flame blazed out, darkening the daylight by contrast, and when it +vanished again there was not a fragment of the thirteen aerostats to +be seen. + +"So ends the Tsar's brief empire of the air!" said Arnold, as the +smoke of the explosion drifted away. "And twenty-four hours more +should see the end of his earthly Empire as well." + +"I hope so," said Natasha's voice at his elbow. "This awful +destruction is sickening me. I knew war was horrible, but this is +more like the work of fiends than of men. There is something +monstrous, something superhumanly impious, in blasting your +fellow-creatures with irresistible lightnings like this, as though +you were a god instead of a man. Will you not be glad when it is +over, Richard?" + +"Glad beyond all expression," replied her lover, the angry light of +battle instantly dying out of his eyes as he looked upon her sweetly +pitiful face. "But tell me, what success has my angel of mercy had in +pleading for the lives of her enemies?" he continued, slipping his +arm through hers, and leading her aft. + +"I don't know yet, but my father told me to ask you to go to him as +soon as you could leave the deck. Go now, and, Richard, remember what +I said to you when you offered me the empire of the world as we were +going to Aeria. No one has such influence with the Master as you +have, for you have given him the victory and delivered his enemies +into his hands. For my sake, and for Humanity's, let your voice be +for mercy and peace--surely we have shed blood enough now!" + +"It shall, angel mine! For your sweet sake I would spare even +Alexander Romanoff himself and all his Staff." + +"You will never be asked to do that," said Natasha quietly, as Arnold +disappeared down the companion-way. + +It was nearly an hour before he came on deck again, and by this time +the _Ithuriel_, constantly moving to and fro over London, so that any +change in the course of events could be at once reported to Natas, +had shifted her position to the southward, and was hanging in the air +over Sydenham Hill, the headquarters of General le Gallifet, whence +could be plainly heard the roar of the tide of battle as it rolled +ever northward over the hills of Surrey. + +An air-ship came speeding up from the southward as he reached the +deck. He signalled to it to come alongside. It proved to be the +_Mercury_ taking a message from Tremayne, who was personally +commanding the Army of the South in the _Ariel_, to the air-ships +operating with the Army of the North. + +"What is the message?" asked Arnold. + +"To engage and destroy the remaining Russian war-balloons, and then +come south at once," replied the captain of the _Mercury_. "I am +sorry to say both the _Lucifer_ and the _Azrael_ have been disabled +by chance shots striking their propellers. The _Lucifer_ was so badly +injured that she fell to the earth, and blew up with a perfectly +awful explosion; but the _Azrael_ can still use her fan-wheels and +stern propeller, though her air-planes are badly broken and twisted." + +Arnold frowned at the bad news, but took no further notice of it +beyond saying-- + +"That is unfortunate; but, I suppose, some casualties were inevitable +under the circumstances." Then he added: "I have already destroyed +all that were left of the Tsar's war-balloons, but you can take the +other part of the message. Where is the _Ariel_ to be found?" + +The captain of the _Mercury_ gave him the necessary directions, and +the two air-ships parted. Within an hour a council of war, consisting +of Natas, Arnold, and Tremayne, was being held in the saloon of the +_Ithuriel_, on the issue of which the lives of more than two millions +of men depended. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI. + +VICTORY. + + +It was a little after three o'clock in the afternoon when Natas, +Tremayne, and Arnold ended their deliberations in the saloon of the +_Ithuriel_. At the same hour a council of war was being held by +Generals le Gallifet and Cosensz at the Crystal Palace Hotel, +Sydenham, where the two commanders had taken up their quarters. + +Since daybreak matters had assumed a very serious, if not desperate +aspect for the troops of the League to the south of London. +Communication had entirely ceased with the Tsar since the night +before, and this could only mean that his Majesty had lost the +command of the air, through the destruction or disablement of his +fleet of aerostats. News from the force which had descended upon +London told only of a fearful expenditure of life that had not +purchased the slightest advantage. + +The blockade had been broken on the east, and, therefore, all hope of +reducing the city by famine was at an end. Their own war-balloons had +been either captured or destroyed, thousands of their men had +deserted to the enemy, and multitudes more had been slain. Every +position was dominated by the captured aerostats and the air-ships of +the Terrorists. Even the building in which the council was being held +might be shattered to fragments at any moment by a discharge of their +irresistible artillery. + +Finally, it was practically certain that within the next few hours +their headquarters must be surrounded, and then their only choice +would lie between unconditional surrender and swift and inevitable +destruction by an aërial bombardment. Manifestly the time had come to +make terms if possible, and purchase their own safety and that of +their remaining troops. Both the generals and every member of their +respective staffs saw clearly that victory was now a physical +impossibility, and so the immediate issue of the council was that +orders were given to hoist the white flag over the tricolour and the +Italian standard on the summits of the two towers of the Crystal +Palace, and on the flagstaffs over the headquarters. + +These were at once seen by a squadron of air-ships coming from the +north in obedience to Tremayne's summons, and within half an hour the +same squadron was seen returning from the south headed by the +flagship, also flying, to the satisfaction of the two generals, the +signal of truce. The air-ships stopped over Sydenham and ranged +themselves in a circle with their guns pointing down upon the +headquarters, and the _Ariel_, with Tremayne on board, descended to +within twenty feet of the ground in front of the hotel. + +As she did so an officer wearing the uniform of a French General of +Division came forward, saluted, and said that he had a message for +the Commander-in-Chief of the Federation forces. Tremayne returned +the salute, and said briefly-- + +"I am here. What is the message?" + +"I am commissioned by General Gallifet, Commander-in-Chief of the +Southern Division, to request on his behalf the honour of an +audience. He awaits you with General Cosensz in the hotel," replied +the Frenchman, gazing in undisguised admiration at the wonderful +craft which he now for the first time saw at close quarters. + +"With pleasure. I will be with you in a moment," said Tremayne, and +as he spoke the _Ariel_ settled gently down to the earth, and the +gangway steps dropped from her bow. + +As he entered the room in which the two generals were awaiting him, +surrounded by their brilliantly-uniformed staffs, he presented a +strange contrast to the men whose lives he held in the hollow of his +hand. He was dressed in a dark tweed suit, with Norfolk jacket and +knickerbockers, met by long shooting boots, just as though he was +fresh from the moors, instead of from the battlefield on which the +fate of the world was being decided. General le Gallifet advanced to +meet him with a puzzled look of half-recognition on his face, which +was at once banished by Tremayne holding out his hand without the +slightest ceremony, and saying-- + +"Ah, I see you recognise me, General!" + +"I do, my Lord Alanmere, and, you will permit me to add, with the +most profound astonishment," replied the General, taking the +proffered hand with a hearty grasp. "May I venture to hope that with +an old acquaintance our negotiations may prove all the easier?" + +Tremayne bowed and said-- + +"Rest assured, General, that they shall be as easy as my instructions +will permit me to make them." + +"Your instructions! But I thought"-- + +"That I was in supreme command. So I am in a sense, but I am the +lieutenant of Natas for all that, and in a case like this his word is +law. But come, what terms do you propose?" + +"That truce shall be proclaimed for twenty-four hours; that the +commanders of the forces of the League shall meet this mysterious +Natas, yourself, and the King of England, and arrange terms by which +the armies of France, Russia, and Italy shall be permitted to +evacuate the country with the honours of war." + +"Then, General, I may as well tell you at once that those terms are +impossible," replied the Chief of the Federation quietly, but with a +note of inflexible determination in his voice. "In the first place, +'the honours of war' is a phrase which already belongs to the past. +We see no honour in war, and if we can have our way this shall be the +last war that shall ever be waged on earth. + +"Indeed, I may tell you that we began this war as one of absolute +extermination. Had it not been for the intercession of Natasha, the +daughter of Natas, you would not even have been given the opportunity +of making terms of peace, or even of unconditional surrender. Our +orders were simply to slay, and spare not, as long as a man remained +in arms on British soil. You are, of course, aware that we have taken +no prisoners"-- + +"But, my lord, this is not war, it is murder on the most colossal +scale!" exclaimed the General, utterly unable to control the +agitation that these terrible words evoked, not only in his own +breast, but in that of every man who heard them. + +"To us war and murder are synonymous terms, differing only as +wholesale and retail," replied Tremayne drily; "for the mere names we +care nothing. This world-war is none of our seeking; but if war can +be cured by nothing but war, then we will wage it to the point of +extermination. Now here are my terms. All the troops of the League on +this side of the river Thames, on laying down their arms, shall be +permitted to return to their homes, not as soldiers, but as peaceful +citizens of the world, to go about their natural business as men who +have sworn never to draw the sword again save in defence of their own +homes." + +"And his Majesty the Tsar?" + +"You cannot make terms for the Tsar, General, and let me beg of you +not to attempt to do so. No power under heaven can save him and his +advisers from the fate that awaits them." + +"And if we refuse your terms, the alternative is what?" + +"Annihilation to the last man!" + +A dead silence followed these fearful words so calmly and yet so +inflexibly spoken. General le Gallifet and the Italian +Commander-in-Chief looked at one another and at the officers standing +about them. A murmur of horror and indignation passed from lip to +lip. Then Tremayne spoke again quickly but impressively-- + +"Gentlemen, don't think that I am saying what I cannot do. We are +inflexibly determined to stamp the curse of war out here and now, if +it cost millions of lives to do so. Your forces are surrounded, your +aerostats are captured or destroyed. It is no use mincing matters at +a moment like this. It is life or death with you. If you do not +believe me, General le Gallifet, come with me and take a flight round +London in my air-ship yonder, and your own eyes shall see how +hopeless all further struggle is. I pledge my word of honour as an +English gentleman that you shall return in safety. Will you come?" + +"I will," said the French commander. "Gentlemen, you will await my +return"; and with a bow to his companions, he followed the Chief out +of the room, and embarked on the air-ship without further ado. + +[Illustration: "Do you understand now why you could not make terms +for Russia?" + +_See page 351._] + +The _Ariel_ at once rose into the air. Tremayne reported to Natas +what had been done, and then took the General into the deck saloon, +and gave orders to proceed at full speed to Richmond, which was +reached in what seemed to the Frenchman an inconceivably short space +of time. Then the _Ariel_ swung round to the eastward, and at half +speed traversed the whole line of battle over hill and vale, at an +elevation of eight hundred feet, from Richmond to Shooter's Hill. + +What General le Gallifet saw more than convinced him that Tremayne +had spoken without exaggeration when he said that annihilation was +the only alternative to evacuation on his terms. The grey legions of +the League seemed innumerable. Their long lines lapped round the +broken squadrons of the League, mowing them down with incessant +hailstorms of magazine fire, and overhead the air-ships and aerostats +were hurling shells on them which made great dark gaps in their +formations wherever they attempted anything like order. Every +position of importance was either occupied or surrounded by the +Federationists. There was no way open save towards London, and that +way, as the