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| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-06 21:28:09 -0800 |
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| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-06 21:28:09 -0800 |
| commit | a34448a4fb76199d94360d4fcadacd1903fc48ed (patch) | |
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-} -p.drop-capi-quoteT:first-letter{ - margin-left: -1.55em; -} -p.drop-capi-W:first-letter{ - margin-left: -1.55em; -} - -/*CSS to force a page break in ePub*/ -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} - -/*Half-title page CSS*/ -#half-title -{ - text-align: center; - font-size: x-large; -} - -@media screen -{ - #half-title{ - margin: 6em 0; - } -} - -@media print, handheld -{ - #half-title{ - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; - margin: 0; - padding-top: 6em; - } -} -/*End half-title page CSS*/ - -/*CSS markup for handhelds -- put at end of CSS*/ -@media handheld -{ - img {max-width: 100%; height: auto;} /*Limit width to display*/ - - h2.no-break - { - page-break-before: avoid; - padding-top: 0; - } - - img.drop-capi { - display: none; - visibility: hidden; - } - - p.drop-capi:first-letter, p.drop-capi-A:first-letter, p.drop-capi-quoteA:first-letter, p.drop-capi-B:first-letter, - p.drop-capi-F:first-letter, p.drop-capi-I:first-letter, - p.drop-capi-L:first-letter, p.drop-capi-M:first-letter, - p.drop-capi-N:first-letter, p.drop-capi-O:first-letter, - p.drop-capi-S:first-letter, p.drop-capi-T:first-letter, p.drop-capi-quoteT:first-letter, - p.drop-capi-W:first-letter { - padding-right: 0em; - margin-left: 0em; - } -} -/*End CSS for handhelds*/ - - hr.full { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Olga Romanoff, by George Chetwynd Griffith, -Illustrated by Fred T. Jane</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Olga Romanoff</p> -<p>Author: George Chetwynd Griffith</p> -<p>Release Date: February 2, 2017 [eBook #54096]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLGA ROMANOFF***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4>E-text prepared by MFR, Craig Kirkwood,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/olgaromanoff00grif"> - https://archive.org/details/olgaromanoff00grif</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 597px;"> -<img id="coverpage" src="images/front_cover.jpg" width="597" height="850" alt="Cover." /> -</div> - -<p id="half-title">OLGA ROMANOFF</p> - -<p class="center smallfont">MORRISON AND GIBB, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<div id="Fig_Frontispiece" class="figcenter" style="width: 442px;"> -<img src="images/i_004.jpg" width="442" height="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">Evil in such a Shape might be something more than Good.</span> -(<em>Frontispiece.</em>) <em>See <a href="#Ref_176">page 176</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 416px;"> -<img src="images/title_page.jpg" width="416" height="650" alt="Title page." /> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="boxtitlepage"> - -<h1 style="text-align:left">OLGA<br /> -ROMANOFF.</h1> - -<div class="center"> -<div class="inlinecolumn12"> -<p class="p2 center"><span class="xsmallfont">BY</span><br /> -<span class="largefont">GEORGE GRIFFITH.</span></p> - -<p class="center xsmallfont">AUTHOR OF</p> - -<p class="center xsmallfont">“THE ANGEL OF THE REVOLUTION,” “THE OUTLAWS<br /> -OF THE AIR,” “VALDAR THE OFT-BORN,” “BRITON<br /> -OR BOER?” “THE ROMANCE OF GOLDEN STAR,”<br /> -ETC., ETC.</p> -</div> - -<div class="inlinecolumn12"> -<p class="smallfont">“<em>And so they waited—waited -while the ages-old snow and ice -melted from the bare, black rocks -under the fierce breath of the fire-storm; -while the ocean of flame -seethed and roared and eddied -about them, licking up the seas -and melted snows, and fighting -with them as fire and water have -fought since the world began; while -the foundations of the Southern -Pole quivered and rocked beneath -their feet, and the walls of their -refuge quaked and cracked with -the throes of the writhing earth, -and cosmos was dissolved into -chaos once more.</em>”—<a href="#Ref_368">p. 368</a>.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="p4" style="text-align:left">WITH SIXTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS<br /> -BY FRED T. JANE.</p> - -<p class="center p2">LONDON:<br /> -SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO., <span class="smcap">Ltd.</span></p> - -<p class="center smallfont">1897.<br /> -<span style="padding-right:3.5em"><span class="smcap">Copyrighted Abroad.</span>]</span><span style="padding-left:3.5em">[<span class="smcap">All Foreign Rights Reserved.</span></span></p> - -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p class="center" style="line-height:2"><span class="smallfont">TO</span><br /> -<span class="largefont">HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM</span></p> - -<p class="center smallfont" style="line-height:2">THE FIRST MAN WHO HAS FLOWN<br /> -BY MECHANICAL MEANS<br /> -AND SO APPROACHED MOST NEARLY<br /> -TO THE LONG-SOUGHT IDEAL<br /> -OF<br /> -AERIAL NAVIGATION</p> - -<p class="center smallfont" style="line-height:2">THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE INSCRIBED<br /> -BY<br /> -<span class="largefont">THE AUTHOR</span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - - -<div class="center"> -<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> -<tr><td class="tocchapter"></td><td class="toctitle"></td><td class="tocpage">PAGE</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter"></td><td class="toctitle">PROLOGUE</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter" style="padding-top:1em">CHAP.</td><td class="toctitle"></td><td class="tocpage"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">I.</td><td class="toctitle">THE SURRENDER OF THE WORLD-THRONE</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_8">8</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">II.</td><td class="toctitle">A CROWNLESS KING</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">III.</td><td class="toctitle">TSARINA OLGA</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">IV.</td><td class="toctitle">A SON OF THE GODS</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">V.</td><td class="toctitle">A VISION FROM THE CLOUDS</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">VI.</td><td class="toctitle">DEED AND DREAM</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">VII.</td><td class="toctitle">THE SPELL OF CIRCE</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">VIII.</td><td class="toctitle">THE NEW TERROR</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_75">75</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">IX.</td><td class="toctitle">THE FLIGHT OF THE “REVENGE”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">X.</td><td class="toctitle">STRANGE TIDINGS TO AERIA</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XI.</td><td class="toctitle">THE SNAKE IN EDEN</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XII.</td><td class="toctitle">THE BATTLE OF KERGUELEN</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XIII.</td><td class="toctitle">THE SYREN’S STRONGHOLD</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XIV.</td><td class="toctitle">FROM THE SEA TO THE AIR</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XV.</td><td class="toctitle">OLGA IN COUNCIL</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XVI.</td><td class="toctitle">KHALID THE MAGNIFICENT</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_159">159</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XVII.</td><td class="toctitle">AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XVIII.</td><td class="toctitle">A MOMENTOUS COMMISSION</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_188">188</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XIX.</td><td class="toctitle">FACE TO FACE AGAIN</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_202">202</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XX.</td><td class="toctitle">THE CALL TO ARMS</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXI.</td><td class="toctitle">THE HOME-COMING</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_226">226</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXII.</td><td class="toctitle">THE EVE OF BATTLE</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_243">243</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXIII.</td><td class="toctitle">THE FIRST BLOW</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_253">253</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXIV.</td><td class="toctitle">WAR AT ITS WORST</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_271">271</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXV.</td><td class="toctitle">A MESSAGE FROM MARS</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_289">289</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXVI.</td><td class="toctitle">SENTENCE OF DEATH</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_303">303</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXVII.</td><td class="toctitle">ALMA SPEAKS</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_314">314</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXVIII.</td><td class="toctitle">THE SIGN IN THE SKY</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_319">319</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXIX.</td><td class="toctitle">THE TRUCE OF GOD</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_325">325</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXX.</td><td class="toctitle">THE SHADOW OF DEATH</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_338">338</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXXI.</td><td class="toctitle">THE LAST BATTLE</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_350">350</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXXII.</td><td class="toctitle">THE SHE-WOLF TO HER LAIR</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_359">359</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter"></td><td class="toctitle" style="padding-top:1em">EPILOGUE</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_369">369</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span></p> - -<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> - -<div class="center"> -<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations"> -<tr><td class="toctitle"></td><td class="tocpage">PAGE</td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">EVIL IN SUCH A SHAPE MIGHT BE SOMETHING MORE THAN GOOD</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_Frontispiece"><em>Frontispiece</em></a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">NOT A VESTIGE OF OUR AIR-SHIP OR HER CREATORS REMAINED</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_22">22</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">AS SHE GAZED UPON IT, THE FIRES DIED AWAY</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_57">57</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">FLINGING LONG STREAMS OF RADIANCE FOR MILES INTO THE SKY</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_83">83</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">THE CLOUDS WERE RENT AND ROLLED UP INTO VAST SHADOWY BILLOWS</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_122">122</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">THE COMBINED SQUADRONS SWEPT ACROSS THE MOUNTAIN BARRIER</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_237">237</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">BATTERIES WHICH WOULD BE ABLE TO SURROUND AERIA WITH A ZONE OF STORM AND FLAME</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_248">248</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">THE FOUR HUNDRED BATTLESHIPS OF THE TWO SQUADRONS ROSE INTO THE AIR</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_252">252</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">THREE OF THE AIR-SHIPS SEEMED TO BREAK-UP AND ROLL OVER</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_259">259</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">A GREAT BATTLESHIP LEAPT UP OUT OF THE NETHER WATERS</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_266">266</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">THE “ISMA” SWOOPED DOWN</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_281">281</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">A FEARFUL SCENE UNFOLDED ITSELF AS THEY SWEPT UP OVER PARIS</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_286">286</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">“ONLY YOU CAN BID ME LIVE, ALMA”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_317">317</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">STILL THE FIGHT WENT ON AT LONG RANGES</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_354">354</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">THE BLAZING SKY WAS LITERALLY RAINING FIRE OVER SEA AND LAND</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_367">367</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">OLGA ROMANOFF HAD SURVIVED THE DOOM OF THE WORLD</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Fig_374">374</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont">OLGA ROMANOFF.</p> - - -<h2 class="no-break">PROLOGUE.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE PROPHECY OF NATAS.</span></h2> - - -<blockquote> - -<p><em>These are the last words of Israel di Murska, known in the days of strife as -Natas, the Master of the Terror, given to the Children of Deliverance dwelling in -the land of Aeria, in the twenty-fifth year of the Peace, which, in the reckoning -of the West, is the year nineteen hundred and thirty.</em></p></blockquote> - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_m.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-M">MY life is lived, and the wings of the Angel of Death -overshadow me as I write; but before the last -summons comes, I must obey the spirit within -me that bids me tell of the things that I have -seen, in order that the story of them shall not die, -nor be disguised by false reports, as the years multiply and the -mists gather over the graves of those who, with me, have seen -and wrought them.</p> - -<p>For this reason the words that I write shall be read -publicly in the ears of you and your children and your -children’s children, until they shall see a sign in heaven to tell -them that the end is at hand. No man among you shall take -away from that which I have written, nor yet add anything to -it; and every fifth year, at the Festival of Deliverance, which -is held on the Anniversary of Victory,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> this writing of mine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> -shall be read, that those who shall hear it with understanding -may lay its warnings to heart, and that the lessons of the -Great Deliverance may never be forgotten among you.</p> - -<p>It was in the days before the beginning of peace that I, -Natas the Jew, cast down and broken by the hand of the -Tyrant, conceived and created that which was known as the -Terror. The kings of the earth and their servants trembled -before my invisible presence, for my arm was long and my -hand was heavy; yet no man knew where or when I should -strike—only that the blow would be death to him on whom it -should fall, and that nowhere on earth should he find a safe -refuge from it.</p> - -<p>In those days the earth was ruled by force and cunning, -and the nations were armed camps set one against the other. -Millions of men, who had no quarrel with their neighbours, -stood waiting for the word of their rulers to blast the fair -fields of earth with the fires of war, and to make desolate the -homes of those who had done them no wrong.</p> - -<p>In the third year of the twentieth century, Richard Arnold, -the Englishman, conquered the empire of the air, and made -the first ship that flew as a bird does, of its own strength and -motion. He joined the Brotherhood of Freedom, then known -among men as the Terrorists, of whom I, Natas, was the -Master, and then he built the aerial fleet which, in the day of -Armageddon, gave us the victory over the tyrants of the earth.</p> - -<p>At the same time, Alan Tremayne, a noble of the English -people, into whose soul I had caused my spirit to enter in order -that he might serve me and bring the day of deliverance -nearer, caused all the nations of the Anglo-Saxon race to join -hands, from the West unto the East, in a league of common -blood and kindred; and they, in the appointed hour, stood -between the sons and daughters of men and those who would -have enslaved them afresh.</p> - -<p>The chief of these was Alexander Romanoff, last of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> -Tsars, or Tyrants, of Russia, whose armies, leagued with those -of France, Italy, Spain, and certain lesser Powers, and assisted -by a great fleet of war-balloons that could fly, though slowly, -wherever they were directed, swept like a destroying pestilence -from the western frontiers of Russia to the eastern shores of -Britain; and when they had gained the mastery of Europe, -invaded England and laid siege to London.</p> - -<p>But here their path of conquest was brought to an end, for -Alan Tremayne and his brothers of the Terror called upon the -men of Anglo-Saxondom to save their Motherland from her -enemies, and they rose in their wrath, millions strong, and fell -upon them by land and sea, and would have destroyed them -utterly, as I had bidden them do, but that Natasha, who was -my daughter and was known in those days as the Angel of the -Revolution, pleaded for the remnant of them, and they were -spared.</p> - -<p>But the Russians we slew without mercy to the last man -of those who had stood in arms against us, saving only the -Tyrant and his princes and the leaders of his armies. These -we took prisoners and sent, with their wives and their children, -to die in their own prison-land in Siberia, as they had sent -thousands of innocent men and women to die before them.</p> - -<p>This was my judgment upon them for the wrong that they -had done to me and mine, for in the hour of victory I spared -not those who had not known how to spare. Now they are -dead, and their graves are nameless. Their name is a byword -among men, for they were strong and they used their -strength to do evil.</p> - -<p>So we made an end of tyranny among the nations, and -when the world-war was at length brought to an end, we disbanded -all the armies that were upon land and sank the warships -that were left upon the sea, that men might no more -fight with each other. War, that had been called honourable -since the world began, we made a crime of blood-guiltiness, for -which the life of him who sought to commit it should pay; and -as a crime, you, the children of those who have delivered the -nations from it, shall for ever hold it to be.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span></p> - -<p>We leave you the command of the air, and that is the -command of the world; but should it come to pass—as in the -progress of knowledge it may well do—that others in the -world outside Aeria shall learn to navigate the air as you do, -you shall go forth to battle with them and destroy them -utterly, for we have made it known through all the earth that -he who seeks to build a second navy of the air shall be -accounted an enemy of peace, whose purpose it is to bring war -upon the earth again.</p> - -<p>Forget not that the blood-lust is but tamed, not quenched, -in the souls of men, and that long years must pass before it -is purged from the world for ever. We have given peace on -earth, and to you, our children, we bequeath the sacred trust -of keeping it. We have won our world-empire by force, and -by force you must maintain it.</p> - -<p>In the day of battle we shed the blood of millions without -ruth to win it, and so far the end has justified the means -we used. Since the sun set upon Armageddon, and the -right to make war was taken from the rulers of the nations, -we have governed a realm of peace and prosperity which -every year has seen better and happier than that which went -before.</p> - -<p>No man has dared to draw the sword upon his brother, or -by force or fraud to take that which was not his by right. The -soil of earth has been given back to the use of her sons, and -their wealth has already multiplied a hundredfold on every -hand. Kings have ruled with wisdom and justice, and senates -have ceased their wranglings to soberly seek out and promote -the welfare of their own countries, and to win the respect and -friendship of others.</p> - -<p>Yet many of these are the same men who, but a few years -ago, rent each other like wild beasts in savage strife for the -meanest ends; who betrayed their brothers and slaughtered -their neighbours, that the rich might be richer, and the strong -stronger, in the pitiless battle for wealth and power. They -have become peaceful and honest with each other, because we -have compelled them to be so, and because they know that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> -penalty of wrong-doing in high places is destruction swift and -certain as the stroke of the hand of Fate itself.</p> - -<p>They know that no man stands so high that our hand -cannot cast him down to the dust, and that no spot of earth is -so secret and so distant that the transgressor of our laws can -find in it a refuge from our vengeance. We stand between -the few strong and cunning who would oppress, and the many -weak and simple who could not resist them; and when we -are gone, you will hear the voice of duty calling you to take -our places.</p> - -<p>When you stand where we do now, remember who you are -and the tremendous trust that is laid upon you. You are the -children of the chosen out of many nations, masters of the -world, and, under Heaven, the arbiters of human destiny. -You shall rule the world as we have ruled it for a hundred -years from now. If in that time men shall not have learnt -the ways of wisdom and justice, you may be sure that they -will never learn them, and deserve only to be left to their own -foolishness. Since the world began, the path of life has never -lain so fair and straight before the sons of men as it does -now, and never was it so easy to do the right and so hard to -do the wrong.</p> - -<p>So, for a hundred years to come, you shall keep them in the -path in which we have set them, and those that would wilfully -turn aside from it you shall destroy without mercy, lest -they lead others into misery and bring the evil days upon -earth again.</p> - -<p>At the twenty-fifth celebration of the Festival of Deliverance, -you shall give back the sceptre of the world-empire into -the hands of the children of those from whom we took it,—because -they wielded it for oppression, and not for mercy. At -that time you shall make it known throughout the earth that -men are once more free to do good or evil, according to -their choice, and that as they choose well or ill so shall they -live or die.</p> - -<p>And woe to them in those days if, knowing the good, they -shall turn aside to do evil! Beyond the clouds that gather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> -over the sunset of my earthly life, I see a sign in heaven as -of a flaming sword, whose hilt is in the hand of the Master -of Destiny, and whose blade is outstretched over the habitations -of men.</p> - -<p>As they shall choose to do good or evil, so shall that sword -pass away from them or fall upon them, and consume them -utterly in the midst of their pride. And if they, knowing the -good, shall elect to do evil, it shall be with them as of old the -Prophet said of the men of Babylon the Great: Their cities -shall be a desolation, a dry land and a wilderness; a land -wherein no man dwelleth, neither shall any son of man -pass thereby.</p> - -<p>For from among the stars of heaven, whose lore I have -learned and whose voices I have heard, there shall come the -messenger of Fate, and his shape shall be that of a flaming fire, -and his breath as the breath of a pestilence that men shall feel -and die in the hour that it breathes upon them.</p> - -<p>Out of the depths beyond the light of the sun he shall -come, and your children of the fifth generation shall behold his -approach. The sister-worlds shall see him pass with fear and -trembling, wondering which of them he shall smite, but if he -be not restrained or turned aside by the Hand which guides -the stars in their courses, it shall go hard with this world and -the men of it in the hour of his passing.</p> - -<p>Then shall the highways of the earth be waste, and the -wayfaring of men cease. Earth shall languish and mourn for -her children that are no more, and Death shall reign amidst -the silence, sole sovereign of many lands!</p> - -<p>But you, so long as you continue to walk in the way of -wisdom, shall live in peace until the end, whether it shall come -then or in the ages that shall follow. And if it shall come -then, you shall await it with fortitude, knowing that this life is -but a single link in the chain of existence which stretches -through infinity; and that, if you shall be found worthy, you -shall be taught how a chosen few among your sons and -daughters shall survive the ruin of the world, to be the parents -of the new race, and replenish the earth and possess it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> - -<p>Out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death I stretch forth -my hands in blessing to you, the children of the coming time, -and pray that the peace which the men of the generation now -passing away have won through strife and toil in the fiery -days of the Terror, may be yours and endure unbroken unto -the end.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_019.jpg" width="350" height="58" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER I.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE SURRENDER OF THE WORLD-THRONE.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_a.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-A">A HUNDRED years had passed since Natas, the -Master of the Terror, had given into the hands of -Richard Arnold his charge to the future generations -of the Aerians—as the descendants of the -Terrorists who had colonised the mountain-walled -valley of Aeria, in Central Africa, were now -called; since the man, who had planned and accomplished -the greatest revolution in the history of the world, had -given his last blessing to his companions-in-arms and their -children, and had “turned his face to the wall and died.”</p> - -<p>It was midday, on the 8th of December 2030, and the -rulers of all the civilised States of the world were gathered -together in St. Paul’s Cathedral to receive, from the hands of a -descendant of Natas in the fourth generation, the restoration of -the right of independent national rule which, on the same spot -a hundred and twenty-five years before, had been taken from -the sovereigns of Europe and vested in the Supreme Council of -the Anglo-Saxon Federation.</p> - -<p>The period of tutelage had passed. Under the wise and -firm rule of the Council and the domination of the Anglo-Saxon -race, the Golden Age had seemed to return to the world. -For a hundred and twenty-five years there had been peace on -earth, broken only by the outbreak and speedy suppression of -a few tribal wars among the more savage races of Africa and -Malaysia. Now the descendants of those who had been victors<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> -and vanquished in the world-war of 1904, had met to give back -and assume the freedom and the responsibility of national -independence.</p> - -<p>The vast cathedral was thronged, as it had been on the -momentous day when Natas had pronounced his judgment on -the last of the Tyrants of Russia, and ended the old order of -things in Europe. But it was filled by a very different assembly -to that which had stood within its walls on the morrow of -Armageddon.</p> - -<p>Then the stress and horror of a mighty conflict had set its -stamp on every face. Hate had looked out of eyes in which -the tears were scarcely dry, and hungered fiercely for the -blood of the oppressor. The clash of arms, the stern command, -and the pitiless words of doom had sounded then in ears which -but a few hours before had listened to the roar of artillery and -the thunder of battle. That had been the dawn of the morrow -of strife; this was the zenith of the noon of peace.</p> - -<p>Now, in all the vast assembly, no hand held a weapon, no -face was there which showed a sign of sorrow, fear, or anger, -and in no heart, save only two among the thousands, was there -a thought of hate or bitterness.</p> - -<p>For three days past the Festival of Deliverance had been -celebrated all over the civilised world, and now, in the centre -of the city which had come to be the capital, not only of the -vast domains of Anglo-Saxondom, but of the whole world, a -solemn act of renunciation was to be performed, upon the -issues of which the fate of all humanity would hang; for the -members of the Supreme Council had come through the skies -from their seat of empire in Aeria to abdicate the world-throne -in obedience to the command of the dead Master, from whom -their ancestors had derived it.</p> - -<p>At a table, drawn across the front of the chancel, sat the -President and the twelve men who with him had up to this -hour shared the empire of the human race. Below the steps, -on the floor of the cathedral, sat, in a wide semicircle, the -rulers of the kingdoms and republics of the earth, assembled to -hear the last word of their over-lords, and to receive from them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -the power and responsibility of maintaining or forfeiting, as the -event should prove, the blessings which had multiplied under -the sovereignty of the Aerians.</p> - -<p>The President of the Council was the direct descendant -not only of Alan Tremayne, its first President, but also of -Richard Arnold and Natasha; for their eldest son, born in the -first year of the Peace, had married the only daughter of Tremayne, -and their first-born son had been his father’s father.</p> - -<p>Although the average physique of civilised man had -immensely improved under the new order of things, the -Aerians, descendants of the pick of the nations of Europe, -were as far superior to the rest of the assembly as the latter -would have been to the men and women of the nineteenth -century; but even amongst the members of the Council, the -splendid stature and regal dignity of Alan Arnold, the President, -stamped him as a born ruler of men, whose title rested -upon something higher than election or inheritance.</p> - -<p>At the last stroke of twelve, the President rose in his place, -and, in the midst of an almost breathless silence, read the -message of Natas to the great congregation. This done, he -laid the parchment down on the table and, beginning from the -outbreak of the world-war, rapidly and lucidly sketched out -the vast and beneficent changes in the government of society -that its issues had made possible.</p> - -<p>He traced the marvellous development of the new civilisation, -which, in four generations, had raised men from a state -of half-barbarous strife and brutality to one of universal peace -and prosperity; from inhuman and unsparing competition to -friendly co-operation in public, and generous rivalry in private -concerns; from horrible contrasts of wealth and misery to a -social state in which the removal of all unnatural disabilities -in the race of life had made them impossible.</p> - -<p>He showed how, in the evil times which, as all men hoped, -had been left behind for ever, the strong and the unscrupulous -ruthlessly oppressed the weak and swindled the honest and the -straightforward. Now dishonesty was dishonourable in fact as -well as in name; the game of life was played fairly, and its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> -prizes fell to all who could win them, by native genius or -earnest endeavour.</p> - -<p>There were no inequalities, save those which Nature herself -had imposed upon all men from the beginning of time. There -were no tyrants and no slaves. That which a man’s labour of -hand or brain had won was his, and no man might take toll of -it. All useful work was held in honour, and there was no -other road to fame or fortune save that of profitable service to -humanity.</p> - -<p>“This,” said the President in conclusion, “is the splendid -heritage that we of the Supreme Council, which is now to cease -to exist as such, have received from our forefathers, who won -it for us and for you on the field of the world’s Armageddon. -We have preserved their traditions intact, and obeyed their -commands to the letter; and now the hour has come for us, -in obedience to the last of those commands, to resign our -authority and to hand over that heritage to you, the rulers of -the civilised world, to hold in trust for the peoples over whom -you have been appointed to reign.</p> - -<p>“When I have done speaking I shall no longer be President -of the Senate, which for a hundred and twenty-five years has -ruled the world from pole to pole and east to west. You and -your parliaments are henceforth free to rule as you will. We -shall take no further part in the control of human affairs -outside our domain, saving only in one concern.</p> - -<p>“In the days when our command was established, the only -possible basis of all rule was force, and our supremacy was -based on the force that we could bring to bear upon those who -might have ventured to oppose us or revolted against our rule. -We commanded, and we will still command, the air, and I -should not be doing my duty, either to my own people or to -you, if I did not tell you that the Aerians, not as the world-rulers -that they have been, but as the citizens of an independent -State, mean to keep that power in their own hands at -all costs.</p> - -<p>“The empire of earth and sea, saving only the valley of -Aeria, is yours to do with as you will. The empire of the air<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -is ours,—the heritage that we have received from the genius -of that ancestor of mine who first conquered it.</p> - -<p>“That we have not used it in the past to oppress you is the -most perfect guarantee that we shall not do so in the future, -but let all the nations of the earth clearly understand, that we -shall accept any attempt to dispute it with us as a declaration -of war upon us, and that those who make that attempt will -either have to exterminate us or be exterminated themselves. -This is not a threat, but a solemn warning; and the responsibility -of once more bringing the curse of war and all its -attendant desolation upon the earth, will lie heavily upon those -who neglect it.</p> - -<p>“A few more needful words and I have done. The message -of the Master, which I have read to you, contains a prophecy, -as to the fulfilment of which neither I nor any man here may -speak with certainty. It may be that he, with clearer eyes -than ours, saw some tremendous catastrophe impending over -the world, a catastrophe which no human means could avert, -and beneath which human strength and genius could only bow -with resignation.</p> - -<p>“By what spirit he was inspired when he uttered the -prophecy, it is not for us to say. But before you put it aside -as an old man’s dream, let me ask you to remember, that he -who uttered it was a man who was able to plan the destruction -of one civilisation, and to prepare the way for another and a -better.</p> - -<p>“Such a man, standing midway between the twin mysteries -of life and death, might well see that which is hidden from our -grosser sight. But whether the prophecy itself shall prove -true or false, it shall be well for you and for your children’s -children if you and they shall receive the lesson that it teaches -as true.</p> - -<p>“If, in the days that are to come, the world shall be overwhelmed -with a desolation that none shall escape, will it not -be better that the end shall come and find men doing good -rather than evil? As you now set the peoples whom you -govern in the right or the wrong path, so shall they walk.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> - -<p>“This is the lesson of all the generations that have gone -before us, and it shall also be true of those that are to come -after us. As the seed is, so is the harvest; therefore see to it -that you, who are now the free rulers of the nations, so discharge -the awful trust and responsibility which is thus laid -upon you, that your children’s children shall not, perhaps in -the hour of Humanity’s last agony, rise up and curse your -memory rather than bless it. I have spoken!”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_025.jpg" width="350" height="57" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER II.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">A CROWNLESS KING.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_l.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-L">LATE in the evening of the same day two of the -President’s audience—the only two who had -heard his words with anger and hatred instead -of gratitude and joy—were together in a small -but luxuriously-furnished room, in an octagonal -turret which rose from one of the angles of a large house on -the southern slope of the heights of Hampstead.</p> - -<p>One was a very old man, whose once giant frame was -wasted and shrunken by the slow siege of many years, and on -whose withered, care-lined features death had already set its -fatal seal. The other was a young girl, in all the pride and glory -of budding womanhood, and beautiful with the dark, imperious -beauty that is transmitted, like a priceless heirloom, along a line -of proud descent unstained by any drop of base-born blood.</p> - -<p>Yet in her beauty there was that which repelled as well as -attracted. No sweet and gentle woman-soul looked out of the -great, deep eyes, that changed from dusky-violet to the blackness -of a starless night as the sun and shade of her varying -moods swept over her inner being. Her straight, dark brows -were almost masculine in their firmness; and the voluptuous -promise of her full, red, sensuous lips was belied by the -strength of her chin and the defiant poise of her splendid head -on the strongly-moulded throat, whose smooth skin showed so -dazzlingly white against the dark purple velvet of the collar of -her dress.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was a beauty to enslave and command rather than to -woo and win; the fatal loveliness of a Cleopatra, a Lucrezia, or -a Messalina; a charm to be used for evil rather than for good. -In a few years she would be such a woman as would drive men -mad for the love of her, and, giving no love in return, use them -for her own ends, and cast them aside with a smile when they -could serve her no longer.</p> - -<p>The old man was lying on a low couch of magnificent furs, -against whose dark lustre the grey pallor of his skin and the -pure, silvery whiteness of his still thick hair and beard showed -up in strong contrast. He had been asleep for the last four -hours, resting after the exertion of going to the cathedral, and -the girl was sitting watching him with anxious eyes, every -now and then leaning forward to catch the faint sound of his -slow and even breathing, and make sure that he was still alive.</p> - -<p>A clock in one of the corners of the room chimed a quarter -to nine, as the old man raised his hand to his brow and opened -his eyes. They rested for a moment on the girl’s face, and then -wandered inquiringly about the room, as though he expected -someone else to be present. Then he said in a low, weak -voice—</p> - -<p>“What time is it? Has Serge come yet?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said the girl, glancing up at the clock; “that was only -a quarter to nine, and he is not due until the hour.”</p> - -<p>“No; I remember. I don’t suppose he can be here much -before. Meanwhile get me the draught ready, so that I shall -have strength to do what has to be done before”—</p> - -<p>“Are you sure it is necessary for you to take that terrible -drug? Why should you sacrifice what may be months or even -years of life, to gain a few hours’ renewed youth?”</p> - -<p>The girl’s voice trembled as she spoke, and her eyes melted -in a sudden rush of tears. The one being that she loved in all -the world was this old man, and he had just told her to prepare -his death-draught.</p> - -<p>“Do as I bid you, child,” he said, raising his voice to a -querulous cry, “and do it quickly, while there is yet time. -Why do you talk to me of a few more months of life—to me,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -whose eyes have seen the snows of a hundred winters whitening -the earth? I tell you that, drug or no drug, I shall not -see the setting of to-morrow’s sun. As I slept, I heard the rush -of the death-angel’s wings through the night, and the wind of -them was cold upon my brow. Do as I bid you, quick—there -is the door-telephone. Serge is here!”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, a ring sounded in the lower part of the house. -Accustomed to blind obedience from her infancy, the girl -choked back her rising tears and went to a little cupboard let -into the wall, out of which she took two small vials, each containing -about a fluid ounce of colourless liquid. She placed a -tumbler in the old man’s hand, and emptied the vials into it -simultaneously.</p> - -<p>There was a slight effervescence, and the two colourless -liquids instantly changed to deep red. The moment that they -did so, the dying man put the glass to his lips and emptied it -at a gulp. Then he threw himself back upon his pillows, and -let the glass fall from his hand upon the floor. At the same -moment a little disc of silver flew out at right angles to the -wall near the door, and a voice said—</p> - -<p>“Serge Nicholaivitch is here to command.”</p> - -<p>“Serge Nicholaivitch is welcome. Let him ascend!” said -the girl, walking towards the transmitter, and replacing the disc -as she ceased speaking.</p> - -<p>A few moments later there was a tap on the door. The -girl opened it and admitted a tall, splendidly-built young -fellow of about twenty-two, dressed, according to the winter -costume of the time, in a close-fitting suit of dark-blue velvet, -long boots of soft, brown leather that came a little higher than -the knee, and a long, fur-lined, hooded cloak, which was now -thrown back, and hung in graceful folds from his broad -shoulders.</p> - -<p>As he entered, the girl held out her hand to him in silence. -A bright flush rose to her clear, pale cheeks as he instantly -dropped on one knee and kissed it, as in the old days a favoured -subject would have kissed the hand of a queen.</p> - -<p>“Welcome, Serge Nicholaivitch, Prince of the House of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -Romanoff! Your bride and your crown are waiting for -you!”</p> - -<p>The words came clear and strong from the lips which, but a -few minutes before, had barely been able to frame a coherent -sentence. The strange drug had wrought a miracle of restoration. -Fifty years seemed to have been lifted from the shoulders -of the man who would never see another sunrise.</p> - -<p>The light of youth shone in his eyes, and the flush of health -on his cheeks. The deep furrows of age and care had vanished -from his face, and, saving only for his long, white hair, if one -who had seen Alexander Romanoff, the last of the Tsars of -Russia, on the battlefield of Muswell Hill could have come -back to earth, he would have believed that he saw him once -more in the flesh.</p> - -<p>Without any assistance he rose from the couch, and drew -himself up to the full of his majestic height. As he did so the -young man dropped on his knee before him, as he had done -before the girl, and said in Russian—</p> - -<p>“The honour is too great for my unworthiness. May -heaven make me worthy of it!”</p> - -<p>“Worthy you are now, and shall remain so long as you -shall keep undefiled the faith and honour of the Imperial House -from which you are sprung,” replied the old man in the same -language, raising him from his knee as he spoke. Then he laid -his hands on the young man’s shoulders, and, looking him -straight in the eyes, went on—</p> - -<p>“Serge Nicholaivitch, you know why I have bidden you -come here to-night. Speak now, without fear or falsehood, -and tell me whether you come prepared to take that which I -have to give you, and to do that which I shall ask of you. If -there is any doubt in your soul, speak it now and go in peace; -for the task that I shall lay upon you is no light one, nor may -it be undertaken without a whole heart and a soul that is -undivided by doubt.”</p> - -<p>The young man returned his burning gaze with a glance as -clear and steady as his own, and replied—</p> - -<p>“It is for your Majesty to give and for me to take—for you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -to command and for me to obey. Tell me your will, and I will -do it to the death. In the hour that I fail, may heaven’s mercy -fail me too, and may I die as one who is not fit to live!”</p> - -<p>“Spoken like a true son of Russia!” said the old man, taking -his hands from his shoulders and beckoning the girl to his -side. Then he placed them side by side before an <em>ikon</em> fastened -to the eastern wall, with an ever-burning lamp in front of it. -He bade them kneel down and join hands, and as they did so -he took his place behind them and, raising his hands as though -in invocation above their heads, he said in slow, solemn tones—</p> - -<p>“Now, Serge Nicholaivitch and Olga Romanoff, sole heirs on -earth of those who once were Tsars of Russia, swear before -heaven and all its holy saints that, when this body of mine -shall have been committed to the flames, you will take my -ashes to Petersburg and lay them in the Church of Peter and -Paul, and that when that is done, you will go to the Lossenskis -at Moscow, and there, in the Uspènski Sobōr, where your -ancestors were crowned, take each other for wedded wife and -husband, according to the ancient laws of Russia and the rites -of the orthodox church.”</p> - -<p>The oath was taken by each of the now betrothed pair in -turn, and then Paul Romanoff, great-grandson of Alexander, the -Last of the Tsars, raised them from their knees and kissed each -of them on the forehead. Then, taking from his neck a gold -chain with a small key attached to it, he went to one of the -oak panels, from which the walls of the room were lined, and -pushed aside a portion of the apparently solid beading, disclosing -a keyhole into which he inserted the key.</p> - -<p>He turned the key and pulled, and the panel swung slowly -out like a door. It was lined with three inches of solid steel, -and behind it was a cavity in the wall, from which came the -sheen of gold and the gleam of jewels. A cry of amazement -broke at the same moment from the lips of both Olga and -Serge, as they saw what the glittering object was.</p> - -<p>Paul Romanoff took it out of the steel-lined cavity, and laid -it reverently on the table, saying, as he did so—</p> - -<p>“To-morrow I shall be dead, and this house and all that is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -in it will be yours. There is my most precious possession, the -Imperial crown of Russia, stolen when the Kremlin was -plundered in the days of the Terror, and restored secretly to my -father by the faith and devotion of one of the few who remained -loyal after the fall of the Empire.</p> - -<p>“In a few hours it will be yours. I leave it to you as a -sacred heritage from the past for you to hand on to the future, -and with it you shall receive and hand on a heritage of hate -and vengeance, which you shall keep hot in your hearts and in -the hearts of your children against the day of reckoning when -it comes.</p> - -<p>“Now sit down on the divan yonder, and listen with your -ears and your hearts as well, for these are the last words that I -shall speak with the lips of flesh, and you must remember them, -that you may tell them to your children, and perchance to -their children after them, as I now tell them to you; for the -hour of vengeance may not come in your day nor yet in theirs, -though in the fulness of time it shall surely come, and therefore -the story must never be forgotten while a Romanoff -remains to remember it.”</p> - -<p>The old man, on whom the strange drug that he had taken -was still exercising its wonderful effects, threw himself into an -easy-chair as he spoke, and motioned them with his hand -towards a second low couch against one of the walls, covered -with cushions and draped with neutral-tinted, silken hangings.</p> - -<p>Olga, moving, as it seemed, with the unconscious motion of a -somnambulist, allowed her form to sink back upon the cushions -until she half sat and half reclined on them; and Serge, laying -one of the cushions on the floor, sat at her feet, and drew one -of her hands unresistingly over his shoulder, and kept it there -as though she were caressing him. Thus they waited for Paul -Romanoff to teach them the lesson that they had sworn to teach -in turn to the generations that were to come.</p> - -<p>The old man regarded them in silence for a moment or two, -and as he did so the angry fire died out of his eyes, and his lips -parted in a faint smile as he said, rather in soliloquy to himself -than to them—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p> - -<p>“As it was in the beginning, it is now and for ever shall be -until the end! Empires wax and wane, and dynasties rise and -fall! Revolutions come and go, and the face of the world is -changed, but the mystery of the sex, the beauty of woman, and -the love of man, endure changeless as Destiny, for they are -Destiny itself!”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, the fixed, rigid look melted from Olga’s face. -The bright flush rose again to her cheeks, and she bowed her -royal head, and looked almost tenderly at the blond, ruddy, -young giant at her feet. After all, he was her fate, and she -might well have had a worse one.</p> - -<p>Then after a brief pause, Paul Romanoff began to speak -again, slowly and quietly, with his eyes fixed on the glittering -symbol of the vanished sovereignty of his House, as though he -were addressing it, and communing with the mournful memories -that it recalled from the past.</p> - -<p>“It is a hundred and twenty-five years since the hand of -Natas, the Jew, came forth out of the unknown, and struck you -from the brow of the Last of the Tsars. On the day that Natas -died, I was born, a hundred years ago. There are barely a score -of men left on earth who have seen and spoken with the men -who saw the Great Revolt and the beginning of the Terror, and -I alone, of the elder line of Romanoff, remain to pass the story -of our House’s shame and ruin on, so that it may not be forgotten -against the day of vengeance, that I have waited for in -vain.</p> - -<p>“But I have no time left for dreams or vain regrets. Listen, -Children of the Present, and take my words with you into the -future that it is not given to me to see.”</p> - -<p>He passed his hands upwards over his eyes and brow, and -then went on, speaking now directly to Olga and Serge, in a -quick, earnest tone, as though he feared that his fictitious -strength would fail him before he could say what he had to say—</p> - -<p>“When Alexander, the last of the crowned Emperors of -Russia, fell down dead on the morning after he reached the -mines of Kara, to which the Terrorists had exiled him as a convict -for life, those who remained of his family, and who had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -taken no part in the war, were allowed to return to Europe, on -condition that they lived the lives of private citizens and sought -no share in the government of any country to which they were -allied by marriage or otherwise.</p> - -<p>“Only two of those who had survived the march to Siberia -were able to avail themselves of this permission, and these were -Olga, the daughter of Alexander, and Serge Nicholaivitch, the -youngest son of his nephew Nicholas. These two settled at the -Court of Denmark, and there, two years later, Olga married -Prince Ingeborg. Her first-born son, the only one of her -children who lived beyond infancy, was my father, as my own -first-born son was yours, Olga Romanoff.</p> - -<p>“Serge married Dagmar, the youngest daughter of the House -of Denmark, three years later, and from him you, Serge Nicholaivitch, -are descended in the fourth generation. Thus in you -will be united the only two remaining branches of the once -mighty House of Romanoff. May the day come when, in you -or your children, its ancient glories shall be restored!”</p> - -<p>“Amen!” said Olga and Serge in a single breath, and as -she uttered the words, Olga’s eyes fell on the lost crown upon -the table, and for the moment they seemed to flame with the -inner fires of a quenchless rage. Paul Romanoff’s eyes answered -hers flash for flash, for the same hatred and longing for revenge -possessed them both—the old man who had carried the weight -of a hundred years to the brink of the grave, and the young girl -whose feet were still lingering on the dividing line between -girlhood and womanhood.</p> - -<p>Then he went on, speaking with an added tone of fierceness -in his voice—</p> - -<p>“From the day of my birth until this, the night of my -death, it has been impossible to do anything to recover that -which was lost in the Great Revolt. Not that stout hearts and -keen brains and willing hands have been wanting for the work; -but because the strong arm of the Terror has encircled the earth -with unbreakable bonds; because its eye has never slept; and -because its hand has hurled infallible destruction upon all who -have dared to take the first step towards freedom.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Natas spoke truly when he said that the Terrorists had -ruled the world by force, and Alan Arnold to-day spoke truly -after him when he said that the supremacy of the Aerians was -based upon the force that they could bring to bear upon any -who revolted against them, through their possession of the -empire of the air.</p> - -<p>“It is this priceless possession that gives them the command -of the world, and for a hundred years they have guarded it so -jealously, that they have slain without mercy all who have -ventured to take even the first step towards an independent -solution of the mighty problem which Richard Arnold solved a -hundred and twenty-six years ago.</p> - -<p>“The last man who died in this cause was my only son, and -your father, Olga. Remember that, for it is not the least item -in the legacy of revenge that I bequeath to you to-night. He -had devoted his life, as many others had done before him, to -the task of discovering the secret of the motive power of the -Terrorists’ air-ships.</p> - -<p>“The year you were born, success had crowned the efforts of -ten years of tireless labour. Working with the utmost secrecy -in a lonely hut buried in the forests of Norway, he and six -others, who were, as he thought, devoted to him and the glorious -cause of wresting the empire of the world from the grasp of the -Terrorists, had built an air-ship that would have been swifter -and more powerful than any of their aerial fleet.</p> - -<p>“Two days before she was ready to take the air, one of his -men deserted. The traitor was never seen again, but the next -night a Terrorist vessel descended from the clouds, and in a few -minutes <a id="Ref_22"></a>not a vestige of our air-ship or her creators remained. -Only a blackened waste in the midst of the forest was left to -show the scene of their labours. Within forty-eight hours, it -was known all over the civilised world that Vladimir Romanoff -and his associates had been killed by order of the Supreme -Council, for endeavouring to build an air-ship in defiance of its -commands.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_22" class="figcenter" style="width: 463px;"> -<img src="images/i_035.jpg" width="463" height="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">Not a Vestige of our Air-Ship or her Creators remained.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_22">Page 22</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p>“Such are the enemies against whom you will have to contend. -They are still virtually the masters of the world, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -task before you is to wrest that mastery from them. It is no -light task, but it is not impossible; for these Aerians are, after -all, but men and women as you are, and what they have done, -other men and women can surely do.</p> - -<p>“The Great Secret cannot always remain theirs alone. -While they actively controlled the nations, nothing could be -done against them, for their hand was everywhere and their -eyes saw everything. But now they have abdicated the throne -of the world, and left the nations to rule themselves as they can. -For a time things will go on in their present grooves, but that -will not be for long.</p> - -<p>“I, who am their bitterest enemy on earth, am forced to confess -that the Terrorists have proved themselves to be the wisest -as well as the strongest of despots. Under their rule the world -has become a paradise—for the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">canaille</i> and the multitude. -But they have curbed the mob as well as the king, and abolished -the demagogue as well as the despot. Now the strong hand is -lifted and the bridle loosed; and before many years have passed, -the brute strength of the multitude will have begun to assert -itself.</p> - -<p>“The so-called kings of the earth, who rule now in a -mockery of royalty, will speedily find that the real kings of the -old days ruled because, in the last resource, they had armies and -navies at their command and could enforce obedience. These -are but the puppets of the popular will, and now that the moral -and physical support of the Supreme Council and its aerial -fleet is taken from them, they will see democracy run rampant, -and, having no strength to stem the tide, they will have to float -with it or be submerged by it.</p> - -<p>“In another generation the voice of the majority, the blind, -brute force of numbers, will rule everything on earth. What -government there may be, will be a mere matter of counting -heads. Individual freedom will by swift degrees vanish from -the earth, and human society will become a huge machine, -grinding all men down to the same level until the monotony of -life becomes unendurable.</p> - -<p>“Hitherto all democracies in the history of the world have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -been ended by military despotisms, but now military despotism -has been made impossible, and so democracy will run riot, until -it plunges the world into social chaos.</p> - -<p>“This may come in your time or in your children’s, but it is -the opportunity for which you must work and wait. Even -now you will find in every nation, thousands of men and women -who are chafing against the limitations imposed on individual -aspirations and ambition; and as the rule of democracy spreads -and becomes heavier, the number of these will increase, until -at last revolt will become possible, nay, inevitable.</p> - -<p>“Of this revolt you must make yourselves the guiding-spirits. -The work will be long and arduous, but you have all -your lives before you, and the reward of success will be glorious -beyond all description.</p> - -<p>“Not only will you restore the House of Romanoff to its -ancient glories in yourselves and your children, but you will -enthrone it in an even higher place than that which your -ancestor had almost won for it, when these thrice-accursed -Terrorists turned the tide of battle against him on the threshold -of the conquest of the world.</p> - -<p>“Do not shrink from the task, or despair because you are -now only two against the world. Think of Natas and the -mighty work that he did, and remember that he was once only -one against the world which in the day of battle he fought and -conquered.</p> - -<p>“Above all things, never let your eyes wander from the land -of the Aerians. That once conquered and the world is yours -to do with as you will. To do that, you must first conquer the -air as they have done. Aeria itself, by all reports, is such a -paradise as the sun nowhere else shines upon. Some day, -whether by force or cunning, it may be yours; and when it is, -the world also will be yours to be your footstool and your plaything, -and all the peoples of the earth shall be your servants to -do your bidding.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I can see, through the mists of the coming years and -beyond the grave that opens at my feet, aerial navies, flying the -Eagle of Russia and scaling the mighty battlements of Aeria,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -hurling their lightnings far and wide in the work of vengeance -long delayed! Behind the battle, I see darkness that my weak -eyes cannot pierce, but yours shall see clearly where mine are -clouded with the falling mists of death.</p> - -<p>“The shadows are closing round me, and the sands in the -glass are almost run out. Yet one thing remains to be done. -Since Alexander Romanoff died at the mines of Kara, no Tsar -of Russia has been crowned. Now I, Paul Romanoff, his rightful -heir, will crown myself after the fashion of my ancestors, -and then I will crown you, the daughter of my murdered son, -and you will place the diadem on your husband’s brow when -God has made you one!”</p> - -<p>So saying, the old man rose from his seat, with his face -flushed and his eyes aglow with the light of ecstasy. Olga and -Serge rose to their feet, half in fear and half in wonder, as they -looked upon his transfigured countenance.</p> - -<p>He lifted the Imperial crown from the table, and then, -drawing himself up to the full height of his majestic stature, -raised it high above his head, and lowered it slowly down -towards his brow.</p> - -<p>The jewelled circlet of gold had almost touched the silver of -his snowy hair when the light suddenly died out of his eyes, -leaving the glaze of death behind it. He gasped once for -breath, and then his mighty form shrank together and pitched -forward in a huddled heap at their feet, flinging the crown with -a dull crash to the floor, and sending it rolling away into a -corner of the room.</p> - -<p>“God grant that may not be an omen, Olga!” said Serge, -covering his eyes with his hands to shut out the sudden horror -of the sight.</p> - -<p>“Omen or not, I will do his bidding to the end,” said the -girl slowly and solemnly. Then her pent-up passion of grief -burst forth in a long, wailing cry, and she flung herself down -on the prostrate form of the only friend she had ever known -and loved, and laid her cheek upon his, and let the welling tears -run from her eyes over those that had for ever ceased to weep.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER III.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">TSARINA OLGA.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_t.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-T">THREE days after his death, the body of Paul -Romanoff was reduced to ashes in the Highgate -Crematorium, a magnificent building, in the -sombre yet splendid architecture of ancient -Egypt, which stood in the midst of what had -once been Highgate Cemetery, and what was now a beautiful -garden, shaded by noble trees, and in summer ablaze with -myriads of flowers.</p> - -<p>Not a grave or a headstone was to be seen, for burial in the -earth had been abolished throughout the civilised world for -nearly a century. In the vast galleries of the central building, -thousands of urns, containing the ashes of the dead, reposed in -niches inscribed with the name and date of death, but these -mostly belonged to the poorer classes, for the wealthy as a rule -devoted a chamber in their own houses to this purpose.</p> - -<p>The body was registered in the great Book of the Dead at -the Crematorium as that of Paul Ivanitch, and the only two -mourners signed their names, “Serge Ivanitch and Olga -Ivanitch, grand-children of the deceased.” The reason for this -was, that for more than a century the name of Romanoff had -been proscribed in all the nations of Europe. It was believed -that the Vladimir Romanoff who had been executed by the -Supreme Council, for attempting to solve the forbidden problem, -was the last of his race, and Paul had taken great pains not to -disturb this belief.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p> - -<p>Long before his son had met with his end, he had called -himself Paul Ivanitch, and settled in London and practised his -profession as a sculptor, in which he had won both fame and -fortune. Olga had lived with him since her father’s death, -and Serge, who at the time the narrative opens had just completed -his studies at the Art University of Rome, had passed -as her brother.</p> - -<p>They took the urn containing the ashes of the old man back -with them to the house, which now belonged, with all its contents, -to Olga and Serge. On the morning after his death, a -notice, accompanied by an abstract of his will, had been inserted -in <cite>The Official Gazette</cite>, the journal devoted exclusively -to matters of law and government.</p> - -<p>Paul Romanoff had, however, left two wills behind him, -one which had to be made public in compliance with the law, -and one which was intended only for the eyes of Olga and -Serge. This second will reposed, with the crown of Russia, in -the secret recess in the wall of the octagonal chamber; and the -instructions endorsed upon it stated that it was to be opened -by Serge in the presence of Olga, after they had brought his -ashes back to the house and had been legally confirmed in their -possession of his property.</p> - -<p>Consequently, on the evening of the 11th, the two shut -themselves into the room, and Olga, who since her grandfather’s -death had worn the key of the recess on a chain -round her neck, unlocked the secret door and gave the will -to Serge. As she did so, a sudden fancy seized her. She took -the crown from its resting-place, and, standing in front of -a long mirror which occupied one of the eight sides of the -room from roof to floor, poised it above the lustrous coils of -her hair with both hands, and said, half to Serge and half to -herself—</p> - -<p>“What age could not accomplish, youth shall do! By my -own right, and with my own hands, I am crowned Tsarina, -Empress of the Russias in Europe and Asia. As the great -Catherine was, so will I be—and more, for I will be Mistress of -the West and the East. I will have kings for my vassals and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -senates for my servants, and I will rule as no other woman has -ruled before me since Semiramis!”</p> - -<p>As she uttered the daring words, whose fulfilment seemed -beyond the dreams of the wildest imagination, she placed the -crown upon her brow and stood, clothed in imperial purple -from head to foot, the very incarnation of loveliness and royal -majesty. Serge looked up as she spoke, and gazed for a -moment entranced upon her. Then he threw himself upon his -knees before her, and, raising the hem of her robe to his lips, -said in a voice half choked with love and passion—</p> - -<p>“And I, who am also of the imperial blood, will be the first -to salute you Tsarina and mistress! You have taken me as -your lover, let me also be the first of your subjects. I will -serve you as woman never was served before. You shall be -my mistress—my goddess, and your words shall be my laws -before all other laws. If you bid me do evil, it shall be to me -as good, and I will do it. I will kill or leave alive according -to your pleasure, and I will hold my own life as cheap as -any other in your service; for I love you, and my life is -yours!”</p> - -<p>Olga looked down upon him with the light of triumph in -her eyes. No woman ever breathed to whom such words -would not have been sweet; but to her they were doubly sweet, -because they were a spontaneous tribute to the power of her -beauty and the strength of her royal nature, and an earnest of -her future sway over other men.</p> - -<p>More than this, too, they had been won without an effort, -from the lips of the man whom she had always been taught to -look upon as higher than other men, in virtue of his descent -from her own ancestry, and the blood-right that he shared with -her to that throne which it was to be their joint life-task to -re-establish.</p> - -<p>If she did not love him, it was rather because ambition and -the inborn lust of power engrossed her whole being, than from -any lack of worthiness on his part. Of all the men she had -ever seen, none compared with him in strength and manliness -save one—and he, bitter beyond expression as the thought was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -to her, was so far above her as she was now, that he seemed to -belong to another world and to another order of beings.</p> - -<p>As their eyes met, a thrill that was almost akin to love -passed through her soul, and, acting on the impulse of the -moment, she took the crown from her own head and held it -above his as he knelt at her feet, and said—</p> - -<p>“Not as my subject or my servant, but as my co-ruler and -helpmate, you shall keep that oath of yours, Serge Nicholaivitch. -We have exchanged our vows, and in a few days I shall be -your wife. We will wed as equals; and so now I crown you, -as it is my right to do. Rise, my lord the Tsar, and take your -crown!”</p> - -<p>Serge put up his hands and took the crown from hers at -the moment that she placed it on his brow. He rose to his -feet, holding it on his head as he said solemnly—</p> - -<p>“So be it, and may the God of our fathers help me to wear -it worthily with you, and to restore to it the glory that has -been taken from it by our enemies!”</p> - -<p>Then he laid it reverently down on the table and turned to -Olga, who was still standing before the mirror looking at her -own lovely image, as though in a dream of future glory. He -took her unresisting in his arms, and kissed her passionately -again and again, bringing the bright blood to her cheeks and the -light of a kindred passion to her eyes, and murmuring between -the kisses—</p> - -<p>“But you, darling, are worth all the crowns of earth, and I -am still your slave, because your beauty and your sweetness -make me so.”</p> - -<p>“Then slave you shall be!” she said, giving him back kiss -for kiss, well knowing that with every pressure of her intoxicating -lips she riveted the chains of his bondage closer upon -his soul.</p> - -<p>To an outside observer, what had taken place would have -seemed but little better than boy-and-girl’s play, the phantasy -of two young and ardent souls dreaming a romantic and -impossible dream of power and glory that had vanished, never -to be brought back again. And yet, if such a one had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -able to look forward through little more than a single lustrum, -he would have seen that, in the mysterious revolutions of -human affairs, it is usually the seemingly impossible that -becomes possible, and the most unexpected that comes to -pass.</p> - -<p>The secret will of Paul Romanoff, to the study of which the -two lovers addressed themselves when they awoke from the -dream of love and empire into which Olga’s phantasy had -plunged them both, would, if it had been made public, have -given a by no means indefinite shape to such vague dreams of -world-revolution as were inspired in thoughtful minds, even in -the thirty-first year of the twenty-first century.</p> - -<p>It was a voluminous document of many pages, embodying -the result of nearly eighty years of tireless scheming and -patient research in the field of science as well as in that of -politics. Paul Romanoff had lived his life with but one object, -and that was, to prepare the way for the accomplishment of a -revolution which should culminate in the subversion of the -state of society inaugurated by the Terrorists, and the re-establishment, -at anyrate in the east of Europe, of autocratic rule in -the person of a scion of the House of Romanoff. All that he -had been able to do towards the attainment of this seemingly -impossible project was crystallised in the document bequeathed -to Olga and Serge.</p> - -<p>It was divided into three sections. The first of these was -mostly of a personal nature, and contained details which it -would serve no purpose of use or interest to reproduce here. -It will therefore suffice to say, that it contained a list of the -names and addresses of four hundred men and women scattered -throughout Europe and America, each of whom was the -descendant of some prince or noble, some great landowner -or millionaire, who had suffered degradation or ruin at the -hands of the Terrorists during the reorganisation of society, -after the final triumph of the Anglo-Saxon Federation in -1904.</p> - -<p>The second section of the will was of a purely scientific and -technical character. It was a theoretical arsenal of weapons<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -for the arming of those who, if they were to succeed at all, could -only do so by bringing back that which it had cost such an -awful expenditure of blood and suffering to banish from the -earth in the days of the Terror. The designs of Paul Romanoff, -and the vast aspirations of those to whom he had bequeathed -the crown of the great Catherine, could have but one -result if they ever passed from the realm of fancy to that of -deeds.</p> - -<p>If the clock was to be put back, only the armed hand could -do it, and that hand must be so armed that it could strike at -first secretly, and yet with paralysing effect. The few would -have to array themselves against the many, and if they -triumphed, it would have to be by the possession of some such -means of terrorism and irresistible destruction as those who -had accomplished the revolution of 1904 had wielded in their -aerial fleet.</p> - -<p>By far the most important part of this section of the will -consisted of plans and diagrams of various descriptions of air-ships -and submarine vessels, accompanied by minute directions -for building and working them. Most of these were from the -hand of Vladimir Romanoff, Olga’s father; but of infinitely -more importance even than all these was a detailed description, -on the last page but two of the section, of the solution of a -problem which had been attempted in the last decade of the -nineteenth century, but which was still unsolved so far as the -world at large was concerned.</p> - -<p>This was the direct transformation of the solar energy -locked up in coal into electrical energy, without loss either by -waste or transference. How vast and yet easily controlled a -power this would be in the hands of those who were able to -wield it, may be guessed from the fact that, in the present day, -less than ten per cent. of the latent energy of coal is developed -as electrical power even in the most perfect systems of conversion.</p> - -<p>All the rest is wasted between the furnace of the steam-engine -and the dynamo. It was to electrical power, obtained -direct from coal and petroleum, that Vladimir Romanoff trusted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -for the motive force of his air-ships and submarine vessels, and -which he had already employed with experimental success as -regards the former, when his career was cut short by the -swift and pitiless execution of the sentence of the Supreme -Council.</p> - -<p>The remainder of this section was occupied by a list of -chemical formulæ for the most powerful explosives then -known to science, and minute instructions for their preparation. -At the bottom of the page which contained these, there -was a little strip of parchment, fastened by one end to the -binding of the other sheets, and covered with very small -writing.</p> - -<p>Olga’s eyes, wandering down over the maze of figures which -crowded the page, reached it before Serge’s did. One quick -glance told her that it was something very different to the rest. -She laid one hand carelessly over it, and with the other softly -caressed Serge’s crisp, golden curls. As he looked round in -response to the caress, their eyes met, and she said in her sweet, -low, witching voice—</p> - -<p>“Dearest, I have a favour to ask of you.”</p> - -<p>“Not a favour to ask, but a command to give, you mean. -Speak, and you are obeyed. Have I not sworn obedience?” he -replied, laying his hand upon her shoulder and drawing her -lovely face closer to his as he spoke.</p> - -<p>“No, it is only a favour,” she said, with such a smile as -Antony might have seen on the lips of Cleopatra. “I want -you to leave me alone for a little time—for half an hour—and -then come back and finish reading this with me. You know -my brain is not as strong as yours, and I feel a little bewildered -with all the wonderful things that there are in this legacy of -my father’s father.</p> - -<p>“Before we go any further, I should like to read it all -through again by myself, so as to understand it thoroughly. -So suppose you go to your smoking-room for a little, and leave -me to do so. I shall not take very long, and then we will go -over the rest together.”</p> - -<p>“But we have only a couple more pages to read, sweet one,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -and then I will go over it all again with you, and explain anything -that you have not understood.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, Serge’s eyes never wavered for a moment from -hers. Could he but have broken their spell, he might have seen -that she was hiding something from him under her little, white -hand and shapely arm. She brought her red, smiling lips still -nearer to his as she almost whispered in reply—</p> - -<p>“Well, it is only a girl’s whim, after all, but still I am a -girl. Come, now, I will give you a kiss for twenty minutes’ -solitude, and when you come back, and we have finished our -task, you shall have as many more as you like.”</p> - -<p>The sweet, tempting lips came closer still, and the witching -spell of her great dusky eyes grew stronger as she spoke. How -was he to know what was hanging in the balance in that fateful -moment? He was but a hot-blooded youth of twenty, and he -worshipped this lovely, girlish temptress, who had not yet seen -seventeen summers, with an adoration that blinded him to all -else but her and her intoxicating beauty.</p> - -<p>He drew her yielding form to him until he could feel her -heart beating against his, and as their lips met, the promised -kiss came from hers to his. He returned it threefold, and then -his arm slipped from her shoulder to her waist, and he lifted -her like a child from her chair, and carried her, half laughing -and half protesting, to the door, claimed and took another kiss -before he released her, and then put her down and left her alone -without another word.</p> - -<p>“Alas, poor Serge!” she said, as the door closed behind him; -“you are not the first man who has lost the empire of the world -for a woman’s kiss. Before, I saw that you were my equal and -helpmate, now you and all other men—yes, not even excepting -he who seems so far above me now—shall be my slaves and do -my bidding, so blindly that they shall not even know they are -doing it.</p> - -<p>“Yes, the weapons of war are worth much, but what are -they in comparison with the souls of the men who will have -to use them!”</p> - -<p>In half an hour Serge came back to finish the reading of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -the will with her. The little slip of paper had been removed -so skilfully that it would have been impossible for him to have -even guessed that it had ever been attached to the parchment, -or that it was now lying hidden in the bosom of the girl who -would have killed him without the slightest scruple to gain the -unsuspected possession of it.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_048.jpg" width="350" height="59" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER IV.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">A SON OF THE GODS.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_o.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-O">ON the day but one following the reading of Paul -Romanoff’s secret will, Olga and Serge set out for -St. Petersburg, to convey his ashes to their last -resting-place in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and -Paul in the Fortress of Petropaulovski, where -reposed the dust of the Tyrants of Russia, from Peter the Great -to Alexander <span class="smcap">II.</span> of Russia, now only remembered as the -chief characters in the dark tragedy of the days before the -Revolution.</p> - -<p>The intense love of the Russians for their country had -survived the tremendous change that had passed over the -face of society, and it was still the custom to bring the ashes -of those who claimed noble descent and deposit them in one -of their national churches, even when they had died in distant -countries.</p> - -<p>The station from which they started was a splendid structure -of marble, glass, and aluminium steel, standing in the -midst of a vast, abundantly-wooded garden, which occupied -the region that had once been made hideous by the slums and -sweating-dens of Southwark. The ground floor was occupied -by waiting-rooms, dining-saloons, conservatories, and winter-gardens, -for the convenience and enjoyment of travellers; and -from these lifts rose to the upper storey, where the platforms -and lines lay under an immense crystal arch.</p> - -<p>Twelve lines ran out of the station, divided into three sets<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -of four each. Of these, the centre set was entirely devoted to -continental traffic, and the lines of this system stretched without -a break from London to Pekin.</p> - -<p>The cars ran suspended on a single rail upheld by light, -graceful arches of a practically unbreakable alloy of aluminium, -steel, and zinc, while about a fifth of their weight was borne by -another single insulating rail of forged glass,—the rediscovery -of the lost art of making which had opened up immense possibilities -to the engineers of the twenty-first century.</p> - -<p>Along this lower line the train ran, not on wheels, but on -lubricated bearings, which glided over it with no more friction -than that of a steel skate on ice. On the upper rail ran -double-flanged wheels with ball-bearings, and this line also -conducted the electric current from which the motive-power -was derived.</p> - -<p>The two inner lines of each set were devoted to long-distance, -express traffic, and the two outer to intermediate -transit, corresponding to the ordinary trains of the present -day. Thus, for example, the train by which Olga and Serge -were about to travel, stopped only at Brussels, Berlin, Königsberg, -Moscow, Nijni Novgorod, Tomsk, Tobolsk, Irkutsk, and -Pekin, which was reached by a line running through the -Salenga valley and across the great desert of Shamoo, while -from Irkutsk another branch of the line ran north-eastward -viâ Yakutsk to the East Cape, where the Behring Bridge united -the systems of the Old World and the New.</p> - -<p>The usual speed of the expresses was a hundred and fifty -miles an hour, rising to two hundred on the long runs; and that -of the ordinary trains, from a hundred to a hundred and fifty. -Higher speeds could of course be attained on emergencies, but -these had been found to be quite sufficient for all practical -purposes.</p> - -<p>The cars were not unlike the Pullmans of the present day, -save that they were wider and roomier, and were built not of -wood and iron, but of aluminium and forged glass. Their -interiors were, of course, absolutely impervious to wind and -dust, even at the highest speed of the train, although a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -perfect system of ventilation kept their atmosphere perfectly -fresh.</p> - -<p>The long-distance trains were fitted up exactly as moving -hotels, and the traveller, from London to Pekin or Montreal, -was not under the slightest necessity of leaving the train, -unless he chose to do so, from end to end of the journey.</p> - -<p>One more advantage of railway travelling in the twenty-first -century may be mentioned here. It was entirely free, -both for passengers and baggage. Easy and rapid transit -being considered an absolute necessity of a high state of -civilisation, just as armies and navies had once been thought -to be, every self-supporting person paid a small travelling tax, -in return for which he or she was entitled to the freedom of all -the lines in the area of the Federation.</p> - -<p>In addition to this tax, the municipality of every city or -town through which the lines passed, set apart a portion of -their rent-tax for the maintenance of the railways, in return -for the advantages they derived from them.</p> - -<p>Under this reasonable condition of affairs, therefore, all that -an intending traveller had to do was to signify the date of his -departure and his destination to the superintendent of the -nearest station, and send his heavier baggage on in advance by -one of the trains devoted to the carriage of freight. A place -was then allotted to him, and all he had to do was to go and -take possession of it.</p> - -<p>The Continental Station was comfortably full of passengers -when Olga and Serge reached it, about fifteen minutes before -the departure of the Eastern express; for people were leaving -the Capital of the World in thousands just then, to spend -Christmas and New Year with friends in the other cities of -Europe, and especially to attend the great Winter Festival that -was held every year in St. Petersburg in celebration of the -anniversary of Russian freedom.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes before the express started, they ascended in -one of the lifts to the platform, and went to find their seats. -As they walked along the train, Olga suddenly stopped and -said, almost with a gasp—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Look, Serge! There are two Aerians, and one of them -is”—</p> - -<p>“Who?” said Serge, almost roughly. “I didn’t know you -had any acquaintances among the Masters of the World.”</p> - -<p>The son of the Romanoffs hated the very name of the -Aerians, so bitterly that even the mere suspicion that his -idolised betrothed should have so much as spoken to one of -them was enough to rouse his anger.</p> - -<p>“No, I haven’t,” she replied quietly, ignoring the sudden -change in his manner; “but both you and I have very good -reason for wishing to make their distinguished acquaintance. -I recognise one of these because he sat beside Alan Arnold, the -President of the Council, in St. Paul’s, when they were foolish -enough to relinquish the throne of the world in obedience to -an old man’s whim.</p> - -<p>“The taller of the two standing there by the pillar is the -younger counterpart of the President, and if his looks don’t -belie him, he can be no one but the son of Alan Arnold, and -therefore the future ruler of Aeria, and the present or future -possessor of the Great Secret. Do you see now why it is -necessary that we should—well, I will say, make friends of -those two handsome lads?”</p> - -<p>Olga spoke rapidly and in Russian, a tongue then scarcely -ever heard and very little understood even among educated -people, who, whatever their nationality, made English their -language of general intercourse. The words “handsome lads” -had grated harshly upon Serge’s ears, but he saw the force of -Olga’s question at once, and strove hard to stifle the waking -demon of jealousy that had been roused more by her tone and -the quick bright flush on her cheek than by her words, as he -answered—</p> - -<p>“Forgive me, darling, for speaking roughly! Their hundred -years of peace have not tamed my Russian blood enough to let -me look upon my enemies without anger. Of course, you are -right; and if they are going by the express, as they seem to -be, we should be friendly enough by the time we reach -Königsberg.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I am glad you agree with me,” said Olga, “for the destinies -of the world may turn on the events of the next few hours. -Ah, the Fates are kind! Look! There is Alderman<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> Heatherstone -talking to them. I suppose he has come to see them off, -for no doubt they have been the guests of the City during -the Festival. Come, he will very soon make us known to -each other.”</p> - -<p>A couple of minutes later the Alderman, who had been an -old friend of Paul Ivanitch, the famous sculptor, had cordially -greeted them and introduced them to the two Aerians, whose -names he gave as Alan Arnoldson, the son of the President of -the late Supreme Council, and Alexis Masarov, a descendant -of the Alexis Mazanoff who had played such a conspicuous -part in the war of the Terror. They were just starting on the -tour of the world, and were bound for St. Petersburg to witness -the Winter Festival.</p> - -<p>Olga had been more than justified in speaking of them as -she had done. Both in face and form, they were the very ideal -of youthful manhood. Both of them stood over six feet in the -long, soft, white leather boots which rose above their knees, -meeting their close-fitting, grey tunics of silk-embroidered -cloth, confined at the waist by belts curiously fashioned of -flat links of several different metals, and fastened in front by -heavy buckles of gold studded with great, flashing gems.</p> - -<p>From their broad shoulders hung travelling-cloaks of fine, -blue cloth, lined with silver fur and kept in place across the -breast by silver chains and clasps of a strange, blue metal, -whose lustre seemed to come from within like that of a -diamond or a sapphire.</p> - -<p>On their heads they wore no other covering than their -own thick, curling hair, which they wore somewhat in the -picturesque style of the fourteenth century, and a plain, broad -band of the gleaming blue metal, from which rose above the -temples a pair of marvellously-chased, golden wings about four -inches high—the insignia of the Empire of the Air, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -sign which distinguished the Aerians from all the other peoples -of the earth.</p> - -<p>As Olga shook hands with Alan, she looked up into his -dark-blue eyes, with a glance such as he had never received -from a woman before—a glance in which he seemed instinctively -to read at once love and hate, frank admiration and -equally undisguised defiance. Their eyes held each other -for a moment of mutual fascination which neither could -resist, and then the dark-fringed lids fell over hers, and a -faint flush rose to her cheeks as she replied to his words of -salutation—</p> - -<p>“Surely the pleasure will rather be on our side, with -travelling companions from the other world! For my own -part, I seem to remind myself somewhat of one of the -daughters of men whom the Sons of the Gods”—</p> - -<p>She stopped short in the middle of her daring speech, and -looked up at him again as much as to say—</p> - -<p>“So much for the present. Let the Fates finish it!” -and then, appearing to correct <a id="Ref_40"></a>herself, she went on, with a -half-saucy, half-deprecating smile on her dangerously-mobile -lips—</p> - -<p>“You know what I mean; not exactly that, but something -of the sort.”