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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. + + + + + + +</pre> + +<div class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/cover-spine.jpg" alt="cover spine" width="136" height="640" /><img src="images/cover-front.jpg" alt="cover front" width="448" height="640" /> +</div> +<h1> +THE ANGEL OF THE REVOLUTION<br /> +</h1> +<p class="titlelast"> +MORRISON AND GIBB, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.<br /> +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" alt="NATASHA" width="420" height="640" /> +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>Drawn by Edwin S. Hope.</i> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +NATASHA +</p> +<h1> +THE ANGEL<br /> +OF THE<br /> +REVOLUTION<br /> +</h1> +<p class="h1a"> +A Tale of the Coming Terror<br /> +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +BY<br /> +GEORGE GRIFFITH<br /> +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +<i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY FRED. T. JANE</i><br /> +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +FIFTH EDITION<br /> +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +LONDON<br /> +TOWER PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED<br /> +91 <span class="smcap">Minories</span>, E.C.<br /> +1894<br /> +</p> +<p class="titlelast"> +<i>Copyrighted Abroad</i>] [<i>All Foreign Rights Reserved</i><br /> +</p> +<p class="titlelast"> +TO<br /> +CYRIL ARTHUR PEARSON<br /> +TO WHOSE SUGGESTION<br /> +THE WRITING OF THIS STORY<br /> +WAS PRIMARILY DUE<br /> +THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE INSCRIBED<br /> +BY<br /> +THE AUTHOR<br /> +</p> +<h2> +CONTENTS. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> +CHAP.<span class="rmn">PAGE</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter1">I. AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR</a>, <span class="rmn">1</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter2">II. AT WAR WITH SOCIETY</a>, <span class="rmn">8</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter3">III. A FRIENDLY CHAT</a>, <span class="rmn">16</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter4">IV. THE HOUSE ON CLAPHAM COMMON</a>, <span class="rmn">23</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter5">V. THE INNER CIRCLE</a>, <span class="rmn">30</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter6">VI. NEW FRIENDS</a>, <span class="rmn">37</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter7">VII. THE DAUGHTER OF NATAS</a>, <span class="rmn">46</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter8">VIII. LEARNING THE PART</a>, <span class="rmn">54</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter9">IX. THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS</a>, <span class="rmn">63</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter10">X. THE "ARIEL,"</a> <span class="rmn">70</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter11">XI. FIRST BLOOD</a>, <span class="rmn">78</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter12">XII. IN THE MASTER'S NAME</a>, <span class="rmn">85</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter13">XIII. FOR LIFE OR DEATH</a>, <span class="rmn">91</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter14">XIV. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MOMENT</a>, <span class="rmn">98</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter15">XV. A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY</a>, <span class="rmn">103</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter16">XVI. A WOOING IN MID-AIR</a>, <span class="rmn">110</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter17">XVII. AERIA FELIX</a>, <span class="rmn">119</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter18">XVIII. A NAVY OF THE FUTURE</a>, <span class="rmn">127</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter19">XIX. THE EVE OF BATTLE</a>, <span class="rmn">135</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter20">XX. BETWEEN TWO LIVES</a>, <span class="rmn">141</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter21">XXI. JUST IN TIME</a>, <span class="rmn">153</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter22">XXII. ARMED NEUTRALITY</a>, <span class="rmn">162</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter23">XXIII. A BATTLE IN THE NIGHT</a>, <span class="rmn">169</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter24">XXIV. THE NEW WARFARE</a>, <span class="rmn">179</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter25">XXV. THE HERALDS OF DISASTER</a>, <span class="rmn">188</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter26">XXVI. AN INTERLUDE</a>, <span class="rmn">193</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter27">XXVII. ON THE TRACK OF TREASON</a>, <span class="rmn">201</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter28">XXVIII. A SKIRMISH IN THE CLOUDS</a>, <span class="rmn">208</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter29">XXIX. AN EMBASSY FROM THE SKY</a>, <span class="rmn">216</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter30">XXX. AT CLOSE QUARTERS</a>, <span class="rmn">225</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter31">XXXI. A RUSSIAN RAID</a>, <span class="rmn">233</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter32">XXXII. THE END OF THE CHASE</a>, <span class="rmn">241</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter33">XXXIII. THE BREAKING OF THE CHARM</a>, <span class="rmn">247</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter34">XXXIV. THE PATH OF CONQUEST</a>, <span class="rmn">251</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter35">XXXV. FROM CHAOS TO ARCADIE</a>, <span class="rmn">258</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter36">XXXVI. LOVE AND DUTY</a>, <span class="rmn">267</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter37">XXXVII. THE CAPTURE OF A CONTINENT</a>, <span class="rmn">276</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter38">XXXVIII. THE BEGINNING OF THE END</a>, <span class="rmn">289</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter39">XXXIX. THE BATTLE OF DOVER</a>, <span class="rmn">295</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter40">XL. BELEAGUERED LONDON</a>, <span class="rmn">301</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter41">XLI. AN ENVOY OF DELIVERANCE</a>, <span class="rmn">308</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter42">XLII. THE EVE OF ARMAGEDDON</a>, <span class="rmn">315</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter43">XLIII. THE OLD LION AT BAY</a>, <span class="rmn">323</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter44">XLIV. THE TURN OF THE BATTLE-TIDE</a>, <span class="rmn">331</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter45">XLV. ARMAGEDDON</a>, <span class="rmn">339</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter46">XLVI. VICTORY</a>, <span class="rmn">347</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter47">XLVII. THE JUDGMENT OF NATAS</a>, <span class="rmn">355</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter48">XLVIII. THE ORDERING OF EUROPE</a>, <span class="rmn">366</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter49">XLIX. THE STORY OF THE MASTER</a>, <span class="rmn">375</span><br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<a href="#chapter50">EPILOGUE.—"AND ON EARTH PEACE!"</a> <span class="rmn">386</span><br /> +<a name="page1"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 1]</span> +</p> +<h1> +THE ANGEL OF THE REVOLUTION. +</h1> +<h2> +<a name="chapter1"></a> +CHAPTER I. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<span style="float: left;">"</span><img src="images/dc-p001.png" alt="V" width="116" height="131" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1">Victory! It flies! I am master of the Powers +of the Air at last!"</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Let us see how far he was justified in that belief. +</p> +<hr /> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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, +<a name="page2"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 2]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page3"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 3]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +He had discovered the true motive power at last. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page4"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 4]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page5"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 5]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"God help me! What <i>am</i> I to do?" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Ten minutes later he rose to his feet and said aloud— +</p> +<p> +"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." +<a name="page6"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 6]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Echo</i> 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:— +</p> +<blockquote> +<p class="nowrap"> +<span class="smcap">Railway Outrage in Russia.</span> +</p> +<p> +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 <span class="sanserif">T</span> 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. +</p> +</blockquote> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page7"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 7]</span> +I'm in? I believe he would, for he was one of the few really +good-hearted men I have so far met with. +</p> +<p> +"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." +<a name="page8"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 8]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter2"></a> +CHAPTER II. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +AT WAR WITH SOCIETY. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p008.png" alt="W" width="118" height="131" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +From Blackfriars Arnold walked briskly towards Westminster, +<a name="page9"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 9]</span> +bitterly contrasting as he went the lavish display of +wealth around him with the sordid and seemingly hopeless +poverty of his own desperate condition. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +For the twentieth time he had paused in his weary walk to +and fro to lean on the parapet close by Cleopatra's Needle. +<a name="page10"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 10]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +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— +<a name="page11"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 11]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"There was no rudeness, sir; and, besides, why should a +gentleman like you apologise for speaking to a"— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The suite of rooms occupied by Arnold's new acquaintance +was the beau ideal of a wealthy bachelor's abode. Small, compact, +<a name="page12"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 12]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +He stopped and looked at his guest through the wreaths +of his cigar smoke as much as to say: "And now who +are you?" +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page13"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 13]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +Before he had finished speaking Arnold had risen to his feet. +He heard him out, and then he said, slowly and steadily— +<a name="page14"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 14]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"That is the sign-manual of Russian tyranny—the mark of +the knout!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Before Arnold had overcome his horror his host had re-adjusted +his clothing. Then he turned to him and said— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page15"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 15]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +"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!" +<a name="page16"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 16]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter3"></a> +CHAPTER III. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +A FRIENDLY CHAT. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p016.png" alt="S" width="118" height="132" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page17"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 17]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +So saying, Arnold got up from the sofa, stretched himself, +and went off to make his toilet. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +During breakfast they chatted about their plans for the day, +and then drifted into generalities, chiefly of a political nature. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"I must say you're a queer sort of conspirator, Colston. +My idea of Nihilists and members of revolutionary societies has +<a name="page18"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 18]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page19"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 19]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"This Brotherhood of yours is well named the Terror; but +was not that rather a murder than an execution?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page20"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 20]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +"Go on," said Arnold quietly; "so far I consent. For the +rest I would rather hear you to the end." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"May I make conditions?" +<a name="page21"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 21]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Good!" interrupted Colston. "There spoke the true +enthusiast. Go on." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page22"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 22]</span> +you know, when I am away from it I feel just like a woman +away from her first baby." +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page23"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 23]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter4"></a> +CHAPTER IV. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE HOUSE ON CLAPHAM COMMON. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p023.png" alt="T" width="118" height="133" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +As they mounted the dirty, evil-smelling staircase, Colston +said— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +As he spoke he put the key in the lock, and opened the +door, bidding his companion enter as he did so. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page24"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 24]</span> +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— +</p> +<p> +"It is the last miracle of science! With a few such ships +as that one could conquer the world in a month!" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page25"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 25]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"How on earth is that managed?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page26"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 26]</span> +Ainsworth from a few incautious words that he spoke in one of +our cabs." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Is Mr. Smith at home?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page27"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 27]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +As he ceased speaking there was a knock at the door. It +opened and the footman reappeared, saying in the most +commonplace fashion— +</p> +<p> +"Mr. Smith will be happy to see you now, gentlemen. Will +you kindly walk this way?" +<a name="page28"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 28]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Das Wort ist Freiheit." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Quien va?" +</p> +<p> +"Zwei Freunde der Bruderschaft." +</p> +<p> +"Por la libertad?" +</p> +<p> +"Für Freiheit über alles!" +</p> +<p> +"Pass, friends." +</p> +<p> +The rifle grounded as the words were spoken, and the sentry +stepped back to the wall of the passage. +</p> +<p> +At the same moment another bell rang beyond the door, and +then the door itself opened as the other had done. +</p> +<p> +They passed through, and it closed instantly behind them, +leaving them in total darkness. +</p> +<p> +Colston caught Arnold by the arm, and drew him towards +him, saying as he did so— +</p> +<p> +"What do you think of our system of passwords?" +</p> +<p> +"Pretty hard to get through unless one knew them, I should +think. Why the different languages?" +</p> +<p> +"To make assurance doubly sure every member of the Inner +Circle must be conversant with four European languages. On +<a name="page29"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 29]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"H'st! We are going in. Remember what I said, and don't +speak again till some one asks you to do so." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Who stands there?" +</p> +<p> +"Maurice Colston and the Master of the Air," replied Colston +in the same language. +</p> +<p> +"You are welcome," was the reply, and then Colston, taking +Arnold by the arm, led him into the room. +<a name="page30"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 30]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter5"></a> +CHAPTER V. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE INNER CIRCLE. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p030.png" alt="" width="120" height="136" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page31"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 31]</span> +leer of madness, and her little white hands clawing nervously +at her long dishevelled hair. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"And would <i>you</i> stop them if you could?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"That is true, and augurs well for our future agreement. +Be kind enough to come to the table and take a seat." +</p> +<p> +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— +<a name="page32"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 32]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"I must first know as exactly as possible what the work +of the Brotherhood is." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"Its influence reaches beyond these into the various trade +<a name="page33"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 33]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page34"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 34]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +For two or three minutes after the masked spokesman of +the Inner Circle had ceased speaking, there was absolute +<a name="page35"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 35]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"As I undoubtedly should," added Arnold quietly. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +Arnold bowed his acquiescence, and the spokesman took a +piece of paper from the table and read aloud— +<a name="page36"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 36]</span> +</p> +<p> +"<i>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.</i>" +</p> +<p> +As he finished reading the oath, he handed the paper to +Arnold, saying as he did so— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Welcome to the Brotherhood! Thrice welcome! for your +coming has brought the day of redemption nearer!" +<a name="page37"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 37]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter6"></a> +CHAPTER VI. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +NEW FRIENDS. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p037.png" alt="" width="119" height="136" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page38"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 38]</span> +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Arnold flushed hotly at the words with the sudden passionate +anger that they roused within him, and replied in a low, steady +voice— +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +He had mixed but little with women, and during the past +few years not at all, and therefore the marvellous beauty of the +<a name="page39"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 39]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page40"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 40]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page41"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 41]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page42"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 42]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page43"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 43]</span> +motion independently of the others which move the propellers, +and then you will see what I mean." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The experiment was a perfect and undeniable success in +<a name="page44"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 44]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +So saying the President led the way to the Council-chamber, +and there, after the <i>Ariel</i>—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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"Certainly," was the reply. "I could reproduce them in +<i>fac simile</i> without the slightest difficulty. Why do you ask?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page45"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 45]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"You will go with them, and they will explain everything +to you <i>en route</i>, 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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page46"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 46]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter7"></a> +CHAPTER VII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE DAUGHTER OF NATAS. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p046.png" alt="" width="118" height="132" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page47"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 47]</span> +England as "God Save the Queen." The prelude ended with +a few bars of the "Marseillaise," and then Natasha began. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"I hope so," replied the engineer quietly, "and, what is +more, I believe that some day I shall hear it." +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, truly!" replied Radna, turning round and dashing +fiercely into the "Marseillaise" again. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page48"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 48]</span> +brougham. Will you and our Admiral of the Air condescend +to accept a lift as far as Chelsea?" +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page49"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 49]</span> +air than in a cab. So they lit their cigars, buttoned up their +coats, and started off eastward along the Embankment to +Vauxhall. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"And that figure is?" +</p> +<p> +"Natasha. Tell me—who is she?" +</p> +<p> +"I know no more as to her true identity than you do, or else +I would answer you with pleasure." +</p> +<p> +"What! Do you mean to say"— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Now you have raised my curiosity again," interrupted +Arnold, in an inquiring tone. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"There were five persons responsible for it to begin with—the +governor of the prison, the prefect of police for the district, a +<a name="page50"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 50]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"They were justly slain. Now tell me more about Natasha." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, then the Chief is not Natas?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"We don't call those murders, my friend," drily interrupted +Colston; "we call them what they really are—executions." +<a name="page51"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 51]</span> +</p> +<p> +"I beg your pardon; I was using the phraseology of the +newspaper. What was his crime?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page52"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 52]</span> +the most trusted agents of the Petersburg police. I told +her what had happened. +</p> +<p> +"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.' +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +Colston stopped and looked at him with a laugh in his eyes. +Then he put his hand on his shoulder and said— +</p> +<p> +"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! +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>she</i> knows, still in the +blissful state of maiden fancy-freedom." +<a name="page53"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 53]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"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? +</p> +<p> +"As for Natasha, peerless and all as she is, has not the poet +of the ages said of just such as her— +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +She's beautiful, and therefore to be woo'd;<br /> +She is a woman: therefore to be won?<br /> +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page54"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 54]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter8"></a> +CHAPTER VIII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +LEARNING THE PART. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p054.png" alt="I" width="119" height="132" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page55"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 55]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page56"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 56]</span> +brought him out of bed with effective suddenness, and he made +a hasty toilet for breakfast, leaving more important preparations +until afterwards. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Albania</i> was wrecked off the coast of Portugal. +The Princess had a sister, who was drowned with her husband +in the <i>Albania</i>, and she left a daughter about Natasha's then +age, but who died of consumption shortly after in Nice. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page57"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 57]</span> +no other name, and to call her Miss Darrel there would be to +produce something like an earthquake." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Too much like addressing one's sweetheart, eh?" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Welcome, Richard Arnold! The friends of the Cause are +<a name="page58"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 58]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page59"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 59]</span> +lunch-bell. Mr. Colston, your arm. Fedora, will you show +Mr. Arnold the way?" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>vis-à-vis</i> to Natasha, a fact which +had a perceptible effect upon his appetite. +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +Arnold bowed his assent, and she went on— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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— +</p> +<p> +"Well, through a friend at the Russian Embassy, I have +learnt that a French engineer has, as he says, perfected a +<a name="page60"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 60]</span> +balloon constructed on a new principle, which he claims will +meet the conditions of the Tsar's offer. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Nineteenth</i>, or, as it is now called, the +<i>Twentieth Century</i>, 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?" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"No doubt the Little Father will duly recognise your +kindness, Princess, when he gets quite to the bottom of the +matter." +</p> +<p> +"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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +<a name="page61"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 61]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +Again Natasha's eyes flashed approval across the table, but +nevertheless she said— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Who did you say? Martinov? Is that the Colonel +Martinov who is the director of the secret police here?" asked +Colston hurriedly. +</p> +<p> +"Yes," replied the Princess, "the same. Why do you +ask?" +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page62"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 62]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page63"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 63]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter9"></a> +CHAPTER IX. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p063.png" alt="O" width="113" height="131" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page64"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 64]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +Save for a low, murmuring groan that ran round the table, +the news was received in silence. It was too terrible, too +<a name="page65"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 65]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page66"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 66]</span> +Dmitrietka. He had been betrayed by one of his own +servants, and a police visit was the result. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page67"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 67]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Ariel</i> is complete, and that she has made a +perfectly satisfactory trial trip to the clouds. The <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"It is extremely hostile to England, and amounts, in fact, to +a compact on the part of France to declare war and seize the +<a name="page68"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 68]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"A large steamer has been purchased and manned with +<a name="page69"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 69]</span> +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 <i>Ariel</i>. 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 <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +"The position of this island is in the instructions which +Alexis Mazanoff takes to Drumcraig to-night, and the <i>Ariel</i> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +As he spoke he held out his hand, which the young man +grasped heartily, saying— +</p> +<p> +"Farewell! I will obey to the death, and if success can be +earned we will earn it. If not, you shall hear of the <i>Ariel's</i> +work in Russia before the week is out." +</p> +<p> +He then took leave of the other members of the Council, +coming last to Radna. As their hands clasped she said— +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page70"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 70]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter10"></a> +CHAPTER X. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE "ARIEL." +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p070.png" alt="O" width="117" height="132" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +On the sixth stroke of twelve that night the Scotch +express drew out of Euston Station. At half-past +nine the next morning, the <i>Lurline</i>, 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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." +</p> +<p> +Yes, and now the time had come to justify that trust and +<a name="page71"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 71]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Where is this place? How far is it as the crow flies from +here?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Good! That will be twenty hours' flight for us, or less if +this south-west wind holds good." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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.' +</p> +<p> +"In virtue of that paradox I am able to tell you that the +speed of the <i>Ariel</i> 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." +</p> +<p> +"That means from the eastern side of the range!" +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Ariel</i> yet. +</p> +<p> +"I have made several improvements on the model, as I +<a name="page72"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 72]</span> +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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lurline</i> to dinner, which Colston +had deferred in order to eat it in Arnold's company. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The instructions, signed by Natas himself, were very precise +on certain essential points, and in their broad outlines, but, +<a name="page73"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 73]</span> +like all wisely planned instructions to such men as these, +they left ample margin for individual initiative in case of +emergency. +</p> +<p> +Some of the stores of the <i>Lurline</i> had to be transferred to +the <i>Ariel</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The crew that Arnold had chosen for the voyage consisted, +curiously enough, of men belonging to the four nationalities +<a name="page74"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 74]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> with +Colston, took his place at the wheel, and ordered the fan-wheels +to be set in motion. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +When the barometer marked eight hundred feet above the +sea-level, the <i>Ariel</i> passed through a stratum of light clouds, +and on the upper side of this the sun was still shining, shooting +<a name="page75"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 75]</span> +his almost level rays across it as though over some illimitable +sea of white fleecy billows, whose crests were tipped with rosy, +golden light. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +While he was still wrapped in admiration of the strange +beauty of this, to him, marvellous scene, the <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +Arnold now turned a few spokes of the wheel, and headed +the <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"Now, you shall see her fly," said Arnold, taking a speaking-tube +from the wall and whistling thrice into it. +</p> +<p> +Colston felt a slight tremor in the deck beneath his feet, +and then a lifting movement. He staggered a little, and said +to Arnold— +</p> +<p> +"What's that? Are we going higher still?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," replied the engineer. "She is feeling the air-planes +now under the increased speed. I am going up to fifteen +<a name="page76"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 76]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The rapidity with which these mountain-tops rose up on +either side, and were left behind, proved to Colston that the +<i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page77"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 77]</span> +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"What is that? Not the sea, surely!" +</p> +<p> +"Yes, those are the waves of the Firth of Forth breaking on +the shores of Fife." +</p> +<p> +"What! Do you mean to tell me that we have crossed +Scotland already? Why, we have not been an hour on the +way yet!" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +As he spoke he moved the lever beside him about an inch, +and instantly the clouds seemed to rise up toward them as the +<i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"Ah, I'm afraid that would be too much even for the <i>Ariel</i> +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." +<a name="page78"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 78]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter11"></a> +CHAPTER XI. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +FIRST BLOOD. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p078.png" alt="A" width="120" height="137" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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 <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page79"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 79]</span> +dropped off into a sound, dreamless sleep, and knew nothing +more until Arnold knocked at his door and said— +</p> +<p> +"If you want to see the sun rise, you had better get up. +Coffee will be ready in a quarter of an hour." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> was passing over a +sea dotted in the distance with an immense number of islands. +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Ariel</i> seems to count +distance." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"So much the better," replied Colston. "They will have a +much better chance of escape if there is good travelling for a +sleigh." +</p> +<p> +"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." +<a name="page80"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 80]</span> +</p> +<p> +Colston shook his head, saying— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"What is that?" asked Colston. +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Ariel</i> can do with the strongest +fortress in Europe. How would you like to fire the first shot +in the war of the Revolution?" +</p> +<p> +Colston was silent for a few moments, and then he looked +up and said— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +They went down into the chief saloon, and there Arnold +showed Colston a model of the new weapon with which the +<i>Ariel</i> 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 <i>Ariel</i> flying up into +the sky, until the barometer showed an elevation of three +thousand feet. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page81"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 81]</span> +sound that he had heard as the <i>Ariel</i> rose from Drumcraig +Island. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"Now," said Arnold, "we can go outside without any fear of +being blown off into space." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>papier-maché</i>. 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"Now," said Arnold, "we're ready! Meanwhile you two +can go and load the two after guns." +</p> +<p> +The men saluted and retired, and Arnold continued— +</p> +<p> +"Just take a look down with your glasses and see if they +see us. I expect they do by this time." +</p> +<p> +Colston put his field-glass to his eyes, and looked down at +the fortress, which was now only six or seven miles ahead. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page82"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 82]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"Now," he said. "Watch!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +He crossed the deck and set the other gun by its scale, +saying as he did so— +</p> +<p> +"Put your finger on the button and press when I tell you." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"Now!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p082a.jpg" alt="Good God, that is awful." width="640" height="430" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"Good God, that is awful." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page82">page 82</a>.</i> +<a name="page83"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 83]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i>. +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"There goes one, if not two, of his powder magazines. +Look! half the fortress is a wreck. I wonder which fired the +lucky shot." +</p> +<p> +The man who a year before had been an inoffensive student +of mechanics and an enthusiast dreaming of an unsolved +<a name="page84"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 84]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +As soon as they had seen the effects of the last two shots, +Arnold said with a grim, half-smile on his lips— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +He signalled again to the engine-room, and with the united +aid of her planes and fan-wheels the <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> 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. +<a name="page85"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 85]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter12"></a> +CHAPTER XII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +IN THE MASTER'S NAME. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p085.png" alt="T" width="119" height="133" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +The <i>Ariel</i>, 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The spot which had been selected for the resting-place of the +<i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page86"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 86]</span> +</p> +<p> +It was a little after three o'clock on the Thursday afternoon +when the <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"I will tell her," said Colston simply, "and if die she must, +she will die content." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Rather more than half an hour's tramp through the forest +<a name="page87"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 87]</span> +brought Colston and Ivan out on the road at a point a little +less than five miles from Tiumen. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +<a name="page88"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 88]</span> +</p> +<p> +"In the Master's name!" +</p> +<p> +The official took his hand, and, bending over it, replied in a +low tone— +</p> +<p> +"I am his servant. What is his will?" +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Good! That is sooner than we expected in London. We +thought it would not reach here till to-morrow morning." +</p> +<p> +"In London! What do you mean? You cannot have come +from London, for there has been no train for two days." +</p> +<p> +"Nevertheless I have come from London. I left England +yesterday evening." +</p> +<p> +"Yesterday evening! But, with all submission, that is impossible. +If there were a railway the whole distance it could +not be done." +</p> +<p> +"To the Master there is nothing impossible. Look! I +received that the evening I left London." +</p> +<p> +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." +</p> +<p> +Colston's host bent over it with almost superstitious +reverence, and handed it back, saying humbly— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i>, and Colston purposely +<a name="page89"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 89]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +He allowed the official a few moments to absorb the full +wonder of the seeming marvel, and then he replied— +</p> +<p> +"Yes, we are all his servants <i>to the death</i>. 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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page90"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 90]</span> +</p> +<p> +"The servant you can leave behind on any excuse. From +Novgorod you can travel <i>viâ</i> Moscow to Königsberg, and, if +you will take my advice, you will get out of Russia as soon as +the Fates will let you." +</p> +<p> +"It shall be done, Nobleness. But how will the disappearance +of Dmitri Soudeikin, sub-commissioner of police, be +accounted for?" +</p> +<p> +"That also has been provided for. Before you go you will +pin this with a dagger to your sitting-room table." +</p> +<p> +The official took the little piece of paper which Colston held +out to him as he spoke. It read thus— +</p> +<blockquote> +<p> +Dmitri Soudeikin, sub-commissioner of police at Tiumen, has been removed +for over-zeal in the service of the Tsar. +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<span class="smcap">Natas</span>.<br /> +</p> +</blockquote> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page91"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 91]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter13"></a> +CHAPTER XIII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +FOR LIFE OR DEATH. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p091.png" alt="N" width="115" height="131" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page92"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 92]</span> +</p> +<p> +As the officer returned Colston's salute he turned to +Soudeikin and said civilly enough— +</p> +<p> +"I did not know you had another guest. I hope we shall +not overcrowd you." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes, we will go now and get them put in safety for the +night, if you will lead the way." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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?" +<a name="page93"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 93]</span> +</p> +<p> +"For Sakhalin by sentence, but as a matter of fact for +neither, as far as I can see." +</p> +<p> +"You mean that the Little Father will pardon her or give +her a lighter sentence, I suppose." +</p> +<p> +The officer grinned meaningly as he replied— +</p> +<p> +"<i>Nu vot!</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>ennui</i>. 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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Then the door opened softly and Soudeikin and Colston +slipped into the room. The former shook him by the shoulder. +<a name="page94"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 94]</span> +His eyes remained half closed, his head lolled loosely from +side to side, and his arms hung heavily downwards. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"Ready?" whispered Soudeikin. +</p> +<p> +"Have you finished in there?" asked Colston, jerking his +thumb towards the sitting-room. +</p> +<p> +Soudeikin nodded in reply, and the five left the house by the +back door. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page95"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 95]</span> +sleigh, with the horses ready harnessed, in charge of a man +dressed as a mujik. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Farewell! If we succeed, the Master shall know how +well you have done your part." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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' +<a name="page96"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 96]</span> +ears, and shouted at them till they put their heads down and +tore over the smooth snow in gallant style. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Their pursuers were now within a hundred yards of them, +and Natasha, speaking for the first time since the race had +begun, said— +</p> +<p> +"I think I can do something now." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +They were not long left in doubt as to the intentions of their +<a name="page97"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 97]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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!" +</p> +<p> +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 +<span class="sanserif">T</span> 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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"The daughter of Natas sends greeting to the Governor of +Tiumen, and thanks him for his hospitality." +<a name="page98"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 98]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter14"></a> +CHAPTER XIV. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MOMENT. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p098.png" alt="O" width="116" height="132" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +On the morning of Tuesday, the 9th of March +1904, the <i>Times</i> published the following telegram +at the head of its Foreign Intelligence:— +</p> +</div> +<blockquote> +<p> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<span class="smcap">Astounding Occurrence in Russia</span>.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<i>Destruction of Kronstadt by an unknown Air-Ship.</i><br /> +(<i>From our own Correspondent.</i>)<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +St. Petersburg, <i>March 8th</i>, 4 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span><br /> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page99"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 99]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<p> +Within an hour of the appearance of this telegram, which +appeared only in the <i>Times</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +The <i>Times</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page100"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 100]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<hr /> +<p> +The above necessarily brief and imperfect digest gives only +the headings of an article which filled nearly two columns of +the <i>Times</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Berliner Tageblatt</i>, the <i>Newe Freie Presse</i>, the +<i>Kölnische Zeitung</i>, and the <i>Journal des Débats</i> had received +later and somewhat similar telegrams, and had given their +respective views of the catastrophe to the world. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page101"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 101]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page102"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 102]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page103"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 103]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter15"></a> +CHAPTER XV. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p103.png" alt="W" width="118" height="131" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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 <i>Ariel</i> herself was quietly +pursuing her way in mid-air south-westerly +from the scene of the skirmish outside the Sir Ulang Pass. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page104"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 104]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +It was published in the <i>Transactions</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Louis Holt's original MS. had been purchased by the +President of the Inner Circle, and the <i>Ariel</i> 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 +<a name="page105"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 105]</span> +the tremendous struggle which would, ere long, be shaking +the world to its foundations. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> could, if necessary, traverse in twenty-five hours +the three thousand odd miles which separated it from the +centre of Europe. +</p> +<p> +After the rescue of Natasha and the Princess on the +Tobolsk road, the <i>Ariel</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +As the British had defeated them unaided, the <i>Ariel</i> had +taken no part in the affair, and, after vanishing from the +sight of the astonished combatants, had proceeded upon her +voyage of discovery. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Those three days were the happiest that his life had so far +<a name="page106"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 106]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page107"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 107]</span> +bond between them, though not necessarily having anything +to do with affection. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page108"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 108]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i>. 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. +</p> +<p> +In the afternoon Arnold had had to perform the pleasant +task of showing them over the <i>Ariel</i>, explaining the working +of the machinery, and putting the wonderful vessel through +various evolutions to show what she was capable of doing. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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, +<a name="page109"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 109]</span> +because all the realms of earth and air belonged to those who +wielded it. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page110"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 110]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter16"></a> +CHAPTER XVI. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +A WOOING IN MID AIR. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p110.png" alt="A" width="121" height="137" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +After breakfast on the Friday morning, +Natasha and Arnold were standing in the +bows of the <i>Ariel</i>, admiring the magnificent +panorama that lay stretched out five thousand +feet below them. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +"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— +</p> +<p> +"Mine! What do you mean, my friend?" +<a name="page111"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 111]</span> +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page112"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 112]</span> +</p> +<p> +"Remember your oath—the oath which I have taken as +well as you—'<i>As long as I live those ends shall be my ends, and +no human considerations shall weigh with me where those ends +are concerned.</i>' 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? +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page113"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 113]</span> +share the world-empire with me. It is an empire of peace and +not of war that I shall offer to you." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"What is that." +</p> +<p> +"Have I a rival—not among men, for of that I am careless—but +in your own heart?" +<a name="page114"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 114]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page115"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 115]</span> +lives of constant dissimulation, among themselves they had +no secrets from each other. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page116"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 116]</span> +</p> +<p> +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 +<i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> being hit, and that +even if she were the bullet would glance harmlessly off her +smooth hull of hardened aluminium. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>terra firma</i>. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"This gives us, after all, very little idea of the distance we +<a name="page117"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 117]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +"What is your own idea?" asked Colston. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +While he was speaking the three propellers had begun to +revolve at full speed, and the <i>Ariel</i> darted forward with a +velocity that caused the mountains she had just crossed to +sink rapidly on the horizon. +</p> +<p> +All the afternoon the <i>Ariel</i> 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 +<a name="page118"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 118]</span> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Aeria is in sight!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +All agreed that this would be the best plan, and so the <i>Ariel</i> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i>, 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. +<a name="page119"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 119]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter17"></a> +CHAPTER XVII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +AERIA FELIX. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p119.png" alt="E" width="119" height="136" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +Every one on board the <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"If you would like to steer the <i>Ariel</i> into your new kingdom, +I shall be delighted to give you the lesson in steering that I +promised you yesterday." +</p> +<p> +Natasha saw the inner meaning of the offer at a glance, and +replied with a smile that made his blood tingle— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +<a name="page120"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 120]</span> +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"All ready, sir!" +</p> +<p> +"Very well," replied Arnold. "I will take the wheel, and +do you tell every one to keep under cover." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"Why every one under cover, Captain Arnold?" asked +Natasha, as soon as the two were ensconced in the wheel-house +and the door shut. +</p> +<p> +"Because I am going to put the <i>Ariel</i> 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." +</p> +<p> +"Then how will you get over them?" +</p> +<p> +"I shall first take a cruise and see if I can find a negotiable +gap, and then leap it." +</p> +<p> +"What! Leap seven thousand feet?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +While he was speaking the <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +Arnold headed her away from the mountains until he had +got an offing of a couple of miles, and then he swung her round +<a name="page121"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 121]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +When he had explored some twenty miles of the mountain +wall, Arnold suddenly pointed towards it, and said— +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Ariel</i> +can leap that as easily as an Irish hunter would take a five-barred +gate." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +"Are you sure you can do it?" she asked almost involuntarily. +</p> +<p> +"Perfectly sure," replied Arnold quietly, "otherwise I should +not attempt it with you on board. The <i>Ariel</i> 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!" +</p> +<p> +"I am not exactly afraid, but it <i>looks</i> a fearful thing to +attempt." +</p> +<p> +"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." +<a name="page122"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 122]</span> +</p> +<p> +By this time the <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +In an instant the propellers redoubled their revolutions, and +the <i>Ariel</i> 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— +</p> +<p> +"Now, hold on tight!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> soared upwards +and swept over it nearly a thousand feet to the good. +</p> +<p> +"Ah!" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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 name="page123"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 123]</span> +a paradise! Truly this is a lovely kingdom that you have +brought me to!" +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p122b.jpg" alt="The Ariel sank down after the leap across the ridge." width="640" height="442" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"The <i>Ariel</i> sank down after the leap across the ridge." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page123">page 123</a>.</i> +</p> +<p> +"And one that you and I will yet reign over together," +replied Arnold quietly, as he moved the lever again and allowed +the <i>Ariel</i> to sink smoothly down the other side of the ridge +over which she had taken her tremendous leap. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page124"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 124]</span> +welling from the earth, it might be, hundreds of miles +away. +</p> +<p> +Of inhabitants there were absolutely no traces to be seen, +from the direction in which the <i>Ariel</i> 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 +<i>Ariel</i> opened up one of the many smaller valleys formed by +the ribs of the encircling mountains. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Thomas Jackson, ahoy!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +As soon as he was able to speak for laughing at the queer +incident, Arnold sent the fan-wheels aloft and lowered the +<i>Ariel</i> 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 <i>Ariel</i>. +<a name="page125"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 125]</span> +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> 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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +While Louis Holt was running along in this style, jerking +his words out in little short snappy sentences, and fussing +<a name="page126"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 126]</span> +about round the air-ship, she had sunk gently to the earth, +and her passengers had disembarked. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The introductions over, he was invited on board the <i>Ariel</i>, +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. +<a name="page127"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 127]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter18"></a> +CHAPTER XVIII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +A NAVY OF THE FUTURE. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p127.png" alt="A" width="118" height="137" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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 <i>Avondale</i>, the steamer +which was to bring out the materials for constructing +the Terrorists' aërial navy. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page128"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 128]</span> +with other forms, just as the flora and fauna of Australia have +been shut off from those of the rest of the world. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +So it came about that an hour or so after sunrise on Friday, +the 20th of May, the company of the <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> so that they would reach it about daybreak +on the following morning. +</p> +<p> +The voyage was quite uneventful, and the course that they +pursued led them westward through the Zegzeb and Nyti +<a name="page129"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 129]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +She was then about twelve miles to the northward. At the +speed at which the <i>Ariel</i> 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 <i>Ariel's</i> +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. +</p> +<p> +As soon as they were within hailing distance, those on board +<a name="page130"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 130]</span> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Are you all well on board?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Yes," replied Arnold. "I'll come alongside. You go +ahead, I'll do the rest." +</p> +<p> +So saying, he ran the <i>Ariel</i> up close to the quarter of the +<i>Avondale</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Avondale</i>. 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." +</p> +<p> +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:— +</p> +<blockquote> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<span class="smcap">Natas</span>.<br /> +<a name="page131"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 131]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The other letter was from Tremayne, dated more than a +fortnight previously, and gave him a brief <i>résumé</i> 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 <i>Lurline</i> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Avondale</i> arrived the next day at the +island which had been chosen as a dockyard, and the ship-building +was at once commenced. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page132"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 132]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Avondale</i> discharged +her cargo, the twelve new vessels were ready to take the air. +</p> +<p> +They were all built on the same plan as the <i>Ariel</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +In addition to the building materials and the necessary tools +and appliances for putting them together, the cargo of the <i>Avondale</i> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page133"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 133]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The scene of these evolutions was practically the course +taken by the <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +Arnold in the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page134"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 134]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +He was more than ever delighted with the air-ships, and +especially with the splendid proportions of the <i>Ithuriel</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Arnold, as admiral of the fleet, had transferred the command +of the <i>Ariel</i> to Colston, but he retained him as his +lieutenant in the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +Three days sufficed to get everything into working order in +the new colony, and on the morning of the fourth the <i>Ithuriel</i>, +having on board the original crew of the <i>Ariel</i>, 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. +<a name="page135"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 135]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter19"></a> +CHAPTER XIX. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE EVE OF BATTLE. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p135.png" alt="I" width="117" height="132" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +It will now be necessary to go back about six +weeks from the day that the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +This ideal—which, it is scarcely necessary to say, was still +considered as "beyond the range of practical politics"—formed +<a name="page136"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 136]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page137"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 137]</span> +means of destruction, for the dreadful effectiveness of which he +could vouch from personal experience. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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? +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page138"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 138]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<i>verbatim</i>, and the next morning the whole press of the country +was talking of nothing else. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page139"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 139]</span> +</p> +<p> +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,<a name="ref_1_1"></a><a href="#footnote_1_1" class="fnref">[1]</a> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page140"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 140]</span> +fooled away in party strife, French gold and Russian diplomacy +had done their work. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#ref_1_1">1</a>: 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. +<a name="page141"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 141]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter20"></a> +CHAPTER XX. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +BETWEEN TWO LIVES. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p141.png" alt="S" width="117" height="131" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +His body, too, exhibited no less strange a contrast than his +<a name="page142"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 142]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page143"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 143]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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, +<a name="page144"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 144]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"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? +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Times</i> 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! +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page145"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 145]</span> +called glorious, and those who achieve them the nations fall +down and worship. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +"What do you mean? You are speaking in parables." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"The nations of the West know nothing of this, and are +unsheathing the sword to destroy each other. Like a house +<a name="page146"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 146]</span> +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!" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page147"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 147]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page148"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 148]</span> +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— +</p> +<p> +"It is a worthy destiny! I will essay it for good or evil, for +life or death. I am with you to the end!" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p148b.jpg" alt="You have seen the Field of Armageddon." width="480" height="640" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"You have seen the Field of Armageddon." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page149">page 149</a>.</i> +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page149"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 149]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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—— +</p> +<p> +He felt a cool hand laid almost caressingly on his brow, and +the voice of Natas said beside him— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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!" +<a name="page150"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 150]</span> +</p> +<p> +"Amen!" said Natas very solemnly. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Peerage</i> 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! +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page151"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 151]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"When do you expect to hear that Arnold is off the south +coast?" +</p> +<p> +"Almost any day now; in fact, within the week, if everything +has gone right. Here is a letter from Johnston to say +that the <i>Lurline</i> 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 <i>Ariel</i>, or +whichever of the ships he comes in." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"He sails in the <i>Aurania</i>, 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 <i>Aurania</i> 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." +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Aurania</i> 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. +<a name="page152"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 152]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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 +<i>Aurania</i> gets sunk before we reach her," said Tremayne. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page153"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 153]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter21"></a> +CHAPTER XXI. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +JUST IN TIME. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p153.png" alt="A" width="117" height="136" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +As the train drew up in King's Cross station at +twelve the next day, almost the first words +that Tremayne heard were— +</p> +</div> +<p> +"Special <i>Pall Mall</i>, 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!" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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 +<i>Ariadne</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"Panic then gave place to curiosity. The air-ship crossed +the town at an elevation of about 3000 feet, described a +<a name="page154"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 154]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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 +<i>Aurania</i> soon after she leaves New York." +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page155"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 155]</span> +</p> +<p> +By midnight the <i>Lurline</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"Steamer ahoy! Who are you? and where are you going +to at that speed?" +</p> +<p> +"This is the <i>Lurline</i>, the Earl of Alanmere's yacht, from +Plymouth to Queenstown. We're only going at our usual +speed." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, if it's the <i>Lurline</i>, you needn't say that," answered the +officer who had hailed from the torpedo-boat, with a laugh. +"Is Lord Alanmere on board?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes, here I am," said Tremayne, replying instead of his +sailing-master. "Is that you, Selwyn? I thought I recognised +your voice." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Very sorry for you, old man; but if you will seek glory in +<a name="page156"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 156]</span> +a torpedo-boat, I don't see that you can expect anything else. +Will you come on board and have a drink?" +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"I've heard of it; it was in the London papers this morning. +Have you seen any more of it?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"No, very sorry I can't. Good-night, and keep well in to the +coast till you have to cross to Ireland. Good-bye?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"Steamer to the south'ard!" sang out the man on the forecastle, +just as Tremayne came on deck after an attempt at a +<a name="page157"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 157]</span> +brief nap. He picked up his glass, and took a good look at +the thin cloud of smoke away on the southern horizon. +</p> +<p> +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 +<i>Lurline</i>. 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lurline</i>. +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +By this time she was about seven miles away, and the +<i>Lurline</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +Still the stranger showed no flag, and though Tremayne +could hardly believe that a hostile cruiser and a couple of +<a name="page158"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 158]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lurline</i>; 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page159"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 159]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lurline</i>. 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. +</p> +<p> +Another shell from the Frenchman passed clear over the +<i>Lurline</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lurline</i>, and struck the advancing torpedo-boat square on +the bow. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page160"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 160]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Happily the <i>Lurline</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page161"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 161]</span> +stand, and the Frenchman, seeing that he was determined to +escape if he could, opened fire on him with his twenty-pounder. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lurline</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +One boat had also escaped, and that was hanging ready to +be lowered at a moment's notice. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"The air-ship! The air-ship!" +</p> +<p> +Hardly had the words left his lips when a shell from the +torpedo-boat struck the <i>Lurline</i> 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— +</p> +<p> +"The bottom's out of her! She'll go down in five minutes!" +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lurline</i> just as she pitched +backwards into the sea and went down with a run, stern foremost. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page162"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 162]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter22"></a> +CHAPTER XXII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +ARMED NEUTRALITY. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p162.png" alt="H" width="120" height="136" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +Hardly had the <i>Lurline</i> 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i>, +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— +</p> +<p> +"We were in time! Thank God we were in time, my +father!" +</p> +<p> +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! +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page163"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 163]</span> +</p> +<p> +As soon as Natas had been conveyed into the saloon, +Tremayne, after returning Arnold's hearty handclasp, said +to him— +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Lurline</i> 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." +</p> +<p> +"Certainly," replies Arnold. "I'll sink him for you in five +seconds as soon as we get aloft again." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"Neither, with your permission, fair lady. The British +cruiser saved us by coming on the scene at the right moment, +<a name="page164"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 164]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +"Ah, that would be better, of course. One good turn +deserves another. What are you going to do, Captain +Arnold?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +While they were talking, the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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 manœuvring +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> in somewhat unpleasant proximity, and Arnold +said— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +A huge column of foam rose up under the cruiser's stern; +<a name="page165"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 165]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +Meanwhile the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +A few moments later the tricolor, for the first time in the +war, dipped to the White Ensign, and the naval duel was over. +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Aurania</i> started from New +York this morning. How soon can you get across?" +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Ithuriel</i> can fly two hundred miles an hour if +necessary. But the <i>Aurania</i>, if she starts in good time, will +<a name="page166"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 166]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +Arnold at once signalled the necessary order from the +conning tower to the engine-room. The fan-wheels revolved +more slowly, and the <i>Ithuriel</i> sank swiftly downwards towards +the two cruisers, now lying side by side. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i>, +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 +<a name="page167"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 167]</span> +give any orders that might be necessary in case the conversation +took an unfriendly turn. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"Certainly. This is the Terrorist air-ship <i>Ithuriel</i>, 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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +There was an emphasis on the word "honourable" which +brought a flush to Arnold's cheek, as he replied— +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>honourable</i> 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?" +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"We had it by telegraph at Queenstown during the night. +She was going northward, when observed, by Larnaka"— +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page168"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 168]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Andromeda</i> forgot his prudence for the moment, and +said somewhat hotly— +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +For all answer there came a contemptuous laugh from the +deck of the <i>Ithuriel</i>, 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 <i>Andromeda</i> +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. +</p> +<p> +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? +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> +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? +<a name="page169"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 169]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter23"></a> +CHAPTER XXIII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +A BATTLE IN THE NIGHT. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p169.png" alt="A" width="122" height="138" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +At half-past five on the morning of the 23rd of +June, the Cunard liner <i>Aurania</i> 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The terrible mistake that had been made by the House of +Lords in negativing the Italian Loan had already become +<a name="page170"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 170]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +The task, therefore, which lay before the <i>Aurania</i> 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 <i>Andromeda</i>, thanks to the +assistance of the <i>Ithuriel</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Sidonia</i>, the construction +of which was being pushed forward on the Clyde with +all possible speed, was ready to take the water. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +These, so far as the rest of the world was concerned, were +a profound secret, and he was the only man outside the +<a name="page171"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 171]</span> +President's Cabinet and the Tsar's Privy Council who had +accurate information with regard to them. The <i>Aurania</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Thus, when the <i>Aurania</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Five hundred miles out from New York the <i>Aurania</i> was +joined by the <i>Oceana</i>, the largest vessel on the Canadian Pacific +<a name="page172"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 172]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<i>Aurania</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Put that back, or I'll shoot!" +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page173"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 173]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Aurania</i> before she reached the next +station and gained the protection of the British battleship. +</p> +<p> +The spy's words were only too true. He had gone to +America for the sole purpose of returning in the <i>Aurania</i> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +This large force had not been brought up without good +reason. The <i>Aurania</i> was the biggest prize afloat, and well +<a name="page174"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 174]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Aurania</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Don't have any fear for the <i>Aurania</i>, 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." +</p> +<p> +"I have as much confidence in the <i>Aurania's</i> speed as you +have, Captain Frazer," replied Michael, "but I'm afraid you +<a name="page175"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 175]</span> +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 +<i>Aurania</i>, but also to break the British line of posts, and cut +the line of American and Canadian communication altogether?" +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Captain Frazer was wrong, and he saw that he was at a +<a name="page176"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 176]</span> +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 +<i>Aurania</i> was almost surrounded. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>North German</i> +and her escort. She slowed as she passed them, and told the +news. Then she sped on again at full-speed to meet the +<i>Oceana</i> and the two cruisers, which were about fifty miles +behind. +</p> +<p> +By one <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The weakest point, so far as they could see, was the one +cruiser and two torpedo-boats to the northward, and so towards +<a name="page177"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 177]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page178"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 178]</span> +</p> +<p> +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? +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Michael Roburoff, standing on the spar-deck of the flying +<i>Aurania</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p178a.jpg" alt="This mysterious apparition." width="640" height="437" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"This mysterious apparition." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page178">page 178</a>.</i> +<a name="page179"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 179]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter24"></a> +CHAPTER XXIV. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE NEW WARFARE. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p179.png" alt="I" width="116" height="133" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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, +<a name="page180"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 180]</span> +and consented to act as allies under suitable guarantees to +Holland. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page181"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 181]</span> +warships and about seven hundred torpedo-boats at the disposal +of the League. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>résumé</i> +of the leading events of the war up to date, which were +published in a special War Supplement issued by the <i>Daily +Telegraph</i> on the morning of Tuesday the 28th of June 1904:— +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page182"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 182]</span> +hosts that have ever trod the field of battle since man first +fought with man. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page183"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 183]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page184"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 184]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"By heroic efforts the French attack upon the Quadrilateral +<a name="page185"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 185]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 manœuvring. 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 +<a name="page186"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 186]</span> +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.... +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page187"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 187]</span> +utmost possible moral support consistent with fair and +impartial criticism. +</p> +<p> +"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." +<a name="page188"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 188]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter25"></a> +CHAPTER XXV. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE HERALDS OF DISASTER. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p188.png" alt="A" width="121" height="138" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +Another column in the same issue contained +an account of the "Mysterious Disappearance +of Lord Alanmere" and the doings of the +<i>Ithuriel</i> in the Atlantic. The account concluded +as follows:— +</p> +</div> +<p> +"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 <i>Aurania</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page189"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 189]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page190"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 190]</span> +in the breast of her who had been so quickly and so strangely +installed as its new owner and mistress. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>St. James's +Gazette</i> put an end to the excitement by publishing a telegram +from the Mayor of Liverpool denouncing the report as an +insane and criminal hoax. +</p> +<p> +The next edition of the <i>St. James's</i>, however, contained a +telegram from Hiorring, in Denmark, <i>viâ</i> 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:— +</p> +<blockquote> +<p class="nowrap"> +<span class="smcap">Naval Disaster in the Baltic.</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<i>The Sound forced by a Russian Squadron, assisted by a Terrorist Air-Ship.</i> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +(<i>From our own Correspondent.</i>) +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +Hiorring, <i>June 28th</i>, 8 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page191"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 191]</span> +unawares. The Russians came on in the form of an elongated wedge, their +most powerful vessels being at the apex and external sides. +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p190b.jpg" alt="On the water the results of the air-ships's attack were destructive almost beyond description." width="640" height="408" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"On the water the results of the air-ship's attack were destructive almost beyond description." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page191">page 191</a>.</i> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The losses of the Allied fleet, so far as they are at present known, are distressingly +heavy. We have lost the battleships <i>Neptune</i>, <i>Hotspur</i>, <i>Anson</i>, +<i>Superb</i>, <i>Black Prince</i>, and <i>Rodney</i>, the armoured cruisers <i>Narcissus</i>, <i>Beatrice</i>, +and <i>Mersey</i>, the unarmoured cruisers <i>Arethusa</i>, <i>Barossa</i>, <i>Clyde</i>, <i>Lais</i>, <i>Seagull</i>, +<i>Grasshopper</i>, and <i>Nautilus</i>, and not less than nineteen torpedo-boats of the first +and second classes. +</p> +<p> +The Germans and Danes have lost the battleships <i>Kaiser Wilhelm</i>, +<i>Friedrich der Grosse</i>, <i>Dantzig</i>, <i>Viborg</i>, and <i>Funen</i>, five German and three +Danish cruisers, and about a dozen torpedo-boats. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page192"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 192]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page193"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 193]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter26"></a> +CHAPTER XXVI. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +AN INTERLUDE. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p193.png" alt="A" width="120" height="138" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +At noon on the 26th, as the tropical sun was pouring +down its vertical rays upon the lovely valley +of Aeria, the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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 <i>Andromeda</i> was true. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +At length Natas spoke; his voice was hard and even; there +were no modulations in it that displayed the slightest feeling, +<a name="page194"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 194]</span> +whether of anger or any other emotion. It was like the voice +of an impassive machine speaking the very words of Fate +itself. +</p> +<p> +"You know why we have returned, and why you have been +sent for?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes, Master." +</p> +<p> +Roburoff's voice was low and respectful, but there was no +quaver of fear in it. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page195"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 195]</span> +us, and examining the horizon in all directions for the missing +vessel. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Go to the forward cabin and remain there till you're sent +for," said Natas. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +As he finished speaking Natas waved his hand towards the +<a name="page196"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 196]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i>, and all the others +that were available, by means of his hydraulic machinery. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page197"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 197]</span> +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 <i>Ariel</i>, and brought such confusion on the enemies of the +Brotherhood. +</p> +<p> +Almost the first words that Colston had said to Radna +when he boarded the <i>Avondale</i> were— +</p> +<p> +"Natasha is yonder, safe and sound, and you are mine at +last!" +</p> +<p> +And she had replied very quietly, yet with a thrill in her +voice that told her lover how gladly she accepted her own +condition— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +At this table, facing Natas, stood the betrothed pair with +their witnesses, Natasha for Radna, and Arnold for Colston, +<a name="page198"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 198]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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! +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"We do!" replied the lovers with one voice, and then +Natas went on— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +All that remained to do now was to sign the Marriage Roll +<a name="page199"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 199]</span> +of the Brotherhood, and when they had done this the entry +stood as follows:— +</p> +<blockquote> +<p> +"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:— +</p> +<table> +<tr><td></td><td>{<span class="smcap">Alexis Mazanoff</span>,</td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td>{<span class="smcap">Radna Michaelis Mazanoff</span>.</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td>Witnesses</td><td>{<span class="smcap">Richard Arnold</span>,</td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td>{<span class="smcap">Natasha</span>.</td></tr> +</table> +</blockquote> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> first rose from the floor of his +room in the Southwark tenement-house, grasped Mazanoff +by the hand and said simply— +</p> +<p> +"God bless you both, old man!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +That evening the supper of the colonists took the shape of +<a name="page200"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 200]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i>, under the +command of Arnold; the <i>Ariel</i>, commanded by Mazanoff, who, +of course, did not sail alone; and the <i>Orion</i>, in charge of +Tremayne, who had already mastered the details of aërial +navigation under Arnold's tuition. +</p> +<p> +To the unspeakable satisfaction of the latter, Natas had +signified his intention of accompanying him in the <i>Ithuriel</i>. +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i>, with one +of her consorts on either side, headed away due north at the +speed of a hundred miles an hour. +<a name="page201"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 201]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter27"></a> +CHAPTER XXVII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +ON THE TRACK OF TREASON. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p201.png" alt="T" width="119" height="133" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +The <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +There was, of course, another alternative, and that was the +supposition that they had stolen the <i>Lucifer</i>—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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lucifer</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page202"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 202]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +As the crow flies, St. Petersburg is thirty degrees of latitude, +or eighteen hundred geographical miles, north of Alexandria, +and this distance the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> 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 +<a name="page203"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 203]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Mazanoff had undertaken this delicate and dangerous task, +and so, as soon as the <i>Ithuriel</i> and the <i>Orion</i> came to a standstill, +and hung motionless in the air, with all their guns ready +trained on different parts of the building, the <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +The bold manœuvre of the <i>Ariel</i> 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— +</p> +<p> +"Ground arms! If a shot is fired the Arsenal will be +destroyed as Kronstadt was, and then we shall attack Petersburg." +</p> +<p> +The threat was sufficient. A grey-haired officer in undress +uniform glanced up at the <i>Ithuriel</i> and her consort, and then +at the guns of the <i>Ariel</i>, all four of which had been swung +<a name="page204"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 204]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"Order arms, and keep silence!" said the officer, and then +he advanced alone from the crowd and said— +</p> +<p> +"Who are you, and what is your errand?" +</p> +<p> +"Alexis Mazanoff, late prisoner of the Tsar, and now commander +of the Terrorist air-ship <i>Ariel</i>. 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." +</p> +<p> +"What are your questions?" +</p> +<p> +"First, is Professor Volnow in the building?" +</p> +<p> +"He is." +</p> +<p> +"Then I must ask you to send for him at once." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"An air-ship similar to this arrived here three days ago, I +believe?" +</p> +<p> +The officer bit his lips with rage at his helpless position, +and bowed affirmatively. +</p> +<p> +"And certain articles were taken out of her for examination +here—two gas cylinders and a projectile, I believe?" +</p> +<p> +Again the officer bowed, wondering how on earth the +Terrorist could have come by such accurate information. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +The officer did not bow this time. Giving way at last to +his rising fury, he stamped on the ground and almost +screamed— +<a name="page205"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 205]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"I must first ask for your authority to put such an inquiry +to me on a confidential subject," replied the Professor stiffly. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Then in that case, Professor, I must ask you to surrender +<a name="page206"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 206]</span> +yourself prisoner of war, and to come on board this vessel at +once." +</p> +<p> +As Mazanoff said this the <i>Ariel</i> dropped to within ten feet +of the ground, and a rope-ladder fell over the side. +</p> +<p> +"Come, Professor, there is no time to be lost. I shall give +the order to fire in one minute from now." +</p> +<p> +He took out his watch, and began to count the seconds. +Ten, twenty, thirty passed and the Professor stood irresolute. +Two of the <i>Ariel's</i> guns pointed at the gables of the Arsenal, +and two swept the crowded space in front. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +Then the Professor mounted the ladder amidst a murmur of +relief and applause from the crowd, and, gaining the deck of +the <i>Ariel</i>, bowed coldly to Mazanoff and said— +</p> +<p> +"I am your prisoner, sir!" +</p> +<p> +The captain of the <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"God have mercy on me! My laboratory! My assistant—I +told him"— +</p> +<p> +"What did you tell him, Professor?" said Mazanoff sternly, +grasping him suddenly by the arm. +</p> +<p> +"I told him not to open the other cylinder." +<a name="page207"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 207]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> 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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Sir, I give you my word that I will not do so," said the +Professor, who had now somewhat regained his composure. +</p> +<p> +"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." +<a name="page208"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 208]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter28"></a> +CHAPTER XXVIII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +A SKIRMISH IN THE CLOUDS. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p208.png" alt="A" width="122" height="139" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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 +<i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +"Well, Smith, what's the matter?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +The captain of the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"How is the wind, Smith?" +<a name="page209"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 209]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"That's about it, sir; rather less than more, if anything, to +my mind." +</p> +<p> +"Very well, then. Now signal to stop, and send up the +fan-wheels; and tell the <i>Ariel</i> and the <i>Orion</i> to close up and +speak." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +By the time he got on deck the three air-ships had slowed +down considerably, and the two consorts of the <i>Ithuriel</i> were +within easy speaking distance. Mazanoff and Tremayne were +both on deck, and to them he explained his plans as follows— +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Lucifer</i>. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page210"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 210]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> +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." +</p> +<p> +As soon as Arnold had given his orders, the three air-ships +at once separated. The <i>Ariel</i> and the <i>Orion</i> shot away to the +southward on only a slightly upward course, while the <i>Ithuriel</i> +soared up beyond the stratum of clouds which lay in thin +broken masses rather more than four thousand feet above the +earth. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Shortly after half-past two he knocked at Natasha's cabin-door, +and said— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p210b.jpg" alt="Come now, and fire the first shot in the warfare of the future." width="460" height="640" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"Come now, and fire the first shot in the warfare of the future." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page211">page 211</a>.</i> +<a name="page211"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 211]</span> +</p> +<p> +"On the other side of those clouds. There, look down +through that big rift, and you will see one of them." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"And what are the other two air-ships doing?" +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> and the <i>Orion</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel's</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +He trained the gun on to it as it came distinctly into view, +and said to Natasha— +</p> +<p> +"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." +<a name="page212"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 212]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"What was that?" asked Natasha. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"And the crew?" +</p> +<p> +"Never knew what happened to them. In the new warfare +people will not be merely killed, they will be annihilated." +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +He found himself about six hundred feet above the rest of +the squadron. The <i>Ithuriel</i> 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 +<a name="page213"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 213]</span> +unknown range and infallible aim were sweeping the sky, ready +to hurl their silent lightnings in every direction. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Before they had moved a hundred yards from their common +centre the <i>Ariel</i> and the <i>Orion</i> 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 <i>Orion</i> swerved outwards and dashed at her with +the ram. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +As soon as she had destroyed the third aerostat, the <i>Orion</i> +swerved round again, and began flying round the squadron as +before in an opposite direction to the <i>Ariel</i>. None of the +<a name="page214"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 214]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +Meanwhile the <i>Ithuriel</i>, 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 <i>Ariel</i> which at once +slowed down, the <i>Orion</i> continuing on her circular course as +before. +</p> +<p> +As soon as the <i>Ariel</i> was going slowly enough for him to +make himself heard, Mazanoff shouted through a speaking-trumpet— +</p> +<p> +"Will you surrender, or fight it out?" +</p> +<p> +"<i>Nu vot</i>! how can we fight with those devil-ships of yours? +What is your pleasure?" +</p> +<p> +The answering hail came from one of the aerostats in the +centre of the squadron. Mazanoff at once replied— +</p> +<p> +"Unconditional surrender for the present, under guarantee +of safety to every one who surrenders. Who are you?" +</p> +<p> +"Colonel Alexei Alexandrovitch, in command of the +squadron. I surrender on those terms. Who are you?" +</p> +<p> +"The captain of the Terrorist air-ship <i>Ariel</i>. Be good +enough to come out here, Colonel Alexei Alexandrovitch." +</p> +<p> +One of the aerostats moved out of the midst of the Russian +squadron and made its way towards the <i>Ariel</i>. 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,— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +The Russian did as he was bidden, and the <i>Ariel</i>, followed +by the aerostat, ascended to the <i>Ithuriel</i>, while the <i>Orion</i> kept +up her patrol round the captive war-balloons. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"Very good," replied Arnold from the deck of the <i>Ithuriel</i>. +<a name="page215"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 215]</span> +"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 +<i>Ariel</i> and the <i>Orion</i> 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." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Orion</i> and the +<i>Ariel</i> to right and left, each with two guns trained on them, +and the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +<a name="page216"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 216]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter29"></a> +CHAPTER XXIX. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +AN EMBASSY FROM THE SKY. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p216.png" alt="B" width="121" height="137" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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, +<a name="page217"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 217]</span> +seeking for some scanty morsels of food to prolong life if only +for a few more days of misery and nights of sleepless anxiety. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Far away to the westward the stately city of Berlin could +be seen lying upon its intersecting waters, and encircled by its +<a name="page218"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 218]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +As soon as the Russian army was fairly in sight the <i>Ithuriel</i> +shot ahead, sank to the level of the flotilla, and then stopped +until she was overtaken by the <i>Orion</i>. Tremayne was on +deck, and Arnold as soon as he came alongside said— +</p> +<p> +"You must stop here for the present. I want the aerostat +commanded by Colonel Alexandrovitch to come with me; +meanwhile you and the <i>Ariel</i> 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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +So saying, Arnold increased the speed of the <i>Ithuriel</i>, swept +round in front of the line, and communicated the same instructions +to the captain of the <i>Ariel</i>. +</p> +<p> +A few minutes later the <i>Ariel</i> and the <i>Orion</i> began to +rise with their charges to the higher regions of the air, +leaving the <i>Ithuriel</i> and the one aerostat to carry out the +plan which had been arranged by Natas and Arnold an hour +previously. +</p> +<p> +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 +<i>Ithuriel</i> to the cordage connecting the car with the gas-holder, +and so the aerostat was taken in tow by the air-ship, and +<a name="page219"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 219]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +On the journey the elevation was increased to more than +four thousand feet,—an elevation at which both the <i>Ithuriel</i> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lucifer</i>. +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:— +</p> +<blockquote> +<p class="nowrap"> +<span class="smcap">Alexander Romanoff</span>,— +</p> +<p> +Three days ago one of my fleet of air-ships, named the <i>Lucifer</i>, 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— +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lucifer</i> 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 <i>Lucifer</i> I will take no +further part in the war unless either you or your opponents proceed to unjustifiable +extremities. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<span class="smcap">Natas</span>.<br /> +</p> +<p> +<a name="page220"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 220]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +Even from that elevation, those on board the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Another half hour passed, and hardly a word was spoken on +the deck of the <i>Ithuriel</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +If the Russians regained their war-balloons and were left to +themselves, nothing that the heroic Germans could do would +<a name="page221"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 221]</span> +be likely to save Berlin from the fate that had overwhelmed +Strassburg and Metz, Breslau and Thorn. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Ten minutes more; shall I prepare?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Very good," replied Arnold. Then, turning to his lieutenant, +he said— +</p> +<p> +"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." +<a name="page222"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 222]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"One minute more!" said Arnold. +</p> +<p> +"Stop, there it goes!" cried Natasha as the words left his +lips. "His Majesty has yielded to circumstances!" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"We must not be too sure of that. His message may be +one of defiance." +</p> +<p> +"True," said Natasha. "We shall see." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> 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!" +</p> +<p> +In five minutes he was standing on the deck of the <i>Ithuriel</i> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +<a name="page223"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 223]</span> +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<blockquote> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<span class="smcap">Alexander.