General knew only too well, lay destruction. + +To the east of Shooter's Hill the air-ship swerved round to the +northward. The Thames was alive with steamers flying the red flag, +and carrying food and men into London. To the north of the river the +battle had completely ceased as far as Muswell Hill. + +There the Black Eagle of Russia still floated from the roof of the +Palace, and a furious battle was raging round the slopes of the hill. +But the Russians were already surrounded, and manifestly outnumbered +five to one, while six aerostats were circling to and fro, doing +their work of death upon them with fearful effectiveness. + +"You see, General, that the aerostats do not destroy the Palace and +bury the Tsar in its ruins, nor do I stop and do the same, as I could +do in a few minutes. Do you understand now why you could not make +terms for Russia?" + +"What your designs are Heaven and yourselves only know," replied the +General, with quivering lips. "But I see that all is hopelessly lost. +For God's sake let this carnage stop! It is not war, it is butchery, +and we have deserved this retribution for employing those infernal +contrivances in the first place. I always said it was not fair +fighting. It is murder to drop death on defenceless men from the +clouds. We will accept your terms. Let us get back to the south and +save the lives of what remain of our brave fellows. If this is +scientific warfare, I, for one, will fight no more!" + +"Well spoken, General!" said Tremayne, laying his hand upon his +shoulder. "Those words of yours have saved two millions of human +lives, and by this time to-morrow war will have ceased, I hope for +ever, among the nations of the West." + +The _Ariel_ now swerved southward again, crossed London at full +speed, and within half an hour General le Gallifet was once more +standing in front of the Crystal Palace Hotel. As it was now getting +dusk the searchlights of the air-ships were turned on, and they swept +along the southern line of battle flashing the signal, "Victory! +Cease firing!" to the triumphant hosts of the Federation, while at +the same time the French and Italian commanders set the field +telegraph to work and despatched messengers into London with the news +of the terms of peace. By nightfall all fighting south of the Thames +had ceased, and victors and vanquished were fraternising as though +they had never struck a blow at each other, for war is a matter of +diplomacy and Court intrigue, and not of personal animosity. The +peoples of the world would be good enough friends if their rulers and +politicians would let them. + +Meanwhile the battle raged with unabated fury round the headquarters +of the Tsar. Here despotism was making its last stand, and making it +bravely, in spite of the tremendous odds against it. But as twilight +deepened into night the numbers of the assailants of the last of the +Russian positions seemed to multiply miraculously. + +A never-ceasing flood of grey-clad soldiery surged up from the south, +overflowed the barricades to the north, and swept the last of the +Russians out of the streets like so much chaff. All the hundred +streams converged upon Muswell Hill, and joined the ranks of the +attacking force, and so the night fell upon the last struggle of the +world-war. Even the Tsar himself now saw that the gigantic game was +virtually over, and that the stake of world-empire had been played +for--and lost. + +[Illustration: "A vision which no one who saw it forgot to the day of +his death." + +_See page 353._] + +A powerful field searchlight had been fixed on the roof of the +Palace, and, as it flashed hither and thither round the area of the +battle, he saw fresh hosts of the British and Federation soldiers +pouring in upon the scene of action, while his own men were being +mown down by thousands under the concentrated fire of millions of +rifles, and his regiments torn to fragments by the incessant storm of +explosives from the sky. + +Hour after hour the savage fight went on, and the grey and red lines +fought their way up and up the slopes, drawing the ring of flame and +steel closer and closer round the summit of the hill on which the +Autocrat of the North stood waiting for the hour of his fate to +strike. + +The last line of the defenders of the position was reached at length. +For an hour it held firm in spite of the fearful odds. Then it +wavered and bent, and swayed to and fro in a last agony of +desperation. The encircling lines seemed to surge backwards for a +space. Then came a wild chorus of hurrahs, a swift forward rush of +levelled bayonets, the clash of steel upon steel--and then butchery, +vengeful and pitiless. + +The red tide of slaughter surged up to the very walls of the Palace. +Only a few yards separated the foremost ranks of the victorious +assailants from the little group of officers, in the midst of which +towered the majestic figure of the White Tsar--an emperor without an +empire, a leader without an army. He strode forward towards the line +of bayonets fringing the crest of the hill, drew his sword, snapped +the blade as a man would break a dry stick, and threw the two pieces +to the ground, saying in English as he did so-- + +"It is enough, I surrender!" + +Then he turned on his heel, and with bowed head walked back again to +his Staff. + +Almost at the same moment a blaze of white light appeared in the sky, +a hundred feet above the heads of the vast throng that encircled the +Palace. Millions of eyes were turned up at once, and beheld a vision +which no one who saw it forgot to the day of his death. + +The ten air-ships of the Terrorist fleet were ranged in two curves on +either side of the _Ithuriel_, which floated about twenty feet below +them, her silvery hull bathed in a flood of light from their electric +lamps. In her bow, robed in glistening white fur, stood Natasha, +transfigured in the full blaze of the concentrated searchlights. A +silence of wonder and expectation fell upon the millions at her feet, +and in the midst of it she began to sing the Hymn of Freedom. It was +like the voice of an angel singing in the night of peace after +strife. + +Men of every nation in Europe listened to her entranced, as she +changed from language to language; and when at last the triumphant +strains of the Song of the Revolution came floating down from her +lips through the still night air, an irresistible impulse ran through +the listening millions, and with one accord they took up the refrain +in all the languages of Europe, and a mighty flood of exultant song +rolled up in wave after wave from earth to heaven,--a song at once of +victory and thanksgiving, for the last battle of the world-war had +been lost and won, and the valour and genius of Anglo-Saxondom had +triumphed over the last of the despotisms of Europe. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII. + +THE JUDGMENT OF NATAS. + + +The myriad-voiced chorus of the Song of the Revolution ended in a +mighty shout of jubilant hurrahs, in the midst of which the _Ariel_ +dropped lightly to the earth, and Tremayne, dressed now in the grey +uniform of the Federation, with a small red rosette on the left +breast of his tunic, descended from her deck to the ground with a +drawn sword in his hand. + +He was at once recognised by several of the leaders, and as the +words, "The Chief, the Chief," ran from lip to lip, those in the +front ranks brought their rifles to the present, while the captains +saluted with their swords. The British regulars and volunteers +followed suit as if by instinct, and the chorus of cheers broke out +again. Tremayne acknowledged the salute, and raised his hand to +command silence. A hush at once fell upon the assembled multitude, +and in the deep silence of anticipation which followed, he said in +clear, ringing tones-- + +"Soldiers of the Federation and the Empire! that which I hope will be +the last battle of the Western nations has been fought and won. The +Anglo-Saxon race has rallied to the defence of its motherland, and in +the blood of its invaders has wiped out the stain of conquest. It has +met the conquerors of Europe in arms, and on the field of battle it +has vindicated its right to the empire of the world. + +"Henceforth the destinies of the human race are in its keeping, and +it will worthily discharge the responsibility. It may yet be +necessary for you to fight other battles with other races; but the +victory that has attended you here will wait upon your arms +elsewhere, and then the curse and the shame of war will be removed +from the earth, let us hope for ever. European despotism has fought +its last battle and lost, and those who have appealed to the sword +shall be judged by the sword." + +As he said this, he pointed with his weapon towards the Tsar and his +Staff, and continued, with an added sternness in his voice-- + +"In the Master's name, take those men prisoners! Their fate will be +decided to-morrow. Forward a company of the First Division; your +lives will answer for theirs!" + +As the Chief ended his brief address to the victorious troops ten +men, armed with revolver and sword, stepped forward, each followed by +ten others armed with rifle and fixed bayonet, and immediately formed +in a hollow square round the Tsar and his Staff. This summary +proceeding proved too much for the outraged dignity of the fallen +Autocrat, and he stepped forward and cried out passionately-- + +"What is this? Is not my surrender enough? Have we not fought with +civilised enemies, that we are to be treated like felons in the hour +of defeat?" + +Tremayne raised his sword and cried sharply, "To the ready!" and +instantly the prisoners were encircled by a hedge of levelled +bayonets and rifle-barrels charged with death. Then he went on, in +stern commanding tones-- + +"Silence there! We do not recognise what you call the usages of +civilised warfare. You are criminals against humanity, assassins by +wholesale, and as such you shall be treated." + +There was nothing for it but to submit to the indignity, and within a +few minutes the Tsar and those who with him had essayed the +enslavement of the world were lodged in separate rooms in the +building under a strong guard to await the fateful issue of the +morrow. + +The rest of the night was occupied in digging huge trenches for the +burial of the almost innumerable dead, a task which, gigantic as it +was, was made light by the work of hundreds of thousands of willing +hands. Those of the invaders who had fallen in London itself were +taken down the Thames on the ebb tide in fleets of lighters, towed by +steamers, and were buried at sea. Happily it was midwinter, and the +temperature remained some degrees below freezing point, and so the +great city was saved from what in summer would infallibly have +brought pestilence in the track of war. + +At twelve o'clock on the following day the vast interior of St. +Paul's Cathedral was thronged with the anxious spectators of the last +scene in the tremendous tragedy which had commenced with the +destruction of Kronstadt by the _Ariel_, and which had culminated in +the triumph of Anglo-Saxondom over the leagued despotism and +militarism of Europe. + +At a long table draped with red cloth, and placed under the dome in +front of the chancel steps, sat Natas, with Tremayne and Natasha on +his right hand, and Arnold and Alexis Mazanoff on his left. Radna, +Anna Ornovski, and the other members of the Inner Circle of the +Terrorists, including the President, Nicholas Roburoff, who had been +pardoned and restored to his office at the intercession of Natasha, +occupied the other seats, and behind them stood a throng of the +leaders of the Federation forces. + +Neither the King of England nor any of his Ministers or military +officers were present, as they had no voice in the proceedings which +were about to take place. It had been decided, at a consultation with +them earlier in the day, that it would be better that they should be +absent. + +That which was to be done was unparalleled in the history of the +world, and outside the recognised laws of nations; and so their +prejudices were respected, and they were spared what they might have +looked upon as an outrage on international policy, and the ancient +but mistaken traditions of so-called civilised warfare. + +In front of the table two double lines of Federation soldiers, with +rifles and fixed bayonets, kept a broad clear passage down to the +western doors of the Cathedral. The murmur of thousands of voices +suddenly hushed as the Cathedral clock struck the first stroke of +twelve. It was the knell of an empire and a despotism. At the last +stroke Natas raised his hand and said-- + +"Bring up the prisoners!" + +There was a quick rustling sound, mingled with the clink of steel, as +the two grey lines stiffened up to attention. Twelve commanders of +divisions marched with drawn swords down to the end of the nave, a +few rapid orders were given, and then they returned heading two +double files of Federation guards, between which, handcuffed like +common felons, walked the once mighty Tsar and the ministers of