</p> - -<p>“More true, I fancy, of the daughter of men than of the -supposed Sons of the Gods,” retorted Alan, with a laugh, half -startled by her words, and wholly charmed by the indescribable -fascination of the way in which she said them; “for the -daughters of men were so fair that the Sons of the Gods lost -heaven itself for their sakes.”</p> - -<p>“Even so!” said Olga, looking him full in the eyes, and at -that moment the signal sounded for them to take their places -in the cars.</p> - -<p>A couple of minutes after they had taken their seats, the -train drew out of the station with an imperceptible, gliding -motion, so smooth and frictionless that it seemed rather as -though the people standing on the platform were sliding backwards -than that the train was moving forward. The speed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -increased rapidly, but so evenly that, almost before they -were well aware of it, the passengers were flying over the -snow-covered landscape, under the bright, heatless sun and -pale, steel-blue sky of a perfect winter’s morning, at a -hundred miles an hour, the speed ever increasing as they sped -onward.</p> - -<p>The line followed the general direction of the present route -to Dover, which was reached in about half an hour. Without -pausing for a moment in its rapid flight, the express swept out -from the land over the Channel Bridge, which spanned the -Straits from Dover to Calais at a height of 200 feet above the -water.</p> - -<p>Travelling at a speed of three miles a minute, seven minutes -sufficed for the express to leap, as it were, from land to land. -As they swept along in mid-air over the waves, Olga pointed -down to them and said to Alan, who was sitting in the armchair -next her own—</p> - -<p>“Imagine the time when people had to take a couple of -hours getting across here in a little, dirty, smoky steamboat, -mingling their sorrows and their sea-sickness in one common -misery! I really think this Channel Bridge is worthy even of -your admiration. Come now, you have not admired anything -yet”—</p> - -<p>“Pardon me,” said Alan, with a look and a laugh that set -Serge’s teeth gritting against each other, and brought the ready -blood to Olga’s cheeks; “on the contrary, I have been absorbed -in admiration ever since we started.”</p> - -<p>“But not apparently of our engineering triumphs,” replied -Olga frankly, taking the compliment to herself, and seeming in -no way displeased with it. “It would seem that the polite art -of flattery is studied to some purpose in Aeria.”</p> - -<p>“There you are quite wrong,” returned Alan, still speaking -in the same half-jocular, half-serious vein. “Before all things, -we Aerians are taught to tell the absolute truth under all -circumstances, no matter whether it pleases or offends; so, you -see, what is usually known as flattery could hardly be one of -our arts, since, as often as not, it is a lie told in the guise of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -truth, for the sake of serving some hidden and perhaps dishonest -end.”</p> - -<p>The blow so unconsciously delivered struck straight home, -and the flush died from Olga’s cheek, leaving her for the moment -so white that her companion anxiously asked if she was unwell.</p> - -<p>“No,” she said, recovering her self-possession under the -impulse of sudden anger at the weakness she had betrayed. -“It is nothing. This is the first time for a year or so that I -have travelled by one of these very fast trains, and the speed -made me a little giddy just for the instant. I am quite well, -really, so please go on.</p> - -<p>“You know, that wonderful fairyland of yours is a subject -of everlasting interest and curiosity to us poor outsiders who -are denied a glimpse of its glories, and it is so very rarely that -one of us enjoys the privilege that is mine just now, that I hope -you will indulge my feminine curiosity as far as your good -nature is able to temper your reserve.”</p> - -<p>As she uttered her request, Alan’s smiling face suddenly -became grave almost to sternness. The laughing light died out -of his eyes, and she saw them darken in a fashion that at once -convinced her that she had begun by making a serious mistake.</p> - -<p>He looked up at her, with a shadow in his eyes and a slight -frown on his brow. He spoke slowly and steadily, but with a -manifest reluctance which he seemed to take little or no -trouble to conceal.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry that you have asked me to talk on what is a -forbidden subject to every Aerian, save when he is speaking with -one of his own nation. I see you have been looking at these -two golden wings on the band round my head. I will tell you -what they mean, and then you will understand why I cannot -say all that I know you would like me to say.</p> - -<p>“They are to us what the toga virilis was to the Romans of -old, the insignia of manhood and responsibility. When a youth -of Aeria reaches the age of twenty he is entitled to wear these -wings as a sign that he is invested with all the rights and duties -of a citizen of the nation which has conquered and commands -the Empire of the Air.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span></p> - -<p>“One of these duties is, that in all the more serious relations -of life he shall remain apart from all the peoples of the world -save his own, and shall say nothing that will do anything to -lift the veil which it has pleased our forefathers in their wisdom -to draw round the realm of Aeria. Before we assume the -citizenship of which these wings are the symbol we never visit -the outside world save to make air voyages, for the purpose of -learning the physical facts of the earth’s shape and the -geography of land and sea.</p> - -<p>“Immediately after we have assumed it we do as Alexis and -I are now doing—travel for a year or so through the different -countries of the outside world, in order to get our knowledge of -men and things as they exist beyond the limits of our own -country.</p> - -<p>“The fact that we do so,—under a pledge solemnly and -publicly given, of never revealing anything which could lead -even to a possibility of other peoples of the earth overtaking us -in the progress which we have made in the arts and sciences,—is -my excuse for refusing to tell you what your very natural -curiosity has asked.”</p> - -<p>Olga saw instantly that she had struck a false note, and -was not slow to make good her mistake. She laid her hand -upon his arm, with that pretty gesture which Serge knew so -well, and watched now with much bitter feelings, and said, in a -tone that betrayed no trace of the consuming passion within -her—</p> - -<p>“Forgive me! Of course, you will see that I did not know -I was trenching on forbidden grounds. I can well understand -why such secrets as yours must be, should be kept. You have -been masters of the world for more than a century, and even -now, although you have formally abdicated the throne of the -world, it would be absurd to deny that you still hold the destinies -of humanity in your hands.</p> - -<p>“The secrets which guard so tremendous a power as that -may well be religiously kept and held more sacred than -anything else on earth. Still, you have mistaken me if you -thought I asked for any of these. All I really wanted was, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -you should tell me something that would give me just a -glimpse of what human life is like in that enchanted land of -yours”—</p> - -<p>Alan laid his hands upon hers, which was still resting -upon his arm, and interrupted her even more earnestly than -before.</p> - -<p>“Even that I cannot tell you. With us, the man who gives -a pledge and breaks it, even in the spirit though not in the -letter, is not considered worthy to live, and therefore I must be -silent.”</p> - -<p>Instead of answering with her lips, Olga turned her hand -palm upwards, and clasped his with a pressure which he returned -before he very well knew what he was doing; and while the -magic of her clasp was still stealing along his nerves, Serge -broke in, with a harsh ring in his voice—</p> - -<p>“But pardon me for interrupting what seems a very pleasant -conversation with my—my sister, I should like to ask, with all -due deference to the infinitely superior wisdom of the rulers of -Aeria, whether it is not rather a risky thing for you to travel -thus about the world, possessing secrets which any man or -woman would almost be willing to die even to know for a few -minutes, when, after all, you are but human even as the rest of -humanity are?</p> - -<p>“You, for instance, are only two among millions; how -would you protect yourselves against the superior force -of numbers? Supposing you were taken unawares under -circumstances which make your superior knowledge unavailing. -You know, human nature is the same yesterday, -to-day, and to-morrow, despite the superficial varnish of -civilisation.</p> - -<p>“The passions of men are only curbed, not dead. There -may be men on earth to-day who, to gain such knowledge as you -possess, would even resort to the tortures used by the Inquisition -in the sixteenth century. Suppose you found yourself in the -power of such men as that, what then? Would you still preserve -your secret intact, do you think?”</p> - -<p>Alan heard him to the end without moving a muscle of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -face, and without even withdrawing his hand from Olga’s clasp. -But at the last sentence he snatched it suddenly away, half-turned -in his seat, and faced him. Then, looking him straight -in the eyes, he said in a tone as cold and measured as -might have been used by a judge sentencing a criminal to -death—</p> - -<p>“We do not fear anything of the sort, simply because each -one of us holds the power of life and death in his hands. If -you laid a hand on me now in anger, or with an intent to do me -harm, you would be struck dead before you could raise a finger -in your own defence.</p> - -<p>“Do you think that we, who are as far in advance of you -as you are in advance of the men of a hundred years ago, would -trust ourselves amongst those who might be our enemies were -we not amply protected against you? Tell me, have you ever -read a book, written nearly two hundred years ago in the -Victorian Age, called <cite>The Coming Race</cite>?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Serge, thinking, as he spoke, of the possibilities -contained in the secret will of Paul Romanoff, “I have read it, -and so has Olga. What of it?”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Alan quietly, without moving his eyes from -those of Serge. “I had better tell you at once that we have -realised, to all intents and purposes, the dream that Lytton -dreamt when he wrote that book. I can tell you so much -without breaking the pledge of which I have spoken. All that -the Vril-Ya did in his dream we have accomplished in reality, -and more than that.</p> - -<p>“Our empire is not bounded by the roofs of subterranean -caverns, but only by the limits of the planet’s atmosphere. -We can soar beyond the clouds and dive beneath the seas. -We have realised what he called the Vril force as a sober, -scientific fact; and if I thought that you, for instance, were -my enemy, I could strike you dead without so much as -laying a hand on you. And if a dozen like you tried to overcome -me by superior brute force, they would all meet with the -same fate.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid this sounds somewhat like boasting,” he continued<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> -in a more gentle tone, and dropping his eyes to the floor -of the car, “but the turn the conversation has taken obliged me -to say what I have done. Suppose we give it another turn and -change the subject. We have unintentionally got upon rather -uncomfortable ground.”</p> - -<p>Serge and Olga were not slow to take the pointed hint, and -<a id="Ref_46"></a>so the talk drifted into general and more harmless channels.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_060.jpg" width="350" height="58" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER V.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">A VISION FROM THE CLOUDS.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_a.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-A">AT Königsberg, which was reached in nine hours after -leaving London, that is to say, soon after seven -o’clock in the evening, the Eastern express divided: -five of the cars went northward to St. Petersburg, -carrying those passengers who were going to -participate in the Winter Festival, while the other -five which made up the train went on to Moscow and the East.</p> - -<p>During the twenty minutes’ stop at Berlin, Olga had found -an opportunity of having a few words in private with Serge, -and had succeeded in persuading him, much against his will, of -the necessity of postponing their marriage, and therefore their -visit to Moscow, for the execution of a daring and suddenly-conceived -plan which she had thought out, but which she had -then no time to explain to him.</p> - -<p>Serge, though very loath to postpone even for a day or two -the consummation of his hopes and the hour which should make -Olga irrevocably his, so far as human laws could bind her to him, -was so far under the domination of her imperious will that, as -soon as he saw that she had determined to have her own way, -he yielded with the best grace he could.</p> - -<p>Olga chided him gently and yet earnestly for his outbreak -of temper towards Alan, and told him plainly that, where such -tremendous issues were concerned as those which were involved -in the struggle which sooner or later they must wage with the -Aerians, no personal considerations whatever could be permitted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -a moment’s serious thought. If she could sacrifice her -own feelings, and disguise her hatred of the tyrants of the -world under the mask of friendliness, for the sake of the -ends to which both their lives were devoted, surely he, if -he were at all worthy of her love, could so far trust her as to -restrain the unreasoning jealousy of which he had already -been guilty.</p> - -<p>Either, she told him, he must trust to her absolutely for the -present, or he must take the management of affairs into his own -hands; and, as she said in conclusion, he must find some -influence stronger than hers in their dealings with him who -would one day be the ruler of Aeria, and, therefore, the real -master of the world, should it ever be possible to dispute the -empire of Earth with the Aerians.</p> - -<p>From the influence which she exercised over himself, Serge -knew only too well that he could not hope to rival her in this -regard where a man was concerned, and so he perforce agreed -to her proposal, and for the present left the conduct of affairs -in her hands.</p> - -<p>A telephonic message was therefore sent from Königsberg -to the friends who expected them at Vorobièvŏ, near Moscow, -to tell them of the change in their plans; and when the train -once more glided out over the frozen plains of the North, the -four were once more seated together in the brilliantly-lighted -car, which flashed like a meteor through the gathering darkness -of the winter’s night.</p> - -<p>About half an hour after they had passed what had once -been the jealously-guarded Russian frontier, a dazzling gleam of -light suddenly blazed down from the black darkness overhead, -and Olga, who was sitting by one of the windows of the car, -bent forward and said—</p> - -<p>“Look there! What is that? There is a bright light shining -down out of the clouds on the train.”</p> - -<p>Alan saw the flash across the window, and, without even -troubling to look up at its source, said—</p> - -<p>“Oh, I suppose that’ll be the air-ship that was ordered to -meet us at St. Petersburg. You know, we usually have one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -them in attendance, when we trust ourselves alone among our -possible enemies of the outer world.”</p> - -<p>The last sentence was spoken with a quiet irony, which -brought home both to Olga and Serge the not very pleasant conviction -that their previous conversation had by no means been -forgotten. Serge, perhaps fearing to give utterance to his -thoughts, remained silent, but Olga looked at Alan with a half-saucy -smile, and said almost mockingly—</p> - -<p>“Your Majesties of Aeria may well esteem yourselves -impregnable, while you have such a bodyguard as that at your -beck and call. I suppose that air-ship would not have the -slightest difficulty in blowing this train, and all it contains, off -the face of the earth at a moment’s notice, if it had orders to -do so?”</p> - -<p>“Not the slightest,” said Alan quietly. “But in proof of the -fact that it has no such hostile intentions, you shall, if you -please, take a voyage beyond the clouds in it the day after to-morrow, -from St. Petersburg.”</p> - -<p>“What!” said Olga, her cheeks flushing and her eyes lighting -up at the very idea of such an experience. “Do you really -mean to say that you would permit a daughter of the earth, as -I am told you call the women who have not the good fortune -to be born in Aeria, to go on board one of those wonderful air-ships -of yours, and taste the forbidden delights of spurning the -earth and sharing, even for an hour, your Empire of the Air?”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” replied Alan, with a laugh. “What harm -would be done by taking you for a trip beyond the clouds? -We are not so selfish as all that; and if the novel experience -would give you any pleasure, we have a perfect right to ask you -to enjoy it. Will you come?”</p> - -<p>“Surely there is scarcely any need for me to say ‘yes.’ -Why, do you know, I believe I would give five years of my life -for as many hours on board that air-ship of yours,” said Olga; -“and if you will do as you say, you will make me your debtor -for ever. Indeed, how could a poor earth-dweller such as I am -repay a favour like that.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, if only you were an Aerian, I should not have much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -difficulty in telling you how you could do that,” retorted Alan, -with almost boyish candour. “As it is, I am afraid I must be -satisfied for my reward with the pleasure of knowing that I -have given you a pleasurable experience.”</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty has put that so prettily, that it almost atones -for the sense of hopeless inferiority which, I need hardly tell -you, is just a trifle bitter to my feminine pride,” said Olga, in -the same half-bantering tone she had used all along.</p> - -<p>Before a reply had risen to Alan’s lips, the conversation was -interrupted by the air-ship suddenly swooping down from the -clouds to the level of the windows of the train, which was now -flying along over a wide, treeless plain at a speed of fully two -hundred miles an hour.</p> - -<p>As the search-lights of the aerial vessel flashed along the -windows of the cars, the blinds, which had been drawn down at -nightfall, were sprung up again by the passengers, who were all -eager to get a glimpse of one of the marvellous vessels which so -rarely came within close view of the dwellers upon earth.</p> - -<p>The air-ship, on which all eyes were now bent with such -intense curiosity, was a beautifully-proportioned vessel, built -chiefly of some unknown metal, which shone with a brilliant, -pale-blue lustre. Her hull was about two hundred feet from -stem to stern, not counting a long, ramlike projection which -stretched some twenty-five feet in front of the stem, with its -point level with the keel, or rather, with the three keels,—the -centre one shallow and the two others very deep,—which were -obviously shaped so as to enable the craft either to stand -upright on land or to sail upon the water if desired.</p> - -<p>From each of her sides spread out two great wings, not -unlike palm-leaves in shape, measuring some hundred feet from -point to point, and about twice the width of the vessel’s deck, -which was, as nearly as could be judged, twenty feet amidships.</p> - -<p>These wings were made of some white, lustrous material, -which shone with a somewhat more metallic sheen than silk -would have done, and were divided into a vast number of -sections by transverse ribs. These sections vibrated and -undulated rhythmically from front to rear with enormous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -rapidity, and evidently not only sustained the vessel in the air, -but also aided in her propulsion.</p> - -<p>Three seemingly solid discs, which glittered brilliantly in -the light from the train, marked the positions of the air-ship’s -propellers, of which one revolved on a shaft in a straight line -with the centre of the deck, while the shafts of the other two -were inclined outwards at a slight angle from the middle line. -From the deck rose three slender, raking masts, apparently -placed there for ornament rather than use, unless indeed they -were employed for signalling purposes.</p> - -<p>The whole deck was covered completely from end to end by -a curved roof of glass, and formed a spacious chamber pervaded -by a soft, diffused light, the origin of which was invisible, and -which showed about half a dozen figures clad in the graceful -costume of the Aerians, and all wearing the headdress with -golden wings. From under the domed, crystal roof projected -ten long, slender guns,—two over the bows, two over the stern, -and three over each side, at equal intervals.</p> - -<p>Such was the wonderful craft which swept down from the -darkness of the wintry sky, in full view of the passengers in the -cars, and lighted up the snowy landscape for three or four miles -ahead and astern with the dazzling rays of her two search-lights.</p> - -<p>Although, as has been said, the express was moving at quite -two hundred miles an hour, the air-ship swept up alongside it -with as much apparent ease as though it had been stationary. -Amid the murmurs of irrepressible admiration which greeted -it from the passengers, it glided smoothly nearer and nearer, -until the side of one of its wings was within ten feet of the car -windows.</p> - -<p>Alan and Alexis stood up and saluted their comrades on the -deck, then a few rapid, unintelligible signals made with the hand -passed between them, a parting salute was waved from the air-ship -to the express; and then, with a speed that seemed to rival -that of the lightning-bolt, the cruiser of the air darted forward -and upward, and in ten seconds was lost beyond the clouds.</p> - -<p>“Well, now that you have seen one of our aerial fleet at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -close quarters,” said Alan, turning to Olga and Serge, “what do -you think of her?”</p> - -<p>“A miracle!” they both exclaimed in one breath; and then -Olga went on, her voice trembling with an irresistible agitation—</p> - -<p>“I can hardly believe that such a marvel is the creation of -merely human genius. There is something appalling in the -very idea of the awful power lying in the hands of those who -can create and command such a vessel as that. You Aerians -may well look down on us poor earth-dwellers, for truly you -have made yourselves as gods.”</p> - -<p>She spoke earnestly, and for once with absolute honesty, for -the vision of the air-ship had awed her completely for the time -being. Alan appeared for the moment as a god in her eyes, -until she saw his lips curve in a very human smile, and heard -his voice say, without the slightest assumption of superiority in -its tone—</p> - -<p>“No, not as gods; but only as men who have developed under -the most favourable circumstances possible, and who have known -how to make the best of their advantages.”</p> - -<p>“God or man,” said Olga in her soul, while her lips were -smiling acknowledgment of his modesty, “by this time to-morrow -you shall be my slave, and I will be mistress both of -you and your air-ship!”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_066.jpg" width="350" height="61" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER VI.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">DEED AND DREAM.</span></h2> - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_w.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-W">WHEN Olga went to her room that night in St. -Petersburg, instead of going to bed, she unpacked -from her valise a series of articles which seemed -strange possessions for a young girl of not quite -seventeen to travel with on her wedding journey.</p> - -<p>First came a tiny spirit furnace from which, by the aid of -an arrangement something like the modern blow-pipe, an intense -heat could be obtained. Then a delicate pair of scales, a -glass pestle and mortar, and a couple of glass liquid-measures, -and lastly, half a dozen little phials filled with variously-coloured -liquids, and as many little packets of powders, that -looked like herbs ground very finely.</p> - -<p>When she had placed these out on the table, after having -carefully locked the door of her room, and seen that the -windows were completely shuttered and curtained, she drew -from the bosom of her dress a gold chain, at the end of which -was fastened, together with the key of the secret recess in the -wall of the turret chamber of the house at Hampstead, a small -bag of silk, out of which she took a little roll of parchment,—the -slip which she had abstracted from Paul Romanoff’s secret will -after she had persuaded Serge, with her false kisses, to leave her -alone for a while.</p> - -<p>She seated herself at the table, drew the electric reading-lamp -which stood on it close to her, laid the slip down in front -of her, keeping it unrolled by means of a couple of little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -weights, and studied it intently for several minutes. Then -she made a series of calculations on another sheet of paper, -and compared the result carefully with some figures on the -slip.</p> - -<p>She made them three times over before she was satisfied -that they were absolutely correct, and then, with all the care -and deliberation of a chemical analyst performing a delicate -and important experiment, she proceeded to weigh out tiny -quantities of the powders, and to mix them very carefully in -the little glass mortar. This done, she emptied the mixture -into a little platinum crucible, which she placed on the furnace, -at the same time applying a gentle heat.</p> - -<p>Then she turned her attention to the phials, measuring off -quantities of their contents with the most scrupulous exactitude, -mixing them two and two, and adding this mixture to a -third, and so on, in a certain order which was evidently prearranged, -as she constantly referred to the slip of parchment -and her own calculations as she was mixing them.</p> - -<p>By the time she finished this part of her work, she had -obtained from the various coloured liquids one perfectly colourless -and odourless, of a specific gravity apparently considerably -in excess of that of water, although, at the same time, it was -extremely mobile and refractive. She held it up to the light, -looking at it with her eyelids somewhat screwed up, and with -a cruel smile on her pretty lips.</p> - -<p>“So far, so good,” she said in a voice little higher than a -whisper. “The lives of fifty strong men in that couple of -ounces of harmless looking fluid! If anyone could see me just -now, I fancy they would take me rather for a witch or a -poisoner of the fifteenth century than for a girl of the twenty-first.</p> - -<p>“Well, my friend Alan, your mysterious power may kill -more quickly, but not more surely than this; and this, too, -will take a man out of the world so easily that not even he -himself will know that he is going,—not even when he sinks into -the sleep from which he will awake on the other side of the -shadows.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p> - -<p>“So much for the bodies of our enemies, and now for their -souls! I don’t want to kill wholesale, at least, not just yet; -and as for you, my Alan, you are far too splendid, too glorious -a man to be killed, to say nothing of your being so much more -useful alive. No, I have a very much pleasanter fate in store -for you.”</p> - -<p>Just then a little cloud as of incense smoke began to rise -from the crucible in which were the mixed powders, and a -faint, pleasant perfume began to diffuse itself. She stopped -her soliloquy, measured off exactly half of the liquid, and -patiently poured it, drop by drop, into the crucible, at the -same time gradually increasing the heat.</p> - -<p>The vapour gradually disappeared, and the perfume died -away. When she had poured in the last drop, she began -slowly stirring the mixture with a glass rod. It gradually -assumed the consistency of thick syrup, and after stirring it -for three minutes by her watch, which lay on the table beside -her, she extinguished the electric lamp and waited.</p> - -<p>In a few seconds a pale, orange-coloured flame appeared -hovering over the crucible. As its ghostly light fell upon her -anxious features, she caught sight of herself in a mirror let into -the wall on the opposite side of the table. She started back in -her chair with an irrepressible shudder. For the first time in -her life she saw herself as she really was.</p> - -<p>The weird, unearthly light of the flame changed the clear, -pale olive of her skin into a sallow red, and cast what looked -like a mist of vapour tinged with blood across the dark lustre -of her dusky eyes. It seemed as though the light that she -had called forth from the darkness had melted the beautiful -mask which hid her inner self from the eyes of men, and -revealed her naked soul incarnate in the evil shape that should -have belonged to it.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the flame vanished, she turned on the switch of -the lamp, placed a platinum cover over the crucible with a -pair of light, curved tongs, and, with a quick half-turn, screwed -it hermetically down. Then she turned the heat of the furnace -on to the full, rose from her chair, and stretched herself, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -her linked hands above her head, till her lithe, girlish form was -drawn up to its full height in front of the mirror.</p> - -<p>She looked dreamily from under her half-closed lids at -the perfect picture presented by the reflection, and then her -tightly-closed lips melted into a smile, and she said softly to -herself—</p> - -<p>“Ah, that is a different sort of picture. I wonder what -Alan would have thought if he could have seen <em>that</em> one? -I don’t think I should have taken my trip in the air-ship to-morrow -if he had done. Well, I have seen myself as I am—what -four generations of inherited hate and longing for revenge -have made me.</p> - -<p>“In the light of that horrible flame I might have sat for the -portrait of the lost soul of Lucrezia Borghia. Ah, well, if mine -is lost, it shall be lost for something worth the exchange. -‘Better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven,’ as old Milton -said, and after all—who knows?</p> - -<p>“Bah! that is enough of dreaming, when the time for doing -is so near. I must get some sleep to-night, or my eyes will -have lost some of their brightness by to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>So saying, she busied herself putting away her phials, and -powders, and apparatus. The half of the colourless liquid she -had left she carefully decanted into a tiny flask, over the -stopper of which she screwed a silver cap that had a little ring -on the top, and this she hung on the chain round her neck. -She replaced the slip of parchment in its silken bag, and carefully -burnt the paper on which she had made her calculations.</p> - -<p>By this time the bottom of the crucible was glowing red -hot. She noted the time that had elapsed since she had -screwed the cap down, waited five minutes longer, and then -extinguished the furnace, undressed, and got into bed, and in -half an hour was sleeping as quietly as a little child. She had -set the chime of her repeating watch to sound at six, and hung -the watch close above her head.</p> - -<p>Calm as her sleep was at first, it was by no means dreamless, -and her dreams were well fitted to be those of a guilty soul -slumbering after a work of death.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> - -<p>She saw herself standing with Alan on the glass-domed deck -of the air-ship, beneath the light of a clear, white moon sailing -high in the heavens, and a host of brilliant stars glittering out -of the deep-blue depths beyond it. Far below them lay an -unbroken cloud-sea of dazzling whiteness, which stretched away -into the infinite distance on all sides, until it seemed to blend -with the moonlight and melt into the sky.</p> - -<p>Then the scene changed, and the air-ship swept downwards -in a wide, spiral curve, and plunged through the noiseless -billows of the shadowy sea. As she did so, a fearful chorus of -sounds rose up from the earth below.</p> - -<p>The moonlight and starlight were gone, and in their place -the lurid glare of burning cities and blazing forests cast a fearful -radiance up through the great eddying waves of smoke, and -reflected itself on the under surface of the clouds; now the air-ship -swept hither and thither with bewildering rapidity, like -the incarnation of some fearful spirit of destruction. Alan had -vanished, and she was giving orders rapidly, and men were -working the long, slender guns in a grim silence that contrasted -weirdly with the horrible din that rose from the earth.</p> - -<p>She saw neither smoke nor flame from the guns, nor heard -any sound as they were discharged, but every time she raised -her hand, the motion was followed within a few seconds by a -shaking of the atmosphere, a dull roar from the earth, and the -outburst of vast, dazzling masses of flame, before which the -blaze of the conflagration paled.</p> - -<p>She looked down with fierce exultation upon the scene of -carnage and destruction; and <a id="Ref_57"></a>as she gazed upon it, the fires -died away, the roar of the explosions began to sound like -echoes in the distance, and when the landscape of her dreamland -took definite shape again, the air-ship was hovering over -a vast, oval valley, walled in by mighty mountain masses, surmounted -by towering peaks, on some of which crests of everlasting -snow and ice shone undissolved in the rays of the -tropical sun.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_57" class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;"> -<img src="images/i_072.jpg" width="425" height="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">As she gazed upon it, the Fires died away.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_57">Page 57</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p>The valley itself was of such incomparable and fairy-like -beauty, that it seemed to belong rather to the realm of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -imagination than to the world of reality. A great lake lay in -the centre, its emerald shores lined with groves of palms and -orange-trees, and fringed with verdant islets spangled with -many coloured flowers.</p> - -<p>On the northern shore of the lake lay a splendid city of -marble palaces, surrounded by shady gardens, and divided from -each other by broad, straight streets, smooth as ivory and spotless -as snow, and lined with double rows of wide-spreading -trees, which cast a pleasant shade along their sides.</p> - -<p>In the midst of a vast square, in the centre of the city, -rose an immense building of marble of perfect whiteness, -surmounted by a great golden dome, which in turn was -crowned by the silver shape of a woman with great spreading -wings, which blazed and scintillated in the sunlight as though -they had been fashioned of sheets of crystal, pure and translucent -as diamonds.</p> - -<p>All over the valley, villas and palaces of marble were -scattered in cool ravines and on shaded, wooded slopes; and as -far as her eye could reach, vast expanses of garden land, -emerald pastures, and golden corn fields stretched away over -hill and vale, until the most remote were met by the cool, dark -forests which clothed the middle slopes of the all-encircling -mountains, and themselves gave place higher up to dark, -frowning precipices, vast walls of living rock, rising thousands -of feet sheer upwards, and ending in the mighty peaks -which stood like eternal sentinels guarding this enchanted -realm.</p> - -<p>If she had had her will, she would have gazed for ever upon -this delightful scene; but the spirit of the dream was not to be -controlled, and it faded from her sight just as the picture of -death and desolation had done. As it faded away, Alan, who -had now come back to her side, laid his hand upon her shoulder, -and, looking at her with mournful eyes, said wearily—</p> - -<p>“That was your first and last glimpse of heaven. Now -comes the judgment!”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, the air-ship soared upwards again, and was -instantly enveloped in a cloud of impenetrable darkness. She<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -sped on and on in utter silence through the gloom, which was -so dense that it seemed to cast the rays of the ship’s electric -lights back upon her as she floated amidst it. Presently the -deathlike silence was broken by a low, weird sound, that -seemed like a wail of universal agony rising up from the earth -beneath.</p> - -<p>Then, far ahead and high up in the sky, appeared a faint -light, which grew and brightened until the darkness melted -away before it; and Olga saw the air-ship floating near enough -to the earth for her to see that all its vegetation was withered -and yellow, and the beds of its streams almost dry, with only -little, thin rivulets trickling sluggishly along them.</p> - -<p>Millions of people seemed wandering listlessly and aimlessly -about the streets of the cities and the parched fields of the -open country, ever and anon stretching their hands as though -in appeal up to the dark, moonless sky, in which the fearful -shape of light and fiery mist was growing every moment -brighter and vaster.</p> - -<p>It grew and grew until it arched half the horizon with its -tremendous curve; and then out of the midst of it came a -huge, dazzling globe of fire, from the rim of which shot forth -great flames of every colour, some of which seemed to descend -to the surface of the earth like long fiery tongues that licked up -the seething lakes in wreathing clouds of steam, which hissed -and roared as they rose like ascending cataracts.</p> - -<p>She looked down between them at the earth. The myriads -of figures were there still, but now they lay prone and lifeless -on the ground, as though the last agony of mankind were past. -The light of the blazing globe grew more and more dazzling, -and the heat more and more intense. The speed of the air-ship -slackened visibly, although the wings and propellers were -working at their utmost speed, and it was falling rapidly, as -though there was no longer any air to support it.</p> - -<p>She gasped for breath in the choking, burning atmosphere -of the deck chamber, and then a swift, vivid wave of light -seemed to sweep through her brain, and she woke with a -choking gasp of terror, with the chimes of her watch ringing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -sweetly in her ears, telling her that the vision had been but a -dream of a night that had passed.</p> - -<p>Wide awake in an instant, she got out of bed and turned -on the electric lamp. As the room had been perfectly warmed -all night by the electric conduction-stoves, which were then -in almost universal use, she only stopped to throw a fur-lined -cloak round her shoulders before she went to remove the cap -of the crucible.</p> - -<p>She peered anxiously into the vessel, and saw about two -fluid ounces of a dark, glittering liquid, from the surface of -which the light of the lamp was reflected as though from a -mirror. With hands that trembled slightly, in spite of the -great effort she made to keep her nerves in check, she poured -the precious fluid into one of the glass measures that she had -used the night before.</p> - -<p>Seen through the glass, its colour was a deep, brilliant blue, -and, like the white liquid first prepared, shone as though with -an inherent, light-giving power of its own. She held it up -admiringly to the light, and said to herself, with the same cruel -smile that had curved her lips when she had contemplated the -other fluid—</p> - -<p>“How beautiful it is! It might be made of sapphires -dissolved in some potent essence. In reality, it is an elixir -capable of dissolving the souls of men. Ah, my proud Masters -of the World, we shall soon see how much your boasted powers -avail you against this and a woman’s wit and hatred!</p> - -<p>“And you, my splendid Alan, before to-morrow night you -shall be at my feet! Two drops of this, and that proud, strong -soul of yours shall melt away like a snowflake under warm -rain, and you shall be my slave and do my bidding, and never -know that you are not as free as you are now.</p> - -<p>“The days have gone by when men sought the Elixir of Life, -but Paul Romanoff sought and found the Elixir of Death,—death -of the body or of the soul, as the possessor of it shall will; and he -is gone, and I, alone of all the children of men, possess it!”<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> -<p>She set the measure down on the table, and took out of -her valise a similar little flask to the one which held the white -liquid. In this she carefully poured the contents of the -measure, screwed the cap on as before, and hung it with the -other on the chain round her neck. Then, woman-like, she -turned to the mirror, threw back her cloak a little, and gazed -at the reflection of the two flasks, which shone like two great -gems upon her white skin.</p> - -<p>“There is such a necklace as woman never wore before, -since woman first delighted in gems,—a necklace that all the -jewels in the world could not buy. How pretty they look!”</p> - -<p>So saying, she turned away from the mirror and carefully -put away all traces of the work she had been engaged in, then -she threw off her cloak and turned the lamp out and got into -bed again, to wait until the attendant called her at eight -o’clock as she had directed.</p> - -<p>She did not go to sleep again, but lay with wide-open eyes -looking at the darkness, and conjuring out of it visions of love -and war, and the world-wide empire which she believed to be -now almost within her grasp. In all these visions, two figures -stood out prominently—those of Serge and Alan, her lover -that had been and the lover that was to be,—if only the elixir -did its work as its discoverer had said it would.</p> - -<p>As such thoughts as these passed through her brain, a new -and perhaps a nobler conception of her mission of revenge -took possession of her. In the past, Natasha had won the love -of the man whose genius had made possible, nay, irresistible, -the triumph of that revolution which had subverted the throne -of her ancestors, and sent the last of the Tsars of Russia to die -like a felon in chains amidst the snows of Siberia.</p> - -<p>What more magnificent vengeance could she, the last -surviving daughter of the Romanoffs, win than the enslavement -of the man descended not only from Natasha and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -Richard Arnold, but also from that Alan Tremayne whose -name he bore, and who, as first President of the Anglo-Saxon -Federation, had ensured the victory of the Western races over -the Eastern?</p> - -<p>The empire of freedom and peace, which Richard Arnold -had won for Natasha’s sake, this son of the line of Natas -should convert, at her bidding, into an empire such as she -longed to rule over,—an empire in which men should be her -slaves and women her handmaidens. For her sake the wave -of Destiny should flow back again; she would be the Semiramis -of a new despotism.</p> - -<p>What was the freedom or the happiness of the mass of -mankind to her? If she could raise herself above them, and -put her foot upon their necks, why should she not do so? By -force the leaders of the Terror had overthrown the despotisms -of the Old World; why should not she employ the self-same -force to seat herself, with the man she loved in spite of -all her hereditary hatred, upon the throne of the world, and -reign with him in that glorious land whose beauties had been -revealed to her in the vision which surely had been something -more than a dream?</p> - -<p>Thus thinking and dreaming, and illumining the darkness -with her own visions of glories to come, she lay in a kind of -ecstasy, until a knock at the door warned her that the time -for dreaming had passed and the hour for action had arrived.</p> - -<p>A brief half-hour sufficed for her toilet, and she entered -the room of the hotel, in which Serge was awaiting her, dressed -to perfection in her plain, clinging robe of royal purple, and -self-composed as though she had passed the night in the most -innocent and dreamless of slumbers. She submitted to his -greeting kiss with as good a grace as possible, and yet with an -inward shrinking which almost amounted to loathing, born of -the visions which were still floating in her mind.</p> - -<p>She shuddered almost invisibly as he released her from his -embrace, and then the bright blood rose to her cheeks, and a -sudden light shone in her eyes, as the thought possessed her, that -not many hours would pass before a far nobler lover would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -take her in his arms, and would press sweeter kisses upon her -lips,—the lips which had sworn fealty and devotion to the -enemies of his race.</p> - -<p>Serge, with the true egotism of the lover, took the blush to -himself, and said, with a laugh of boyish frankness—</p> - -<p>“Travelling and Russian air seem to agree with your -Majesty. Evidently you have slept well your first night on -Russian soil. I was half afraid that what happened yesterday, -and your conversation with that golden-winged braggart from -Aeria, would have sufficiently disturbed you to give you a more -or less sleepless night, but you look as fresh and as lovely as -though you had slept in the most perfect peace at home.”</p> - -<p>The anger that these unthinking words awoke in her soul, -brought back the bright flush to Olga’s cheeks and the light -into her eyes, and again Serge mistook the sign, as indeed he -might well have done; and so he entirely mistook the meaning -of her words when she replied, with a laugh, of the true -significance of which he had not the remotest conception—</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, how was it possible that I could have -anything but the sweetest sleep and the most pleasant dreams, -after such a delightful journey and the making of such pleasant -acquaintances? Do you not think the Fates have favoured us -beyond our wildest expectations, in thus bringing our enemies -so unconsciously across our path at the very outset of our -campaign against them?</p> - -<p>“But really, these Aerians are delightful fellows. No, -don’t frown at me like that, because you know as well as I -do, that in that chivalrous good-nature of theirs lies our best -hope of success.”</p> - -<p>As she spoke she went up to him, and laid her two hands -upon his shoulder, and went on looking up into his eyes with -a seductive softness in hers.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid I made you terribly jealous yesterday; but -really, Serge, you must remember that in diplomacy, and -diplomacy alone, lies our only chance of advantage in the -circumstances which the kindly Fates appear to have specially -created for our benefit.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span></p> - -<p>“The time for you to act will come later on, and when it -comes, I know you will acquit yourself like the true Romanoff -that you are; but for the present—well, you know these -Aerians are men, and where diplomacy alone is in the question, -it is better that a woman should deal with them. You will -trust me for the present,—won’t you, Serge?”</p> - -<p>For all answer, he took her face between his hands, put her -head back, and kissed her, saying as he released her—</p> - -<p>“Yes, darling; I will trust you not only now, but for ever. -You are wiser than I am in these things. Do as you please; -I will obey.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, the door opened, and an attendant came in -with two little cups of coffee on a silver salver. He placed it -on the table, told them that breakfast would be ready for them -in the morning-room in ten minutes, and retired. As they -sipped their coffee, Olga said to Serge—</p> - -<p>“Now, we shall meet our enemies at breakfast, and I want -you to be a great deal more cordial and friendly than you -were yesterday. Our own feelings concern ourselves alone, -but in our outward conduct we owe something to the sacred -cause which we both have at heart. You can imagine how -great a sacrifice I am making in my relations with those whom -I have been taught to hate from my cradle.</p> - -<p>“I can see as well as you do, perhaps better, that this -future ruler of Aeria admires me in his own boyish way. If I -can bring myself to appear complaisant, surely it is not too -much to ask you to look upon it with indifference, or even -with interest,—a brotherly interest, you know; for you must -remember that he knows me only as your sister.</p> - -<p>“Now, I want you to ask them to come and have breakfast -with us at our table, and to exert yourself to appear agreeable -to them, even as I shall; and above all things, promise me that -you will fall in with any suggestions that I may make as -regards our trip in this wonderful air-ship which we are to -make to-morrow.</p> - -<p>“There is no time now to explain to you what I mean, but -I swear to you, by the blood that flows in both our veins, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -if I can only carry through, without any let or hindrance, the -plans that I have already formed—that before forty-eight -hours have passed that air-ship shall no longer be under Alan -Arnoldson’s command.”</p> - -<p>He looked at her for a moment with almost incredulous -admiration. She returned his inquiring glance with a steady, -unwavering gaze, which made suspicion impossible. All his -life he had grown up to look upon her as sharing with him the -one hope that was left of restoring the ancient fortunes of their -family. More than this they had been lovers ever since either -of them knew the meaning of love.</p> - -<p>How then could he have dreamt that behind so fair an -appearance lay as dark and treacherous a design as the brain -of an ambitious woman had ever conceived? Intoxicated by -her beauty and the memory of his lifelong love, he took a -couple of steps towards her, took her unresisting into his arms -again, and said passionately—</p> - -<p>“Give me another kiss, darling, and on your lips I will -swear to trust you always and do your bidding even to the -death.”</p> - -<p>She returned his kiss with a passion so admirably simulated -that his resolve was thrice strengthened by it, and then she -released herself gently from his embrace, saying—</p> - -<p>“Even so, unto the death if needs be,—as I shall serve our -sacred cause to the end, cost what it may! Come, it is time -that we went down to breakfast.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_081.jpg" width="350" height="59" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER VII.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE SPELL OF CIRCE</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_b.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-B">BREAKFAST passed off very pleasantly, and by -the time it was over Serge was upon much better -terms with the two Aerians than he had been on -the previous day. He had taken Olga’s warning -and appeal to heart, and he had done so all the -more easily for the reason that he felt somewhat ashamed of -himself for the ill-temper and bad manners of which he had -been guilty, and which their two new acquaintances had repaid -with such dignified courtesy and good humour.</p> - -<p>His frankly-expressed apology was accepted with such -perfect good nature, unmixed with even a suspicion of condescension, -that he felt at ease with them at once, and even began -to regret that his destiny made it impossible for him to be their -friend instead of their enemy.</p> - -<p>The discussion of their plans for the day occupied the rest -of the meal. They had a whole twenty-four hours before them, -for the <em>Ithuriel</em> would not be back from San Francisco, where -she was going when she passed the train, until ten o’clock on -the following morning, so it was arranged that they would -begin the day with a sleigh drive—a luxury which not even -Aeria could afford,—then the two Aerians were to see the -sights of the city under the guidance of Olga and Serge, and -perform the chief of the duties that brought them to St. -Petersburg.</p> - -<p>After luncheon they were to have a couple of hours on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -ice in the park, into which the Yusupoff Gardens of the nineteenth -century had been expanded, after which they would see -the ice palaces illuminated at dusk, then dine, and finish the -day at the opera. When the air-ship arrived, a rapid flight -was to be taken across Europe over the Alps and back to -Moscow, across Italy, Greece, and the Black Sea, which would -enable Alan and Alexis to deposit their guests with their -Moscow friends soon after nightfall.</p> - -<p>The sleigh drive took the form of a race, on the plain -stretching towards Lake Ladoga, between the two troikas -driven by Serge and Olga, who had so managed matters that -she had Alan for a companion, and who, not a little to Serge’s -disgust, won it, after a desperate struggle, by a head. The -race was a revelation to the two Aerians, and when Alan -handed Olga out of the sleigh after they had trotted quietly -back to the city, the interest which she had excited in him -during the railway journey had already begun to deepen into -a sentiment much more pleasing and dangerous.</p> - -<p>The rest of the morning was devoted to driving about the -city, and to paying a visit to the ancient fortress of Peter and -Paul, which alone of all the fortress prisons of Russia had -been preserved intact as a fitting monument of fallen despotism -and a warning to all future generations. Once at least in his -life every man in Aeria visited this fortress, as good Moslems -visit Mecca, and this was the duty which Alan and Alexis -were now performing.</p> - -<p>In one of the horrible dungeons deep down in the foundations -of the fortress, under the waters of the Neva, they were -shown a massive gold plate riveted on to the rough, damp, -stone wall. Its surface was kept brightly polished, and it -looked strangely incongruous with the gloom and squalor of -the cell. On it stood an inscription in platinum letters let -into the gold:</p> - -<p>“<em>In this cell Israel di Murska, afterwards known as Natas, -the Master of the Terror, was imprisoned in the year 1881, -previous to his exile to Siberia by order of Alexander Romanoff -the last of the Tyrants of Russia.</em>”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p> - -<p>With feelings wide asunder as love and hate, or gratitude -and revenge, the descendant of Natas and the daughter of the -Romanoffs stood in front of this memorial plate, and read the -simple and yet pregnant words. Alan and Alexis both bent -their heads as if in reverence for a moment, but Olga and Serge -gazed at it with heads erect and eyes glowing with the fires of -anger, in a silence that was broken by Alan saying—</p> - -<p>“Liberty surely never had a stranger temple than this, and -yet this dungeon is to us what the Tomb of the Prophet is to -the Moslems. I wonder what the Last of the Tsars would have -thought if he could have foreseen even a little part of all that -sprang from the tragedy that was begun in this dismal cell?”</p> - -<p>“He would have killed him,” said Olga, carried away for -the moment by an irrepressible burst of passion, “and then -there would have been no Natas, no Terror, and no Terrorist -air-fleet, and Alexander Romanoff would have died master of the -world instead of a chained felon in Siberia! Your ancestor, -Richard Arnold, would have starved in his garret, or killed himself -in despair, as many other geniuses did before him, and”—</p> - -<p>“And the world would have remained the slave-market of -tyrants and the shambles of murderous men. Let us thank -God that Natas lived to do his work!” said Alan in a tone -of solemn reverence, wondering not a little at Olga’s strange -outburst, and yet not having the remotest idea of its true cause.</p> - -<p>Neither Olga nor Serge could reply to this speech. They -would have bitten their tongues through rather than say -“Amen” to it, and anything else they dare not have said. -After a moment more of somewhat constrained silence, Olga -turned towards the door and said—</p> - -<p>“Come! Let us go, the air of this place poisons me!”</p> - -<p>When they got on the ice after lunch, Olga was not a little -astonished to find that, perfect as she and Serge were in skating, -the two Aerians were little inferior to them, despite the fact -that they had just left their tropical home for the first time.</p> - -<p>“How is this?” said Olga to Alan, as, hand in hand, they -went sweeping over the ice in long, easy curves. “I suppose -you manufacture your ice for skating purposes in Aeria?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p> - -<p>“No,” he said. “Some of our mountains rise above the -snow-line, and in their upper valleys they have little lakes, so, -when we want a skating surface, we just pump the water up -and flood them and let it freeze. Besides this—I don’t think -there is any harm in my telling you that we have a sort of -wheel-skate which runs quite as easily as steel does on ice.”</p> - -<p>“Ah,” said Olga, possessed by a sudden thought. “Then I -suppose that is why the streets of your splendid city are so -broad, and white, and smooth?”</p> - -<p>Quietly as the words were spoken, Alan’s hand tightened -upon hers as he heard them with a grip that almost made her -cry out with pain. It was some moments before he recovered -from his astonishment sufficiently to ask her the meaning of -her unexpected and amazing question. She greeted his question -with a saucy smile and a mocking, upward glance, and said -quietly—</p> - -<p>“Simply because I have seen them!”</p> - -<p>It was a bow drawn at a venture. She had suddenly determined -to test the truth of her vision and hazard a description -from it of the unknown land.</p> - -<p>“You have seen them?” cried Alan, now more amazed -than ever. “But, pardon me, even at the risk of contradicting -you I must tell you that that is impossible. No one not a born -Aerian has set eyes on Aeria for more than a hundred years.”</p> - -<p>“So you think perhaps,” she said in the same quiet, half-mocking -tone. “Well now, listen and tell me whether this -description is entirely incorrect. If it is correct you need say -nothing, if it is not you can tell me so.”</p> - -<p>And then she began, while he listened in a silence of utter -stupefaction, and described the valley and city of Aeria as she -had seen them in her dream-vision. When she had finished -he was silent for several moments, and then said in a voice -that told her that she had really seen it as though with the -eyes of flesh—</p> - -<p>“What are you? A sorceress, or—No, you cannot be an -Aerian girl in disguise, for none ever leaves the country till -she is married.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Then as I cannot be the latter,” said Olga, “you must, I -suppose, consider me the former. Now I shall take my revenge -for your reticence in the train yesterday, and tell you no more. -We are quits to that extent at least, and now we will go back -to my brother, if you please.”</p> - -<p>With this Alan was forced to be content. Indeed, he could -not have pursued the subject without breaking his oath, and -so a few minutes later it came about that Olga and Serge were -skating together in an unfrequented part of the lake, and -here Olga took an opportunity that she might not have again -of telling him as much as she thought fit for him to know of -her plans for capturing the air-ship on the following day.</p> - -<p>“I needn’t tell you,” said she, “that this air-ship is worth -everything to us, and that therefore we must be ready to go to -any extremities to get possession of it. It is the first step to -the command of the world, for you heard Alan say to-day that -she is the swiftest vessel in the whole Aerian fleet.”</p> - -<p>“But to do that we must first overcome the crew,” said -Serge, looking anxiously about to see if there was anyone within -earshot. “How are we going to do that—two of us against -ten or a dozen, armed with powers we know nothing about?”</p> - -<p>“We must find means to drug them—to poison them, if -necessary, during to-morrow’s voyage,” came the reply, in a -whisper that made his heart stand still for the moment with -utter horror.</p> - -<p>“Good God! is that really necessary? It seems a horrible -thing to do, when they are trusting us and taking us as their -guests,” he said in a low, trembling tone.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she replied, with a well simulated shudder; “it is -horrible, I know, but it is necessary. Remember that we have -solemnly sworn war to the knife against this people, and that, -armed as they are, all open assault is impossible; therefore -they must be struck in secret, or not at all.</p> - -<p>“Now listen. I have brought with me a flask which my -grandfather gave me a day or two before he died. It contains -enough of a tasteless, powerful narcotic to send twenty people -to sleep so that nothing will wake them for several hours. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -will give you half of this to-night and keep half myself, and -one of us must find an opportunity to get the crew to take it -in their wine, or whatever they may drink, for they are sure to -have one or two meals while we are on board.</p> - -<p>“To-night I will send instructions in cypher to the -Lossenskis in Vorobièvŏ to tell them that as many as possible -of the Friends must be ready for action by eight to-morrow -night, and must wait, if necessary, night after night till we -come. If all goes well we shall select the new crew of the -<em>Ithuriel</em> from them before we see two more sunrises. In fact, -by the time we return from our voyage we must have absolute -control of the vessel.</p> - -<p>“Such an opportunity as this will never offer itself again, -and I, for my part, am determined to risk anything, not excepting -life itself, to take the best advantage of it. It would be -madness to allow any scruples to stand in our way when the -Empire of the Air is almost within our grasp.”</p> - -<p>“And none shall, so far as I am concerned,” replied Serge -in a low, steady voice that showed that his horror at the deed -they contemplated had succumbed, at least for the moment, -to the tremendous temptation offered by the prospect of -success.</p> - -<p>“Spoken like a true Romanoff!” said Olga, looking up at -him with a sweet smile of approval. “As the deed is so shall -the reward be. Now we must get back to our friends. We -will find a means to get an hour together before to-night to -arrange matters further, and we will have Alan and Alexis to -supper with us after the opera, and then I will begin my share -of the work. Once the air-ship is ours, we can hide her in one -of the ravines of the Caucasus, hold a council of war in the -villa at Vorobièvŏ, and set about the work of the Revolution -in regular fashion.”</p> - -<p>The rest of the day was spent in accordance with the plans -already agreed on. Olga and Serge had tea together in their -private room before going to the theatre, and put the finishing -touches to their plans for the momentous venture of the -following day; and Alan and Alexis, all unsuspecting, accepted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -their invitation to supper after their return from the opera-house.</p> - -<p>The seemingly innocent and pleasant little supper, which -passed off so merrily in the private sitting-room occupied by -Olga and Serge, had but one incident which calls for description -here, and even that was unnoticed not only by the two -guests, but by Serge himself.</p> - -<p>Just before midnight, Olga proposed that, in accordance -with the ancient custom of Russia, they should drink a glass of -punch, brewed in the Russian style; and as she volunteered to -brew it herself, it is needless to say that the invitation was -at once accepted.</p> - -<p>The apparatus stood upon a little table in one corner of the -room. For a single minute her back was turned to the three -sitting at the table in the centre; her share in the conversation -was not interrupted for an instant, and no one saw a couple -of drops of sparkling, blue liquid fall into each of three of the -glasses from the little flask that she held concealed in the palm -of her hand, and when she turned round with the little silver -tray on which the glasses stood, the flask was resting at the -bottom of her dress-pocket.</p> - -<p>She handed a glass to each of them, and then took her own -up from the side-table where she had left it. She went to her -place, and, holding her glass up, said simply—</p> - -<p>“Here’s to that which each of us has nearest at heart!” and -drank.</p> - -<p>All followed suit, and as the clock chimed twelve a few -minutes later, the two Aerians took their leave, and left Olga -and Serge alone.</p> - -<p>“You said you would begin your share of the work to-night,” -said he, as soon as they were alone. “Have you done so?”</p> - -<p>“If you do your work to-morrow as successfully as I have -done mine to-night,” replied Olga, looking steadily into his eyes -as she spoke, “the Empire of the Air will no longer be theirs.”</p> - -<p>Serge returned her glance in silence. He wanted to speak, -but some superior power seemed to have laid a spell upon his -will, and as long as Olga’s burning eyes were fixed on his, his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> -tongue was paralysed, nay, more than this, his mind even -refused to shape the sentences that he would have liked to -speak. Olga held him mute before her for several minutes, -and then she said quietly, still keeping her eyes fixed on his—</p> - -<p>“Now speak, and tell me what you would do if I told you -that I preferred Alan as a lover to you, and that I would rather -a thousand times be his slave and plaything than your wife.”</p> - -<p>“I should say that you are the mistress of my destiny, that -I have no law but your will, and that it is for you to give me -joy or pain, as seems good to you.”</p> - -<p>Serge spoke the unnatural words in a calm, passionless tone, -rather as though he were speaking in a sort of hypnotic trance -than in full command of his senses. A strange, subtle influence -had been stealing through his veins and over his nerves -ever since he had drunk the liquor which Olga had prepared.</p> - -<p>He seemed perfectly incapable of resisting any suggestion -that might have been made to him. His will was paralysed, -but even the consciousness of this fact was fading from his -mind. All his passions were absolutely in abeyance. Even -his love for Olga failed to inspire him with any jealous resentment -of words which half an hour before would have goaded -him to frenzy. He heard them as though they concerned -someone else.</p> - -<p>The ruin of his life’s hopes, which they implied so distinctly, -had no meaning for him; so far as his volition was concerned -he was an automaton, ready to obey without question the -dictates of her imperious will.</p> - -<p>“That will do,” said Olga, in the tone of a mistress addressing -a servant. “Now go to bed and sleep well, and remember -the work that lies before you to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“I will,” said Serge, and without another word, without -attempting to take his customary good-night kiss, he walked -out of the room, leaving her to the enjoyment of her victory -and the contemplation of triumphs that now seemed almost -certain to her.</p> - -<p>Punctual to its appointed time, the air-ship appeared in -mid-air over the city a few minutes before ten the next<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -morning. It sank slowly and gracefully to within a hundred -feet of the ground over the garden of the hotel in which the -two Aerians and their new friends were staying.</p> - -<p>Signals were rapidly exchanged as before between Alan and -one of the crew standing on the afterpart of the deck. Then -it sank down on to one of the snow-covered lawns of the -garden, a door opened in the glass covering of the deck, a short, -light, folding ladder with hand-rails dropped out of it to the -ground, and Alan, springing up three or four of the steps, held -out his hand to Olga, saying—</p> - -<p>“Come along! we shall have a crowd round us in another -minute.”</p> - -<p>This was true, for the appearance of the air-ship had already -attracted hundreds of people in the streets, and many of them -had already made their way into the gardens of the hotel in -order to get a closer view of her.</p> - -<p>Olga, feeling not a little like a queen ascending a throne, -ran lightly up the steps, followed by Serge and Alexis. The -moment they got on to the deck the ladder was drawn up, the -glass door slid noiselessly to, and Alan at once presented them -to his friends on deck.</p> - -<p>While the introductions were taking place, the wings of the -air-ship began to vibrate and undulate with a wavy motion -from forward aft, at first slowly, and then more and more -swiftly, her propeller whirled round, and the wonderful craft -rose without a jar or a tremor from the earth. Then the propellers -began to revolve faster and faster, and she shot forward -and upward over the trees amid the admiring murmurs of the -crowds in the streets about the hotel. But little did those -light-hearted sightseers dream, any more than did the captain -and crew of the <em>Ithuriel</em>, that this aerial pleasure-cruise was -destined to mark the beginning of a tragedy that would involve -the whole of civilised humanity in a catastrophe so colossal -that the like of it had never been seen or even dreamt of on -earth before. From the wit of a woman and the weakness of -a man were now to be evolved the elements of destruction that -ere long should lay the world in ruins.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE NEW TERROR.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_f.jpg" width="79" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-F">FIVE years had passed since the <em>Ithuriel</em> had -vanished like a cloud from the sky, leaving, so -far as the air-ship itself was concerned, no more -trace than if she had soared into space beyond -the sphere of the earth’s attraction and departed -to another planet.</p> - -<p>All the rest of the winter of 2030-1, tidings had been -sought most anxiously, but in vain, by the kindred and friends -of those who had formed her crew during the ill-fated voyage -on which she had disappeared into the unknown. The earth -had been ransacked east and west, north and south, by the -aerial fleet in search of the missing <em>Ithuriel</em>, but without result.</p> - -<p>She had been traced to St. Petersburg and Vorobièvŏ, but -there, like the phantom craft of the Flying Dutchman, she had -melted into thin air so far as any result of the search could -show. But when the snows thawed on the mountains of -Norway, and the bodies of eight Aerians who had formed her -crew on her last fatal voyage were discovered by a couple of -foresters in a melting snowdrift on the very spot on which -Vladimir Romanoff had been killed with his companions by -order of the Supreme Council, a thrill both of horror and -excitement ran through the whole civilised world.</p> - -<p>That their death was intimately connected with the disappearance -of the air-ship was instantly plain to everyone, -and the only inference which could be drawn from such a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -conclusion was that at last some power, silent, mysterious, and -intangible, had come into existence prepared to dispute the -empire of the world with the Aerians, and, more than this, had -already struck them a deadly blow which it was utterly beyond -their power to return.</p> - -<p>The effects of this discovery were exactly what Olga had -anticipated. From the first time since their ancestors had -conquered the earth and made war impossible, the supreme -authority of the Aerians was called into question. It was -quite beyond their power to conceal the fact that their flagship -had either deserted or been captured, incredible as either -alternative seemed. The Central Council therefore wisely -accepted the situation, and immediately after the discovery of -the bodies the President published a full account of her last -voyage, as far as was known, in the columns of <cite>The European -Review</cite>, the leading newspaper of the day in the Old -World.</p> - -<p>The only clue to the fate of the air-ship seemed to lie in the -fact that at St. Petersburg a youth and young girl with whom -Alan and Alexis had made friends on their journey from -London had gone on board the <em>Ithuriel</em> for a trip to the clouds. -But this led to nothing. Who was to recognise the daughter -of the Tsar and the last male scion of the House of Romanoff -in Olga and Serge Ivanitch, who had never been known as -anything but the orphan grandchildren of Paul Ivanitch, the -sculptor.</p> - -<p>More than this, even to entertain for a moment the supposition -that this boy and girl—for they were known to be -little more—could by any possible means have overcome the -ten Aerians, armed as they were with their terrible death-power, -and then have vanished into space with the air-ship -would have been to shatter the supremacy of the Aerians at a -blow.</p> - -<p>Even as it was, the wildest and most dangerous rumours -began to fly from lip to lip and nation to nation all round the -world, and for the first time since the days of the Terror the -“Earth Folk” began to think of the Aerians rather as men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -like themselves than as the superior race which they had -hitherto regarded them.</p> - -<p>The President of Aeria at once issued a proclamation asking, -in the interests of peace and public security, for the assistance -of all the civilised peoples of the earth in his efforts to discover -the lost air-ship, and also conditionally declaring a war -of extermination on any Power or nation which either concealed -the whereabouts of the <em>Ithuriel</em> or gave any assistance -to those who might be in possession of her. This proclamation -was published simultaneously in all the newspapers of the -world, and produced a most profound sensation wherever it -was read.</p> - -<p>The terrible magic of the ominous word “war” roused at -once the deathless spirit of combativeness that had lain dormant -for all these years. It was impossible not to recognise the fact -that this mysterious power, which had come unseen into existence -and had snatched the finest vessel in the Aerian navy -from the possession of the Council with such daring and skill -that not a trace of her was to be found, could have but one -object in view, and that was to dispute the Empire of the Air -with the descendants of the Terrorists.</p> - -<p>This could mean nothing else than the outbreak, sooner or -later, of a strife that would be a veritable battle of the gods, a -struggle which would shake the world and convulse human -society throughout its whole extent. The general sense of -peace and security in which men had lived for four generations -was shattered at a stroke by the universal apprehension of the -blow that all men felt to be inevitable, but which would be -struck no man knew when or how.</p> - -<p>A year passed, and nothing happened. The world went on -its way in peace, the Aerian patrols circled the earth with a -moving girdle of aerial cruisers, ready to give instantaneous -warning of the first reappearance of the lost <em>Ithuriel</em>; but -nothing was discovered. If she still existed, she was so -skilfully concealed as to be practically beyond the reach of -human search.</p> - -<p>Then without the slightest warning, while Anglo-Saxondom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -was in the midst of the hundred and thirtieth celebration of -the Festival of Deliverance, the civilised world was started out -of the sense of security into which it had once more begun to -fall by the publication, in <cite>The European Review</cite>, of the following -piece of intelligence:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="center largefont">A MYSTERY OF THE SEA.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Disappearance of Three Transports.</span></p> - -<p>It is our duty to chronicle the astounding and disquieting fact that the -three transports, <em>Massilia</em>, <em>Ceres</em>, and <em>Astræa</em>, belonging respectively to the -Eastern, Southern, and Western Services, have disappeared.</p> - -<p>The first left New York for Southampton four days ago, and should have -arrived yesterday. The Central Atlantic signalling station reported her “All -well” at midday on Tuesday, and this is the last news that has been heard of -her. The second was reported from Cape Verd Station on her voyage from -Cape Town to Marseilles, and there all trace of her is lost, as she never reached -the Canary Station. The third was last heard of from Station No. 2 in the -Indian Ocean, which is situated at the intersection of the 80th meridian of east -longitude with the 20th parallel of south latitude; she was on her way from -Melbourne to Alexandria, and should have touched at Aden two days ago.</p> - -<p>The disappearance of these three magnificent vessels, filled as they were with -passengers and loaded with cargoes of enormous value both in money and -material, can only be described as a calamity of world-wide importance. Unhappily, -too, the mystery which surrounds their fate invests it with a sinister -aspect which it is impossible to ignore.</p> - -<p>That their loss is the result of accident or shipwreck it is almost impossible -to believe. They represented the latest triumphs of modern shipbuilding. All -were over forty thousand tons in measurement, and had engines capable of -driving them at a speed of fifty nautical miles an hour through the water.</p> - -<p>For fifty years no ocean transport has suffered shipwreck or even serious -injury, so completely has modern engineering skill triumphed over the now -conquered elements. Added to this, no storms of even ordinary violence have -occurred along their routes. After passing the stations at which they were last -reported, they vanished, and that is all that is known about them.</p> - -<p>The President of Aeria has desired us to state that he has ordered his submarine -squadrons stationed at Zanzibar, Ascension, and Fayal, to explore the -ocean beds along the routes pursued by the transports. Until we receive news -of the result of their investigation it will be well to refrain from further comment -on this mysterious misfortune which has suddenly and unexpectedly fallen upon -the world, and in doing so we shall only express the fervent desire of all civilised -men and women when we express the hope that this calamity, grievous as it is, -may not be the precursor of even greater misfortunes to come.</p></blockquote> - -<p>It would be almost impossible for us of the present day to -form any adequate estimate of the thrill of horror and consternation -which this brief and temperately-worded narration<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> -of the mysterious loss of the three transports sent through the -world of the twenty-first century. Not only was it the first -event of the kind that had occurred within the memory of -living men, but, saving the loss of the <em>Ithuriel</em>, it was the -first dark cloud that had appeared in the clear heaven of -peace and prosperity for more than a hundred and twenty -years.</p> - -<p>But terrible as was the state of excitement and anxiety into -which it threw the nations of the world, it gave place to a still -deeper horror and bewilderment when day after day passed -and no tidings were received of the three submarine squadrons, -consisting of three vessels each, which had been sent to -inquire into the fate of the transports. They dived beneath -the waves of the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, and that was -the last that was ever seen of them.</p> - -<p>Month after month went by, every week bringing news of -some fresh calamity at sea—of the disappearance of transport -after transport along the great routes of ocean travel, of -squadron after squadron of submarine cruisers which plunged -into the abysses of the sea to discover and attack the mysterious -enemy of mankind that lay hidden in the depths, and -which never reappeared on the surface. Whether they were -captured or destroyed it was impossible to say, simply because -no member of their crews ever returned to tell the tale.</p> - -<p>Whatever doubt there had been as to the existence or -hostile nature of this ocean terror that was paralysing the trade -of the world was speedily set at rest by a discovery made in the -spring of the year 2032 by a party of divers who descended to -repair a fault in one of the Atlantic cables about two hundred -miles west of Ireland.</p> - -<p>There, lying in the Atlantic ooze, they found the shattered -fragments of the <em>Sirius</em>, a transport which had disappeared -about a month before. The great hull of the splendid vessel -had been torn asunder by some explosive of tremendous -power, and, more than this, her hold had been rifled of all its -treasure and the most valuable portions of its cargo. After -this there no longer remained any doubt that the depths of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -the ocean were the hunting-ground of some foe of society, one -at least of whose objects was plunder.</p> - -<p>The President and Council of Aeria found themselves at last -confronted and baffled by an enemy who could neither be seen -nor reached in his hiding-place, wherever it might be, beneath -the surface of the waters. Thousands of lives had been sacrificed, -and treasure in millions had been lost by the end of the -first year of what men had now come to call the New Terror.</p> - -<p>New fleets of submarine cruisers were built and held in -readiness in all the great ports of the world, and these scoured -the ocean depths in all directions with no further result than -the swift and silent annihilation of vessel after vessel by some -power which struck irresistibly out of the darkness and then -vanished the moment that the blow had been delivered.</p> - -<p>As yet, however, no enemy appeared on land or in the -air, nor were any tidings heard of the lost <em>Ithuriel</em>, or her -captain and lieutenant. The Aerians had replaced her with -ten almost identical vessels and had raised the strength of -their navy to two hundred and fifty vessels, one hundred of -which were kept in readiness in Aeria, while the other -hundred and fifty were distributed in small squadrons at -twenty-four stations, half of which were in the Western -hemisphere and half in the Eastern.</p> - -<p>The submarine warfare had now practically ceased. Nearly -two hundred vessels belonging to Aeria, Britain, and America, -had been captured or destroyed by an enemy which at the -period at which this portion of the narrative opens was as -supreme throughout the realm of the waters as the Aerians -were in the air. To the menace of the air-ships this hidden -foe replied by severing all the oceanic cables and paralysing -the communication of the world save overland and through -the air.</p> - -<p>Thus, at the end of six years after the capture of the -<em>Ithuriel</em> by Olga Romanoff more than half the work of those -who had brought peace on earth after the Armageddon of 1904 -had been undone. All over the world, not even excepting in -Aeria, men lived in a state of constant anxiety and apprehension,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> -not knowing where or how their invisible enemy would -strike them next.</p> - -<p>The Masters of the World were supreme no longer, for a -new power had arisen which, within the limits of the seas, had -proved itself stronger than they were. Communication -between continent and continent had almost ceased, save -where the Aerian air-ships were employed. In six short -years the peace of the world had been destroyed and the -stability of society shaken.</p> - -<p>Among the nations of Anglo-Saxondom the change had -manifested itself by a swift decadence into the worst forms -of unbridled democracy. Men’s minds were unhinged, and -the most extravagant opinions found acceptance.</p> - -<p>Parliaments had already been made annual and were fast -sinking into machines for registering the ever-changing -opinions of rival factions and their leaders. Sovereigns -and presidents were little better than popular puppets existing -on sufferance. In short, all that Paul Romanoff had -prophesied was coming to pass more rapidly than even he had -expected so far as the area of the Anglo-Saxon Federation was -concerned.</p> - -<p>In the Moslem Empire affairs were different, but no less -threatening. The Sultan Khalid the Magnificent, as he was -justly styled by his admirers, saw clearly that the time must -come when this mysterious enemy would emerge from the -waters and attempt the conquest of the land, and for three -years past he had been manufacturing weapons and forming -armies against the day of battle which he considered inevitable, -and which he longed for rather than dreaded.</p> - -<p>Thus, while Anglo-Saxondom was lapsing into the anarchy -of unrestrained democracy, the Moslem monarch was preparing -to take advantage of the issue of events which, skilfully turned -to account, might one day make him master of the world.</p> - -<p>Such was the condition of affairs throughout the world on -the 1st of May 2036, and then the long-expected came in -strange and terrible shape. At midnight a blaze of light was -seen far up in the sky over the city of Aeria. A moment later<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -something that must have been a small block of metal fell -from a tremendous height in the square in the centre of the -city, and was shivered to fragments by the force of its fall.</p> - -<p>On the splintered pavement where it fell was found a little -roll of parchment addressed to the President. It was taken to -him, and he opened it and read these words:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>To Alan Arnold, President of Aeria.</p> - -<p>If you want your son Alan and his friend Alexis, go and look for them on an -island which you will find near the intersection of the 40th parallel of south -latitude and the 120th meridian of west longitude in the South Pacific. They -have served my turn, and I have done with them. Perhaps they will be able -to tell you how I have conquered the Empire of the Sea. Before long I shall -have wrested the Empire of the Air from you as well.</p> - -<p class="marginrightindent"><span class="smcap">Olga Romanoff.</span></p></blockquote> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_098.jpg" width="350" height="59" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER IX.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE FLIGHT OF THE “REVENGE.”</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_a.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-A">ASTOUNDING, almost stupefying, as were the -tidings conveyed by this letter, which had -dropped like a veritable bolt from the blue, the -challenge contained in the last sentence and the -ominous name with which it was signed were -matters of infinitely greater and more instant -importance.</p> - -<p>Alan Arnold was the responsible President of Aeria first -and a father afterwards. He lost not a moment in speculating -upon the strange fate of his son and first-born. The safety -not only of Aeria, but of the world, demanded his first attention, -and he gave it.</p> - -<p>Crushing the missive in his hand he took two swift strides -to a telephone in the wall of the room in which he had -received the message from the skies and delivered several -rapid orders through it. If they had been the words of a -demi-god instead of those of a man their effects could scarcely -have been more instantaneous or marvellous.</p> - -<p>On a hundred mountain-peaks all round the great valley of -Aeria enormous lights blazed out simultaneously, <a id="Ref_83"></a>flinging long -streams of radiance, dazzling and intense, for miles into the -sky towards all points of the compass, and at the same moment -fifty air-ships soared up from their stations all round the -mountains, flashing their search-lights ahead and astern in all -directions.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_83" class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/i_100.jpg" width="600" height="419" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">Flinging long Streams of Radiance for Miles into the Sky.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_83">Page 83</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was a scene of unearthly wonder and magnificence, a -scene such as could only have been made possible by the -triumphant genius of a race of men, heirs of all the best that -earth could give them, who had turned the favour of circumstance -to the utmost advantage.</p> - -<p>Three minutes sufficed for the aerial cruisers to clear the -mountains, and as they did so the wide-sweeping rays of fifty -search-lights, assisted by the blazing orbs which crowned -every mountain-peak, illuminated the darkness for many miles -outside the valley. In the midst of the sea of light thus projected -through the semi-darkness of the starlit heavens the -flying shape of an air-ship was detected speeding away to the -south-eastward.</p> - -<p>Instantly the prows of the whole squadron were turned -towards her, and the first aerial race in the history of the -world began. The pursuing air-ships spread themselves out -in a huge semicircle, at the extremities of which were the two -swiftest vessels in the fleet, almost exact counterparts of the -lost <em>Ithuriel</em>. One of these bore the same name as the stolen -flag-ship, and the other had been named the <em>Ariel</em>, after the -first vessel built by Richard Arnold, the conqueror of the air, -a hundred and thirty-two years before.