</span><br /> +</p> +</blockquote> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Impossible! No man could have done it!" +</p> +<p> +The exclamation burst involuntarily from the lips of +Professor Volnow, who had stood by, an amazed and horrified +spectator of the rapidly enacted tragedy. +</p> +<p> +"Professor," said Natas, in quick, stern tones, "I am not +accustomed to say what is not true, nor yet to be contradicted +<a name="page224"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 224]</span> +by any one in human shape. Stand there till I tell you to +move." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +Like an automaton the Professor turned and walked +mechanically into the deck-saloon. Meanwhile the <i>Ithuriel</i> +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. +</p> +<p> +Natas took it from him, read it, and then fixing his eyes on +his again, said— +</p> +<p> +"That will do. I give you back your will. Now, do you +believe?" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Believe! How can I help it? Whoever and whatever +you are, you are well named the Master of the Terror." +<a name="page225"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 225]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter30"></a> +CHAPTER XXX. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +AT CLOSE QUARTERS. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p225.png" alt="A" width="122" height="138" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +As soon as the captive war-balloons had been +released, the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page226"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 226]</span> +there were eloquent proofs of the disaster which had overtaken +the Allied fleets on the previous night. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"Yes," replied Natas. "It is easy to see what has happened. +The <i>Lucifer</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"We must overtake the fleet, and either recapture the +<i>Lucifer</i> 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." +<a name="page227"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 227]</span> +</p> +<p> +The Master's orders were at once executed, and as soon as the +<i>Ariel</i> was floating beside the flagship he said to her captain— +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Lucifer</i> 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." +</p> +<p> +"I understand fully," replied Mazanoff, and a minute later +his vessel was sinking rapidly down towards the cruiser. +</p> +<p> +His reception was evidently friendly, for those on board the +<i>Ithuriel</i> saw that he ran the <i>Ariel</i> 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 +<i>Ariel</i> rose gracefully into the air to rejoin her consorts, followed +by the envious glances of the crews of the battered warships. +</p> +<p> +Mazanoff presented his report, the facts of which were +substantially those given in the <i>St. James's Gazette</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page228"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 228]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +Arnold glanced at the chart which lay spread out on the +table of the saloon in which they were sitting, and said— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page229"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 229]</span> +</p> +<p> +The <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<i>Lucifer</i> at present, but from what we have learnt she will be on +the deck of one of the large cruisers. What are your orders?" +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Lucifer</i>. If he +refuses, let the <i>Ariel</i> return at once, and we will decide what to +do. I leave the details with you with the most perfect +confidence." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +When he got to the wheel-house the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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 +<a name="page230"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 230]</span> +within speaking distance Arnold hailed the <i>Orion</i> and the +<i>Ariel</i> to come alongside. +</p> +<p> +After communicating to Tremayne and Mazanoff the orders +of Natas, he said to the latter— +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Lucifer</i> is given up we shall allow the fleet to go on +its way unmolested and without asking any question. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<i>Lucifer</i> 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." +</p> +<p> +The <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The white flag at once enabled Mazanoff to single out the +huge battleship on which it was flying as the Admiral's flagship. +<a name="page231"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 231]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +It was a somewhat risky matter for the <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +"I have a message for the Admiral of the fleet," he shouted, +as soon as he came within hail. +</p> +<p> +"Who are you, and from whom is your message?" came the +reply. +</p> +<p> +"Konstantin Volnow, of the Imperial Arsenal at Petersburg, +brings the message from the Tsar in writing.' +</p> +<p> +"His Majesty's messenger is welcome. Come alongside." +</p> +<p> +The <i>Ariel</i> 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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"His Majesty's signature can be forged, just as Nihilists' +passports can be, Mr. Terrorist, for that's what I presume you +are, and"— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"How do you come to be the bearer of it, sir? Please +answer me that first." +<a name="page232"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 232]</span> +</p> +<p> +"I am a prisoner of war. I surrendered to save the Arsenal +and perhaps Petersburg from destruction under circumstances +which I cannot now explain"— +</p> +<p> +"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! +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"That is your last word, is it?" asked Mazanoff, white with +passion, but still forcing himself to speak coolly. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Ariel</i> whirled round in a +reverse direction, and she sprang swiftly back from the battleship, +at the same time rising rapidly in the air. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p232a.jpg" alt="There was a sharp, grinding report from one of the tops of the man-of-war." width="495" height="640" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"There was a sharp, grinding report from one of the tops of the man-of-war." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page232">page 232</a>.</i> +<a name="page233"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 233]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter31"></a> +CHAPTER XXXI. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +A RUSSIAN RAID. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p233.png" alt="M" width="117" height="131" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +"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— +</p> +<p> +"Ah, come! you're not killed after all. You are still on +board the <i>Ariel</i>, 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 <i>Ariel</i> 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." +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page234"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 234]</span> +became of the flagship," he continued, as Radna came back +with a small bottle of champagne and uncorked it. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"That's better. I feel a new man. Now give me a kiss, +<i>batiushka</i>, and I'll be off." +</p> +<p> +When he reached the deck he found the <i>Ariel</i> ascending +towards the <i>Ithuriel</i>, 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 <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +Neither the <i>Ithuriel</i> nor the <i>Orion</i> seemed to have taken +any part in the battle so far, or to have done anything to +avenge the attack made upon the <i>Ariel</i>. 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 <i>Ithuriel</i>, he sang out to Arnold, +who was on the deck— +</p> +<p> +"I got in rather a tight place down there. That scoundrel +<a name="page235"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 235]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +Mazanoff did so, and when he had told his story to Natas, +the latter mystified him not a little by replying— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Lucifer</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +"And do you think we shall get such an opportunity?" +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page236"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 236]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Here the repairs which were needed by the <i>Ariel</i> were at +once taken in hand by her own crew and that of the <i>Ithuriel</i>, +while the <i>Orion</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +As Aberdeen was then one of the coaling depots for the +North Sea Squadron, it was defended by two battleships, the +<i>Ascalon</i> and the <i>Menelaus</i>, three powerful coast-defence vessels, +the <i>Thunderer</i>, the <i>Cyclops</i>, and the <i>Pluto</i>, 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. +<a name="page237"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 237]</span> +</p> +<p> +Shortly after two o'clock on the afternoon of the 30th the +<i>Orion</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +But given the assistance of the <i>Lucifer</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +When the captain of the <i>Ascalon</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +Five miles off the land the Russian fleet stopped, and the +<i>Lucifer</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page238"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 238]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +To this demand the British Commodore sent back a flat +refusal, and defiance to the Russian Commander to do his +worst. +</p> +<p> +Where the <i>Ithuriel</i> and her consorts were lying the hills +between them and the sea completely screened them from the +observation of those on board the <i>Lucifer</i>. 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 <i>Lucifer</i> rise into the air they returned +to the <i>Ithuriel</i> to form their plans for their share in the +conflict that they saw impending. +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Lucifer</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Lucifer</i> much +until she commences operations, and then it will be too late. +Listen! They've begun. There goes the first gun!" +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page239"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 239]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +By the time the watchers on the hill had focussed their +glasses on the scene, the <i>Lucifer</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Over them and the river hung a dense pall of bluish-white +<a name="page240"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 240]</span> +smoke, through which the <i>Lucifer</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"I don't think so," exclaimed Arnold. "At any rate the +<i>Lucifer</i> 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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page241"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 241]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter32"></a> +CHAPTER XXXII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE END OF THE CHASE. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p241.png" alt="T" width="118" height="132" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +The flight of the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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 <i>Lucifer</i>. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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 <i>Lucifer</i>. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page242"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 242]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lucifer</i> 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 <i>Lucifer</i>, floating on the +under side of the storm-cloud. +</p> +<p> +His preparations had been simple in the extreme. Four +light strong grappling-irons hung downwards from the <i>Ithuriel</i>, +two at the bow and two at the stern, by thin steel-wire rope; +two similar ones hung from the starboard side of the <i>Orion</i>, +which was on his left hand, and two from the port side of +the <i>Ariel</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +Through the mist and darkness underneath they saw the +white shape of the <i>Lucifer</i> almost immediately below them, so +accurately had the position been determined. They sank a +hundred feet farther, and then Arnold shouted— +</p> +<p> +"Now is your time. Cast!" +</p> +<p> +Instantly the eight grappling-irons dropped and swung +towards the <i>Lucifer</i>, hooking themselves in the stays of her +masts and the railing that ran completely round her deck. +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Lucifer</i> was +dragged forward and upwards through the mist and darkness +of the thunder-cloud into the bright sunshine above. +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p242a.jpg" alt="Now is your time, cast!" width="640" height="417" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"Now is your time, cast!" +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page242">page 242</a>.</i> +</p> +<p> +So suddenly had the strange manœuvre been executed that +<a name="page243"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 243]</span> +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 <i>Lucifer's</i> guns to bear upon +them, while four guns, two from the <i>Ariel</i> and two from the +<i>Orion</i>, grinned down upon her ready to blow her into fragments +at the least sign of resistance. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"Who are the Russian officers in command of that air-ship?" +hailed Mazanoff from the <i>Ariel</i>. +</p> +<p> +Two men in Russian uniform raised their hands in reply, +and Mazanoff hailed again— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"We surrender!" exclaimed one of the officers, drawing his +sword and dropping it on the deck. The other followed suit, +and Mazanoff continued— +</p> +<p> +"Very good. Remain where you are. The first man that +moves will be shot down." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lucifer</i>. The moment their feet had touched the deck each +whipped a magazine pistol out of his belt and covered his +man. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lucifer</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +The two officers were at once summoned on board the +<i>Ithuriel</i> and shut up under guard in separate cabins. The +rest of the crew of the <i>Lucifer</i> was found to consist of the +<a name="page244"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 244]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +As soon as these had been replaced by a crew drafted from +the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +Half an hour later the four deserters were taken up on to +the deck of the <i>Ithuriel</i>. 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 <i>Ithuriel</i> 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 +<a name="page245"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 245]</span> +were stationed opposite to them on the other side of the deck +with loaded rifles. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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 <i>Lucifer</i> would have been surrendered to us +quietly, and there would have been for the present no further +trouble. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page246"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 246]</span> +and left to your own devices. Meanwhile we shall make you +as comfortable as the circumstances permit." +</p> +<p> +The two Russian officers bowed their acknowledgments, and +Arnold gave the signal for the flotilla to proceed. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The cylinders, which had been exhausted on board the +<i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page247"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 247]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter33"></a> +CHAPTER XXXIII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE BREAKING OF THE CHARM. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p247.png" alt="T" width="121" height="136" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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:— +</p> +</div> +<blockquote> +<p> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +Aberdeen, 4.30 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span><br /> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +</blockquote> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page248"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 248]</span> +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— +</p> +<blockquote> +<p> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +5 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span><br /> +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ascalon</i>, 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. +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +5.30 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span><br /> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +5.45 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span><br /> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +7 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span><br /> +</p> +<p> +The towns-meeting empowered the Provost to call upon Captain Marchmont, +of the <i>Ascalon</i>, 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 <i>Thunderer</i>, 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. +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +10 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span><br /> +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page249"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 249]</span> +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— +</p> +</blockquote> +<p> +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— +</p> +<blockquote> +<p> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +Findon, N.B., 9.15.<br /> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ascalon</i> with his flag flying, and fighting to +the last moment. +</p> +</blockquote> +<p> +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 +<a name="page250"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 250]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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? +<a name="page251"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 251]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter34"></a> +CHAPTER XXXIV. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE PATH OF CONQUEST. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p251.png" alt="T" width="120" height="136" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page252"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 252]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page253"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 253]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page254"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 254]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The battle, fought almost on the ancient battle-ground of +Nelson and Collingwood, was incomparably the greatest sea-fight +in the history of war. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>viâ</i> the Suez Canal. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page255"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 255]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page256"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 256]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<i>Lucifer</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page257"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 257]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page258"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 258]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter35"></a> +CHAPTER XXXV. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +FROM CHAOS TO ARCADIE. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p258.png" alt="D" width="120" height="137" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Of these, one was the <i>Orion</i>, on board of which Tremayne +was visiting the various centres of the Brotherhood throughout +<a name="page259"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 259]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page260"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 260]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +To a weaker man it would have been an impossible situation, +this constant and familiar companionship with a girl whose +<a name="page261"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 261]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Natasha, for God's sake remember that I am only made of +flesh and blood!" +<a name="page262"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 262]</span> +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Forgive me; I have done wrong! Let us be friends +again!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +On the 16th of September the <i>Orion</i> returned from Australia. +She touched the earth shortly after mid-day, and before sunset +the <i>Azrael</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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— +<a name="page263"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 263]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"'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 <i>Ithuriel</i> ready to sail at midnight to take her to +America to Michael Roburoff, who has written to Natas to ask +her for his wife." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"And I will use it, have no fear of that!" replied Arnold, +stopping again and passing his hand over his eyes like a man +<a name="page264"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 264]</span> +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 +<i>Ithuriel</i> shall be ready to start at twelve." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Where is he?" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page265"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 265]</span> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Richard!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Why did you come? Have you forgotten what so nearly +happened the day before yesterday?" +</p> +<p> +"No, I have not forgotten it. I have remembered it, and +that is why I came to tell you—what you know now." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page266"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 266]</span> +should when you first told me that you would win me if +you could. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page267"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 267]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter36"></a> +CHAPTER XXXVI. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +LOVE AND DUTY. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p267.png" alt="A" width="122" height="138" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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 +<i>Ithuriel</i>, 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +He bowed a silent affirmative, and Natas went on— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"The distance is about seven thousand miles. That will be +<a name="page268"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 268]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +He did not see Natasha again that night. When the +<i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lucifer</i>. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +About eleven Tremayne went to his cabin, and Arnold, going +<a name="page269"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 269]</span> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +As soon as he sighted land he went aft to the wheel-house, +and slightly inclined the air-planes, causing the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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 <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page270"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 270]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The three lights burning in the form of a triangle in the +window of the house were a prearranged signal to avoid +<a name="page271"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 271]</span> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> and her +crew in charge of Lieutenant Marston and Andrew Smith, +the coxswain. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page272"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 272]</span> +</p> +<p> +Tremayne knocked in a peculiar fashion on the window, and +then repeated the knock on the door, which was opened almost +immediately. +</p> +<p> +"Who stands there?" asked a voice in French. +</p> +<p> +"Those who bring the expected bride," replied Tremayne +in German. +</p> +<p> +"And by whose authority?" This time the question was +in Spanish. +</p> +<p> +"In the Master's name," said Tremayne in English. +</p> +<p> +"Enter! you are welcome." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page273"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 273]</span> +he at last found his voice he said, in half-choked, broken +accents— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +Michael Roburoff, who by this time could scarcely support +<a name="page274"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 274]</span> +himself on his trembling limbs, sank suddenly back into his +chair and covered his face with his hands. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +She took a folded paper from her belt as she spoke, and, +unfolding it, read in clear, deliberate tones— +</p> +<blockquote> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<span class="smcap">Natas.</span><br /> +</p> +</blockquote> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p274b.jpg" alt="He dropped back into his chair with a bullet in his brain." width="640" height="406" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"He dropped back into his chair with a bullet in his brain." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page275">page 275</a>.</i> +</p> +<p> +"Let it be carried out here, and now," said Tremayne, "and +<a name="page275"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 275]</span> +let him who has anything to say against it speak now, or for +ever hold his peace." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"If the Master's reply had been different, that bullet would +by this time have been in my own heart." +<a name="page276"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 276]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter37"></a> +CHAPTER XXXVII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE CAPTURE OF A CONTINENT. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p276.png" alt="W" width="120" height="133" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +Within an hour after the execution of Michael +Roburoff the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page277"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 277]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page278"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 278]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<i>Ithuriel</i>, after he had been taken off the <i>Aurania</i> in the +Mid-Atlantic. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page279"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 279]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i>, with a broad red flag flying +from her stern, swept like a meteor along the eastern coast +from Maine to Florida. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page280"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 280]</span> +accomplished before any one very well knew what had +happened. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Then with a copy of the Constitution in his hand he proceeded +<a name="page281"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 281]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page282"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 282]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<blockquote> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<span class="smcap">Natas</span>.<br /> +</p> +</blockquote> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page283"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 283]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page284"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 284]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page285"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 285]</span> +who had millions of men behind him, to say nothing of an +aërial fleet which alone could reduce Montreal to ruins in +twelve hours. +</p> +<p> +After arranging matters in Canada the President returned +to Washington in the <i>Ariel</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +At eleven o'clock on the morning of the 9th of October the +<a name="page286"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 286]</span> +President of the Federation rose in the Senate House, amidst +breathless silence, to pronounce the sentence of the Court. +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 +<i>viâ</i> 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 +<a name="page287"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 287]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page288"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 288]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +On the 10th of October the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +<a name="page289"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 289]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter38"></a> +CHAPTER XXXVIII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE BEGINNING OF THE END. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p289.png" alt="I" width="120" height="135" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page290"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 290]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page291"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 291]</span> +</p> +<p> +In all the war not a single battle had been fought at close +quarters; there had been plenty of instances of brilliant +manœuvring, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page292"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 292]</span> +world, which seemed to promise nothing less than universal +anarchy, and the submergence of civilisation under some all-devouring +wave of barbarism. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +It was only the calm before the final outburst of the storm. +The Tsar and his allies were marshalling their hosts for the +<a name="page293"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 293]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page294"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 294]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page295"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 295]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter39"></a> +CHAPTER XXXIX. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE BATTLE OF DOVER. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p295.png" alt="U" width="119" height="133" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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 <i>History of the World</i>, +written after the destruction of the Spanish Armada. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +As the war-balloons rose into the air from the heights above +<a name="page296"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 296]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +But, in accordance with the invariable tactics of the League, +<a name="page297"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 297]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page298"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 298]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Zédé</i> class, which had been in existence for more +than ten years.<a name="ref_2_1"></a><a href="#footnote_2_1" class="fnref">[1]</a> +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page299"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 299]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page300"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 300]</span> +armour sheathing, and wrecking the funnel itself so completely +that the steaming-power of the vessel was very seriously reduced. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Centurion</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="footnote_2_1"></a><a href="#ref_2_1">1</a>: <i>The Naval Annual</i> for 1893 mentions two types of submarine boats, the +<i>Zédé</i> and the <i>Goubet</i>, 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.—<span class="smcap">Author</span>. +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p300a.jpg" alt="The Centurion, the last of the British battleships, was struck by one of the submarine torpedoes." width="640" height="427" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"The <i>Centurion</i>, the last of the British battleships, +was struck by one of the submarine torpedoes." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page300">page 300</a>.</i> +<a name="page301"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 301]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter40"></a> +CHAPTER XL. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +BELEAGUERED LONDON. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p301.png" alt="A" width="119" height="139" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page302"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 302]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +London was the heart of the British Empire and of the +<a name="page303"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 303]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>viâ</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page304"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 304]</span> +land defences, and then in a moment of wanton revenge had +blown up the venerable hulk of the <i>Victory</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page305"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 305]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +But famine was by no means the only horror that afflicted +<a name="page306"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 306]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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? +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +If the terms of the Federation could have been offered again, +<a name="page307"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 307]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page308"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 308]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter41"></a> +CHAPTER XLI. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +AN ENVOY OF DELIVERANCE. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p308.png" alt="F" width="120" height="136" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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 <i>viâ</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page309"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 309]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page310"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 310]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page311"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 311]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"The course of events has been exactly that which he predicted. +I know, too, that whatever causes may have led him +<a name="page312"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 312]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page313"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 313]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Within half an hour the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page314"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 314]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page315"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 315]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter42"></a> +CHAPTER XLII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE EVE OF ARMAGEDDON. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p315.png" alt="W" width="119" height="131" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +For five months, that is to say, from the recapture of the +<i>Lucifer</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Consternation naturally led to divided councils. The +<a name="page316"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 316]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +<a name="page317"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 317]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Vesuvius</i>, which, as the naval reader +will remember, was commissioned in 1890. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Each cruiser also carried two under-water torpedo tubes +ahead and two astern. The funnels emitted no smoke, but +<a name="page318"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 318]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page319"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 319]</span> +shown to its enemies than they had shown in their march of +victory from one end of Europe to the other. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +That night countless eyes were upturned throughout the +length and breadth of Britain to the dun pall of wintry cloud +<a name="page320"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 320]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +When night fell the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i>, and all that +<a name="page321"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 321]</span> +was necessary was to connect the forward engine with the +dynamo. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel's</i> bows. +</p> +<p> +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 +<i>Ithuriel</i> swerved round to the westward. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page322"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 322]</span> +Armada was in sight, there had been no such night in England, +nor had men ever dreamed that there should be. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page323"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 323]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter43"></a> +CHAPTER XLIII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE OLD LION AT BAY. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p323.png" alt="T" width="120" height="133" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page324"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 324]</span> +destruction would have been a loss, not to Britain alone, but +to the world. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page325"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 325]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +A huge fleet of strange-looking vessels, flying a plain blood-red +flag, had just before four <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page326"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 326]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page327"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 327]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +It had been arranged that if the city surrendered a white +flag was to be hoisted on the cross of St. Paul's. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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, +<a name="page328"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 328]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +With an irrepressible cry of rage, Alexander dashed his +field-glass to the ground, and shouted, in a voice broken with +passion— +</p> +<p> +"So! They have tricked us. Let the bombardment begin +at once, and bring that flag down with the first shots!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +There were still twenty-five aerostats at the command of the +<a name="page329"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 329]</span> +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 manœuvring powers of the two aërial squadrons. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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, +<a name="page330"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 330]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page331"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 331]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter44"></a> +CHAPTER XLIV. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE TURN OF THE BATTLE-TIDE. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p331.png" alt="T" width="121" height="134" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The aerostats slowed down their engines until their propellers +just counteracted the force of the wind and they hung +<a name="page332"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 332]</span> +motionless at a height of a thousand feet, ranged in a semicircle +about fifteen miles long over the heads of the columns. +</p> +<p> +All this time the motions of the Russian army had been +watched by the captain of the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"And what do you propose to do with them now you have +got them?" said Natasha, looking up with a welcoming smile. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +Natasha filled a cup and passed it to him, and he went on— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page333"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 333]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +By means of electric signals to the engineers the captain +of the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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 <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> gathered +way and rushed forward on her errand of destruction he said +hurriedly to Natasha— +</p> +<p> +"Now, don't speak till it's over. I want all my wits for this +work, and you'll want all your eyes." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i> at the rock-wall +<a name="page334"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 334]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> +was travelling, but under the circumstance the ram was the +deadliest weapon that could have been employed. +</p> +<p> +In four minutes from the time the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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 <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p334a.jpg" alt="Her ram had passed completely through the gasholder." width="640" height="442" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"Her ram had passed completely through the gasholder." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page334">page 334</a>.</i> +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page335"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 335]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page336"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 336]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +These orders given, the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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 name="page337"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 337]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +The sun had risen before the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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 name="page338"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 338]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"I will do so," said Natasha, and without another word +she turned away and walked quickly towards the entrance to +the saloon. +<a name="page339"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 339]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter45"></a> +CHAPTER XLV. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +ARMAGEDDON. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p339.png" alt="O" width="115" height="132" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page340"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 340]</span> +ranks of the League had been far greater than they had been +in the north. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>sang froid</i>. 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 manœuvring, 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. +</p> +<p> +Considering the apparent insignificance of the means +<a name="page341"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 341]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Thus, when the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +<a name="page342"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 342]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page343"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 343]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page344"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 344]</span> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i> rapidly round to the northward, +and said to his lieutenant, who had just come on deck— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Arnold then ran the <i>Ithuriel</i> up to within a mile of Muswell +Hill, and found the remaining thirteen war-balloons in the act +of making off to the northward. +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p344a.jpg" alt="The rain of fire spread out far and wide." width="450" height="640" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"The rain of fire spread out far and wide." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page344">page 344</a>.</i> +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page345"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 345]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +"It shall, angel mine! For your sweet sake I would spare +even Alexander Romanoff himself and all his Staff." +</p> +<p> +"You will never be asked to do that," said Natasha quietly, +as Arnold disappeared down the companion-way. +</p> +<p> +It was nearly an hour before he came on deck again, and +by this time the <i>Ithuriel</i>, 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, +<a name="page346"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 346]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Mercury</i> taking a message from Tremayne, +who was personally commanding the Army of the South in +the <i>Ariel</i>, to the air-ships operating with the Army of the +North. +</p> +<p> +"What is the message?" asked Arnold. +</p> +<p> +"To engage and destroy the remaining Russian war-balloons, +and then come south at once," replied the captain of the +<i>Mercury</i>. "I am sorry to say both the <i>Lucifer</i> and the <i>Azrael</i> +have been disabled by chance shots striking their propellers. +The <i>Lucifer</i> was so badly injured that she fell to the earth, and +blew up with a perfectly awful explosion; but the <i>Azrael</i> can +still use her fan-wheels and stern propeller, though her air-planes +are badly broken and twisted." +</p> +<p> +Arnold frowned at the bad news, but took no further notice +of it beyond saying— +</p> +<p> +"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 +<i>Ariel</i> to be found?" +</p> +<p> +The captain of the <i>Mercury</i> 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 <i>Ithuriel</i>, on the issue of which the +lives of more than two millions of men depended. +<a name="page347"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 347]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter46"></a> +CHAPTER XLVI. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +VICTORY. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p347.png" alt="I" width="117" height="135" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +It was a little after three o'clock in the afternoon +when Natas, Tremayne, and Arnold ended their +deliberations in the saloon of the <i>Ithuriel</i>. 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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page348"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 348]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i>, with +Tremayne on board, descended to within twenty feet of the +ground in front of the hotel. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"I am here. What is the message?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"With pleasure. I will be with you in a moment," said +Tremayne, and as he spoke the <i>Ariel</i> settled gently down to +the earth, and the gangway steps dropped from her bow. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page349"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 349]</span> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Ah, I see you recognise me, General!" +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +Tremayne bowed and said— +</p> +<p> +"Rest assured, General, that they shall be as easy as my +instructions will permit me to make them." +</p> +<p> +"Your instructions! But I thought"— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"But, my lord, this is not war, it is murder on the most +colossal scale!" exclaimed the General, utterly unable to +<a name="page350"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 350]</span> +control the agitation that these terrible words evoked, not only +in his own breast, but in that of every man who heard them. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"And his Majesty the Tsar?" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"And if we refuse your terms, the alternative is what?" +</p> +<p> +"Annihilation to the last man!" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p350b.jpg" alt="Do you understand now why you could not make terms for Russia?" width="425" height="640" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"Do you understand now why you could not make terms for Russia?" +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page351">page 351</a>.</i> +</p> +<p> +The <i>Ariel</i> at once rose into the air. Tremayne reported to +<a name="page351"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 351]</span> +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 <i>Ariel</i> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page352"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 352]</span> +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!" +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +The <i>Ariel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p352b.jpg" alt="A vision which no one who saw it forgot to the day of his death." width="640" height="409" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"A vision which no one who saw it forgot to the day of his death." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page353">page 353</a>.</i> +</p> +<p> +A powerful field searchlight had been fixed on the roof of +<a name="page353"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 353]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"It is enough, I surrender!" +</p> +<p> +Then he turned on his heel, and with bowed head walked +back again to his Staff. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The ten air-ships of the Terrorist fleet were ranged in two +curves on either side of the <i>Ithuriel</i>, 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 +<a name="page354"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 354]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page355"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 355]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter47"></a> +CHAPTER XLVII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE JUDGMENT OF NATAS. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p355.png" alt="T" width="120" height="135" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +The myriad-voiced chorus of the Song of the +Revolution ended in a mighty shout of jubilant +hurrahs, in the midst of which the <i>Ariel</i> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page356"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 356]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +As he said this, he pointed with his weapon towards the +Tsar and his Staff, and continued, with an added sternness in +his voice— +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page357"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 357]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ariel</i>, and +which had culminated in the triumph of Anglo-Saxondom over +the leagued despotism and militarism of Europe. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Bring up the prisoners!" +</p> +<p> +There was a quick rustling sound, mingled with the clink of +steel, as the two grey lines stiffened up to attention. Twelve +<a name="page358"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 358]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p358b.jpg" alt="Two bayonets crossed in front of him with a sharp clash." width="640" height="429" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"Two bayonets crossed in front of him with a sharp clash." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page359">page 359</a>.</i> +<a name="page359"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 359]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page360"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 360]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"You have parted the wife from her husband"— +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page361"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 361]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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! +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page362"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 362]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"That object has now been accomplished; the soldiers of +freedom have met the hirelings of despotism on the field of +<a name="page363"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 363]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +As Natas finished speaking, he signed with his hand to +<a name="page364"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 364]</span> +Tremayne, who rose in his place and briefly addressed the +assembly— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +The strain upraise of joy and praise.<br /> +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page365"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 365]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page366"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 366]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter48"></a> +CHAPTER XLVIII. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE ORDERING OF EUROPE. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p366.png" alt="W" width="120" height="133" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page367"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 367]</span> +the vast audience that was present, an audience composed of +men of every race and language in Europe. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The body of the Cathedral was filled to overflowing, with +the exception of an open space kept round the table by the +Federation guards. +</p> +<p> +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:— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page368"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 368]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"But it must never be forgotten that these powers remain +with us, and can be evoked afresh should necessity ever arise. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page369"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 369]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +Tremayne bowed in silence, and he continued— +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page370"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 370]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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! +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"In token of the honesty of my belief I ask now that +<a name="page371"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 371]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Shortly after noon on the following day the <i>Ithuriel</i>, 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. +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Lucifer</i>, 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 +<a name="page372"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 372]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The <i>Ithuriel</i>, 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 +<a name="page373"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 373]</span> +by telegraph of the coming of their aërial visitors, and before +the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page374"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 374]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +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— +</p> +<p> +"Yes, yes; the past is the past. I will go to him, and you +shall see us come back together." +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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 <i>Ithuriel</i>, +had left him with Natas and returned to the Castle alone. +<a name="page375"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 375]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter49"></a> +CHAPTER XLIX. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +THE STORY OF THE MASTER. +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p375.png" alt="T" width="121" height="135" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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"— +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page376"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 376]</span> +Christian wife very dearly,—more dearly even than my people +and my ancient faith,—or I should not have married her. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"It came about in this wise. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page377"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 377]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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 +<a name="page378"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 378]</span> +appeals to the justice of humanity to revoke the doom of the +innocent. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page379"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 379]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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, +<a name="page380"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 380]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +Natas was silent for a moment, and as he gazed into the fire +<a name="page381"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 381]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +<a name="page382"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 382]</span> +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"'You are from Siberia,' I said, stretching out my hand to +him. 'Welcome, fellow-sufferer! Have you news for me?' +</p> +<p> +"'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.' +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"When I read those awful tidings from the grave, sorrow +became quenchless rage, and despair was swallowed up in +<a name="page383"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 383]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +"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." +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"Richard Arnold, in the first communication I ever had +<a name="page384"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 384]</span> +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." +</p> +<p> +For all answer Arnold put out his hand and took hold of +Natasha's, and said quietly but clearly— +</p> +<p> +"Give me this!" +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +Tremayne's private wire kept them hourly informed of what +was going on in London, and when necessary the <i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +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." +</p> +<hr /> +<p> +On the 8th of January a swift warship, attended by two +<a name="page385"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 385]</span> +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 <i>Ariel</i>, +under the command of Alexis Mazanoff. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +From here they were marched on to the first Siberian <i>etapé</i>, +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. +</p> +<p class="figurecenter"> +<img src="images/ill-p384b.jpg" alt="Into the vast, white, silent wilderness, out of which none save the guards were destined ever to emerge again." width="640" height="461" /> +</p> +<p class="captioncenter"> +"Into the vast, white, silent wilderness, out of which none save the guards were destined ever to emerge again." +</p> +<p class="captionright"> +<i>See <a href="#page385">page 385</a>.</i> +<a name="page386"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 386]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter50"></a> +EPILOGUE. +</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +"AND ON EARTH PEACE!" +</p> +<div class="drop"> +<img src="images/dc-p386.png" alt="T" width="123" height="137" class="cap" /><p class="cap_1"> +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. +</p> +</div> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The second constituted an International Board of Arbitration +<a name="page387"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 387]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page388"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 388]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +<a name="page389"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 389]</span> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +The Moslem forces were permitted to advance without the +slightest molestation to Scutari and Lamsaki, and on the +<a name="page390"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 390]</span> +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— +</p> +<blockquote> +<p> +In the name of the Most Merciful God. +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +From <span class="smcap">Mohammed Reshad</span>, Commander of the Faithful, to <span class="smcap">Alan<br /> +Tremayne</span>, Leader of the English.<br /> +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +<span class="smcap">Mohammed</span>.<br /> +</p> +<p> +</p> +</blockquote> +<p> +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 +<a name="page391"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 391]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page392"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 392]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +"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. +</p> +<p> +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. +</p> +<p> +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 +<a name="page393"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 393]</span> +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. +</p> +<p> +This happened on the 1st of December 1905, at nine +o'clock in the morning. At the same hour Arnold leapt the +<i>Ithuriel</i> 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. +</p> +<p> +"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?" +</p> +<p> +"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!" +</p> +<p class="theend"> +THE END +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +MORRISON AND GIBB PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.<br /> +<a name="page394"></a> <span class="pagenum">[Pg 394]</span> +</p> +<hr /> +<p class="titlecenter"> +Now Ready, Third Edition. +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +<i>308 pages, demy 8vo, cloth gilt, 6s.</i>, +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +THE CAPTAIN OF THE MARY ROSE.<br /> +<i>A TALE OF TO-MORROW.</i> +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +By W. LAIRD CLOWES,<br /> +U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE. +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +With 60 Illustrations by the Chevalier de Martino and Fred. T. Jane. +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +<i>A most graphic and enthralling description of the next Naval War between +France and Great Britain.</i> +</p> +<hr /> +<p class="titlecenter"> +THE FOLLOWING ARE A FEW PRESS OPINIONS. +</p> +<p> +"Deserves something more than a mere passing notice."—<i>The Times.</i> +</p> +<p> +"Full of exciting situations.... Has manifold attractions for all sorts +of readers."—<i>Army and Navy Gazette.</i> +</p> +<p> +"The most notable book of the season."—<i>The Standard.</i> +</p> +<p> +"A clever book. Mr. Clowes is pre-eminent for literary touch and +practical knowledge of naval affairs."—<i>Daily Chronicle.</i> +</p> +<p> +"Mr. W. Laird Clowes' exciting story."—<i>Daily Telegraph.</i> +</p> +<p> +"We read 'The Captain of the Mary Rose' at a sitting."—<i>The Pall +Mall Gazette.</i> +</p> +<p> +"Written with no little spirit and imagination.... A stirring romance +of the future."—<i>Manchester Guardian.</i> +</p> +<p> +"Is of a realistic and exciting character.... Designed to show what +the naval warfare of the future may be."—<i>Glasgow Herald.</i> +</p> +<p> +"One of the most interesting volumes of the year."—<i>Liverpool Journal +of Commerce.</i> +</p> +<p> +"It is well told and magnificently illustrated."—<i>United Service Magazine.</i> +</p> +<p> +"Full of absorbing interest."—<i>Engineer's Gazette.</i> +</p> +<p> +"Is intensely realistic, so much so that after commencing the story every +one will be anxious to read to the end."—<i>Dundee Advertiser.</i> +</p> +<p> +"The book is splendidly illustrated."—<i>Northern Whig.</i> +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +TOWER PUBLISHING CO. LIMITED, +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +91 MINORIES, LONDON, E.C.; +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +<i>And all Booksellers throughout the Kingdom</i>. +</p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +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-h.htm or 31324-h.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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