his +now departed tyranny. + +The footsteps of the soldiers and their captives rang clearly upon +the stones in the ominous breathless silence which greeted their +appearance. The fallen Autocrat and his servants walked with downcast +heads, like men in a dream, for to them it was a dream, this sudden +and incomprehensible catastrophe which had overwhelmed them in the +very hour of victory and on the threshold of the conquest of the +world. Three days ago they had believed themselves conquerors, with +the world at their feet; now they were being marched, guarded and in +shackles, to a tribunal which acknowledged no law but its own, and +from whose decision there was no appeal. Truly it was a dream, such a +dream of disaster and calamity as no earthly despot had ever dreamt +before. + +Four paces from the table they were halted, the Tsar in the centre, +facing his unknown judge, and his servants on either side of him. He +recognised Natasha, Anna Ornovski, Arnold, and Tremayne, but the +recognition only added to his bewilderment. + +There was a slight flush on the face of Natas, and an angry gleam in +his dark magnetic eyes, as he watched his captives approach; but when +he spoke his tones were calm and passionless, the tones of the +conqueror and the judge, rather than of the deeply injured man and a +personal enemy. As the prisoners were halted in front of the table, +and the rifle-butts of the guards rang sharply on the stone pavement, +so deep a hush fell upon the vast throng in the Cathedral, that men +seemed to hold their breath rather than break it until the Master of +the Terror began to speak. + +"Alexander Romanoff, late Tsar of the Russias, and now prisoner of +the Executive of the Brotherhood of Freedom, otherwise known to you +as the Terrorists--you have been brought here with your advisers and +the ministers of your tyranny that your crimes may be recounted in +the presence of this congregation, and to receive sentence of such +punishment as it is possible for human justice to mete out to you"-- + +[Illustration: "Two bayonets crossed in front of him with a sharp +clash." + +_See page 359._] + +"I deny both your justice and your right to judge. It is you who are +the criminals, conspirators, and enemies of Society. I am a crowned +King, and above all earthly laws"-- + +Before he could say any more two bayonets crossed in front of him +with a sharp clash, and he was instantly thrust back into his place. + +"Silence!" said Natas, in a tone of such stern command that even he +instinctively obeyed. "As for our justice, let that be decided +between you and me when we stand before a more awful tribunal than +this. My right to judge even a crowned king who has no longer a +crown, rests, as your own authority and that of all earthly rulers +has ever done, upon the power to enforce my sentence, and I can and +will enforce it upon you, you heir of a usurping murderess, whose +throne was founded in blood and supported by the bayonets of her +hired assassins. You have appealed to the arbitration of battle, and +it has decided against you; you must therefore abide by its decision. + +"You have waged a war of merciless conquest at the bidding of +insatiable ambition. You have posed as the peace-keeper of Europe +until the train of war was laid, as you and your allies thought, in +secret, and then you let loose the forces of havoc upon your +fellow-men without ruth or scruple. Your path of victory has been +traced in blood and flames from one end of Europe to the other; you +have sacrificed the lives of millions, and the happiness of millions +more, to a dream of world-wide empire, which, if realised, would have +been a universal despotism. + +"The blood of the uncounted slain cries out from earth to heaven +against you for vengeance. The days are past when those who made war +upon their kind could claim the indulgence of their conquerors. You +have been conquered by those who hold that the crime of aggressive +war cannot be atoned for by the transfer of territory or the payment +of money. + +"If this were your only crime we would have blood for blood, and life +for life, as far as yours could pay the penalty. But there is more +than this to be laid to our charge, and the swift and easy punishment +of death would be too light an atonement for Justice to accept. + +"Since you ascended your throne you have been as the visible shape of +God in the eyes of a hundred million subjects. Your hands have held +the power of life and death, of freedom and slavery, of happiness and +misery. How have you used it, you who have arrogated to yourself the +attributes of a vicegerent of God on earth? As the power is, so too +is the responsibility, and it will not avail you now to shelter +yourself from it behind the false traditions of diplomacy and +statecraft. + +"Your subjects have starved, while you and yours have feasted. You +have lavished millions in vain display upon your palaces, while they +have died in their hovels for lack of bread; and when men have asked +you for freedom and justice, you have given them the knout, the +chain, and the prison. + +"You have parted the wife from her husband"-- + +Here for the moment the voice of Natas trembled with irrepressible +passion, which, before he could proceed, broke from his heaving +breast in a deep sob that thrilled the vast assembly like an electric +shock, and made men clench their hands and grit their teeth, and +wrung an answering sob from the breast of many a woman who knew but +too well the meaning of those simple yet terrible words. Then Natas +recovered his outward composure and went on; but now there was an +angrier gleam in his eyes, and a fiercer ring in his voice. + +"You have parted the wife from her husband, the maid from her lover, +the child from its parents. You have made desolate countless homes +that once were happy, and broken hearts that had no thought of evil +towards you--and you have done all this, and more, to maintain as +vile a despotism as ever insulted the justice of man, or mocked at +the mercy of God. + +"In the inscrutable workings of Eternal Justice it has come to pass +that your sentence shall be uttered by the lips of one of your +victims. For no offence known to the laws of earth or Heaven my flesh +has been galled by your chains and torn by your whips. I have toiled +to win your ill-gotten wealth in your mines, and by the hands of your +brutal servants the iron has entered into my soul. Yet I am but one +of thousands whose undeserved agony cries out against you in this +hour of judgment. + +"Can you give us back what you have taken from us--the years of life +and health and happiness, our wives and our children, our lovers and +our kindred? You have ravished, but you cannot restore. You have +smitten, but you cannot heal. You have killed, but you cannot make +alive again. If you had ten thousand lives they could not atone, +though each were dragged out to the bitter end in the misery that you +have meted out to others. + +"But so far as you and yours can pay the debt it shall be paid to the +uttermost farthing. Every pang that you have inflicted you shall +endure. You shall drag your chains over Siberian snows, and when you +faint by the wayside the lash shall revive you, as in the hands of +your brutal Cossacks it has goaded on your fainting victims. You +shall sweat in the mine and shiver in the cell, and your wives and +your children shall look upon your misery and be helpless to help +you, even as have been the fond ones who have followed your victims +to exile and death. + +"They have seen your crimes without protest, and shared in your +wantonness. They have toyed with the gold and jewels which they knew +were bought with the price of misery and death, and so it is just +that they should see your sufferings and share in your doom. + +"To the mines for life! And when the last summons comes to you and +me, may Eternal Justice judge between us, and in its equal scales +weigh your crimes against your punishment! Begone! for you have +looked your last on freedom. You are no longer men; you are outcasts +from the pale of the brotherhood of the humanity you have outraged! + +"Alexis Mazanoff, you will hold yourself responsible for the lives of +the prisoners, and the execution of their sentence. You will see them +in safe keeping for the present, and on the thirtieth day from now +you will set out for Siberia." + +The sentence of Natas, the most terrible one which human lips could +have uttered under the circumstances, was received with a breathless +silence of awe and horror. Then Mazanoff rose from his seat, drew his +sword, and saluted. As he passed round the end of the table the +guards closed up round the prisoners, who were staring about them in +stupefied bewilderment at the incredible horror of the fate which in +a moment had hurled them from the highest pinnacle of earthly power +and splendour down to the degradation and misery of the most wretched +of their own Siberian convicts. No time was given for protest or +appeal, for Mazanoff instantly gave the word "Forward!" and, +surrounded by a hedge of bayonets, the doomed men were marched +rapidly down between the two grey lines. + +As they reached the bottom of the nave the great central doors swung +open, and through them came a mighty roar of execration from the +multitude outside as they appeared on the top of the Cathedral steps. + +From St. Paul's Churchyard, down through Ludgate Hill and up the Old +Bailey to the black frowning walls of Newgate, they were led through +triple lines of Federation soldiers amidst a storm of angry cries +from the crowd on either side,--cries which changed to a wild +outburst of savage, pitiless exultation as the news of their dreadful +sentence spread rapidly from lip to lip. They had shed blood like +water, and had known no pity in the hour of their brief triumph, and +so none was shown for them in the hour of their fall and retribution. + +The hour following their disappearance from the Cathedral was spent +in a brief and simple service of thanksgiving for the victory which +had wiped the stain of foreign invasion from the soil of Britain in +the blood of the invader, and given the control of the destinies of +the Western world finally into the hands of the dominant race of +earth. + +The service began with a short but eloquent address from Natas, in +which he pointed out the consequences of the victory and the +tremendous responsibilities to the generations of men in the present +and the future which it entailed upon the victors. He concluded with +the following words-- + +"My own part in this world-revolution is played out. For more than +twenty years I have lived solely for the attainment of one object, +the removal of the blot of Russian tyranny upon European +civilisation, and the necessary punishment of those who were guilty +of the unspeakable crime of maintaining it at such a fearful expense +of human life and suffering. + +"That object has now been accomplished; the soldiers of freedom have +met the hirelings of despotism on the field of the world's +Armageddon, and the God of Battles has decided between them. Our +motives may have been mistaken by those who only saw the bare outward +appearance without knowing their inward intention, and our ends have +naturally been misjudged by those who fancied that their +accomplishment meant their own ruin. + +"Yet, as the events have proved, and will prove in the ages to come, +we have been but as intelligent instruments in the hands of that +eternal wisdom and justice which, though it may seem to sleep for a +season, and permit the evildoer to pursue his wickedness for a space, +never closes the eye of watchfulness or sheathes the sword of +judgment. The empire of the earth has been given into the hands of +the Anglo-Saxon race, and therefore it is fitting that the supreme +control of affairs should rest in the hands of one of Anglo-Saxon +blood and lineage. + +"For that reason I now surrender the power which I have so far +exercised as the Master of the Brotherhood of Freedom into the hands +of Alan Tremayne, known in Britain as Earl of Alanmere and Baron +Tremayne, and from this moment the Brotherhood of Freedom ceases to +exist as such, for its ends are attained, and the objects for which +it was founded have been accomplished. + +"With the confidence born of intimate knowledge, I give this power +into his keeping, and those who have shared his counsels and executed +his commands in the past will in the future assist him as the Supreme +Council, which will form the ultimate tribunal to which the disputes +of nations will henceforth be submitted, instead of to the barbarous +and bloody arbitration of battle. + +"No such power has ever been delivered into the hands of a single +body of men before; but those who will hold it have been well tried, +and they may be trusted to wield it without pride and without +selfishness, the twin curses that have hitherto afflicted the divided +nations of the earth, because, with the fate of humanity in their +hands and the wealth of earth at their disposal, it will be +impossible to