</p> - -<p>These two vessels carried ten guns each, and were capable -of a maximum speed of five hundred miles an hour, the -highest velocity that it had so far been found possible to -attain. The others were somewhat smaller craft, mounting -eight guns each, and capable of a speed of about four hundred -miles an hour. The chase, either because she could not travel -faster or for some hidden reason, allowed the pursuing squadron -to gain upon her until she was only some five miles ahead of -its two foremost vessels, which were travelling at the highest -speed attainable by the whole flotilla.</p> - -<p>She showed no lights, and so in order to keep her in view it -was necessary for her pursuers to keep their search-lights -constantly sweeping the skies ahead of them, lest they should -lose sight of her in the semi-darkness.</p> - -<p>This placed the Aerian fleet at a serious disadvantage, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -very soon became apparent, for before the pursuit had lasted an -hour the chase opened fire with her stern guns and shell after -shell charged with some terrific explosive began bursting along -the line of the pursuing squadron, producing fearful concussions -in the atmosphere, and causing the pursuers to rock and toss -in the shaken air like ships on a stormy sea.</p> - -<p>The <em>Ithuriel</em> and the <em>Ariel</em>, at the two extremities of the -semicircle, replied with a rapid converging fire from their -bow guns in the hope of reaching the now invisible chase. -All the projectiles were, of course, time-shells, but the speed -at which the vessels were travelling not only made the aim -hopeless, but caused such an in-rush of air into the muzzles -of the guns that the projectiles, checked in their course -through the barrels, flew wild and exploded at random, often -in dangerous proximity to the vessels themselves.</p> - -<p>Hence, after about a dozen shots had been fired, the commanders -of the two vessels found themselves compelled to -cease firing, and to trust to speed alone to overtake the enemy. -On the other hand, this disadvantage to them was all in favour -of the chase, which was able to work her two stern guns -without the slightest impediment. Before long she got the -range of her pursuers, and at last a shell burst fairly under -one of the smaller vessels. A brilliant flash of light, blue as -the lightning-bolt, illuminated her for an instant, and in that -instant her companions saw her stop and shiver like a stricken -bird in mid-air, and then plunge downwards like a stone to -the earth.</p> - -<p>Olga Romanoff, standing on the deck of what had once been -the <em>Ithuriel</em>, flag-ship of the Aerian fleet, and now renamed -the <em>Revenge</em>, saw this catastrophe, as the others had done, -through her night-glasses. She lowered them from her eyes, -and said to a dark-eyed, black-haired young fellow, who was -commanding the gun that had done the execution—</p> - -<p>“Bravo, Boris Lossenski! Did you sight that gun?”</p> - -<p>Boris drew himself up and saluted, saying—</p> - -<p>“Yes, Majesty, I did.”</p> - -<p>“Then for that you shall be a Prince henceforth, and if you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -can bring another down you shall command an air-ship of your -own when this fight is over.”</p> - -<p>Boris saluted again, and ordered the gun to be reloaded. -Before it could be discharged a shell from the port gun, which -had been fired as Olga spoke, struck another of the Aerian -vessels square on the fore-quarter. The flash of the exploding -projectile was almost instantaneously followed by the outburst -of a vast dazzling mass of flame which illumined for the -instant the whole scene of the aerial battle.</p> - -<p>The air-ship with all its cargo of explosives blew up like -one huge shell, and the frightful concussion of the atmosphere -induced by the explosion hurled the two vessels that were -close on either side of her like feathers into space, turning -them completely over and flinging them to the earth six -thousand feet below. A few moments later they struck the -ground simultaneously, two great spouts of flame shot up -from the spots where they struck, and when the darkness -closed over them again four of the pursuing squadron had been -annihilated.</p> - -<p>“Better still, Levin Ostroff!” cried Olga, as she saw -the awful effects of this last shot. “For that you too shall -be a Prince of the Empire and command an air-ship on -our next expedition. Now, Boris, let us see if you can beat -that!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Majesty,” said Boris again, knitting his brows and -clenching his teeth in anger at his rival’s superior success. He -glanced along the line of the pursuers and saw four of the -Aerian squadron flying close together. He brought the gun -to bear upon the two inner ones, took careful aim, and -despatched the projectile on its errand of destruction. The -moment he had released it he said to the two men who were -working under him—</p> - -<p>“Load again, quickly!”</p> - -<p>The command was instantly obeyed, and scarcely had the -explosion of the first blazed out than a second shell was sent -after it. The very firmament seemed split in twain by the -frightful results of the two well-aimed shots, each of which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -had found its mark on the two inner vessels with fatal -accuracy.</p> - -<p>Great sheets of flame leapt out in all directions from the -focus of the explosion, and in the midst of their dazzling -radiance those on board the <em>Revenge</em> saw the two outside air-ships -of the four roll over and dive head foremost into the -dark abyss below them. They struck the earth as the others -had done, and vanished into annihilation in the midst of the -momentary mist of fire.</p> - -<p>This last catastrophe made it plain to the commanders of -the <em>Ithuriel</em> and the <em>Ariel</em> that to continue the chase under -such conditions meant the destruction in detail of all the -smaller ships of the squadron. Those on board the <em>Revenge</em> -saw signals rapidly flash from one end of the line, and instantaneously -answered from the other end.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said Olga. “My Lords of the Air seem to have had -enough of it for the present. Look, the small fry are falling -to the rear; our reception has been a little too hot for them. -I wonder what they are going to do now. Cease firing, and -let us watch them. You two gunners have done gloriously -and earned quite enough laurels for your first battle.”</p> - -<p>It soon became evident that the Aerians had decided to -send their smaller craft back. From the speed of the <em>Revenge</em>, -and the terrible accuracy and destructiveness of her guns, the -commanders of the squadron were now convinced that she was -either the lost <em>Ithuriel</em>, or some vessel even superior to her, -built upon the same plan.</p> - -<p>This being so, to have continued the pursuit under such -conditions with the smaller craft would simply have been to -court destruction for them in detail. It was impossible for -them to use their guns effectively at the speed at which they -were travelling, while, as had been so terribly proved, the chase -could use hers with perfect ease.</p> - -<p>The flying fight could thus only result under present -conditions in the ignominious defeat of the squadron by the -single vessel as long as she was able to keep ahead. The -only hope of success lay, therefore, in a trial of speed and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -manœuvring skill between her and the <em>Ithuriel</em> and <em>Ariel</em>, so -orders were flashed to the smaller vessels to return to Aeria -with the mournful tidings of the destruction of eight of their -number.</p> - -<p>As they vanished into the darkness behind, Olga divined -instantly the tactics that were to be adopted. She saw the -converging search-lights of the two remaining air-ships begin -to glow brighter and brighter in the rear of the <em>Revenge</em>, -proving that they had increased their speed.</p> - -<p>“So, it is going to be a race, is it!” she said, half to herself. -“Well, we will see if we can lead them into the trap. How -fast are we going, Boris?”</p> - -<p>He went to the engine-room, and returned saying—</p> - -<p>“Four hundred miles an hour, Majesty.”</p> - -<p>“Make it five,” replied Olga.</p> - -<p>He saluted, and transmitted the order to the engineer. -The lights of the pursuers immediately began to recede again, -then they seemed to stop.</p> - -<p>“That will do!” said Olga. “They have reached the limit -of their speed. Keep to the southward, and see that they come -no nearer.”</p> - -<p>The three air-ships were, in fact, now travelling at their -utmost speed. If anything, the advantage was slightly in -favour of the <em>Revenge</em>, thanks to the high efficiency of the -motive-power which had been applied to her in accordance -with the directions left by Olga’s father, and transmitted in -the will of Paul Romanoff.</p> - -<p>So all the rest of the night and on into the next day -pursuers and pursued sped on with fearful velocity through -the air. They passed over Africa and out above the ocean, -and still on and on they swept until the Southern Sea was -crossed and the mighty ice-barrier that fences in the South -Pole gleamed out white upon the horizon.</p> - -<p>This was passed, and still they rushed on over the dreary -wastes of Antarctica. The pole was crossed along the 40th -meridian, and then they swept northward until the smoke-cloud -that crowned the crest of Mount Erebus rose above the snow-clouds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> -that hid the earth. The <em>Revenge</em> headed straight towards -this and swept over it, followed at a distance of about -ten miles by her pursuers.</p> - -<p>Then with a mighty upward sweep she leapt two thousand -feet higher still, came to equilibrium, and discharged a shell -downwards on to the ice. The explosion was answered by the -rising of a flotilla of air-ships, which seemed to have sprung -out of the bowels of the earth.</p> - -<p>Thirty vessels as large as herself rose simultaneously -through the clouds and spread themselves out in a wide circle -round the two Aerian vessels, which thus found themselves -surrounded by an overwhelming force and dominated by the -<em>Revenge</em> floating far above them with her ten guns pointed -down upon them.</p> - -<p>To an observer so placed as to be able to command a view -of the situation it would have seemed that nothing short of -the surrender or annihilation of the <em>Ithuriel</em> and the <em>Ariel</em> -could have been the outcome of it.</p> - -<p>So evidently thought Olga and those in command of the -Russian aerial fleet, for, although for one brief instant the -two Aerian vessels lay at their mercy, they failed to take -advantage of it, and in losing this one precious moment they -reckoned without the superior skill and perfect control of their -air-ships possessed by those of whom they thought to make an -easy prey.</p> - -<p>What really happened took place with such stupefying -suddenness that they were taken completely off their guard. -The <em>Ithuriel</em> and the <em>Ariel</em> lay end on to each other in the -midst of the circle of their enemies. Each mounted ten guns, -and of these every one was available. The crews of both -vessels, trained by constant practice to the highest point of -efficiency, knew exactly what to do without so much as an -order being given.</p> - -<p>Automatically the twenty guns were trained in the twinkling -of an eye, each on a Russian vessel, and discharged simultaneously. -A moment later the two vessels sank like stones -through the thick clouds below them; and while the heavens<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -above were shaken with the combined explosions of the -twenty projectiles, each of which had found its mark with -unerring accuracy, they had regained their equilibrium a -thousand feet from the surface of the ice, and darted away -full speed northward.</p> - -<p>To such a fearful pitch of efficiency had their guns and -projectiles been brought that, while the aim was unerring if -once a fair sight was obtained, nothing shaped by human -hands could withstand the impact of their shells without -destruction. Twenty out of the thirty vessels of the Russian -fleet collapsed, and, as it were, shrivelled up under the frightful -energy of the Aerian projectiles. Twenty masses of flame -blazed out over the grey surface of the cloud-sea, and in -another moment the fragments of the vessels it had taken so -many months of labour and such wondrous skill to construct -were lying scattered far and wide over the snow and ice of the -Antarctic desert.</p> - -<p>The awful suddenness with which this destruction had -been accomplished deprived Olga and her subordinates of all -power of thought for the moment. They heard the roar of the -explosions, and saw a mist of flame burst out round them as -though all the fires of Mount Erebus had broken loose at once, -and then came the silence of speechless horror and stupefaction. -It was more like the work of omnipotent fiends than of -men. The bolts of heaven themselves could have done nothing -like it.</p> - -<p>Then the moment of the shock passed, and those who -survived remembered what they ought never to have forgotten—that, -armed as they were with weapons which under favourable -circumstances were absolutely irresistible, the first shot -meant victory for those who fired it, and destruction for their -enemies. Odds of mere numbers went for nothing, for each -air-ship was equal to ten others provided she could send her -ten projectiles home first, and this is just what had happened.</p> - -<p>All this had passed in a twentieth of the time that it -has taken to describe it, and by the time Olga and her subordinates -grasped the extent of the calamity that had overtaken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -them the two Aerian vessels, darting through the air at five -hundred miles an hour, had swept far out of range of their -guns, and were moreover so hidden by the cloud-sea, that they -had no idea which course they had taken.</p> - -<p>Olga stamped her foot upon the deck, and, in a paroxysm -of unrestrained passion, literally screamed with rage as she -ordered the <em>Revenge</em> to sink below the clouds. Less than two -minutes sufficed for the remains of the fleet, that had been -thirty-one strong five minutes before and now only numbered -eleven vessels, to sink through the clouds.</p> - -<p>A rapid glance round showed them the <em>Ithuriel</em> and the -<em>Ariel</em>, tiny specks far out over the waste of snow and ice, -speeding away to the northward. To give chase was out of -the question, for scarcely had they sighted them than they -vanished as completely as though they had melted into the -atmosphere; and so Olga signalled for her remaining vessels -to proceed to their secret haven in the snowy solitudes of the -South, while the <em>Ithuriel</em> and her consort sped onward on their -homeward voyage, to carry the news of the terrible vengeance -that they had taken for the destruction of the eight air-ships -which had been annihilated by the guns of the <em>Revenge</em>.</p> - -<p>Twenty hours sufficed for the two Aerian vessels to pass -over a quarter of the earth’s circumference, and carry their -tidings of vengeance and victory to Aeria, and shortly after -noon on the day but one after Olga had dropped her challenge -from the skies, a meeting of the Ruling Council was held at -the President’s house in order to consider the startling and -pregnant events which had taken place, and to determine the -plan of the war which, after a hundred and thirty years of -unquestioned supremacy, they were now called upon to wage -not only for the mastery of the world, but for the very lives -and liberties of the citizens of Aeria.</p> - -<p>It had of course been impossible to conceal from the -inhabitants of the valley the gravity of the startling events -which had taken place in such rapid succession, nor did the -President and Council consider any such concealment desirable. -There were no demagogues and no politics in Aeria, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -therefore there was no need for any State secrets save those -which contained the essentials of aerial navigation.</p> - -<p>There was also no fear of panic in a community which -contained no ignorant or criminal classes, and so, while the -Council was sitting, the strange tidings were promulgated -throughout the length and breadth of the valley. Marvellous -and disquieting as they were they yet gave rise to very few -external signs of excitement. They were gravely, earnestly, -and even anxiously discussed, for they brought with them a -prophecy of calamities to come, the probability of whose realisation -was too plain to be ignored.</p> - -<p>But ever since the days of the Terror each generation of -Aerians had been carefully trained to recognise the fact that -the progress of science and the restlessness of human invention -in the world outside their borders must, sooner or later, produce -some challenge to their supremacy and some attempt to -dispute with them the Empire of the Air. Now, after four -generations—in spite of all the elaborate precautions that had -been taken, the stringent laws that had been enacted and more -than once mercilessly enforced—the crisis had come.</p> - -<p>It was now impossible to doubt that by some means, which -so far seemed almost superhuman, the flag-ship of their fleet -had been stolen, and the son of the President kidnapped with -his greatest friend. More than this, the news brought back by -the <em>Ithuriel</em> and the <em>Ariel</em> proved beyond all doubt that means -had been found to build a large fleet of aerial warships without -even arousing the suspicions of the Council. And, worst and -most sinister sign of all, there was also the fact, proved by -Olga’s letter to the President, that the moving spirit in this -defiant revolt against the supremacy of Aeria was one who -bore the ill-omened and still hated name of Romanoff.</p> - -<p>As has been said, there was no panic that night in Aeria, -but still many a man and woman anxiously asked, either aloud -or in his or her own soul, whether in the mysterious revolution -of human affairs it might not be about to come to pass that -she who had wrought this apparent miracle might not yet be -able to avenge the terrible fate of her ancestor, the Last of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -the Tsars. Then, with this thought came a universal revulsion -of horror at the prospect of such a crime against humanity and -a deep resolve to exact the penalty for it to the uttermost.</p> - -<p>If war was to be brought once more upon the earth, those -who brought it would find Aeria worthy of its splendid traditions -and ready, if necessary, to reconquer the earth as the -founders of its empire had done in the Armageddon of 1904. -Fierce as that mighty struggle had been, its horrors would -pale before those of a conflict in which conquest would mean -extermination, for if Aeria was forced once more to draw the -sword it would not be sheathed until there was peace again on -earth, even if that peace were to be but the silence of universal -desolation.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_111.jpg" width="350" height="54" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER X.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">STRANGE TIDINGS TO AERIA.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_t.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-T">THE sitting of the Council lasted until nightfall, -and just as the western mountains were throwing -their huge shadows over the lovely valley, two -more air-ships passed between two of the southward -peaks and alighted in the great square in -the centre of the city. They were the two vessels which had -been sent to the island indicated in Olga’s letter to bring back -the long-lost Alan and Alexis.</p> - -<p>It would be vain to attempt to describe the feelings with -which the President and the father of Alexis went, as they -thought, to receive their sons, but the air-ships had returned -without them, and in their stead they brought a written message -which conveyed tidings no less strange and startling than -those brought from Antarctica by the <em>Ithuriel</em> and her -consort.</p> - -<p>It was a letter from Alan to his father, and as soon as he -received it from the captain of one of the air-ships, who had -found it nailed to a tree on the island, he took his friend into -his library, and there the two fathers read it together.</p> - -<p>After briefly but circumstantially recounting the capture of -the flag-ship by Olga by means of her subtle drugs, and showing -how, by using the power they gave her, she had kept them in -mental slavery for years, forcing them to employ their skill and -knowledge in aiding her to build her aerial and submarine fleets -out of the spoils of the destroyed ocean transports, from which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -the latter had taken an incalculable amount of treasure, Alan’s -letter concluded thus:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>I will now tell you the reason why Alexis and myself have not waited for the -air-ship which we knew you would send for us as soon as you received the -message which Olga Romanoff told us she would despatch to you. We consider -that by our weakness and folly—or, in truth, I should rather say mine, for it -was I who invited these treacherous guests on board the <em>Ithuriel</em>—we have not -only brought endless calamities upon the world, but we have also forfeited our -right to the citizenship of Aeria.</p> - -<p>What the judgment of the Council would be upon us I don’t know, but we -are resolved that, whatever it might have been, you and Alexis’s father shall be -spared the sorrow of pronouncing sentence upon your own sons. Some day -perhaps we may win at least the right to plead our cause before you. At present -we have none, and until we have won it you shall not see us again unless you -capture us by force.</p> - -<p>We were sent here in the <em>Narwhal</em>, the swiftest and most powerful vessel -of the Russian submarine fleet. Only a few days ago an accident revealed to -Alexis for the first time during our long mental slavery the means which this -woman, who is as beautiful as an angel and as merciless as a fiend, had used to -keep us in subjection. We took the utmost care to give her no suspicion of his -discovery, and although we drank no more of her poison we acted exactly as -though we were still under its influence.</p> - -<p>In what could only have been mockery she gave us back our belts and -coronets, bidding us wear them “when we returned to our kingdom,” as she put -it. We shall never wear the winged circlets again till we have regained the -right to do so, but the belts and a couple of brace of magazine pistols which we -took before we left her stronghold in Antarctica stood us in good stead.</p> - -<p>We have killed the crew of the <em>Narwhal</em>, and taken possession of her. She -is far swifter and more powerful than any vessel in our submarine navy, for she -can be driven at a hundred and fifty miles an hour through the water, and can -destroy anything that floats in or on the sea with a blow of her ram, and, more -than this, she carries a torpedo battery which has an effective range of two miles, -and can strike and destroy anything within that distance without giving the -slightest warning of her presence.</p> - -<p>There are fifty vessels of this type in the Russian fleet, but the <em>Narwhal</em> is -at least thirty miles an hour faster than any of them. An attack will probably -be made by the Russians on our station at Kerguelen Island within a week by -submarine vessels and a small squadron of air-ships, and there we shall begin -our operations against the enemy. If you have any reply to make to this letter -we will wait for it at sea off Kerguelen, and then begin the campaign we have -planned. We shall never rest until we have either destroyed the Russian fleet -in detail or have died in the attempt to do so.</p> - -<p>If we ever return it will be to restore to you the supremacy of the sea, and -then, and not till then, we will ask you to pardon our fault and will willingly -submit to such further conditions as you may see fit to impose upon us before -you give us back—if ever you do—the rights which we have lost.</p> - -<p>With all love and duty to yourself, and loving remembrances to the dear -ones in Aeria, your son</p> - -<p class="marginrightindent"><span class="smcap">Alan</span>.</p></blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span></p> - -<p>At the foot of the letter was a postscript signed by Alexis, -indorsing all that Alan had said, save with regard to his sole -responsibility for the calamity that had ensued from the -admission of Olga and Serge on board the <em>Ithuriel</em>.</p> - -<p>The two fathers discussed the strange, and, to them, most -affecting communication for nearly an hour in private, and -then another meeting of the Council was called to consider it -and pronounce authoritatively upon it. The President read -the letter aloud in a voice which betrayed no trace of the deep -emotion that moved his inmost being, and then left the Council -chamber with Maurice Masarov, so that their presence might -not embarrass their colleagues.</p> - -<p>The simple, manly straightforwardness of Alan’s letter -appealed far more eloquently to the Council than excuses or -prayers for forgiveness would have done. It was plain, too, -that after the first indiscretion of taking the strangers on board -the air-ship, no moral responsibility or blame could be laid on -Alan and Alexis for what they had done under the influence of a -drug which had paralysed their moral sense.</p> - -<p>The Council, therefore, not only accepted the conditions of -the letter, but without a dissentient voice, agreed to confer the -first and second commands of the Aerian submarine fleets and -stations for the time being upon Alan and Alexis, with permission -to call in the aid of the nearest aerial squadron when -necessary. This decision was despatched forthwith by an air-ship -to Kerguelen, and within an hour all Aeria was talking of -nothing else than the strange fate of the two youths who for -five years had been mourned as dead.</p> - -<p>Later on that evening, when the twin snow-clad peaks which -towered high above the city of Aeria had lost the pink afterglow -of the departed sunlight, and were beginning to gleam -with a whiter radiance in the level beams of the newly-risen -moon, a girl was standing on the spacious terrace of a marble -villa which stood on the summit of a rounded eminence a couple -of miles from the western verge of the city.</p> - -<p>She had just crossed the threshold of womanhood. The -next sun that would rise would be that of her twentieth birthday.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -Yet for two years she had worn the silver circle and -crystal wings, for in Aeria a girl became of legal age at eighteen, -though she took no share in the civil life of the community until -she was married, an event which, as a rule, took place not long -after she was invested with the symbol of citizenship.</p> - -<p>It was an exceedingly rare event for an Aerian girl to reach -the eve of her twentieth year unmarried, for the sexes in the -Central-African paradise were very evenly balanced, and, as -was natural in a very high state of civilisation, where families -seldom exceeded three or four children, celibacy in either sex -was looked upon as a public misfortune and a private reproach.</p> - -<p>But Alma Tremayne, the girl who was standing on the -terrace of her father’s house on this most eventful evening, had -become an exception to the rule through circumstances so sad -and strange that her loneliness was an honour rather than a -reproach. There were many of the wearers of the golden wings -who had sought long and ardently to win her from the allegiance -which forbade her to look with favouring eyes upon any of -them.</p> - -<p>She was beautiful in a land where all women were fair, a land -where, under the most favourable conditions that could be conceived, -a race of almost more than human strength and beauty -had been evolved, and she came of a family scarcely second in -honour even to that of the President, for she was the direct -descendant in the fifth generation of Alan Tremayne, first -President of the Anglo-Saxon Federation, through his son Cyril -born two years after the daughter who had married the first-born -son of Natasha and Richard Arnold.</p> - -<p>More than five years before she and Alan had plighted their -boy-and-girl troth on the eve of his departure on the fateful -voyage from which he had never returned, and of which no tidings -had reached Aeria until a few hours before. To the simple -vow which her girlish lips had then spoken she had remained -steadfast even when, as the years went by and still no tidings -came of her lost lover, she, in common with her own kindred, -had begun to mourn him as dead.</p> - -<p>It is true that she was in love rather with a memory than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -with a man, yet with some natures such a love as this is stronger -than any other, more ideal and more lasting, and exempt from -the danger of growing cold in fruition. So strong was the hold -that this ideal love had taken upon her being that the idea of -even accepting the love and homage of any other man appeared -as sacrilegious to her as the embrace of an earthly lover would -have seemed to a nun of the Middle Ages.</p> - -<p>And so, with a single companion in her solitary state, she -stood aside and watched with patient, unregretful eyes the -wedded happiness of her more fortunate friends. This companion -was Isma Arnold, Alan’s sister, who had a double reason -for doing as Alma had done.</p> - -<p>Not only had she resolved never to marry while her brother’s -fate remained uncertain, but she, too, had also made her choice -among the youths of Aeria, and in such matters an Aerian girl -seldom chose twice. So she waited for Alexis as Alma did for -Alan, hoping even against her convictions, and keeping his -memory undefiled in the sacred shrine of her maiden soul.</p> - -<p>No artist could have dreamed of a fairer picture than Alma -standing there on the terrace overlooking the stately city and -the dark shining lake at her feet. She was clad in soft, clinging -garments of whitest linen and finest silk of shimmering, pearly -grey, edged with a dainty embroidery of gold and silver thread.</p> - -<p>Her dress, confined at the waist with a girdle of interlinked -azurine and gold, clothed without concealing the beauties of -her perfect form, and her hair, crowned by her crystal-winged -coronet, flowed unrestrained, after the custom of the maidens of -Aeria, over her shoulders in long and lustrous waves of dusky -brown. There was a shadow in the great deep grey eyes which -looked up as though in mute appeal to the starlight, the shadow -of a sorrow which can never come to a woman more than once.</p> - -<p>All these years she had loved in cheerful patience and -perfect faith the man for whose memory she had lived in maiden -widowhood—and now, who could measure the depth of the -darkness, darker than the shadow of death itself, that had fallen -across her life, severing the past from the present with a chasm -that seemed impassable, and leaving the future but a barren,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> -loveless waste to be trodden by her in weariness and loneliness -until the end!</p> - -<p>All these years she had loved an ideal man, one of her own -splendid race, the very chosen of the earth, as pure in his unblemished -manhood as she was in the stainless maidenhood that -she had held so sacred for his sake even while she thought him -dead—and, lo! the years had passed, and he had come back to -life, but how? Hers was not the false innocence of ignorance. -She knew the evil and the good, and because she knew both -shrank from contamination with the horror born of knowledge.</p> - -<p>She had seen both Olga’s letter and Alan’s, and those two -terrible sentences, “They have served my turn, and I have done -with them,” and “She is as beautiful as an angel and as merciless -as a fiend,” kept ringing their fatal changes through her -brain in pitiless succession, forcing all the revolting possibilities -of their meaning into her tortured soul till her reason seemed to -reel under their insupportable stress.</p> - -<p>Mocking voices spoke to her out of the night, and told her -of the unholy love that such a woman would, in the plenitude -of her unnatural power, have for such a man; how she would -subdue him, and make him not only her lover but her slave; -how she would humble his splendid manhood, and play with -him until her evil fancy was sated, and then cast him aside—as -she had done—like a toy of which she had tired.</p> - -<p>Better a thousand times that he had died as his murdered -comrades had died—in the northern snowdrift into which this -Syren of the Skies had cast them, to sleep the sleep that knew -neither dreams nor waking! Better for him and her that he -had gone before her into the shadows, and had remained her -ideal love until, hand in hand, they could begin their lives anew -upon a higher plane of existence.</p> - -<p>As these thoughts passed and repassed through her mind -with pitiless persistence, her lovely face grew rigid and white -under the starlight, and, but for the nervous twining and -untwining of her fingers as her hands clasped and unclasped -behind her, her motionless form might have been carved out of -stone. For the first time since peace had been proclaimed on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> -earth, a hundred and thirty-two years ago, the flames of war -had burst forth again, and for the first time in the story of her -race the snake had entered the now no longer enchanted Eden -of Aeria.</p> - -<p>It was hers to suffer the first real agony of soul that any -woman of her people had passed through since Natasha, in the -palm-grove down yonder by the lake, had told Richard Arnold -of her love on the night that he had received the Master’s -command to take her to another man to be his wife.</p> - -<p>There were no tears in the fixed, wide-open eyes that stared -almost sightlessly up to the skies, in which the stars were now -paling in the growing light of the moon. The torment of her -torturing thoughts was too great for that.</p> - -<p>She was growing blind and dizzy under the merciless stress -of them, when—it might have been just in time to save her from -the madness that seemed the only outcome of her misery—the -sweet, silvery tones of a girl’s voice floated through the still, -scented air uttering her name—</p> - -<p>“Alma!”</p> - -<p>The sound mercifully recalled her wandering senses in an -instant. It was the voice of her friend, of the sister of her -now doubly-lost lover, and it reproved the selfishness of her -great sorrow by reminding her that she was not suffering alone. -As the sound of her name reached her ear the rigidity of her -form relaxed, the light came back to her eyes, and turning her -head she looked in the direction whence it came.</p> - -<p>There was a soft whirring of wings in the still air of the -tropic night, and out of the half-darkness floated a shape that -looked like a realisation of one of the Old-World fairy-tales. It -was a vessel some twenty-five feet long by five wide, built of -white, polished metal, and shaped something like an old Norse -galley, with its high, arching prow fashioned like the breast and -neck of a swan.</p> - -<p>From the sides projected a pair of wide, rapidly-undulating -wings, and in the open space between these stood on the floor -of the boat the figure of a girl whose loose, golden hair floated -out behind her with the rapid motion of her fairy craft.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p> - -<p>There was no need for words of greeting between the two -girl friends. Alma knew the kindly errand on which Isma had -come, and as she stepped out she went towards her with hands -outstretched in silent welcome.</p> - -<p>As their hands met, and the two girls stood face to face, -motionless for a moment, they made an exquisite contrast of -opposite types of womanly beauty—Alma tall and stately, with -a proudly-carried head, clear, pale skin, grey eyes, and perfectly -regular features, and Isma, a year younger and a good inch -shorter, slender of form yet strong and lithe of limb, with -golden, silky hair and sunny-blue eyes, fresh, rosy skin, and -mobile features which scarcely ever seemed to wear the same -expression for a couple of minutes together—as sweet a daughter -of delight as ever man could look upon with eyes of love and -longing.</p> - -<p>But she was grave enough now, for her friend’s sorrow was -hers too, and its shadow lay with equal darkness upon her. -The ready tears welled up under her dark lashes as she looked -upon Alma’s white, drawn face and dry, burning eyes, and her -low, sweet voice was broken by a sob as, passing her arm round -her waist, she drew her towards the boat and said—</p> - -<p>“Come, dear, this sorrow belongs to me as well as you and -we must help each other to bear it. I have brought my new -boat so that we can take a flight round the valley and talk -about it quietly. If two heads are better than one, so are two -hearts.”</p> - -<p>Alma’s only reply to the invitation was a sad, sweet smile, -and a gentle caress, but the welcome, loving sympathy had -come when it was most sorely needed, and so she got into the -aerial boat with Isma, and a few moments later the beautiful -craft was bearing them at an easy speed southward down the -valley.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XI.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE SNAKE IN EDEN.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_n.jpg" width="78" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-N">NO more perfect place could have been imagined -for an exchange of confidences and sympathy -between two girls situated as Alma and Isma -were than the oval, daintily-cushioned interior -of the <em>Cygna</em>, as Isma had called her swan-prowed -craft.</p> - -<p>Skirting the mountains, at a distance of about five hundred -yards from them, and at a height of about as many feet from -the summits of the undulating foothills below, the <em>Cygna</em> sped -quietly along at a speed of some twenty-five miles an hour. -The temperature of the tropic night was so soft and warm, and -the air was so dry that it was not even necessary for them to -make use of the light wraps that lay in the stern of the boat.</p> - -<p>Isma reclined in the after part of the broad, low seat which -ran round the inside, with one hand resting lightly upon a little -silver lever which could be used for working the rudder-fan, in -addition to the tiller-ropes, which she held in her hands while -standing up. Alma sat almost upright amidships, with one -hand clasped on the rail of polished satin-wood which ran round -the well of the boat, her head turned away from Isma and her -eyes fixed upon two dim points of light far away to the southward, -which marked the position of the two moonlit, snowy -peaks which guarded the southern confines of the valley.</p> - -<p>For several minutes they proceeded thus in silence, which -neither seemed inclined to break. At length Isma looked up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> -at a planet that was shining redly over the northern mountains, -and, possessed by a sudden inspiration, said—</p> - -<p>“Look, Alma, there is Mars returning to our skies!”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Alma, turning round and gazing from beneath -her slightly-frowning brows at the ruddy planet; “it is a fitting -time for him to come back now that, after all these years of -peace and happiness, human wickedness and ambition have -brought the curse of war back again on earth.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Isma. “If there were anything in what the old -astrologers used to say we could look upon his rising as an omen. -And yet we have very little reason surely for taking as an -emblem of war a world in which wars have been unheard of -for thousands of years.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder when that time will come on earth?” said Alma -bitterly. “If ever it does! We terrestrials seem to be too -hopelessly wicked and foolish for such wisdom as that.</p> - -<p>“Mankind will never have a fairer opportunity of working -out its redemption than it had after the Terror, and yet here, -after four generations of peaceful happiness and prosperity, the -wickedness of one woman is able to set the world ablaze again. -Our forefathers were wise, but they would have been wiser still -if they had stamped that vile brood out utterly. Their evil -blood has been the one drop of venom that has poisoned the -whole world’s cup of happiness!”</p> - -<p>As Alma spoke these last words her grey eyes grew dark -with sudden passion under her straight-drawn brows. Her -breast heaved with a sudden wave of emotion, and the sentences -came quickly and fiercely from the lips which Isma had never -heard speak in anger before.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she replied, rather sadly than angrily, “perhaps it -would have been better for the world if they had done so, or, -at anyrate, if they had shut them up for life, as they did the -criminals and the insane in the middle of the last century. -But we must remember, even in our own sorrow and anger, -that this Olga Romanoff is in her way not altogether unlike -our own Angel was in hers.”</p> - -<p>“Surely you’re speaking sacrilege now!” interrupted Alma.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> -“How can the evil be like the good under any circumstances?”</p> - -<p>“No, I am not,” said Isma, with a smile. “Remember how -Natasha was trained up by the Master in undying hate of -Russian tyranny, and how she inherited the legacy of revenge -from her mother and him. No doubt this Olga has done the -same, and she has been taught to look upon us as the Terrorists -looked upon the Tsar and his family.</p> - -<p>“We are the descendants of those who flung her ancestor -from his throne, extinguished his dynasty, and sent him to die -in Siberia. I would kill her with my own hand if I could, and -believe that I was ridding the world of a curse, but surely we -two daughters of Aeria are wise enough to be just even to such -an enemy as she is.”</p> - -<p>“But she has done worse than kill us,” Alma almost hissed -between her clenched teeth. “If she had a thousand lives and -we took them one by one they would not expiate her crime -against us, or equal the hopeless misery that she has brought -upon us.</p> - -<p>“What is mere death, the swift transition from one stage -of existence to another, compared with the hopeless death-in-life -to which her wanton wickedness has condemned you and -me, or to the calamities which she has brought upon the world?”</p> - -<p>“It is nothing, I grant you,” said Isma. “But still I do -not agree with you about that hopeless death-in-life, as you -call it. Our present sorrow is great and heavy enough, God -knows, but for me at least it is not hopeless, nor will it be for -you when the first stress of the storm is over.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?” cried Alma, almost as fiercely as -before, and leaning forward and looking through the dusk into -her face as though she hardly credited her ears. “Do you mean -to say that either you or I could ever”—</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Isma, interrupting her, and speaking now with -eager animation. “Yes, I mean just what you were going to -say. And some day, I believe, you will think as I do.”</p> - -<p>Alma shook her head in mournful incredulity, and Isma -noticing the gesture went on—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes, you will! The reason that you do not agree with me -now is that yours is a deeper and stronger nature than mine. -You are like the sea, and I am like the lake. Your grief and -anger struck you dumb at first.</p> - -<p>“You were in a stupor when I found you on the terrace, -and now the depths of your nature are broken up and the -storm is raging, and until it is over you will see nothing but -your own sorrow and anger.</p> - -<p>“But with me the storm broke out at once, and I ran to my -room and threw myself upon my bed and sobbed and wailed -until my mother thought I was going mad. You have not -wept yet, and it will be well for you when you do. Your nature -is prouder than mine, and it will take longer to melt, but it -must melt some time, for we are both women, after all, and -then you will see hope through your tears, as I did.”</p> - -<p>Alma shook her head again, and said in a low, sad, steady -voice—</p> - -<p>“I can never see hope until I can see Alan as he was when -he left me, and you know that is impossible.”</p> - -<p>“You will never see him again as he was,” replied Isma -gently. “But that is no reason why you should not see him -better than he was.”</p> - -<p>“Better?” exclaimed Alma, with an involuntary note of -scorn in her voice, which brought a quick flush to Isma’s cheek, -and a flash into her eyes for her brother’s sake. “Better! How -can that be?”</p> - -<p>“Just as the man who has fallen and risen again of his own -native strength, is better and stronger than the man who has -never been tempted,” replied Isma almost hotly.</p> - -<p>“Remember the lessons we have learnt from the people of -Mars since we learnt to communicate with them. You know -how they have gone through civilisation after civilisation until -they have refined everything out of human nature that makes -it human except their animal existence and their intellectual -faculties.</p> - -<p>“They have no passions and they make no mistakes. What -we call love they call sexual suitability, the mechanical arrangement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> -into which they have refined our ruling passion. Do you -remember how almost impossible Vassilis, after he had perfected -the code of signals, found it to make even their brightest -and most advanced intellects understand the meaning of -jealousy?”</p> - -<p>The skilfully-aimed shot struck home instantly. A bright -wave of colour swept from Alma’s throat up to her brow. Her -eyes shone like two pale fires in the dusk, and her hand grasped -the rail on which it was resting till the bones and sinews stood -out distinct in it. She seemed to gasp for breath a moment -before she found her voice, but when she spoke her tone seemed -to ring and vibrate like a bell in the sudden strength of her -unloosed passion.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she said. “Yes, you innocent-looking little Isma! -You are wiser than I am after all. I did not know the -meaning of that word till Olga’s letter fell from the sky, but -I know it now. My God, how I hate that woman!”</p> - -<p>“She is not a woman,” replied Isma, speaking in the -unconscious pride of her pure descent. “She is a baseborn -animal, for she has used her beauty for the vilest ends, yet I -am glad to hear you say that you hate her for Alan’s sake, as I -do, and—and for Alexis’s. While you can hate you can love, -and some day you will love Alan—the real Alan, not your -ideal lover—all the better because you have hated Olga for his -sake.”</p> - -<p>“What?” almost wailed Alma, in the intensity of her anger -and misery. “After he has held her in his arms—after his -lips have kissed hers—after”—</p> - -<p>“Yes, even after that. When your first bitterness has -passed, as mine has, you will be more just, and remember the -influence under which he did so—if he did. Do you hold yourself -responsible for what you think or do in your dreams, or do -you not believe what Alan said in his letter about the drug? -You know too much about chemistry not to know that such -horrible poisons have existed for centuries.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes, I know that, and I know that he has no share in -the moral guilt; but how can I ever forget he has been what<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -those cruel words of Olga’s told us she had made of him?” -replied Alma, her face growing cold and hard again as she -spoke.</p> - -<p>“Alma,” said Isma, with gentle dignity, yet with a note of -keen reproach in her voice, “surely you are forgetting that you -are speaking of my brother as well as of your lover. No, I am -not angry, for I am too sad myself not to understand your -sorrow. But I want you to remember that I who have lost -both a lover and a brother am asking you to be patient and to -hope with me.</p> - -<p>“We have never seen Alan and Alexis as they are. We -only remember them as two handsome boys who had never -seen or known evil. When we meet them again, as I firmly -believe we shall, they will be men who have passed through -the fire; for if they do not pass through it and come out stronger -and better than they were, rest assured we shall never meet on -earth again.</p> - -<p>“Alan would no more come to you now than you would go -to him. When he believes himself worthy of you he will come -for you as Alexis will come for me, and then”—</p> - -<p>She stopped short in her eloquent pleading, for Alma, at -last melted and overcome by her sweet unselfishness and loving -logic, had felt the springs of her own woman’s nature unloosed, -and with a low, wailing cry had sunk down upon the cushions -towards her, and was sobbing out her sorrow on her lap. Isma -said nothing more, for her end was achieved. She laid her left -hand caressingly on Alma’s hair, and with her right she pulled -the steering-lever back and swung the <em>Cygna</em> round until her -prow pointed towards home again.</p> - -<p>When they reached the villa they found the President’s -private yacht resting on the terrace, for Alan’s father and -mother had come over after the Council meeting to discuss with -Alma’s parents the more intimate family aspect of the strange -events which had cleared up in such terrible fashion the mystery -which had so long shrouded the fate of the sons of the two -chief families in Aeria.</p> - -<p>So revolting was the idea of their mental servitude to such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -an enemy of the human race as they could not but believe Olga -Romanoff to be, and so frightful were the consequences that -must infallibly befall humanity in consequence of it, that their -parents would rather have known them dead than living under -such degrading circumstances. To the Aerians, far advanced -as they were beyond the standards of the present day, both in -religion and philosophy, the conception of death was one which -included no terrors and no more regret than was natural and -common to all humanity at parting with a kinsman or a friend.</p> - -<p>As they were destined to prove, when face to face with a -crisis unparalleled in the history of humanity, they regarded -death merely as a natural and necessary transition from one -state of existence to another, which would be higher or lower -according to the preponderance of good or evil done in this -life.</p> - -<p>If, therefore, the parents and kinsmen of those who were -now exiles and wanderers upon the ocean wastes could have -chosen, they would infinitely rather have known that Alan -and Alexis had shared the fate of their companions in the -Norwegian snowdrift than they would have learnt that for six -years they had been the slaves and playthings of a woman who, -as they guessed from Alan’s letter, combined the ambition of a -Semiramis with the vices of a Messalina, and who had used -the skill and knowledge which they had acquired and inherited -as Princes of the Air with the avowed purpose of subverting -the dominion of Aeria, undoing all that their ancestors had -done, and bringing back the evil era of strife, bloodshed, and -political slavery.</p> - -<p>So, too, with Alma. As she had told Isma, she would a -thousand times rather have seen her lover dead than degraded -to such base uses. Although she, like everyone else in Aeria, -admitted that the strange circumstances absolved both Alan -and Alexis from all moral blame and responsibility, she, in -common with her own father and mother, and perhaps, also, -with others not less intimately concerned, found it impossible -to forget or ignore the taint of such an association, and to look -upon it as a stain that might never be washed away.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p> - -<p>Indeed, the only member of the family council who openly -proclaimed her belief that the two exiles would, if ever they -returned, come back to Aeria better and stronger men than -those who had known no evil was Isma, who repeated, with all -the winning eloquence at her command, all the arguments that -she had used to Alma during their cruise together. Whether -Alma and the others would ever come round to her view could -of course only be proved by time, but it is nevertheless certain -that when the family council at last separated the hearts of its -members were less sore than they would have been had Alan -and Alexis not possessed such an advocate as the girl who had -so good a double reason for pleading their causes.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_127.jpg" width="350" height="59" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XII.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE BATTLE OF KERGUELEN.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_t.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-T">THE Council of Aeria possessed, as has already been -said, four-and-twenty stations, scattered over the -oceans of the world, which it used as depôts for -the submarine fleets, by means of which, acting -in co-operation with its aerial squadrons, it had -made any attempt at naval warfare hopeless until the disasters -described at the beginning of this book proved that an enemy, -in this respect at least, more powerful than itself, had successfully -challenged its empire of the sea.</p> - -<p>Of these stations the most important in the Southern hemisphere -was that on Kerguelen Island, or Desolation Land, -situated at the intersection of the 49th parallel of south -latitude with the 69th meridian of east longitude. This lonely -fragment of land in the midst of the ocean, barren of surface, -and swept by the almost constant storms of long winters, had -been chosen, first, because of its situation on the southern limits -of the Indian Ocean, equidistant between Africa and Australia, -and, secondarily, because of its numerous and sheltered deep-water -harbours, so admirably adapted for vessels which were -perfectly independent of storm.</p> - -<p>Added to this, the island contained large supplies of coal, -from which the motive-power of both the submarine vessels -and the air-ships was now derived by direct conversion of its -solar energy into electrical force through the secret processes -known only to the President and two members of the Council.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p> - -<p>So far the Russians had not ventured to make any attack -upon this stronghold, so strongly was it defended, not only by -its submarine squadrons and systems of mines, guarding the -entrances to all the harbours, but also by the large force of -air-ships which had been stationed there since the new naval -warfare had broken out.</p> - -<p>The warning which Alan had conveyed in his letter to his -father was based on the knowledge that a general attack was -soon to be made upon it both by air and sea, with the object of -crippling the power of the Aerians in the Southern Ocean. No -time had been lost in acting upon this warning. The aerial -squadron was increased to forty, with the <em>Ariel</em> as flagship, -and twenty new submarine vessels, the largest and best -possessed by the Aerians, had been despatched from Port Natal -to reinforce the fleet of thirty-five already at Kerguelen Island. -With these must of course be counted the <em>Narwhal</em>, under the -command of Alan and Alexis.</p> - -<p>The strength of the attacking force could only be guessed -at, as even Alan did not know it, but it was not expected that, -however strong a force the Russians might bring up by sea, -they would be able, after the disaster of Antarctica, to muster -more than a dozen air-ships.</p> - -<p>The Aerian headquarters was at Christmas Harbour, on the -northern shore of the island. This is an admirably-sheltered -inlet running westward into the land between Cape François -and Arch Point, and its upper and narrower half forms an oval -basin nearly a mile long by a quarter of a mile broad, walled -in by high perpendicular basaltic cliffs, and containing a depth -of water varying from two to sixteen fathoms, as compared -with twenty-five to thirty fathoms in its outer half.</p> - -<p>North of the harbour, Table Mount rises to a height of -thirteen hundred feet, and to the south is a huge mass of basalt -over eleven hundred feet high. On both of these elevations -were mounted batteries of guns capable of throwing projectiles -of great size and enormous explosive energy to a distance of -several miles. There were altogether twelve of these batteries -placed on various heights about the island, and the guns<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -composing them were mounted on swivels, which enabled them -to be trained so as to throw the projectile either into the sea or -high up into the air.</p> - -<p>Soon after daybreak on the fourth day after Alan’s letter -had been received the outlook on Cape François, a bold mass of -basalt to the north of the outer bay, telephoned “<em>Narwhal</em> in -sight” to the settlement at the head of the harbour. Immediately -on this message being received the commander of -the station, named Max Ernstein, a man of about thirty-four, -and the most daring and skilful submarine navigator and -engineer in the service of the Council, went on board his own -vessel, the <em>Cachalot</em>, and set out to welcome the long-lost son of -the President and convey to him the commission which had -been sent out by air-ship from Aeria.</p> - -<p>The <em>Cachalot</em>, which may as well be described here as elsewhere -as a type of the submarine warship of the time, was a -double-pointed cylinder, built of plates of nickelised aluminium -steel, not riveted, but electrically fused at the joints, so that -they formed a continuous mass equally impervious all over, and -presenting no seams or overlaps.</p> - -<p>The cylinder was a hundred and fifty feet from point to -point, with a midship’s diameter of forty feet. The forward -end was armed with a sheathing of azurine, the metal peculiar -to the mines of Aeria, which would cut and pierce steel as a -diamond cuts glass. This sheathing formed a ram, which was -by no means the least formidable portion of the warship’s -armament.</p> - -<p>The upper part of the cylinder was flattened so as to form -an oval deck forty feet long by fifteen wide. A centre section -of this deck, three feet wide, could be opened by means -of a lateral slide which allowed of the elevation of a gun -twenty-five feet long, which could be used either for discharging -torpedoes by water or for throwing projectiles through the -air.</p> - -<p>It could be aimed and fired from below the deck without the -artillerists even seeing the objects aimed at, save in an arrangement -of mirrors, so adjusted that when the object appeared in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -the centre of the lowest of them, the gun could be fired with -the certainty of the projectile reaching its mark. Four underwater -torpedo tubes, two ahead and two astern, completed the -armament of the submarine warship.</p> - -<p>When under water the deck could be hermetically closed, -and sliding plates could be drawn over the opening of the -torpedo tubes, so that from stem to stern of the cylinder there -were no excrescences to impede the progress of the vessel -through the water with the sole exception of a dome of thick -forged glass just forward of the deck, under which stood the -helmsman, who gave place to the commander of the vessel -when she went into action. Her powerful four-bladed screw, -driven by engines almost precisely similar to those of the air-ships, -gave her a maximum speed of a hundred miles an hour.</p> - -<p>The <em>Cachalot</em> ran at twenty-five miles an hour down the -harbour, and as soon as he got abreast of Cape François -Captain Ernstein, who was standing on deck, saw a small red -flag apparently rising from the waves about a mile to seaward. -A similar flag was soon flying from a movable flagstaff on -the <em>Cachalot</em>, and a few minutes later she was lying alongside -the <em>Narwhal</em>.</p> - -<p>This vessel was a very leviathan of the deep, and as she lay -three parts submerged in the water Captain Ernstein calculated -that she could hardly be less than two hundred feet in -length and forty-five in diameter amidships. She appeared -to be built on very much the same plan as the <em>Cachalot</em> and of -the same materials, saving only, of course, the ram of azurine, -which was replaced by one of nickel steel.</p> - -<p>As the <em>Cachalot</em> got alongside, a slide was drawn back in the -deck of the <em>Narwhal</em> and the head and shoulders of a man -dressed in close-fitting seal-fur appeared. It was Alan, little -changed in physical appearance since the fatal day that he -invited Olga Romanoff on board the <em>Ithuriel</em>, save that he had -grown a moustache and beard, which he wore trimmed somewhat -in the Elizabethan style, and that the frank, open expression -of the boy had given place to a grave, almost sad, sternness, -which marked the man who had lived and suffered.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> - -<p>Max Ernstein recognised him at once and saluted as though -greeting a superior officer, for, although all the Aerians were -friends and comrades, the etiquette of rank and discipline was -scrupulously observed amongst them when on active service.</p> - -<p>“What do you salute me for?” said Alan gravely, as he -reached the deck and came to the side on which the <em>Cachalot</em> -lay. “Do you not see that I am no longer wearing the golden -wings? Are you the officer in command of the station?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Admiral Arnold,” returned the other, in the same -formal tone and at the same time presenting the letter from the -Council. “I suppose you have forgotten me. I am Max -Ernstein, in command of the naval fleet at Kerguelen. That -letter will explain why I saluted and why I have come to hand -over my command to you.”</p> - -<p>Before he replied Alan ran his eye rapidly over the letter. -As he did so the pale bronze of his face flushed crimson for a -moment, and he turned his head away from Ernstein, brushed -his hand quickly across his eyes, and then read the letter -again more deliberately. Then he turned and said in a voice -that he vainly strove to keep steady—</p> - -<p>“This is more than I have deserved or could expect, but -obedience is the first duty, so I accept the command. Come on -board, Ernstein; of course I recognised you, but until I knew -how I stood with the Council I looked upon myself as an outlaw, -and therefore no friend or comrade for you.”</p> - -<p>The captain of the <em>Cachalot</em> had a gangway-plank brought -up and passed from one vessel to the other, and in another -moment he was standing beside Alan on the deck of the -<em>Narwhal</em>, and their hands were joined in a firm clasp.</p> - -<p>“That’s the first honest hand that I have grasped for six -years, except Alexis’,” said Alan, as he returned the clasp with -a grip that showed his physical forces had been by no means -impaired by his long mental servitude. “Come down into the -cabin, we shall find him there.”</p> - -<p>He led the way below, and as soon as Alexis had been told -the unexpected good news, which seemed to affect him even -more deeply than it had Alan, the three sat down at the table<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -in the saloon of the <em>Narwhal</em>, a plain but comfortably furnished -room, about twenty-five feet long by fifteen broad and ten high, -to discuss a plan of operations in view of the expected attack -on the station.</p> - -<p>Alan at once assumed the authority with which he had been -invested by the Council, and made minute inquiries into the -nature and extent of the defending force at his disposal.</p> - -<p>“I think that ought to be quite sufficient, not only to defeat, -but pretty well destroy any force that the Russians can bring -against us,” said Alan, as soon as Ernstein had finished his -description. “We have much more to fear from the air-ships -than from the submarine boats, because the <em>Narwhal</em> would give -a very good account of them, even by herself. Have any more -vessels of the type of the <em>Ithuriel</em> been built since the old -<em>Ithuriel</em> was lost?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Ernstein; “but only ten, I am sorry to say. -One of them is here, as I told you just now, but we have forty -of the others, and I don’t suppose the Russians can bring more -than a dozen against us.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?” said Alan. “They have fifty, every -one of them as fast and as powerful as the old <em>Ithuriel</em>. I -ought to know,” he continued grimly, “for they were every one -of them built under my own eyes.”</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon,” said Ernstein. “I ought to have told -you before now that we have already won our first victory, and -that though we lost eight vessels we destroyed twenty of the -Russians’.” And then he went on to give Alan and Alexis a -rapid description of the pursuit of the <em>Revenge</em>, and the havoc -wrought at the end of it by the <em>Ithuriel</em> and the <em>Ariel</em>.</p> - -<p>“That is glorious news!” said Alan. “But they have thirty -ships at their disposal still, and I expect they will bring at -least twenty of these against us, and they are all swifter than -ours saving only the <em>Ariel</em>. Of course my command ends -with the shore, but I think it will be as well if the captain of -the <em>Ariel</em> were to come on board the <em>Narwhal</em> so that we could -arrange our plans of defence together—I for the sea, and he for -the air.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p> - -<p>“But why not come ashore and see him?” said Ernstein. -“He and all of us will be delighted to see you on the island.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Alan, shaking his head. “Alexis and I have -promised each other never to leave the <em>Narwhal</em> until the -Russian sea power is crippled. The day that we set foot on dry -land again will be the day that we give back the supremacy of -the sea to the Council, so if we two Admirals of the Sea and Air -are to meet, the commander of the <em>Ariel</em> must come here.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said Ernstein. “I understand you. Write a -note and I will send the <em>Cachalot</em> back with it. She will bring -him back in under half an hour, for he was up at the settlement -when I left.”</p> - -<p>Alan wrote the letter forthwith, and the <em>Cachalot</em> departed, -returning, as her captain had said, in less than half an hour, -with Edward Forrest, the commander of the <em>Ariel</em>. He was a -lean, wiry, active man of about forty-five, of mixed English, -Scotch, and Aerian descent, with short, crisp, curly black hair -and smooth-shaven face, rather sharp, regular features, and a -pair of keen grey eyes which seemed to look into the very -brain of the person he was talking to—a man of prompt decisions -and few words, and one of the most able aerial navigators -that Aeria could boast of.</p> - -<p>He held the rank of admiral, and was responsible for the -station of Kerguelen, and the command of the southern seas. -He greeted Alan and Alexis courteously, but a trifle stiffly, as -though he thought that their indiscretion had been somewhat -lightly dealt with by the Council. This, however, was no -business of his, for the first law of Aeria was that the decisions -of the President and Council were not open to criticism -by any private or official citizen whatever his rank or experience.</p> - -<p>Therefore, after reading, as a matter of form, the commission -sent to Alan and Alexis, he addressed himself at once to -the business of the moment, and before they had been discussing -the plan of defence for many minutes he was forced to -admit to himself that the President’s son, young as he was, was -more than his master both in aerial and naval tactics.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p> - -<p>For the greater part of the morning plan after plan was -suggested, thrashed out, and either accepted or thrown aside, -and when he took his leave he shook hands with both Alan -and Alexis far more cordially than he had done in greeting, and -said with brief, blunt candour—</p> - -<p>“This is not the first time that a woman has used a man to -upset the peace of the world, and I tell you honestly that I -once thought you had both turned traitors. I don’t think so -now, and I am heartily glad you are back. If you could only -have returned three years ago a lot of trouble might have been -saved, but I must confess that you have both learnt more in -five years than I have in twenty. I will follow your instructions -to the letter.”</p> - -<p>“What is done is done,” said Alan, smiling, and yet with a -grave dignity that showed Admiral Forrest that, despite all that -had happened, he was standing in the presence of his master. -“The work in hand now is to regain what we have lost, and if -every man does his duty we shall do so. I think everything -is arranged now, and as we have no time to lose I will say -good-morning.”</p> - -<p>He held out his hand as he spoke, and Admiral Forrest took -his dismissal and his leave at the same time.</p> - -<p>Captain Ernstein took six men out of the <em>Cachalot</em> and -placed them at the disposal of Alan and Alexis, for the working -of the <em>Narwhal</em>, and then took his leave to execute his part -of the plan of defence.</p> - -<p>It was a bitterly cold day, for the southern winter had -already set in in all its severity. The sea to the north of the -island was comparatively smooth, but swept every now and -then with violent gusts of wind from the southward. The -sky was entirely covered by thick masses of cold grey cloud, -every now and then torn up into great rolling masses by the -sudden blasts of icy wind from the pole, which drove fierce -storms of hard frozen snow across the bare and desolate -island.</p> - -<p>But the roughness of the elements was a matter of small -concern to the crews of the air-ships and the submarine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -cruisers, for both were independent alike of sea and storm. -The former could literally ride upon the wings of the fiercest -gale that ever blew. Their interiors were warm and wind-proof, -and their machinery was powerful enough to drive them -four and five times as fast as the air-currents in which they -floated, while the latter had only to sink a few feet below the -level of the waves to find perfect calm.</p> - -<p>The days, in short, were past when men had been at the -mercy of the elements, and so the atmospheric conditions -which would have made a modern naval attack upon a rocky -and exposed coast almost impossible were not even taken into -account in preparing to meet the threatened assault on Kerguelen -Island.</p> - -<p>No one knew when or how the first assault would be -delivered. All that was known was that, unless Olga and her -advisers had completely altered their plans, the attack would -take place either that day or the next, and consequently ceaseless -vigilance was necessary on sea and land and in the air.</p> - -<p>In accordance with the plan arranged on board the -<em>Narwhal</em>, ten air-ships rose above the clouds to an altitude of -five thousand feet, and from each of these an electric thread -hung down to as many signal-stations on the island, all of -which were connected with the headquarters at the top of -Christmas Harbour.</p> - -<p>Twenty cruisers patrolled the coast at a distance of a mile -from the land, and two miles outside these the <em>Narwhal</em> ran -to and fro along the northern shore. All the more important -inlets which had sufficient depth of water for submarine attack -were guarded with mines and chains of torpedoes, so disposed -that no vessel could possibly enter without firing them, and so -giving warning of the locality of the attack.</p> - -<p>The afternoon passed without any alarm, and at nightfall -the clouds sent down a blinding storm of snow, which, added -to the intense darkness, made vision impossible both on land -and sea, although high above the clouds the ten air-ships floated -in a calm, clear atmosphere, under the brilliant constellations -of the southern hemisphere.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p> - -<p>No attack seemed possible without warning, either by sea -or above the clouds, for the hostile air-ships could not approach -without being seen from a great distance through the clear, -starlit sky, and without their lights, which would instantly -betray their presence, it was impossible for the submarine -vessels even to find the coast.</p> - -<p>Hour after hour passed, and still no hostile sign rewarded -the vigilance of the defenders. No one of the present day -could have guessed that all the preparations had been made -for such a battle as had never been fought before on sea or -land, or in the air.</p> - -<p>Nothing was visible but the snow-covered earth and the -storm-swept sea, for the sentinel ships, floating far above the -clouds, were beyond the reach of vision. And yet, if the -combined fleets of the modern world had attacked Kerguelen -that night, not a ship would have escaped to tell the tale of -annihilation, so terrible were the engines of destruction which -waited but the signal of battle to strike their swift and -irresistible blows.</p> - -<p>It was about half-past six o’clock the next morning when -Alexis, who was on watch in the conning-tower of the <em>Narwhal</em>, -saw a faint beam of light illuminating the water a long way -ahead. He instantly signalled to Alan—“Enemy in sight. -Back. I am going to ram.”</p> - -<p>Alan, unwilling to leave the new crew, who were not yet -perfectly acquainted with the working of the machinery, had -taken command of the engine-room alternately with Alexis, -who was now taking his four hours’ watch in the conning-tower, -and to whom the fortune of war had given the honour of -striking the first blow. The <em>Narwhal</em> backed rapidly, and as she -did so Alexis turned a small wheel in the side of the conning-tower, -and the whole chamber sank into the hull of the vessel.</p> - -<p>As soon as it stopped he pulled a lever and a heavy steel -sheet slid over the opening where the glass dome had been. -In front of him as he stood at the steering-wheel was a long, -very slender needle hung with extreme delicacy on a pivot, -up which an electric current constantly passed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span></p> - -<p>This needle was terrestrially insulated by a magnet which -always swung opposite to the magnetic pole, and when acted -upon only by the steel of the vessel’s fabric, swung indifferently -as long as there was no other vessel within a thousand yards of -the <em>Narwhal</em>. But the moment one came within that distance -the needle pointed towards it with unerring accuracy, as it was -doing at the present moment.</p> - -<p>Alexis allowed the vessel to back until he saw the needle -begin to waver. Then he knew that the thousand-yard limit -had been reached, and signalled—</p> - -<p>“Full speed ahead.”</p> - -<p>The next moment the engines were reversed and the <em>Narwhal</em> -bore down on her invisible prey. The needle became -rigid again. Alexis kept it pointing dead ahead as the <em>Narwhal</em> -gathered way and rushed silently but with irresistible -force upon her victim.</p> - -<p>She passed over the thousand yards in forty seconds. Then -came a dull, rending crash, a slight shiver of the mighty -fabric, and then she swept on her way as though she had -passed through a couple of inches of planking instead of the -steel hull of a submarine warship more than two-thirds her -own size.</p> - -<p>And so in silence and darkness, without the discharge of a -gun or the flash of a shot or an audible cry of human pain, the -work of death and destruction began and ended. In the -passing of an instant a warship had been destroyed which -could have annihilated a fleet of modern battleships in detail -without once appearing above the surface of the water.</p> - -<p>The moment that the shock told Alexis that the ram of the -<em>Narwhal</em> had done its work, he signalled “Stop,” and as the -vessel slowed down he watched the momentous fluctuations of -the needle in front of him. It oscillated for an instant and -then became still again, pointing to another victim hidden -away somewhere under the dark waters. He brought the -vessel round until it pointed ahead again, and then once more -the leviathan plunged forward at full speed on her errand of -destruction.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p> - -<p>Thirty seconds later a rasping tearing sound, told him that -he had ripped the side out of a second Russian vessel; and -again he stopped, and again the fatal tell-tale needle pointed -to a mark on which he hurled his irresistible ram. So the -work went on, and vessel after vessel was torn to pieces and -sunk in the midst of the darkness and silence of the wintry -sea, without even a warning having been given either to the -consorts of the destroyed vessels or to those nearer in shore, -all of which were, of course, outside the range of the needle’s -indication. But for this fact Alexis would have been unable to -do his work, for he would not have known whether he was -ramming friend or foe.</p> - -<p>When the ram had found its mark for the twelfth time, -the needle oscillated vaguely to and fro, showing that within -a thousand-yards radius at least there were no more victims to -be found. Then the <em>Narwhal</em> rose to the surface of the water, -and Alexis resumed his watch as the vessel patrolled the coast -again at a speed of fifty miles an hour.</p> - -<p>Alan now came and relieved Alexis from his watch. As he -entered the conning-tower he said—</p> - -<p>“How many is that you’ve settled? A dozen, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Alexis, “but I can hardly think they can have -been anything but scouts, and so we shall have the main fleet -to tackle yet.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think any of them have got through?” said Alan. -“You know they may have approached from east and west as -well, and if so they are lying inside of us.”</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Alexis, “I don’t think they would do that. -You see we have the advantage of them in this way. They -can’t see ten yards in front of them unless there is bright -sunshine on the water, or unless they turn their lights on to -the full, in which case they would betray their presence at -once.</p> - -<p>“Then they don’t know what has become of the <em>Narwhal</em>, -and probably think that she has been attacked by an overwhelming -force, or blown up by some lucky torpedo. They -daren’t go inshore in force for fear of springing a mine, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -so you may depend upon it the twelve we have destroyed were -scouts, prowling about very slowly and waiting for daylight to -examine the coast and find a way into Christmas Harbour.</p> - -<p>“They must have been in single line, and we had the luck -to catch one of the end ones first, and so we sank the lot in -the order in which they were floating. I don’t think we can -do anything more till daylight except run up and down the -coast and keep a sharp look-out to seaward and on the -needle.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose you’re right,” said Alan. “You’d better go and -get an hour’s sleep if you can.”</p> - -<p>“There won’t be much sleep for any of us till to-night,” -said Alexis quickly, pointing to the clouds over the island. -“Look! the row has begun in the air already.”</p> - -<p>Alan glanced up and saw a series of intensely bright -flashes stream downwards through the <a id="Ref_122"></a>clouds, which at the -same moment were rent and rolled up into vast shadowy -billows by some tremendous concussion of the atmosphere -above them. There could be only one explanation of this. -The attack on the island had begun from the air, and the -flashes were those of the first shots of the aerial bombardment.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_122" class="figcenter" style="width: 441px;"> -<img src="images/i_141.jpg" width="441" height="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Clouds were rent and rolled up into vast shadowy Billows.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_122">Page 122</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p>What had really happened was this.</p> - -<p>A fleet of fifty submarine warships, under the command of -Michael Lossenski, the eldest son of Orloff Lossenski, who -was now Olga Romanoff’s chief adviser in the conduct of the -war that she had commenced with the Aerians, had reached -the northern coast of Kerguelen Island about four o’clock in -the morning in order to co-operate with an aerial squadron -of fifteen vessels led by the <em>Revenge</em>, under the command, -nominally, of Lossenski’s second son Boris, but really of Olga -herself.</p> - -<p>As Alexis had surmised, the twelve vessels destroyed by the -<em>Narwhal</em> were scouts sent out to, if possible, feel their way to -the entrance of Christmas Harbour, which was known to be -the headquarters of the station.</p> - -<p>These were to have returned to the fleet with all the intelligence -they could get as to bearings and soundings, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -position of mines and the defending fleet. Then at daybreak, -that is to say about eight o’clock, the whole squadron was to -have advanced to the entrance to the harbour, ramming any -of the defenders who barred their way, and then, after sending -a swarm of torpedoes into the mouth of the bay to explode the -mines and blow up any submarine defences that might exist, -to have made a rush for the inner bay at the same time that -the air-ships engaged the land defences.</p> - -<p>The naval portion of the programme was completely frustrated -by the destruction of the scouts, while the aerial attack -was foiled by the look-outs stationed above the clouds. Soon -after seven it became light enough at their altitude for the -powerful glasses of their commanders to make out the fifteen -Russian air-ships coming up from the southward at a distance -of about twenty miles.</p> - -<p>A few minutes later they were themselves discovered by the -Russians, and Olga, to her intense chagrin, saw at a glance -that all hope of a surprise was gone. By some means or other -the Aerians had received intelligence of the attack, and were -ready for it.</p> - -<p>The terrible experience taught by the disaster of Antarctica -warned her and her lieutenants that any approach, now that -they were seen, must be made with the utmost caution, for -they had no precise knowledge as to the range of the Aerian -guns. All they knew was that it was very great, and that -where one of their projectiles found its mark destruction -followed instantly.</p> - -<p>Added to this, there was another difficulty. The dense -masses of cloud completely hid both sea and land from their -view, and made accurate shooting at the land defences impossible. -Consequently there was nothing for it but to fight the -battle out in the upper regions of the air, against a force of -whose actual strength they were ignorant. They dare not -attempt to surround the ten air-ships, which hung stationary -over the island, for this meant bringing all their guns into -play, while they could only use half of their own.</p> - -<p>While they were debating on a plan of operations, two new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -factors in the coming struggle were swiftly and unexpectedly -brought into play. As soon as the news of their arrival had -been telegraphed to headquarters, the <em>Ariel</em> took the air and -passed under the clouds to the rear of the Russian squadron. -Ten miles behind them, she swept round sharply, and with her -wings inclined to the utmost, and her engines working at the -fullest capacity, she took a mighty upward swoop, passed -through the clouds like a flash of light, and before the -Russians knew what had happened, she was floating three -thousand feet above them, out of reach of their guns, and -hurling projectile after projectile into their midst. Three -of their ships, struck almost simultaneously, were torn into -a thousand fragments, and vanished through the clouds.</p> - -<p>It was the glare and shock of this explosion that Alexis had -seen from the conning-tower of the <em>Narwhal</em>. The remaining -Russian ships instantly scattered and sank through the clouds -to seek a refuge from the foe whose deadly blows they were -completely unable to return.</p> - -<p>But the moment they appeared on the under-side of the -cloud-sea, all the guns of the land batteries opened fire in all -directions with time-shells, and so rapid were the discharges, -and so terrible the energy of the explosives, that the whole -firmament above the island seemed ablaze with them, while -the concussions of the nether atmosphere were so tremendous -and continuous, that it would have been madness for the -Russian air-ships to have approached within the zone of fire with -which the Aerians had covered and encircled their positions.</p> - -<p>The clouds were torn and broken up into vast whirling -masses, which completely obscured the view of the Russians, -and rendered anything like accurate shooting in the direction -of the island impossible. Worse than this, the range of the -great land guns, fired at an elevation of forty-five degrees, was -so enormous that they were forced by the incessantly exploding -projectiles, which were hurled up into the air in all directions, -to retire to a distance which, beyond the most random -shooting, the results of which were spent upon the rocks of the -island and the sea, rendered their own guns useless.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> - -<p>Rise up through the clouds they dare not, for they knew -the <em>Ariel</em> was still there, and that the first ship that showed -herself would be an almost helpless mark for one of the ten -guns which, for the time being, commanded the heavens. There -seemed nothing for it but an ignominious retreat, for, as Boris -Lossenski said to Olga when, furious with rage and mortification, -she reproached him with a lack both of skill and courage, -an attack upon a volcano in full eruption would have been -child’s play to an assault at close quarters on Kerguelen -Island.</p> - -<p>Their one hope of success had lain in a surprise, and that, -by some unaccountable means, had been made impossible. -They had reckoned only on the air-ships and the submarine -defences, and even these they had expected to take unawares. -The terrible power of the battery guns, which were able to -spread their seas of fire through the air and to shake the very -firmament itself with their projectiles, had been a revelation -to them.</p> - -<p>They could not train their own guns without seeing their -mark, and neither flame nor smoke betrayed the position of -the batteries, while on the other hand the artillerists on the -island had simply to surround the station with a zone of fire -and a continuous series of atmospheric convulsions through -which no air-ship could have passed without the risk of overturning -or completely collapsing.</p> - -<p>So Olga was at last convinced that her choice lay between -abandonment of the attack or running the gauntlet of fire -in the almost forlorn hope of engaging the land batteries and -an aerial fleet of unknown strength at close quarters.</p> - -<p>Baffled and defeated, and yet convinced that to continue -the unequal contest under its present conditions would be -merely to court still more disastrous defeat, and even probable -destruction, Olga at last allowed Lossenski to give the signal -for retreat, and the Russian squadron withdrew to a position -twelve miles northward of the island. Its departure was seen -both from the air and the land, and the cannonade immediately -stopped.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p> - -<p>Meanwhile Alan had run the <em>Narwhal</em> into the mouth of -Christmas Harbour flying his red flag. He was met by the -<em>Cachalot</em>, and, after telling Captain Ernstein what he had done, -and learning of the repulse of the Russians in the aerial battle, -he directed forty of the submarine vessels to follow him out to -sea to look for the Russian flotilla.</p> - -<p>All the craft were furnished with tell-tale needles similar -to the one on board the <em>Narwhal</em>, for it is impossible to see a -sufficient distance under water to effectively attack an enemy -as agile as the submarine warships were, and this fact had -led to the universal employment of the needles.</p> - -<p>As it was now quite light, the whole Aerian squadron, with -the exception of five vessels whose duty it was to act as scouts -under water, proceeded seaward on the surface of the waves, -keeping a sharp look-out for the remains of the Russian fleet, -which they soon discovered lying about five miles off the -island. They could make out thirty-five of the long, black, -half-submerged hulls lying together like a school of whales -with the waves breaking over them as over sunken rocks.</p> - -<p>Alan immediately signalled from his conning-tower in the -manual sign-language, used by the Aerians to communicate -between their air-ships, to his consorts, and ordered them to -scatter and form a wide circle round the Russian squadron at -a distance of a mile, and a depth of two fathoms, but on no -account to approach within a thousand yards of them. When -they had reached their positions they were to rise to the surface -and each was to discharge a couple of torpedoes towards -the centre of the circle. After that they were to retire and -leave the rest to him.</p> - -<p>The moment the order had been passed through the fleet, -everyone of the vessels disappeared and proceeded to her -station. The <em>Narwhal</em> sank at the same time until nothing but -the glass dome of her conning-tower remained above the water.</p> - -<p>By carefully noting the course steered by the compass, and -accurately measuring the distance travelled by the number of -revolutions of the propeller, each captain was able to place his -craft in the desired position.