tempt them with bribes, either of riches or of power, +from the plain course of duty which will lie before them." + +As Natas finished speaking, he signed with his hand to Tremayne, who +rose in his place and briefly addressed the assembly-- + +"I and those who will share it with me accept alike the power and the +responsibility--not of choice, but rather because we are convinced +that the interests of humanity demand that we should do so. Those +interests have too long been the sport of kings and their courtiers, +and of those who have seen in selfish profit and aggrandisement the +only ends of life worth living for. + +"Under the pretences of furthering civilisation and progress, and +maintaining what they have been pleased to call law and order, they +have perpetrated countless crimes of oppression, cruelty, and +extortion, and we are determined that this shall have an end. + +"Henceforth, so far as we can insure it, the world shall be ruled, +not by the selfishness of individuals, or the ambitions of nations, +but in accordance with the everlasting and immutable principles of +truth and justice, which have hitherto been burlesqued alike by +despots on their thrones and by political partisans in the senates of +so-called democratic countries. + +"To-morrow, at mid-day in this place, the chief rulers of Europe will +meet us, and our intentions will be further explained. And now before +we separate to go about the rest of the business of the day let us, +as is fitting, give due thanks to Him who has given us the victory." + +He ceased speaking, but remained standing; the same instant the organ +of the Cathedral pealed out the opening notes of the familiar +Normanton Chant, and all those at the table, saving Natas, rose to +their feet. Then Natasha's voice soared up clear and strong above the +organ notes, singing the first line of the old well-known chant-- + + The strain upraise of joy and praise. + +And as she ceased the swell of the organ rolled out, and a mighty +chorus of hallelujahs burst by one consent from the lips of the vast +congregation, filling the huge Cathedral, and flowing out from its +now wide-open doors until it was caught up and echoed by the +thousands who thronged the churchyard and the streets leading into +it. + +As this died away Radna sang the second line, and so the Psalm of +Praise was sung through, as it were in strophe and anti-strophe, +interspersed with the jubilant hallelujahs of the multitude who were +celebrating the greatest victory that had ever been won on earth. + +That night the inhabitants of the delivered city gave themselves up +to such revelry and rejoicing as had never been seen or heard in +London since its foundation. The streets and squares blazed with +lights and resounded with the songs and cheerings of a people +delivered from an impending catastrophe which had bidden fair to +overwhelm it in ruin, and bring upon it calamities which would have +been felt for generations. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. + +THE ORDERING OF EUROPE. + + +While these events had been in progress three squadrons of air-ships +had been speeding to St. Petersburg, Vienna, and Rome. Three vessels +had been despatched to each city, and the instructions of those in +command of the squadrons were to bring the German Emperor, the +Emperor of Austria, and the King of Italy to London. + +The news of the defeat of the League had preceded them by telegraph, +and all three monarchs willingly obeyed the summons which they +carried to attend a Conference for the ordering of affairs of Europe. + +The German Emperor was at once released from his captivity, although +only under a threat of the destruction of the city by the air-ships, +for the Grand Duke Vladimir, who ruled at St. Petersburg as deputy of +the Tsar, had first refused to believe the astounding story of the +defeat of his brother and the destruction of his army. The terrible +achievements of the air-ships were, however, too well and too +certainly known to permit of resistance by force, and so the Kaiser +was released, and made his first aërial voyage from St. Petersburg to +London, arriving there at ten o'clock on the evening of the 8th, in +the midst of the jubilations of the rejoicing city. + +The King of England had sent a despatch to the Emperor of Austria +inviting him to the Conference, and General Cosensz had sent a +similar one to the King of Italy, and so there had been no difficulty +about their coming. At mid-day on the 9th the Conference was opened +in St. Paul's, which was the only public building left intact in +London capable of containing the vast audience that was present, an +audience composed of men of every race and language in Europe. + +Natas was absent, and Tremayne occupied his seat in the centre of the +table; the other members of the Inner Circle, now composing the +Supreme Council of the Federation, were present, with the exception +of Natasha, Radna, and Anna Ornovski, and the other seats at the +table were occupied by the monarchs to whom the purposes of the +Conference had been explained earlier in the day. France was +represented in the person of General le Gallifet. + +The body of the Cathedral was filled to overflowing, with the +exception of an open space kept round the table by the Federation +guards. + +The proceedings commenced with a brief but impressive religious +service conducted by the Primate of England, who ended it with a +short but earnest appeal, delivered from the altar steps, to those +composing the Conference, calling upon them to conduct their +deliberations with justice and moderation, and reminding them of the +millions who were waiting in other parts of Europe for the blessings +of peace and prosperity which it was now in their power to confer +upon them. As the Archbishop concluded the prayer for the blessing of +Heaven upon their deliberation, with which he ended his address, +Tremayne, after a few moments of silence, rose in his place and, +speaking in clear deliberate tones, began as follows:-- + +"Your Majesties have been called together to hear the statement of +the practical issues of the conflict which has been decided between +the armies of the Federation of the Anglo-Saxon peoples and those of +the late Franco-Slavonian League. + +"Into the motives which led myself and those who have acted with me +to take the part which we have done in this tremendous struggle, +there is now no need for me to enter. It is rather with results than +with motives that we have to deal, and those results may be very +briefly stated. + +"We have demonstrated on the field of battle that we hold in our +hands means of destruction against which it is absolutely impossible +for any army fortress or fleet to compete with the slightest hope of +victory; and more than this, we are in command of the only organised +army and fleet now on land or sea. We have been compelled by the +necessities of the case to use our powers unsparingly up to a certain +point. That we have not used them beyond that point, as we might have +done, to enslave the world, is the best proof that I can give of the +honesty of our purposes with regard to the future. + +"But it must never be forgotten that these powers remain with us, and +can be evoked afresh should necessity ever arise. + +"It is not our purpose to enter upon a war of conquest, or upon a +series of internal revolutions in the different countries of Europe, +the issue of which might be the subversion of all order, and the +necessity for universal conquest on our part in order to restore it. + +"With two exceptions the internal affairs of all the nations of +Europe, saving only Russia, which for the present we shall govern +directly, will be left undisturbed. The present tenure of land will +be abolished, and the only rights to the possession of it that will +be recognised will be occupation and cultivation. Experience has +shown that the holding of land for mere purposes of luxury or +speculative profit leads to untold injustices to the general +population of a country. The land on which cities and towns are built +will henceforth belong to the municipalities, and the rents of the +buildings will be paid in lieu of taxation. + +"The other exception is even more important than this. We have waged +war in order that it may be waged no more, and we are determined that +it shall now cease for ever. The peoples of the various nations have +no interest in warfare. It has been nothing but an affliction and a +curse to them, and we are convinced that if one generation grows up +without drawing the sword, it will never be drawn again as long as +men remain upon the earth. All existing fortifications will therefore +be at once destroyed, standing armies will be disbanded, and all the +warships in the world, which cannot be used for peaceful purposes, +will be sent to the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean. + +"For the maintenance of peace and order each nation will maintain a +body of police, in which all citizens between the ages of twenty and +forty will serve in rotation, and this police will be under the +control, first of the Sovereign and Parliament of the country, and +ultimately of an International Board, which will sit once a year in +each of the capitals of Europe in turn, and from whose decision there +will be no appeal. + +"The possession of weapons of warfare, save by the members of this +force, will be forbidden under penalty of death, as we shall +presuppose that no man can possess such weapons save with intent to +kill, and all killing, save execution for murder, will henceforth be +treated as murder. Declaration of war by one country upon another +will be held to be a national crime, and, should such an event ever +occur, the forces of the Anglo-Saxon Federation will be at once armed +by authority of the Supreme Council, and the guilty nation will be +crushed and its territories will be divided among its neighbours. + +"Such are the broad outlines of the course which we intend to pursue, +and all I have now to do is to commend them to your earnest +consideration in the name of those over whom you are the constituted +rulers." + +As the President of the Federation sat down the German Emperor rose +and said in a tone which showed that he had heard the speech with but +little satisfaction-- + +"From what we have heard it would seem that the Federation of the +Anglo-Saxon peoples considers itself as having conquered the world, +and as being, therefore, in a position to dictate terms to all the +peoples of the earth. Am I correct in this supposition?" + +Tremayne bowed in silence, and he continued-- + +"But this amounts to the destruction of the liberties of all peoples +who are not of the Anglo-Saxon race. It seems impossible to me to +believe that free-born men who have won their liberty upon the +battlefield will ever consent to submit to a despotism such as this. +What if they refuse to do so?" + +Tremayne was on his feet in an instant. He turned half round and +faced the Kaiser, with a frown on his brow and an ominous gleam in +his eyes-- + +"Your Majesty of Germany may call it a despotism if you choose, but +remember that it is a despotism of peace and not of war, and that it +affects only those who would be peace-breakers and drawers of the +sword upon their fellow-creatures. I regret that you have made it +necessary for me to remind you that we have conquered your +conquerors, and that the despotism from which we have delivered the +nations of Europe would infallibly have been ten thousand times worse +than that which you are pleased to miscall by the name. + +"You deplore the loss of the right and the power to draw the sword +one upon another. Well, now, take that right back again for the last +time! Say here, and now, that you will not acknowledge the supremacy +of the Council of the Federation, and take the consequences! + +"Our soldiers are still in the field, our aërial fleet is still in +the air, and our sea-navy is under steam. But, remember, if you +appeal to the sword it shall be with you as it was with Alexander +Romanoff and the Russian force which invaded England. We have +annihilated the army to a man, and exiled the Autocrat for life. +Choose now, peace or war, and let those who would choose war with you +take their stand beside you, and we will fight another Armageddon!" + +The pregnant and pitiless words brought the Kaiser to his senses in +an instant. He remembered that his army was destroyed, his strongest +fortresses dismantled, his treasury empty, and the manhood of his +country decimated. He turned white to the lips and sank back into his +chair, covered his face with his hands, and sobbed aloud. And so +ended the last and only protest made by the spirit of militarism +against the new despotism of peace. + +One by one the monarchs now rose in their places, bowed to the +inevitable, and gave their formal adherence to the new order of +things. General le Gallifet came last. When he had affixed his +signature to the written undertaking of allegiance which they had all +signed, he said, speaking in French-- + +"I was born and bred a soldier, and my life has been passed either in +warfare or the study of it. I have now drawn the sword for the last +time, save to defend France from invasion. I have seen enough of +modern war, or, as I should rather call it, murder by machinery, for +such it only is now. They spoke truly who prophesied that the +solution of the problem of aërial navigation would make war +impossible. It has made it impossible, because it has made it too +unspeakably horrible for humanity to tolerate it. + +"In token of the honesty of my belief I ask now that France and +Germany shall bury their long blood-feud on their last battlefield, +and in the persons of his German Majesty and myself shake hands in +the presence of this company as a pledge of national forgiveness and +perpetual peace." + +As he ceased speaking, he turned and held out his hand to the Kaiser. +All eyes were turned on William II, to see how he would receive this +appeal. For a moment he hesitated, then his manhood and chivalry +conquered his pride and national prejudice, and amidst the cheers of +the great assembly, he grasped the outstretched hand of his +hereditary enemy, saying in a voice broken by emotion-- + +"So be it. Since the sword is broken for ever, let us forget that we +have been enemies, and remember only that we are neighbours." + +This ended the public portion of the Conference. From St. Paul's +those who had composed it went to Buckingham Palace, in the grounds +of which the aërial fleet was reposing on the lawns under a strong +guard of Federation soldiers. Here they embarked, and were borne +swiftly through the air to Windsor Castle, where they dined together +as friends and guests of the King of England, and after dinner +discussed far on into the night the details of the new European +Constitution which was to be drawn up and formally ratified within +the next few days. + +Shortly after noon on the following day the _Ithuriel_, with Natas, +Natasha, Arnold, and Tremayne on board, rose into the air from the +grounds of Buckingham Palace and headed away to the northward. The +control of affairs was left for the time being to a committee of the +members of what had once been the Inner Circle of the Terrorists, and +which was now the Supreme Council of the Federation. + +This was under the joint presidency of Alexis Mazanoff and Nicholas +Roburoff, who was exerting his great and well-proved administrative +abilities to the utmost in order to atone for the fault which had led +to the desertion of the _Lucifer_, and to amply justify the +intercession of Natasha which had made it possible for him to be +present at the last triumph of the Federation and the accomplishment +of the long and patient work of the Brotherhood. There was an immense +amount of work to be got through in the interval between the +pronouncement of the judgment of Natas on the Tsar and his Ministers +and the execution of the sentence. After twenty-four hours in Newgate +they were transferred to Wormwood Scrubs Prison, and there, under a +guard of Federation soldiers, who never left them for a moment day or +night, they awaited the hour of their departure to Siberia. + +Communication with all parts of the Continent and America was rapidly +restored. The garrisons of the League were withdrawn from the +conquered cities, gave up their arms at the depots of their +respective regiments, and returned to their homes. The French and +Italian troops round London were disarmed and taken to France in the +Federation fleet of transports. Meanwhile three air-ships were placed +temporarily at the disposal of the Emperor of Austria, the Kaiser, +and the King of Italy, to convey them to their capitals, and furnish +them with the means of speedy transit about their dominions, and to +and from London during the drawing up of the new European +Constitution. + +A fleet of four air-ships and fifteen aerostats was also despatched +to the Russian capital, and compelled the immediate surrender of the +members of the Imperial family and the Ministers of the Government, +and the instant disarmament of all troops on Russian soil, under pain +of immediate destruction of St. Petersburg and Moscow, and invasion +and conquest of the country by the Federation armies. The Council of +State and the Ruling Senate were then dissolved, and the Executive +passed automatically into the hands of the controllers of the +Federation. Resistance was, of course, out of the question, and as +soon as it was once known for certain that the Tsar had been taken +prisoner and his army annihilated, no one thought seriously of it, as +it would have been utterly impossible to have defended even Russia +against the overwhelming forces of the Federation and the British +Empire, assisted by the two aërial fleets. + +The _Ithuriel_, after a flight of a little more than an hour, stopped +and descended to the earth on the broad, sloping, and now +snow-covered lawn in front of Alanmere Castle. Lord Marazion and his +daughter, who, as it is almost needless to say, had been kept well +informed of the course of events since the Federation forces landed +in England, had also been warned by telegraph of the coming of their +aërial visitors, and before the _Ithuriel_ had touched the earth, the +new mistress of Alanmere had descended the steps of the terrace that +ran the whole length of the Castle front to welcome its lord and hers +back to his own again. + +Then there were greetings of lovers and friends, well known to each +other by public report and familiar description, yet never seen in +the flesh till now, and of others long parted by distance and by +misconception of aims and motives. But however pleasing it might be +to dwell at length upon the details of such a meeting, and its +delightful contrast to the horrors of unsparing war and merciless +destruction, there is now no space to do so, for the original limits +of this history of the near future have already been reached and +overpassed, and it is time to make ready for the curtain to descend +upon the last scenes of the world-drama of the Year of Wonders--1904. + +Tremayne was the first to alight, and he was followed by Natasha and +Arnold at a respectful distance, which they kept until the first +greeting between the two long and strangely-parted lovers was over. +When at length Lady Muriel got out of the arms of her future lord, +she at once ran to Natasha with both her hands outstretched, a very +picture of grace and health and blushing loveliness. + +She was Natasha's other self, saving only for the incomparable +brilliance of colouring and contrast which the daughter of Natas +derived from her union of Eastern and Western blood. Yet no fairer +type of purely English beauty than Muriel Penarth could have been +found between the Border and the Land's End, and what she lacked of +Natasha's half Oriental brilliance and fire she atoned for by an +added measure of that indescribable blend of dignity and gentleness +which makes the English gentlewoman perhaps the most truly lovable of +all women on earth. + +"I could not have believed that the world held two such lovely +women," said Arnold to Tremayne, as the two girls met and embraced. +"How marvellously alike they are, too! They might be sisters. Surely +they must be some relation." + +"Yes, I am sure they are," replied Tremayne; "such a resemblance +cannot be accidental. I remember in that queer double life of mine, +when I was your unconscious rival, I used to interchange them until +they almost seemed to be the same identity to me. There is some +little mystery behind the likeness which we shall have cleared up +before very long now. Natas told me to take Lord Marazion to him in +the saloon, and said he would not enter the Castle till he had spoken +with him alone. There he is at the door! You go and make Muriel's +acquaintance, and I will take him on board at once." + +So saying, Tremayne ran up the terrace steps, shook hands heartily +with the old nobleman, and then came down with him towards the +air-ship. As they met Lady Muriel coming up with Arnold on one side +of her and Natasha on the other, Lord Marazion stopped suddenly with +an exclamation of wonder. He took his arm out of Tremayne's, strode +rapidly to Natasha, and, before his daughter could say a word of +introduction, put his hands on her shoulders, and looked into her +lovely upturned face through a sudden mist of tears that rose +unbidden to his eyes. + +"It is a miracle!" he said, in a low voice that trembled with +emotion. "If you are the daughter of Natas, there is no need to tell +me who he is, for you are Sylvia Penarth's daughter too. Is not that +so, Sylvia di Murska--for I know you bear your mother's name?" + +"Yes, I bear her name--and my father's. He is waiting for you in the +air-ship, and he has much to say to you. You will bring him back to +the Castle with you, will you not?" + +Natasha spoke with a seriousness that had more weight than her words, +but Lord Marazion understood her meaning. He stooped down and kissed +her on the brow, saying-- + +"Yes, yes; the past is the past. I will go to him, and you shall see +us come back together." + +"And so we are cousins!" exclaimed Lady Muriel, slipping her arm +round Natasha's waist as she spoke. "I was sure we must be some +relation to each other; for, though I am not so beautiful"-- + +"Don't talk nonsense, or I shall call you 'Your Ladyship' for the +rest of the day. Yes, of course we are alike, since our mothers were +twin-sisters, and the very image of each other, according to their +portraits." + +While the girls were talking of their new-found relationship, Arnold +had dropped behind to wait for Tremayne, who, after he had taken Lord +Marazion into the saloon of the _Ithuriel_, had left him with Natas +and returned to the Castle alone. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIX. + +THE STORY OF THE MASTER. + + +That evening, when the lamps were lit and the curtains drawn in the +library at Alanmere, in the same room in which Tremayne had seen the +Vision of Armageddon, Natas told the story of Israel di Murska, the +Jewish Hungarian merchant, and of Sylvia Penarth, the beautiful +English wife whom he had loved better than his own faith and people, +and how she had been taken from him to suffer a fate which had now +been avenged as no human wrongs had ever been before. + +"Twenty-five years ago," he began, gazing dreamily into the great +fire of pine-logs, round the hearth of which he and his listeners +were sitting, "I, who am now an almost helpless, half-mutilated +cripple, was a strong, active man, in the early vigour of manhood, +rich, respected, happy, and prosperous even beyond the average of +earthly good fortune. + +"I was a merchant in London, and I had inherited a large fortune from +my father, which I had more than doubled by successful trading. I was +married to an English wife, a woman whose grace and beauty are +faithfully reflected in her daughter"-- + +As Natas said this, the fierce light that had begun to shine in his +eyes softened, and the hard ring left his voice, and for a little +space he spoke in gentler tones, until sterner memories came and +hardened them again. + +"I will not deny that I bought her with my gold and fair promises of +a life of ease and luxury. But that is done every day in the world in +which I then lived, and I only did as my Christian neighbours about +me did. Yet I loved my beautiful Christian wife very dearly,--more +dearly even than my people and my ancient faith,--or I should not +have married her. + +"When Natasha was two years old the black pall of desolation fell +suddenly on our lives, and blasted our great happiness with a misery +so utter and complete that we, who were wont to count ourselves among +the fortunate ones of the earth, were cast down so low that the +beggar at our doors might have looked down upon us. + +"It was through no fault of mine or hers, nor through any +circumstance over which either of us had any control, that we fell +from our serene estate. On the contrary, it was through a work of +pure mercy, intended for the relief of those of our people who were +groaning under the pitiless despotism of Russian officialism and +superstition, that I fell, as so many thousands of my race have +fallen, into that abyss of nameless misery and degradation that +Russian hands have dug for the innocent in the ghastly solitudes of +Siberia, and, without knowing it, dragged my sweet and loving wife +into it after me. + +"It came about in this wise. + +"I had a large business connection in Russia, and at a time when all +Europe was ringing with the story of the persecution of the Russian +Jews, I, at the earnest request of a committee of the leading Jews in +London, undertook a mission to St. Petersburg, to bring their +sufferings, if possible, under the direct notice of the Tsar, and to +obtain his consent to a scheme for the payment of a general +indemnity, subscribed to by all the wealthy Jews of the world, which +should secure them against persecution and official tyranny until +they could be gradually and completely removed from