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> - -<p>So perfectly, indeed, was the manœuvre performed that -when the vessels rose to the surface they formed a circle two -miles in diameter, in the centre of which lay, within a space -of about two hundred yards square, the Russian flotilla, the -commanders of which, afraid to advance nearer to the shore -without the intelligence which they still awaited from their -scouts, and confounded by the awful spectacle presented by -the aerial battle, of the issue of which they were utterly -ignorant, were waiting in bewilderment and indecision the -issue of the events which had taken such a marvellous and -unexpected turn.</p> - -<p>The manœuvre ordered by Alan had been executed so -promptly and secretly that the Russians were not even aware -that they were surrounded until torpedo after torpedo, coming -in from all points of the compass, began exploding in their -midst, hurling vast masses of water and foam up into the air, -tearing their plates and crippling their propellers, and disabling -half their number before they had time to recover -from the confusion into which the sudden attack had thrown -them.</p> - -<p>To communicate signals from one vessel to another under -such circumstances was impossible, and so united action was -out of the question. All that the captains of the vessels could -see was that there were enemies upon all sides of them. The -explosion of the eighty torpedoes had churned the water up -into a mass of seething foam, in the midst of which fifteen -vessels were lying crippled and helpless on the surface, while -six more had been sent to the bottom.</p> - -<p>This was bad enough, but while the captains of those which -had escaped were recovering from the stupefaction into which -this sudden disaster had thrown them Alan saw his chance, -and as soon as the last torpedo had exploded headed the -<em>Narwhal</em> full speed into the midst of them. Then followed a -scene which would have beggared all description.</p> - -<p>The great ship, moving at a speed of nearly three miles a -minute, tore her way through the half-crippled squadron, -hurling everything she struck to the bottom of the sea. Every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -Russian vessel that was able to do so after the first assault -sank out of the way of the terrible ram of the <em>Narwhal</em> and -headed off at full speed into the open sea.</p> - -<p>But for those that were partially or wholly disabled there -was no escape. Alan standing in his conning-tower, his -teeth clenched and his blue eyes almost black with the fierce -passion of battle and revenge, whirled his steering-wheel this -way and that, and as the steel monster swung round in rapid -curves in obedience to the rudder, he hurled her again and -again upon his practically helpless victims, piercing them -through and through as though their plates had been cardboard -instead of steel.</p> - -<p>When the last one had gone down he left the conning-tower, -hoisted his flagstaff, and flew a signal to his consorts -to return to harbour. What had become of the Russian -vessels that had escaped he neither knew nor, for the present, -cared.</p> - -<p>The victory of the Aerians both at sea and in the air was -complete, and he was certain that the Russians had received -such a lesson as would convince them that Kerguelen Island -was impregnable to any assault that they could make upon it, -unless they were able to take its defenders by surprise—a contingency -which was justly considered impossible.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_148.jpg" width="350" height="60" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE SYREN’S STRONGHOLD.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_a.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-A">AS soon as the first pitched battle in the world-war -was over, a lengthy and detailed report of the -attack on Kerguelen and its repulse was drawn -up by Alan, Captain Ernstein, and Admiral -Forrest for presentation to the Council. To this -report Alan added a supplement, which is here -reproduced in his own words.</p> - -<p>“From what I know of the designs of Olga Romanoff and -her advisers I am convinced that the defeats which have been -inflicted upon them will merely have the effect of checking, -and not putting a stop to, their operations against the peace -and freedom of the world.</p> - -<p>“I have seen and heard enough during the last five years to -feel satisfied that there exists a very widespread conspiracy, -the object of which is the restoration of the Romanoff dynasty, -in the person of Olga, the breaking up of the Anglo-Saxon -Federation, and the inauguration of an era of personal despotism -and popular slavery.</p> - -<p>“As far as we have been able to learn, this conspiracy -embraces practically all the descendants of those families who -lost their rank, official position, or property during the reconstitution -of Russia after the fall of the Romanoffs. These -people have, of course, everything to gain and not much to -lose by the destruction of the present order of things, and Olga -has promised them, no doubt quite sincerely, that in the event<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -of her triumph they shall be restored to all that their ancestors -lost.</p> - -<p>“As a matter of fact, the greater part of Russia will be -divided amongst them should she ever accomplish her designs. -The old order of things, as it existed before the days of -Alexander <span class="smcap">II.</span>, is to be completely reinstated. The lower -orders of the people are to be reduced once more to serfdom, -and the trading classes to a condition very little better.</p> - -<p>“If they resist they are to be terrorised into submission by -the air-ships, and all who raise their voices for freedom are to -be banished to Siberia, which is once more to be the prison-land -of the Russian Empire. A large standing army is to be -kept constantly on the war-footing, while the sea navy and the -aerial fleet are to be kept up to such a strength as to be able to -hold the rest of the Continent in practical subjection.</p> - -<p>“In short, Olga aspires to nothing less than the throne of -an empire which shall stretch from the Yellow Sea to the -Atlantic Ocean. I am afraid, too, that there can be no doubt -but that this conspiracy is not only favoured, but actually -assisted, by large numbers of people throughout the Federation -area.</p> - -<p>“In fact, during the latter part of our stay at Mount Terror, -the stronghold was visited by men of all nations, who, of -course, came and went away in the submarine vessels, and who -openly promised to do everything they could to further what -they called the cause of the New Revolution in their own -countries, on the understanding that the old evils of capitalism -and private ownership of land by which their ancestors had -grown wealthy are to be restored.</p> - -<p>“This will, I trust, be enough to show you that the triumph -of Olga Romanoff means nothing less than the complete -undoing of all the work that was done in the days of the -Terror.</p> - -<p>“We have proved so far that Kerguelen, and, therefore, -Aeria, is impregnable to attack save by surprise, which will -now, of course, be impossible. But, on the other hand, the -force at the disposal of Olga and her allies is still so strong that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -all our present resources will have to be kept constantly -employed to protect ourselves, and this leaves the world at the -mercy of any Power which can obtain the assistance of the -Russians’ aerial navy, which still numbers twenty-seven vessels, -all equal to our best ships.</p> - -<p>“In addition to these they possess a submarine navy of at -least forty vessels, all of which are swifter and more powerful -than ours, with the exception of the <em>Narwhal</em>. I therefore -suggest that the whole of the resources at the command of the -Council shall at once be devoted to the building of at least -fifty air-ships of the <em>Ithuriel</em> type, and the same number of -submarine battleships like the <em>Narwhal</em>, complete plans of -which I enclose.</p> - -<p>“Until this additional force is at our command, I think it -would be useless to attempt the destruction of the Russian -stronghold in Antarctica, and until this is destroyed there can -be no hope of peace. This stronghold, which I will now -attempt to describe for the information of the Council, is one -of the most marvellous places on earth.</p> - -<p>“It lies in and about Mount Terror and the Parry Mountains, -which run from it towards the pole behind the ice-barrier -of Antarctica. Nearly ten years ago a Russian explorer -named Kishenov reached the ice-barrier and made the discoveries -which have enabled the Russian revolutionists to -create their stronghold. In addition to his ship, he took with -him three aerostats, which were chiefly constructed during his -voyage, and also a small submarine vessel, which he took out -in sections and put together at sea.</p> - -<p>“He skirted the coast of Victoria Land, and was stopped by -the ice in latitude 78°, as all other Antarctic explorers by sea -have been since the voyage of Sir James Ross. The season -was a singularly fine and open one, and two days after his -arrival he inflated one of his aerostats and crossed the great -barrier, to make a thorough exploration of the unknown land. -Kishenov was the first man, not an Aerian, who had ever seen -what there was on the other side of the Antarctic ice-wall.</p> - -<p>“But he discovered far more than our explorers did, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -while he was in the neighbourhood of Mount Terror an earthquake, -accompanying a violent eruption of Mount Erebus, -made a huge fissure in the south side of Mount Terror. After -waiting three days to make sure that the earthquake had subsided, -he and two of his officers entered the crevice, which -they found to be over two hundred feet wide at the level of -the land ice.</p> - -<p>“Furnished with storage batteries and electric lights, they -penetrated into the interior of the mountain and found that it -was pierced in all directions with great galleries and enormous -chambers, hollowed out by volcanic forces during the period of -Mount Terror’s activity. Four days were spent altogether in -exploring this subterranean region, the existence of which was -kept a profound secret by Kishenov and his officers.</p> - -<p>“Not the least strange and, as it has proved, one of the most -valuable portions of his discovery was the finding of a subterranean -lake in the heart of Mount Terror, the temperature -of which was kept far above the freezing point by the heat -which the interior of the mountain derived from the neighbouring -fires of Mount Erebus. Finding the lake to be salt -water, he concluded that it must have some connection with -the open sea, and so the next day he and the same two officers -entered the submarine boat and penetrated underneath the ice-barrier.</p> - -<p>“After a search of five hours, the search-lights of the boat -revealed a huge tunnel leading south-west into the land, that -is to say, direct for Mount Terror. They followed this tunnel -up for a distance of nearly five miles, and then struck the end. -They now rose, and finally found themselves floating on the -surface of the lake in the interior of the mountain.</p> - -<p>“One of Kishenov’s officers, a man named Louis Khemski, -was a member of the Russian Revolutionary Society, whose -existence only became known five years ago. After the capture -of the <em>Ithuriel</em> the heads of this society met, and to them -this man communicated the secret of Mount Terror. Kishenov -and the other officer refused to join the revolutionists, and were -assassinated.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Khemski was at once taken on board the <em>Ithuriel</em>, now -renamed the <em>Revenge</em>, and guided her to the fissure leading -into Mount Terror. Its outer portion was of course filled and -covered with ice and snow, but as soon as Khemski had found -its position by his landmarks, a couple of shells speedily reopened -it, and it was here that the <em>Revenge</em> lay hidden while -you were ransacking the world for her.</p> - -<p>“Olga inherited from her grandfather, the father of the -Vladimir Romanoff who was executed for disobeying the order -of the Council, all the plans and directions necessary for the -building both of air-ships and submarine vessels, and as soon -as this perfect stronghold and hiding-place was discovered, her -accomplices in the conspiracy for the restoration of the Russian -monarchy at once devoted their fortunes to the supply of -money and materials. The <em>Revenge</em> made one more voyage to -Russia, and by travelling at full speed at a great elevation -managed to make it unobserved.</p> - -<p>“The services of the cleverest engineers and most skilful -craftsmen among the revolutionists were secured. Transports -were chartered and sent out to Antarctica loaded with -materials. On the shores of the subterranean lake the first -squadron of submarine vessels was built, and then began the -system of ocean terrorism which soon paralysed the trade of -the world.</p> - -<p>“Piracy was carried on with utter ruthlessness. Transports -were sunk by the vessels, and then plundered by divers of the -treasure which they carried, and which was employed to purchase -new materials and to repay those who had furnished the -first funds.</p> - -<p>“Alexis and myself were kept by Olga, as I said in my first -letter, under the influence of a drug which completely paralysed -our volitional power, and were compelled to reveal all we -knew concerning our own air-ships, submarine vessels, guns, -and explosives. And in this manner was created and equipped -the force which will be employed to dispute with us the empire -of the world unless we are able to extirpate it utterly.”</p> - -<p>While the despatch to the Council was being drawn up,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> -the <em>Narwhal</em> had been lying in the inner basin of Christmas -Harbour, renewing her store of motive power from the generating -station ashore. As soon as the engineer in charge -reported that her power-reservoirs were full, and Alan had -delivered the despatch for conveyance to Aeria by air-ship, -Alexis, who had been apparently buried in a brown study for -the last two hours or so, asked Alan to come with him into -his private cabin, and as soon as the two friends were alone -together he said to him—</p> - -<p>“Look here, old man! While you fellows have been drawing -up that despatch, and talking about the impossibility of -attacking the stronghold at Mount Terror, I’ve been doing -some thinking, and I’ve come to the conclusion that as far as -an under-sea attack is concerned, it isn’t quite so hopeless as -you’ve made out.”</p> - -<p>“I shall be only too delighted to hear you prove us wrong,” -replied Alan, his eyes brightening at the prospect, for he knew -Alexis too well not to be sure that he would not have spoken -in this way unless he had pretty solid reasons for doing so. -“Say on, my friend; I am all attention.”</p> - -<p>“Get out to sea, then, as fast as ever you can,” said Alexis, -“for there’s not an hour to be lost if you adopt my plan, and -if you don’t we can just come back.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said Alan. “What’s the course?”</p> - -<p>“Clear the islands and head away southward as hard as you -can go,” replied Alexis briefly.</p> - -<p>The excitement of the battle in which he had played such -a terrible part had left Alan in just the frame of mind to -listen to the project of a desperate adventure, such as he -instinctively knew was now in his friend’s mind. Without -hesitating further he went into the saloon, summoned the -crew of the <em>Narwhal</em>, and said to them—</p> - -<p>“Alexis and I have decided upon an enterprise which will -end either in very great injury to our enemies or our own -destruction. You have seen enough to-day to know that in -the warfare we are engaged in there are only two choices: -victory or destruction. We don’t want to take anyone against<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -his will to what may be certain death. Those who care to go -ashore may do so.”</p> - -<p>Not a man moved. An athletic sailor named George Cosmo, -who held the post of chief engineer, saluted, and said briefly—</p> - -<p>“We shall all go, sir. What are the orders?”</p> - -<p>“Get out of the harbour as fast as you can, and as soon as -you are clear of the islands sink two fathoms, steer a straight -course due south-east, and put her through the water as hard -as she’ll go,” replied Alan.</p> - -<p>Cosmo saluted again, and left the room with his comrades -to execute the order.</p> - -<p>“Now, my friend,” said Alan, turning to Alexis as soon as -they were alone again, “what is your plan?”</p> - -<p>“Simply this,” replied Alexis. “Mount Terror, or at any -rate the mouth of the submarine tunnel, is in round numbers -three thousand geographical miles from here. Our speed is -thirty miles an hour faster than that of Olga’s squadron. -That means that even if they go back at once and at full -speed we shall be there four or five hours before them.</p> - -<p>“They, I think, have had quite enough fighting for to-day, -and I don’t believe they’ll attack the island again—first, -because they know that they can’t take our sea defences by -surprise, and, second, because they think the <em>Narwhal</em> will -remain on guard.</p> - -<p>“Either they will go off on a raiding expedition somewhere -else with the air-ships—in which case we can’t follow -them, for we don’t know where they’re going—or they will -return to Mount Terror at an easy speed of fifty or sixty miles -an hour. They will never dream that you and I will venture -to attack the stronghold single-handed, and, therefore, that is -just what I propose to do.”</p> - -<p>“That will be odds of about forty to one against the -<em>Narwhal</em>,” replied Alan, somewhat gravely. “Unless we can -destroy it completely before they get back. But go on. Let’s -hear the rest. I don’t think you can propose anything too -desperate for me now that I have really tasted the blood of the -enemy.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, what I propose is not to destroy the stronghold, -simply because it would be impossible to do that by sea. I -merely propose to get quietly into the tunnel, go to that -narrow part about two miles from the entrance, fix a dozen -torpedoes with time-fuses up against the roof of the tunnel, -and then clear out into the open water.</p> - -<p>“When those twelve torpedoes go off if they don’t bring -a few thousand tons of rock down into the tunnel and -block it pretty securely I’ll grant I know very little about -explosives.”</p> - -<p>“Good so far, very good!” said Alan. “I confess I envy -you that idea. What next?”</p> - -<p>“Well, after that,” replied Alexis. “You see we shall have -shut in the vessels that are inside and shut out those that are -outside. The ones inside will be no use for some time, for it -will take the divers a good many days to open the tunnel -again, even if they ever do.</p> - -<p>“As for those outside, we can lie in wait for them if they -return, and trust to the <em>Narwhal’s</em> speed and strength to sink -as many of them as we can, or else, if they don’t put in an -appearance, we can come home with the consciousness that we -have done about all the damage in our power. Now, what do -you think?”</p> - -<p>Alan was silent for a few moments, weighing the pros and -cons of the desperate venture—for desperate it was, in spite -of the incomparable speed and strength of the splendid vessel -he commanded.</p> - -<p>It was easy enough, always supposing that it could be -accomplished without interruption; but to be caught in the -tunnel, as was quite possible, between a force inside and one -outside meant almost certain destruction, for if the <em>Narwhal</em> -was not rammed and sunk in a space too narrow for her to -turn she would be certain to be blown up by the torpedoes -which would be launched against her.</p> - -<p>In the end, the very character of the desperate venture, -combined with the magnitude of the injury it would do to the -enemy, overcame the scruples of his prudence. He put his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -hand on Alexis’ shoulder, and giving him a gentle shake, said -with a laugh—</p> - -<p>“Bravo, old philosopher! You’ve done more with your -thinking than we have with our talking and writing. We’ll -do it, if there isn’t a square foot of the <em>Narwhal</em> left when the -business is over.”</p> - -<p>“I knew you’d say that,” said Alexis. “Now let’s have -some dinner and go to sleep, for we shall want it.”</p> - -<p>It was then very nearly midday, and the <em>Narwhal</em> had -cleared the islands, and, with her prow pointed direct for the -north-eastern extremity of Wilkes’s Land, was rushing at full -speed through the water about twelve feet below the surface -of the sea. For twenty hours she sped silently and swiftly -and unseen on her way, swept round the ice-barrier that -fences the northern promontory of Victoria Land and into -the bay dominated by the fiery crest of Mount Erebus.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_157.jpg" width="350" height="59" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XIV.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">FROM THE SEA TO THE AIR.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_t.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-T">TWENTY-FOUR hours after she had reached -Mount Terror the <em>Narwhal</em> came into the inner -basin of Christmas Harbour, running easily along -the surface, with the red flag flying at her flagstaff. -The news spread rapidly through the little -settlement, the dwellers in which had been wondering greatly -at her sudden disappearance, and there was quite a crowd on -the jetty as she ran alongside. Max Ernstein was among it, -and as the battleship came to a standstill he saw to his amazement -Alan spring ashore and come towards him with outstretched -hands.</p> - -<p>“Why, what does this mean?” he said, as he grasped his -hand. “I thought you told me you were never going to leave -the <em>Narwhal</em> until”—</p> - -<p>“Until we had done what we have done,” said Alan with a -laugh, as he returned his hand-clasp with a grip that made the -bones crack. “We have destroyed a good half of what remained -of the Russian sea navy, and, what’s more, we’ve blown up the -entrance to their submarine dockyard, and completely crippled -them as far as building or equipping new vessels is concerned -until they can find a new harbour.”</p> - -<p>“Magnificent!” exclaimed Ernstein. “Glorious! You’ll be -wearing the golden wings again in forty-eight hours.”</p> - -<p>“If I am,” said Alan, flushing with pleasure at the thought, -“the credit will be due to Alexis, and not to me. It was his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -idea entirely. But never mind that now. We’ve suffered rather -badly, and only just escaped with our lives. Five out of six -of the <em>Narwhal’s</em> crew are disabled, and I want you to get them -out and send them away to Aeria as soon as possible. Meanwhile -Alexis and I will write our despatch to the Council.”</p> - -<p>His instructions were obeyed at once, and the invalids were -transferred to the <em>Vega</em>, the air-ship that was to convey them -to Aeria, and in her luxurious state-rooms their hurts were -attended to by the best skill on the island while the despatch -was being drawn up.</p> - -<p>It was brief, plain, almost formal in language, and confined -entirely to statement of bare fact, and in little more than an -hour after the arrival of the <em>Narwhal</em> at Christmas Harbour -the <em>Vega</em> had risen into the air, and was speeding on her way -towards Aeria.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the news of the daring venture and brilliant -exploits of Alan and Alexis and their comrades spread like -wildfire through the island, and everyone who was not engaged -on duties that could not be left came to the settlement to see -and congratulate the two heroes of the hour, whose strange and -romantic fate, so well known to every Aerian, had thus suddenly -been glorified by the triumph of the genius and daring which -had proved capable of wresting victory from defeat and glory -from misfortune.</p> - -<p>Although some were more demonstrative, none were heartier -or more sincere in their congratulations than Edward Forrest, -the admiral of the station, and, unknown to Alan and Alexis, -he and Ernstein had sent a joint despatch by the <em>Vega</em>, strongly -urging both the justice and the policy of at once restoring to -the full rights of citizenship the two men who had proved -themselves possessed of such extraordinary ability.</p> - -<p>If the battle for the empire of the world was to be fought -over again, the command of the forces of Aeria could not be -entrusted to any hands so able and so daring as those of the -President’s son and his friend and companion in misfortune -and victory. The triumphs at Kerguelen and Antarctica had -really been due to them alone. They had given warning of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -the attack on the station, and it was due to the skill and boldness -of their strategy that it had been foiled with such disaster -to the enemy.</p> - -<p>This of itself was much, but it had not satisfied either their -ambition or their devotion, for, after it had been accomplished, -they had carried the war almost single-handed in the Russian -stronghold, and there, under circumstances of unparalleled -danger to themselves, they had struck a blow which could not -fail to cripple the sea-power of the enemy, and so influence to -an incalculable extent the ultimate issue of the war which, ere -long, might be raging over the whole world.</p> - -<p>That night, while the almost constant storms of the southern -winter were sweeping over the barren surface of Desolation -Land, a feast was held in the central hall of the headquarters -at Christmas Harbour in honour of the double victory and the -return of the two chief heroes of it from their long captivity. -The next day was spent in a rigorous inspection of all the -defences of the island and the machinery and ammunition of -the air-ships and submarine vessels. At six o’clock in the -evening, twenty-six hours after she had started, the <em>Vega</em> -returned from Aeria, bringing the reply of the Council to the -despatches which she had taken.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Council has heard with great satisfaction of the repulse of the attack -on the station at Kerguelen and of the distinguished services rendered by Alan -Arnold and Alexis Mazarov, both at Kerguelen and Mount Terror.</p> - -<p>In recognition of the great skill and devotion they have displayed, the -Council invites them to assume the command of the air-ship <em>Ithuriel</em>, and to -make use of that vessel to execute such plans and purposes as in their discretion -will best serve the interests of the State of Aeria for a period of one year from -the present date. They will be supplied with motive power and all stores and -materials of war at any of the oceanic stations.</p> - -<p>The Council accepts the recommendation contained in the supplement to -the first despatch, and has given orders for the immediate building of a hundred -air-ships of the <em>Ithuriel</em> class and the same number of submarine battleships of -the <em>Narwhal</em> type. These are expected to be ready for service at the end of the -year, by which time the Council hopes to be able to call upon Alan Arnold and -Alexis Mazarov to assume the duties of admiral and vice-admiral of the aerial -navies, and at the same time to restore to them full privileges of citizenship in -Aeria.</p> - -<p>The admiral and officers of Kerguelen will give all assistance in the carrying -out of these directions, and will make and transmit all necessary reports in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -connection with them. No further hostilities are to be undertaken for the -present by the aerial or sea forces, but they will maintain a strict watch against -all possible surprises on the part of the enemy, and be ready to repel any assault -which may be made. This order does not apply to the air-ship <em>Ithuriel</em>.</p> - -<p style="text-indent:-2em; padding-left:6em">Given in the Council Hall of Aeria on the Eleventh day -of May in the hundred and thirty-second year of the -Deliverance.</p> - -<p class="center" style="padding-left:6em"><span class="smcap">Alan Arnold</span>, President.<br /> -<span class="smcap" style="padding-left:4em">Francis Tremayne</span>, Vice-President.</p> - -<p>To Edward Forrest,<br /> -<span style="padding-left:1.5em">Admiral in Command at the Station of Kerguelen.</span></p></blockquote> - -<p>Such was the reply of the Council to the news of the -daring foray made by the <em>Narwhal</em> upon the stronghold of -Mount Terror, and the suggestions of Admiral Forrest and -Captain Ernstein. Although it did not precisely adopt the -latter, which, indeed, the Council was well justified in looking -upon as inspired rather by enthusiasm than the judicial spirit -proper to the occasion, it was even more satisfactory both to -Alan and Alexis than an immediate recall would have been.</p> - -<p>True, they had done great and brilliant service in the first -few days of their return to freedom. They had virtually -crippled the Russian sea-power by the blows which they had so -skilfully, so swiftly, and so daringly struck, but neither of them -felt that this was a sufficient achievement to warrant their full -restoration to all that they had lost through the fatal error that -they had made on board the old <em>Ithuriel</em>.</p> - -<p>Both, indeed, longed ardently for just such further opportunity -of devoting themselves to the service of their race and -country as this order offered them. In command of the new -<em>Ithuriel</em>, one of the swiftest and most formidable aerial warships -in existence, there was no telling the damage that they -might do to the enemy or what service they might render to -their friends.</p> - -<p>They knew that, as regarded the Russian force, the odds -against them were about twenty-four to one, and they also knew -that Olga and her lieutenants would lose no time in increasing -their navy to the utmost extent in their power in preparation -for the war of extermination that was now inevitable.</p> - -<p>They had a year before them during which they would have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -an absolutely free hand, and all the supplies that the resources -of Aeria could give them. True, it was a year of exile and probation, -but they gladly welcomed the test of fidelity and devotion -which it offered, and which, worthily passed through, -would mean restoration of all they had lost, and a return to -their friends and kindred in their beloved valley of Aeria -armed with powers and responsibilities which would make them -practically the arbiters of the destinies of their people, and -perhaps of the whole human race.</p> - -<p>But the <em>Vega</em> had brought something more to the two -friends and exiles than the reply of the Council to their -despatches, for immediately he landed her captain handed to -Alan a small sealed packet addressed to him in the handwriting -of his sister Isma. When he opened it, as he did at the -first opportunity that found him alone, he found that it contained -two letters and two chromatic photographs.</p> - -<p>The letters were from his parents and sister. His father’s -was, as may well be imagined, very different from the cold and -formal despatch that he had signed as President of the Council. -It was full of tender and loving sympathy for him in the -strange fate that had overtaken him, and, while it entirely -absolved them of all moral blame for the loss of the flagship -and the lives of his companions, it exhorted him earnestly to -apply himself without useless regrets to the work of the year -of probation which the Council had seen fit to impose upon -him, and it ended with an assurance that the happiest day that -had been known in Aeria within the memory of its citizens -would be that on which the golden wings would be replaced on -their foreheads in the Council Hall of the city.</p> - -<p>To this letter was added another, written by Alan’s mother, -and written as only a mother can write to her son. Strong -and well tried as he was, there were tears in Alan’s eyes when -he had finished reading these two letters, but they did not -remain there long after he had begun the one from his sister.</p> - -<p>Isma, proud beyond measure of the exploits of her brother -and the man she still looked upon as her lover, and absolutely -assured that when the time came both would return covered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> -with honour, wrote in the highest spirits. As it was an invariable -rule of life among the Aerians to be perfectly frank with -one another, and to take every precaution to avoid those misunderstandings -which in a less perfect state of society had -produced so much personal and social suffering, she told him in -plain yet tender language exactly what had passed between -her and Alma on the night that his first letter had been -received.</p> - -<p>Yet she said nothing that in any way committed either -Alma or himself to a renewal of the troth which had been -broken by the designs of Olga Romanoff, and though she sent -her remembrances to Alexis, she sent them as though to a -friend, tacitly giving both to understand that no words of love -must pass between the two exiles and their former sweethearts -until they met again upon equal terms.</p> - -<p>But there was another message not contained in the letter, -or written in any words, which said more than all that she had -written, and this was conveyed by the photographs, which she -sent without a word of allusion to them. As Alan looked upon -them the six years of mental slavery and degrading servitude -to the daughter of the enemies of his race passed away for the -moment, and he saw himself standing with Alma in one of the -groves of Aeria plighting his boyish troth on the night before -he started on his fatal voyage in the <em>Ithuriel</em>.</p> - -<p>The face that looked at him with such marvellous lifelikeness, -with all its perfection of form and exquisite colouring, -reproduced with the most absolute fidelity, was the same face -that had been upturned to his to receive his kisses on that -never-to-be-forgotten night. And yet, in another sense, it was -not the same.</p> - -<p>That had been the sunny, smiling face of a girl to whom -sorrow and evil were as absolutely unknown as they would be -to an angel in heaven, but this was the face of a woman who -had lived and thought and suffered.</p> - -<p>And when he remembered that whatever of sorrow or suffering -she had known had been on his account, the last lingering -traces of the vile spells of the evilly beautiful Syren of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -Skies, who had so fatally bewitched him, vanished from his -soul, and the old love revived within him pure and strong, and -intensified tenfold by the knowledge of the great reparation -that he owed to the girl upon whose life he had brought the -only shadow it had ever known.</p> - -<p>He knew that their hands would never meet again until all -that had been lost was regained, at whatever cost of labour -or devotion that might be necessary on his part, but he also -knew that in all these years no other man had been found -worthy to fill the place that he had once occupied, and which -he was resolved to win back or die in the attempt, and this -knowledge made him look forward to the mighty struggle -which lay before him with an eagerness that augured well for -its issue.</p> - -<p>He had gone into his own cabin on board the <em>Ithuriel</em>, -which was being rapidly prepared for her roving commission, -to read his letters in solitude. He put Alma’s photograph on -the table, and sat before it with his eyes fixed upon it until -every line of form and tint of colour was indelibly impressed -anew upon his memory.</p> - -<p>Then he kissed it as reverently as a devotee of old might -have kissed a sacred relic, and then he attached the oval -miniature to a chain of alternate links of azurine and gold, -and hung it round his neck inside his tunic, registering a -mental vow that if death came before he once more wore the -golden wings, it should find it lying nearest his heart.</p> - -<p>“This,” he said, speaking to himself, as he took Isma’s -photograph up from the table, and looked fondly upon the -radiantly lovely face that looked out from its frame, “is -evidently not intended for me. Isma doesn’t say who it’s for, -but I fancy that there is some one on board the <em>Ithuriel</em> who -has a very much better right to it than I have. I wonder if -Alexis is in his room?”</p> - -<p>So saying, he left his cabin and found his friend still deep -in the perusal of two lengthy letters from his father and -mother.</p> - -<p>“So you have had letters from home as well, old man? I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> -hope they’ve been as pleasant reading as mine have,” he said, -going to the couch on which Alexis was sitting, and holding -one hand behind his back.</p> - -<p>“Yes, they’re from my father and mother, and so they can -scarcely be anything else, so far as what they do say. It’s -what they don’t say that gives me the only cause to find fault -with them. But still that, I suppose, would be expecting too -much under the circumstances.”</p> - -<p>He ended with something very like a sigh, and Alan replied -as gravely as he could—</p> - -<p>“And what might that be, my knight of the rueful -countenance? Don’t you think the Council have treated us -splendidly, and given us a glorious opportunity of winning -back all that the daughter of the Tsar has robbed us of?”</p> - -<p>“Of course, I do,” replied Alexis, looking up at him with a -flush on his cheeks. “But for all that there is one thing -still, something that I am not ashamed to say I value above -everything else that I have lost or can regain.”</p> - -<p>“And that is—?”</p> - -<p>“Well, to put it plainly,” replied Alexis, the flush deepening -as he spoke, “these two letters don’t contain one single -word about Isma. Now you know what I mean. Of course, I -am ready to do everything that the Council may call upon us -to do, and the moment that I know I have won back the right -to wear the golden wings will be the proudest of my life, but it -will be far from the happiest if I only go back to Aeria to find -Isma another man’s wife, and what else can I think when they -don’t so much as mention her name?”</p> - -<p>“Be of good cheer, my friend,” replied Alan with a laugh, -putting one hand on his shoulder, and taking the other from -behind his back. “You will never find that, I can promise -you. I am the bringer of good tidings. There, take those and -feast your eyes and your heart on them in solitude as I have -just been doing on something else.”</p> - -<p>So saying he put Isma’s letter and photograph into Alexis’ -hand, and without another word left him to gather courage -and comfort from them as he had himself done.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XV.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">OLGA IN COUNCIL.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_t.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-T">THE remains of the Russian submarine squadron, -numbering now only seventeen vessels, headed -out northward into the open sea, after leaving -their disabled consorts to their fate. In the brief -space occupied by her first rush they had recognised -the <em>Narwhal</em> both by her size and speed, and one of the -captains avowed that he had recognised Alan Arnold, Olga’s -late captive, standing under the glass dome of the conning-tower, -steering the great vessel upon her devastating course.</p> - -<p>Twenty miles out from the island they rose to the surface -and made out the aerial fleet some five miles to the southward, -hovering at an elevation of about a thousand feet, and evidently -on the look-out for them. Michael Lossenski, who had escaped -the ram of the <em>Narwhal</em>, ran up his flagstaff, and flew a signal -which soon brought the air-ships bearing down upon them. -The <em>Revenge</em> sank down to the surface of the water, and took -Lossenski off his ship in order that he might report himself.</p> - -<p>Olga and his father received the first news of the defeat of -their naval forces with cold displeasure; but when Michael -told them that more than half the fleet had been destroyed by -the <em>Narwhal</em>, and that it was believed that Alan was in command -of her, Olga’s anger blazed out into fury, and she cried -passionately—</p> - -<p>“You fools and cowards to have fled like that from one -ship and one man! Could not seventeen of you have overcome<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -that one vessel? Had you no rams, no torpedoes, that you fled -before this single foe?”</p> - -<p>He took the bitter rebuke in silence. He knew that he had -failed both in duty and courage, and that a reply would only -make matters worse. Olga looked at him for a moment, with -eyes burning with scorn and anger. Then she rose from her -seat, and, pointing to the door of the saloon, said—</p> - -<p>“Go! You have disgraced yourself and us. Take your ships -back to Mount Terror, and await our further commands.”</p> - -<p>With bowed head and face flushed with shame, the disgraced -man walked in silence out of the saloon and left Olga alone with -his father. As soon as he had gone Olga began striding up and -down the saloon, her hands clenched and her eyes, black with -passion, glittering fiercely under her straight-drawn brows.</p> - -<p>Orloff Lossenski knew her too well not to let her anger take -its course uninterrupted, so he sat and watched her, and waited -for her to speak first. At last she stopped in front of him, and -said in a low fierce voice, that was almost hoarse with the -strength of her passion—</p> - -<p>“So! you were right, my friend. I was a fool, an idiot, to -let those two escape. I ought to have killed them, as you advised. -They were of no further use to us, and we could have -done without them. Yes, truly I was a fool, such a fool as love -makes of every woman!”</p> - -<p>“Not of every woman, Majesty,” replied Lossenski in a low -soothing tone, that was not without a trace of irony. “If I -may say it without disrespect, your ancestress, the great -Catherine, knew how to combine love and wisdom. When she -wearied of a lover, or had no further use for a man, she never -left him the power of revenging his dismissal.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes,” she replied. “I know that; but I did not -weary of this man, this king among men, for whose love I would -have sold my soul. I only wearied of my own attempts to win -it. You know what I mean, Lossenski, and you can understand -me, for you have confessed that he was well worthy of -the sacrifice.</p> - -<p>“You know that when he seemed my lover he was only my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -slave—that I could not compel the man to love me, but only -the passive machine that I had made of him, and you know, -too, that the moment I had let him regain his freedom of will he -would have loathed and cursed me, as no doubt he is doing now.</p> - -<p>“Why did I not kill him? How could I, when I loved him -better than my own life, and all my dreams of empire? Why, -I could not even kill the other one because he was Alan’s friend, -and because he would have hated me still more for doing so.</p> - -<p>“But, after all,” she continued, speaking somewhat more -calmly, “it is not setting them free that has done the mischief. -It is the treason or the miracle that enabled them to capture -the <em>Narwhal</em>. I would give a good deal to know how that was -done. They cannot have done it themselves, for I had given -them enough of the drug to deprive them of all will-power for -at least twenty-four hours, and I told that traitor, Turgenieff, -who must have betrayed the attack on Kerguelen, to give them -more when he landed them on the island.”</p> - -<p>“But is your Majesty sure that they took the drug?” said -Lossenski, interrupting her for the first time. “Did you give -it with your own hand, or see them take it with your own eyes?”</p> - -<p>“No!” said Olga, with a start. “I did not. I sent it to -them by my maid, Anna, but she swore that she put it in their -wine, and when they had finished their last meal the decanter -was empty.”</p> - -<p>“That was a grave mistake, Majesty,” said Lossenski, in a -tone of respectful reproof, “and one which may yet cost you -the empire of the world. It is such trifles as that which destroy -the grandest schemes.”</p> - -<p>“I know! I know!” said Olga impatiently. “You may -think me a fool and a weakling, but I could not bring myself -to see or speak to Alan again after I had at last resolved to give -up the hopeless task of winning him, and send him away.</p> - -<p>“But for that mistake the <em>Narwhal</em> would still have been ours, -and we should have taken Kerguelen unawares. He could -have told his people nothing else that would have harmed us, -for the more he tells them about Mount Terror the more impossible -they will see any attack upon it to be. No, no, it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> -all that one fatal mistake! But there, it tortures me to talk -about it! Tell me, my old friend and counsellor, what we are -to do to repair the damage?”</p> - -<p>Exhausted by her fierce and sudden outburst of passion, and -the bitterness of her regret, Olga threw herself into a chair and -sat waiting for Lossenski to speak. He remained silent for -several moments, buried in thought, and then he began speaking -in the low, deliberate tone of a man who has weighty counsels -to impart.</p> - -<p>“We cannot deny, Majesty, that we have been worsted in -our two first encounters with these Aerians, but we must learn -wisdom and patience from defeat. It seems plain to me that -the Aerians are too strong for us as we are.</p> - -<p>“When we attacked them we forgot that, while we are -children in warfare, they are perfect masters of it. They have -preserved the traditions of their fathers, and for four generations -they have been trained in the use of the weapons which we -have only just learnt to use. Therefore my advice is that we -do not attack them again for the present.”</p> - -<p>“But,” interrupted Olga, “in any case, they will attack us, -and we shall still have to fight.”</p> - -<p>“Not of necessity, your Highness,” replied Lossenski. -“You see they have not pursued us, and the reason for this is -that they know that both our air-ships and our submarine -vessels are swifter and more powerful than theirs, with two or -three exceptions.</p> - -<p>“They will not attack us till they can do so on equal -terms, and we must take care that they never do that. You -have plenty of treasure and plenty of men at your command. -Let us retire to our stronghold again and devote ourselves to -increasing our strength both by sea and in the air, until we -have made ourselves invulnerable.</p> - -<p>“And remember, too, Majesty,” he continued with an added -meaning in his tone, “Aeria is not the world. There are vast -possibilities before you in other directions. I am convinced -now that we have made a mistake in attacking the Aerians -first. Russia is ripe for revolt, and great quantities of arms<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -have already been manufactured. The tribes of Western Asia -need only a leader to take the field, and the Sultan Khalid could -put an army millions strong into the field within a few months.</p> - -<p>“On the other hand, Anglo-Saxondom is a babel of conflicting -opinions, and the mob rules throughout its length and -breadth. Where everyone is master there can be no leaders, -and those who are without leaders are the natural prey of the -strong hand.</p> - -<p>“They are wealthy and weak, and divided among themselves. -The Aerians have given them over to their own devices. -Why should you not, when we have repaired the damage -we have suffered, take your aerial squadron to Moscow, proclaim -the new revolution, and crown yourself Tsarina in the -Kremlin?”</p> - -<p>In speaking thus Orloff Lossenski was really only putting -into formal shape the project which it had all along been the -aim of Olga and her adherents to carry out. There was nothing -new in the suggestion save the proposition that the revolution -should be proclaimed in Russia, and that Olga should crown -herself Tsarina before, instead of after, the attempted subjugation -of Aeria.</p> - -<p>Up to the present it had been believed that nothing could -possibly be done until the power of the Aerians was either -crushed or crippled, but the battle of Kerguelen had clearly -shown that this was a task far beyond their present resources. -Even the mastery of the sea was now no longer theirs, thanks -to the two fatal mistakes which Olga had made, first in setting -Alan and Alexis free, and second in sending them away from -Mount Terror in the swiftest and most powerful vessel in their -sea-navy.</p> - -<p>Why she had been guilty of this last imprudence she could -not even explain to herself. It was one of those mistakes, made -in pure thoughtlessness, which again and again have marred -the greatest schemes of conquest. Another vessel would have -done just as well, save that she would not have performed the -errand quite so quickly; but the <em>Narwhal</em> happened to be in -readiness at the moment, and as Peter Turgenieff, her commander,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> -was one of Olga’s most trusted sea-captains, she had -given him the order to convey Alan and Alexis to the island, -and so the fatal error had been committed.</p> - -<p>It must, however, be remembered that when she made it, it -was impossible for her to foresee its disastrous outcome. She -implicitly believed that the two Aerians were completely under -the influence of the will-poison, and so utterly unable to think -or act independently, or to form and execute the daring design -which they had so successfully accomplished.</p> - -<p>But now that the mistake had been made, Orloff Lossenski -saw that the course he suggested to his mistress offered the only -hope of counteracting it. His advice pointed out the shortest -road to the attainment of the designs of Olga and her followers; -and he gave it in all sincerity, for he was absolutely devoted to -Olga’s person and fortune, and the realisation of her ambition -was the dearest dream of his own life.</p> - -<p>It meant, too, the restoration of his own order to all its -ancient rights and privileges with the added wealth and dignity -that would be won by conquest. It meant the establishment -of a Russian empire far greater and more powerful than that -of the last of the Tsars, for its power would extend from the -Pacific coast of Asia to the Atlantic coast of Europe.</p> - -<p>Olga heard him with flushed cheeks and shining eyes, and, -when he had done speaking, she rose to her feet again and faced -him, looking every inch a queen, in the ripe beauty of her perfect -womanhood, and said, in tones from which every trace of -her former anger and sorrow had vanished—</p> - -<p>“Well spoken, Orloff Lossenski! That is worthy counsel -for you to give and for me to hear. I will follow it, for it is -wise as well as bold, and the day that I crown myself in the -Kremlin you shall be the first noble in Russia. But, stop—what -of the Sultan? Surely he and his armies will have to be -reckoned with?”</p> - -<p>“True,” said Lossenski. “But if he will not listen to reason, -cannot your air-ships destroy his armies like swarms of locusts, -lay his cities in ruins, and sweep him and his dynasty from the -face of the earth?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes, that is true again,” replied Olga. “Provided that the -Aerians did not come to his aid.”</p> - -<p>“They would not do that, I think,” he replied.</p> - -<p>“But to make that impossible why should you not make an -alliance with him and offer to help him with your air-ships and -submarine navy to the conquest of the world, on the condition -of the restoration of the Russian Empire and the division of -the world between you? Remember that as long as you kept -the command of your navies of the air and the sea you could -always keep him to the terms when once made.”</p> - -<p>As the old man ceased speaking Olga laid her hand upon -his shoulder, and said in a low, clear, steady voice that spoke of -a great resolution finally taken—</p> - -<p>“My friend, you are the wisest of counsellors, and when I -regain my throne you shall be the first Minister of the Empire. -I will pardon your son for his failure to-day for the sake of his -father’s wisdom, and we will say no more about disaster and -defeat. We will look forward only to victory and the empire -that it will bring us!”</p> - -<p>But when the defeated squadrons arrived at Mount Terror -Olga was rudely awakened from her dreams of empire by the -tidings of the disaster that had occurred during her absence.</p> - -<p>The damage inflicted by the <em>Narwhal</em> was speedily proved -to be irreparable. For a distance of nearly a mile the roof -of the tunnel had sunk bodily down, blocking it for ever. -Millions of tons of rock and earth had fallen into the submarine -channel, and all hope of clearing it again was out of the -question.</p> - -<p>The explosion of the twelve torpedoes had not only brought -down all the rocks in their vicinity, but it had so shaken the -earth in both directions that a general subsidence had taken -place, forming a barrier which was so vast and massive that its -removal, even if possible, would have taken many months of -labour; and so there was no avoiding the dismal conclusion that -their submarine dockyard was useless, and, for the present at -least, their sea-power crippled.</p> - -<p>The effects of the explosion in the interior of the mountain,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -though bad enough, were much less serious. Nearly seventy -men, or more than half the total garrison that had been left -behind, had been either killed or maimed for life. The six -submarine warships that had been lying in the lake were, of -course, useless now that their way to the sea was barred, and -five of the twelve air-ships which had been lying in the vast -cavern whose floor formed the shores of the subterranean lake -were so seriously injured that considerable repairs would be -necessary for them.</p> - -<p>The whole of the lower level of the vast system of chambers -and galleries which pierced the interior of the mountain in all -directions had been flooded by the volumes of water projected -from the lake by the explosion. Workshops, laboratories, and -building-slips had been wrecked or thrown into complete confusion, -and the appearance of the whole of the level was that -of a place which had been swept by a tornado.</p> - -<p>As soon as the amount of the damage done had been estimated, -Olga called a council of war, composed of twelve of her -most skilled and trusted adherents, in a chamber which was -led up to by a path sloping steeply up from the shores of the -lake. This chamber was an almost perfect oval, about sixty -feet long by twenty wide, and about thirty high.</p> - -<p>Neither its temperature nor its internal appointments would -have given any idea of the fact that it was situated at the -uttermost end of the earth, and buried under the eternal snows -of Antarctica. The rough rock walls had been smoothed and -hung with silken hangings, against which statues of the purest -marble gleamed white, and pictures, some of vast size and -exquisite execution, brought the scenes of sunnier lands to the -eyes of the occupants.</p> - -<p>Electric light-globes hung in festoons all around, shedding -a mild diffused lustre over the luxurious furniture of the -chamber. The floor of lava, smoothed and polished, was -covered with priceless carpets into whose thick pile the foot -sank noiseless, as though into soft, shallow snow.</p> - -<p>Treasures, both of art and luxury, which had been plundered -from ocean transports that had fallen victims to the rams<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> -of the submarine cruisers were scattered about in lavish profusion -that was almost barbaric in its excess. Behind the -hangings of the walls ran an elaborate system of pipes which -circulated fresh air drawn from the exterior of the mountain, -and, heated by passing through electric furnaces, at once warmed -and ventilated this council-chamber of the extraordinary woman -who, in virtue of her strange conquest of the air, had come to -be known among her followers as the Syren of the Skies.</p> - -<p>Human art and science had completely conquered both the -ruggedness of Nature and the inclemency of the elements, and -had transformed these gloomy caverns, excavated by the volcanic -fires of former ages out of the heart of Mount Terror, into -warm, well-lighted, and airy abodes, capable of sheltering several -hundred human beings from the rigours even of the Antarctic -winter.</p> - -<p>This subterranean retreat and stronghold was roughly -divided into two levels, on the lower of which were situated -the chambers and galleries which served for the performance -of all the work necessary for the building of the air-ships and -submarine vessels, while the upper was devoted to store-rooms -and dwelling-places for the followers and assistants of the -Queen of this strange realm.</p> - -<p>No other region could have presented such a marvellous -contrast to the sunlit and flower-scented paradise which was -the home of their mortal enemies, the race with which they -had dared to dispute the empire of the world. The powers of -darkness and of light could hardly have been better typified -than were these two contending forces by the different characters -of their respective strongholds.</p> - -<p>When the Council of War, summoned at Olga’s bidding by -Orloff Lossenski, had assembled in the Central Chamber, a pair -of heavy purple velvet curtains parted, and the Syren entered -from the gallery, which had been hewn through the solid rock -and which communicated with her private suite of apartments. -The members of the Council rose as she entered and greeted -her as subjects were wont to greet their sovereigns in the days -before the Terror.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p> - -<p>She acknowledged their reverence with a royal condescension, -and took her seat on a raised divan at the inner end of -the chamber. Beckoning Lossenski to her side, she exchanged -a few words with him in an undertone, and then called upon -Andrei Levin, the Secretary of the Council, to enumerate the -nature and extent of the losses they had sustained in their -brief but disastrous first attempt to cope with the mighty race -which had dominated the world for nearly a century and -a half.</p> - -<p>When Levin had finished, it was found that, in addition to -the irreparable damage done to the submarine dockyard, no -less than thirty-five submarine cruisers had been destroyed or -rendered useless, while twenty-three air-ships had been annihilated -by the projectiles of the Aerians. This left an available -fighting force of twenty-eight submarine and twenty-four aerial -warships fit for service.</p> - -<p>It had been calculated that it would take at least a month -of hard work to get the subterranean arsenal into such working -order as would enable them to repair their losses, and after this -at least twelve months would have to elapse before they had -brought their fighting force up to the strength it had possessed -but five short days before.</p> - -<p>In addition to their losses in ships and war materials, more -than a hundred of Olga’s chosen and most devoted followers -had lost their lives in the terrible warfare which knew no -sparing of life, and it would be necessary to draft more men -from Russia to replace them before the work could be carried -on upon an adequate scale.</p> - -<p>Olga listened to the catalogue of disasters with frowning -brows and eyes gleaming with hardly-suppressed fury. When -it was over, she rose and spoke in a voice whose wonderful -music and witchery seemed to charm all sense of misfortune -for the time being out of the hearts of her listeners. A born -queen of men, she knew when to wither with her scorn or to -charm with her sweetness, and she was well aware that this -hour of defeat and disaster was no time for reproaches or -rebuke.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p> - -<p>So her voice was low and sweet, and almost pleading, as -she reviewed the situation, which, for the moment, seemed so -dark, and appealed to her followers, through those who commanded -them, not to yield before a sudden and temporary -misfortune, but to learn from defeat the lessons of victory. -She reminded them of all that their ancestors and hers had -lost at the hands of the Terrorists, the forefathers of the hated -and arrogant Aerians, and she painted in glowing colours the -glory and the boundless wealth that would be the reward of -victory.</p> - -<p>Heavy as their losses had been, there was no reason why -they should not repair them. She reminded them how, five -years before, they had possessed but a single air-ship, and -were only a weak and scattered body of revolutionaries. Now -they possessed, even after all they had lost, an aerial fleet -superior to all the vessels of the Aerian navies save two, and -submarine cruisers swifter and more powerful than any that -floated, save only the stolen <em>Narwhal</em>. More than this, they -were now supported by a vast organisation numbering -thousands of devoted men and women, any one of whom -would give his or her life for the cause for which they were -fighting.</p> - -<p>She only spoke for a quarter of an hour or so, but every -word went home, and when she concluded with an appeal to -their loyalty and devotion, the twelve members of the Council -rose with one accord to their feet, and there and then spontaneously -renewed the oaths of fealty to her person and -dynasty which they had taken when they enlisted in her -service. Every man of them was a scion of some once noble -Russian house, and her cause was theirs in virtue of personal -interest as well as that sentiment of blind, unreasoning loyalty -which even four generations of freedom had failed to eradicate -from the Russian blood.</p> - -<p>Olga thanked them with a tremor in her voice which, -whether it was real or not, spoke to them with far greater -eloquence than words, and then she bade Lossenski lay before -the Council the plans which she had already discussed with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -him for the future conduct of the vast enterprise which had -opened so inauspiciously.</p> - -<p>Lossenski rose at once, and for over two hours unfolded a -vast and subtly-conceived scheme, which has been very briefly -outlined in a previous chapter, and the results of the working -out of which will become apparent in due course.</p> - -<p>At the end of the discussion which followed it was decided -that a transport should be purchased as soon as possible in a -Russian port and sent out to Antarctica with fresh supplies of -men and materials.</p> - -<p>A flotilla of twelve marine cruisers was told off to convoy -her on her voyage, and protect her from possible attack in case -the Aerians should suspect or discover the purpose to which -she was devoted.</p> - -<p>As no more submarine vessels could be built in Antarctica—for -the fearful cold of the outside waters made such work -totally impossible—all efforts were to be concentrated upon -the increase of the aerial navy, and a hundred air-ships, in -addition to those already in existence, was fixed upon as the -minimum strength that it would be safe to depend upon, when -the hour for the final struggle came.</p> - -<p>No force was to be wasted, if possible, upon minor attacks -or isolated engagements, for the Russians, like the Aerians, -had learnt that, under the conditions of the new warfare, -skirmishes only meant destruction in detail and loss -of strength entirely disproportionate to the advantage -gained.</p> - -<p>Thus virtually the same decisions were arrived at in Aeria -and Antarctica. Both sides resolved to husband their resources -and increase their strength, and then to risk everything upon -the issue of one mighty conflict, a veritable struggle of the gods, -in which both equally recognised that the defeated would be -annihilated and the victors would remain undisputed masters -of the world.</p> - -<p>Finally, it was decided that Orloff Lossenski should depart -at once with a formal offer of alliance to the Sultan of the -Moslem Empire, and that a day later Olga should follow with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -a squadron of twenty air-ships and give him the alternative of -alliance or immediate war.</p> - -<p>If, as was confidently expected, he chose alliance, five submarine -cruisers were to be given to him, so that he might use -them as models for the construction of a fleet which should -be powerful enough to sweep the Aerian warships from the -seas, and which would be supplied with the secret motive -power at a station to be established at Larnaka under Russian -control.</p> - -<p>Then, when all was in readiness for the world-war, Olga -was to be proclaimed Tsarina in Moscow, and the standard of -absolute monarchy once more reared over the re-erected throne -of the House of Romanoff. Anglo-Saxondom was to be invaded -and conquered, and Aeria itself attacked and either subdued or -depopulated and laid waste.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_178.jpg" width="350" height="58" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XVI.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">KHALID THE MAGNIFICENT.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_a.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-A">A FEW minutes before midnight on the fifteenth of -May, in the year 2036, Khalid the Magnificent, -lord and master of the greatest and most splendid -realm that had ever been ruled over by a single -man since the world began, stood alone on the -spacious terrace of his palace in Alexandria, -gazing up at the myriads of stars that shone in the cloudless -firmament above him, and dreaming one of those dreams of -world-wide empire which had haunted the soul of such men as -he from the days of Rameses the Great until his own.</p> - -<p>He was a man of thirty-four, tall, swarthy, and athletic, -with the proud aquiline features of the Arab, the dark, alternately -flashing and melting eyes of the Circassian, and the -strong, reposeful dignity of the Turk—a man whom women -looked upon with love and men with respect that was often -akin to dread.</p> - -<p>The lord of seven hundred million subjects who, even in -those days, so strong was still the faith and loyalty of the -Moslem, looked upon him only as something less than Allah -and the Prophet whose sacred blood flowed in his veins, his -soaring ambition was not content even with the splendid -inheritance that he had received from his ancestors.</p> - -<p>In his being were closely blended those elements of religious -enthusiasm and worldly ambition which had made the men of -the Golden Age of Islam such irresistible conquerors and such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> -mighty rulers of men. He had pondered over the past history -of his faith and his people from the times of the Prophet down -to his own, until he had come to believe himself the man -chosen by Destiny to subjugate the world, and to compel all -men, from pole to pole, and east to west, to accept the rule -and faith of Islam, and to confess the unity of God and the -apostleship of Mohammed.</p> - -<p>He saw in the vast area of the Anglo-Saxon Federation, -which now, in name at least, dominated Europe, America, and -Australasia, only a collection of democratic and ill-governed -States in which the mob ruled by blind counting of heads, and -in which religion had been refined into a mere philosophy of -life and morals, the last word of which seemed to him to be: -Make the best of to-day, lest to-morrow should never come.</p> - -<p>In his own breast the flame of the fierce, uncompromising -faith of Islam burnt, undimmed by the mists of the centuries -that had passed since the first Moslem armies had emerged -from the deserts of Arabia to conquer the greater part of the -Roman world.</p> - -<p>Why should he not send forth his armies, as the Khalifs of -old had done, to plant the banner of the Crescent over the -subjugated realms of Christendom, and rule, the greatest of -the Commanders of the Faithful, sovereign lord of a Moslem -world?</p> - -<p>It was a splendid destiny, but there was a power in the -world, located in one tiny spot of earth, and yet, so far as he -knew, universal and irresistible, before which the armies which -he had called into existence would be as helpless as a swarm -of locusts before a forest fire.</p> - -<p>This power possessed the empire of the air, and therefore -of the earth. In the days of the Terror it had led the Anglo-Saxon -race to the conquest of the world. Would it sit idly -now behind the bulwarks of Aeria and watch his armies conquering -the domains of Anglo-Saxondom?</p> - -<p>Was it not far more likely that those terrible air-ships -would be sent forth to hurl their destroying lightnings from -the skies and overwhelm his armies and his cities in irretrievable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -ruin? These Aerians had ruled the world for a hundred -and twenty-five years, and yet had committed no act of -aggression upon the rightful liberties of any nation. How, -therefore, could he believe that they would hold their mighty -hand while he carried fire and sword through the habitations -of their blood and kindred?</p> - -<p>If he gave the word for war, within forty-eight hours after -he had spoken more than ten millions of men, armed with -weapons of fearful precision and destructive power, would -stand ready to do his bidding and to carry the banner of the -Crescent to the uttermost ends of the earth; but of what use -would be their numbers, their valour, or their devotion with a -squadron of aerial cruisers wheeling above them and hurling -death and destruction upon them from the inaccessible heights -of the sky?</p> - -<p>He remembered how his ancestor Mohammed Reshad had -been stopped in his career of conquest, and how his victorious -armies had been decimated and thrown into confusion by a -flotilla of air-ships and war-balloons which a dozen cruisers -of the present Aerian navy would have swept from the skies -in a few minutes. Intolerable as the thought was to his -haughty soul, the truth remained that, in the midst of all his -power and splendour, he was as helpless as a child before the -real masters of the world. He had armies and fleets, but he -could not make war without their permission or the assurance -of their neutrality, save with the certainty of disaster and -defeat.</p> - -<p>What would he not give for a squadron of these aerial -battleships? Half his empire, willingly, and yet he knew -that even an attempt to build a single air-ship would be the -signal for his own death and the end of the dominion of his -dynasty.</p> - -<p>He had no knowledge of the momentous events which had -just been taking place on the other side of the world. He still -believed implicitly in the unquestioned supremacy of the -Aerians throughout the domain of the skies, although he was -well aware that some mysterious power had successfully disputed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> -with them the command of the seas, and he remembered -the stern threat of immediate war and annihilation that the -President of Aeria had promulgated against any who should -even help in the concealment of the air-ship that had been -lost six years before, and, so far as the world at large was -concerned, had never been heard of since.</p> - -<p>Anglo-Saxondom, and therefore Christendom, lay at his -mercy but for this guardian power of the air. Its millions -were unarmed and its wealth unprotected. Its indolent and -luxurious democracies, occupied solely with social experiments -and the increase of their material magnificence, would be -crushed almost without resistance by his splendidly armed -and disciplined legions.</p> - -<p>The Crescent would replace the Cross above their temples, -and the world would be a Moslem planet but for this empire -of the air, universal and unconquerable, which barred his way -to the dominion of the world and the final triumph of his -faith.</p> - -<p>For the hundredth time he had revolved the hopeless -dilemma in his mind, alternately looking upon the conquests -he longed for, and on the splendid but useless forces at his -command, when a huge, strange shape dropped swiftly and -silently out of the sky overhead, and, as though in answer to -the unspoken call of his intense longing, one of those very -air-ships of which he had been thinking with such angry -despair swept with a majestic downward sloping curve out of -the dusk of the night, and ran up close alongside the low -parapet of the terrace on which he was standing.</p> - -<p>It was the first time he had ever seen one of these marvellous -vessels, which were the talk and the wonder of the -world, at such close quarters. Paralysed for the moment by -mingled curiosity and amazement, he recoiled with a startled -invocation to the Prophet on his lips, and then stood staring at -it in silence, wondering whether the strange apparition meant -the visit of a friend or an enemy.</p> - -<p>While he was standing thus the air-ship drifted as silently -as a shadow over the parapet, and sank gently down until it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -rested on the marble floor of the vast terrace. Then a sliding -door opened in the after-part of the glass dome which covered -the deck from stem to stern, a light metal stairway fell from it, -and three men richly and yet simply dressed descended to the -terrace and advanced to where he stood.</p> - -<p>Two of them halted at a respectful distance, and the third, -a man whose dignity of bearing was enhanced by the snowy -whiteness of his hair and beard, advanced alone, and with a -grave and courteous gesture of salute said in English, the -language of universal intercourse—</p> - -<p>“Am I right in believing this to be the palace of his -Majesty the Sultan?”</p> - -<p>It was some moments before Khalid recovered his composure -sufficiently to answer the question, simple as it was. -His wonder was increased tenfold when he saw that his visitor -from the skies did not wear the golden wings which were the -insignia of the Aerians.</p> - -<p>Was it possible that some other inhabitants of the earth -had, in spite of the rigid prohibition of the Supreme Council, -managed to build an aerial navy? His heart leapt with exultation -at the thought. Obeying the impulse of the moment, he -took a stride forward and held out his hand, saying—</p> - -<p>“I know not who you are, or whence you come, but if you -come in friendship there is my hand in welcome. This is the -palace, and I am Khalid, the Commander of the Faithful. -What is your errand?”</p> - -<p>His visitor took the outstretched hand, and, bending low -over it, replied in a tone of the deepest respect—</p> - -<p>“I am honoured and fortunate beyond measure! I trust -your Majesty will pardon the strangeness of my coming for -the importance of the mission that brings me.”</p> - -<p>“Say on, sir, and tell me freely who you are and what your -mission is, for I am all impatience to know,” said the Sultan, -speaking even more cordially than before.</p> - -<p>“I am Orloff Lossenski,” replied the ambassador from the -skies, “and I am the bearer of a message from my mistress, -Olga Romanoff, by right of descent Tsarina of the Russias,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -and deprived of her lawful rights of rule by the Terrorists who -reign in Aeria.”</p> - -<p>“Then you are enemies of the Aerians?” broke in the -Sultan, “and you possess air-ships like that marvellous craft -yonder! How have you—but pardon me, I have interrupted -you. You can satisfy my curiosity later on.”</p> - -<p>“Her Majesty, my mistress, possesses a large fleet of air-ships, -of which this is one,” replied Lossenski, “and she has -sent me as her envoy to give your Majesty this letter which -will explain my mission in full. At this hour to-morrow -night the Tsarina will come in person to receive your answer -to it.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke he presented a letter to the Sultan, and then -drew back a pace. Khalid took the missive without a word -and walked towards one of the electric lamps with which the -terrace was lighted, breaking the seal as he went. This is -what he read—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p style="text-indent:-2em; padding-left:4em">To Khalid the Magnificent,<br /> -Sultan of the Moslems.</p> - -<p>You have dreams of world-wide conquest, but the fear of the power of the -Aerians restrains you from putting them into action. You command armies -and fleets, but they are useless and helpless because you cannot fight in the air -as well as on land and sea.</p> - -<p>I can give you the power of doing this, and I will help you to the conquest -of the world if you will help me to regain the dominions that were stolen from -my ancestors in the days of the Terror.</p> - -<p>Twenty-four hours after you receive this I will come for your answer to it. -If you agree to the general terms I have no fear but that the details will be -easily arranged between us. This is brought to you by Orloff Lossenski, my -chief counsellor and responsible minister, who, at your Majesty’s desire, will -lay the particulars of my proposals before you in full.</p> - -<p class="center" style="padding-left:6em"><span class="smcap">Olga Romanoff</span>,<br /> -<span style="padding-left:8em">Tsarina of the Russias.</span></p></blockquote> - -<p>Hardly had the Sultan finished the perusal of this strangely -curt and yet all-pregnant letter when a cry from Lossenski’s -two attendants caused him to look up. If what he had seen -but a few minutes before had amazed him, what he saw now -fairly stupefied him. A second air-ship, similar in size and -shape to the first, but with a hull of a strangely lustrous blue<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -metal, had dropped without sign or sound out of space, and -was hovering exactly above Lossenski’s vessel with her ten -long slender guns pointing in all directions.</p> - -<p>A moment later she seemed to drop bodily on to the -Russian air-ship, splintering her thin steel masts with the -weight of her hull, and yet stopping in her descent before she -crushed in the glass dome of the deck. The next instant a -score of men slipped swiftly over the side and gained the -open door of the Russians’ deck-chamber. Then there came -a sound of fierce cries and oaths, and the quick crackling -reports of repeating pistols.</p> - -<p>The envoy’s two companions turned as though to fly, but -two shots fired in quick succession brought them down before -they had made a couple of strides. Then a dozen men leapt -down upon the terrace and covered Lossenski and the Sultan -with their pistols before they had time to recover from the -stupefaction into which the suddenness of the attack had -thrown them.</p> - -<p>The next moment a man, whose splendid stature raised him -a good head above the Russian and the Moslem, came down -the steps from the deck of the now captured air-ship. As he -advanced towards them Khalid, brave and haughty as he was, -looked up at him almost as he might have looked upon the -visible shape of one of the angels of his faith.</p> - -<p>He was dressed in the Aeria costume, save for the fact -that, instead of azurine and gold, his winged coronet was -black and lustrous as polished jet. In his left hand he carried -a magazine pistol, and in his right a long slender rapier with -a blade of azurine that gleamed with an intense blue radiance -in the light of the electric lamps.</p> - -<p>“Orloff Lossenski, you are our prisoner! Go back to -your ship or you will be shot where you stand. Sultan -Khalid, have you received that letter in your hand from this -man?”</p> - -<p>Alan’s words came quick and stern, but before they were -spoken the Sultan had put a golden whistle to his lips and -blown a shrill call, in instant obedience to which a stream of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -armed guards issued from a door of the palace opening on to -the terrace, spread out into a semi-circle, and in turn Alan and -his companions were covered by a hundred rifles.</p> - -<p>“Now, sir, whoever you are,” exclaimed the Sultan, recovering -at once his courage and his composure, “you are <em>my</em> -prisoner! Throw down your arms, or”—</p> - -<p>“Stop!” cried Alan, in a voice that rang clearly over the -whole terrace. “Don’t you see that your palace is under -our guns? Fire a shot, and in an hour it shall be a heap of -ruins.”</p> - -<p>Khalid had forgotten the air-ships for the moment. He -glanced up at the two rows of guns, and saw in the lighted -interiors of the deck-chambers men standing ready to rain -death and ruin in every direction.</p> - -<p>Lossenski, too, grasped the suddenly changed situation in -an instant. He knew far better than the Sultan did what -would be the effect of a discharge of that awful artillery upon -the palace and the city, and more than this, he saw the hopeless -ruin of his mistress’s plans that would follow the death -of the Sultan. He turned to him with an appealing gesture, -and said—</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty, for the sake of all you hold dear, send back -your guards! I surrender to save you!” and then, with a -glare of impotent hate at Alan, he turned and walked quickly -towards the air-ships.</p> - -<p>Nothing could have brought the terrible power of the -Aerians home to the mind of Khalid the Magnificent more -convincingly than the position in which he now stood. Absolute -master of the greatest empire on earth, he stood on the -terrace of his own palace, in the midst of his own capital, -and with thousands of soldiers within call, as helpless as a -child.</p> - -<p>But before he could force the words of surrender from his -reluctant lips an event occurred which, brave as he was, struck -terror to his heart. Alan had raised his rapier to command -the attention of his men at the guns, and the captain of the -Sultan’s guards, thinking he was going to strike his master,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -rushed forward and struck at the uplifted blade with his -scimitar. As the steel rang upon the azurine the Damascus -blade splintered to the hilt.</p> - -<p>With a cry half of rage and half of fear the Moslem -whipped a pistol out of his sash, but before he could level it -the bright blue blade descended swiftly, and when its point -was within a foot of his assailant’s eyes Alan dropped his own -pistol and pressed a jewel in the centre of his belt-clasp. As -he did so a pale blue flame leapt from the point of his sword, -and the Moslem, without as much as a sigh, dropped dead on -the floor of the terrace.</p> - -<p>“Mashallah!” cried the Sultan, recoiling in ungovernable -terror. “What are you, man or fiend, that you carry the -lightnings in your hand?”</p> - -<p>“A man like yourself, Sultan, and one who wishes your -Majesty no evil,” replied Alan. “I am Alan Arnold, the son -of the President of Aeria, and therefore your friend, unless you -choose to make me your enemy. I am at present in command -of the cruiser <em>Ithuriel</em>, and we have followed that Russian -vessel for over five thousand miles to find out what his errand -was. When he landed on your palace we guessed it, I think, -pretty nearly. Lossenski came to propose an alliance between -your Majesty and his mistress, Olga Romanoff, did he not?”</p> - -<p>Before he replied the Sultan, seeing some of his guards -advancing again, and being now convinced that resistance -was both unnecessary and impossible, ordered them to take -away the body of their comrade and those of the two Russians -who had been shot. Then he turned to Alan, and said with -politeness that was perhaps more Oriental than sincere—</p> - -<p>“Pardon my ignorance, Prince of the Air! I did not -know that I was speaking to the son of one who is above all -the kings of the earth. That slave deserved his death for -raising his arm against your Highness. Yes, you are right. -The Russian came to me with such a proposal from her you -name. Here is her letter. She styles herself Tsarina of the -Russias, but I have never heard her name before. Who is -she?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I will tell your Majesty,” said Alan, taking the letter -which the Sultan now held out to him without hesitation, -“for no one can tell you better than I can. She is the last -living child of the House of Romanoff. She is beautiful -beyond description, and evil beyond comprehension. She -aspires to rule in fact as what she styles herself in name, and -to bring back the gloom of despotism and oppression on the -earth.</p> - -<p>“She and her accomplices are responsible for that terrorism -of the seas which has paralysed international commerce for -more than five years, and they are also in possession of a -fleet of about thirty air-ships. How they were enabled to -construct them there is now no time to explain. Suffice it to -say that they have them, that they have dared to challenge -the forces of Aeria to a contest for the empire of the world, -and that during the fortnight they have been fighting they -have had very much the worst of it.</p> - -<p>“We have practically crippled their sea-power, blown up -their submarine dockyard, and destroyed about half of their -aerial fleet. I tell you this in order that you may receive her -proposals with your eyes open. The course of events has -made your Majesty to a great extent the arbiter of the -destinies of humanity.</p> - -<p>“Olga Romanoff knows that you have a splendid army -at command, that you have illimitable wealth to spend on -war material, and that an alliance between you would be -irresistible. As an independent sovereign it is, of course, -within your right, as it is within your power, to conclude this -alliance if you think fit. Do so if you choose; but remember -that if you do you must assume the tremendous responsibility -of plunging the whole world into war, and bringing inconceivable -desolation upon your fellow-creatures. You will be -allying yourself with the worst enemies of humanity—nay, -with the only enemies that humanity has on earth.</p> - -<p>“This Olga Romanoff is called by her followers the Syren -of the Skies, and the name is an apt one, for she is a very -syren, armed with arts that can charm a man’s heart out of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> -breast, make him forget his duty to himself and his loyalty to -his race, and, like Circe of old, reduce him to an animal that -exists only for the execution of her will and the gratification -of her desires. I speak with knowledge; for I have felt, and -through me the world will feel, the terrible force of her spells, -and I tell you frankly, as man speaking honestly with man, -that if you make this alliance there will be war between your -people and mine to the death.</p> - -<p>“As far as a single man can do so, you hold the fate of mankind -in your hand, and within the next forty-eight hours you -will decide it. Now I have done my duty, and given you such -warning as I can. You will answer for your decision at the -bar of God, and it is not for me to say more.</p> - -<p>“Whether we meet again as enemies or not, let us part -friends, and let me implore you, for the love of God and -your kind, to rest content with what the Fates have already -given you. You have raised the Moslem power to a pitch of -splendour and dominion far beyond all its former glories. -You have all that man could ask for”—</p> - -<p>“Yes, as a man,” interrupted the Sultan, who up to this -point had listened with silent attention to Alan’s quick, -earnest words. “But not all that the Commander of the -Faithful may be content with. I know not what the religion -of your people is, but you know that the laws of mine command -me, as they command every true Moslem, to plant the -banner of the Prophet over the habitations of the infidel and -to give the enemies of the Faith the choice between the sword -and the Koran.</p> - -<p>“It is not for mere conquest that I have created my armies -and my fleet. It is in obedience to the commands of Heaven, -which has given me the means of conquering the earth for -Islam.”</p> - -<p>Khalid spoke rapidly and fiercely with heaving breast and -eyes blazing with the lurid light of fanaticism. Alan heard -him out in silence. Then his hand fell heavily on the -Moslem’s shoulder, and holding him at arm’s length he looked -him straight in the eyes and said, slowly and deliberately—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Sultan, a man’s faith, by whatever name it may be called, -is no concern of ours. He is responsible for it to his God, -and there is an end of it. But when you tell me that your -faith commands you to force it with fire and sword upon the -consciences of those who hold another creed, then I tell you -to your face that you are a fanatic and a persecutor.</p> - -<p>“Blood enough and to spare has been shed in the wars -of creeds, and if I believed that you meant to revive the warfare -between Cross and Crescent, I would strike you dead -where you stand, as I struck your slave down just now. But -I cannot believe it either of you or any other enlightened man.</p> - -<p>“I am not in any mood to utter empty threats, but I am -speaking no idle words when I tell you that the hour in which -you make war on Christendom, either for political or religious -conquest, shall be the hour in which you will hear the voice -of Destiny speaking your own doom.</p> - -<p>“More than that, I ask you now to pledge me your word -as an honest man and a ruling King that for twelve months -from now, at the very least, you will neither draw a sword -nor fire a shot either against Anglo-Saxondom or any other -Power.”</p> - -<p>He stopped, and took his hand from the Sultan’s shoulder. -Khalid recoiled and drew himself up to the full height of his -royal stature as he replied—</p> - -<p>“Prince of the Air—demi-god almost as you are—you must -learn that the Commander of the Faithful is not to be dictated -to on the roof of his own palace, even by you. Am I your -slave that you should lay these commands upon me?”</p> - -<p>Before he made any reply in words Alan communicated a -few rapid orders to those in command of the two air-ships in -the Aerian sign-language. The <em>Ithuriel</em> rose from above the -<em>Vindaya</em>, as the Russian air-ship was named, and both vessels -ranged themselves alongside the front of the terrace. The -Sultan watched this manœuvre in helpless silence, well knowing -that whatever it imported he was powerless to resist. -Then Alan went on—</p> - -<p>“Not my slave, Sultan, but my fellow-man, and as such I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -will, if I can, and by any means within my power, prevent -you from committing such a colossal crime as that which I -am afraid I must now believe you are contemplating. Now -listen well, for my words mean much.</p> - -<p>“Those two air-ships could lay your capital, vast and -splendid as it is, in ruins before to-morrow’s sun rises, and as -surely as those stars are shining above us they shall do so -unless you give me the pledge I ask for. I ask it in the name -of all humanity, and I will not spare a few thousands of lives -to enforce it.”</p> - -<p>“If you could!” ejaculated the Sultan, half involuntarily. -“I have heard much of your wonderful air-ships, but do you -know that I have a hundred thousand soldiers in the city, and -that I have hundreds of guns which will hurl their projectiles -for miles into the air? If only one of the hundreds struck -either of those vessels of yours, she would fall like a stone and -be dashed to pieces on the earth. The fighting would not be -all on one side.”</p> - -<p>His tone grew more and more defiant as he went on, and -Alan saw that some stern lesson would be necessary to induce -him to give the pledge upon which the safety of millions -depended. In quiet, even tones, that contrasted strongly with -those of the Moslem, he said—</p> - -<p>“We of Aeria are not accustomed to boast our prowess -lightly, and I am threatening nothing that I cannot do. Still, -I do not wish you to give the pledge I ask save in the fullest -knowledge. If you will trust yourself with me on board the -<em>Ithuriel</em> for an hour under my pledge of your safe return I -will prove to you to demonstration that your city would be as -defenceless beneath our guns as a collection of tents would be. -The moon is high enough now to give us plenty of light for -the experiment if you think fit to make it.”</p> - -<p>The Sultan hesitated for a few moments, as though in -doubt whether he would be permitted to return if he once -allowed the <em>Ithuriel</em> to carry him away from the earth. Then -he remembered that no man had ever known the Aerian who -had broken his word. He looked into Alan’s strong, frank<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -face, and read there an absolute assurance that his safety -would be respected. Then, with a slight inclination of his -head, he said—</p> - -<p>“Your words are wise. I will come, and if you convince -me that you can do as you say I will swear by the holy name -of the Prophet that I will make no war upon any man for a -year from now.”</p> - -<p>Alan signalled to the <em>Ithuriel</em>, which ran in close to the -terrace. The door of the deck-chamber opened, a gangway was -run out, and for the first time in his life Sultan Khalid trod -the deck of a cruiser of the air. The <em>Ithuriel</em> and the -<em>Vindaya</em> at once mounted up into the now brightly moonlit -atmosphere.</p> - -<p>The Sultan saw the myriad lights of his splendid capital -sink swiftly down into a vast abyss that seemed to open -beneath him. The dim horizon widened out until it enclosed -an immense expanse of pale grey desert to the south, while to -the north a dark stretch of sea spread out farther than the eye -could reach. Up and up the air-ships soared until the lights -of Alexandria glimmered like a faint white mist at the bottom -of a seemingly unfathomable gulf. At length Alan, who was -standing beside him, pointed down and said—</p> - -<p>“There is your city. If I gave the word, a hundred shells -a minute would be rained on to it from here. Do you think -your guns could reach us?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said the Sultan, striving in vain to repress a shudder -at the fearful prospect disclosed by Alan’s words. “But how -could your shells strike that little patch of light which is -miles away, and thousands of feet below us?”</p> - -<p>“That, too, I will prove to you, but not at the expense of -your city.”</p> - -<p>He sent an order to the engine-room, and the <em>Ithuriel</em> -swerved round to the northward and, followed by the <em>Vindaya</em>, -swept out over the Mediterranean, in the direction of Crete.</p> - -<p>Half an hour’s flight at full speed brought them in sight of -a small rocky islet which showed like a black spot on the -surface of the moonlit sea. The two air-ships were stopped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> -six thousand feet above the water, and about four miles from -the heap of rocks. Alan then gave orders for each of the -ships to train four guns upon it.</p> - -<p>“Now,” he said to the Sultan, “fix your glass on that -mass of rocks down yonder and watch what happens.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke he raised his hand and the eight guns were -discharged simultaneously. The Sultan heard no report and -saw no flash, but a few seconds later he saw through the -night glasses that Alan had given him a vast mass of flame of -dazzling brilliancy burst out over the islet, covering it completely, -for the moment, with a mist of fire.</p> - -<p>“Now you shall see the effects of our shells,” said Alan. -The two vessels sank rapidly down in a slanting direction -towards the spot where the projectiles had struck. A hundred -feet from the surface of the water they stopped, and Alan -said—</p> - -<p>“Now look for the island.”</p> - -<p>Khalid swept the sea with his glass. The islet had -vanished, the waves were breaking over what seemed to be -a sunken reef, and that was all. With hands that trembled, -in spite of all that he could do to keep them steady, he took -the glass from his eyes, saying in a voice that was shaken by -irresistible emotion—</p> - -<p>“God is great, and I am but a man, while you are as demigods. -It is enough! I will give the pledge you ask for.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_193.jpg" width="350" height="62" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XVII.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_w.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-W">WITHIN a couple of hours after the destruction of the -islet Sultan Khalid was back in his palace, and -the <em>Ithuriel</em> and the <em>Vindaya</em> had departed with -their prisoners of war for Kerguelen.</p> - -<p>Alan, quite content with the advantage he -had gained by obtaining the Sultan’s pledge of peace for a year, -in comparison with which even the capture of one of the Russian -air-ships was of trifling importance, had determined not to run -the needless risk of an encounter with Olga’s fleet, for he had -learnt the strength of it from Lossenski, and saw that it would -be madness to attack it.</p> - -<p>Added to this there was far more important work in hand -for him to do, for it was absolutely imperative that a full report -of what he had discovered with regard to the proposed alliance -between Olga and the Sultan should be laid before the Council -with as little delay as possible, for if it ever became an accomplished -fact it could not fail to enormously complicate the -coming struggle for the mastery of the world.</p> - -<p>Therefore, as soon as he had placed a prize crew on board -the <em>Vindaya</em>, under the command of Alexis, he gave orders for -the two air-ships to proceed southward at full speed, having -bidden the Sultan farewell on the terrace of his palace, and left -him to draw what moral he could from the brief but startling -experience that the midnight hours had brought him.</p> - -<p>A few minutes before twelve on the following night the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -inhabitants of Alexandria were thrown into a state of the most -intense excitement by a marvellous appearance in the southern -heavens. Long streams of light, which in power and brilliancy -excelled even the great electric suns with which the city was -lighted, shot down out of the skies, flashing hither and thither, -and sweeping the earth below it in vast curves of radiance.</p> - -<p>Now they streamed out in a huge fan of endless horizontal -rays which seemed to reach to the horizon, and now they -crossed each other in a network of beams, changing their positions -with a rapidity which dazzled and bewildered the -beholders. Then they were projected vertically to the zenith -as though challenging the stars, and then they blazed straight -down upon the earth, bringing into strong relief of light and -shadow everything they fell upon.</p> - -<p>Instantly the spacious streets were crowded with excited -throngs of people, and millions of eyes were cast heavenwards -watching the approach of the Syren and her aerial squadron.</p> - -<p>The twenty air-ships swept up out of the south at a speed -of about a hundred miles an hour in the form of a wide crescent, -with the <em>Revenge</em> in the centre. They slowed down as they -neared the city, and the concentrated blaze of their lights soon -fell upon the Sultan’s palace, the magnificent proportions of -which distinguished it conspicuously even from the thousands -of splendid edifices which adorned the Moslem metropolis.</p> - -<p>Then, still keeping their relative positions with perfect -accuracy, the winged vessels sank downwards and wheeled -round until they faced the eastern terrace on which stood the -Sultan with his Grand Vizier and the chief officers of his household, -awaiting the coming of his aerial visitors.</p> - -<p>The flotilla stopped a hundred feet from the terrace. Its -search-lights were extinguished, but the strange and beautiful -shapes of the cruisers of the air stood out sharply defined -against the bright background formed by the myriad lights of -the city.</p> - -<p>The <em>Revenge</em>, flying the long vanished Imperial Standard of -Russia, with its crowned black eagle on a broad ground of gold, -at the mizzen, the white flag of peace at the main, and the Star<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> -and Crescent of the Moslem Empire at the fore, floated slowly -forward till her shining ram projected over the parapet and her -three keels rested lightly upon it.</p> - -<p>Then one of the forward doors of the deck-chamber was -drawn back by some invisible agency, and the Sultan saw standing -in the opening such a vision of loveliness as he had never -imagined even in his dreams of the houris of Paradise. Clothed, -according to her invariable custom, in a plain clinging robe of -royal purple, with no other ornament than a coronet, consisting -of a plain broad band of gold from which rose above her -temples two wings of silver filigree thickly encrusted with -diamonds, Olga Romanoff stood upon the deck of her flagship -the perfect incarnation of royal dignity and womanly beauty.</p> - -<p>Khalid, who had advanced to the parapet as the squadron -approached, saw instantly that this could be none other than -the woman whom Alan Arnold had described as beautiful -beyond description and evil beyond comprehension. Few men -had seen so many beautiful women as he had, and there were -scores of them waiting in his harem for the favouring glance -that none could win from him; but no sooner did his upward -glance rest upon the vision that was looking down upon him -from the doorway of the deck-chamber of the <em>Revenge</em> than his -eyes fell and his head bowed in the involuntary homage that the -supreme beauty of such a woman has always claimed from such -a man.</p> - -<p><a id="Ref_176"></a>Evil she might be, but evil in such a shape might be something -more than good in the eyes of some men, and of these -Khalid the Magnificent was one. His hot Arab blood was -aflame the instant that he looked upon her intoxicating loveliness, -and half her errand was accomplished before a word had -passed between them.</p> - -<p>She returned his greeting with a gracious inclination of her -wing-crowned head, and as she did so he said—</p> - -<p>“The Tsarina is welcome! My house and all that is in it -is hers if she will honour me by entering it, for she will make -it more beautiful by her presence.”</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty’s welcome is sweet in my ears,” she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -answered, almost insensibly adopting his Oriental style of -speech, “for I come as a friend and I hope to go as an ally.”</p> - -<p>The gangway stairs dropped as she spoke, and as they did -so the Sultan made a sign and a pair of attendants brought -forward some steps covered with crimson velvet, which they -placed so that she could descend from the parapet, to which the -Sultan himself ascended to meet her as she came down. Taking -her hand on the parapet, he led her down to the terrace with -the grace of a king and the deference of a courtier. Then he -bent low over her hand and kissed it, and as he did so the -attendant officers of his empire bowed in silent and respectful -salutation.</p> - -<p>Olga was at once conducted to one of the state apartments -of the palace in which the Sultan was wont to receive his most -distinguished guests. She was treated with even more respect -than would have been accorded to one of the crowned monarchs -of the earth, for not only her wonderful beauty and royal -carriage, but the marvellous manner of her coming and the -tremendous power represented by the flotilla of air-ships inspired -both the Sultan and his subjects with a deference that -amounted almost to homage.</p> - -<p>Then, too, the mystery and romance which invested her -name and family and fortune distinguished her as a woman -apart from all other women in the world. It might be, as Alan -had told the Sultan, that she was really the enemy of the -human race, that her true object was to destroy the peace of -the world, and rekindle the fires of war on earth, but still -the present romance was stronger than the future, and possibly -problematical, reality, and so it would hardly be too much to say -that Olga had succeeded in removing the impression left by -Alan on Khalid’s mind before she had been an hour under his -roof.</p> - -<p>She naturally expected that one of the first to receive her -would be the ambassador who had preceded her, but, after -looking anxiously for him and not finding him either on the -terrace or in the reception-room, she turned to Khalid and -said—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I do not see my ambassador here, and yet he must have -arrived, since your Majesty tells me that you have been expecting -me.”</p> - -<p>The Sultan’s face darkened, and his brows slightly contracted, -as he replied—</p> - -<p>“Tsarina, I have been waiting for an opportunity to tell you -what cannot but be unwelcome news. Your ambassador, Orloff -Lossenski, is not here”—</p> - -<p>“What!” cried Olga, half rising from her seat, “not here! -Surely he has not presumed to leave before my arrival? I can -hardly believe that of him.”</p> - -<p>“He has gone, nevertheless,” said the Sultan, “though not -by his will or mine, I can assure you. Scarcely had his vessel -alighted on the terrace yonder, and he had disembarked, when -an Aerian cruiser dropped down as silently as a shadow from -the skies.</p> - -<p>“Whence it came I know not, but it would seem that these -Aerians see everything, and that their hands reach everywhere. -In a moment she had dropped upon your ambassador’s vessel, -splintering her masts, and yet so softly did she alight that the -glass dome was not broken. Then her crew streamed out of -the doors of the deck-chamber, and the next I knew was -that your ambassador and I were covered by half a score of -pistols and rifles and commanded to stand still on pain of -death.</p> - -<p>“Then Alan Arnold alighted, forced your envoy to surrender, -struck one of my guards dead by some mysterious lightning -that flashed from his sword, and, after carrying me away into -the air over the sea and blasting a rock out of the waters to -prove to me the power of his guns, brought me back honourably -and in safety to await your coming. Truly these Aerians are -more as gods than men!”</p> - -<p>Furious as the unexpected tidings made her, Olga yet -managed to restrain her anger sufficiently to reply with wonderful -coolness—</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty gives me sad and bitter news; but it is the -fortune of war, and I must not complain. The air-ship that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> -is taken by surprise is lost, and Orloff Lossenski fell a victim to -his own carelessness.”</p> - -<p>Then her mood changed swiftly, and a soft and musical -laugh came from her smiling lips as she went on—</p> - -<p>“But it is a poor revenge, after all. That same Alan Arnold, -the son of the great President of Aeria, was my would-be lover -and slave for over five years. For my sake he turned traitor -to his name and race, gave up the <em>Revenge</em> to me and told me -all the jealously-guarded secrets of aerial navigation. He -killed my brother in a quarrel, but he was useful, so I let him -live—a prisoner of war, till I had done with him. Then I set -him free, when, perhaps, I ought to have kept him safe, to go -and tell his people what a fool I had made of him. I suppose -he did not tell your Majesty that?”</p> - -<p>“No,” laughed Khalid in reply, wondering what magic she -had used to accomplish so marvellous a charm, “he did not. -But such a miracle proves that you have been truly named the -Syren of the Skies, as he said you are, for no other woman -could have worked such a wonder and disputed the empire of -the air with the masters of the world.”</p> - -<p>“That is true,” replied Olga, lowering her voice to a tone -of intense earnestness, “and the fact that I did it single-handed -proves, I hope, that with good friends and true allies -I can do more than dispute that empire with the Aerians, -these despots of peace who have made the world a paradise -of the commonplace, and fettered all strongest and most -aspiring spirits so that they might be equal with the coward -and the fool.</p> - -<p>“But those are matters which I would discuss with your -Majesty in private, and it is too late in the night to go into -them now. You tell me that Alan Arnold has shown you what -his air-ships can do. If your Majesty will honour the <em>Revenge</em> -by being my guest for to-morrow I will show you that mine -are in nowise inferior to them.</p> - -<p>“Indeed, as I have told you, the <em>Revenge</em> is an Aerian ship, -built in the enchanted land of Aeria, and if you will to-morrow -she shall carry you over the whole of your dominions, and after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> -that over those other dominions that shall be yours if you -approve the plans that I will lay before you.”</p> - -<p>She paused and looked at Khalid with cheeks glowing and -eyes shining with enthusiasm and passion. He returned -her glance with one no less fiery and passionate as he -replied—</p> - -<p>“I will be your guest, as you say, but the honour and the -favour will be to me, your Majesty—for Majesty you are, -crowned by the hand of favouring Nature with that which -makes all men your subjects. Your air-ships shall rest in the -garden of my palace to-night, and an hour after sunrise you -shall find me ready for another journey to the skies, for my -first experience has given me a taste for more. Till then farewell. -The memory of your eyes will make me dream of Paradise -to-night!”</p> - -<p>There was that in his tone which told Olga that his words -meant more than a neatly turned Oriental compliment, and as -he stooped and kissed her hand in leave-taking she said half in -jest and half in earnest—</p> - -<p>“And I shall dream of the nearer glories of the world-empire -which your Majesty and I may in the not very distant -future divide between us.”</p> - -<p>“Or share together!” said Khalid in his soul, as he raised -his head again and their eyes met.</p> - -<p>At the appointed time the next morning the squadron rose -into the air from the palace gardens. In order to produce as -widespread an effect as possible, Olga had extended her invitation -to the Grand Vizier and about a score of the Sultan’s -highest officials, including the commanders of his armies and -fleets who happened to be in Alexandria at the time. These -were distributed among the twenty air-ships, but Olga took -care to arrange matters so that only the Grand Vizier should -accompany the Sultan on board the <em>Revenge</em>.</p> - -<p>In order that the Vizier, who was a cool-headed, wary, far-seeing -man of nearly seventy, and therefore beyond the power -of her own personal spells, might not interfere with her -designs upon his master, she lost no time in placing him under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> -the power of the drug which she had already used with such -disastrous results to the world.</p> - -<p>Although he had said nothing about it, she felt certain that -Khalid must have been warned by Alan of the danger of -taking anything to eat or drink from her hands, and therefore -she had decided to make no attempt upon his liberty of will, -unless it became absolutely necessary to do so; but the Vizier -was easily taken unawares, and she had little difficulty in -causing him to drink a cup of coffee while her chief engineer -was explaining the working of the machinery to the Sultan in -the engine-room.</p> - -<p>The coffee, of course, contained a sufficient quantity of the -drug to deprive the Vizier of all power of opposing her will -or resisting her suggestions for many hours to come. So far as -all independent advice was concerned, he was safely disposed of.</p> - -<p>The air-ships rose to an elevation of some two thousand -feet, and at a speed of two hundred miles an hour ran first -along the valley of the Nile to the southward. At Khartoum -they swerved to the eastward, crossed the mountains of the -Red Sea littoral at a height of nine thousand feet, then sank -again and skirted the Arabian coast until Mecca, the sacred -city of Islam, came in sight.</p> - -<p>The ancient temple of the Kaaba, containing the tomb of -the Prophet, still stood, almost unchanged by the hand of time, -amid the splendid buildings, verdant gardens, and long groves -of palms with which the new Mecca of the twenty-first -century was adorned. Pointing down towards it, Olga said to -the Sultan, who was standing by her side on the deck, dazzled -by the splendours of the swiftly-changing prospects of the -scene below—</p> - -<p>“There is the Holy City, which your Majesty may some -day make the religious capital of the world. That would be -an achievement worthy of the Commander of the Faithful and -the descendant of the Prophet, would it not?”</p> - -<p>Khalid looked down at the city, over which they were now -speeding in the direction of Medinah, and was silent for a few -moments; then he raised his eyes to hers and said—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Even so; but have you counted the cost of achieving it -to me and my people? Before the banner of the Crescent -could float over a world-wide empire of Islam we should have -to triumph in a war which would involve the whole human -race, and this means that we should first have to destroy those -who have been lords of the earth and of the air for more than -a century.”</p> - -<p>“The Aerians are but men,” said Olga, a trifle coldly. -“Why should your Majesty fear them if you are armed with -the same weapons that they wield? I suppose Alan Arnold -has threatened you and your people with nothing less than -annihilation should you conclude this alliance with me? But -why should you fear? I have met the Aerians in battle, and -you see I am not annihilated.”</p> - -<p>“I do not fear them as personal enemies,” replied Khalid -proudly, “but only as the possible destroyers of my people, -who would be defenceless against them. Think of the destruction -you could rain upon the sacred city down yonder, while it -could strike no blow in return. That would be the fate of -Alexandria and all the capitals of my empire, and while my -armies were marching to the conquest of Christendom our -homes would be laid in ruins and our wives and children slain -without mercy.</p> - -<p>“Show me,” he continued, speaking more earnestly and -rapidly, “how they are to be protected against this, and our -alliance may become possible.”</p> - -<p>“It is purely a matter of relative strength,” replied Olga. -“Do you know why this squadron of mine is allowed to pursue -its way unmolested, although the Aerians know of its existence? -It is because, although, as Alan Arnold truly told you, by -superior skill and experience in handling their ships they have -been able to destroy about half my fleet, I am still stronger in -the air than they are, and they know that we have now gained -the experience which we lacked.</p> - -<p>“They have only three vessels, counting the one you saw -captured, as swift and powerful as this, while I have twenty-six. -None of their smaller vessels dare venture within reach of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -my guns, for to do so would be to meet certain destruction. -They are doubtless building others as strong and swift as these -in preparation for the struggle which they know must come. -But if we join hands against them we shall be stronger than -they will be when the year of your truce is ended.</p> - -<p>“My engineers shall teach yours how to build air-ships in -all respects equal to these, and submarine cruisers, a dozen of -which could destroy your present navies in a day. With all -the resources of your empire at command, you could possess in -a year from now an aerial navy of a thousand ships and a sea -fleet of equal strength.</p> - -<p>“Then you would be strong enough to sweep the seas from -pole to pole, and to storm the mountain battlements of Aeria -itself. You must not forget that what the Aerians could do -to your cities you could do to Aeria and to all the capitals of -Christendom. City for city, you could take your revenge, -until”—</p> - -<p>“Until the whole earth was laid waste and the habitations -of men were desolate,” broke in Khalid, overwhelmed by the -horror of the prospect. “It is too great a price to pay, even for -the empire of the world and the supremacy of Islam, even if -we survived the ruin that we should have brought upon the -world.”</p> - -<p>“Too great if there were any need to pay it,” said Olga -quickly, seeing that her lust of conquest and revenge had -carried her too far. “But matters will never come to such a -pass as that.</p> - -<p>“Our battlefields will be the countries that we shall invade -and conquer, not our own, and enough air-ships can be devoted -to the defence of your cities to repel any attack the Aerians -may make upon them. Your Majesty must not forget, too, -that they will not dare to send any very large force away from -Aeria, for they well know that the final battle for the possession -of the earth will have to be fought out round the summits of -its mountains.”</p> - -<p>“You are right and I was wrong, Tsarina,” said the Sultan -in an altered tone, “and the Prophet has said of the infidel,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -‘Such as are stubborn and refuse the true faith ye shall -slay without mercy. Kill them wherever ye find them’—but -alas”—</p> - -<p>He stopped suddenly and looked at her, and she could see -a smile moving his lips under his black beard and moustache. -She divined instantly what was passing in his mind, and saw -the opportunity for a stroke of diplomacy which, base as it -was, she made without a moment’s hesitation. Before he could -continue, she turned and faced him, looking into his eyes with -a glance that dazzled him, and said in a low, quick, earnest -tone—</p> - -<p>“I know what you would say, Sultan Khalid. You would -say that I and my people are infidels in your eyes, and therefore -worthy of destruction. I have thought of that—but the -deck is too public a place for the discussion of such a matter. -Call your Vizier and we will retire to my own saloon and talk -of it there.”</p> - -<p>Khalid obeyed, wondering what was coming next from the -lips of the Syren whose fatal beauty of person and subtlety of -mind were luring him on to plunge into an ocean of blood of -which no human eyes could see the further shore—if it had -one at all—and as soon as the three were seated in the room, -which had once been Alan’s, Olga, addressing the Vizier first, -rapidly but very clearly sketched out the project that had -been suggested to her by Lossenski, and then, turning to the -Sultan, she said—</p> - -<p>“There seems now but one real bar to such an alliance, and -that is the difference in our faiths, or, I should rather say, in -our creeds. I have not ignored this; nay, I have pondered it -deeply and earnestly. Creeds change with times, and Russia, -like the rest of Europe, has now no real, living faith like yours. -But you shall give it to them if you wish, and the day that I -am proclaimed Empress of the Russias the Crescent shall shine -on the towers of the Kremlin.”</p> - -<p>“What do I hear?” cried Khalid, springing to his feet in -amazement at her astounding words; “you and your people -will accept the Koran and acknowledge the Prophet?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I will and they shall,” said Olga calmly and firmly, committing -herself to the huge apostasy without a tremor in her -voice. “Remember, too, that millions who should by right be -my subjects in Asia are already good Moslems. If the Russians -refuse to obey me in this they will be rebels, and you shall do -with them as you will do with the other peoples of Christendom -if they remain stubborn. Let your Majesty’s chief minister -and favourite counsellor speak and say whether or not I have -spoken fairly.”</p> - -<p>“Speak, Musa al Ghazi!” said the Sultan, in a voice that -betrayed intense emotion, “and weigh your words well, for many -and great issues may depend upon them.”</p> - -<p>“Commander of the Faithful!” said the old man, speaking -slowly and with some hesitation, as though he were repeating -a lesson hardly yet learnt, “I can speak but the words that my -soul echoes from without. A strange power has seemed to take -possession of me, and I speak as one to whom another has -taught what he should say.</p> - -<p>“Yet the words seem wise to me, and I will speak them, -lest, not doing so, I should have to answer for my negligence. -If it is written that you shall be the one chosen of Heaven to -plant the Crescent where now falls the shadow of the Cross, -and reign supreme, sole lord of a Moslem world, then have the -means been sent to you by the hand of her who gives you the -means of measuring strength with the masters of the nations, -by whose pleasure we possess that which we have, and without -whose countenance your Majesty would not much longer remain -Commander of the Faithful.</p> - -<p>“I would not willingly speak words of offence, but it is -necessary to recognise that the Moslem practises his faith only -by permission of those who, if they hold any, hold another.”</p> - -<p>“By the Beard of the Prophet, thou hast said it, Musa! I -am a King by permission, a High Priest of Islam by sufferance -of the infidel!” exclaimed Khalid, as the hot blood rushed to -his swarthy cheeks and the fire of fanaticism leapt into his -eyes.</p> - -<p>“But I will be so mean a thing no longer than the time of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -the truce to which I have pledged my word. In the blood of -the infidel I will wipe out this shame on Islam, yea, though -the whole earth shall be drenched with the blood and tears that -shall be licked up by the fires of war. It is my destiny, -and I will do it, or my name shall perish from the earth for -ever!</p> - -<p>“Tsarina Olga, I have seen and heard enough. Let us -return to my palace and arrange the terms of our alliance; -and when you have sworn upon the Koran that you will take -Allah for your God and Mohammed for your Prophet, I will -sign them, and together we will conquer the world for Islam. -It is kismet, and that which is written shall be done!”</p> - -<p>Olga looked upon the splendid figure of the Sultan as he -stood before her, his athletic form dilated and his face glorified -by the passion of religious fervour that was burning within -him, and as she did so a new light dawned upon her. She saw -that this strong, fiery soul might some day conquer even hers, -and fuse it into itself.</p> - -<p>It would be an unholy union, a love bought with apostasy -from her faith and sealed with treachery to her people and the -trust that she had inherited from her forefathers; but what -were apostasy and treachery to her now that the love she had -stained her soul with blood and untold crime to win was lost -to her for ever?</p> - -<p>Earthly pomp and power, the pomp of imperial rule and the -power of life and death, of happiness and misery, over millions -of her fellow-creatures were well worth living for, and with -them might come love again, or if not love, then passion, fierce -and all-consuming, for this one king of earth who dared to be -a king in fact as well as in name, and then—Before she -could make any reply to the Sultan’s words, the slow, measured -tones of the Vizier sounded again, saying—</p> - -<p>“If I may speak again, Majesties”—</p> - -<p>“Say on, good Musa!” said the Sultan, “for so far thou -hast spoken the words of wisdom.”</p> - -<p>“I would say,” continued the old man, “that even as the -winged steed Alborak bore the Prophet from earth to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> -Seventh Heaven, so may it be written that the winged ship of -Tsarina Olga shall bear thee, my Master, into that Paradise of -love which so far thou hast sought and not found.”</p> - -<p>“What say you, well-named Syren of the Skies, to that?” -said Khalid, taking a step towards the couch on which Olga -was sitting, and making a half-appealing gesture with both his -hands.</p> - -<p>She rose to her feet and faced him. One look into his -passion-lighted eyes told her that the victory was already won, -and that strength could now give place to softness. She -dropped her eyes before his burning gaze, and, crossing her -hands upon her bosom with a pretty semblance of submission, -said, in a low, sweet tone that he heard now for the first -time—</p> - -<p>“All things are possible, and if this be possible, then more -than Cleopatra lost for Antony I will win for you, and you shall -reign sole Cæsar of a subject world. As for me, when that -comes to pass, let it be to me as it shall seem good in the eyes -of my lord the King!”</p> - -<p>And so saying she bowed slightly before him and turned -and passed out of the saloon, seeing the vision of him whom -she had loved in vain through the mist of tears which rose in -that instant to her eyes.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_207.jpg" width="350" height="56" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">A MOMENTOUS COMMISSION.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_t.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-T">TWELVE hours after they had left the Sultan on -the terrace of his palace, the <em>Ithuriel</em> and the -<em>Vindaya</em> dropped through the clouds on to the -snow-covered surface of Kerguelen Island, and -within an hour the despatch-vessel <em>Vega</em> was -speeding away north-westward to Aeria with a full account -of the results achieved by the first cruise of the <em>Ithuriel</em>.</p> - -<p>The twenty-four hours which would have to elapse before -the reply of the Council could be received were employed in -repairing the damage done to the <em>Vindaya</em>, and in renewing -the motive-power and ammunition of both vessels. Sundry -small but effective improvements in the mechanism and -appointments of the <em>Vindaya</em> were also made, and last, but -by no means least important, the name of the prize was -changed.</p> - -<p>“You are henceforth her commander, old fellow,” said -Alan to Alexis when the question of the new name came -up, “and therefore it is for you to say what her name -shall be.”</p> - -<p>“I knew you would say that,” replied Alexis, his grave, -thoughtful face lighting up with a quick flush and an almost -boyish smile, “and, of course, I needn’t tell you what name I -should like above all things to give her, but, then, you -see”—</p> - -<p>“I see nothing but a quite unaccountable embarrassment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> -written largely upon those ingenuous features of yours, my -blushing Achates,” interrupted Alan, with a laugh that -deepened the color on his friend’s cheeks.</p> - -<p>“Well, you see, I’m not quite sure whether she would like -it under the circumstances,” said Alexis hesitatingly.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know that air-ships had any choice in the -question of their names any more than children have,” said -Alan, gravely stroking his beard and looking at his friend -with a laugh in his eyes.</p> - -<p>“Don’t assume a density that the gods have not given -you,” laughed Alexis in return. “You know very well who -the she is to whom I refer. Now, suppose you were going -to name and command the <em>Vindaya</em>, what would you call -her?”</p> - -<p>“I would do as you want to do, my friend,” said Alan, -laughing outright now, “although, I fear, with more chance -of getting snubbed for my temerity, and trust to winning forgiveness -from the lips of her name-mother by good service -and hard hitting.”</p> - -<p>“Perfectly reasoned!” exclaimed Alexis, “and so henceforth, -until I have express orders to call her something else—the -<em>Forlorn Hope</em>, for instance—she shall be the <em>Isma</em>, and -on her decks I will win the right to ask—I mean to wear the -golden wings again, or else she will never cross the confines -of Aeria.”</p> - -<p>“You will win more than the golden wings, I hope and -believe,” said Alan, now very serious again, “for you evidently -have a better chance of forgiveness than I have, though I -don’t despair, mind you, for I am determined never to go -back to Aeria unless I feel that I can fairly ask Alma to forgive -what is past. And if she refuses I will hunt Olga -Romanoff to the ends of the earth till I take her alive, and -then I will carry her to Aeria, and at Alma’s feet I will -strike her dead with my own hand so that she may know the -truth!”</p> - -<p>“Amen,” said Alexis, striding forward and taking his -hand. “And if Alma says ‘No’ to you I will never see Isma’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> -face again till I have helped you to clip the Syren’s wings, -and take her to meet her just reward. It is a bargain! -Between us we will bring these proud damozels to sweet -reasonableness. Now let us go and get a bottle of sparkling -Aerian, and rename the <em>Vindaya</em> in proper form.”</p> - -<p>Thus it came to pass that when the <em>Ithuriel</em> next took the -air her consort bore the name that was dearest to her commander’s -heart.</p> - -<p>The anxiously-expected <em>Vega</em> did not return till nearly -thirty hours after her departure. The delay proved that the -Council had considered the tidings that she had brought of -great importance, and had therefore taken some time to deliberate -over them. This turned out to be the case, and the -decision arrived at by the rulers of Aeria showed that they -looked upon the crisis as grave in the last degree.</p> - -<p>The return despatch stated that within twenty-four hours -after the arrival of the <em>Vega</em> at Kerguelen a fleet of fifty air-ships -would be at the disposal of Alan and Alexis, who were -ordered to place themselves at the head of it and proceed with -all speed to Alexandria, taking Orloff Lossenski and the other -Russian prisoners with them.</p> - -<p>Alan was to be the bearer of an ultimatum to the Sultan -confirming, in the name of the President and Council of Aeria, -the provisional declaration of war which he had threatened as -the result of an alliance with Olga Romanoff, and stating that -at sunrise on the 16th of May in the following year, hostilities -would be commenced against him, and continued to the point -of extermination so far as all men who bore arms were concerned.</p> - -<p>He was also called upon to order the Russian squadron to -leave his capital, should it still be there, within two hours. -If he refused, or if Olga declined to remove her ships, they -were to be engaged there and then, and, if possible, destroyed -at all costs. This latter part of the message was to be conveyed -to Olga in a different form by the hands of Lossenski, -who was then to be set at liberty with his fellow-prisoners.</p> - -<p>If Olga consented to go within the given time, it would be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> -necessary to allow her to depart unmolested, as the superior -speed of her ships would place the bulk of the Aerian fleet -at a hopeless disadvantage in a pursuit, and expose it to certain -destruction. If she insisted on fighting, then, of course, -the hazard of battle must be taken, and the Council relied -upon the commanders of its fleet to do their duty as their -judgment should point it out to them. No specific terms were -to be made with Olga and her adherents, but hostilities were, -if possible, to be avoided until the Sultan’s year of truce -had expired, and the new Aerian fleet was ready to take the -air.</p> - -<p>If no fighting took place Alan was to proceed with his -squadron to London with a third despatch to the King of -Britain, as head of the Anglo-Saxon Federation, advising him, -in the face of the threatening danger, to call together the -rulers of Anglo-Saxondom and take immediate measures for -mutual defence against the Moslems in case they should -invade Europe when the year of truce was up. For this -purpose arms in any quantities that might be needed would -be sent out from Aeria, and the Aerians would undertake the -task of drilling the newly-formed armies and instructing them -in the use of the weapons.</p> - -<p>In addition to this the necessary works and power-stations -for building and equipping at least a thousand of the largest -air-ships were to be established under Aerian control in -England, and at the same time dockyards were to be set up -for the construction of an equal number of submarine vessels -of the <em>Narwhal</em> type. It was, however, to be made an absolute -condition of this assistance and protection that the armies and -aerial and sea navies were to be entirely officered by Aerians, -and were to be under the unquestioned control of the President -of Aeria.</p> - -<p>This condition was, for obvious reasons, held by the Council -to be absolutely essential to success. Divided commands in -the face of a foe which would obey blindly the orders of a -single chief who had already shown that he could create -armies and fleets of high efficiency, would mean inevitable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -failure and disaster. Therefore the absolute control of Anglo-Saxondom -must once more be placed in the hands of the -Supreme Council until the danger was passed and peace was -restored, or Aeria would fight the battle alone and leave the -nations of Anglo-Saxondom to their fate.</p> - -<p>The immediate effect of the orders brought by the <em>Vega</em> -was to throw the station of Kerguelen into a state of the most -intense activity. Alan at once assumed command by common -consent, and, assisted by Alexis, Admiral Forrest, and Captain -Ernstein, got everything in readiness for the reception of the -coming squadron from Aeria. All the defences of the station -were also thoroughly inspected, from the air-ships floating -above the clouds to the submarine mines which guarded the -entrances to the harbours, and a general plan of the now -inevitable campaign was sketched out at a council of war held -on the evening of the <em>Vega’s</em> return.</p> - -<p>It is scarcely necessary to say that the orders from headquarters -put both Alan and Alexis into the highest spirits. -They had already vindicated their claim to the confidence of -the Council and their fellow-countrymen, and the claim had -been allowed without stint or hesitation.</p> - -<p>Though their year of probation had only just begun they -found themselves intrusted with a mission, dangerous it is -true, but also of the most supreme importance, and Alan in -particular felt his pulses thrill with justifiable pride when he -found himself charged with the glorious task of doing almost -exactly what his great ancestor, Alan Tremayne, had done a -hundred and thirty years before, when he marshalled the -millions of Anglo-Saxondom against the leagued despotisms -of Europe and overthrew them in the mighty conflict which -had given peace on earth for nearly five generations.</p> - -<p>Whether he would succeed as the Chief of the Terror had -done depended not upon himself so much as on Anglo-Saxondom -itself. If the once conquering race of earth had -kept intact its old martial strength and imperial spirit through -the long years of peace and prosperity as its kindred in Aeria -had done, all would be well, and the disturbers of the welfare<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -of humanity would pay dearly and bitterly for their tremendous -crime.</p> - -<p>But if, like the Romans of old, they had allowed the -tropical atmosphere of material luxury to relax the fibres of -their once sturdy nature and weaken the arms which had once -enclosed the world in their embrace, then his mission would -fail, however eloquently he might urge it. A desolation infinitely -greater than that which overwhelmed Rome or Byzantium -would fall upon Anglo-Saxondom, and its name would be the -only monument of its vanished glory.</p> - -<p>But the <em>Vega</em> brought something more to Alan and Alexis -than the despatches and orders of the Council. This was a -letter from Isma to Alan, filled with the tenderest expressions -of delight at the triumphs which he and his “companion in -arms” had already achieved, and of brave and hopeful confidence -in them, despite the terrible dangers that they were -going forth to confront.</p> - -<p>The letter concluded with the significant sentence—“When -you come back in triumph, as I know you will, there -will not be one heart in Aeria that will not beat more gladly -for your sakes, not one hand that will not be stretched out to -greet you either in friendship or in love. Remember this -against the day of battle, and in the day of peace you shall -see how true my words are.”</p> - -<p>Although the letter made no mention of Alma, save as one -of the intimate friends who sent their “loving greetings” to -the two men who were going to lead the navy of Aeria to -what might be the first battle of a war that would be the most -colossal and unsparing struggle ever waged on earth, Alan -was able to read enough between the lines to give him hope.</p> - -<p>He knew enough of Alma’s proud and sensitive nature to -fully understand why no word had come directly from her to -him, and also to recognise that the task of winning her back -from her estrangement would be no light one. Indeed, of the -two tasks which lay before him, the conquest of the world and -the reconquest of Alma’s heart, he looked with less misgiving -upon the former than he did upon the latter. Still he by no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> -means despaired, and what he had said to Alexis was justified -in his mind by the belief that in Isma he had the most -eloquent of advocates always at Alma’s side, pleading his cause -even better than he could do it himself, at anyrate for the -present.</p> - -<p>As for Alexis, his lover’s eyes and more sanguine temperament -found in the letter ample justification for the re-naming -of the <em>Vindaya</em>, and if he forgot to return the precious sheet -of paper to Alan after he had read its contents, it was because -he honestly felt that he had the better right to it, and his -companion in love and war apparently recognised this, for -he carefully refrained from asking him for it. Thus well -comforted with new-born hope, and impatiently longing to -begin the momentous work in hand, whether it was to be war -or diplomacy, they awaited the arrival of the promised fleet -from Aeria, which was expected to alight on the surface of -Kerguelen about noon on the day after the arrival of the -<em>Vega</em>.</p> - -<p>A few minutes before twelve o’clock on the 19th of May -one of the look-out vessels floating five thousand feet above -the clouds which overhung Desolation Land telephoned, “Fleet -from Aeria in sight,” and half an hour after the receipt of the -anxiously-expected news at headquarters the fifty air-ships -were grouped round the power-station at the head of Christmas -Harbour, renewing the motive power which had been -expended on the voyage from Aeria.</p> - -<p>When this operation was completed the fleet was equipped -for a voyage of thirty thousand miles if necessary. As every -vessel was completely furnished with all stores and munitions -of war, no further preparations had been made, and Alan was -able to give the signal for the flotilla to take the air in little -more than an hour after its arrival at Kerguelen.</p> - -<p>It was divided into two divisions of twenty-five ships each, -one led by the <em>Ithuriel</em> and the other by the <em>Isma</em>, and these -rose into the air, formed in two straight lines each about a -quarter of a mile long. The two flagships flew one on either -flank, and slightly ahead and above the main body. This<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> -formation enabled any signals made from either of them to -be instantly seen by every ship in the fleet.</p> - -<p>The distance to be traversed was five thousand eight -hundred geographical miles, and the voyage was performed at -a speed of four hundred miles an hour without incident.</p> - -<p>At daybreak on the 20th, the two divisions were floating in -a wide circle six thousand feet above Alexandria at a sufficient -distance to be practically invisible from the city, which nevertheless -lay completely at the mercy of the four hundred guns -which were trained upon it, and which, if the terms of the -Council’s ultimatum were not accepted by the Sultan and -Olga, would reduce it to a wilderness of ruins within an hour -from the signal to fire being given.</p> - -<p>That the Russians were still the guests of the Sultan was -made apparent as soon as the light became strong enough for -their squadron to be seen resting on the earth in the gardens -of the palace, with one look-out ship stationed about fifteen -hundred feet above the roof of the palace. When all the ships -were in their stations the <em>Ithuriel</em> and the <em>Isma</em> ran up close -to each other, and Alexis boarded the flagship to receive his -final instructions from Alan, who had undertaken the perilous -duty of conveying the ultimatum to the Sultan and his possible -ally.</p> - -<p>Orloff Lossenski was on board the <em>Ithuriel</em>, and Alan -requested him to be present when Alexis received his orders. -As he shook hands with the Vice-Admiral, Alan said—</p> - -<p>“I have asked Orloff Lossenski to hear our last arrangements -made so that he may recognise as well as we do that -this is a matter of life and death for all of us. For my own -part, I am determined that the wishes of the Council shall be -obeyed, or the <em>Ithuriel</em> and her crew shall be buried with our -enemies in the ruins of Alexandria.</p> - -<p>“We have not been seen yet from the Russian look-out -ship, but they will of course see the <em>Ithuriel</em> going down. I -shall descend flying a flag of truce, and I feel certain that the -Sultan will recognise it himself and compel his allies to do so. -But if not, if a single shot is fired, or if the Russian squadron<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -attempts to rise in the air until my return, you are to give the -signal to open fire upon the city, and the fleet is not to cease -firing until it is destroyed.</p> - -<p>“You are to forget that you are destroying friends as well -as foes, for I and all on board the <em>Ithuriel</em> recognise that the -honour of Aeria and the safety of the world demand the -sacrifice, and we are resolved to make it.</p> - -<p>“I not only order this as your superior in command, I ask -it as a friend and brother in arms. I know you would gladly -die in the same cause if necessary, and so you must not hesitate -to kill me and destroy the <em>Ithuriel</em> if the fortune of war -compels you to do so.”</p> - -<p>Alan’s speech, spoken with the perfect steadiness of an -unalterable resolve, found a fitting response in the breast of -his companion in arms. Still holding his friend’s hand in -what might be a farewell clasp, Alexis simply replied—</p> - -<p>“I see the necessity, and I will obey to the letter! God -grant that you may all return safe and sound; but if you -don’t, you shall have such a tomb as no man ever had before. -Good-bye.”</p> - -<p>“Good-bye,” said Alan in the same steady tone, and then -their hands parted, and Alexis returned to his ship.</p> - -<p>“Now, Orloff Lossenski,” said Alan, turning to the Russian, -“you have heard my instructions, and you know that they -will be obeyed. Neither you nor your mistress have any right -to expect mercy at my hands, and you shall have none. Obey -my orders to the letter, and see that your mistress does the -same, or Alexandria will be in ruins, before that sun reaches -the zenith.”</p> - -<p>“I have heard and I will obey, for the fortune of war is -with you and I must,” replied Lossenski, completely overmastered -by the heroic devotion displayed by Alan in what -bade fair to be a crisis in the fate of the world.</p> - -<p>A broad white flag of truce was now flown from the aftermast -of the <em>Ithuriel</em>. At the fore flew as a greeting to the -Sultan the Star and Crescent of Islam, while above both at -the main floated the sky-blue banner of Aeria, emblazoned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -with the golden wings united by a mailed hand armed with -a dagger. With every man at his station and every gun -ready for instant use, the flagship dropped swiftly down -towards the Russian vessel floating over the palace.</p> - -<p>Within a mile of her the signal, “We bring despatches to -the Sultan,” flew from the signal staff at the stern. The captain -of the Russian scout-ship read the signal and at once -telephoned to the palace, with which his ship was connected -by an electric thread, for instructions.</p> - -<p>The <em>Ithuriel</em> then flew a second signal, “If you rise we -shall fire,” and this he was forced to obey as the Aerian -vessel was too far above him for his guns to come into play. -He therefore replied with the signal, “I have asked for -instructions. Wait for reply.” A few minutes later Alan, -keeping the Russian well under his guns, saw her drop down -to the earth and alight on the flat roof of the palace, on -which several figures could be seen moving about and scanning -the skies with glasses, which were speedily centred on -the <em>Ithuriel</em>.</p> - -<p>Then a white flag was run up to the top of a flagstaff on -one of the minarets of the palace, a similar one was hoisted -by the Russian air-ship, and she rose towards the <em>Ithuriel</em>. -Alan, feeling now sure that the flag of truce would be -respected for the Sultan’s sake, allowed the ship to come -stern on to the <em>Ithuriel</em> until the two were within speaking -distance.</p> - -<p>As she approached, the Russian swung her stern guns out -laterally, and Alan did the same with his, so that for the time -being neither ship could injure the other. The stern doors -were then opened, and the Russian captain delivered a message -to the effect that the Sultan had just risen for morning -prayers, and would receive the captain of the <em>Ithuriel</em> in half -an hour. The Aerian vessel could therefore descend without -fear.</p> - -<p>“There is no question of fear,” replied Alan shortly. “I -have not come alone. Use your glasses and you will see that -the city is surrounded, but we shall respect the truce if you do.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Russian stepped back with a hurried gesture and seized -his glasses. It was now quite light enough for him to see at -that elevation a wide circle of points of flashing blue light -reflected from the hulls of the Aerian fleet. He put down his -glasses and replied—</p> - -<p>“So I see! You would not have got here if patrols had -been sent out as I advised.”</p> - -<p>“Or else your patrols would not have come back,” said -Alan, turning on his heel and walking forward.</p> - -<p>Half an hour later the white flag on the minaret was dipped -three times as an invitation for the <em>Ithuriel</em> to descend, and -Alan, determined to guard against any possible treachery on -the part of the Russian scout-ship, signalled to it to precede -him, and so the two vessels sank down and alighted almost -together on the roof of the palace.</p> - -<p>The Sultan surrounded by his ministers was awaiting -them, and as soon as salutes had been exchanged Alan handed -him the ultimatum of the Council. As Khalid read the brief -but pregnant message his brows contracted, and an angry flush -showed through the bronze of his skin.</p> - -<p>He read it twice over, stroking his beard slowly and -deliberately as he did so. Then he looked up and said -to Alan in a tone from which he made no effort to banish -the accents of anger—</p> - -<p>“Was not my word enough? Have I not promised that -I would make no war for a year? By what right do you -order me to compel my friend and ally to leave my city -within two hours?”</p> - -<p>At the word “ally” Alan’s face assumed an expression of -wrathful sternness, and he replied—</p> - -<p>“By the right which has always governed the issues of -war—the power to compel obedience.”</p> - -<p>“To compel!” cried the Sultan, in a still angrier tone. -“What! with one air-ship against twenty? Not even a -Prince of the Air could do that.”</p> - -<p>“No Prince of the Air would be mad enough to make the -attempt,” replied Alan coldly. “Ask the captain of your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> -scout-ship, and he will tell you that your city is surrounded; -and I can tell you that four hundred guns are trained upon -it at this moment, and that the firing of a shot, or the rising -of any air-ship but my own from the ground, will be the -signal for them all to be discharged. I need not tell your -Majesty what the result of that would be.”</p> - -<p>Khalid recoiled with a cry that was almost one of fear. -He knew instinctively that Alan was speaking the literal -truth, without the confirmation given by the captain of the -scout-ship. He saw, too, that Olga had deceived him, or at anyrate -had been grievously mistaken, when she had said that the -Aerians would not send a fleet after her squadron. They had -done so, and so skilfully had its movements been ordered, that -the city had been taken by surprise, and lay at its mercy.</p> - -<p>Brave as he was, the strange terrors of the situation sent a -thrill of fear through his soul. There he stood, the proudest -king on earth, on the roof of his palace, beneath the smiling -sky of an Egyptian summer morning; and yet that smiling -sky was charged with death and destruction a hundredfold -greater than if the thunder-clouds were lowering on it, ready -to hurl their lightnings upon the earth.</p> - -<p>He could see nothing but the blue heavens and the eastern -sunlight shining over the roofs of his capital; and yet he knew -that the man standing before him could, with a single signal, -reduce the splendid city to heaps of shattered, shapeless ruins, -and bury its inhabitants and its guests in one common tomb.</p> - -<p>Then what seemed to be a saving thought flashed through -his mind, and he said, almost in a tone of banter—</p> - -<p>“But in that case we should not die alone, unless you have -taught those unsparing guns of yours to distinguish between -friend and foe—the signal for our destruction would be the -signal for yours as well.”</p> - -<p>“Even so!” replied Alan gravely. “That is a contingency -which I have foreseen. Orloff Lossenski, tell his Majesty what -my last orders to the fleet were.”</p> - -<p>The Russian stepped forward, and after saluting the Sultan -said—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I heard the orders given, Majesty, and they were to that -effect. Friends and foes are to be destroyed alike, and -nothing is to be left of Alexandria but its ruins.</p> - -<p>“I am also charged with a message to my mistress, the -Tsarina, which tells her that if she does not leave within two -hours her ships will be attacked in the city, and that, too, -would be disaster; and if my words have still any weight with -her I shall advise compliance with the order of the Council. -Will your Majesty permit me to be conducted to my mistress -in order that I may deliver my message in due form?”</p> - -<p>The Sultan did not seem to hear the request at all. The -idea that Alan and his crew should thus deliberately devote -themselves and their beautiful vessel to annihilation in the -event of their orders being disobeyed appalled and unnerved -him. He knew nothing, save by tradition, of the heights of -heroism to which men can rise under the stimulus of war, and -he looked upon the man who had so calmly pronounced the -provisional death sentence of himself and his companions as -something more than human, as beings of a higher order, to -fight against whom would be impious rashness rather than -courage.</p> - -<p>It was a situation that would have shaken the nerves of -the sternest and most experienced soldier of the nineteenth -century, and so it was no wonder that his spirit, unbraced by -the discipline of war, shrank from facing its terrors. He saw, -too, that there was literally no choice save between submission -and destruction. To save, not only the lives of himself and -his people, but also those of his guests and allies, he and they -must submit and obey this imperious mandate.</p> - -<p>“It is the will of God!” he said, bowing his head slightly -towards Alan as he spoke. “They who cannot fight must -yield. Hereafter we may meet upon more equal terms, and -then to-day’s humiliation shall not be forgotten.”</p> - -<p>Alan inclined his head in reply, and said—</p> - -<p>“So be it! As your Majesty has seemingly decided to -involve the world in the horrors of war, it is not for me to say -any more. When the day of battle comes, let the fortune of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> -war decide between us. Meanwhile, Orloff Lossenski, it is -time that you took the Council’s message to your mistress.”</p> - -<p>“Give it to me,” said the Sultan, stepping forward with -outstretched hands, “and I will take it to her, if she has risen -yet.”</p> - -<p>“There is no need for that,” said a voice a few yards beyond -Alan. “I am here, and I will take it.”</p> - -<p>As the sweet, low, even tones, now so hatefully familiar, -reached Alan’s ears he turned sharply round, with a blaze of -ungovernable anger in his eyes, and saw Olga, calm and self-possessed -in all the pride of her imperial beauty, walking -towards the group from an arched doorway that led up from -the interior of the palace.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_221.jpg" width="350" height="62" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XIX.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">FACE TO FACE AGAIN.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_s.jpg" width="78" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-S">SMILING and self-possessed as Olga appeared -when she gained the roof of the palace, she -had passed through a perfect purgatory of -conflicting and agonising emotions since the -news of the arrival of the <em>Ithuriel</em> had reached -her in her room. Her tremendous and, but for the fact of -her strange, hopeless love, incomprehensible blunder in setting -Alan and Alexis free, instead of either killing them or keeping -them in life-long captivity, had already borne terrible fruit; -but this visit, made at the very moment when her plans were -apparently crowned with success, seemed to threaten nothing -less than the complete ruin of all her schemes.</p> - -<p>She knew instinctively that the city must be surrounded -by an overwhelming force of Aerian ships, for a single one to -venture thus into the midst of her own squadron, and, judging -by her own tactics, she expected nothing less than immediate -annihilation as the alternative to surrender. But even more -bitter than this was the thought of meeting, not only as a -freeman, but as the commander of the Aerian navy, the man -who but a few days ago had been her docile, unresisting slave, -robbed of the highest attribute of his manhood by the Circe-spell -that she had cast over him, and which she now knew was -broken for ever.</p> - -<p>And, more than this, she must now meet as an implacable -enemy the man whom, in spite of herself, she still loved with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -all the passion of her fiery nature, and who, now that he was -free again, could but look upon her not only with hatred, but -with disgust. This, so far as her own feelings were concerned, -was the miserable end of her scheming, but there was no help -for it. She had deliberately sown the wind, and now the time -was approaching for her to reap the whirlwind.</p> - -<p>She thought of her dream in St. Petersburg, and a new -and awful meaning was made apparent to her in those few -minutes of mental torture before she went to meet her well-beloved -enemy face to face. She saw herself mistress of a -conquered world, seated on a lonely throne, wailing over her -own broken heart in the midst of a desolation that she had -brought upon the earth—for nothing.</p> - -<p>This, it seemed, was to be the penalty of the unspeakable -crime she had committed to gain possession of the air-ship, a -hopeless love that should turn all the fruits of conquest, if she -ever won them, into the bitter ashes of the Dead Sea apples -in her mouth, a love not only unrequited, but repaid with -righteous horror and almost divine disgust.</p> - -<p>And yet, despite all this, her marvellous fortitude and royal -pride came to her aid to help her to bear herself bravely before -her enemies, and so, with a smile on her lips and a hell of -raging passions in her bosom, she ascended to take her part in -the debate, big with the destiny of a world, that was being -held on the palace roof.</p> - -<p>As Alan turned and confronted her in all the strength and -splendour of the manhood that not even her almost superhuman -arts had been able to tarnish or weaken, and looked at -her with the stern, steady gaze without one sign of recognition -in the eyes that shone blue-black beneath his straight-drawn -brows, her heart stood still and seemed turned to ice -in her breast, and for one brief moment her foot faltered -and the light died out of her eyes and the colour from her -cheeks.</p> - -<p>Then she caught the Sultan’s gaze turned inquiringly upon -her; her indomitable spirit rose to the emergency, and her -self-possession returned. Passing Alan by with a slight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> -inclination of her head which did not conceal the mocking -smile which curled her dainty lips, she went to Khalid -and, holding out her hand, said in steady, musical tones -which, do what he would to resist it, sent a thrill to Alan’s -heart—</p> - -<p>“Where is the message that my faithless servant brings -from the tyrants of the world?”</p> - -<p>The Sultan gave it to her, and as she read it Lossenski -stood silent like the rest, but with head bowed down in shame -and sorrow. When she reached the last word of the despatch -the crimson deepened on her cheeks and her hands closed -convulsively on the paper. Then with a quick movement she -tore it in twain, flung the two fragments to the ground, and -then, looking up with eyes blazing with passion, she cried—</p> - -<p>“I should be a slave to obey! Lossenski, signal to the -squadron to rise. Boris, train a gun on that ship and blow -her to pieces if a man moves on board of her. Out of the way -there, Alan Arnold. If you lift a hand I will shoot you like a -dog!”</p> - -<p>As she spoke she snatched a pistol out of her belt and -had almost levelled it at Alan’s heart, when, like a flash of -lightning, his rapier leapt from its sheath, and as the pistol -came up it was dashed from her hand.</p> - -<p>“I could have killed you with less trouble,” he said, in -quick stern accents, raising the glittering blue blade to a level -with her eyes, and keeping it outstretched towards her. -“Have you forgotten what I told you, or that I am no longer -under your vile spell? If those orders are obeyed I will kill -you now, though you do wear a woman’s shape. The city is -surrounded, and if one vessel rises from the earth, Alexandria -will be in ruins in an hour. Now, give the signal for its -destruction if you dare, and let the earth be rid of you!”</p> - -<p>“And of you, my gallant Knight of the Air, who draws his -sword upon a woman!” she almost hissed at him in her fury. -“Yes, I dare and I will. Lossenski”—</p> - -<p>In another moment the fate of the world would have been -changed; but, before the order could be repeated, the Sultan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -strode forward and placed himself between Alan and Olga with -outstretched arms—</p> - -<p>“No, Tsarina! that order shall not be given on my palace -or in my hearing. You have forgotten our agreement and my -oath. I have sworn on the Koran that there shall be no war -between Islam and Aeria for a year, and by the glory of Allah -there shall be none!</p> - -<p>“What have I and my people done that you should bring -this destruction upon them? Your servant shall be shot if -he opens his lips, and if you must fight, go into the desert and -do it; but that will end our alliance, for you will have broken -the peace to which I have sworn, and made me a liar. It is -enough! Let us talk like reasonable beings, and not quarrel -like children.”</p> - -<p>Olga was conquered for the time being, and she saw it. -Few as had been the moments of the Sultan’s speech, they -were enough to allow her agile intellect to get the better of -her anger, and to convince her that it would have led her to -suicide in another minute.</p> - -<p>Her manner changed with a swiftness that was almost -miraculous. Her long, thick lashes fell, hiding the still -burning fires of her eyes. Her attitude changed from one of -defiance to one of deference, and as she stepped back a pace or -two, she said in a totally altered voice—</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty has justly rebuked me. My anger overcame -my reason for the moment. My hatred of these tyrants of the -air is not a thing of to-day or of yesterday, as you know, but -the legacy of generations of wrong and robbery, and the -arrogance of this man, who but a few days ago was my -slave, and now ventures to dictate terms of war or peace to -me, was more than my patience or my temper could bear. I -have done wrong, and in atonement I will promise, on the -honour of a Romanoff, to be bound absolutely by such engagement -as your Majesty may make until the period of your truce -is expired.”</p> - -<p>So saying, she retired to a distant part of the terrace, -beckoning Lossenski to follow her. Throwing herself on a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> -seat in full view but out of earshot of the group she had left, -she bade him tell her the story of the loss of the <em>Vindaya</em>, -and how he came to be the bearer of the message of the -Council of Aeria to her.</p> - -<p>Lossenski told the story simply and truthfully, and as he -finished, the Grand Vizier approached, and after an obeisance, -made with Oriental reverence, said—</p> - -<p>“Tsarina, my master commands me to inform you that he -has settled all matters with the Prince of the Air save one, -and to settle that he craves your assistance. Will it please -you to come and speak with him?”</p> - -<p>“I will come,” said Olga, rising and following him with the -words of Lossenski fresh in her ears.</p> - -<p>“Tsarina Olga,” said the Sultan, coming to meet her as she -approached the group amidst which Alan was still standing, -“I have come to an agreement with Alan Arnold upon all -points but one, and that one only you can decide.</p> - -<p>“He asserts that six years ago he took you and your -brother as guests on board the air-ship, which you now call -the <em>Revenge</em>, that you drugged the wine drunk by him and -his comrades, and, sparing only him and his friend Alexis -Masarov, you poisoned the rest of the crew, and threw them -out on to the snows of Norway, after which you kept him -and Alexis under your influence by means of a drug, which -deprived them of their will-power and forced them to reveal -the secrets of the air-ship to you and assist you in building -your fleet.”</p> - -<p>“And has your Majesty given credence to such a monstrous -story, or do you only wish to hear me give it the contradiction -which its absurdity and falsity deserve? If the former, the -sooner I and my ships leave your city, never to return save -as enemies, the better. If the latter, you shall soon be -satisfied.”</p> - -<p>Olga spoke with an air of angered innocence which completely -deceived the Sultan, anxious as he was to find the -extraordinary story false, and he hastily replied—</p> - -<p>“It is the latter that I desire, of course. I was obliged to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -say that if you were unable to deny the accusation it would -be impossible for me to continue an alliance with one who -had been guilty of a crime which my faith and the customs -of my race denounce as vile beyond all human measure. -But I refused to believe it against you until your own lips -had confessed it, or undeniable evidence had proved it, and -therefore I have asked you to come and let us know the -truth.”</p> - -<p>“I thank you, Sultan Khalid, for your confidence and your -chivalry,” she said, looking up into his eyes with a glance that -rendered all denial from her once and for ever unnecessary. -“You shall hear me deny the foul falsehood to my traducer’s -face.”</p> - -<p>Stung to fresh fury by the knowledge that Alan had sought -to expose her in her true nature to the man whom she sought -to make her slave in his place, she strode forward to within -three paces of where he was standing, and, drawing herself -up to the full height of her royal stature, she faced him with -pale cheeks and blazing eyes, her beauty so transfigured by -anger that the Moslems standing about her instinctively -shrank back, awe-stricken by such an incarnation of wrath -and loveliness as no man of them had ever dreamed of before. -Even Alan himself forgot his hate and disgust for the moment -in the contemplation of her almost miraculous beauty and -the indescribable dignity with which her anger invested her, -and waited in silence that was almost respectful for the -tempest of wrath and reproach which he saw was about to -be let loose on him.</p> - -<p>Her lips trembled mutely for a moment or two before any -sound came from them, but when she spoke her tone was low -and clear, though almost hoarse with passion, and shaken by -the manifest effort she made to keep it under control.</p> - -<p>“So this is the return that your chivalry makes for my -generosity in giving you life and liberty when you were lost to -the world; when I might have killed you, as I see now that I -should have done, without a single soul among your people -knowing anything of your fate!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I expected that you would take up arms against me, for -your people and mine are enemies to the death; and I knew, -too, that the love which I had spurned would not be long in -turning to active hate. But you excelled my expectations—you, -one of the Princes of the Air, the scion of a race that -holds itself above all the other races of the earth, the son of a -man who but a few years ago was lord and master of the -world! You come in the guise of open and honourable warfare -to smirch with your foul lies the fame of a woman for -whose sake you made yourself a traitor to your people and a -murderer of your own comrades. A pretty story, forsooth, to -tell in the ears of my friends and allies. Do you take them -for children or fools that you expect them to believe it?</p> - -<p>“Imagine such a miracle, your Majesty,” she continued, -turning, with the clear ring of a mocking laugh in her voice, to -the Sultan, “imagine this Alan Arnold, son of the President of -Aeria, with his friend and lieutenant, Alexis Masarov, and a -crew of eight Aerians on board their flagship, armed with the -most tremendous means of destruction ever invented by human -genius, and each man of them, moreover, possessing in his own -person the power of life and death, as he himself has proved -before your own eyes.</p> - -<p>“These kings among men invite two casual acquaintances -for a trip to the clouds, and these two guests, a youth of twenty -and a girl not seventeen, unarmed and without assistance, -seize their ship, kill eight of their invincibly armed comrades, -and lead the captain and his lieutenant away captive. And -how? By means of some mysterious drugs, subtle and irresistible -poisons, of which such a boy and girl could not possibly -have known either the composition or the use, and which they -would have been afraid to employ if they had done.</p> - -<p>“But let me come to the facts as they are,” she went on, -turning again to Alan, who stood literally dumfounded before -her, amazed beyond power of thought or speech by the audacity -of her words. “It is you who are the liar, the traitor, and the -murderer. It is you who killed my brother before my eyes -because he sought to protect me from your violence; and it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> -you and your friend Alexis who, of your own free will, struck -your comrades dead, threw them out of the air-ship upon the -Norwegian snows, and then, in the hope of gaining my favour, -took the <em>Ithuriel</em> to Vorobièvo, near Moscow, and delivered her -into the hands of my friends.</p> - -<p>“I have fifty men within call at this moment who will swear -that this is true. Orloff Lossenski, you are one of them. Were -you not at the villa at Vorobièvo when these two came with -me in the <em>Ithuriel</em> and delivered her into your hands; and did -you not find the corpse of my brother Serge in one of the state -rooms with his neck bruised and blackened by the grip of his -murderer?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Majesty,” replied Lossenski, stepping forward as he -was addressed. “That is true, though they told us at the -time that your brother had been killed in a struggle with their -comrades.”</p> - -<p>“And is it true,” continued Olga, “that they accompanied -me into your villa and had supper with us as friends, and did -not I forgive the death of my brother for the sake of the -advantages which the possession of the air-ship, which they -consented to surrender to us, would be to the cause of the -revolution in Russia to which we were pledged?”</p> - -<p>“That is also true, Majesty; and there are several here now -with the squadron who can also testify to the fact.”</p> - -<p>“And also,” interrupted Olga, “to the fact that these two -traitors worked willingly to help us to secrete the air-ship, and -finally to take her to Mount Terror, and there explained the -working of her machinery to us and helped us to build other -air-ships and submarine vessels, and commanded these in -their attacks upon the commerce of our enemies. Is that true, -also?”</p> - -<p>“It is, Majesty,” again replied Lossenski. “Shall I summon -the crews of our ships that they also may testify to it lest my -word should not be enough?”</p> - -<p>“Is it your Majesty’s wish that they shall be called?” -asked Olga, again turning to the Sultan, who all this time had -been standing shifting his gaze from her face to Alan’s, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> -from Alan’s back again to hers, horrified by the fearful accusations -with which she had replied to the story, of the falsity of -which he was already thoroughly convinced.</p> - -<p>“They can be called if Alan Arnold desires it,” he said, in -grave, deliberate tones. “But would it not be better that he -should speak first? At present we have two words against -one. Has he any proof that what you say is false?” he continued, -looking inquiringly towards Alan.</p> - -<p>“I have none but my own word and that of Alexis, up -yonder in the skies, and him I cannot—and if I could, under -the circumstances, I would not—call,” said Alan, who by this -time had recovered his self-possession. “If your Majesty proposes -to judge between us according to spoken testimony, I say -at once that I will accept no such tests, for I well know that -this woman could produce a hundred of her accomplices who -would swear anything she bade them swear.</p> - -<p>“She has given me the lie with equal skill and audacity. I -can only give her the lie in return, if not as skilfully, at least -as boldly, and with a knowledge that I am telling the truth. -Your Majesty can believe her story or mine, as you choose. If -you believe hers, I am willing to do you the justice of confessing -that you will be judging according to the weight of testimony, -such as it is, for that is certainly against me.”</p> - -<p>“And so I must judge,” replied the Sultan coldly. “I -cannot believe your story, for it seems to be impossible, while -the Tsarina’s has every appearance of truth. Into your -motives I have neither the right nor the wish to inquire, and -all that is left for me to say is that what I have heard has -finally decided me to espouse the cause of the Tsarina and her -friends against those who have wronged and slandered her, be -the cost to me and my people what it may.</p> - -<p>“We shall keep the truce if you do, and in the day of strife -let the God of Battles decide between us. My answer to -your Council’s message shall be ready for you in half an hour. -Farewell!”</p> - -<p>So saying, Khalid the Magnificent turned his back upon -Alan, and walked, followed by his Vizier and his ministers, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> -the doorway leading to the interior of the palace. Olga, -pausing for a moment to cast one glance of triumphant hatred -at her discredited foe, beckoned to Lossenski, and followed the -Sultan without a word.</p> - -<p>Alan, amazed and enraged beyond measure by the unexpected -turn that affairs had taken, and yet confident in his -own knowledge of the truth, turned on his heel, and went -back on board the <em>Ithuriel</em>, where he went into his own cabin -and sat down to write his directions for enforcing the order of -the Council with regard to the evacuation of the city by the -Russian squadron.</p> - -<p>He bitterly regretted that the orders of the Council did not -permit him to destroy the Russian air-ships there and then -while they lay at his mercy. But the orders were explicit, -and forbade him even to pursue them after they had left -Alexandria, unless they committed an act of hostility against -him.</p> - -<p>If he could have done so, he would have fought them at all -hazards, and then, if he had conquered, he would have been -able to enforce the general prohibition of the Council against -building air-ships upon the Sultan; but as disobedience was -not to be thought of, he could only carry out his orders, and -hope that the judgment of the Council might prove in the end -superior to his own.</p> - -<p>At the end of the half-hour he was summoned to meet the -Grand Vizier, who brought the reply of his master. This ran as -follows:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="center">In the Name of the Most Merciful God!</p> - -<p class="center">Khalid, Commander of the Faithful, to Alan Arnold, President of Aeria.</p> - -<p>I have received your message from the hands of your son. I shall faithfully -observe the terms of the truce I promised to him, and of which he has -told you.</p> - -<p>As my city lies for the time being at the mercy of your fleet, I can only -save my people and my guests from destruction by agreeing to your demands. -The Russian air-ships shall leave Alexandria within an hour of the delivery of -this to your son. But this is to tell you that I have made alliance with Olga -Romanoff, rightful Tsarina of the Russias, and that when the year of truce has -expired, I will no longer be a king merely in name and hold my power and -dignity at your pleasure.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p> - -<p>At the end of the year of truce there shall be war between you and me and -your people and mine unless before then you shall recognise my independence -in due form and my right to create such armaments as I think fit for the protection -of my dominions against yourself or any other Power, and unless you -consent to restore Olga Romanoff to the throne and dignity which is hers by -right, and of which your ancestors robbed her in the days of the Terror.</p> - -<p>If you do this there shall be peace between us, but if not, there shall be -war, and we will fight until the God of Battles has decided between us, and -given to you or to me the dominion of the world.</p></blockquote> - -<p>Alan’s brows contracted slightly as he read this defiant -missive, but there was a half-pitying smile on his lips when he -said to the Vizier as he handed him the instructions he had -just written—</p> - -<p>“I am deeply sorry—sorry for him and his people, and, indeed, -for the whole human race—that he has been misled into -writing words which in a year’s time will set the world in a -blaze. Our reply to this will be written in blood and fire, and -the smoking ruins of cities throughout the length and breadth -of his dominions. But he has chosen, and he and you must -abide by his choice. I cannot believe that he knows what he -is doing, and if you are a faithful friend and servant you will -counsel peace and moderation.”</p> - -<p>“My master,” said the Vizier haughtily, “does not seek -advice from his enemies; more than ever would it be impossible -for him to do so when their lips are fresh-stained with -lies.”</p> - -<p>Alan’s hand instinctively sprang to the hilt of his rapier, -and in another moment the Vizier’s life would have paid for -the insult, but when the blade was half out of its sheath his self-control -returned, and he thrust it back again, saying—</p> - -<p>“You are an old man and an ambassador, so you are safe. -You shall live so that you may some day find out for yourself -where the truth in this matter lies. Who knows but that the -Syren may before long put you or your master under her spell. -If she does you will drink something from her hand, and when -you have drunk it you will have no will but hers; you will -obey her blindly, and the thoughts that you speak shall be only -those she suggests to you.”</p> - -<p>Later on that day, when the excitement of the hour had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> -passed, Musa al Ghazi remembered these words, and the -strange acquiescence which he had given to Olga’s plans in the -saloon of the <em>Revenge</em>. If he had remembered it while Alan -was speaking, millions of innocent lives might possibly have -been saved, and the curse of war averted from the world for -many more generations, perhaps for ever. But he did not, and -so events took their logical course. As it was, he made no -direct reply to Alan’s words, but handed him another paper, -saying—</p> - -<p>“I have been commissioned also to give you this. The instructions -agreed upon shall be obeyed, and now I have only to -remind you that you are no longer my master’s guest.”</p> - -<p>With that he saluted with frigid dignity and turned away -towards the palace door.</p> - -<p>Alan looked after him for a moment with a smile half of -contempt and half of pity, then he opened the paper in his -hand. As he expected, it was from Olga, and, beginning without -any form of address, it ran thus—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>I shall obey your orders and leave the city, not because I will, but because -I must, in order to save the Sultan and his people from destruction. I will also -undertake to refrain from hostilities until the Sultan’s truce expires, provided you -do not molest me. If you do, or if the Sultan is subjected to any unreasonable -commands or acts of oppression, I will consider the truce at an end, and I will -not only recommence my submarine attacks upon the world’s commerce, but I -will send out my air-ships and scatter death and destruction far and wide over -the earth, without mercy and without discrimination between enemies or -neutrals; it is therefore for you to choose whether the issue between us shall be -fought out when the time comes, and in fair and honourable warfare, or whether -the dogs of war shall be let loose at once. I have still thirty air-ships, and as -many submarine cruisers, and I can do what I say.</p> - -<p class="marginrightindent"><span class="smcap">Olga Romanoff.</span></p></blockquote> - -<p>“No doubt,” said Alan to himself. “I’m afraid we shall -have to accept your terms. I didn’t think that even you would -be capable of such a colossal crime as that; but now I know -something like the full capacity of your wickedness, and if you -threaten it you will do it.</p> - -<p>“With those thirty ships, if you have as many as that, and -I suppose you must have twenty-four or twenty-five at least, -you could wreck half the great cities of the world in six<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> -months, and we could do little or nothing to stop you. We -have only eleven ships equal in speed to yours, and most of -those must be kept in call of Aeria.</p> - -<p>“I would give my life and my ship willingly for permission -to fight it out here and now, and yet, after all, that would be -frightful cruelty and injustice to the unoffending thousands -who would lose their lives by the destruction of the city, so I -suppose it must be peace for a year, and then—ah, what -then?”</p> - -<p>His soliloquy began on the terrace and ended on the deck -of the <em>Ithuriel</em>. He gave the order to rise into the air, and the -aerial cruiser soared slowly upwards, still flying the flag of -truce as a signal to her consorts that the mission had been -successfully accomplished. As he felt certain that the Sultan -would carry out the directions agreed upon to the letter, he -left the city without any misgivings, and in a few minutes the -<em>Ithuriel</em> was floating alongside her consort the <em>Isma</em>, and Alan -and Alexis had clasped hands once more.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_234.jpg" width="350" height="57" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XX.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE CALL TO ARMS.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_w.