Russia. + +"I, of course, found myself thwarted at every turn by the heartless +and corrupt officialism that stands between the Russian people and +the man whom they still regard as the vicegerent of God upon earth. + +"Upon one pretext and another I was kept from the presence of the +Tsar for weeks, until he left his dominions on a visit to Denmark. + +"Meanwhile I travelled about, and used my eyes as well as the +officials would permit me, to see whether the state of things was +really as bad as the accounts that had reached England had made it +out to be. + +"I saw enough to convince me that no human words could describe the +awful sufferings of the sons and daughters of Israel in that hateful +land of bondage. + +"Neither their lives nor their honour, their homes nor their +property, were safe from the malice and the lust and the rapacity of +the brutal ministers of Russian officialdom. + +"I conversed with families from which fathers and mothers, sons and +daughters had been spirited away, either never to return, or to come +back years afterwards broken in health, ruined and dishonoured, to +the poor wrecks of the homes that had once been peaceful, pure, and +happy. + +"I saw every injury, insult, and degradation heaped upon them that +patient and long-suffering humanity could bear, until my soul +sickened within me, and my spirit rose in revolt against the hateful +and inhuman tyranny that treated my people like vermin and wild +beasts, for no offence save a difference in race and creed. + +"At last the shame and horror of it all got the better of my +prudence, and the righteous rage that burned within me spoke out +through my pen and my lips. + +"I wrote faithful accounts of all I had seen to the committee in +England. They never reached their destination, for I was already a +marked man, and my letters were stopped and opened by the police. + +"At last I one day attended a court of law, and heard one of those +travesties of justice which the Russian officials call a trial for +conspiracy. + +"There was not one tittle of anything that would have been called +evidence, or that would not have been discredited and laughed out of +court in any other country in Europe; yet two of the five prisoners, +a man and a woman, were sentenced to death, and the other three, two +young students and a girl who was to have been the bride of one of +them in a few weeks' time, were doomed to five years in the mines of +Kara, and after that, if they survived it, to ten years' exile in +Sakhalin. + +"So awful and so hideous did the appalling injustice seem to me, +accustomed as I was to the open fairness of the English criminal +courts, that, overcome with rage and horror, I rose to my feet as the +judge pronounced the frightful sentence, and poured forth a flood of +passionate denunciations and wild appeals to the justice of humanity +to revoke the doom of the innocent. + +"Of course I was hustled out of the court and flung into the street +by the police attendants, and I groped my way back to my hotel with +eyes blinded with tears of rage and sorrow. + +"That afternoon I was requested by the proprietor of the hotel to +leave before nightfall. I expostulated in vain. He simply told me +that he dared not have in his house a man who had brought himself +into collision with the police, and that I must find other lodgings +at once. This, however, I found to be no easy matter. Wherever I went +I was met with cold looks, and was refused admittance. + +"Lower and lower sank my heart within me at each refusal, and the +terrible conviction forced itself upon me that I was a marked man +amidst all-powerful and unscrupulous enemies whom no Russian dare +offend. I was a Jew and an outcast, and there was nothing left for me +but to seek for refuge such as I could get among my own persecuted +people. + +"Far on into the night I found one, a modest lodging, in which I +hoped I could remain for a day or two while waiting for my passport, +and making the necessary preparations to return to England and shake +the mire of Russia off my feet for ever. It would have been a +thousand times better for me and my dear ones, and for those whose +sympathy and kindness involved them in my ruin, if, instead of going +to that ill-fated house, I had flung myself into the dark waters of +the Neva, and so ended my sorrows ere they had well begun. + +"I applied for my passport the next day, and was informed that it +would not be ready for at least three days. The delay was, of course, +purposely created, and before the time had expired a police visit was +paid to the house in which I was lodging, and papers written in +cypher were found within the lining of one of my hats. + +"I was arrested, and a guard was placed over the house. Without any +further ceremony I was thrown into a cell in the fortress of Peter +and Paul to await the translation of the cypher. Three days later I +was taken before the chief of police, and accused of having in my +possession papers proving that I was an emissary from the Nihilist +headquarters in London. + +"I was told that my conduct had been so suspicious and of late so +disorderly, that I had been closely watched during my stay in St. +Petersburg, with the result that conclusive evidence of treason had +been found against me. + +"As I was known to be wealthy, and to have powerful friends in +England, the formality of a trial was dispensed with, and after +eating my heart out for a month in my cell in the fortress, I was +transferred to Moscow to join the next convict train for Siberia. +Arrived there, I for the first time learned my sentence--ten years in +the mines, and then ten in Sakhalin. + +"Thus was I doomed by the trick of some police spy to pass what bade +fair to be the remainder of a life that had been so bright and full +of fair promise in hopeless exile, torment, and degradation--and all +because I protested against injustice and made myself obnoxious to +the Russian police. + +"As the chain-gang that I was attached to left Moscow, I found to my +intense grief that the good Jew and his wife who had given me shelter +were also members of it. They had been convicted of 'harbouring a +political conspirator,' and sentenced to five years' hard labour, and +then exile for life, as 'politicals,' which, as you no doubt know, +meant that, if they survived the first part of their sentence, they +would be allowed to settle in an allotted part of Southern Siberia, +free in everything but permission to leave the country. + +"Were I to talk till this time to-morrow I could not properly +describe to you all the horrors of that awful journey along the Great +Siberian road, from the Pillar of Farewells that marks the boundary +between Europe and Asia across the frightful snowy wastes to Kara. + +"The hideous story has been told again and again without avail to the +Christian nations of Europe, and they have permitted that awful crime +against humanity to be committed year after year without even a +protest, in obedience to the miserable principles that bade them to +place policy before religion and the etiquette of nations before the +everlasting laws of God. + +"After two years of heartbreaking toil at the mines my health utterly +broke down. One day I fell fainting under the lash of the brutal +overseer, and as I lay on the ground he ran at me and kicked me twice +with his heavy iron-shod boots, once on the hip, breaking the bone, +and once on the lower part of the spine, crushing the spinal cord, +and paralysing my lower limbs for ever. + +"As this did not rouse me from my fainting-fit, the heartless fiend +snatched a torch from the wall of the mine-gallery and thrust the +burning end in my long thick beard, setting it on fire and scorching +my flesh horribly, as you can see. I was carried out of the mine and +taken to the convict hospital, where I lay for weeks between life and +death, and only lived instead of died because of the quenchless +spirit that was within me crying out for vengeance on my tormentors. + +"When I came back to consciousness, the first thing I learnt was that +I was free to return to England on condition that I did not stop on +my way through Russia. + +"My friends, urged on by the tireless energy of my wife's anxious +love, had at last found out what had befallen me, and proceedings had +been instituted to establish the innocence that had been betrayed by +a common and too well-known device used by the Russian police to +secure the conviction and removal of those who have become obnoxious +to the bureaucracy. + +"Whether my friends would ever have accomplished this of themselves +is doubtful, but suddenly the evidence of a pope of the Orthodox +Church, to whom the spy who had put the forged letters in my hat had +confessed the crime on his deathbed, placed the matter in such a +strong clear light that not even the officialism of Russia could +cloud it over. The case got to the ears of the Tsar, and an order was +telegraphed to the Governor of Kara to release me and send me back to +St. Petersburg on the conditions I have named. + +"Think of the mockery of such a pardon as that! By the unlawful +brutality of an official, who was not even reprimanded for what he +had done, I was maimed, crippled, and disfigured for life, and now I +was free to return to the land I had left on an errand of mercy, +which tyranny and corruption had wilfully misconstrued into a mission +of crime, and punished with the ruin of a once happy and useful life. +That was bad enough, but worse was to come before the cup of my +miseries should be full." + +Natas was silent for a moment, and as he gazed into the fire the +spasm of a great agony passed over his face, and two great tears +welled up in his eyes and overflowed and ran down his cheeks on to +his breast. + +"On receiving the order the governor telegraphed back that I was sick +almost to death, and not able to bear the fatigue of the long, +toilsome journey, and asked for further orders. As soon as this news +reached my devoted wife she at once set out, in spite of all the +entreaties of her friends and advisers, to cross the wastes of +Siberia, and take her place at my bedside. + +"It was winter time, and from Ekaterinenburg, where the rail ended in +those days, the journey would have to be performed by sledge. She, +therefore, took with her only one servant and a courier, that she +might travel as rapidly as possible. + +"She reached Tiumen, and there all trace was lost of her and her +attendants. She vanished into that great white wilderness of ice and +snow as utterly as though the grave had closed upon her. I knew +nothing of her journey until I reached St. Petersburg many months +afterwards. + +"All that money could do was done to trace her, but all to no avail. +The only official news that ever came back out of that dark world of +death and misery was that she had started from one of the +post-stations a few hours before a great snow-storm had come on, that +she had never reached the next station--and after that all was +mystery. + +"Five years passed. I had returned to find my little daughter well +and blooming into youthful beauty, and my affairs prospering in +skilful and honest hands. I was richer in wealth than I had ever +been, and in happiness poorer than a beggar, while the shadow of that +awful uncertainty hung over me. + +"I could not believe the official story, for the search along the +Siberian road had been too complete not to have revealed evidences of +the catastrophe of which it told when the snows melted, and none such +were ever found. + +"At length one night, just as I was going to bed, I was told that a +man who would not give his name insisted on seeing me on business +that he would tell no one but myself. All that he would say was that +he came from Russia. That was enough. I ordered him to be admitted. + +"He was a stranger, ragged and careworn, and his face was stamped +with the look of sullen, unspeakable misery that men's faces only +wear in one part of the world. + +"'You are from Siberia,' I said, stretching out my hand to him. +'Welcome, fellow-sufferer! Have you news for me?' + +"'Yes, I am from Siberia,' he replied, taking my hand; 'an escaped +Nihilist convict from the mines. I have been four years getting from +Kara to London, else you should have had my news sooner. I fear it is +sad enough, but what else could you expect from the Russian +prison-land? Here it is.' + +"As he spoke, he gave me an envelope, soiled and stained with long +travel, and my heart stood still as I recognised in the blurred +address the handwriting of my long-lost wife. + +"With trembling fingers I opened it, and through my tears I read a +letter that my dear one had written to me on her deathbed four years +before. + +"It has lain next my heart ever since, and every word is burnt into +my brain, to stand there against the day of vengeance. But I have +never told their full tale of shame and woe to mortal ears, nor ever +can. + +"Let it suffice to say that my wife was beautiful with a beauty that +is rare among the daughters of men; that a woman's honour is held as +cheaply in the wildernesses