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-W">WITHIN an hour the wondering inhabitants of Alexandria -saw the Russian fleet rise a thousand feet -into the air and form in two columns of line -ahead. Then the Aerian fleet ranged itself in -two long lines five hundred feet outside them and -a thousand feet above them. A time-shell from the <em>Ithuriel</em> -gave the signal to start, and the two fleets leapt forward to the -south-east at a speed of a hundred miles an hour, and in a few -minutes had vanished over the desert. The speed was quickly -increased to two hundred miles, and so they sped on all day -and through the next night—the Russian ships being forced to -show their lights while the Aerians remained in darkness—until, -when morning dawned and Olga and her captains looked -for Alan’s fleet they found that it had vanished, and that they -were floating alone over the solitudes of the Southern Ocean.</p> - -<p>They had been escorted like offending school children out -of harm’s way, and then left to their own devices. It was a -bitterly humiliating ending to an expedition which had really -produced such important results, but there was no possibility -of present revenge, and so Olga gave the order to proceed -straight to Mount Terror, intending to begin there and then the -working out of her part of the compact that she had made with -the Sultan.</p> - -<p>This arrangement was briefly to the following effect:—Olga -placed at Khalid’s disposal all the necessary plans for the construction<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> -of both air-ships and submarine vessels, and also -supplied members of her own immediate retinue, well skilled -in the work, to supervise the building, which was, of course, to -be carried out with the utmost secrecy and speed, so as to guard, -as far as practicable, against the possible destruction of the -factories and dockyards by the Aerians.</p> - -<p>The Sultan had engaged to find money and material for -building a thousand air-ships, and the same number of submarine -cruisers, within the year, and these were to be supplied -with motive power at conversion-stations established at the -dockyards under the exclusive control of certain of Olga’s -lieutenants.</p> - -<p>The secret of this motive power, which was identical save -for slight differences in the process of conversion with that -possessed by the Aerians—that is to say, electrical energy -derived directly from atomised carbon and vaporised petroleum—was -retained in her own keeping by Olga, who had simply -promised that an unlimited supply of it should be forthcoming -as it was wanted.</p> - -<p>She had insisted on a strict engagement that no one not -authorised by her should even approach the conversion-stations, -and she had given the Sultan and his ministers distinctly to -understand that any attempt to discover the secret of the process -would terminate the alliance, and expose the cities of the -Moslem empire to destruction.</p> - -<p>At the expiration of the year of truce, the Sultan’s army -and navy, supported by the immense aerial fleet that would -then be in existence, was to be in complete readiness for any -emergencies. Olga was to be proclaimed Tsarina in Moscow, -and the House of Romanoff formally restored in her person. -If any portions of Russia refused to receive her, they were to -be terrorised into submission by the air-ships.</p> - -<p>The tribesmen of Western and Central Asia were to be armed -as rapidly as possible, so as to be ready to form a reserve force -for compelling the submission of the Russians if they resisted -the new order of things, and to participate in the invasion of -Europe, which was to take place at several points as soon as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -the Holy War of Islam was proclaimed, and Cross and Crescent -once more confronted each other on the battlefield.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, too, the resources of the dockyard at Mount -Terror were to be strained to the utmost, and the conspiracy in -Russia for the restoration of Olga to the throne of the Romanoffs -was to be developed by every means that money could purchase -or skill devise.</p> - -<p>The scheme of defence arranged by the Council of Aeria -had already been completed, and it was to execute this that the -Aerian fleet had left the Russian squadron during the night. -Indeed, the Russians had been travelling southward alone for -more than eight hours before they had discovered the fact. As -soon as it became impossible for them to see the Aerian vessels -these had stopped, in accordance with a prearranged plan, and -had wheeled round and steered for London across the African -continent at a height of about ten thousand feet.</p> - -<p>Flying at the full speed of the smaller vessels, a twenty-hour -flight carried the fleet over the eight thousand miles which -separated its starting-point from the capital of the world, and -about six o’clock in the evening of the 21st of May the fifty-two -vessels, flying the Aerian and British flags, appeared in the -air over the open space which is now called Hyde Park, and, to -the amazement of the astonished citizens, dropped quietly to -the earth and lay open to the unrestricted inspection of the -thousands who speedily gathered in the park to avail themselves -of the unwonted spectacle, and to learn, if possible, the reason -of the unexpected visit.</p> - -<p>No attempt was made by the crews of the ships to prevent -the sightseers from seeing all they could of the exteriors of the -vessels, which were arranged on the sward in two long lines, so -that they could walk down between them and admire their -beautiful shape and wonderful construction at their leisure. A -sentry was stationed by each vessel to warn the sightseers not -to approach too close to the wings and propellers, and that was -the only precaution taken.</p> - -<p>Alan learnt soon after landing that King Albert the Second, -the fourth in descent from Edward <span class="smcap">VII.</span>, who was King during<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> -the War of the Terror, was at Windsor, and that the House of -Commons and the Senate, which for over a hundred years had -filled the place of the old House of Lords, had dissolved for the -spring recess, and would not meet again until after the General -Election, which was held every 1st of June.</p> - -<p>He therefore caused a message to be sent to His Majesty at -Windsor, requesting him to name a time for an interview on -the following day, and then, sufficient watches having been set -on all the vessels, he and Alexis, with the majority of the crews, -took a few hours’ leave, not a little glad of the opportunity of -stretching their legs on <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">terra firma</i>, after their three days’ confinement -to the air-ships.</p> - -<p>The reply which he received from the King fixed eleven -o’clock in the morning of the 22nd as the time of the interview -for which he had asked, and, just as the castle clock was beginning -to sound the strokes of the hour, the <em>Ithuriel</em> swept up out -of the distance towards Windsor Castle, and, after hovering for -a moment in mid-air, sank quietly down until she rested on that -portion of the terrace which overlooks the Home Park. Her -arrival had been announced to the King as soon as she hove in -sight, and he was on the terrace ready to receive his visitors -when she alighted.</p> - -<p>Albert <span class="smcap">II.</span>, King of England, Emperor of Britain, and President -of the Anglo-Saxon Federation, was a monarch only in name. -Nothing but the trappings of sovereignty remained to himself -or his station, and he would not even have retained these had -it not been for the fact that, during its hundred years of actual -rule, the Supreme Council had insisted upon the maintenance -of the monarchical principle in those countries where it had -obtained at the end of the nineteenth century.</p> - -<p>The first formal greetings over, the King caused Alan to be -escorted to his private apartments in the castle, and as soon as -they were alone together in the room which he reserved for -his own special use, he motioned Alan to a seat and, throwing -himself back upon a lounge with an air of weariness which -accorded but ill with the hour of the day, he said in a somewhat -querulous tone—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span></p> - -<p>“We are quite alone now and you can speak with perfect -freedom. I am sure it must be important business that has -brought you here with a whole fleet of your air-ships, and I -shall be glad if you will tell me at once what it is. I hope -nothing has occurred to imperil our peace and safety?”</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, your Majesty,” replied Alan. “I regret -to say that my errand is to tell you that, not only is that the -case, but that it is a practical certainty that within twelve -months from now the whole world will be plunged into war.”</p> - -<p>“What! what!” exclaimed the King, jerking himself up -to a sitting posture. “Surely you don’t mean that? I thought -that no war would be possible without the permission of your -Council. Surely you would not allow the nations of the world -to go to war with each other again, and repeat all the horrors -that happened a hundred and thirty years ago?”</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty forgets that when we renounced the control -of the world six years ago we gave back to the nations the right -of making war upon each other, although we hardly believed -that they would be foolish enough and wicked enough to exercise -it. That, however, is beside the question, because war is now -inevitable, and, what is even more important, the Council of -Aeria is unhappily powerless to prevent it.”</p> - -<p>“Eh! what is that?” exclaimed the King, this time rising -to his feet and facing Alan with an air of petulant reproach. -“Powerless to prevent it? You, with all your fleets of air-ships -and submarine vessels? You, who have called yourselves -the masters of the world for nearly a century and a half—you -cannot stop war?”</p> - -<p>“We cannot do so, your Majesty,” said Alan, also rising to -his feet, “simply because I regret to say that we no longer -possess the undisputed empire of the air, and therefore, in a -measure at least, we have lost the command of the world.</p> - -<p>“As for the responsibility which your words impute to us, -I must tell you at once that it does not exist. The rulers of -the world, and yourself among them, voluntarily and with full -knowledge accepted perfect freedom, and therefore the individual -responsibility that is inseparable from it. You knew that from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> -the time we resigned the world-throne you were free to make -war upon each other, on land and by sea.</p> - -<p>“It is your fault and not ours that you are now so -defenceless that you have cause to fear the war against which -you ask us to protect you. You have known for nearly four -years that the Sultan of Islam has been creating armies and -fleets, and diligently training millions of his subjects in that art -of war which we hoped was to be forgotten for ever among men.</p> - -<p>“Did you suppose, you Kings and Princes of the Anglo-Saxon -Federation, that Khalid the Magnificent, a man of boundless -ambition, was creating these armies and fleets simply to -play with them? Could you not see that nothing but some -dream of world-wide conquest could be inspiring him to do -this, and do you need to be told that the realms of Christendom -offered him the only possible area of conquest in the world?</p> - -<p>“What have you done to defend yourselves, or to prepare -against a possible day of battle? You have done nothing. -Saving your international police, now little more than an ornamental -body of officials, the Federation does not possess a single -soldier. You have seen the Sultan building battleships and -arming them with the deadliest weapons that skill and science -could devise, and you, with all your wealth, and skill, and -knowledge, have not built a single vessel that would be of use -in time of war.</p> - -<p>“I understand that the Council has warned you again and -again that the Sultan’s designs could not have been peaceable, -and yet your Parliaments have not voted a single pound for the -defence of your homes and your riches.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, yes!” broke in the King, now in an apologetic tone, -for he was completely cowed by the direct, earnest force of -Alan’s reproving words. “That is it! You must not blame -myself or my fellow-monarchs, you must blame the Parliaments. -We can do nothing without them; they have usurped all the -power that formerly belonged to Kings. It is this democracy -that has weakened us and left us defenceless. Every man -thinks himself a ruler, and so there are no rulers, except in -name. Every man has a vote, therefore every man must be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> -consulted about everything, and so nothing can be done but -what the multitude wishes. They want only riches, splendid -buildings and cities, light work, and comfortable lives. That is -all they have cared about, and so that is all they have got. If -we, their Kings and duly appointed rulers, could have done as -we wished to do affairs would have been very different; but it -is impossible to rule where every man fancies himself a king!”</p> - -<p>“That is but a poor excuse, King Albert,” replied Alan -sternly and yet somewhat sadly. “It is the old story of Greece -and Rome and Byzantium over again. The weakness of the -rulers has been the strength of the demagogues, and that has -always spelt national decay from the days of Cleon until -now.</p> - -<p>“I might ask you how it comes that Sultan Khalid has been -able to keep his millions of subjects in hand and to be to-day -the sole actual ruler of the greatest empire the world has ever -seen; but neither you nor I have any more time to waste, either -in reproaching each other or regretting what cannot now be -helped.”</p> - -<p>“No, no!” said the King, almost appealingly. “That is -quite right—quite right. Tell me, if you please, what has -really happened to bring about this terrible danger which -threatens us, and let us see if we cannot yet protect ourselves.”</p> - -<p>“You can yet make such preparations as will at least enable -you to meet your enemies on equal terms,” replied Alan, following -the King’s example, and seating himself again, “and it is to -put before you a necessary scheme of defence that I have come -here, and when I have described it you will see that we Aerians -have not forgotten that our ancestors once led Anglo-Saxondom -to the conquest of the world.”</p> - -<p>“Pray proceed,” said the King, sitting up on his lounge -again. “I can assure you that I am all attention.”</p> - -<p>Alan then began, and told in detail all that was necessary -for the King to know of what had happened during the last six -years, concluding with a graphic narrative of startling vividness -of the marvellous and momentous events that had been crowded -so thickly into the last twenty-one days.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p> - -<p>It would not be saying too much to state that the close of -the recital, which he had listened to with the most anxious -attention, left King Albert in a state of nervous excitement -that bordered closely upon absolute panic. He had heard -enough to show him that the splendid fabric of Anglo-Saxon -civilisation would, if left in its present defenceless state, totter -and fall like a house of cards at the first onslaught of its powerful -and disciplined enemies.</p> - -<p>He saw that its wealth and splendour, like those of the -effete empires of old, were a source of weakness and not of -strength, a temptation to its foes and an encumbrance to itself.</p> - -<p>Then, as Alan went on to describe the scheme of defence -proposed by the Council of Aeria, he seemed to find support -and consolation in the quiet, masterful tones of the man who, -without a tremor in his voice, could calmly discuss the prospect -of a war which would involve the whole of humanity in one -colossal struggle, which could have no other result than an -indescribably appalling loss of human life and the complete -subjection, if not destruction, of those who were vanquished -in it.</p> - -<p>Yet when he had finished King Albert shook his head sadly -and doubtfully, and said—</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes, it is a splendid scheme, a scheme worthy of you -and your wonderful race, but it can only be accomplished if our -Parliaments agree together to sanction it and support it. I -hope with all my heart that they will do so, but I sadly fear -that not even your influence, and the fearful danger which -threatens them, will make them agree one with another.</p> - -<p>“Of late years, since the power of the democracy has -increased so enormously, they wrangle for weeks over the -smallest matters of municipal government. As for national -policy, they seem to have forgotten what it means. I may be -wrong, and with all my soul I hope I am, but I sadly fear they -will never consent to what they will call a military despotism, -even to save themselves. The elections take place during the -last four days of this month, and by that time the news that -you have brought me shall be published everywhere, so that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> -the people may know what is before them, but everything will -depend upon the men and women whom they return to Parliament.”</p> - -<p>“Ah,” interrupted Alan, stroking his beard to conceal a -smile, “I had forgotten for the moment. You have lady -legislators now as well as male ones. We were ungallant -enough to refuse them admittance to the Parliament during -our period of control.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the King, with a smile that had but little mirth -in it. “But we have progressed fast since then. In our Parliament -men and women were almost equally balanced in -both Chambers, and scarcely any business was done during the -year.”</p> - -<p>“Which proves,” said Alan, “that what was called our discourtesy -and unfairness was not so very unwise after all.”</p> - -<p>The interview ended shortly after this remark, for the time -for action had already arrived. Alan had learnt enough from -the King’s own lips to see that he was merely a crowned puppet -in the hands of the rival parties, which contended in both -Chambers for the favour of the democracy and the continuance -of office. He therefore saw further that, if anything was to -be done in working out the scheme of international defence, he -would have to take the initiative.</p> - -<p>As full discretion had been given to him in his commission -from the Council of Aeria, he did not scruple to half-persuade -and half-frighten the King into investing him with such -authority as he could give, and, armed with this, he went to -work that very day with a vigour and promptness which -amazed the feeble monarch, and raised a storm of indignation -among the members of the two Chambers who were seeking -re-election.</p> - -<p>A very short experience of these people proved to him that -nothing must be hoped from them. Day after day he met -committees and deputations of them, who argued with him and -wrangled among themselves until he was utterly disgusted and -out of patience with them.</p> - -<p>At last, on the evening of the 27th, after he had spent the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> -whole day in striving to convince a joint-committee, consisting -of twenty members of each Chamber, of the tremendous danger -which threatened the Federation, and the immediate and urgent -necessity of united action in preparing to meet it, he lost the -last remnants of his temper, and, springing to his feet, he -faced them with anger in his eyes and scorn on his lips, -and said—</p> - -<p>“We have talked enough, ladies and gentlemen! I came -here expecting to find the old spirit of Anglo-Saxondom still -alive, and so far as you are concerned I find it dead. You are -not patriots or competent rulers. You are simply members of -a noisy and verbose debating society! When absolute destruction -at the hands of a well-armed and implacable foe is -threatening your country and your allies, you talk of averting -the calamity by discussion and arbitration, instead of armed -resistance. By all means discuss and arbitrate, if you can, but -also prepare for battle in case it proves, as I am certain it will -prove, to be inevitable. Do you suppose that the lamb can -argue with the wolf, or that the rich and defenceless man can -save his wealth from the armed plunderer by mere force of -argument or an appeal to his moral sense? If you do, you are -something worse than simple, you are guilty of a folly which is -a crime against those who have committed their affairs to your -keeping.</p> - -<p>“But I, like most of my people, have Anglo-Saxon blood in -my veins, and I will not leave my kindred defenceless. I bear -an English name, and that name and my descent shall be my -title to do what I now tell you I am going to do. In my own -person, and with the full authority and sanction of the Council -of Aeria and your own lawful monarch, I here and now reassert -the supremacy over the realms of Anglo-Saxondom which my -father resigned in St. Paul’s Cathedral six years and a half ago! -Hold your elections if you choose, and conduct your noisy -pretence at government according to your own tastes, but do -not expect me to be guided or bound by any enactments that -you may choose to make. You may call this a revolution if -you will. So it is, but remember that your foolishness has made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -it necessary! I can make Anglo-Saxondom ready to meet its -enemies on equal terms when the day of battle comes, as come -it surely will in less than twelve months from now, and, God -helping me, I will do it! You either cannot or will not do -this, but I will take good care that you do not prevent it being -done.</p> - -<p>“I believe that the old spirit which won the Armageddon of -1904 still survives in Anglo-Saxon breasts, and I believe that it -will respond to the call to arms which shall be heard throughout -the length and breadth of the Federation before another -sun has set. To-morrow I shall take possession of the means -of intercommunication, and I warn you that you will oppose -me at your peril.</p> - -<p>“You know that I have a force at command before which -you are as helpless as the worms that crawl in the earth, and -as there is a heaven above me I will use it without ruth or -scruple if I see that the interests of Anglo-Saxondom require -me to do so. You have your choice, to act with me or to -remain neutral. Oppose me, and I will destroy you as traitors -and enemies to your country and your race!”</p> - -<p>So saying, Alan turned his back upon the committees, and -strode out of the room in which he had met them, leaving them -speechless with anger and dismay.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_245.jpg" width="350" height="59" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXI.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE HOME-COMING.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_t.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-T">THE eastern mountains were still casting their long -shadows over the lawns and fields, the vineyards -and the gardens of Aeria on the morning of the -eleventh of May in the year 2037 of the Christian -Era and the hundred and thirty-third year of the -Peace, but the whole population of the lovely valley were -already afoot and abroad, for this was the most momentous day -that had been in the history of the colony since Richard Arnold -had first crossed the Northern Ridge with Natasha beside him -in the conning-tower of the little <em>Ariel</em>, in those days the only -air-ship that existed in the world, to lay the foundations of that -throne from which their descendants had ruled the nations of -the earth for a century and a quarter.</p> - -<p>To-day the year of probation imposed by the Council upon -Alan Arnoldson and his companion in misfortune, in exile, and -in victory, was to expire, and the long-lost wanderers were to -return to their home and kindred.</p> - -<p>Very soon after it became light hundreds of aerial boats and -yachts of every variety of design and ornamentation that the -taste and skill of the most highly-cultivated race of people the -world had ever seen could devise, came floating in towards the -vast city of Aeria from the marble palaces and villas which -were scattered throughout the length and breadth of the central -African Paradise.</p> - -<p>Along the broad, smooth white roads, too, which led from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> -the southern portions of the valley, round the lake to the -northern shore on which the city stood, groups of people, with -here and there husbands and wives and pairs of yet unwedded -lovers, were gliding in long, swift, easy curves on noiseless -wheel-skates over the polished marble of the pavements.</p> - -<p>Bright with the gayest and yet most perfectly-harmonised -colours, blazing with jewels and precious metals, from their -gold or crystal-winged coronets to the burnished silver framework -of their skates, splendid in stature, and glowing with -perfect health—if some man of the present day could have -beheld these dwellers in Aeria on their way to hold high -festival in their capital, he would have thought that he had -strayed into some other and higher sphere, inhabited by some -glorified race of beings who had left the toils and cares and -pollutions of earth far behind them on some lower plane of -existence.</p> - -<p>Doubtless, indeed, from some such sphere the reincarnated -spirits of those who, a hundred and thirty-three years before, -had passed through the tremendous ordeal of the Terror, and -in their hour of well-won triumph had made such a splendid -future possible for their descendants, looked down with approving -eyes, not undarkened by a shade of sorrow for woes to -come, upon this glorious scene of the fruition of the harvest -that they had sown, this realisation of the long-sought ideal of -human brotherhood, where there was no evil because men had -learnt at last that good was better than evil.</p> - -<p>Vast as was the stately city, which was at once the capital -and the only town of Aeria, it was soon comfortably filled by -the brilliant throngs of visitors that came pouring into it by -road and through the air. The broad white streets, lined with -their double groves of palms and tree-ferns, soon blazed with -colour, and became vocal with greetings and laughter, and all -the houses which lined them were thrown open to all visitors -who chose to come and claim hospitality for the day of -rejoicing.</p> - -<p>On the terrace in front of her father’s villa, on the slopes -that rose to the west of the city, Alma stood with Isma watching<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -the brilliant scene below and around them, and speculating -on the coming events of the day which for them had a supreme -interest, such as no other inhabitant of the valley could feel.</p> - -<p>“It will be a right royal home-coming for our two heroes, -won’t it, Alma?” said Isma, slipping her little hand through -her friend’s arm; “almost worthy of the great deeds that they -have done to regain what will be given back to them to-day—and -yet, alas! there is to be a spot on the sun of happiness for -all that. Alma, are you still quite sure that poor Alan will -have to come back and not find that which above all other -things he comes to seek?”</p> - -<p>A faint flush rose to Alma’s cheeks as she replied, in a low, -steady tone—</p> - -<p>“Yes, Isma, alas! as you say, I am still sure of that, supposing -always that he really does come to seek what you mean. -I know that no man ever lived more worthy the love of woman -than he is. Yet, God help me, I cannot give mine.</p> - -<p>“I know, too, that he will come back to-day crowned with -more honour than any Aerian, save Alexis, ever won before -him since the days of our ancestors—and yet whenever I permit -myself even to dream of him as a lover, a dark, beautiful, cruel -face looks with black, burning eyes into mine, and two sweet, -scornfully-smiling lips say in a whisper that sounds almost like -a serpent’s hiss—‘You may take him now, for I have done with -him. Take him and ask him to tell you how well he and I -loved when my spell was strong upon him and he forgot both -you and all his kindred for sake of me.’</p> - -<p>“It is horrible, horrible beyond all thought or speech, but -it is so, Isma, and I, of all the thousands of Aeria who will -make merry to-day, shall be sad at heart and praying for the -night to come.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it, Alma, however sincerely you may do so—as, -of course, you do,” replied Isma impatiently. “It is -not your true and loving self that is speaking. It is the -woman who has been brooding over a shattered idol that -never really was a man of flesh and blood.</p> - -<p>“I tell you again—and before that sun has set you will confess<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> -in your own heart that I am right—that you have never -known the Alan who is coming home to-day any more than I -have known the Alexis who is coming home with him. -Neither you nor I have ever seen two such men as they will -be—men who have passed through such experiences as no -other Aerians ever had, who have suffered and conquered, -dared and done, like them.</p> - -<p>“You must put away those morbid fancies of yours, dearest; -they are not worthy of you any more than Olga Romanoff is -worthy to cause you an hour’s unhappiness. Never mind -thinking about Alan as a lover now. I tell you you have -never seen him, therefore it will be time enough for you to -begin to do that when you do see him.</p> - -<p>“For my own part, I don’t mind telling you—of course, -strictly between ourselves—that though I can hardly say that -I love Alexis as he is now, since I do not know what he is -like, I am quite prepared to fall in love with him all over -again on the slightest provocation. And now, after that confession, -I think we had better close the discussion and get -ready to go over to the city.”</p> - -<p>This frank avowal, uttered as it was with a delightful -candour quite irresistible in its charm, brought a smile to -Alma’s lips in spite of her own sombre thoughts. She slipped -her arm round Isma’s waist, and led her towards one of the -long windows which opened out on to the terrace under the -pillared portico which ran the whole length of the front of the -villa.</p> - -<p>“I quite agree with you,” she said. “If that tell-tale face -of yours is no better masked than it is now, when you meet -your Alexis I don’t think you will have long to wait for the -provocation. Ah, well, I suppose—in fact, I am sure—that -you take by far the wiser view, and I would give anything -to be able to look upon Alan as you are ready to do on -Alexis.</p> - -<p>“But no, it’s no use; do what I will I cannot think of him -apart from that Syren who has held him in the bondage of -her spells all these years. I know it is unreasonable, and yet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> -he seems, even now that he has regained his freedom, to -belong to her more than he ever did to me.”</p> - -<p>“That, my dear Alma,” replied Isma, half seriously and -half in jest, “is as nearly absurd as anything that such a -serious and cultivated person as yourself could say. If I could -give you a share of my more trivial temperament you would -just say that you are still so desperately jealous of Olga -Romanoff that you cannot bring yourself to think of Alan as -a possible lover until you feel quite sure that he hates her as -intensely as you do. That may not be a very heroic way of -putting it, but I think we shall find it pretty near the truth -before you have known the new Alan very long.”</p> - -<p>Alma laughed more musically than mirthfully at this sally, -but made no reply to it in words. There was, perhaps, more -truth in the half-bantering, half-reproachful words than she -would have cared to admit, even to her best-beloved and most -confidential friend, and so she took a wise refuge in silence, -from which Isma, in the gladness of her own heart, drew her -own conclusions.</p> - -<p>It might have been that there were depths in Alma’s -nature which not even their life-long friendship and their -common sorrow had enabled her to fathom, but for the present -she was quite satisfied that jealousy of Olga and anger at -the advantage which Alma believed her to have taken of her -power were the sole reasons that prevented her from regarding -Alan as she had confessed herself ready and willing to regard -Alexis.</p> - -<p>When they left the terrace the two girls had breakfast -together in Alma’s own room in a privacy which the other -members of the family tacitly respected, knowing as they did -that the events of the day would bear a totally different -significance for them to that which they would have for all -the other inhabitants of the valley.</p> - -<p>By the time the sun began to show his disc above the -ridges of the eastern mountains they were on their way to the -city with Alma’s mother and father in one of the aerial boats -that were used for transit about the interior of the valley.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span></p> - -<p>They alighted on the flat roof of the President’s official -residence, a splendid palace of the purest white marble, which -stood on the northern side of the great square, from the centre -of which rose the golden-domed building which served the -Aerians as a meeting-place on all public occasions. It was -here that the decrees of the Council were promulgated, and -here, too, on every seventh day were held the simply impressive -religious services prescribed by the Aerian form of -worship.</p> - -<p>Soon after they had arrived at the President’s house a great -mellow-toned bell sounded the hour of six from the cupola -above the dome, and, as the last stroke died away, a chorus -of silvery chimes rose up from a hundred towers in different -parts of the city, and went floating across the lake and down -the valley to the southward, caught up and echoed as it went -by peals from the thousand palaces and villas scattered about -the lower slopes of the mountains.</p> - -<p>This was the signal for the commencement of the first -ceremony of the day, and the gaily-dressed, smiling throngs -of visitors to the city began to file in orderly, leisurely fashion -into the eight wide-open doors which led to the interior of the -vast temple in the middle of the central square.</p> - -<p>In the midst of the immense open area under the dome was -a space about twenty feet square, enclosed by low railings of -massive gold, and in this stood three tall pillars of marble -without a single flaw or vein to mar their perfect whiteness -from base to capital. On each of them stood an urn of -exquisite shape, each carved out of a solid block of crystal, -and each containing a small quantity of ashes.</p> - -<p>Each pillar bore an inscription in letters of gold let into -the marble. The centre one was slightly higher than the other -two, and its inscription consisted of the single word</p> - -<p class="center">“<span class="smcap">Natas.</span>”</p> - -<p>The urns on the other two pillars contained a larger quantity -of ashes. On the pillar to the right hand, facing the main -entrance to the temple, were the words—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Richard Arnold</span>,<br /> -First Conqueror of the Air.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Natasha</span>,<br /> -The Angel of the Revolution.</p> - -<p>And on that to the left—</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Alan Tremayne</span>,<br /> -First President of the Anglo-Saxon Federation.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Muriel Tremayne</span>,<br /> -His Wife.</p> - -<p>The square in which these pillars stood was the most -sacred spot on all the earth in the eyes of the Aerians, -sanctified as it was by the ashes of those who had made -possible the Great Deliverance, and brought peace on earth -after countless ages of strife. Every tongue was silent, and -every head was bowed in reverence as those who entered the -temple first caught sight of the pillars and their priceless -burdens.</p> - -<p>Then the vast and ever-swelling congregation ranged itself -in orderly files, all fronting towards an elevated rostrum which -stood at one of the angles of the great square under the dome, -formed by the junction of the four naves, with their long -pillared aisles which ran towards the four points of the -compass.</p> - -<p>Suddenly all the carillons that were still ringing out over -the city ceased, and in the midst of the perfect silence the -President ascended the rostrum to address the expectant -assembly. Although he spoke but a little above his ordinary -tone, every word could be heard with perfect distinctness -throughout the immense interior of the building, for a system -of electric transmitters, a development of the modern telephone, -carried his voice simultaneously to a hundred parts -of the walls, so that those who were standing farthest from -him heard quite as distinctly as those who were close to the -rostrum.</p> - -<p>He began by a brief narration of all that had happened -to Aeria and the world since the fatal day on which Olga<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> -Romanoff had set foot on the deck of the <em>Ithuriel</em> to the -present moment, and made no attempt to conceal or to -minimise the tremendous and disastrous consequences that had -flowed from that fatal and yet innocent mistake on the part -of his son.</p> - -<p>He confessed that the empire of the air, that priceless -legacy which they had received from its first conqueror, had -been lost, and that, not only the outside nations of the earth, -but even Aeria itself stood upon the eve of a conflict in -comparison with which even the War of the Terror itself -would prove almost insignificant. All that had been won -then had now to be fought for over again, and fought for with -weapons the destructiveness of which made impossible any -estimate of the carnage and desolation that were about to -burst upon the world.</p> - -<p>Then he described how Alan and Alexis, acting under the -orders of the Council, had, after vainly trying to arouse the -rulers and senates of Anglo-Saxondom to a sense of their -danger and responsibility, proclaimed martial law throughout -the whole area of the Federation, reasserted the supremacy -which the Council had resigned nearly seven years before, -and taken the direct conduct of affairs into their own hands.</p> - -<p>He told how the manhood of Europe, America, Southern -Africa, and Australia had, under the influence of their appeals, -roused itself from the sloth of prosperity and the vain dreams -of democracy, and under their leadership had mustered millions -upon millions strong to oppose those who determined to -rivet the chains of despotism once more upon the limbs of free -men.</p> - -<p>The energy and devotion of the two men whose exile was -to end that day had accomplished this miracle in less than a -twelvemonth. All the mechanical resources of the Federation -had been simultaneously devoted to the building of an aerial -navy, which already numbered nearly a thousand vessels, and -more than a hundred dockyards had achieved the construction -of a navy of over a thousand submarine warships, while -millions of small-arms had been sent out from Aeria, or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> -manufactured in the arsenals of the Federation for the equipment -of the newly-created armies.</p> - -<p>What the issue would be of the mighty struggle which -would begin in six days, no man could tell, but all that could -be done to give the victory to Aeria and the Federation had -been done, and the rest lay in the hands of the God of Battles, -who had given their ancestors the victory in the days of the -Terror. The President concluded his address by saying—</p> - -<p>“Those through whom, if not by whom, this calamity has -undoubtedly fallen upon the world, have been recalled to Aeria -by the Council, after nearly seven years of exile, to receive -reinstatement in their long-forfeited rights of citizenship, but -even now they will not reassume those rights unless their -welcome home is unanimous. Therefore, while their ships are -still outside our mountains, if any citizen of Aeria has, even at -this eleventh hour, any reason to give why they should not -be permitted to recross the barriers which separate us from -the rest of the world, let him or her come forward now and -state it.”</p> - -<p>He ceased, and for a few moments there was perfect silence -throughout the vast congregation. Not a man or woman -moved or spoke, and all eyes were turned on the President, -waiting for him to speak again. In a voice whose now -unrestrained emotion contrasted strongly with the former -impassiveness of his tones he said—</p> - -<p>“Then their welcome shall be unmarred by any voice of -dissent! As the father of one of the exiles I thank you for -endorsing the sanction which, as President of the Council, I -have believed it my duty to give to the return of my son Alan -and his friend and companion, Alexis Masarov, who fell with -him and with him has risen again.”</p> - -<p>Hardly had the last word left his lips when salvo after -salvo of aerial artillery roared out from mid-air all round the -mountains, and came echoing down the upper gorges and -ravines to tell the people of Aeria that the fleet which had -been sent out to escort the returning exiles was already in -sight.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span></p> - -<p>So spacious were the approaches to the vast building that -in less than ten minutes from the time the President had left -the rostrum on hearing the salutes from the sky not a soul -remained within its precincts.</p> - -<p>Outside the Council Hall the scene was such as to baffle all -attempts at adequate description. Hundreds of aerial craft, -fashioned in every conceivable variety of design that the -educated fancy of their owners could suggest, soared up from -various parts of the city and its environs, and made towards -the Ridge to the north of the valley.</p> - -<p>The summit was about four thousand feet above the slope -on which the city stood, and it was quite within the capacity -of the pleasure-craft to scale this height. So their glittering -wings beat the cool, fresh air of the morning with rapid -strokes, and the whole flotilla of them soared upwards until -their occupants were able to see over the mighty rock-wall, -and the illimitable landscape beyond opened out before their -expectant gaze.</p> - -<p>The President, the Vice-President, and the twelve members -of the Council with their families had embarked on one of -the new aerial battleships, two hundred and fifty of which had -been constructed during the past year. The <em>Avenger</em>, as she -had been named, in view of the fact that she was henceforth -to be placed under Alan’s immediate command as flagship of -the combined Aerian and Federation fleets, was the largest -aerial cruiser then in existence, and embodied the highest -structural skill to which the engineers of Aeria had attained.</p> - -<p>From the stern to the point of her ram she was two hundred -and seventy-five feet in length, with a midships beam of thirty -feet. She was sustained in the air on two pairs of wings, one -working under the other. Of these, the lower and larger pair -measured two hundred feet from point to point and fifty feet -in their greatest breadth, while the upper pair, working nearly -flush with the deck, were two-thirds of their size.</p> - -<p>She carried ten guns on each broadside, and two bow and -two stern chasers of a range limited only by the possibility of -taking aim at the object to be destroyed, and her propellers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> -were capable of driving her through the air at the hitherto -unheard-of speed of six hundred miles an hour.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> - -<p>The <em>Avenger</em>, attended by an escort of fifty cruisers of -somewhat smaller dimensions than her own, rapidly out-distanced -the flotilla of pleasure-craft, and passing over the Ridge -at a speed of sixty miles an hour, stopped at an elevation of -a thousand feet above it.</p> - -<p>From here those on her deck could see the vast oval of -the valley encircled by the sentinel ships which now constantly -patrolled the mountain bulwarks of Aeria, and which -were launching hundreds of time-shells up into the air from -their outer broadsides and producing a continuous roar of -explosions which formed such a greeting salute as had never -been heard on earth or in the air before.</p> - -<p>Presently an answering roll of thunder was heard far away -to the north, growing every moment louder and louder.</p> - -<p>“There they come at last!” cried Isma, who was standing -with Alma in the bow of the <em>Avenger</em>, eagerly scanning the -northern heavens through a pair of field-glasses. “I can see -the flashes of the shells quite distinctly.”</p> - -<p>As she spoke she handed the glasses to Alma, and noticed, -not without a little smile of satisfaction, that her hands -trembled slightly as she raised them to her eyes.</p> - -<p>“Yes, they are coming,” said Alma, in a tone that might -have been a good deal steadier than it was. “I can see the -sun shining upon the hulls of the ships. They are coming up -very fast, evidently.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Of course they are!” laughed Isma. “After the poor -fellows have been shut out all this time from the delights of -Aeria, it is only natural that they should hasten their home-coming. -Look, look! you can see them without the glasses -now. What a swarm of them there seems to be!”</p> - -<p>As she spoke an immense fleet, numbering nearly five -hundred vessels spread out in the form of a vast crescent, the -arc of which was turned towards Aeria, swept up out of the -blue distance, their polished hulls glittering in the bright sunlight. -In the centre of the arc and slightly elevated above the -rest, shone the blue hull and the white glistening wings of the -<em>Ithuriel</em>, and close in her wake followed the <em>Isma</em>.</p> - -<p>When the advancing fleet was within five miles of the -mountains it slowed down from four hundred to about fifty -miles an hour. At the same instant the other fleet ran up the -Aerian and Federation flags and the simply eloquent signal, -“Welcome Home!” flew from the lofty foremast of the -<em>Avenger</em>. It was instantly acknowledged by the <em>Ithuriel</em>, -and then on all the five hundred vessels the Aerian and -Federation flags were run to the mastheads and dipped three -times in greeting.</p> - -<p>Then the two points of the vast crescent that they formed -swung slowly and regularly forward until the arc was inverted -and the <em>Ithuriel</em> and the <em>Isma</em> came along side by side midway -between the two horns.</p> - -<p>When the two fleets were within half a mile of each other -the <em>Avenger</em>, with twenty-five of her consorts on each side, -swung round into line with their prows pointing towards the -mountains, and in this order, at fifty miles an hour and an -elevation of a thousand feet above the Ridge, <a id="Ref_237"></a>the combined -squadrons swept across the mountain barrier, and Alan and -Alexis, each steering his own vessel in the conning-tower, -saw for the first time, after nearly seven years of exile, the -incomparable beauties of the Aerian landscape opening out -before their eyes.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_237" class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/i_258.jpg" width="600" height="415" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">The combined Squadrons swept across the Mountain Barrier.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_237">Page 237</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p>Following the movements of the leading squadron, they -dipped as soon as they had passed over the Ridge, and were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -met on their downward flight by the hundreds of pleasure-craft -which were waiting for them in mid-air.</p> - -<p>Thousands of gaily-coloured handkerchiefs were waved in -welcome to them, and many a greeting in the sign-language -passed from the crews of the warships to the occupants of the -pleasure-craft and back again, for some of the former had been -on foreign service for nearly a year, and there were many -pleasant relationships to be renewed which had been interrupted -by the calls of duty.</p> - -<p>Far below the home-comers could see the spacious streets -of the great city, brilliant with the gaily attired throngs who -had come to welcome them, and heard the greeting chorus -of thousands of bells chiming in gladsome peals from hundreds -of towers and minarets scattered over the city and its -environs.</p> - -<p>Signals were now flown from the <em>Avenger</em> directing the -whole of Alan’s fleet, excepting the <em>Ithuriel</em> and the <em>Isma</em>, to -alight on a great sloping plain to the northward of the city, -where their crews were to disembark and then proceed to the -central hall of the Temple. Acting on previous orders, the -consorts of the <em>Avenger</em> did the same. The pleasure-craft -fluttered downwards on to the housetops, and so the three -battleships were left alone in the air, the <em>Ithuriel</em> now floating -on the right of the <em>Avenger</em> and the <em>Isma</em> on the left.</p> - -<p>Amid the welcoming cheers of the throngs which now filled -the great square they sank slowly down, and at length alighted -on the roof of the President’s palace. Then the doors of the -deck-chambers opened and a last and loudest cheer of all rose -up as, in full view of the assembled thousands in the square, -the President and Maurice Masarov once more clasped hands -with their long-exiled sons.</p> - -<p>Then they descended into the interior of the palace, followed -by the Council and the other guests on board the <em>Avenger</em>.</p> - -<p>In the President’s room, the same in which he had received -Olga Romanoff’s challenge from the skies, Alan and Alexis -were welcomed home again by those who were nearest and -dearest to them. Only their immediate kindred were present,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> -for, in the nature of the case, the occasion could have -been nothing but a private one. Nor could mere words of -description do justice to the tender pathos of the scene that -was enacted in that inner chamber, for but few words were -spoken even by the actors in it. The emotions of such a -moment were too intense and overpowering for speech, and so -heart spoke to heart almost in silence.</p> - -<p>Alma, who had, of course, remained outside in the -reception-room of the palace with the Council and her -parents, felt even more keenly than she had expected the -truth of the prophecy that she had uttered to Isma an hour -or so before. Amidst all the thousands of Aeria she was the -only one whose heart was heavy on that day of universal -rejoicing.</p> - -<p>Once, and once only, her eyes had met Alan’s, but the -single swift glance had been more than enough to tell her how -far they now stood apart. She had seen the light of pleasure -and triumph suddenly die out of his eyes and the bright flush -on his cheek pale as he looked at her.</p> - -<p>There had not even been a greeting smile on his lips as -he bowed his cold, grave salutation to her and then turned -away to look down upon the city and the splendid prospect of -the valley that was opening before him. This had happened -up in mid-air, just as the ships had crossed the Ridge in close -order, and she had not been able to trust herself to look at -him again even when they had disembarked on the roof of the -palace.</p> - -<p>The swift telegraphy of that one glance had been enough -to tell her that it was not the fond, light-hearted lover of her -girlhood that had come back, but a strong, stern, and prematurely -grave man, who knew all and more than she knew of -the new relation between them, and who knew also that they -could not meet as they had parted, and so accepted the changed -conditions with a proud reserve that drew a sharp dividing line -between them which, for all she knew, might never be crossed.</p> - -<p>Though outwardly she was calm and perfectly self-possessed, -she waited in a suspense that almost amounted to mental agony<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> -for the moment when the greetings in the President’s room -would be over and Alan and Alexis would be brought out to be -formally presented to the Council. Then their hands would -have to meet and words would have to pass between them.</p> - -<p>Meet as strangers they could not, for everyone knew—even -he knew—why she had refused all these years to wed with -any other man, nor yet could they meet as lovers, as Isma and -Alexis had perhaps done by this time, for between them the -shadow had fallen, and even if there was love in their hearts -there could be none upon their lips.</p> - -<p>If Olga Romanoff could have looked into Alma’s soul at -that moment, she would have seen something very like a -fulfilment of a prophecy she had made on board the old -<em>Ithuriel</em> six years and a half before to Alan, when she first -heard of her rival—“By your hand I will wring her heart -dry, and cast it aside to wither like an apple shaken from the -tree!” In those moments of suspense it seemed to Alma that -even now her heart was withering under the blight of this -great sorrow that had fallen upon her life after all her years -of loving and patient waiting.</p> - -<p>At last she heard footsteps and voices in the corridor that -led from the private apartments of the palace. They were -coming, and almost mechanically she turned her eyes towards -the curtains which screened the doorway through which they -would enter. They parted, and Alan came in walking by his -father’s side and with Isma hanging laughing on his arm.</p> - -<p>She shrank back a little as she saw Isma look at her for a -moment and then say something to Alan. But he appeared -to take no notice, and walked forward with his father to where -the members of the Council were waiting to receive him. She -heard the President say the formal words of presentation, and -saw the rulers of Aeria one after another grasp his hands, and -then those of Alexis, greeting them heartily as they did so.</p> - -<p>Then the little group opened, and she saw, as in a waking -dream, Alan’s tall form striding towards her with both hands -outstretched, and heard a voice that was his, and yet not his, -so deep a ring of unwonted gravity was there in it, say—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Are you going to be the only one who has no greeting for -the prodigal, Alma? Have you forgotten that we were sweethearts -once, and therefore surely may be friends now?”</p> - -<p>There was an emphasis on the word “friends” that was -perhaps imperceptible to all ears but hers, but she caught it, -and took her cue from it instantly. With admirable tact he -had, in that one word, shown her the only basis on which it -would be possible for them to take part together in the society -of the valley.</p> - -<p>As man and woman they must be to one another as friends -whose friendship was sweetened by the recollection that long -ago, as boy and girl, they had been lovers. She accepted the -situation with a sense of thankfulness and infinite relief, and, -frankly placing her hands in his and summoning all her self-command -to her aid, she looked steadily up into his bronzed, -bearded face, and said gravely and sweetly—</p> - -<p>“You know that that is not so, Alan, and if my welcome is -a little tardy it is none the less sincere for that reason. There -were others who had a prior claim, and so I waited, for it is -only right that friends should come after kindred. Welcome -home! I suppose we are going to the Council Hall now, to -see what we are all longing so much to see—the Golden Wings -once more upon your brows.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Alan colouring slightly, as he noticed her -upward glance at his sable head-gear, “we are going there -immediately, I believe, but,” he continued in a lower tone -and still holding her hand in his, “long and anxiously as I -have looked forward to to-day and its promise, half of that -promise will be betrayed unless you tell me first that you -believe I have fairly won the right to wear the Golden Wings -again. Tell me, now, do you in your heart think so?”</p> - -<p>“If you have not done so,” she replied, only keeping her -voice steady by a supreme effort, “then it would be hopeless -for any man to look for forgiveness on earth. You have -fallen and you have risen again, and to-day there are no two -men in Aeria more worthy of honour than you and Alexis -are.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span></p> - -<p>He looked down into the clear depths of her soft grey eyes -as she spoke, and in another instant he might have forgotten -that which sealed his lips to all words of love, and all the -reserve to which he had been schooling himself for so long, -but at that moment Alma’s mother came towards them saying -that the President was ready to take Alan to the Council -Hall, and—this with a smile—that thousands should not be -kept waiting for the sake of one. Her words recalled him to -himself, and, with an inclination of his black-plumed head, he -said—</p> - -<p>“That is enough, for now I know that I have heard the -truth from the lips of my severest judge, and I am well content -with it. I have not lost everything if you believe that I -have regained my honour.”</p> - -<p>“We all believe that, Alan,” said Alma’s mother before her -daughter could reply; “and, more than that, I know of no -one in Aeria who thinks that you ever really lost it. Now -go to your father. He is thinking of the thousands who are -waiting anxiously for you in the Council Hall. You can finish -this conversation later on.”</p> - -<p>He accepted the dismissal with a smile, and as he went -back he saw Isma slip away from Alexis’ side with a tell-tale -blush on her lovely face, and, giving him a saucy, laughing -glance as she passed him, run lightly across the room to -Alma’s side.</p> - -<p>“Well,” she said, reading too swiftly and not very correctly -the altered expression of her friend’s face, “have you made -friends, then, after all? I thought you would, and—oh, Alma, -I <em>am</em> so happy!”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Alma gravely, though she could not repress -a smile at the radiant face that looked up at hers, “we have -made friends. But you seem to have done something more -than that. Your explanations”—</p> - -<p>“There were no explanations at all,” interrupted Isma, rosy -red from neck to brow. “When we met in the room he picked -me up in his arms before everybody and kissed me—and after -that of course there was nothing to be said.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXII.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE EVE OF BATTLE.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_a.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-A">AN irregular procession was now formed, at the head -of which walked the two returned exiles, each -with his father by his side, and followed by the -rest of the company. They passed out of the -reception-room, down the wide entrance-hall, and -out of the great arched portal which opened on -to the square.</p> - -<p>As they appeared at the top of the spacious flight of marble -steps which led from it down to the pavement, a mighty cheer -of welcome went up from a hundred thousand throats, the -peals of bells in the four towers which rose from the angles of -the Council Hall sent forth the signal to all the other belfries -of the city, and, amidst the jubilant chorus that instantly burst -forth, the scene of the reinvestiture was reached. Then the -great bell in the dome tolled out one sonorous warning note, -and instantly there was silence on the earth and in the air.</p> - -<p>This was at the moment that the procession, after passing -half round the square along the broad path left for it by the -cheering throng, halted in front of the main entrance to the -Temple of Aeria, which faced towards the south, in the middle -of the magnificent façade fronting a marble-paved avenue of -double rows of palms and tree-ferns which ran in a straight -line for three miles down to the shores of the lake.</p> - -<p>The Aerians had progressed far beyond the stage of semi-barbaric -pomp and display, and so the ceremony of restoring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> -to Alan and Alexis the rights of citizenship, of which the -Golden Wings were the symbol, solemn as it was, was also -simple in the extreme.</p> - -<p>As the vast curtains which hung over the main doors of the -Temple swung aside to admit them, they fell out of the procession -and doffed their sable head-gear. The President and -his fellow Councillors went on and took up their position in -front of the three pillars under the centre of the dome.</p> - -<p>Then a guard of honour, composed of a hundred of their -shipmates and companions-in-arms from Kerguelen, marched -up to the door and formed into two files, between which Alan -and Alexis walked down the aisle through the space left by -the orderly throng that filled the vast building from the floor -to the topmost tier of the rows of seats which rose half-way up -the lofty walls, and so came in front of the President and the -Council.</p> - -<p>Here their guard halted and formed a semicircle, leaving -them in the open space within it. A breathless silence fell -upon the assembled thousands as they dropped on one knee -before the President. Then, in a voice whose every accent -rang distinctly to the farthest corners of the huge building, he -said—</p> - -<p>“Alan Arnold and Alexis Masarov, the year of your probation -ended with the rising of this morning’s sun. You have -been tried and you have not been found wanting, and that of -which the arch-enemy of our race robbed you for a time you -have regained by manly valour and patient devotion.</p> - -<p>“Therefore, by command of the Supreme Council, and with -the consent of all the citizens of Aeria, I restore to you the -symbols of those rights which you lost and have regained.</p> - -<p>“In the presence of God and this assembly, and on the holy -ground that is sanctified by the ashes of those mighty ancestors -of ours who bequeathed to us the empire of the world, I replace -the Golden Wings upon your brows, in the full belief that from -the higher and happier sphere they now inhabit they are -looking down with approval upon the act.</p> - -<p>“Rise now, recrowned Princes of the Air, and in the near<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> -approaching day of battle go forth with fearless hearts and -stainless honour to do that which the voice of duty and the -needs of humanity shall bid you do!”</p> - -<p>As he ceased speaking he held out a hand to each of them, -and so they rose to their feet again, once more wearing the -Golden Wings, once more free and equal amidst their peers of -the Royal race of Aeria. As they did so a burst of jubilant -melody rolled out, apparently from all parts of the Temple at -once.</p> - -<p>It was the opening chorus of a triumphal march which the -greatest living musician of Aeria, and therefore of the world, -had composed in honour of the day and the event, and as its -splendid harmonies rolled out from the hidden organ through -the vast interior, and through the open portals into the square -beyond, the great assembly filed out in four streams from the -Temple, and all Aeria made ready to give itself up to feasting -and merry-making for the rest of the day.</p> - -<p>For three days Aeria kept high festival in honour of the -home-coming of the son of the President and his companion in -exile, but for all that there was sterner business in hand than -merry-making for those in authority. Save in the almost -impossible event of overtures of peace being received from the -Sultan, war which, in the nature of the circumstances, could -hardly fail to be universal, would actually begin at daybreak -on the 16th of May, that is to say in five days after the return -of Alan and Alexis.</p> - -<p>The greater part, therefore, even of the days of rejoicing -was really spent in hard work by those upon whom had -devolved the tremendous responsibility of counteracting as -far as was possible the designs of conquest and oppression to -which Olga Romanoff, by means of her fatal beauty and subtle -diplomacy, had succeeded in irrevocably committing Khalid -the Magnificent.</p> - -<p>Early on the morning of the day following the reinvestiture -of Alan and Alexis with the symbols of Aerian citizenship -a council of war was held in the President’s palace, which was -attended by all the members of the ruling Council, the chief<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> -engineers of the settlement, and the admirals in command of -the aerial and sea navies and the squadrons posted at the -various stations throughout the world.</p> - -<p>Before this assembly Alan, who had already entered upon -the active discharge of his duties as Commander-in-Chief of all -the forces of Aeria and the Federation, laid the details of his -plans of attack and defence, and invited criticism upon them.</p> - -<p>The same day Alan transferred his flag and his crew from -the <em>Ithuriel</em> to the <em>Avenger</em>, while Alexis took possession of a -splendid vessel of the same type, to which the name <em>Orion</em> had -been given, after that of the air-ship commanded by Alan -Tremayne in the battle of Armageddon. Alexis, however, had -very little difficulty in obtaining the consent of the Council to -his substituting another name for this, with the consequence -that the prize taken from the enemy resumed her Russian name, -and remained in Aeria as a trophy of the skill of her captors.</p> - -<p>Perhaps in his heart Alan would have dearly liked to have -made a similar change in the name of the <em>Avenger</em>, but it was -impossible for him to propose it, situated as he was with regard -to Alma.</p> - -<p>Alexis and Isma had taken the shortest, and therefore the -wisest, course out of the terribly delicate and embarrassing -position which had been created by the unholy passions and -ruthless treachery of Olga Romanoff. They had tacitly agreed -to ignore it <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">in toto</i>, and to begin again where they had left off -nearly seven years before, and thus it came to pass that Isma’s -own pretty hands spilled the christening wine over the shapely -bows of her formidable namesake.</p> - -<p>The first use that Alan made of his new ship was to test -her immense capabilities to the utmost, so that he might know -what demands he might safely make upon her in possible -emergencies. He rushed her at full speed round the mountain -bulwarks of Aeria, a distance of two hundred and fifty miles, -and found that she completed the circuit in just twenty-five -minutes, which gave a speed of six hundred miles an hour. -Alexis followed, and covered the same distance in twenty-seven -minutes and a half in the <em>Isma</em>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span></p> - -<p>These trials proved that the new Aerian vessels were from -fifty to seventy-five miles an hour faster than the models on -which their enemies had been building their new fleets—a fact -which, unless Olga and her ally had made a corresponding -improvement in their battleships, might be expected to have a -considerable effect on the issue of the coming war.</p> - -<p>After the speed-trials the soaring powers of the two vessels -were tried, and it was demonstrated that their machinery was -sufficiently powerful to carry them to altitudes beyond which -it was not possible for human beings to breathe. After this all -the defences of Aeria were visited and examined in detail, and -then on the second day after their arrival in the valley Alan -and Alexis divided all the air-ships at their disposal into two -squadrons, each numbering nearly four hundred vessels, one of -which, commanded by Alan, guarded the valley, while the -other, under Alexis, constituted an attacking force, the duty -of which was to find out, if possible, any weak point in the -defensive organisation.</p> - -<p>From noon to midnight the mimic battle went on in strict -accordance with the accepted rules of aerial warfare, but -though Alexis and the captains of his fleet tried everything -that skill or daring could suggest, the defence proved too strong -for them, and during the whole twelve hours they were unable -to bring a single vessel into such a position that she could send -a shell into Aeria without previously exposing herself to a fire -that must have annihilated her in an instant.</p> - -<p>This aerial review was the concluding spectacle of the -festivities, and it was watched by the occupants of thousands -of pleasure-craft, whose interest in it was sharpened by the -knowledge that before many days a conflict such as it portrayed -might be raging in deadly earnest round the mountain -bulwarks of their hitherto inviolate domain.</p> - -<p>So consummate was the skill displayed by Alan in this -defence that as soon as the <em>Avenger</em> touched ground after the -review was over he was summoned to the Council Chamber in -the President’s palace to receive the thanks of the Senate and -cordial expression of the perfect confidence that the people of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> -Aeria would feel, whatever the magnitude of the war might -prove to be, while the conduct of the campaign was in his -hands and those of Alexis, whose tactics had also been so -perfect that, without once putting a single ship in danger, he -had made it impossible for Alan to do anything more than -remain strictly on the defensive.</p> - -<p>On the following day, the 14th, the motive power of all the -vessels was renewed, ammunition laid in, and all the guns and -engines minutely inspected, so that there might be no chance -of failure when the moment of trial came. Then the final -arrangements for the defence of Aeria itself were perfected, and -when that was done, the Vale of Paradise, as its inhabitants -fondly called their lovely land, was a vast fortress compared -with which the strongholds of the present day would be as -harmless and defenceless as molehills.</p> - -<p>Four hundred aerial battleships of what were now called -the first and second classes, ranging in speed from four to five -hundred and fifty miles an hour and mounting from ten to -twenty guns each, were to patrol the outer walls of the mountains, -at distances of five and ten miles from them and at -elevations varying from two to ten thousand feet. These were -divided into two fleets of two hundred each which relieved each -other every six hours, so that their supply of motive power -might be constantly renewed.</p> - -<p>In addition to these, two squadrons of twenty-five of the -most powerful warships of the newest type alternately kept -watch and ward against surprise in the upper regions of the -air from fifteen to twenty thousand feet above the valley, -while all round the great circuit of the mountains were planted -in the most favourable positions nearly a thousand land -<a id="Ref_248"></a>batteries mounting three, five, and ten guns each, which, if -necessary, would be able to surround Aeria with a zone of -storm and flame which nothing living could pass and still live.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_248" class="figcenter" style="width: 447px;"> -<img src="images/i_271.jpg" width="447" height="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">Batteries which would be able to surround Aeria with a zone of Storm -and Flame.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_248">Page 248</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p>By day the range of vision from the decks of the sentinel -ships would make surprise impossible, and at night the great -electric suns on the summits of the mountains, aided by -hundreds of search-lights flashing through the darkness in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> -every direction, made an attack under cover of the darkness -almost equally hopeless.</p> - -<p>The news of the alliance between Olga and the Sultan had -acted like a trumpet-call to battle on the proud and martial -spirit of the Aerians. Generation after generation their young -men had been trained in the arts of war as well as in those -of peace, for the wisdom of their ancestors had foreseen that, -in the ordinary progress of science, it was impossible for many -generations to pass without some independent solution of the -problem of aerial navigation, which must, sooner or later, -result in a challenge of their supremacy.</p> - -<p>Consequently, all through the years of profound peace -which the outside world had enjoyed under their rule, their -vigilance had never slept for a moment, and their men and -ships and materials of war were kept in the highest possible -state of efficiency. Thus, though the Aerian nation numbered -little more than a million souls, inhabiting a territory of some -two hundred and fifty square miles, the amount of effective -strength that it was able to put forth on an emergency was -totally disproportionate to its size.</p> - -<p>Living in a region of inexhaustible fertility and boundless -mineral wealth, with no idle or mere consuming classes, no -politics, and no laws that a child of ten could not understand, -they led simple, natural, and busy lives, accumulating immense -public and private riches, which were as constantly expended -in increasing the splendour and power of the State, which, as -a whole, was the expression of the wealth and patriotism of -its citizens.</p> - -<p>No sooner had the alliance of their enemies become an -accomplished fact than they devoted the whole of their vast -resources to increasing their offensive and defensive armaments -to the utmost of their power. Reserves of material that had -been stored up year after year had been drawn upon, the -mighty natural forces that they had brought into subjection -laboured night and day for them, and ships and machinery and -guns came into existence as though at the bidding of some -race of magicians.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p> - -<p>Magazines were filled with immense stores of ammunition, -potential death and destruction such as had never been -wielded by human hands before—and commanders and officers -for all the battleships of the Federation had been sent out as -each squadron of vessels was completed.</p> - -<p>In a word, Aeria had donned her panoply of war, and stood -armed at all points, ready to fight the world if necessary in -defence of the priceless heritage which its citizens had received -from their fathers, the giants who in the days of the Terror -had taken despotism and oppression by the throat and flung -them headlong out of the world.</p> - -<p>The defences of Aeria were to be under the immediate -command of the President. All the oceanic stations, save -Kerguelen, Teneriffe, Bermuda, and Hawaii, had been abandoned -so as to permit of greater concentration of forces, while -fifty new ones had been established in different parts of -Europe and the British Islands, for here the brunt of the -attack was to be expected, and here the enemy must be met -and crushed if Anglo-Saxon civilisation was to be saved from a -new era of militarism and personal oppression.</p> - -<p>Alan and Alexis were to take command of the Western -and Eastern fleets into which the aerial forces were to be -divided, Alan in the West with Britain as his chief base of -operation, and Alexis in the East with the Balkan Peninsula -as his base between the Russian and Moslem headquarters.</p> - -<p>The naval fleets, in three divisions, the Atlantic, Mediterranean, -and Pacific squadrons, had already received their -general instructions, and were waiting at their various -rendezvous for the outbreak of hostilities. The Atlantic -squadron blocked the Straits of Gibraltar, the Narrow Seas of -Britain, and the approaches to the Baltic, the Mediterranean -division patrolled the Inland Sea from Gibraltar to Cyprus, -and the Pacific fleet were blockading the southern approach to -the Red Sea, ready to operate against any junction of the -Indian and African sea forces of the Sultan.</p> - -<p>At midnight, on the 14th, Alan and Alexis were to set out -for their respective fields of operation, and that evening there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> -was a farewell banquet given by the Council in the President’s -palace in honour of them and the commanders of their ships. -Many a hearty toast was given and drunk in the sparkling -golden wine of Aeria, and many a hearty God-speed and -loving farewell passed between those who remained at home -and those who were going forth to do battle for them and for -the peace of the world in distant skies, and to pass through the -fiery storm of such warfare as had never been waged in the -world before.</p> - -<p>Just before twelve, when the fleets were ready to take the -air, and the last farewells were being said, the <em>Avenger</em> and the -<em>Isma</em> were lying on the roof of the President’s palace, and their -commanders were standing by the gangway steps which hung -down from the deck-chambers, the centres of two little groups -of grave, silent men and sorrowing women, their nearest and -dearest in a land where all were friends.</p> - -<p>The last blessings of fathers and mothers had been given -and taken, and then came the hardest farewells of all. Isma -and Alexis parted as declared lovers will part as long as the -Fates are cruel, but when Alan took Alma’s hands in his for -the last time, and looked down upon the pale loveliness of her -perfect face and into the clear calm depths of her eyes, the -word that he had been longing to say ever since his return -died upon his lips.</p> - -<p>The contrast between her stainless purity and the darkness -of the blot that Olga’s unholy passion had placed upon his -life rose up in all its horror for the hundredth time before -him, and once more the impassable gulf opened between them. -All that he could say was—</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, Alma! You, too, will wish me God-speed, -won’t you?”</p> - -<p>“With all my heart, yes, Alan,” she replied in low, sweet, -steady tones. “God guard you in your good work and send -you back in safety to us. You will come back rich in honours -and followed by the blessings of the world you are going to -rescue from the oppressors”—</p> - -<p>“Or I shall never come! Good-bye, Alma, good-bye, all!”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> -he said, breaking upon her speech, for he could bear to hear -no more, and as he spoke he stooped and kissed her forehead -as he had kissed Isma’s a few moments before. Then he -turned and ran up the steps just as Alexis took his last kiss -and did the same.</p> - -<p>As they gained the decks of their ships the great bell in -the dome of the Temple boomed out the first stroke of twelve. -At the sixth stroke the electric suns on the summits of the -mountains blazed out simultaneously at a hundred points, a -long, deep roar of thunder rolled round the bulwarks of Aeria, -and with search-lights flashing out ahead and astern, <a id="Ref_252"></a>the four -hundred battleships of the two squadrons rose into the air and -swept up towards the Ridge.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_252" class="figcenter" style="width: 466px;"> -<img src="images/i_277.jpg" width="466" height="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">The four hundred Battleships of the two Squadrons rose into the Air.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_252">Page 252</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p>A thousand feet above it they stopped and hung for a -moment motionless in mid-air. Then the roar of a thousand -shells exploding far up in the quaking sky answered the -salutes from the sentinel ships, and then, still signalling -farewells with their search-lights, the squadrons swept out -into the ocean of darkness that loomed round the light-girdled -realm of Aeria.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_276.jpg" width="350" height="54" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE FIRST BLOW.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_t.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-T">THE night of the 15th of May 2037 was passed in -an agony of apprehension by nearly the whole of -civilised humanity. The long threatened and -universally feared thunder-cloud of war had at -last loomed up over the serene horizon of peace -in full view of the whole world.</p> - -<p>Although the events of the last six years had to some -extent prepared the minds of men for the impending disaster, -now that the last hour of the long peace was really about to -strike there were very, very few among the millions of non-combatants -who were able to rise superior to the universal panic.</p> - -<p>The ocean terrorism which had paralysed the commerce of -the world five years and a half before, fearful as it had been, -was, so far as the bulk of humanity was concerned, a terror of -the unseen. Ships had gone out to sea and had vanished into -the depths, leaving no trace behind them, but the hand that -struck the blow had remained invisible.</p> - -<p>Now, however, this same terror, magnified a thousandfold, -was to come close up to the shores of lands whose inhabitants -had never known what it was for man to raise his hand against -his brother. To-morrow the sun would rise as usual, the earth -would smile, the sea would dance, and the air grow bright and -warm under his beams, yet air and earth and sea would be -wholly strange to the eyes of men, for they would be invested -with terrors hitherto only pictured by the fears of panic.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span></p> - -<p>The air would be charged with death. Beneath the -laughing waves great battleships would be speeding swiftly, -silently, and invisibly on their errands of destruction, and the -fair face of earth would be scarred by the harrow of battle, -and seared with the fires of murderous passion.</p> - -<p>The ocean traffic of the world had been almost wholly at -a standstill for nearly a month. Transports which could -complete their voyages before the end of the truce had done -so; but since the 1st of May only short voyages had been -attempted, for it was known that escape from the attack of a -submarine battleship would be absolutely impossible for any -vessels that floated on the surface of the water.</p> - -<p>The immediate results of this had of course been the -dislocation of trade and commerce and ever-increasing scarcity -of food in the great centres of population. Impossible, absurd -even, as it still seemed to those who had not thoroughly -recognised the tremendous gravity of the situation, the -inhabitants of the magnificent cities of the old and new -worlds were actually within measurable distance, even before -a blow had been struck, of seeing the spectre of Famine cross -the threshold of their palaces.</p> - -<p>In a few days communications by land would be as difficult -and as dangerous as those by sea, for, swift as the trains were, -their speed was far excelled by that of the slowest air-ship, -which could wreck them with a single shot. Bridges would -be destroyed, stations blown up, and lines cut in a hundred -places at once, till railway travelling would have to cease all -over the world.</p> - -<p>Thus the most splendid civilisation of all the ages stood -trembling on the verge of destruction at the moment when -the sleepless eyes of the inhabitants of Alexandria saw the -first faint glow of the dawn brightening the eastern sky. No -one knew where or how the first blow would be struck in the -strange and terrible warfare for the commencement of which -the rising of that morning’s sun gave the signal.</p> - -<p>There were scarcely any elements in common with the war -of the nineteenth century save the slaughter and destruction<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> -that it would entail. There could be no marshalling of -fleets or warships on the sea, for to be detected by an enemy -would be coming very near to being destroyed. Every blow -would have to be struck swiftly, silently, and without -warning, for only one could be struck, and to fail would be -to be lost.</p> - -<p>So, too, in the air, as had been proved at Kerguelen and -Mount Terror. Everything would depend upon the supreme -strategy which enabled the first fatal shot to be sent home -that would decide battle after battle without hope for the -vanquished to recover from their defeat.</p> - -<p>But after all it would be on land that the terrors of the new -warfare would be most fearfully manifested. It needed but -little effort of the highly-strung imaginations of those who -were waiting for the world-tragedy to begin to picture vast -armies, magnificent in their strength and splendid in their -equipments, marching to grapple with each other on some -field of Titanic strife. Suddenly and without warning they -would be smitten by an invisible foe floating far above the -clouds, or perhaps visible only as a tiny speck of light high -in the central blue.</p> - -<p>Their battalions would be torn to pieces, their regiments -decimated and thrown into confusion, their commanders—the -brains of the huge organisms—would have no such -protection as they had in the wars of former times, for the -aerial artillery would reach everywhere, and the Commander-in-Chief -in his headquarters would be as much exposed as the -private in his bivouac.</p> - -<p>Thus the brain would be destroyed and the body reduced -to impotence; disciplined armies would become lawless and -unregulated hordes in a few days or weeks, and the organised -slaughter of the battlefield would be exchanged for the -butchery and plunder of the city carried by assault.</p> - -<p>It was little wonder, then, that the world watched the -ending of its last night of peace and the dawning of its first -day of battle with feelings such as men had not felt for five -generations, if, indeed, ever before in the history of man.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was not a mere war of nations with which men were -confronted. The evil genius of a single woman had achieved -the unheard-of feat of dividing the human race into two hostile -forces so nearly balanced in strength that mutual destruction -seemed a not improbable issue of what might after all prove to -be the death-struggle of humanity, the collapse of civilisation -and the sinking of a remnant of mankind back to the level of -barbarians whose children would wander amidst the ruins of -their forefathers’ habitations, and wonder what race of demigods -had created the wondrous fabrics whose very fragments -were splendid.</p> - -<p>As the dawn flew round the world on that momentous -morning every eye was turned towards the heavens, on every -lip there was but one question: Where will the first blow be -struck? and in every heart there was but one thought: Will -it reach me or my dear ones?</p> - -<p>The focus of all human interest was for a moment -Alexandria, for it was known that from there the main expeditionary -force was to be sent out to, if possible, effect a -landing on the shores of Italy, while other expeditions were -to start from Tripoli, Tunis, and Oran to effect landings in -France and Spain. The bridge across the Straits of Gibraltar -from Point Cires to Gualdamesi was to all intents and purposes -neutral, since it would have been madness to send trains -conveying troops across it when a single shot from the British -battery at Gibraltar would have shattered the bridge to -fragments.</p> - -<p>The forces destined by the Sultan for the invasion of -Europe would, therefore, either have to be conveyed in swift -transports by sea, protected by squadrons of air-ships and -flotillas of submarine battleships, or else they would have to -go by land round the Levant by Syria, and so through Asia -Minor to the shores of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus.</p> - -<p>As the European shores of these two straits were known to -be defended by concealed batteries mounting guns a single -shot from which would blow the biggest transport afloat out -of the water, the Sultan had decided to make the attempt to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> -invade Italy, France, and Spain by sea, while the Russian -forces, with their Asiatic allies, were to attack the central -nations from the east.</p> - -<p>So far, therefore, as could be foreseen, the Mediterranean -would once more be the arena of strife, and on some part of -its shores or its waters the first blow of the war would be -struck. Every possible preparation for the attack upon -Europe had been finally completed immediately after the -return of Khalid from the coronation of Olga on the 11th, but -beyond the fact that the coasts of Europe, from the Straits -of Dover to the Golden Horn, were patrolled by Federation -battleships, nothing was known of the dispositions which had -been made for the defence of Europe.</p> - -<p>Gibraltar, Minorca, Cape Spartivento, Mount Ida in Candia -and Olympus in Cyprus formed a chain of Federation posts -which, while they had been made impregnable to all attack -save long-sustained bombardment from the air, rendered any -attempt on the part of large fleets to cross the Mediterranean -an extremely hazardous venture.</p> - -<p>These stations were connected from Gibraltar to Cyprus by -telephonic cables, buried beneath the floor of the sea to hide -them from the enemy’s cruisers, and also by patrols of battleships -constantly moving to and fro in touch with each other -along the whole line, and this was the first barrier through -which the Moslem Sultan had to force his way before he could -land his armies upon the shores of Southern Europe.</p> - -<p>This, too, formed what may be termed the first line of -defence of the Federation and of Christendom, and although -neither the Sultan nor the Tsarina was wholly aware of the -fact, it had been strengthened to such a degree that it was -expected to prove unbreakable even under the impact of the -immense forces that would be brought to bear upon it.</p> - -<p>When the sun at last rose over the hills of Syria and Sinai, -and the watchers in the streets and on the housetops of -Alexandria heard the voice of the Muezzin calling the first -hour of prayer and the last hour of the world’s peace, the -bright blue waves of the Inland Sea lay smiling and sparkling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span> -in its earliest beams, betraying not a trace of the hidden forces -which waited but for the signal that might come either from -land or sea or sky to begin the work of desolation.