of Siberia as is the life of a man who is +a convict. + +"The official story of her death was false--false as are all the ten +thousand other lies that have come out of that abode of oppression +and misery, and she whom I mourned would have been well-favoured of +heaven if she had died in the snowdrifts, as they said she did, +rather than in the shame and misery to which her brutal destroyer +brought her. + +"He was an official of high rank, and he had had the power to cover +his crime from the knowledge of his superiors in St. Petersburg. + +"If it was ever known, it was hushed up for fear of the trouble that +it would have brought to his masters; but two years later he visited +Paris, and was found one morning in bed with a dagger in his black +heart, and across his face the mark that told that he had died by +order of the Nihilist Executive. + +"When I read those awful tidings from the grave, sorrow became +quenchless rage, and despair was swallowed up in revenge. I joined +the Brotherhood, and thenceforth placed a great portion of my wealth +at their disposal. I rose in their councils till I commanded their +whole organisation. No brain was so subtle as mine in planning +schemes of revenge upon the oppressor, or of relief for the victims +of his tyranny. + +"In a word, I became the brain of the Brotherhood which men used to +call Nihilists, and then I organised another Society behind and above +this which the world has known as the Terror, and which the great +ones of the earth have for years dreaded as the most potent force +that ever was arrayed against the enemies of humanity. Of this force +I have been the controlling brain and the directing will. It was my +creature, and it has obeyed me blindly; but ever since that fatal day +in the mine at Kara I have been physically helpless, and therefore +obliged to trust to others the execution of the plans that I +conceived. + +"It was for this reason that I had need of you, Alan Tremayne, and +this is why I chose you after I had watched you for years unseen as +you grew from youth to manhood, the embodiment of all that has made +the Anglo-Saxon the dominant factor in the development of present-day +humanity. + +"I have employed a power which, as I firmly believe, was given to me +when eternal justice made me the instrument of its vengeance upon a +generation that had forgotten alike its God and its brother, to bend +your will unconsciously to mine, and to compel you to do my bidding. +How far I was justified in that let the result show. + +"It was once my intention to have bound you still closer to the +Brotherhood by giving Natasha to you in marriage while you were yet +under the spell of my will; but the Master of Destiny willed it +otherwise, and I was saved from doing a great wrong, for the +intention to do which I have done my best to atone." + +He paused for a moment and looked across the fireplace at Arnold and +Natasha, who were sitting together on a big, low lounge that had been +drawn up to the fire. Natasha raised her eyes for a moment and then +dropped them. She knew what was coming, and a bright red flush rose +up from her white throat to the roots of her dusky, lustrous hair. + +"Richard Arnold, in the first communication I ever had with you, I +told you that if you used the powers you held in your hand well and +wisely, you should, in the fulness of time, attain to your heart's +desire. You have proved your faith and obedience in the hour of +trial, and your strength and discretion in the day of battle. Now it +is yours to ask and to have." + +For all answer Arnold put out his hand and took hold of Natasha's, +and said quietly but clearly-- + +"Give me this!" + +"So be it!" said Natas. "What you have worthily won you will worthily +wear. May your days be long and peaceful in the world to which you +have given peace!" + +And so it came to pass that three days later, in the little private +chapel of Alanmere Castle, the two men who held the destinies of the +world in their hands, took to wife the two fairest women who ever +gave their loveliness to be the crown of strength and the reward of +loyal love. + +For a week the Lord of Alanmere kept open house and royal state, as +his ancestors had done five hundred years before him. The +conventional absurdity of the honeymoon was ignored, as such brides +and bridegrooms might have been expected to ignore it. Arnold and +Natasha took possession of a splendid suite of rooms in the eastern +wing of the Castle, and the two new-wedded couples passed the first +days of their new happiness under one roof without the slightest +constraint; for the Castle was vast enough for solitude when they +desired it, and yet the solitude was not isolation or self-centred +seclusion. + +Tremayne's private wire kept them hourly informed of what was going +on in London, and when necessary the _Ithuriel_ was ready to traverse +the space between Alanmere and the capital in an hour, as it did more +than once to the great delight and wonderment of Tremayne's bride, to +whom the marvellous vessel seemed a miracle of something more than +merely human skill and genius. + +So the days passed swiftly and happily until the Christmas bells of +1904 rang out over the length and breadth of Christendom, for the +first time proclaiming in very truth and fact, so far as the Western +world was concerned, "Peace on earth, Goodwill to Man." + +[Illustration: "Into the vast, white, silent wilderness, out of which +none save the guards were destined ever to emerge again." + +_See page 385._] + + * * * * * + +On the 8th of January a swift warship, attended by two dynamite +cruisers, left Portsmouth, bound for Odessa. She had on board the +last of the Tsars of Russia, and those of his generals and Ministers +who had been taken prisoners with him on Muswell Hill. A thousand +feet overhead floated the _Ariel_, under the command of Alexis +Mazanoff. + +From Odessa the prisoners were taken by train to Moscow. There, in +the Central Convict Depot, they met their families and the officials +whose share in their crimes made it necessary to bring them under the +sentence pronounced by Natas. They were chained together in squads, +Tsar and prince, noble and official, exactly as their own countless +victims had been in the past, and so they were taken with their wives +and children by train to Ekaterinenburg. + +Although the railway extended as far as Tomsk, Mazanoff made them +disembark here, and marched them by the Great Siberian road to the +Pillar of Farewells on the Asiatic frontier. There, as so many +thousands of heart-broken, despairing men and women had done before +them, they looked their last on Russian soil. + +From here they were marched on to the first Siberian _etapé_, one of +a long series of foul and pestilential prisons which were to be the +only halting-places on their long and awful journey. The next +morning, as soon as the chill grey light of the winter's dawn broke +over the snow-covered plains, the men were formed up in line, with +the sleighs carrying the women and children in the rear. When all was +ready Mazanoff gave the word: "Forward!" the whips of the Cossacks +cracked, and the mournful procession moved slowly onward into the +vast, white, silent wilderness, out of which none save the guards +were destined ever to emerge again. + + + + +EPILOGUE. + +"AND ON EARTH PEACE!" + + +The winter and summer of 1905 passed in unbroken tranquillity all +over Europe and the English-speaking world. The nations, at last +utterly sickened of bloodshed by the brief but awful experience of +the last six months of 1904, earnestly and gladly accepted the new +order of things. From first to last of the war the slaughter had +averaged more than a million of fighting men a month, and fully five +millions of non-combatants, men, women, and children, had fallen +victims to famine and disease, or had been killed during the +wholesale destruction of fortified towns by the war-balloons of the +League. At the lowest calculation the invasion of England had cost +four million lives. + +It was an awful butcher's bill, and when the peoples of Europe awoke +from the delirium of war to look back upon the frightful carnival of +death and destruction, and realise that all this desolation and ruin +had come to pass in little more than seven months, so deep a horror +of war and all its abominations possessed them that they hailed with +delight the safeguards provided against it by the new European +Constitution which was made public at the end of March. + +It was a singularly short and simple document considering the immense +changes which it introduced. It contained only five clauses. Of these +the first proclaimed the supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon Federation in +all matters of international policy, and set forth the penalties to +be incurred by any State that made war upon another. + +The second constituted an International Board of Arbitration and +Control, composed of all the Sovereigns of Europe and their Prime +Ministers for the time being, with the new President of the United +States, the Governor-General of Canada, and the President of the now +federated Australasian Colonies. This Board was to meet in sections +every year in the various capitals of Europe, and collectively every +five years in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Rome, and New York in +rotation. There was no appeal from its decision save to the Supreme +Council of the Federation, and this appeal could only be made with +the consent of the President of that Council, given after the facts +of the matter in dispute had been laid before him in writing. + +The third clause dealt with the rearrangement of the European +frontiers. The Rhine from Karlsruhe to Basle was made the political +as well as the natural boundary between France and Germany. The +ancient kingdom of Poland was restored, with the frontiers it had +possessed before the First Partition in 1773, and a descendant of +Kosciusko, elected by the votes of the adult citizens of the +reconstituted kingdom, was placed upon the throne. Turkey in Europe +ceased to exist as a political power. Constantinople was garrisoned +by British and Federation troops, and the country was administered +for the time being by a Provisional Government under the presidency +of Lord Cromer, who was responsible only to the Supreme Council. The +other States were left undisturbed. + +The fourth and fifth clauses dealt with land, property, and law. All +tenures of land existing before the war were cancelled at a stroke, +and the soil of each country was declared to be the sole and +inalienable property of the State. No occupiers were disturbed who +were turning the land to profitable account, or who were making use +of a reasonable area as a residential estate; but the great +landowners in the country and the ground landlords in the towns +ceased to exist as such, and all private incomes derived from the +rent of land were declared illegal and so forfeited. + +All incomes unearned by productive work of hand or brain were +subjected to a progressive tax, which reached fifty per cent. when +the income amounted to £10,000 a year. It is almost needless to say +that these clauses raised a tremendous outcry among the limited +classes they affected; but the only reply made to it by the President +of the Supreme Council was "that honestly earned incomes paid no tax, +and that the idle and useless classes ought to be thankful to be +permitted to exist at any price. The alternative of the tax would be +compulsory labour paid for at its actual value by the State." Without +one exception the grumblers preferred to pay the tax. + +All rents, revised according to the actual value of the produce or +property, were to be paid direct to the State. As long as he paid +this rent-tax no man could be disturbed in the possession of his +holding. If he did not pay it the non-payment was to be held as +presumptive evidence that he was not making a proper use of it, and +he was to receive a year's notice to quit; but if at the end of that +time he had amended his ways the notice was to be revoked. + +In all countries the Civil and Criminal Codes of Law were to be +amalgamated and simplified by a committee of judges appointed +directly by the Parliament with the assent of the Sovereign. The +fifth clause of the Constitution plainly stated that no man was to be +expected to obey a law that he could not understand, and that the +Supreme Council would uphold no law which was so complicated that it +needed a legal expert to explain it. + +It is almost needless to say that this clause swept away at a blow +that pernicious class of hired advocates who had for ages grown rich +on the weakness and the dishonesty of their fellow-men. In after +years it was found that the abolition of the professional lawyer had +furthered the cause of peace and progress quite as efficiently as the +prohibition of standing armies had done. + +On the conclusion of the war the aërial fleet was increased to +twenty-five vessels exclusive of the flagship. The number of +war-balloons was raised to