</p> - -<p>The harbours of the city were thronged with shipping, -great transports lined the miles of quays whose network fronted -the seaward verge of the Moslem capital. Some of the basins -swarmed with the half-submerged hulls of scores of battleships -waiting to take up their position as convoys to the flotilla -which, if the Sultan’s plans succeeded, would, within the next -twelve hours, land nearly four million troops on European soil.</p> - -<p>In the air, at elevations varying from five hundred to ten -thousand feet, a squadron of two hundred aerial cruisers kept -watch and ward against a surprise from the upper regions of -the air. By the time the day had fully dawned, land and sea -and sky had been scanned in vain for a sign of an enemy’s -presence.</p> - -<p>The sailing of the flotilla of transports had been fixed for -six o’clock by Alexandrian time, and already the battleships -were moving out into the open to take up their places in -advance of the fleet of transports. Fifty air-ships had ranged -themselves in a long line to seaward at an elevation of two -thousand feet to protect the transports from an aerial assault, -and the transports themselves were moving out to form in the -basin behind the breakwater, whence they were to commence -their voyage.</p> - -<p>Sultan Khalid, on board his aerial flagship <em>Al Borak</em>—named -after the winged steed which, according to the old legend, had -borne the Prophet from earth to the threshold of the Seventh -Heaven—superintended in person the last preparations for the -departure of his great armament. Flying hither and thither, -now soaring and now sinking, he inspected first the cruisers -of the air and then the flotillas of the seas, and at last, when -all was ready, he took his place by one of the bow guns of the -<em>Al Borak</em> to fire the shot that was to be the signal for the -expedition to start.</p> - -<p>But a higher intelligence and a greater tactical ability than -his had already determined that the signal should be given<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> -in very different fashion. Fifty miles to the south towards -the Lybian desert, high in air, fifteen thousand feet above the -earth, a solitary air-ship hung suspended in the central blue.</p> - -<p>As the sun rose she had moved slowly forward towards -the city. As she came within sight of it, Alan Arnold -standing in her conning-tower saw through a telescope that -commanded a range of a hundred miles the disposition of the -aerial fleet above Alexandria. He marked down a group of -five air-ships floating some five thousand feet above the centre -of the city, and singled them out as the first victims of the war.</p> - -<p>He was, of course, far out of range of gun-fire, and to have -gone within range and fired on them would have been to -expose his single ship to a concentrated hail of projectiles -which would have scattered her in dust through the sky. So -he determined to open the game of death and destruction by a -stroke as dramatic as it was terrible.</p> - -<p>He remembered how his ancestor, Richard Arnold, in the -first <em>Ithuriel</em>, had rammed the Russian war-balloons to the -north of Muswell Hill, and resolved to eclipse even that -marvellous stroke of tactics. Obeying his will like a living -creature, the mighty fabric under his control sank five thousand -feet and then began to gather way on a slanting course towards -the Moslem air-ships.</p> - -<p>The propellers whirled faster and faster, and the quadruple -wings undulated with ever-increasing velocity until the crowds -in the streets of Alexandria saw something like a swift flash of -blue light stream downward from the southern sky, and heard -a long screaming roar as though the firmament was being rent -in twain above them.</p> - -<p>Then <a id="Ref_259"></a>three of the air-ships floating in line above their heads -seemed to break up and roll over. The crowds held their -breath and pointed upwards with one accord in sudden horror, -as the crippled air-ships dropped like stones towards the earth. -In another moment they struck it, and then, as though the -central fires of the earth had burst through in the heart of the -great city, there came a crash and a shock that shook the -ground like an earthquake spasm.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_259" class="figcenter" style="width: 465px;"> -<img src="images/i_286.jpg" width="465" height="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">Three of the Air-Ships seemed to break up and roll over.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_259">Page 259</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span></p> - -<p>A vast dazzling volume of flame shot up from amidst a -wide circle of blackened ruin, towers fell and roofs collapsed -all round the focus of the explosion, the whole atmosphere -above the city was convulsed, and the very sea itself seemed -to writhe under the stress of the mighty shock, and so, leaving -death and ruin and consternation behind her, the <em>Avenger</em> -swept out over the Mediterranean at a speed that the eye -could scarcely follow, after striking the first blow in the -world-war of the twenty-first century.</p> - -<p>To say that this sudden and unexpected catastrophe spread -panic through the Moslem capital would be but a very inadequate -description of the <em>Avenger’s</em> first blow in the world-war. -Consternation, wild and unbounded, blanched every cheek, -and made every heart stand still as the mighty roar of the -explosion burst upon the deafened ears of the inhabitants and -then instantly died into silence, broken only by the crash of -falling ruins and the screams and groans of the wounded and -dying.</p> - -<p>The red spectre of war in its most frightful form had -suddenly appeared to the terrified and horror-stricken vision -of millions of men and women, scarce one of whom had ever -seen a deed of violence done.</p> - -<p>Khalid, like a wise leader, did all he could to prevent the -panic spreading to the troops on board the transports by -issuing peremptory orders for the expedition to start at once. -At the same time he signalled for half a dozen air-ships to -ascend as far as possible and attempt to discover the source -from which the inexplicable attack had come, an errand -destined to be entirely fruitless.</p> - -<p>In orderly succession the hundred huge transports, each carrying -from eight to ten thousand men, left the outer basin in two -long lines in the rear of the fifty air-ships already in position.</p> - -<p>A hundred submarine battleships took up their stations -five hundred yards in advance of the first line of transports. -Fifty of these sank to a depth of thirty feet, and shot two -thousand yards ahead as soon as the whole flotilla was in -motion, while the other fifty ran along the surface of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> -water with their conning-towers just showing above the waves, -ready to sink in obedience to any signal that their commanders -might receive from the air-ships, which commanded an immense -range of vision over the waters.</p> - -<p>To all appearance the enemy was content with the one -terrible blow that had already been struck. The smooth, -sunlit sea betrayed no trace of a hostile vessel, and as far as -the glasses of those on board the air-ships could sweep the sky -nothing but the blue atmosphere, flecked here and there with -white, fleecy clouds, could be seen.</p> - -<p>But the Moslem commanders were far from being deceived -by these peaceful appearances. From Sultan Khalid, who -was commanding the expedition in person, to the engineers -who worked the transports, all knew that the invisible line of -the Federation patrols had to be passed somewhere in the -depths of the sea before the shores of Italy could be reached.</p> - -<p>The speed of the three flotillas was limited to twenty-five -miles an hour, in order that there might be no headlong running -into danger, and the commander of each of the submerged -battleships had orders to rise to the surface the instant that -his tell-tale needle denoted the presence of an enemy, and signal -the fact to the rest of the squadron. The transports were then -to stop, and were not to resume their passage until the battleships -had cleared the way for them. The first division was to -engage the enemy, while the second was to remain on the -surface ready to defend the transports in case of need.</p> - -<p>For six hours the expedition proceeded on its way north-west -by west from Alexandria without interruption. The -intention was to pass about a hundred miles to the south of the -Federation post at Candia, between which island and the Cape -Spartivento the ocean patrol would most likely be met with.</p> - -<p>Soon after twelve those on board the Sultan’s flagship -detected half a dozen little points of light shining amidst the -waves to the north-westward. They could be nothing else but -the scout-ships of the patrol; and although they were nearly -ten miles away, a couple of shells were discharged at them from -the <em>Al Borak’s</em> bow gun, more as a warning to the Moslem flotilla<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> -than in the hope of doing any damage. Whether they did or -not was never known, for before the explosion of the shells was -seen in the water the points of light had vanished.</p> - -<p>Signals were at once made from the flagship ordering the -transports to stop, and the second division of battleships to -stand by to protect them. A dozen remained on the surface -of the water, running round and round the now stationary -troopships in concentric circles. The others sank to varying -depths, and scattered until the vague fluctuations of their needles -showed that they were more than a thousand yards from each -other and the transports.</p> - -<p>As the first division had orders to keep more than two miles -in advance as soon as an enemy was discovered, there would be -no danger of ramming friend instead of foe. It ran on for -seven miles after the main body stopped. It was moving in a -single line, the vessels being at an equal distance apart, so that, -with the exception of the two ships at the extremities of the -line, the attraction of the steel hulls on the needles should -be neutralised, and therefore only give indications of vessels -ahead.</p> - -<p>At the end of the seventh mile the tell-tales ceased their -wavering motions and began to point steadily, in slightly varying -directions, ahead. The moment they did so the engines -were stopped and the flotilla rose to the surface of the water. -Their commanders found themselves out of sight of the transports, -but the <em>Al Borak</em>, attended by ten other air-ships, was -floating about a thousand feet above them. From the flagship’s -mainmast-head flew the signal—“Fleet eight miles to the rear. -Enemy ahead. Sink and ram.”</p> - -<p>The order was instantly obeyed by the whole division, and -the fifty battleships simultaneously sank out of sight to engage -the invisible enemy, while the Sultan and his companions on -board the air-ships waited in intense anxiety to see what the -next few fateful minutes would bring forth.</p> - -<p>No human eye could see what work of death might be going -on down in the depths of the sea. Even those who took part in -it would know it only by its results, and of these only the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> -victors would know anything. They would reappear on the -surface of the waves, but the vanquished would never rise -again.</p> - -<p>Minute after minute passed and still the anxious watchers -on the air-ships saw nothing. The bright, sunlit waves rippled -on over the abyss in which the conflict must by this time be -almost over. Five, ten, fifteen minutes passed, and still no -sign. Had Khalid been a mile or two farther on and closer -down to the surface of the sea, he would have seen streams of -air-bubbles rising swiftly here and there and instantly breaking. -But from where he was he could see nothing.</p> - -<p>Five more minutes went by and suspense gave place to -apprehension. Had the whole of the first division simply sunk -to its destruction into some invisible trap that had been laid -for it deep down in the watery abyss? If not, how came it that -not even one of the battleships had risen to the surface to tell -the tale of victory or defeat?</p> - -<p>Khalid knew that the squadron would obey orders and hurl -itself at full speed, that is to say, at some hundred and fifty -miles an hour, upon the enemy the moment the tell-tales found -their mark. In two or three minutes—five at the outside—their -rams must either have done their work or failed to do it. -If they had done it they would have risen to the surface; if -they had failed and themselves escaped destruction they would -still have risen.</p> - -<p>Now twenty minutes had passed and not one of the fifty -battleships had reappeared. What could this mean but -disaster?</p> - -<p>And disaster it did mean, but great as it was it was as -nothing compared with the frightful catastrophe which followed -close upon it. All eyes on board the air-ships were so intently -fixed upon that portion of the sea where the squadron was -expected to rise again that no one thought for the moment -of looking back towards the transports until the dull rumbling -roar of a series of explosions came rolling up out of the distance.</p> - -<p>Instantly every glass was turned in the direction whence -the sound came, and Khalid saw his great fleet of troopships<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> -tossing about in the midst of a wild commotion of the waves, -out of which vast masses of white water spouted as if from the -depths of the sea, and amidst these ship after ship heeled over -and sank into the white seething waters.</p> - -<p>Uttering a cry of rage and despair, he headed the <em>Al Borak</em> -at full speed towards the scene of the disaster. In three -minutes he was floating over it, helpless to do anything to avert -or even delay the swift destruction that was overwhelming the -splendid fleet. Distracted by impotent rage and passionate -sorrow for the fate of his soldiers and sailors, who were being -slain hopelessly and by wholesale beneath his eyes, he watched -the awful submarine storm rage on, wrecking ship after ship, -and swallowing them up with all the thousands on board in the -boiling gulfs which opened ever and anon amidst the waves.</p> - -<p>When the first panic passed, the transports which were still -uninjured scattered and headed away as fast as their engines -would drive them to the southward, where the only chance of -safety seemed to lie. But there was no escape for them from -their invisible and merciless enemies.</p> - -<p>The fate of one magnificent transport, the flagship of the -fleet, may be described as an illustration of the general disaster. -She was a vessel of fifty thousand tons measurement, and her -crew and complement of troops numbered together nearly -twenty-five thousand. She escaped the first discharge from the -submarine torpedoes unharmed, and heading southward with -her triple propellers revolving at their utmost velocity, rushed -through the water at a speed of more than forty nautical miles -an hour.</p> - -<p>She had scarcely gained a mile on her course when the -glass-domed conning-tower of a battleship appeared for an -instant above the waves. Before Khalid, not knowing whether -it was friend or foe, could make up his mind to fire on it, it -disappeared again.</p> - -<p>A few seconds later the great ship stopped and shuddered -with some mighty shock, as though she had run head-on to a -sunken reef, and heeled over to one side. Then came a dull -roar, a huge column of white foaming water rose up under her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span> -side amidships, and she broke in two and vanished in the midst -of a white space of swirling eddies.</p> - -<p>Such scenes as this were occurring simultaneously in twenty -different parts of the naval battlefield. The foe never showed -himself save for an instant. Then came the blow that meant -destruction, and the victim vanished. There was none of the -pomp and pageantry of modern naval warfare; no splendid -armaments of mighty ironclads and stately cruisers vomiting -thunder and flame and storms of shot and shell at each other, -nor were there any rolling masses of battle smoke to darken the -brightness of the sky.</p> - -<p>The occupants of an open boat five miles away would not -have known that the most deadly sea-fight ever waged since -men had first gone down to the sea in ships was being fought -out under that smiling May-day sky.</p> - -<p>One after another the flying transports were overtaken, -rammed, or blown up and sunk by the pitiless monsters which -unceasingly darted hither and thither a few feet below the -surface of the water, and in less than two hours after the first -alarm had been given the last of the hundred transports which -had sailed that morning from Alexandria had gone down a -shattered wreck into the abysses of the Inland Sea.</p> - -<p>There was no chance of saving the drowning wretches who -managed to escape from the eddies of the sinking ships, as there -would have been in a naval battle of to-day. The air-ships -could not do so without sinking to the waves, and so making -themselves marks for the irresistible rams and torpedoes of their -enemies, who themselves could not be merciful, even if they -would, shut up as they were in the steel leviathans whose only -use was destruction.</p> - -<p>Khalid the Magnificent, with a heart well-nigh breaking -with rage and shame and sorrow, watched in passionate helplessness -the destruction of his splendid fleet and the drowning, -like rats in a pond, of the soldiers who were to have borne -the banner of the Crescent over the conquered fields of -Christendom.</p> - -<p>More than a million men had perished beneath his eyes, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> -he had not been able to fire a shot to help them, although he -was in command of an aerial fleet which could have dispersed -an army or wrecked a city between sunrise and noon.</p> - -<p>But the strangest part of the strange battle was yet to come. -After the last of the transports had disappeared, the attack ceased -and the assailants vanished. In a few minutes the sea was as -calm and bright as ever, and only a few bits of broken wooden -wreckage floating here and there betrayed the fact that anything -out of the common had happened.</p> - -<p>The remnant of the Moslem squadron rose to the surface -and signalled for instructions. Only twenty of them remained -uninjured out of the hundred that had gone into the fight. -Before the signals could be returned there was a loud hiss and -a swirling noise as of some huge body rushing at a furious -speed through the water, and <a id="Ref_266"></a>a great battleship leapt up out of -the nether waters, and hurled herself at a speed of nearly two -hundred miles an hour into the midst of the floating squadron.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_266" class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/i_295.jpg" width="600" height="417" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">A great Battleship leapt up out of the Nether Waters.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_266">Page 266</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p>Her gleaming ram of azurine tore its way through the sides -of three vessels in such swift succession that, almost before -their fragments had time to sink, her huge bulk vanished under -the waves again. But hardly was her work done than a second -battleship charged into the paralysed squadron, sending two of its -members to the bottom and crippling three more before she, too, -vanished into the safe obscurity of the depths.</p> - -<p>A third was met by a storm of shells from the air-ships, -which burst round her and under her just as she came to the -surface, and blew her out of the water in fragments. Heedless -of this, a fourth plunged fiercely through the foaming area of -the explosion, and had wrecked two more Moslem vessels before -a shell smashed her propeller and laid her helpless on the water. -Two of the Moslems instantly backed out and rushed at her, -tearing two great ragged holes in her side and sinking her -instantly, only to be sunk themselves in turn by a fifth charge -from below.</p> - -<p>Scarcely had this last foe disappeared in safety than a swarm -of torpedoes, converging from all sides, encircled the remaining -Moslem battleships. Some plunged beneath the waves to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> -escape them, but these never reappeared. The remainder, torn -and twisted and shattered by a series of explosions that flung -the water mountains high all round them, sank like stones, and -when the sea once more settled down, the grim work of death -had been completed.</p> - -<p>The fate which had so swiftly overwhelmed the expedition -that had set out from Alexandria had almost simultaneously -befallen four other expeditions which had started at the same -hour from Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and Oran. The one disaster -had been an almost exact reproduction of the others.</p> - -<p>The same order, formation, and tactics had been observed in -each of the five cases, and each of the five squadrons of transports -and fleets of submarine battleships had been overwhelmed -and completely destroyed by the same mysterious fate. Of -five hundred transports and the same number of battleships -which Sultan Khalid had possessed at sunrise on that fatal -16th of May not a single one remained by sundown, and of the -more than three million souls who had manned the five fleets -not one man survived.</p> - -<p>Of the strength or the losses of the enemy that had wrought -this appalling and unheard-of destruction within such a brief -space of time nothing could, in the nature of the case, be known -by those who had seen only some of its effects from the decks -of the air-ships which floated almost helplessly over the waves -which were engulfing their naval consorts. The work of -annihilation had for the most part been done in the dim and -silent depths of the sea, and all that they knew was the number -of those of their own comrades who had gone to battle and -never returned.</p> - -<p>And yet to all practical intents and purposes these five -stupendous blows which had simultaneously crushed the -Moslem sea-power and half crippled the military strength of -the Sultan had been struck by one hand. In other words, the -victory of the Mediterranean was due to two inventions which -had been made and perfected by Max Ernstein, who had been -transferred from Kerguelen and appointed Admiral in Command -of the whole Mediterranean forces of the Federation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span></p> - -<p>One of these was a highly improved form of an apparatus -which had just come into use on board battleships and -cruisers when the War of the Terror broke out. This was an -electrical contrivance which gave warning, more or less reliable, -of the approach of torpedoes, by translating the aqueous vibrations -set up by them into sound-waves, which increased in -intensity as the hidden destroyer came nearer.</p> - -<p>This invention had been lost sight of when all the warships -of the world were sunk in the South Atlantic after the proclamation -of the Universal Peace. Ernstein’s was therefore a new -discovery, or rediscovery, but the advantages of his position, -far ahead of the scientific skill of the nineteenth century, had -enabled him to produce a much more perfect instrument, and -his apparatus, which was attached to all the battleships of the -Federation, not only gave warning of the approach of an enemy, -but indicated his direction, the number of revolutions at which -his propellers were working, and his distance at any given -moment.</p> - -<p>This not only enabled the commander of a Federation -battleship to detect the presence of an enemy, but it enabled -him to distinguish between friend and foe. As soon as the -phonetic indicator showed that another ship was approaching -he stopped his own propellers, started them, and stopped them -again.</p> - -<p>The vibrations thus set up and interrupted would be conveyed -to the indicator of the approaching ship, if she had one, -and she would at once return the signal. If the signal was -not returned it was safe to conclude that the coming vessel was -an enemy and could be rammed accordingly.</p> - -<p>When this invention replaced the tell-tale needle that had -been in use a year before, an alteration in tactics became -necessary, and the fighting order became more extended. A -mile instead of a thousand yards was now the limit within -which the Federation battleships were not permitted to approach -each other, save under special circumstances. Every -vessel acted as an independent unit, subject only to the general -instructions.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span></p> - -<p>Ernstein’s second invention was of a simpler but none the -less effective character. Knowing that the Moslem and Russian -squadrons would be forced to trust entirely to their tell-tale -magnetised needles, he had devised a plan for making these -worse than useless. As soon as the phonetic indicator told -him that an enemy was coming, the commander of each of his -battleships dropped a thin rope of insulated wire down thirty -or forty feet into the water below him.</p> - -<p>The lower end of this cable was a powerful electro-magnet, -through which a current of electricity was kept passing along -the wires. The attraction of this magnet was far stronger than -that of the hull of the vessel, and consequently the needles of -the enemy were deflected downwards, and gave a totally -erroneous idea as to the depth at which the Federation ship -was floating.</p> - -<p>Thus when the first division of the Moslem submarine -squadron charged at what its commanders thought were the -hulls of their enemies, their rams passed harmlessly underneath -them, merely striking the magnet and knocking it aside. The -moment they had passed the magnet, its attraction swung their -needles back, and showed that some mysterious mistake had -been committed, but before they had time to turn and seek -the mark afresh the Federation ships were upon them, and -their rams had rent their way into their sides.</p> - -<p>In this manner every ship of the first division had been -destroyed within three minutes after it had made its first and -last charge. Then the Federationists had risen to the surface -for an instant to reconnoitre by means of the arrangement of -mirrors previously described, and sinking again had worked -their way back towards the transports, formed in a huge circle -round them, and had sent torpedo after torpedo into their midst.</p> - -<p>As soon as the flotilla had been thrown into confusion they -had converged until they could communicate with each other -by means of their submarine signals, and after that they had -attacked the enemy singly. Ship after ship charged into the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mêlée</i>, did her work, and retired, if she escaped destruction, to -give place to another.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span></p> - -<p>Only twenty Federation ships had been engaged in each of -the five battles, and of these forty in all had been destroyed, a -loss utterly disproportionate to the gigantic damage that had -been done to the enemy.</p> - -<p>Khalid the Magnificent divined intuitively that the disaster -which had overwhelmed the expedition which he had commanded -in person was only a portion of a result achieved by -some elaborate and consummately-conceived scheme of defence -which must have been simultaneously put into operation -against his other expeditions. What had succeeded against -his own might well have been expected to have succeeded -against them.</p> - -<p>He at once despatched four squadrons of ten air-ships each -to Tripoli and Tunis, Algiers and Oran, with orders to collect -all attainable information, and to return to Alexandria as soon -after sunset as possible. Then he turned the prows of the -remainder of his fleet towards his capital, and gave the signal -for full speed ahead.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_300.jpg" width="350" height="61" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXIV.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">WAR AT ITS WORST.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_w.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-W">WITHOUT even pausing to see the effects of his -charge upon the three air-ships above Alexandria, -Alan kept the <em>Avenger</em> going at full speed, soaring -up into the higher regions of the atmosphere -with her prow pointed to the north-east. About -three hours later she was floating at an elevation of nearly -five miles above Moscow, not stationary, but sweeping -round and round in vast circles on her quadruple wings after -the manner of the condors of the Andes, which thus sustain -themselves on almost motionless wings at vast elevations and -very small expenditure of force.</p> - -<p>Below an immense expanse of country lay in unclouded -clearness under the glasses of the captain of the ship and -George Cosmo, late engineer of the <em>Narwhal</em>, who was now -chief engineer of the Aerian flagship.</p> - -<p>Not only Moscow, but a dozen other towns lay at the -mercy of the <em>Avenger’s</em> twenty-four guns, and yet no shot was -fired, for Alan, despite the tremendous debt of vengeance that -he owed to her who now, at last in very fact crowned Tsarina -of the Russias, held her court at Moscow, was yet extremely -loth to involve non-combatants in the destruction which he -knew must follow the discharge of his guns.</p> - -<p>Added to this, his present designs were rather to reconnoitre -than to destroy. He was in command of the fastest and -most powerful air-ship in the world, and the task that he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> -set himself was to supervise the whole of the complicated -arrangements that had been made for repelling the coming -attack upon the Federation by the Moslems and Russians.</p> - -<p>Thus he had started soon after midnight from Gibraltar, -one of the chief power-stations and depôts in Europe. Thence -he had run along the African coast over Oran, Algiers, Tunis, -and Tripoli, noting the sleepless activity of the brilliantly-lighted -towns, the swarming transports and battleships in -their harbours, and the crowds of anxious watchers in their -streets. Then he had got round to the south of Alexandria, -as has been seen, and there struck the first blow in the war.</p> - -<p>Now, his object was to discover what disposition of troops -were being made for the invasion of Austria and Germany. -Another scout-ship would be by this time floating over St. -Petersburg, and another over Odessa, and these were to report -to him at noon.</p> - -<p>He had kept the <em>Avenger</em> moving with sufficient rapidity -to make it extremely difficult for her to be seen from the -earth, as he wanted to see without being seen, and he -remained undiscovered until nearly noon. All this time -trains had been seen running in swift succession into Moscow -from the east and out to the west, evidently conveying troops -to the frontier.</p> - -<p>A large fleet of air-ships, numbering apparently between -two and three hundred vessels, were seen lying in four -squadrons on the open space about the Kremlin, and others -were constantly flying into and out of the city in all -directions.</p> - -<p>A few minutes after half-past eleven, Cosmo, after a long -look through his glasses, called to Alan, who was looking out -from the other side of the deck—</p> - -<p>“I fancy they must have seen us at last. Three ships are -coming up on this side as if they wanted to investigate.”</p> - -<p>Alan crossed over and soon picked out the Russian vessels -rising in long spiral sweeps from the earth about three miles -to the northward and coming up very fast.</p> - -<p>“They seem to have learned something in tactics during<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> -the year,” he said. “They evidently know better than to rise -perpendicularly while they suspect we are up here. They -think they’ll be much more difficult to hit coming up like -that.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Cosmo. “But we can soon show them the -mistake in that idea. What are you going to do with them?”</p> - -<p>“Destroy them, of course,” replied Alan. “It doesn’t -matter about giving the alarm now. I think it’s pretty -certain that the Russians are going to concentrate at Kieff, -Vitebsk, Dünaburg, and Vilna, and those four squadrons -down there are intended to cover them. We’d better let -them concentrate, and make the fighting as short and sharp -as possible. It would be a waste of time to destroy them here -in detail, and the moral effect wouldn’t be anything like as -good. What do you think?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think there’ll be any fighting,” replied Cosmo, -“unless between the air-ships. The most hardened troops of -the nineteenth century would have broken and run like a lot -of sheep under our shells, and these poor fellows, who have -never seen a battle in their lives, will do the same.</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe we shall have any land fighting at all to -speak of during the whole war. There will be nothing but -massacres from the air on both sides. Still, I think you’re -both wise and merciful in waiting until you can hit hard, -though perhaps from the strictly military point of view we -ought to have Moscow in ruins by sundown.”</p> - -<p>“I won’t do that,” said Alan, shaking his head decisively. -“There are three or four millions of women and children in it -who have done no harm, and I’ll shed no more blood than I’m -obliged to. We had better destroy those fellows, however, -before they get too close. You know what to do.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said Cosmo. “You’ll take the deck, I -suppose?”</p> - -<p>Alan nodded, and Cosmo saluted and went into the -conning-tower. The <em>Avenger</em> now altered her course, so that -her circling flight took her to the northward, above the -three Russian air-ships that were sweeping round and round<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> -so fast that it would have been impossible to train a gun upon -them.</p> - -<p>As soon as she got over them the <em>Avenger</em> quickened her -course until she was flying round in the same circles and at -the same speed as the Russians. This, of course, made her -relatively stationary with regard to them, and it was now -possible to take aim. Two of the broadside guns, one on each -side, were much shorter than the others, and had been specially -constructed for firing almost vertically downwards.</p> - -<p>Alan stood by one of these and trained it on the first of the -Russian vessels, which were coming up in a spiral line. At -the right moment he pressed the button in the breech and -released the projectile. The shot struck the Russian amidships. -They saw the glass deck of the roof splinter, then the -blaze of the explosion flashed out, the air quaked, and the next -moment the fragments of the Russian warship were falling -back upon the earth.</p> - -<p>A second and a third shot followed as the other two came -into position, and when Alan looked down towards the city -again he saw that the four squadrons had taken the alarm, -and were rising from the earth and scattering in all directions. -This was just what he wanted, for it relieved him of the -scruples which had prevented him from firing on them while -they lay within the precincts of the city.</p> - -<p>In an instant the crew of the <em>Avenger</em> were at their guns, -and shell after shell sped on its downward way after the flying -ships. Although, under the circumstances, the aim was -necessarily hurried, for the captains of the Russian vessels, -seeing the terrible disadvantage at which they were placed, had -put on their utmost speed, the guns of the <em>Avenger</em> were so -smartly handled that nearly a score of the Russians were either -blown to fragments or crippled before the squadron escaped -out of range.</p> - -<p>“Well done!” said Alan. “That will teach them to keep -a little smarter look-out next time.” And then he went on -to himself—“I wonder whether <em>she</em> was on board one of those -that are lying in little pieces down there? I suppose that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> -would be too good luck to hope for, and yet I don’t know, I -think her end ought to be something different to that. I -wonder what it really will be?”</p> - -<p>He ordered his men to cease firing now, and placed the -<em>Avenger</em> once more in her old position over Moscow, keeping -her at a great elevation to guard against surprise from the -squadron he had scattered. A few minutes later two air-ships -were reported coming from the south and north. The -flash of the sun on their blue hulls proclaimed them friends.</p> - -<p>They were the vessels bringing the reports from St. Petersburg -and Odessa, and these reports were to the effect that -during the whole of the morning trains had been pouring -through from the eastward and all the surrounding country -towards the Austro-German frontier. Other reports from the -westward had been received by the commanders of these two -vessels to the effect that the Russian troops were massing along -the frontier and seemingly preparing to invade the Federation -area from the four points already selected by Alan.</p> - -<p>He at once despatched orders by these two courier-vessels -to the depôts at Königsberg, Thorn, Breslau, and Budapesth -to assemble four squadrons of fifty vessels each, which were -to be over the points of concentration at daybreak on the -following morning.</p> - -<p>These ships were to maintain their greatest possible elevation—that -is to say, about three miles and a half—until the -sun rose, then if the sky were clear they were to bombard the -towns at once from that height; if not they were to use all -precautions against surprise in passing through the clouds, -and then the commanders were to use their own discretion as -to the plan of operation, but Odessa, Kieff, Vitebsk, and Dünaburg -were to be destroyed at all hazards as soon as it was -certain that the invading forces were concentrated there, and -preparing to march eastward.</p> - -<p>As soon as these orders had been despatched the <em>Avenger</em> -left Moscow, and started at full speed for Gibraltar, where she -arrived about four o’clock in the afternoon.</p> - -<p>Here Alan, after once more inspecting the land batteries<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> -and the aerial defences of this important outpost of the -Federation, received news of the annihilation of the four -Moslem expeditions, and heartily congratulated Admiral -Ernstein on the complete success of his operations.</p> - -<p>It was at once apparent that the Sultan would not risk -a second loss so enormous as this even if he had sufficient -transports left and could persuade any more of his people to -brave the terrors of such another sea-fight. This being so, -only two alternatives would be open to him, either he must -give up all idea of invading Europe by land or sea, or else he -must attempt to force the bridges across the Dardanelles and -the Straits of Gibraltar, and cross into Europe <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">viâ</i> Turkey and -Spain.</p> - -<p>Both these bridges, the main highways between Europe, -Africa, and Asia Minor, were guarded on the European side -by batteries of enormous strength, similar to those which -guarded the Federation posts in the Mediterranean. They -were magnificent structures, each four hundred feet broad, -carrying twelve lines of railway as well as carriage drives and -promenades, and, once in the hands of the enemy, troops could -be poured across them in tens of thousands every hour.</p> - -<p>Alan, after a brief conference with Ernstein, decided to -pursue the same tactics here as he was going to make use of -on the Russian frontier. The bridges were to be left completely -open, but their supporting pillars were to be mined -with torpedoes, connected by electric wires with the batteries.</p> - -<p>If the Sultan attempted to force them, his men were to be -allowed to concentrate on the African and Asiatic shores and -to occupy the bridges, then the bridges were to be blown up -and the forces on the opposite side to be dispersed by the -batteries and the air-ships.</p> - -<p>The message to the Dardanelles bridge was despatched by -telephone over the cables connecting Gibraltar with Candia and -Gallipoli, and similar instructions were sent on from Gallipoli -to Constantinople, in case any attempt should be made to force -the bridge which spanned the Bosphorus.</p> - -<p>The Mediterranean patrol was to be maintained as before,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> -and three air-ships were sent out to reconnoitre the African -coast from Ceuta to Port Said during the night, and learn what -they could of the Sultan’s intentions.</p> - -<p>The rest of the evening and the greater part of the night -were spent by Alan receiving and answering reports from the -northern coast of the Mediterranean, the Russian frontier, and -the principal cities of Europe, and in assuring himself that -everything was ready, so far as was possible, to meet the storm -that must infallibly burst over the Continent within the next -few days.</p> - -<p>What would have been in the nineteenth century a matter -of weeks was now only one of days and hours. The enormously-developed -system of intercommunication made transit, -even for very large numbers of men and between very distant -points, rapid to a degree undreamt of in the present century.</p> - -<p>Trains could travel at two hundred miles an hour along the -hundreds of quadruple lines which covered the Continent with -their gigantic network, aerial cruisers could fly at more than -twice this speed, and squadrons of submarine battleships could -cleave their silent and invisible way through the ocean depths -at a hundred and fifty miles an hour.</p> - -<p>It was, therefore, almost impossible to tell without certain -information where and how the blows of the enemy would be -struck, or from how many points the European area of the -Federation might be assailed at once, and vast indeed were the -responsibilities and anxieties which weighed upon the man -whose single brain was the centre of this vast and complicated -system of defence, and on whose decisions would depend the -safety or the destruction of millions of human beings.</p> - -<p>Alan had managed to get four hours’ sleep in the afternoon -between Moscow and Gibraltar, and he snatched two hours -more before midnight. Then he was called, and the <em>Avenger</em> -was just about to take the air to return to the Russian frontier, -so that he might supervise the operations there, when the look-out -on the summit of the Rock of Gibraltar saw and answered -the Aerian private signal from the sky, and a few minutes later -a fleet of more than a hundred air-ships dropped down out of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> -darkness and hovered over what is now called the neutral ground -between the Rock and Spain.</p> - -<p>One of these alighted at the signal station itself. It was -the <em>Isma</em>, and within three minutes after she had touched the -ground Alan was shaking hands with Alexis and asking him -what brought him back so soon from the East.</p> - -<p>“I have come back because there is nothing much more to -do there,” said Alexis. “Have you had any fighting here?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Alan; “or, at anyrate, a big massacre.”</p> - -<p>And then he described what had befallen the Sultan’s -expeditions.</p> - -<p>“Horrible but necessary, I suppose!” replied Alexis, not -without a shudder at the news. “I have been doing my -damage on land. I didn’t wait for the enemy to begin hostilities, -so as soon as day broke we got to work. We have -wrecked Ekaterinburg, Slatonsk, Orenburg, and Uralsk, and -blocked the four roads into Russia from Asia.</p> - -<p>“The Tsarina’s Asiatic forces had concentrated there in -large numbers ready to come into Europe. We found some -air-ships intended to cover them, but we had the best of the -elevation, and smashed them up. The slaughter has been -something perfectly frightful. I had a hundred and fifty ships -in action, and there isn’t a man left of the Asiatic troops that -is not getting back to where he came from as fast as he can go.</p> - -<p>“The towns are mere heaps of ruins and the railways utterly -useless. I left twenty ships to patrol the frontier and stop any -further movements into Russia, and twenty more are strung -out in a line from the Caspian to the head of the Red Sea to -cut communications between Asia and Africa.</p> - -<p>“We came westward over Odessa this afternoon, and had a -skirmish, in which, I am sorry to say, I lost five ships, but we -destroyed twenty Russians, blew up the dockyard, and shelled -the city by way of punishment. And now I’ve got myself and -a hundred and thirty ships to place at your disposal for the -present. There is nothing more to be feared from the East, for -by to-morrow night, I think, the Asiatics will be thoroughly -terrorised.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span></p> - -<p>“You have done more than I have in the way of slaughter -and destruction,” said Alan. “But there will be some fearful -work along the Russian frontier to-morrow morning. The -Tsarina, as you call her, is concentrating her forces at Kieff, -Vitebsk, Dünaburg, and Vilna for a descent upon Germany. I -have ordered those four places to be destroyed as soon as -possible after sunrise, and I am just starting now, so you had -better come with me and order your ships to follow us.”</p> - -<p>Both the commanders felt, as their combined squadrons were -winging their way towards the Russian frontier, that the events -of the next twenty-four hours or so would go far towards deciding -the issues of the war, and therefore the fate of the world.</p> - -<p>Alexis had given up the command of the <em>Isma</em> for the night -to his first lieutenant, and was travelling on board the <em>Avenger</em>, -in order that he and Alan might finally arrange their plans for -the terrible deeds that were to be done on the following day. -Both of them were serious almost to depression, for it must be -remembered that neither possessed that love of fighting and -slaughter which distinguishes the professional soldier of the -nineteenth century.</p> - -<p>Armed with the most awful weapons ever wielded by -human hands, they had already, within the space of a few -hours, hurled millions of their fellow-creatures into eternity -and made thousands of homes desolate which a couple of days -ago were happy. Now they were going to repeat the tragedy, -on how vast a scale neither of them knew. Before the next -sunset a red line of blood and flame would mark the frontier -between Russia and Germany.</p> - -<p>All the horrors of months of the older warfare would be -concentrated into those few fatal hours. Those who were to -do battle in the air would hurl their irresistible lightnings at -each other more as gods than as men, while on earth the -unresisting swarms could only stand in helpless agony of -suspense waiting for the death from which there was no -possibility of flying.</p> - -<p>Within a hundred miles of the frontier the two fleets -stopped, and Alexis went on board his own vessel. It was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span> -then a few minutes after three in the morning, that is to say, -about an hour before sunrise, and the warships were floating in -a serene and cloudless atmosphere at an elevation of nearly -four miles, or about twenty thousand feet. It was already -quite light enough at that elevation for signals to be plainly -seen, and a rapid interchange of these took place, communicating -the final instructions from the flagships to the commanders -of the smaller squadrons into which the fleets were to -be divided.</p> - -<p>Just as the last signal had been answered, and the vessels -were about to separate, a tiny speck of light was seen far away -to the westward. A hundred powerful field-glasses were -instantly turned upon it, and soon showed it to be a hostile -air-ship coming up very fast at an elevation of about three -miles. The silvery sheen of her hull instantly betrayed the -fact that she was neither an Aerian nor a Federation vessel, -for the former were blue and the latter painted dull grey. A -moment’s reflection showed that she must have sighted the -Aerian fleet, and if she got past would take tidings of its -presence to the frontier and destroy all hope of a surprise.</p> - -<p>Within twenty seconds of her true nature being made out -a signal was flying from the mizzenmast of the <em>Isma</em>, which -read, “Shall I stop her?” “Yes. Cripple her if you can. -Don’t fire unless necessary,” came the reply from the <em>Avenger</em>, -and the <em>Isma</em> at once darted away on her errand.</p> - -<p>Alexis, of course, understood that if he struck the enemy -with a shell her fragments would fall to the earth, and might -probably give the impression that a battle was being fought in -the air, and, as they were now so near to the Russian frontier, -this was to be avoided if possible. He therefore determined to -cripple her without destroying her, and, if he could manage it, -to capture her in mid-air, a feat that had never been performed -before under similar conditions.</p> - -<p>He descended until the <em>Isma</em> was only floating about a -thousand feet higher than the enemy, and then began to fly -round and round in a wide circle, at a speed which made it -practically impossible for her to be hit with a shell, save by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> -the merest chance. The stranger, on sighting the fleet, -slowed down and swung round to the northward, so as to have -the advantage of being able to present her stern chasers to the -enemy.</p> - -<p>This gave Alexis the opportunity he wanted. The instant -that her stern was visible, <a id="Ref_281"></a>the <em>Isma</em> swooped down, and rushed -at her at such a speed that she looked more like a stream of -blue light flashing through the sky than a solid material body. -Those on board her saw this flash dart past their stern. Their -ship shivered from stem to stern with some shock that came -so swiftly that not until the <em>Isma</em> was almost out of sight did -they realise the damage that had been done.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_281" class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/i_312.jpg" width="600" height="424" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">The “Isma” swooped down.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_281">Page 281</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p>The ram of the Aerian had cut through the barrels of the -two stern guns and the shafts of the three propellers as cleanly -as a razor would have divided so many straws. Sustained and -propelled only by her wings, she dropped from two hundred -miles an hour to about twenty-five, and then the <em>Isma</em> -reappeared in the sky above her, flying the signal, “Will you -surrender?”</p> - -<p>Her commander saw that the brilliant and almost miraculous -manœuvre of the <em>Isma</em> had placed him utterly at her -mercy. If he refused, a single shell would send him and his -ship and crew in fragments to the earth, while none of his -guns could touch the Aerian, floating as she did a thousand -feet above him, so he bowed to necessity and sent the white -flag to his masthead. Alexis then signalled again, ordering -him to unload all his guns and leave the breeches open, and -when he had seen this done he sank down to a level with her, -passed a steel-wire rope on board her, and towed her away in -triumph to the fleet.</p> - -<p>The brilliant achievement delighted the Aerians as much as -it confounded the crew of the captured vessel, especially when -it was discovered that she was the <em>Haroun</em>, a Moslem warship -taking a message from the Sultan to the Tsarina at Moscow.</p> - -<p>Khalid’s letter, which had been despatched the night before -from Algiers, informed Olga of the disaster that had overtaken -the Crescent in the Mediterranean, and of his determination<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span> -to avenge it by storming the bridges of Gibraltar, the Dardanelles, -and the Bosphorus, and pouring his remaining -troops over them into Europe as soon as he could concentrate -them.</p> - -<p>Far more important than this, however, was a notification -of his intention to at once lead a fleet of two hundred and -fifty air-ships to the west of Europe, and there destroy city -after city on his eastward course until they joined forces and -proceeded, if necessary, to devastate the rest of the Continent.</p> - -<p>The Moslem’s guns were now rendered useless, and she was -left to her own devices to fall an easy prey to the first enemy -that might attack her. The Aerian fleet then divided into -fifty squadrons of five vessels each, and these winged their -way towards the Russian frontier, ever soaring higher and -higher, until their wings were beating the rarefied air at an -altitude of over three miles.</p> - -<p>Odessa, Kieff, Gomel, Vitebsk, Dünaburg, and Riga were all -covered by the time the sun rose. Scores of Russian air-ships -were seen by the various squadrons darting about hither and -thither along the frontier at varying elevations, evidently on -the look-out for an enemy.</p> - -<p>It was not many minutes before the Aerian squadrons were -discovered by these, and they instantly got away out of range, -and then swerving round sought to rise to a similar altitude so -as to place themselves on equal terms with the Aerians.</p> - -<p>But long before this attempt could be made the work of -death had begun, and two thousand guns were raining their -projectiles, charged with inevitable destruction, upon the -devoted cities. They were swarming with men who had come -through the interior of Russia during the night for the -invasion of Europe, but there were no troops on land to -oppose them, for Alan had seen that there would be no need -for these.</p> - -<p>Within an hour the six cities were so many vast shambles, -and still the relentless rain of death kept falling from the -skies. Houses and public buildings crumbled into dust under -the terrific impact of the explosions.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span></p> - -<p>The streets were torn up as if by earthquakes, the railways -running in and out were utterly wrecked, and the victims of -the pitiless attack, panic-stricken and mad with fear and -agony, rushed aimlessly hither and thither through the -bloody, fire-scorched streets and amidst the falling ruins until -inevitable death overtook them and ended their tortures of -mind and body.</p> - -<p>There was no escape even as there was no mercy. Thousands -fled out into the country only to find the same rain of -death falling upon the villages. It seemed as though the -unclouded heavens of that May morning were raining fire and -death from every point upon the devoted earth, and yet no -source of destruction was to be seen.</p> - -<p>But ere long new horrors were added to the desolation -which had already befallen the cities. Terrific explosions -burst out high up in the air, vast dazzling masses of flame -blazed out, mocking the sunlight with their brightness, and -then vanishing in an instant, and after them came showers -of bits of metal and ragged fragments of human bodies, all -that remained of some great cruiser of the air and her crew.</p> - -<p>The Russian squadrons, numbering in all about three hundred -warships, by flying several miles to the eastward and -then doubling on a constantly ascending course had by this -time gained a sufficient elevation to train their guns upon the -Aerians, and as soon as they had done this the aerial battle -became general along a curved line more than a thousand -miles in length, extending from Odessa to Riga.</p> - -<p>George Cosmo had been right when he said that there -would be little or no land fighting, for along that line, from -the Baltic to the Black Sea, there was scarcely a man left alive -by midday who was not mad with fear and horror at the -frightful effects of the aerial assault.</p> - -<p>On land as well as on sea fighting was impossible. Armies -and fleet could exist only in the absence of the air-ships, and -they were everywhere. Cities lay utterly at their mercy, and -nothing shaped by the hand of man could withstand the -impact of their projectiles.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span></p> - -<p>But all day long the fight went on in the skies above the -Russian frontier, yet not at all after the fashion imagined by -the poet of the nineteenth century, who wrote, as he thought -prophetically, of</p> - -<p class="center">Airy navies grappling in the central blue.</p> - -<p>The first and chief endeavour of the captain of every vessel -was to avoid the shots of his opponents and to get his own -home. It was brains and machinery pitted against brains and -machinery, and grappling was never thought of.</p> - -<p>The air-ship which could gain and maintain a greater elevation -than her opponent infallibly destroyed her, and so, too, -did the one that could fly unhurt at full speed along the line -of battle and use her stern guns upon those which became -relatively stationary enough for her to take aim at them.</p> - -<p>It would have been a magnificent spectacle for an observer -who could have followed the contending squadrons in their -swift and complicated evolutions. He would have seen the -blue and the silver hulls flashing to and fro as though apparently -engaged in some harmless trial of speed, then, without -the slightest warning, without a puff of smoke or the faintest -sound of a report, the long, deadly guns would do their -work.</p> - -<p>The moment of vantage would come, and the silent and -invisible messengers of annihilation would be sped upon their -way; then, with a roar and a shock that convulsed the firmament, -a mist of flame would envelop the ship that had been -struck, and when it vanished she would have vanished too, -falling in a rain of fragments towards the earth nearly twenty -thousand feet below.</p> - -<p>It was a battle not so much for victory as for destruction. -There could be no victory save to those who survived after -having annihilated their enemies, and this was the sole -object of the struggle. High in air above the contending -squadrons, the <em>Avenger</em> and the <em>Isma</em> swept to and fro along -the line, raised by their superior soaring powers beyond the -zone of battle, and from their decks the two admirals commanded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span> -the fight, and, like very Joves above the tempest, -hurled their destroying bolts from their terrible guns far and -wide over the scene of strife.</p> - -<p>From morning to night both Alan and Alexis sought in -vain for the blue hull of the <em>Revenge</em> among the Russian -squadron. Unless Olga was on board one of the other ships -she was either engaged in some work of destruction elsewhere -or was directing the operations of her forces and learning the -disasters that had overtaken them in her palace in Moscow -or St. Petersburg.</p> - -<p>It had been previously ordered that, as soon as it became -too dark to take accurate aim with the guns, those vessels of -the Aerian fleet which had survived the battle were to fly -westward and rendezvous at midnight on the summit of the -Schneekoppe, one of the peaks of the Giant Mountains to the -north-east of Bohemia, whence, as soon as the amount of -damage had been ascertained, the remainder of it, if strong -enough, was to set out and if possible intercept the Moslem -fleet before it could form a junction with the Russians.</p> - -<p>When the last vessel had alighted on the summit of the -mountain it was found that out of a fleet numbering two -hundred and fifty warships only a hundred and eighty remained—the -rest were scattered in undistinguishable fragments -along the Russian frontier. As for the amount of -damage that had been done to the enemy as a set-off to this -heavy loss, the Aerian commanders could form no even -approximate estimate of it.</p> - -<p>All they knew was that the six frontier cities, and a score -or so of smaller towns and villages, were now mere heaps of -ruins, vast charnel-houses choked with unnumbered corpses. -The Russian army of invasion must have been practically -annihilated, and certainly its remnants would be too hopelessly -demoralised by the unspeakable horrors it had survived to be -of the slightest use for further fighting.</p> - -<p>As soon as the roll had been called, the fleet, in two -squadrons of ninety vessels each, took the air and crossed the -mountains to Gorlitz, which had been selected a year before as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> -a convenient spot for the establishment of an arsenal and -power-station, standing as it does at the angle of intersection -of two great mountains which form the natural bulwarks of -Bohemia.</p> - -<p>Here the stock of motive-power and the ammunition of all -the vessels were renewed, and at daybreak the squadrons were -just about to take the air when a telephonic message was -received from Paris that a large fleet of air-ships had appeared -above the city and had begun to bombard it. This message had -been sent in compliance with a system of intercommunication -which Alan had instituted between all the great cities of -Europe, and all the power-stations and rendezvous throughout -the Continent.</p> - -<p>The moment an enemy appeared over any town messages -were to be sent to all the stations simultaneously, and detachments -of warships were to be despatched to the threatened -point as soon as the warning was received.</p> - -<p>It will be seen that this system would enable a very large -force to be concentrated upon any threatened point, and, in -fact, before the sun was two degrees above the horizon of -Paris, eight squadrons of Federation warships, including the -two under the command of Alan and Alexis, were flying at -full speed from all four points of the compass towards the city -which for over half a century had been the acknowledged -capital of the Continent.</p> - -<p>Little more than an hour sufficed for the <em>Avenger</em> and the -<em>Isma</em> to pass over the six hundred miles which separated -Gorlitz from Paris. Flying at their utmost speed they left -their squadrons to follow the two admirals, knowing that every -captain could be implicitly trusted to do the work allotted to -his ship without further orders.</p> - -<p>The object of Alan and Alexis was to get first to the scene -of action, and to avail themselves of the superior soaring -powers of their two vessels to deliver an assault upon the -Moslems which they could not reply to.</p> - -<p><a id="Ref_286"></a>A fearful scene unfolded itself before them as they swept -up out of the eastward over Paris. The vast and splendid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span> -city was surrounded by a huge circle formed of at least -two hundred Moslem warships floating at an elevation of -some three miles, and pouring a tempest of projectiles from -hundreds of guns indiscriminately into the area crowded -with stately buildings and nearly ten millions of inhabitants.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_286" class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/i_319.jpg" width="600" height="424" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">A fearful Scene unfolded itself as they swept up over Paris.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_286">Page 286</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p>Nearly three miles above the centre of the city floated a -solitary scout-ship ready to signal warning of the approach of -an enemy. Fires were already raging in hundreds of places -all over the city. The streets were swarming with terrified -throngs of citizens who had rushed out to escape the flames -and the falling buildings, only to meet the hundreds of shells -that were constantly bursting among them, rending their -bodies to fragments by scores at a time.</p> - -<p>Such was the beginning of Khalid the Magnificent’s revenge -for the disaster of the Mediterranean—a vengeance which proved -that, in his breast at least, the savage spirit of the ancient -warfare was still untamed.</p> - -<p>The <em>Avenger</em> and the <em>Isma</em> gained an altitude of four miles -above the doomed city, half a dozen shells from their guns -struck the scout-ship and reduced her to dust before she had -time to make a signal in warning, and then the forty-four -guns began to send a radiating hail of projectiles upon the -Moslem fleet. Shell after shell found its mark in spite of the -vast range, and ship after ship collapsed and dropped in fragments -or blew up like a huge shell.</p> - -<p>But before the fifth round had been fired a strange thing -happened. A single Aerian warship rushed up at full speed -out of the south, and as soon as she sighted the <em>Avenger</em> -signalled, “Orders from the Council. Come alongside.” The -new-comer soared upwards as they sank to meet her, and the -three ships met and stopped some three miles and a half above -the earth. The stern of the <em>Azrael</em>, as the messenger-ship was -named, was brought close up to that of the <em>Avenger</em>, the deck -doors were opened, a gangway thrown across, and the captain -boarded the flagship and placed a sealed despatch in Alan’s -hand.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span></p> - -<p>He opened it, and to his unspeakable astonishment read—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="marginrightindent"><span class="smcap">Aeria</span>, May 16th, 6 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span></p> - -<p>All Aerians are to return at once with their ships to Aeria, and take no -further part in the fighting. The Federation fleets may be left in the hands of -foreign crews and commanders, to whom the power-stations and batteries are to -be given up. This order is to be obeyed with the least possible delay.</p> - -<p class="marginrightindent"><span class="smcap">Alan Arnold</span>, President.</p> - -<p>To the Admirals in command of the Federation Fleets.</p></blockquote> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_322.jpg" width="350" height="57" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXV.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">A MESSAGE FROM MARS.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_i.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-I">IN order to adequately explain the origin of the -peremptory recall which, although of course he -obeyed it without question, seemed so incomprehensible -to Alan, it will be necessary to go -back to the night of the 12th of May.</p> - -<p>While all Aeria was rejoicing over the return of the exiles -and their restoration to the rights of citizenship, there was one -of the inhabitants of the Valley who took little or no part in -the festivities. This was Vassilis Cosmo, a man of between -forty-six and forty-seven, and elder brother of the George -Cosmo who had been chief engineer of the <em>Narwhal</em>, and was -now first officer of the <em>Avenger</em>.</p> - -<p>A striking distinction of personality and temperament had, -ever since he had reached a thinking age, marked him as one -apart from the rest of his fellow-countrymen.</p> - -<p>He had little or none of the gaiety of disposition and social -cordiality that were the salient characteristics of the Aerians -as a people. He was serious almost to taciturnity, solitary -and studious, and wholly engrossed in a single pursuit—the -study of astronomy in its bearing on the great problem of -interplanetary communication.</p> - -<p>After twenty years of constant labour, assisted by all the -knowledge and inventive progress which had placed the -Aerians so far ahead of the rest of the world, he had at length -solved this problem and realised the dream of ages six years<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> -before Olga Romanoff had dropped her defiance from the -skies.</p> - -<p>As yet, however, his success had been confined to one -planet, and this, as will have been learnt from the conversation -between Alma and Isma on that memorable night on which -Alan’s letter had been received from the island, was the planet -Mars.</p> - -<p>After infinite toil and innumerable failures, he had at -length succeeded in establishing an intelligible system of -what may here be described as photo-telegraphy, in which the -rays of light passing between the earth and Mars were made -to perform the functions of the electric wires in modern -telegraphy.</p> - -<p>His alphabet, so to speak, consisted of a hundred great -electric suns disposed at equal intervals on the mountain -peaks round the great oval of the Valley. These were in -direct communication with the observatory of Aeria, which -was situated at a height of sixteen thousand feet on Mount -Austral, the highest of the two snow-capped peaks which -stood at the southern end of the Valley.</p> - -<p>A single switch key enabled him, when sitting by the huge -telescope which embodied all the highest optical science of -Aeria, to light and extinguish these brilliant globes as he -chose, and it was by lighting and extinguishing them at certain -intervals that he was able to transmit his signals to the -Martian astronomer, who was waiting to receive them, and to -reply to them by similar means across the gulf of thirty-four -million miles which separates the two planets at their nearest -approach to each other.</p> - -<p>Momentous as were the events of the last few days, they -were dwarfed to utter insignificance by the irregular and -apparently meaningless recurrences of a tiny point of light in -the centre of a great concave mirror situated at the base of -the huge barrel of the telescope, through the side aperture of -which Vassilis Cosmo was looking a few minutes before midnight -on that memorable 12th of May.</p> - -<p>The point of light appeared and vanished, and reappeared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span> -again at irregular intervals, which the astronomer noted on an -automatic registering instrument beside him. The moment -the flash appeared he pressed a button, which he held down -till it disappeared, then he released it, waited till the flash -reappeared, and repeated the operation so long as the signals -came.</p> - -<p>For nearly five hours he received and registered the signals -recorded by his reflector in silence, broken only by the monotonous -ticking of the clockwork which, working synchronously -with the movements of the two orbs, kept the image of Mars -exactly in the centre of the object-glass, and by the soft -whirring of the registering instrument.</p> - -<p>Never before had human eyes read such a message as he -read, sitting that night in silence and solitude in his observatory -amid the snows, far above the lovely valley in which his -countrymen were still holding high revel.</p> - -<p>Well might his hands tremble and his eyes grow dim with -something more than long watching when he reversed the -mechanism of the register and a narrow slip of paper, divided -by cross-lines into equal spaces a tenth of an inch long, issued -from a slit in one end, and began to run slowly over a revolving -drum.</p> - -<p>On the tape was a series of straight black lines running -longitudinally along it. They were of unequal length, and -divided from each other by unequal spaces. Before the exact -import of the message could be gained the length of each of -these lines, and that of the space which separated it from the -next, had to be accurately measured, but Vassilis knew his own -code so perfectly that he had been able to read the general -drift of the communication that had been sent along the light-rays -from the sister world by approximately guessing the -duration of the flashes and the intervals between them.</p> - -<p>Day was beginning to dawn by the time the long tape had -been unrolled and pinned down in equal lengths on a board for -measuring. For more than five hours he had not uttered a -syllable or even an exclamation, although he had received -from another world what appeared to be tantamount, not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> -only to his own death-sentence, but to that of the whole human -race.</p> - -<p>But when the slips were at length pinned out and he had -run his practised eye deliberately over the fatal marks, his -white lips parted and a deep groan broke from his chest. He -was alone in the observatory, or perhaps not even this sign of -emotion would have escaped him.</p> - -<p>With his hands pressed to his temples as though his brain -were reeling under the frightful intelligence that had just -been conveyed to it, he stood in front of the board and gasped -in short, broken sentences—</p> - -<p>“God of mercy, can that be really true! Has the world -only four months more to live? Surely I have made some -mistake—and yet everything has worked as usual. There has -been no hitch. It has been a splendid night for transmission -and they—no, they had not made a mistake for a thousand -years, they are past it. It must—but no, I can do nothing -more this morning. I should go mad if I did. I must think -of it quietly and sleep a little if I can, and then I will -transcribe it.”</p> - -<p>He left the telescope tower and went out on to a little -platform at the rear of the observatory which commanded -a view of the whole Valley. He looked out over the lovely -landscape lying calm and silent beneath the paling stars, and -involuntarily exclaimed aloud—</p> - -<p>“Is it for this that we have conquered the earth and -bridged the abysses of space—for this that we have made -ourselves as gods among men and throned ourselves here in -this lovely land, lords of the world and masters of the nations?</p> - -<p>“How shall I tell them down yonder? And yet, has not -the Master told them already: ‘His shape shall be that of a -flaming fire.’ ‘Your children of the fifth generation shall -behold his approach’? Yes, the two exiles we welcomed back -last night are the fifth generation from the Angel, and <em>that</em> -will truly be a flaming fire, and truly it will go hard with this -world and the men of it in the hour of its passing, as the -Master has said.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span></p> - -<p>After a vain attempt to seek refuge from his thoughts in -sleep he boarded his aerial yacht and went to the city to -mingle with the merry-makers, more for appearance’ sake than -from inclination, but he kept his own counsel strictly, for -more reasons than one. The next night, as soon as Mars was -high enough in the heavens, about half-past ten, the dwellers -in the Valley saw the great lights on the mountain tops flash -out and darken at irregular intervals time after time and hour -after hour, until all but those in the sentinel ships went to -rest, saying—</p> - -<p>“Vassilis is talking to our neighbours in Mars. He will -have something to tell us to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>But when the next day came he had nothing to tell. He -had spent the night repeating the message, sign for sign and -word for word, and asking for confirmation lest he should have -made any mistake in receiving it. Then in agonised anxiety -he had waited for the reply on which he now felt the fate of -mankind depended. It came with a terrible clearness and -brevity, which left no room for doubt—</p> - -<p>“Message read correctly. There is no error in our calculations. -Terrestrial humanity is doomed, and must prepare to -meet its fate.”</p> - -<p>So far as he was concerned he was satisfied. He knew that -a mistake was impossible to the finished science of the Martian -astronomers, compared with whom he was but as a little child -in knowledge. But still he kept his own counsel, for there -was no need for him to cast the sudden shadow of death over -the rejoicings of his countrymen.</p> - -<p>At length the fleets departed, and Aeria, armed at all points, -was awaiting the possible onslaught of her foes. These she -would doubtless hurl back in triumphant disdain from her -bulwarks, but far, far away in the depths of space, beyond -even the range of the great equatorial on Mount Austral, there -was approaching an enemy whose assault men could only meet -with resignation or despair, as the case might be. Resistance -was as much out of the question as escape.</p> - -<p>Early on the morning of the 16th, soon after the <em>Avenger</em><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span> -had struck the first blow in the world-war, Vassilis presented -himself at the President’s palace and asked for an interview -with him.</p> - -<p>The President received him a few minutes later in his -private room. It was the first time in his life that the silent, -reserved astronomer had ever asked for an official interview, -and as the President entered the room he held out his hand, -saying—</p> - -<p>“Good morning, Vassilis. We have seen very little of you -lately, even less than usual. Have you come to see me about -the work which has kept you from joining in the general -rejoicings? I’m sure it must have been very important.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, President, it was—the most important that a terrestrial -student of astronomy could be engaged upon,” replied -Vassilis, speaking slowly and very gravely.</p> - -<p>The President looked curiously for a moment into his clear, -thoughtful eyes, and noticed the lines of care on his pale, worn -features, so different to those of the rest of his countrymen. -Then he said, with an anxious ring in his voice—</p> - -<p>“What is the matter, Vassilis? You look worn and ill, as -though you had just passed through some great sorrow. Have -you been keeping too long vigils with the stars? Tell me, -what is it?”</p> - -<p>Vassilis was silent for a moment as though he might have -been wondering whether the President, strong as he was, -would have strength to bear the blow that he must strike in -his next sentence. The awful news had come to him slowly, -sign by sign and word by word, and so he had been in a -measure prepared for it when its full meaning became clear. -But upon Alan Arnold it must fall at a single stroke. Still -the words had to be spoken, and after a good minute’s pause -he said—</p> - -<p>“President, I bring you the most terrible news that one -man can bring to another. The Master’s prophecy is about to -be fulfilled. Three nights ago I received through the photo-telegraph -what I believe to be the death-sentence of humanity -upon earth. Here is the transcript of the message.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span></p> - -<p>Save for a sudden pallor and a quick uplifting of the eyelids, -Alan Arnold betrayed no more emotion as he took the -roll of paper which Vassilis handed to him, than he had done -when he received his son’s letter from the island.</p> - -<p>“It does not come to me unexpected,” he said in his firm -quiet tones. “Your children and mine, Vassilis, are of the fifth -generation, and it was foretold that they should see the sign -in the sky. And so the threatened doom is not to pass us by?”</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Vassilis. “Not unless some miracle happens, -and there are no miracles in the astronomy or the mathematics -of Mars. The Martians are long past the age of -miracles or mistakes. These are the data and the calculations -upon which the conclusion is based. I have repeated them -back to Mars and received confirmation of them.</p> - -<p>“I have also verified the times and distances and velocities -myself, and have been unable to find the slightest error. As -far as I can see, there is not the remotest chance of escape. -The human race has only four months, five days, and twenty-three -hours to live from midnight to-night.”</p> - -<p>“It is the will of God!” said the President solemnly, -slightly bending his head as he spoke. “It is not for us to -question the designs of Eternal Wisdom, save in so far as we -may strive to understand them. Death has always been -inevitable to all of us, and this will only be dying together -instead of alone. Do you wish anything done with these -calculations?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Vassilis. “I would suggest that you appoint -a committee of our best mathematicians and astronomers to -examine and verify them once more, detail by detail, so that -assurance may, if possible, be made surer. I shall receive -another message from Mars to-night, and it will be well for -the committee to be with me in the observatory. With the -public aspect of the question I have, of course, nothing to do, -that lies in the hands of yourself and the Council.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said the President, “what you wish shall be -done at once, and the Council will meet this morning to -consider what public steps are to be taken.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span></p> - -<p>Within half an hour after the conclusion of the momentous -interview the Council had met, and the most immediate -result of its deliberations on the tremendous tidings that had -come from the sister world was the issue of the order for the -instant return of all Aerians who were abroad which had been -delivered to Alan on the deck of the <em>Avenger</em> on the morning -of the 18th.</p> - -<p>Immediately on receiving his father’s letter, Alan signalled, -“Cease firing and follow,” to the <em>Isma</em>, and the three Aerian -vessels started southward towards Gibraltar, leaving Paris to -its fate. At Gibraltar, which was reached in two hours and a -half, he found that, in accordance with the orders of the Council, -messages had already been sent out to all the stations within -the European area of the Federation for all Aerians to rendezvous -at the Rock as soon as possible.</p> - -<p>The same orders had been transmitted along the telephonic -cables which connected the marine stations of the Mediterranean -for all the battleships on service to go into their respective -harbours, so that their crews might land and be picked up by -air-ships which had already been despatched for them.</p> - -<p>Before the evening Aerian vessels had begun to come in from -all parts of Europe, where they had been stationed, and their -crews brought terrible descriptions of the scenes of carnage and -destruction they had left to obey the summons. The Federation -leaders were in despair at their apparent desertion by their -potent allies, while their enemies were already rejoicing at the -disappearance of the Aerian warships from all points of the -scene of war.</p> - -<p>By midnight the last Aerian vessel had come in, and, after -the command of the Rock, the last station of which the Aerians -retained command, had been handed over to the British forces, -the flotilla, numbering nearly four hundred warships, rose into -the air just as two large Moslem squadrons, one fresh from the -destruction of Paris, and the other from Alexandria and the -east of Europe, converged upon the Rock, and, without warning, -opened a furious fire of shells upon it. The great guns from -the batteries replied, and the fleets, under the command of Alan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> -and Alexis, after sending a rapid hail of shells among the -Moslem vessels as a parting salute, soared into the upper regions -of the air and headed southward for home, leaving a fiery -chaos of death and destruction behind them.</p> - -<p>Two hours after daybreak on the 19th the fleet crossed the -Northern Ridge, and sank to earth on the sloping plateau behind -the city. Alan at once disembarked, and went to his father’s -palace to report himself.</p> - -<p>The sudden and unexpected return of the fleet, which had -left to do battle for the empire of the world but three days and -a half before, filled all the inhabitants of the Valley with -amazement, for no one outside the Council and the committee -appointed to verify the message received from Mars yet knew -of the doom that was menacing the world.</p> - -<p>Alan was received at the door of his palace by his father, -who, after their greetings had been exchanged, took him at once -to the room in which the Council were already assembled, and -there in the presence of his colleagues made him acquainted -with the reason for his recall.</p> - -<p>Inured as he was to the unsparing warfare in which human -life had to be counted as almost a negligible quantity, a warfare -in which there was no middle course between life and death, -Alan, after the first shock of surprise and horror had passed, -faced the tremendous crisis with a calmness and resignation -worthy of the traditions of his family and his race.</p> - -<p>For years he had carried his life in his hands, and now that -the end of all things seemed near he was prepared to look -inevitable death calmly in the face. He heard the reading of -the message in silence, and then, when he saw that they were -waiting for him to speak, he said quietly—</p> - -<p>“What is to be must be! We cannot argue with the workings -of the universe.” Then he paused for a moment, and went -on—“I have come back with my comrades in obedience to orders. -May I now ask why, if death is coming to the whole human -race, we were not permitted to die in battle for the right against -the wrong rather than to wait here in inaction and suspense -until we are burnt to death on the funeral pyre of the world?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span></p> - -<p>He spoke the last words almost hotly, for the first thought -that had risen in his mind after hearing the doom that was -about to overtake humanity was that the debt he owed to Olga -Romanoff must now for ever remain unpaid at his hands. This -thought was so unbearable to him that before any reply could -be made to his question he broke out again, this time speaking -rapidly and almost angrily—</p> - -<p>“If, as you tell me, the world has only a few weeks to live, -why should I wait here for death when I have work to do elsewhere? -What does it matter whether I die scorched to a cinder -in the fire-mist or am blown to pieces by a Russian shell? I -have a debt to pay, a stain upon my honour and my manhood -to wipe out before I die.</p> - -<p>“And so, too, has Alexis. Will you not give us an air-ship -and let us find a crew of volunteers that we may go back to -the war and hunt our enemy, and the enemy of humanity, down, -and either destroy her or find an honourable death in the -attempt to do so?”</p> - -<p>As he ended his impassioned appeal his father rose from -his seat, and laid his hand upon his shoulder and said gravely, -and yet not without a note of admiration in his voice—</p> - -<p>“My son, those are brave and honourable words, and they -prove that you are no unworthy son of the race you belong to. -But they are still the words of passion rather than reason. -Remember that in the presence of the universal doom that now -overhangs the human race not only private vengeance but even -the strife of nations sinks into utter insignificance. A heavier -hand than yours will punish the sin for which she who has -wronged you will soon have to answer at the bar of Eternal -Justice. Remember how it was said of old, ‘Vengeance is -mine, saith the Lord. I will repay.’”</p> - -<p>“That is true, father,” replied Alan, now speaking in his -habitual tone of respect. “But why should not the instrument -of that vengeance be the hand of him whom she has so bitterly -wronged? You know what I mean, and so do all in this room.</p> - -<p>“Has she not so polluted my manhood and stained my -honour that I must meet, apart from Alma, the fate that I could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> -have shared with her with no more regret than that we had to -die instead of live together? Is it not better that she should -know I died in the attempt to wipe that stain away than see -me waiting for death with it still upon me?”</p> - -<p>“That is for Alma as well as for you to decide,” said Francis -Tremayne, rising from his seat as he spoke. “How do you know -that she is unwilling to meet her end hand-in-hand with you?”</p> - -<p>“I have looked into her eyes and seen no love in them,” -replied Alan, flushing to his temples with shame and anger. -“Her old love for me is dead, as it may well be. How could I -expect her purity to mate with my”—</p> - -<p>“Stop, Alan!” exclaimed his father before he had time to -utter the shameful word that was on his lips. “Those are no -words for you to speak or for me to hear, especially at such a -time as this. If any stain ever rested upon you you have more -than purged it already. The man who is found worthy the -confidence of the rulers of Aeria is worthy the respect, if not -the love, of any woman in the State. Whether Alma loves you -still or not is a question for her own heart to answer, but you -must not call yourself unworthy in my hearing.”</p> - -<p>“Nor yet in mine,” said Alma’s father warmly. “If the -shadow of death had not fallen across all our life-ways as it -has done, there is no man who wears the Golden Wings that I -would so willingly see Alma join hands with as yourself. If I, -her father, hold you worthy to live with her, surely you cannot -hold yourself unworthy to die with her.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke he held out his hand to Alan, and he, unable -to find words to answer him, grasped it in silence, broken only -by a murmur of approval from the assembled members of the -Council.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, my friend, for saying that!” said the President -to Tremayne. “Alan can ask no better assurance unless he -has it from Alma’s own lips. But now I have something more -to say, something that will give the true reason for my recall of -all the Aerians who were beyond our borders. Let the words -you are now going to hear be heard with all respect, for they -are not mine but those of the Master himself.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span></p> - -<p>Amidst an expectant silence he now resumed his place at -the head of the Council table, and bidding Alan and the Vice-President -to be seated, took a long parchment envelope brown -with age from the breast of his tunic and said—</p> - -<p>“This contains the last words of him who prophesied the -doom with which humanity now stands confronted, and who -thus speaks to us from the past, and gives us good counsel and -comfort in the hour of our perplexity and sorrow. It has been -handed down with its seal unbroken from father to son for four -generations, and now it has fallen to me to break the seal and -read what no eyes but those of Natas and my own have ever -seen. This is the endorsement upon the cover—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘<em>To the son or daughter of my line who shall be the head of the House of Arnold -in the fifth generation from me:—When the world is threatened with the final -ruin that I have foreshadowed, open this and read my words to all who are then -dwelling in Aeria.