fifty, and three millions of Federation +soldiers were held ready for active service until the conclusion of +the war in the East between the Moslems and Buddhists. By November +the Moslems were victors all along the line, and during the last week +of that month the last battle between Christian and Moslem was fought +on the Southern shore of the Bosphorus. + +All communications with the Asiatic and African shores of the +Mediterranean were cut as soon as it became certain that Sultan +Mohammed Reshad, at the head of a million and a half of victorious +Moslems, and supported by Prince Abbas of Egypt at the head of seven +hundred thousand more, was marching to the reconquest of Turkey. The +most elaborate precautions were taken to prevent any detailed +information as to the true state of things in Europe reaching the +Sultan, as Tremayne and Arnold had come to the conclusion that it +would be better, if he persisted in courting inevitable defeat, that +it should fall upon him with crushing force and stupefying +suddenness, so that he might be the more inclined to listen to reason +afterwards. + +The Mediterranean was patrolled from end to end by air-ships and +dynamite cruisers, and aërial scouts marked every movement of the +victorious Sultan until it became absolutely certain that his +objective point was Scutari. Meanwhile, two millions of men had been +concentrated between Galata and Constantinople, while another million +occupied the northern shore of the Dardanelles. An immense force of +warships and dynamite cruisers swarmed between Gallipoli and the +Golden Horn. Twenty air-ships and forty-five war-balloons lay outside +Constantinople, ready to take the air at a moment's notice. + +The conqueror of Northern Africa and Southern Asia had only a very +general idea as to what had really happened in Europe. His march of +conquest had not been interrupted by any European expedition. The +Moslems of India had exterminated the British garrisons, and there +had been no attempt at retaliation or vengeance, as there had been in +the days of the Mutiny. England, he knew, had been invaded, but +according to the reports which had reached him, none of the invaders +had ever got out of the island alive, and then the English had come +out and conquered Europe. Of the wonderful doings of the aërial +fleets only the vaguest rumours had come to his ears, and these had +been so exaggerated and distorted, that he had but a very confused +idea of the real state of affairs. + +The Moslem forces were permitted to advance without the slightest +molestation to Scutari and Lamsaki, and on the evening of the 28th of +November the Sultan took up his quarters in Scutari. That night he +received a letter from the President of the Federation, setting forth +succinctly, and yet very clearly, what had actually taken place in +Europe, and calling upon him to give his allegiance to the Supreme +Council, as the other sovereigns had done, and to accept the +overlordship of Northern Africa and Southern Asia in exchange for +Turkey in Europe. The letter concluded by saying that the immediate +result of refusal to accept these terms would be the destruction of +the Moslem armies on the following day. Before midnight, Tremayne +received the Sultan's reply. It ran thus-- + + In the name of the Most Merciful God. + + From MOHAMMED RESHAD, Commander of the Faithful, to ALAN + TREMAYNE, Leader of the English. + + I have come to retake the throne of my fathers, and I am not to + be turned back by vain and boastful threats. What I have won with + the sword I will keep with the sword, and I will own allegiance + to none save God and His holy Prophet who have given me the + victory. Give me back Stamboul and my ancient dominions, and we + will divide the world between us. If not we must fight. Let the + reply to this come before daybreak. + + MOHAMMED. + + +No reply came back; but during the night the dynamite cruisers were +drawn up within half a mile of the Asiatic shore with their guns +pointing southward over Scutari, while other warships patrolled the +coast to detect and frustrate any attempt to transport guns or troops +across the narrow strip of water. With the first glimmer of light, +the two aërial fleets took the air, the war-balloons in a long line +over the van of the Moslem army, and the air-ships spread out in a +semicircle to the southward. The hour of prayer was allowed to pass +in peace, and then the work of death began. The war-balloons moved +slowly forward in a straight line at an elevation of four thousand +feet, sweeping the Moslem host from van to rear with a ceaseless hail +of melinite and cyanogen bombs. Great projectiles soared silently up +from the water to the north, and where they fell buildings were torn +to fragments, great holes were blasted into the earth, and every +human being within the radius of the explosion was blown to pieces, +or hurled stunned to the ground. But more mysterious and terrible +than all were the effects of the assault delivered by the air-ships, +which divided into squadrons and swept hither and thither in wide +curves, with the sunlight shining on their silvery hulls and their +long slender guns, smokeless and flameless, hurling the most awful +missiles of all far and wide, over a scene of butchery and horror +that beggared all description. + +In vain the gallant Moslems looked for enemies in the flesh to +confront them. None appeared save a few sentinels across the +Bosphorus. And still the work of slaughter went on, pitiless and +passionless as the earthquake or the thunderstorm. Millions of shots +were fired into the air without result, and by the time the rain of +death had been falling without intermission for two hours, an +irresistible panic fell upon the Moslem soldiery. They had never met +enemies like these before, and, brave as lions and yet simple as +children, they looked upon them as something more than human, and +with one accord they flung away their weapons and raised their hands +in supplication to the sky. Instantly the aërial bombardment ceased, +and within an hour East and West had shaken hands, Sultan Mohammed +had accepted the terms of the Federation, and the long warfare of +Cross and Crescent had ceased, as men hoped, for ever. + +Then the proclamation was issued disbanding the armies of Britain and +the Federation and the forces of the Sultan. The warships steamed +away westward on their last voyage to the South Atlantic, beneath +whose waves they were soon to sink with all their guns and armaments +for ever. The war-balloons were to be kept for purposes of +transportation of heavy articles to Aeria, while the fleet of +air-ships was to remain the sole effective fighting force in the +world. + +While these events were taking place in Europe, those who had been +banished as outcasts from the society of civilised men by the +terrible justice of Natas had been plodding their weary way, in the +tracks of the thousands they had themselves sent to a living grave, +along the Great Siberian Road to the hideous wilderness, in the midst +of which lie the mines of Kara. From the Pillar of Farewells to +Tiumen, from thence to Tomsk,--where they met the first of the +released political exiles returning in a joyous band to their beloved +Russia,--and thence to Irkutsk, and then over the ice of Lake Baikal, +and through the awful frozen desert of the Trans-Baikal Provinces, +they had been driven like cattle until the remnant that had survived +the horrors of the awful journey reached the desolate valley of the +Kara and were finally halted at the Lower Diggings. + +Of nearly three hundred strong and well-fed men who had said good-bye +to liberty at the Pillar of Farewells, only a hundred and twenty +pallid and emaciated wretches stood shivering in their rags and +chains when the muster was called on the morning after their arrival +at Kara. Mazanoff and his escort had carried out their part of the +sentence of Natas to the letter. The arctic blasts from the Tundras, +the forced march, the chain and the scourge had done their work, and +more than half the exile-convicts had found in nameless graves along +the road respite from the long horrors of the fate which awaited the +survivors. + +The first name called in the last muster was Alexander Romanoff. +"Here," came in a deep hollow tone from the gaunt and ragged wreck of +the giant who twelve months before had been the stateliest figure in +the brilliant galaxy of European Royalty. + +"Your sentence is hard labour in the mines for"--The last word was +never spoken, for ere it was uttered the tall and still erect form of +the dethroned Autocrat suddenly shrank together, lurched forward, and +fell with a choking gasp and a clash of chains upon the hard-trampled +snow. A stream of blood rushed from his white, half-open lips, and +when they went to raise him he was dead. + +If ever son of woman died of a broken heart it was Alexander +Romanoff, last of the tyrants of Russia. Never had the avenging hand +of Nemesis, though long-delayed, fallen with more precise and +terrible justice. On the very spot on which thousands of his subjects +and fellow-creatures, innocent of all crime save a desire for +progress, had worn out their lives in torturing toil to provide the +gold that had gilded his luxury, he fell as the Idol fell of old in +the temple of Dagon. + +He had seen the blasting of his highest hopes in the hour of their +apparent fruition. He had beheld the destruction of his army and the +ruin of his dynasty. He had seen kindred and friends and faithful +servants sink under the nameless horrors of a fate he could do +nothing to alleviate, and with the knowledge that nothing but death +could release them from it, and now at the last moment death had +snatched from him even the poor consolation of sharing the sufferings +of those nearest and dearest to him on earth. + +This happened on the 1st of December 1905, at nine o'clock in the +morning. At the same hour Arnold leapt the _Ithuriel_ over the Ridge, +passed down the valley of Aeria like a flash of silver light, and +dropped to earth on the shores of the lake. In the same grove of +palms which had witnessed their despairing betrothal he found Natasha +swinging in a hammock, with a black-eyed six-weeks'-old baby nestling +in her bosom, and her own loveliness softened and etherealised by the +sacred grace of motherhood. + +"Welcome, my lord!" she said, with a bright flush of pleasure and the +sweetest smile even he had ever seen transfiguring her beauty, as she +stretched out her hand in welcome at his approach. "Does the King +come in peace?" + +"Yes, Angel mine! the empire that you asked for is yours. There is +not a regiment of men under arms in all the civilised world. The last +battle has been fought and won, and so there is peace on earth at +last!" + + THE END + + MORRISON AND GIBB PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. + + * * * * * + +Now Ready, Third Edition. + +_308 pages, demy 8vo, cloth gilt, 6s._, + +THE CAPTAIN OF THE MARY ROSE. + +_A TALE OF TO-MORROW._ + +By W. LAIRD CLOWES, + +U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE. + +With 60 Illustrations by the Chevalier de Martino and Fred. T. Jane. + +_A most graphic and enthralling description of the next Naval War +between France and Great Britain._ + + * * * * * + +THE FOLLOWING ARE A FEW PRESS OPINIONS. + +"Deserves something more than a mere passing notice."--_The Times._ + +"Full of exciting situations.... Has manifold attractions for all +sorts of readers."--_Army and Navy Gazette._ + +"The most notable book of the season."--_The Standard._ + +"A clever book. Mr. Clowes is pre-eminent for literary touch and +practical knowledge of naval affairs."--_Daily Chronicle._ + +"Mr. W. Laird Clowes' exciting story."--_Daily Telegraph._ + +"We read 'The Captain of the Mary Rose' at a sitting."--_The Pall +Mall Gazette._ + +"Written with no little spirit and imagination.... A stirring romance +of the future."--_Manchester Guardian._ + +"Is of a realistic and exciting character.... Designed to show what +the naval warfare of the future may be."--_Glasgow Herald._ + +"One of the most interesting volumes of the year."--_Liverpool +Journal of Commerce._ + +"It is well told and magnificently illustrated."--_United Service +Magazine._ + +"Full of absorbing interest."--_Engineer's Gazette._ + +"Is intensely realistic, so much so that after commencing the story +every one will be anxious to read to the end."--_Dundee Advertiser._ + +"The book is splendidly illustrated."--_Northern Whig._ + +TOWER PUBLISHING CO. LIMITED, + +91 MINORIES, LONDON, E.C.; + +_And all Booksellers throughout the Kingdom_. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Angel of the Revolution, by George Griffith + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ANGEL OF THE REVOLUTION *** + +***** This file should be named 31324-8.txt or 31324-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/3/2/31324/ + +Produced by Bruce Albrecht, Michael Roe and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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