</em></p> - -<p class="marginrightindent"><span class="smcap">Natas.</span>’”</p></blockquote> - -<p>The President paused, and everyone waited with most -anxious expectation as he opened the envelope and took from -it four square sheets of parchment. He unfolded them and -went on—</p> - -<p>“When Vassilis Cosmo brought me the transcription of the -message from Mars I saw that the time had come to obey the -injunction endorsed on this envelope. I opened it, and this is -what I read:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘The interpretation of the prophecy concerning the possible destruction of the -world in the fifth generation from now, written by me in the twenty-fifth year -of the Peace, and commanded to be read every fifth year in the ears of the -descendants of those now dwelling in Aeria.</p> - -<p>‘When the War of the Terror was over, and there was peace on earth, I devoted -the declining years of my life to the study of that noblest of all sciences which -teaches the lore of the stars and the constitution of the universe. In the -fifteenth year of the Peace, that is to say, in the year of the Christian Era 1920, -a new star appeared towards the constellation of Andromeda, which shone with -great brilliancy for thirty-five nights, and then faded gradually away into the -abysses of space.</p> - -<p>‘Seeking into the causes of this phenomenon, I found that it was due to the -collision of two opaque bodies beyond the bounds of the solar system, which -doubtless had been travelling towards each other for centuries through space. -So enormous was the heat evolved by the conversion of the motion of the two -bodies, that their materials were resolved into their component elements, and -what had been two bodies as solid as the earth, though immensely larger,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> -now became an enormous fire-mist, a chaos of blazing storms and burning billows -of incandescent matter.</p> - -<p>‘I observed it closely from the time of its first appearance until the most -powerful telescope at my command could no longer detect it. I found that, -vastly remote as it was, the course which it pursued until it was lost to view -proved that it was still within the sphere of the sun’s attraction, and that therefore -a time must come when it would reach its point of greatest distance, and -return.</p> - -<p>‘Such calculations as I was able to make during the brief period of my -observation, showed that it would re-enter the confines of the solar system in -one hundred and twelve years from then, and, travelling with constantly -accelerated motion would become visible to the inhabitants of the earth five -years later. I learnt, too, that unless it should be deflected from its path by -the attraction of bodies unknown to terrestrial astronomers it would cross the -orbit of the earth in the month of September in the year 2037, that is to say, in -the fifth generation of men from my own day.</p> - -<p>‘If my calculations are correct, the earth will during that month pass through -an ocean of fire that will destroy all living things upon its surface, both plants -and animals.</p> - -<p>‘For the space of ten hours, or, it may well be, more, while the planet is -passing through the fire-mist, there will be no water upon the face of the earth, -but the whole globe will be surrounded with a vast nebulous mantle of steam. -At the end of this time it will emerge from the fiery sea, the steam-cloud will be -recondensed and fall in a deluge upon the land, and the world, with a changed -face, with new oceans and new continents, will pursue her impassive way, -lifeless, through space.</p> - -<p>‘But even in the face of so tremendous a cataclysm as this, it is not for human -genius to despair or human faith to be confounded. The new earth may be -repeopled, and you may be the parents of the new humanity. Though -innumerable millions shall die, yet the chosen few will be saved, if the Master -of Destiny shall permit, and from among you the chosen few shall come.</p> - -<p>‘The caverns of Mount Austral are deep and cool, and enclosed by walls of -living rock, deep rooted in the foundations of the world. In those days, if you -shall have made good use of the heritage we leave you, you shall be almost as -gods in skill and knowledge, and you shall find a means to make this a fortress -whose strength shall defy the convulsions of the elements and preserve a remnant -of human life upon the earth.</p> - -<p>‘When you have done this, you that remain shall prepare to meet the -inevitable end, for only a few among your many thousands can be saved. Yet, -if you have grown in wisdom and faith as well as in knowledge and skill, you -shall not disquiet yourselves about this, for sooner or later death is certain to all, -and you will but pass together through the shadows instead of singly.</p> - -<p>‘When the final hour comes, and the breath of the blazing firmament is hot -upon your brows, may He in whose Hand the fate of worlds and races lies, give -you strength and wisdom to compose yourselves for death as men who know -that it is but the dreamless sleep that parts to-morrow from to-day.’</p></blockquote> - -<p>“Those are the words of the Master,” said the President, -reverently laying down the parchment sheets on the table<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span> -before him. “And it is for us to hear and obey. You will -now see why it was necessary for all our sons that had gone -forth to battle to be recalled, for among them there are many -who can justly lay claim to be of the flower of Aerian manhood.</p> - -<p>“To-morrow I will read the message from Mars and the -commands of the Master, in the temple, to a congregation of all -the fathers and mothers in Aeria, and then it shall be their task -to prepare their children for the doom which awaits them in -common with the rest of humanity. The remainder of to-day -we will devote to the task of considering how the commands -of the Master may be best obeyed.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_336.jpg" width="350" height="64" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXVI.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">SENTENCE OF DEATH.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_a.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-A">AT ten o’clock on the following morning the great -temple of Aeria was filled by a congregation of -men and matrons who had been summoned together -to hear what may, without exaggeration, be -described as the death-sentence of the world and -the funeral oration of the human race.</p> - -<p>As had been previously decided by the President and -Council, only the heads of families were present. Of these, -some had but just welcomed their first-born into the world, -while others, standing almost on the brink of the grave, could -see their children of the fourth generation growing up from -infancy to youth.</p> - -<p>When the President commenced his address by reading -in solemnly impressive tones the prophecy of Natas, those -present knew instinctively what they had been called together -to hear. The possibility of the world being overwhelmed by -some tremendous catastrophe in the fifth generation from the -year of the Peace was no new or unawaited prospect to the -Aerians.</p> - -<p>Therefore there was no panic, no sudden outburst of sorrow -or dismay, among the grave, earnest congregation assembled in -the temple when the President, having read the prophecy, -went on to say—</p> - -<p>“It is now my solemn duty as Chief Magistrate of Aeria to -tell you, the heads of the families of our race, that, in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> -mysterious workings of destiny, which we can only accept with -reverence and resignation, the time has come for us to prepare -to meet, with the fortitude worthy of our position among the -races of mankind, the doom which is as inevitable as it is -universal. The confirmation of the prophecy of Natas has -come to us across the abysses of space from one of those sister -worlds which, as the Master said, should see with fear and -trembling the passing of the messenger of Fate.</p> - -<p>“On the night of Tuesday last, Vassilis Cosmo received -from the planet Mars a photogrammic message, the transcription -of which into our language reads thus—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘A cometary body, primarily formed by the meeting of two extinguished -astral spheres at 10 hrs. 38 min. 42 sec. on the night of the 13th of October, in -the year 1920, terrestrial reckoning, will cross the orbit of the earth at 11 hrs. -55 min. 22 sec. on the night of the 23rd of September next, time corrected to -the meridian of Aeria.</p> - -<p>‘At this hour the earth will arrive at the point of intersection, and will pass -obliquely through the central portion or nucleus of the body. This portion is -composed of incandescent metallic gases interspersed with semi-fluid masses, -which on contact with the earth’s atmosphere will probably be vaporised.</p> - -<p>‘The constituents of the incandescent nucleus are iron, gold, tellurium, -chromium, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon, with smaller quantities of many other -substances which spectrum analysis will disclose to you on the appearance of the -comet which will become visible from Aeria at 8 hrs. 13 min. <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> on the 15th of -July, when its right ascension will be 15 hrs. 24 min. 17 sec, and its declination -north 10 deg. 42 min. 17 sec. Here follow the detailed calculations upon -which the foregoing conclusions are based.’</p></blockquote> - -<p>“With these calculations,” continued the President, “this -is neither the time nor the place to deal, for I know that all -here will be satisfied when I say that for the last three days -they have been submitted to the critical examination of our -best astronomers and mathematicians, and that not the -slightest flaw has been found in them.</p> - -<p>“This being so, the only course left open to us as reasonable -beings is to prepare to look the inevitable in the face, and -to play our part in the closing scene of the life-drama of -humanity as men and women who believe that the life we are -living here is but a stage on our journey through infinity, and -that the fiery sign which will soon appear in the heavens will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> -be to us but a beacon light on the ultimate shore of Time -casting a guiding ray over the ocean of Eternity.”</p> - -<p>He paused for a moment and looked down upon the hushed -throng at his feet. The instantaneous silence was broken by a -long, low, inarticulate murmur. Thousands of pale faces were -upturned towards him, from thousands of eyes there came one -appealing upward glance, and then every head in the great -assembly was bowed in silence and resignation.</p> - -<p>The death-sentence had been passed. There was no appeal -from it, and there was no rebellion against it. The voice of -Fate had spoken, and it was not for such men as the Aerians -to sacrifice their reason or their dignity by cavilling at it.</p> - -<p>The President bent his head with the rest, and for several -moments there was silence throughout the vast area of the -temple. Then he took up from the desk in front of the -rostrum the four sheets of parchment which contained the last -message and commands of Natas, and read them out to the -assembly.</p> - -<p>The perusal was listened to in breathless silence. It was -like his voice speaking across the generations from the urn -containing his ashes and standing there in their midst. When -the President had finished, he laid the sheets down again and -said—</p> - -<p>“Thus the eye of the Master, looking across the years which -separated his day from ours, has seen one gleam of light, one -ray of hope piercing the black pall of desolation which is about -to fall upon the world, and it is for us to follow where he has -pointed the way.</p> - -<p>“I have now discharged the first part of the solemn and -terrible duty which has devolved upon me. It is now for you -to communicate the tidings you have heard to your families, a -task which, however awful it may be for loving parents to be -charged with, you will yet find strength to perform, even as -your children shall find strength to hear their inevitable doom -from those lips which will best know how to soften the tidings -of death to them.</p> - -<p>“When you have done this we will set about making the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> -choice of those who, if it shall please the Master of Destiny, -shall be the Children of Deliverance and the parents of the -new race that shall repeople the earth when cosmos once more -succeeds to chaos.</p> - -<p>“If that shall be permitted, then we, who shall never see the -new world, may yet go down to the grave knowing that we -shall live again in our children, for these will be the children, -not only of a few families among us, but sons and daughters of -Aeria, the most perfect flower of our race, and in them, if we -choose them wisely, the world, purged by fire of the dross of -human wickedness, will find a new destiny, and the Golden -Age shall return to earth once more.”</p> - -<p>As the President finished speaking, he held up his hands as -though in blessing, and once more every head was bent. Then -the great doors of the temple swung open, the assembly divided -into four streams, and passed silently as a congregation of -shadows out of the building.</p> - -<p>That night the story of the world’s approaching doom was -told in every home in Aeria. Children on the threshold of -youth learnt that for them youth would never come; youths -and maidens on the verge of manhood and womanhood learnt -that the bright promise of their lives could now never be -fulfilled; and lovers just about to join hands for life saw the -grave opening at their feet, and parting them in their earthly -personalities for ever. That they would meet again upon a -higher plane of existence was the first and most firmly held -article of their faith, but so far as the affairs of this world were -concerned the end was in sight.</p> - -<p>In a less highly developed, a less perfectly organised, state -of society, the almost immediate result would have been the -end of all control, and the dissolution of all but the most -elementary bonds of interest or affection that exist between -men and men.</p> - -<p>But in Aeria this was not possible. The firm belief, ingrained -into the very being of all who had reached the age of -thought, that where men left off here, whether in good or -evil, they would begin their lives again hereafter, precluded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> -even the thought of such a lapse into social anarchy and individual -sin.</p> - -<p>For, happily for them, the union of true religion with true -philosophy had now been accomplished in a national faith, and -the result was that even the terrors of the universal end which -was so near failed to shake the fortitude that was founded on -a basis firmer than that of the world itself.</p> - -<p>Though every home in the valley had its tragedy that night, -a tragedy too sacred in its unspeakable solemnity for any mere -words to describe it, when the next morning came the first -bitterness of death had already passed.</p> - -<p>Saving only the little children, who, too young to understand, -laughed and played and sang in the sunlight as usual, -in happy unconsciousness of their coming fate, the dwellers in -Aeria rose with the next sunrise from their sleepless couches -and went about their daily associations much as they had done -the day before.</p> - -<p>They did so rather as a matter of routine and discipline -than of necessity, for now nothing more was necessary on -earth. They had ample supplies of food to last them beyond -the time when they would have no more need of it. It was of -no use to dress the gardens and vineyards, or to till the fields -that would be blasted into wildernesses before the harvest could -be reaped.</p> - -<p>There was no need to pursue further the triumphs of -creative art and science which had transfigured Aeria into a -paradise and a fairyland, for in a few weeks all these would -be crumbled to dust with their own sepulchres—and yet they -took up the work that lay nearest to their hands and went on -with it as though they believed that there were still ages of -life before humanity, and that the empire of Aeria was to -endure for ever.</p> - -<p>They knew that in work only lay the refuge from the -torment of apprehension which might in the end drive even -their highly disciplined minds into the delirium of despair -and transform their orderly paradise into a pandemonium of -anarchy and terror.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span></p> - -<p>As soon as the first shock of inevitable horror had passed, as -it did during that first terrible night when the death-sentence -went from lip to lip throughout the land, their proud spirits -rose superior to their physical fears and conquered them, and -they resolved that, until the fatal hour came, nothing short of -the dissolution of the world should put an end to social order -in Aeria.</p> - -<p>They were the royal race of earth, and when death came -they would meet it crowned and sceptred in the gates of their -palaces, and die as men who had solved the secret of life and -death and so had no fear.</p> - -<p>With the war that was raging beyond their borders they -had now no personal concern. The quarrels of men and -nations were as the bickerings of children in the presence of -the fate that would so soon involve the world in ruin. And -yet the rulers of Aeria were not willing that this fate should -overtake their fellow-men in the delirium of blood-drunkenness.</p> - -<p>They recognised that their duty to the nations bade them -send the warning of the world’s approaching fate far and wide -through the earth and call for the cessation of strife, so that -humanity might set its house in order and prepare to meet -its end.</p> - -<p>Whether the warning would be received or not was another -matter. It was possible that both the Tsarina and the Sultan -would laugh it to scorn, and pursue their path of now certain -conquest through carnage and devastation to the end. That, -however, was their concern.</p> - -<p>As soon as the Council decided to despatch an envoy to -summon the warring nations to cease their strife for the now -more than ever worthless prizes of earthly empire, and to -prepare for the cataclysm which would so soon dissolve all -empires and kingdoms to nothing in the fiery crucible of the -coming chaos, Alan at once renewed his petition and asked to -be allowed to man the <em>Avenger</em> with a crew of volunteers and -convey the warning to the Sultan and the Tsarina.</p> - -<p>Since his second return to Aeria no word of love had passed -between him and Alma. He was still too proud to become a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span> -suitor even to her, knowing as he did that she had looked upon -him as polluted by his involuntary relations with Olga. As -before, they had met as friends whose friendship was warmed -by the memory of an early but bygone love.</p> - -<p>They had talked calmly and dispassionately of the coming -end of earthly things, but neither of them had let fall any -hint of a desire to meet it hand and hand with the other. His -lips were sealed by the pride and anger of humiliation and -hers by a spiritual exaltation which in the presence of -approaching death raised her above the consideration of -earthly love to the contemplation of even more solemn and -holier things.</p> - -<p>Then there happened an entirely unexpected event, which -completely changed their relationship in an instant. On the -third day after the delivery of the message in the temple a -company composed of twenty old men, the heads of the noblest -families in Aeria, presented to the President in Council, a -petition, signed by every father and mother in the nation, -praying that all in whose veins flowed the blood of Natas, -Richard Arnold, and Alan Tremayne should, irrespective of all -other considerations, be included among those who were -destined to seek in the caverns of Mount Austral the one -chance of escape from the universal doom.</p> - -<p>So obvious and so weighty were the reasons advanced in -support of the petition that when, like all other matters of -State, it was put to the vote of the Council, the only dissentient -voices were those of the President and the Vice-President.</p> - -<p>The immediate effect of this decision—from which, by the -laws of Aeria, there was no appeal—was that Alma, Isma, and -Alan were exempted from the ordeal of selection and numbered -beforehand among the Children of Deliverance.</p> - -<p>The President took upon himself the duty of communicating -this decision to those whom it so deeply concerned. He -told Alan first, and this was the half-expected reply that he -received—</p> - -<p>“No, father, I have never disobeyed you or the Council, as -you know, but I tell you now frankly that I will not take<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span> -advantage of what is after all only the accident of birth to -save my life in such a crisis as this.</p> - -<p>“Not only are there thousands of others in Aeria as good -as I am, but I have already told you that, save under one condition, -which you know as well as I do can never be realised, -I have not the slightest desire to survive the ruin of the world. -You may call this disobedience, rebellion, if you will, but it is -my last resolve, and in such a time as this one does not make -resolves lightly.”</p> - -<p>Alan said this standing facing his father in his private -study. The President looked at him for a moment or two -with eyes which, though grave, were neither reproving nor -reproachful. Then he said with the shadow of a smile upon -his lips—</p> - -<p>“It is both disobedience and rebellion, my son, but though -the Chief Magistrate must condemn it, your father cannot. -I know, too, that not even the Council of Aeria can now -enforce its commands. After all, the last penalty is but death, -and that is a mockery now.</p> - -<p>“I fully understand, too, the spirit in which you refuse the -reprieve from the general doom, and prefer instead a mission -which can scarcely end save in honourable death. It is the -most noble one that you can choose, and you of all other men -are the man to perform it.</p> - -<p>“You have shown our enemies that you can strike hard in -battle, so if they believe anyone they will believe you when -you go to them with a message of peace enforced by such a -solemn warning as you will take.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, father,” replied Alan simply, “not for what -you say of me, but for the consent that your words imply. -But what about the air-ship and her crew? I can do nothing -without them, yet I cannot have them without the consent of -the Council. Can you get that for me?”</p> - -<p>“I believe so,” said the President. “And if I can I will, -since you are resolved to go, and since the honour of our name -compels me to consent. But I must tell you that I feel sure -that it will only be given conditionally.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span></p> - -<p>“And what will the condition be?”</p> - -<p>“That if you survive your mission you will return to Aeria -before the end comes. They will have a right to demand that, -for it is no part of your duty to deprive your companions of -the chance of life, slender though it may be, that will remain -for those who may be among the chosen.”</p> - -<p>“That is true,” replied Alan, bending his head in acquiescence. -“If we escape with our lives they shall return, though -I shall not”—</p> - -<p>“You will not return, Alan? Why, where are you going? -Surely you are not going to leave Aeria again, and at such a -time as this; you, who are already one of the chosen, a first-born -son of the Master’s line!”</p> - -<p>It was Alan’s mother who spoke. She had entered the -room just as he had uttered the last sentence, and the ominous -words struck a sudden chill to her heart. She came towards -him with her eyes full of tears of apprehension and her -hands stretched out pleadingly towards him.</p> - -<p>Now that the first terror of the crisis was past, and there -was one definite, however slender, hope of safety, she clung to -it passionately for Alan’s sake with a faith that made light of -all the fearful difficulties which lay in the way of its realisation. -In the sublime egotism of her mother-love the fate of a world -shrank into insignificance in comparison with the one chance -of safety for her only son.</p> - -<p>“Yes, mother,” replied Alan, taking her hands in his and -bending down until his lips touched her upturned brow. “I -am going to leave Aeria again to proclaim the Truce of God -against the hour of His judgment, and I have just told my -father that I shall not return”—</p> - -<p>“No, no, my boy, you must not say that. You must not -rob us of the one ray of light in this awful darkness that is -falling upon us—of our one hope in all the world’s despair!” -cried his mother, letting go his hands and laying her own upon -his shoulders as she looked up into his face with eyes that -were now overflowing with tears.</p> - -<p>“You will not leave us now, surely, for if we lost you we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> -could not even take the chance of life ourselves, for it would -not be worth having.”</p> - -<p>“Nor would it be worth having, my mother, either to you -or to me,” he replied, gently laying his hand on hers, “if I -lived and left untried the attempt that it is my plain duty to -make. You would see me a lonely and unmated man among -the parents of the new race, a man with a shadow upon his -name, and the memory of an unfulfilled duty behind him.</p> - -<p>“Remember that it is I who have brought the guilt of -blood back again upon earth. Would you have me outlive all -the millions of my fellow-creatures with the knowledge that I -had not made one effort to bring back that peace on earth -which was lost through me before the last summons comes to -all humanity?”</p> - -<p>“Alan is right, wife,” interrupted the President, before she -could make any reply to her son’s appeal. “It is his duty to -save, if he can, his fellow-creatures from being overwhelmed -in the midst of their madness and their sin. Remember that, -according to our faith, as all these millions, who are now drunk -with battle and slaughter, and mad with the rage of conquest -and revenge, end this life, so they must begin the next.</p> - -<p>“There is time for him to speak and for them to hear, but -whether they hear him or not, if he has spoken he has done his -duty. Is it not better that if needs be he should die doing it -than live and leave it undone?”</p> - -<p>The weighty words, spoken as they were in a tone of -blended affection and authority, found a fitting echo in his -wife’s breast. She stood for a moment between her husband -and her son, looking from the one to the other. Then she -dried her tears, and replied in a tone of gentle dignity and -resignation—</p> - -<p>“Yes, I see. You are right and I was wrong. It is his -duty to go, and he must go. But,” she continued, turning to -Alan with the sudden light of a new hope in her eyes, “if I -bid you ‘God-speed,’ my son, you will promise one thing, -won’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mother, I will—whatever it is.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Then promise me that if it shall be proved possible for you -to live in happiness as well as in honour, you will come back.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” he replied, smiling gravely as he once more took -her outstretched hands. “I will promise that as gladly as I -would promise to enter Heaven if I saw the gates open before -me.”</p> - -<p>“Then you shall go, and God go with you and bring you -back in safety to us!” she said. Then, turning abruptly, she -went out of the room, leaving them both wondering at her -words.</p> - -<p>This took place early on the morning of the 21st of May. -An hour later the President had applied in Alan’s name for -the permission of the Council for him to select a crew of twenty -volunteers and to take the <em>Avenger</em> to Europe on his mission -to the warring peoples and to proclaim peace on earth and -breathing space for humanity to prepare for its end. But -then a new difficulty presented itself. Alexis, in spite of all -Alan’s remonstrances to the contrary, declared that he should -never leave Aeria without him.</p> - -<p>“I have shared in your exile and your return,” he said, in -answer to all arguments, “and, by the honour of the Golden -Wings, I swear that I will either go with you now or you shall -see me fall dead the moment that you leave the earth!”</p> - -<p>This was the only oath that ever was heard upon the lips of -an Aerian, and it was irrevocable, so, as there was no choice, -Alan was forced to consent, and Alexis made ready to bid a -last farewell to Aeria and all its dear associations.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_347.jpg" width="350" height="63" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXVII.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">ALMA SPEAKS.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_t.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-T">THAT night Alan, with his heart too full even for -the society of his own home, went out of the -city a little before midnight and walked down -towards the western shore of the lake, where -there still stood the same grove of palms in -which, more than a hundred and thirty years before, Natasha -and Richard Arnold had plighted their despairing troth and -under the shadow of what threatened to be an eternal separation -spoken the first words of love that had ever passed their -lips.</p> - -<p>It was not altogether accident that guided his steps in this -direction, for all day he had been reviewing the strange chain -of events which united the fate of his ancestors with his own, -and it was natural that the most romantic episode in their -lives should inspire him with a desire to see the scene of it -once more.</p> - -<p>So it came about that he stood, on what he believed to be -his last night in Aeria, beneath the self-same ancient palms -which five generations before had heard Natasha confess her -love for the man who had sworn to give her in exchange for it -that empire of peace which he, their descendant, had been the -means of losing.</p> - -<p>The story was, of course, familiar to him in its minutest -details, and as he stood there, his own heart heavy with a -hopeless sorrow, he pictured his great ancestor standing on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> -same spot, holding the means of universal conquest in his -hands, and yet accounting all things as worthless because -the empire within his grasp must lack the supreme crown of -a woman’s love.</p> - -<p>Then, looking back through the mists of the years that had -gone by since then, he seemed to see the very shape of the -Angel moving over the soft green sward where now the broad -marble-paved roadway gleamed white beneath the trees, and to -hear the musical murmur of her voice even as Richard Arnold -had heard it on that eventful night.</p> - -<p>“Alan!”</p> - -<p>Was he dreaming, or was it the voice of his ancestress -speaking to his soul in that hour of his lonely sorrow? A -pale, shimmering, ghostly shape flitted across the quivering -plumes of the palm-trees, dropped softly to the ground, and -Alma stood before him in the well of her aerial boat.</p> - -<p>Before his amazement had permitted him to utter a word -she had stepped out and was coming towards him with outstretched -hands, saying—</p> - -<p>“They told me I should find you here. Alan, I have come -to ask you to forgive me if you—before you go upon this -mission of yours, if go you must.”</p> - -<p>“To forgive you, Alma!” he exclaimed, recoiling a pace in -sheer astonishment at her presence and her words. “What -can I have to forgive <em>you</em>? Is it not rather”—</p> - -<p>“No, Alan, it is not,” she said quickly, still holding out her -hands to him and looking up at him with faintly flushed -cheeks and shining eyes. “I see it all clearly now. Isma -was right. It is I who have sinned against you, and it is for -me to ask forgiveness.”</p> - -<p>“How can you ask that of me, Alma? How have you -harmed me?” he asked, still bewildered by her beauty and -the enigmas that she spoke in, yet taking her hands, and, as -if by instinct, drawing her towards him.</p> - -<p>“I will answer that afterwards,” she said quickly, as -though inspired by some sudden thought. “But tell me, -first, are you quite resolved to go upon this mission?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes,” he said with an almost imperceptible quiver in his -voice. “Have I not had a great, if not a guilty, share in -bringing this curse upon the world, and is it not fitting that -I should give my last days to the task, however hopeless, of -bringing back peace on earth so that men may die sane and -not mad?”</p> - -<p>“But, Alan, is that a higher duty than you owe to your -family and your people? You know that in you centre all -their hopes for the future, if there is to be one. With you -would die the name of Arnold, and the direct line of Natas -and Natasha.”</p> - -<p>“And with me they would die even if I went with the -Children of Deliverance into the caverns of Mount Austral -and survived the ruin of the world. How can you mock me -like that, Alma? Have I not suffered enough for my weakness -and my folly that you would condemn me to wander an -exile in the wilderness that the world will be when it has -passed through its baptism of fire?</p> - -<p>“What is the swift death of battle or the short agony of -the conflagration of the world compared with the long death-in-life -that I should drag out alone in the new world that may -arise from the ruins of this one?”</p> - -<p>“And why alone, Alan?”</p> - -<p>“Why alone? Can you ask me that, Alma? Surely you -are mocking me now. Can you ask why I should be alone if -I survived with the remnant of our people? Do you not even -yet know why I choose the certainty of death rather than the -chance of life?”</p> - -<p>“But, Alan, what if I were to tell you that you would not -go alone to the caverns, and that if the chosen few survive -you will not wander alone on the wilderness of the new -world?”</p> - -<p>“I should tell you, Alma, that you meant to sacrifice yourself -to save me, and that I would not accept the sacrifice even -at your hands.”</p> - -<p>“Sacrifice! No, Alan, I would not outlive the world, even -with you, on those terms. A woman of Aeria does not sell<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span> -herself even for sentiment. This is no time for secrets or -false shame, and I tell you frankly that if you had accepted -the order of the Council, you should have lived and I would -have died.</p> - -<p>“But your rebellion proved to me that Isma was right -when she rebuked my false pride by saying that the man who -has fallen and risen again is better and stronger than he who -has never suffered”—</p> - -<p>“But, Alma, remember”—</p> - -<p>“No, you must not interrupt me now, or what ought to be -said may never be spoken. I know what you were going to -say. You were going to tell me to remember that Olga -Romanoff is still alive. Let her live—and let God judge her -for her sins in the judgment that is so soon to come! What -have we to do with her?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing, Alma, after you have said that, for it tells me -that in your eyes the stain is purged and the fault forgiven. -I will take the message to her as to the rest of the world. If -she receives it in peace then there shall be peace, and God -shall judge between us”—</p> - -<p>“And if not?”</p> - -<p>“Then I will pit my single ship against hers and her fleet -and only one of us, if either, shall see the end.”</p> - -<p>“And if that is you—what then?”</p> - -<p>“Then it will be for you—under Heaven—to speak the -words of life or death, for <a id="Ref_317"></a>only you can bid me live, -Alma.”</p> - -<div id ="Fig_317" class="figcenter" style="width: 435px;"> -<img src="images/i_352.jpg" width="435" height="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center">“<span class="smcap">Only you can bid me live, Alma.</span>” -<em><a href="#Ref_317">Page 317</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p>As he spoke the great lights on the mountain tops suddenly -blazed out, shone for a few moments, and were extinguished -again. It was the answering signal to one from Mars; but it -joined two souls as well as two worlds, for by its light Alan -saw on Alma’s face and in her eyes the one reprieve from death -that honour would permit him to accept.</p> - -<p>Without waiting for the words that her now smiling lips -were opening to utter, he took her unresisting in his arms. -Then her proudly carried, wing-crowned head drooped at last -in sweet submission, and rested on his heart; and as he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span> -turned her face up to his to take his kiss of re-betrothal, he -said—</p> - -<p>“That tells me that I may live. Now we are immortal, -you and I, for this kiss is our eternity!”</p> - -<p>Then their lips met, and for the instant Time had no more -beginning or end. The impending ruin of the world was -forgotten; for Love had spoken, and the very voice of Doom -itself was silent amidst the happiness of their heedless -souls.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_354.jpg" width="350" height="60" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE SIGN IN THE SKY.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_w.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-W">WHEN the news of what had happened at midnight -in the palm grove was published the next morning -far and wide through the valley of Aeria it would -have been impossible to imagine that an irrevocable -sentence of death was overhanging the -land and all its inhabitants, save those who were to be selected -to take the one chance that remained of surviving the chaos -that was to come.</p> - -<p>There was no one in the valley to whom Alan’s story was -not familiar in all its details, there was not a single heart that -had not in the midst of its own happiness sympathised with -him and Alma in their sorrow, and so, when that sorrow was -at last turned into joy, everyone forgot for the moment the fate -whose approach was so near and so certain, and rejoiced with -them in the happiness that was great enough to raise them -above the gloom that was already stealing over the world.</p> - -<p>But in the midst of the general rejoicing came the decision -of the Council upon the request which Alan had submitted to -his father, and this, though he was forced to confess it wise and -just, was by no means what, in his enthusiasm, he could have -wished. The rulers of Aeria absolutely refused to permit any -of the air-ships to leave the valley for at least two months to -come.</p> - -<p>They recognised with perfect approval the nobility of the -resolve which Alan had taken to carry the message of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span> -world’s approaching end to those nations which he had been, -partially at least, responsible for plunging into the horrors of -war, but they insisted that the concerns of Aeria must, in their -eyes, take precedence of those of the outside world.</p> - -<p>There was much to do, and the time for doing it was short. -What was perhaps the greatest engineering task in the history -of the world had to be conceived and completed within the -next four months, and as Alan and Alexis were admittedly the -two most skilful practical engineers in the State, the Council -declined to allow them to run the almost certain risk of death -at the hands of their enemies when their knowledge and skill -ought to be devoted to the work of ensuring, as far as possible, -the preservation of that remnant of the human race who -should be destined to seek safety in the caverns of Mount -Austral.</p> - -<p>When the completion of that work was made certain, then -permission would be freely given to them and their companions -to go forth and proclaim their warning to the world, subject -only to the condition that they were to take every precaution -consistent with the honour of their race to return while there -was yet time for them to take their places among the Children -of Deliverance should the selection fall upon them.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, telephonic messages were to be sent to all those -portions of the world with which Aeria was still in communication, -conveying the exact terms of the warning that had been -received from Mars, and calling upon the astronomers in all -the observatories on the globe to verify the calculations for -themselves, and publish their conclusions to their respective -nations as quickly as possible.</p> - -<p>With these terms Alan was of necessity obliged to be -content. Indeed, when he came to review them in sober -thought, he saw that, while nothing was to be lost, much was -to be gained by submission to them.</p> - -<p>Though he still refused, even in spite of the knowledge that -he would share with Alma the future if there was to be one, -to obey the order of the Council which exempted him from -the ordeal of selection, he thought and worked with just as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span> -much ardour as though the safety of the whole of the dwellers -in Aeria, as well as his own, hung upon his efforts.</p> - -<p>The caverns of Mount Austral, like those of other limestone -formations in various parts of the world, had been -formed in some remote geological period by the solvent -action of water charged with carbonic gas upon the limestone -rocks.</p> - -<p>The entrance to them, discovered very soon after the valley -had been colonised by the Terrorists in the first decade of the -twentieth century, was situated on the inner slopes of the -mountain about eight hundred feet above the level of the lake, -which occupied the central portion of the valley.</p> - -<p>This lake, although fed by hundreds of streams from the -surrounding mountains, always preserved the same level, in -spite of the fact that it had no visible outlet. Those who -first explored the caverns found the explanation of this -phenomenon.</p> - -<p>Below the floors of the vast chambers which penetrated the -heart of the mountain for a distance of nearly three miles there -ran a deep chasm, through which rushed in a black, swift, -silent stream the surplus waters of the lake. This stream was -nearly a thousand feet below the entrance to the caverns and -half that distance below the floor of the lowest chambers and -galleries.</p> - -<p>The scheme conceived by Alan and Alexis and their fellow-workers -was in fact nothing less than the damming of this -subterranean stream by a mighty sluice-gate composed of one -huge sheet of metal which, running down into grooves cut in -the solid rock and metal-sheathed, should completely close the -inner mouth of the tunnel by which the waters entered the -caverns.</p> - -<p>This, once successfully fixed in its place, would deprive the -lake of its only known outlet. The streams would go on -flowing from the mountains and the waters of the lake would -rise. The upper entrance would, when the fatal moment came, -also be closed, not by one such door, but by three that would -slide down one behind the other in the upper tunnel, which,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span> -with a diameter of about thirty feet and a height of almost -fifty, ran for nearly a quarter of a mile from the side of the -mountain to the first of the chambers.</p> - -<p>The spaces between these doors would be filled with ice -artificially frozen, and shafts to allow for expansion should the -ice melt and the water boil would run from them vertically, -piercing the mountain-side. When the waters rose to the level -of the entrance the doors would be lowered and the space filled -with water and frozen. Then the waters would go on rising, -the entrance would be submerged, and the defences of the -fortress in which the remnant of humanity was to make its last -stand for life would be complete.</p> - -<p>But in addition to these outer defences there was an enormous -amount of work to be done in fitting the interior of the -caverns to receive those for whom they were to form an asylum.</p> - -<p>They were already lighted by myriads of electric lamps, -but the source of light was outside, and this had to be replaced -by power-stations inside. Provision had to be made for keeping -the air pure and vital, for supplying food and drink for -an almost indefinite time, and for storing up a sufficiency of -seeds and roots and treasures of art and creative skill, so that -the new world might be clothed again with verdure and -nothing essential of the splendid civilisation of Aeria be lost.</p> - -<p>Such, in the briefest outline, was the momentous task to -which the Aerians devoted all their splendid genius and -unconquerable energies, and day by day and week by week -they toiled at it, while the fatal hour which was to witness -the last agony of man upon earth swiftly drew nearer and nearer.</p> - -<p>The messages to the outside world had been sent and -replied to. Those to the astronomers and to the governments -of the Federation had been acknowledged in formal terms, -which thinly concealed the incredulity with which they had -been received.</p> - -<p>Olga had treated the message with the silent disdain of a -conquering autocrat—such, as in sober truth, she now was. -The Sultan had replied to it in a despatch in which the dignity -of a victorious despot and the fatalism of the religious fanatic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span> -were characteristically blended. Then one by one the telephonic -communications with the various parts of the world -ceased; messages were sent out and repeated, but no answer -came back.</p> - -<p>First Europe, then Britain, then South Africa, America, -and Australia, ceased to respond to the signals; and by the -beginning of July Aeria was completely isolated from the rest -of the world—probably the only stronghold that now remained -unsubdued by the conquering fleets of the Sultan and the -Tsarina.</p> - -<p>Still the sentinel ships, hanging high in air over the -valley, and constantly patrolling the outer slopes of the mountains, -saw no sign of hostile approach. The last messages that -had been received from the great cities of the Federation had -told brief but fearful stories of the desolation that was following -in the path of Moslem and Russian conquest.</p> - -<p>The bridges of Gibraltar and the Bosphorus had been -forced, and thousands after thousands of Moslem troops had been -poured into Europe. Frenzied by fanaticism and the new-born -lust of battle and conquest, the hordes of Asiatic tribesmen -who had escaped the one terrific onslaught of the fleet under -the command of Alexis had, now that the guardian ships were -withdrawn, been hurried through Russia, and hurled upon the -wealthy and almost defenceless cities of Western Europe.</p> - -<p>The Federation was on the point of utter collapse, divided -in its counsels, confused in its plans of defence, its armies -undisciplined, and its fleets disorganised and daily diminishing -in number and effectiveness.</p> - -<p>In America, Australia, and Southern Africa there was -anarchy on earth and terror in the air. Cities had been -terrorised into capitulation by aerial squadrons, and then -looted and burnt, and their ruins given up to be the miserable -prey of the revolutionaries who now, as ever, had taken advantage -of the universal panic to revolt against all government, -and deny all rights but that which they claimed to prey upon -the helpless, all liberty that was not license, and all property -that was not plunder.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span></p> - -<p>The last tidings of all that came from Europe were received -from Britain, and, after recounting the destruction of London -and the collapse of the Government, concluded with the news -that Olga had publicly embraced the faith of Islam, and, in -conjunction with the Sultan, whom she was to marry as -soon as the conquest of Europe was finally complete, was -forcibly converting her Russian subjects to the creed of the -Koran.</p> - -<p>So the affairs of the world stood when the sun went down -on the 15th of July. On the meridian of Aeria it set at nine -minutes to eight; at thirteen minutes past eight, according to -the calculations made by the Martian and verified by the -Aerian astronomers, the herald of Fate would approach within -the range of terrestrial vision.</p> - -<p>Before the brief period of tropical twilight had passed every -telescope in the valley was turned to that spot in the constellation -of Andromeda at which it was predicted to become -visible. As the revolving earth swept Aeria into the shadow -of night every light was extinguished, for it was known that -the astronomers of Mars would be anxiously watching for a -signal that would announce the correctness or the error of their -calculations.</p> - -<p>Vassilis Cosmo, seated at the eye-piece of the great equatorial -telescope on Mount Austral, with his hand on the switch -which controlled the electric currents that were waiting to do -his bidding, watched the fields of space darken, and the stars -of Andromeda shine out. Just a little below the line which -joins the Square of Pegasus with the constellation of Cassiopeia, -he saw, as usual, the oval, luminous cloud of the great nebula -in Andromeda.</p> - -<p>Four degrees towards the zenith, above the centre of the -star-cloud, a tiny fan-shaped spray, faint and pale as a dissolving -puff of white smoke, was floating in the black abyss of space. -Precisely at the thirteenth minute of the hour he turned the -switch, and the great suns on the mountain-tops blazed out and -flashed the signal to the sister-world to tell its inhabitants that -their prediction had been fulfilled to the second.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXIX.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE TRUCE OF GOD.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_b.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-B">BY the 30th of July the work in the caverns was -so far advanced that the Council was able to -authorise the departure of Alan and his companions -for the outside world. The great vertical -sluice-door, a huge sheet of steel forty feet long, -twenty wide, and eighteen inches thick, and footed with a great -indiarubber pad, was in its place, suspended at the top of the -steel-lined grooves, which had been sunk three feet into each -of the rock walls of the chasm into which the water-tunnel -from the lake opened.</p> - -<p>On the morning of the 30th it was sent down into its final -position. The momentous experiment proved completely -successful. The huge mass of metal descended slowly over -the mouth of the tunnel into the black, swift stream at the -bottom of the chasm. As its enormous weight crushed the -indiarubber pad down into all the inequalities of the floor the -outrush of the waters instantly stopped, and the channel ran -dry save for the fierce jets of water which spouted out over the -top of the plate.</p> - -<p>The crevices through which these came were easily plugged, -and when this was done it was found that the waters of the -lake were rising at the rate of three feet an hour. This -proved that, whether the lake had another outlet or not, the -damming of the subterranean channels would be quite sufficient -to flood the whole valley.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span></p> - -<p>The gate was then raised again, and the waters permitted to -flow as before. The triple doors at the entrance to the cavern -were already in position when this was done, as the task of -placing them had necessarily been much easier than the construction -of the water-gate. Nothing but details now remained -to be completed, and there was therefore no reason for any -further postponement of Alan’s mission.</p> - -<p>Alexis had also succeeded in carrying his point, and getting -permission to accompany Alan in the <em>Isma</em>. He had had no -difficulty in satisfying the Council that the risk would be -enormously diminished by sending two air-ships instead of one, -for while Alan descended to the earth to convey his message to -a hostile city, he would be able to remain in the air, dominating -it with his guns, and ready to lay it in ruins if the flag of truce -were not respected.</p> - -<p>But the two friends had gained even more than this, for in -answer to their earnest pleadings, in which it may be suspected -they were not altogether unsupported by those as vitally concerned -as themselves, a joint family council had decided that, -under the unparalleled circumstances of the case, there was no -valid reason for refusing consent to their immediate union with -the two faithful brides who had waited so long and so patiently -for their lords.</p> - -<p>Therefore, on the morning of the 31st, it came to pass that -they stood upon the spot sanctified by the ashes of their great -ancestors, and took each other for man and wife, for life or -death, as the hazard of the world’s fate might decide, in the -presence of a vast congregation of those who stood with feet -already touching the brink of the valley of the shadow of -death.</p> - -<p>No bridal so strange or solemn had ever been celebrated in -the world before. It was human love and hope and genius, -serene and confident in the presence of the most awful catastrophe -that had ever befallen humanity, defying the fate that -was about to overwhelm a world in destruction.</p> - -<p>That evening, as the sun was touching the tops of the -western mountains, the last preparations for the voyage were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span> -completed, the last farewells exchanged, and the <em>Isma</em> and the -<em>Avenger</em>, now renamed the <em>Alma</em> by the hands of her name-mother, -rose into the air amid salvoes of aerial artillery, and -winged their way northward over the Ridge.</p> - -<p>As they sped out over the plains of Northern Africa the -sun sank, and out of the north-western heavens shone the -luminous haze of the Fire-Cloud, which had now grown in -visible magnitude until the two fan-like wings which spread -out from its central nucleus spanned an arc of twenty degrees -in the heavens.</p> - -<p>As the two air-ships sped on their northward course towards -Alexandria, where Alan had decided to make his first attempt -to stay the progress of the world-war, the two pairs of new-wedded -lovers watched with anxious eyes from the decks of -their flying craft the terrible portent in the skies whose meaning -they above all others on earth were so well qualified to read.</p> - -<p>There could be no doubt now, even apart from all the -elaborate calculations which had been made, that the prediction -of the Martian astronomers was far more likely to be fulfilled -than contradicted by the event.</p> - -<p>Yet, so great was the happiness they found in this strange -fulfilment of the faint hopes of years of almost hopeless -waiting that, even as they journeyed on through the night -with this threatening sign of approaching ruin pouring its -angry light out of the skies, their talk was still rather of love -and life and hope than of the death and desolation which -they knew to be overhanging their race with such remorseless -certainty.</p> - -<p>They had lived and loved, and their love had found fruition. -What more could they have asked of Fate than this, even if -they could have prolonged their lives indefinitely by a mere -effort of will? As Alan had said to Alma at the moment of -their re-betrothal in the palm-grove, they were immortal now, -and for them the death of a world was but an accident on the -onward progress of an evolution in which such souls as theirs, -veritable sparks of the divine fire itself, were the dominating -factors.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span></p> - -<p>As the Fire-Cloud paled in the West, and the eastern -heavens brightened with the fore-glow of the coming dawn, -the captains of the two vessels were roused by the signals -from the conning-towers which told them that Alexandria was -in sight.</p> - -<p>As soon as he got on deck Alan signalled to the <em>Isma</em> to -come close alongside. As she did so and the morning greetings -were exchanged, Alma appeared on deck, and suggested -that Alexis and Isma should come and have breakfast on board -the flagship, so that the two captains could discuss their final -plans before descending to the city.</p> - -<p>The invitation was of course accepted, and an hour later -the <em>Alma</em> commenced her descent towards the Sultan’s palace, -above which, from a lofty flagstaff, the banner of Islam was -floating lazily in the early morning breeze. She flew no other -ensign save a broad white flag of truce that streamed out from -the signal-mast at her stern.</p> - -<p>The whole city seemed asleep, secure in the conquests that -had already been won. A single air-ship floated two thousand -feet above the palace, and as he approached her Alan, keeping -her well under his guns, flew from his mainmast the signal—“We -come in peace. Will you respect the flag?”</p> - -<p>The Moslem captain saw at a glance that a single shell -would annihilate his vessel, and that the <em>Alma</em> was perfectly -protected by her consort, circling two thousand feet above him, -so he signalled, “Yes, come alongside.” The <em>Alma</em> descended -and swung round until she came on a level with the Moslem -vessel, then she ran alongside within speaking distance, the -doors of the deck-chambers were opened, and Alan, after -exchanging salutes, asked her captain whether the Sultan was -in his capital.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied the Moslem. “He is down yonder in his -palace awaiting the coming of the Tsarina, for they are to join -hands to-day and reign lord and mistress of the world they -have conquered.”</p> - -<p>“Is the world, then, conquered?” asked Alan, with a smile -on his lips and a note of scornful pity in his voice.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the Moslem. “East and west, north and south, -the world is ours, saving only your own little land, and for -that, I suppose, you have come to make terms of peace.”</p> - -<p>“I have not come to make terms of peace for Aeria, but for -the world,” replied Alan gravely. “But of that I must speak -with your master. When will he be able to give me an -audience?”</p> - -<p>“That I cannot say,” was the reply, “or even that he will -hear you at all. But, pardon! I did not know that the angels -of Paradise accompanied the Aerians on their voyages. Descend -in peace, my master will receive you.”</p> - -<p>As he was speaking Alma, crowned with her crystal wings, -and radiant with a beauty which, to the Moslem’s eyes, -seemed something superhuman, had come from the after part -of the vessel to Alan’s side. It was the first time that he had -ever seen a woman of Aeria; and, with the innate chivalry of -his race, he paid his involuntary homage to her as he would have -done to an incarnation of one of the poetic dreams of his faith.</p> - -<p>Then salutes were exchanged again between the two -captains and the <em>Alma</em> sank swiftly downwards until she -hovered twenty feet above the terrace on which Alan had first -spoken with the Sultan on the night that he captured the -<em>Vindaya</em>.</p> - -<p>The approach of the Aerian warship had already summoned -a party of guards to the roof, and after a brief parley a message -was carried to the Sultan from Alan. A few minutes later -Khalid stepped out of the doorway leading from the interior -of the palace, magnificently attired as though for some great -ceremonial.</p> - -<p>He looked up and saw Alan standing with Alma by his side -on the after-deck of his ship. He saw, too, that the flag of -truce was flying from the stern and that the guns were laid -alongside instead of being pointed down upon the city. He -raised his hand in salute and said—</p> - -<p>“I see you come in the guise of peace. If that is so you -are welcome.”</p> - -<p>“It is peace if your Majesty will have it so,” replied Alan,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span> -returning his salute, and at the same time making a sign for -the <em>Alma</em> to descend to the roof of the palace. As her keels -touched the floor of the terrace, the steps fell from the after -doorway, and he came down, leaving Alma standing on deck -by the open door.</p> - -<p>“Will not your companion honour my palace by touching -its roof with her foot?” said Khalid, looking up at Alma as he -exchanged greetings with Alan.</p> - -<p>“My companion, Sultan, is the wife of the man whom you -turned your back upon on this very spot as a liar, a traitor, -and a murderer,” said Alan, looking him straight in the eyes. -“How, then, could she honour your palace by setting foot on -its roof?”</p> - -<p>For a moment the Sultan was abashed into silence by the -directness of the rebuke, and then his Oriental subtlety and -quickness of thought came to his aid, and, bending his head -with royal dignity, he said—</p> - -<p>“The angels do not mate with such men as that. The -Tsarina must have been misled by appearances, perhaps, -indeed, carried away by her hereditary hatred of your people. -It is impossible that any but a true man could have won the -love of such a woman. You tell me that you come as friends -and not as enemies, so, for the hour, let there be peace, not war, -between us. While you are my guests my city is yours, and all -that it contains. I pledge my honour for your safety, so let the -Daughter of the Air descend that I may hear from her lips the -music of her voice.”</p> - -<p>Turning aside, half to hide a smile at the Oriental metaphor -of the Sultan’s speech, Alan went to the foot of the steps -and held out his hand to Alma. As she alighted on the terrace -he led her towards him, saying—</p> - -<p>“This is my wife. Yesterday morning she was Alma -Tremayne, a daughter in the fifth generation of the first -President of the Federation. Her ancestor and yours made -terms of peace after the War of the Terror. It is, therefore, -more fitting that you should hear from her lips than from mine -the message that we bring.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span></p> - -<p>“My ears are waiting,” said Khalid, bending low over the -hand that Alma held out to him as Alan spoke. “It would -be a strange message that would not be welcome from such -lips.”</p> - -<p>From one whom she could have looked upon as an equal -such language as this would have jarred sorely upon Alma, -accustomed as she was to the frank directness of her own -people’s speech. But from Khalid she tolerated it as she -would have tolerated the extravagance of a child, and as he -raised his head again she looked at him with eyes that dazzled -him afresh, intoxicated as he already was with her, to him, -strange and almost unearthly beauty, and said in a voice such -as he had never heard before—</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Sultan, for your welcome, but surely there is -little need for me to tell you what message we bring. Last -night you saw it written in letters of fire across the heavens. -Has not the voice of God spoken bidding you and your people -to cease the cruel warfare that you are waging upon the world -and to prepare for the end of which that is a sign?”</p> - -<p>As she spoke she raised her hand and pointed to where the -shape of the Fire-Cloud now hung in the sky like a white mist -paling before the light of the rising sun.</p> - -<p>“You rejected our first warning, as perhaps was natural, -but now that you have seen the confirmation of it shining -among the stars, surely you will no longer reject it.”</p> - -<p>The last words were spoken in a gentle, pleading tone, which -no man could have heard without being moved by them.</p> - -<p>“Daughter of the Air,” replied the Sultan, following her -hand with his eyes, “I have seen, and in a measure I believe, -your message, though my interpretation of it may be other -than yours. If the end of the world is at hand, the Commander -of the Faithful will know how to meet it as a true -believer should. It is not impossible that there may be peace -between us yet in the last hours of earthly life, for I would not -willingly make war on a people that has daughters such as -you.”</p> - -<p>“Not for our sake, Sultan, but for the sake of all who have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span> -survived this terrible warfare of yours we are come to plead -with you for peace,” said Alma. “This is no time for hate -and strife and bloodshed. There will be horrors enough upon -earth before long without any made by the fury of man. It is -in your power to give peace to the world and breathing space -to meet its end. Why will you not give it?”</p> - -<p>“You forget it is not I alone who can give peace,” replied -Khalid. “If that were so”—</p> - -<p>Before he could speak another word a salvo of aerial -artillery shook the air above the city. All looked up towards -the northern sky, whence the sound proceeded, and saw a -squadron of twenty silvery-hulled air-ships flying the Moslem -and Russian flags, and escorting in two divisions a warship, -from whose flagstaff flew the imperial standard of Russia, -and whose shining hull of azurine proclaimed her the lost -<em>Ithuriel</em>.</p> - -<p>Alan grasped the perilous situation in an instant, and was -just about to tell Alma to go back on board their own ship -when the Sultan, divining his intention, took a step forward -and said—</p> - -<p>“Do you think that Khalid cannot protect his guests or that -his ally will not respect the hospitality of his house? You are -safe. If a hair of your head were harmed the Tsarina and I -would be enemies and she would come to her death instead of -her bridal, for that is what brings her here. There is truce -between us for this day at least, and she shall not break it.”</p> - -<p>As he ceased speaking the twenty air-ships opened out into -a long line and remained suspended five hundred feet above -the palace, while the <em>Revenge</em> continued her downward flight -and alighted at the farther end of the terrace from where they -were standing.</p> - -<p>The after door of the deck-chamber opened as she -touched the marble pavement, the steps dropped down, and -Olga descended, attired as usual in a plain robe of royal -purple, over which hung a travelling mantle of pearl-grey -cloth as fine and soft as silk and lined with the then almost -priceless fur of the silver fox.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span></p> - -<p>Her head was uncovered save for a plain golden fillet, from -which rose a pair of slender silver wings so thickly encrusted -with diamonds that they seemed entirely fashioned of the -flashing gems. The golden fillet shone out brightly yellow -against the lustrous black of her thickly-coiled hair, and the -diamond wings blazed and scintillated in the sunlight with -every movement of her head.</p> - -<p>As she descended the steps she was followed by Orloff -Lossenski and a guard of honour of twelve of her officers, -splendidly dressed, and armed to the teeth, who, as soon as -they landed, drew their swords, which were now only used -as ornamental insignia of rank, and ranged themselves in -two lines, one on either side of her.</p> - -<p>Before the <em>Revenge</em> had alighted the Sultan had made a -sign to one of the sentries, who blew a long, clear blast on -a silver bugle, which was instantly answered by a hundred -others from various parts of the city. At the sound the -Moslem metropolis seemed to wake from sleep into universal -activity.</p> - -<p>Thousands of soldiers in brilliant uniforms poured into -the empty streets, the Moslem and Russian flags ran up to -a thousand flagstaffs, squadron after squadron of aerial -cruisers soared up from the earth and saluted with salvoes -of artillery, which shook the very firmament and brought -Alexis down to within three thousand feet of the palace roof -in the belief that Alan and Alma had fallen victims to some -treachery, and that the time had come for him to avenge -them by laying the city in ruins, as he had promised to do -in such an event.</p> - -<p>A single glance through his field-glasses showed him the -true state of affairs, so he contented himself with keeping -his crew at quarters with every gun trained on a -Russian or a Moslem air-ship and ready to spread death -and ruin far and wide should any harm happen to the <em>Alma</em> -or her crew.</p> - -<p>While this was taking place the Sultan’s bodyguard had -filed out on to the terrace resplendent with gorgeous uniforms<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span> -and glittering weapons, and between the two long lines that -they formed Khalid advanced to meet his bride, leaving Alan -and Alma interested and not unanxious spectators of the -strange and unexpected scene.</p> - -<p>They met half-way down the double line, and as Olga held -out the hand over which Khalid bowed low as he raised it to -his lips, she said, with a glance of undisguised hate towards -Alan and Alma and a mocking smile on her lips—</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty’s generosity is unbounded! I see that -you have invited to our wedding-feast the only enemies with -whom we have yet to measure swords!”</p> - -<p>“They have not come as enemies, Tsarina,” replied Khalid, -as he raised his head and looked with but half-restrained -ardour on the beauty that was so soon to be his. “Nor -yet have they come at my invitation. Alan Arnold and his -wife”—</p> - -<p>“His what!” interrupted Olga, her cheeks burning and -her eyes flashing with a sudden blaze of uncontrollable -anger.</p> - -<p>“His wife, Tsarina,” replied Khalid, somewhat coldly. -“The son of Natasha and Richard Arnold has mated with -the daughter of Alan Tremayne, and they have come in the -fifth generation to warn you, the daughter of the House of -Romanoff, and me, the son of the line of Mohammed -Reshad, to cease our warfare upon the nations and prepare -for the universal end which, they tell us, is at hand.”</p> - -<p>Khalid spoke, as Olga thought, half in jest and half in -earnest, so she continued in the same mocking tone in which -she had first spoken—</p> - -<p>“Then if that is so, if all human enmities are soon to be -purged by the all-destroying fires, we may as well meet in -peace for the moment. Will your Majesty honour me by -presenting me to your uninvited guests?”</p> - -<p>“Uninvited, but still my guests, Tsarina,” replied Khalid -gravely, “and therefore I need not ask you”—</p> - -<p>“No, Sultan,” said Olga, interrupting him, “you need -ask me nothing. You need not fear that I shall not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span> -respect the hospitality of your house, even when extended -to them.”</p> - -<p>As she spoke she gave him her hand again and he led her -between the silent, rigid ranks of his guards to where Alan -and Alma were standing.</p> - -<p>Since men and women had learned to love and hate there -had been no such strange meeting between two women as -that which now took place between Alma and Olga. It was -the first time that Olga had ever seen a woman of the race -to which Alan belonged, and Alma, for the first time confronted -with a daughter of the “earth-folk,” saw in Olga -Romanoff at once the most beautiful woman outside the -confines of Aeria and the incarnation of everything that she -had been trained to look upon as evil.</p> - -<p>While the Sultan was speaking the words of presentation -their eyes met, and Alma thought of that sentence in Alan’s -letter to his father, “She is as beautiful as an angel and as -merciless as a fiend,” while Olga looked back to the time -when she first heard Alma’s name and hated her for the sake -of him who now stood beside her, her lover and her husband—the -man <em>she</em> had held in bondage for years without winning -one voluntary caress from him.</p> - -<p>Alma’s first emotion was one of wonder. Hitherto, she -had seen nothing beautiful that was not at the same time -good, for in Aeria the conceptions of beauty and goodness -were inseparable. But here was a woman of almost perfect -physical loveliness, after her own type, who was beyond all -doubt guilty of the most colossal crime that a human soul -had conceived or a human hand had carried out since men -first learned to sin.</p> - -<p>The world, which ten years before had been a paradise -of peace, prosperity, and enlightened progress, was now a -wilderness of misery and an inferno of strife, fast lapsing -back into barbarism—and all this was her doing.</p> - -<p>As this thought came to Alma’s mind, standing out distinct -among all the others that were forcing themselves upon -her, wonder gave place to unspeakable horror, and as Olga<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span> -approached, with the light of hate still burning in her eyes -and the same mocking smile upon her lips, she instinctively -shrank back as though to avoid contact with some unclean -thing. As she did so her hand slipped through Alan’s arm -and a visible shudder ran through her form.</p> - -<p>Marvellous as Olga’s power of self-control and dissimulation -was, she failed entirely to restrain the passion which -such a reception aroused within her. It was the first time -in her life that she had ever stood in the presence of a -woman untainted by a spot of sin or shame, and this woman -recoiled from her in visible loathing, beautiful and mighty -as she was, at the very zenith of her conquering career and -on the morning of her promised union with the man who, -as she believed, would before many days share the empire of -the world with her.</p> - -<p>Hardened as she was, the mute rebuke cut her to the -quick. The flush on her cheeks died out and left her so -pale for the moment that her face looked almost ghastly -with its grey lips and black burning eyes. This daughter -of a higher race had at a single glance pierced the splendid -mask which covered the fearful deformity of her true nature. -She thought of the night long ago in the bedroom at St. -Petersburg when by the light of the unearthly flame hovering -above her poison-still she had seen her image in the -mirror.</p> - -<p>Then pride and anger came to her rescue. The blood -returned to her cheeks and lips, she drew herself up to the -full height of her queenly stature, and as the Sultan spoke -the words of presentation she slightly inclined her head, and -then raising it again said, in low, even tones, whose wonderful -music sent a chill to Alma’s heart—</p> - -<p>“This is a pleasant surprise, Alan Arnold. I little thought -that after our last parting we should meet again, save in battle, -much less did I think that you would honour my bridal by -bringing your own bride to it. Still, as the Sultan tells me, -there is truce for to-day, and, so far as to my enemy, you are -welcome.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span></p> - -<p>“We have not come as guests to your bridal, Tsarina,” -said Alan coldly and gravely, “nor have we come to make -truce as between mortal enemies. The enmities of men and -nations are but as child’s-play now. We have come to -proclaim the Truce of God against the hour of His final -judgment.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_373.jpg" width="350" height="62" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXX.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE SHADOW OF DEATH.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_a.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-quoteA">“AH, I see,” said Olga. “You have come to tell -us this wonderful story about the comet, and -the message you say you have received from -Mars, over again. You are not the first who -have prophesied the end of the world by such -means, nor will you be the last to be discredited -by the event.</p> - -<p>“Once for all, then, let me save misunderstanding by -telling you that I don’t believe a word of it, and therefore -nothing that you can say will have any effect on the course -of action that I have determined upon. You are of course -at liberty to preach your truce elsewhere and at your own -risk, though I fear it will be but the voice of one crying in -the wilderness.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, truly in the wilderness,” said Alma before Alan -could reply, “but a wilderness that you have made with -your own hand, Tsarina. You who have been the evil -genius of the world, have you not done harm enough, now -that the world has only a few more weeks to live?”</p> - -<p>“According to the idle tale you bring us,” interrupted -Olga, repressing with a barely successful effort the anger -aroused afresh within her by the serene tone in which Alma -spoke. It sounded rather like the voice of an angel speaking -to a mortal than of one woman addressing another, and even -to herself Olga was forced to admit that there could be no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span> -question of equality between this daughter of the air and -herself.</p> - -<p>“It is no idle tale,” replied Alma, almost in the same -tone which she might have used in reproving a wayward -child, “it is not even a prophecy, it is a mathematical certainty, -and if you understood you would believe.”</p> - -<p>“You are wasting time and your own breath,” said Olga -scornfully. “You are not my guests but the Sultan’s, yet -he may allow me to say that we have other demands upon -our attention more important than listening to such sentimentalism -as this.”</p> - -<p>Before Alma could answer, Alan turned to the Sultan as -though not deigning to reply to Olga’s insulting speech.</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty, I see that this is no time to perform the -mission upon which I came. We did not expect the presence -of the Tsarina here. Had we done so we should not -have come, for I know how vain it would be to reason with -her. I came prepared to satisfy the most skilful astronomers -in your kingdom that what I say is absolutely true, -and I ventured to hope that you, if satisfied by their assurances, -would give peace to the world for the remnant of its -days.</p> - -<p>“But even so it is not for us to interrupt or even to -introduce an unpleasant element into the doings of to-day, -so, with your Majesty’s permission, I will leave the calculations -with your minister and relieve you and the Tsarina of -our unwelcome presence.”</p> - -<p>All this time the Grand Vizier, Musa al Ghazi, had been -standing a little to the rear of the group stroking his beard -nervously and looking anxiously from one to the other. He -seemed about to speak, when Khalid said to Alan with a -courtesy which contrasted strongly with Olga’s contemptuous -demeanour—</p> - -<p>“I thank you, Prince of the Air. As matters stand I -think that will be the most reasonable as well as the most -convenient course. Though I am far from convinced that -you are not mistaken, yet I can assure you that the best<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span> -skill in my domains shall examine what you leave us. -Musa!”</p> - -<p>The old man turned pale as his master pronounced his -name, and stepped forward with a visible agitation, which -was by no means accounted for by the circumstances of the -strange situation. Instead of waiting for Khalid’s commands -he said as he made his obeisance before him—</p> - -<p>“Commander of the Faithful, I am here; but before your -Majesty bids me take these papers from the hands of Alan -Arnold I would ask permission to say a word that must be -said in private.”</p> - -<p>“In private, Musa?” said Khalid, frowning slightly and -passing his hand down his beard. “This is hardly a time for -State secrets.”</p> - -<p>“It is but my duty to my master that bids me speak,” -replied the old man, again bending before him. “A moment -will suffice for the speaking of what I have to say.”</p> - -<p>Musa’s tone was so earnest and his anxiety so palpable, -that Khalid without more ado made his excuses to the -Tsarina and his unexpected guests and stepped aside out of -earshot with his Vizier.</p> - -<p>“Well, Musa, what is it that is so pressing and yet so -private?” he asked, a trifle impatiently.</p> - -<p>“My master,” replied the old minister, in a voice that now -trembled with emotion, “there is no need to examine the -calculations from Aeria. An hour before daybreak Hakem -ben Amru, your chief astronomer at the observatory of -Memphis, came to me and told me that he had completed -his own calculations of the curve and period of the comet, -and that, allowing for difference in longitude between our -meridian and that of Aeria, the prediction from Mars will -be fulfilled beyond all doubt at midnight on the 23rd of -September.”</p> - -<p>This was testimony which it was impossible for Khalid -to question. Musa’s sincerity was beyond all question and -Hakem ben Amru was the most renowned astronomer in -the world outside Aeria. Khalid recoiled a pace as though<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span> -he had been struck, and said in a voice hoarse with sudden -emotion—</p> - -<p>“Why did you not tell me this before, Musa?”</p> - -<p>“Because I would not mar my master’s happiness for this -day at least,” replied Musa. “If it be true that the end of -earthly things is at hand a day is of but small account. To -tell you would neither hasten nor delay the end. But Alan -Arnold’s words forced me to speak, for I knew that Hakem -would speak if I did not.”</p> - -<p>Khalid laid his hand upon the old man’s shoulder and -said gravely but kindly—</p> - -<p>“It was well thought, Musa, and I thank you for your -consideration, evil as your news is. It is Kismet, and the -will of Allah must be done!”</p> - -<p>So saying he turned away and walked with slow steps -and downcast eyes to where Olga was standing talking to -Orloff Lossenski with her back turned in open contempt -upon Alma and Alan. A single glance at his face told her -that Musa had had no pleasant tidings to impart.</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty looks grave,” she said. “Has Musa given -you news of some disaster to our forces?”</p> - -<p>“More than that, Tsarina,” replied Khalid. “He has -brought me confirmation that I cannot doubt of the truth -of the message from Aeria.”</p> - -<p>“What!” exclaimed Olga in a quick passionate tone that -all standing near could hear. “The confirmation of that -thrice-told tale with which these people are trying to impose -on our fears! Surely your Majesty is jesting now?”</p> - -<p>“No, Tsarina, it is no subject for jesting but only for -earnest and solemn thought,” answered Khalid seriously.</p> - -<p>“I neither can nor <em>will</em> believe it!” cried Olga passionately, -her long-restrained anger completely overcoming her -prudence and her whole soul rising in ungovernable revolt. -“Believe or not as you will, I will not. It cannot be possible; -it is too monstrous for all credence!</p> - -<p>“Why, one would think the very Fates themselves were -fighting against us if that were true, and were bringing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span> -the world to an end just as we have conquered it for our -own!</p> - -<p>“As for these Aerians,” she continued, turning upon Alan -and Alma and taking a couple of steps towards them, -“they have come here with this wild story to cover an -attempt to make terms with us before it is too late. It is a -trick to deceive you, but it shall not succeed in my presence. -Do you not remember how, upon this very spot little more -than a year ago, I showed you this same Alan Arnold, who -now comes preaching about his Truce of God, as the shameless -liar and traitor that he is.”</p> - -<p>She had thrown off all disguise and all restraint now. -Hatred was shining out of her eyes and open scorn was upon -her lips. She waved her hand with a contemptuous gesture -towards them and went on—</p> - -<p>“If you have come to ask for terms of peace, be honest and -say so. You need not fear to speak, for there may be conditions -on which we will let you live.”</p> - -<p>Khalid was about to utter some reproof, and Alan’s hand -had gone instinctively to the hilt of his rapier, when Alma -stepped forward and faced Olga, her own eyes now burning dark -with anger and her cheeks flushed with the hot blood which -Olga’s insult had called to them.</p> - -<p>“Make terms with you!” she said, looking down upon her -from the height of her splendid stature. “With you, who have -laid the earth waste and made the habitations of men desolate—with -you, whom I could strike dead at my feet without -staining my hand by laying it upon you! It is for you to make -terms, if you can, not with us but with the Heaven whose -justice you have outraged and whose patience you have scorned!</p> - -<p>“Cease this idle talk of battle and conquest, this impious -defiance of the decrees of Fate! Can you make terms with -God? If so, then when you see His sign blazing in the heavens -to-night cause it to change its path and pass aside from the -earth. If not kneel down and pray, not for your life, for that -would be useless, but for strength to meet your end in the -midst of the desolation that you have created!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span></p> - -<p>Olga heard her in silence to the end, her whole being shaken -with the tempest of passion that Alma’s words set raging in -her breast. For a moment she stood speechless, white to the -lips, and trembling in every limb from very rage. Then she -suddenly stepped back a pace, and cried in a voice more like -the cry of a wild animal in pain than human speech—</p> - -<p>“Whether the world lives or not <em>you</em> shall not, whatever -comes!” and as she spoke she snatched a pistol out of her -girdle and levelled it at Alma’s heart. Before she could spring -the lock Alan had snatched Alma up in his arms and Khalid, -with a cry of horror and anger, had sprung forward and grasped -Olga’s wrist.</p> - -<p>The bullet flew high, cutting one of the wings off Alan’s -coronet in its flight. Half a dozen strides took him alongside -his ship, and in another instant he was standing on her deck, -his left arm round Alma’s waist holding her behind him and -his right hand grasping one of his pistols.</p> - -<p>He raised his arm and the pistol flashed. At the same -moment he stamped on the deck and the <em>Alma</em> leapt a thousand -feet obliquely into the air. The second before the pistol flashed -Olga turned her head as though she were going to fire again, -and the motion saved her life, for Alan’s bullet, instead of -piercing her brain, as it was meant to do, cut a straight red -gash across her forehead from temple to temple and buried -itself in the breast of Orloff Lossenski as he sprang forward to -snatch his mistress out of the line of fire.</p> - -<p>He pitched forward and dropped, and Khalid, forgetting -everything else in the horror of the moment, caught Olga in -his arms as a rain of blood streamed down over her face and -a shrill scream of pain and rage burst from her lips.</p> - -<p>Although there were nearly three hundred warships floating -in the air above Alexandria, and though the rapidly-enacted -tragedy on the roof of the palace could be distinctly seen from -their decks, the <em>Alma</em> escaped scathless, for the simple reason -that, so terrible was the energy developed by the projectiles in -use, that had one struck her as she left the terrace the palace -itself would have been wrecked, and every living being within<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span> -a radius of two hundred yards from the focus of the explosion -would have been instantly killed.</p> - -<p>Consequently, the captains of the Russian and Moslem -ships had to look on in angry impotence as she leapt out of -range, joined her consort, and with her soared away westward -until a height of fifteen thousand feet was reached, and so -vanished from the sight of their discomfited enemies.</p> - -<p>From Alexandria they crossed the Mediterranean and -Europe to Britain by way of Italy, the Valley of the Rhone, -and Paris, at a height of some five thousand feet from the land. -What they saw more than justified the reports which had -reached Aeria. The fairest countries of Europe were now only -blackened deserts and wasted wildernesses.</p> - -<p>They flew all day over deserted fields and towns and cities -that were little better than heaps of blackened ruins, and when -night fell and the Fire-Cloud blazed out of the sky, its glare -was answered by flames rising from the earth, and huge patches -of mingled smoke and flame which marked the sites of other -towns which were only now falling victims to the destroyers.</p> - -<p>Society had practically come to an end. People who a few -weeks before had been wealthy watched almost with apathy -the plunder of their homes and the burning of their palaces by -the armed bands of robbers which sprang up everywhere. -There was no longer any protection for life and property. If -anarchists on the earth did not burn and slay and plunder, -their enemies in the air would, and even if they did not, what -did it matter if friends and foes, plunderers and plundered, -were to be consumed together in the fire that was about to fall -from heaven?</p> - -<p>Amidst the universal terror Alma, with her almost unearthly -beauty, the calm dignity of her bearing, and the sweetness and -gentleness of her loving counsels, passed through the devastated -lands rather like an angel of mercy than a woman of the same -flesh and blood as the distracted panic-stricken crowds through -which she moved by Alan’s side, speaking her message in a -voice that seemed to be an echo from some other world.</p> - -<p>When the <em>Alma</em> and the <em>Isma</em> reached London ten days<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span> -after leaving Alexandria, they found the vast and once splendid -metropolis of the world a wide waste of broken, blackened, and -in some places still smoking ruins. Of its fifteen millions of -inhabitants barely three millions remained to people its fragments. -All the rest had either fled soon after the first assault, -or had fallen in the pitiless carnage that had been let loose -upon them.</p> - -<p>They remained three days amidst the ruins of London, -listening to the most heartrending tales of suffering and cruelty, -and giving in return such consolation as they could. Then they -took the air again, and journeyed on westward over the once -fair and smiling English land that was now a wilderness amidst -which plague and famine, anarchy and destruction, stalked -triumphant, while the few who listened to their message waited -in despairing terror for the fate that could hardly be worse -than what they had passed through since the fatal 16th of May.</p> - -<p>From England they crossed the Atlantic to America, and -from America they sped over the Pacific to Australia, finding -everywhere the same desolation upon the face of the earth, and -the same terror and despair in the minds of men. But for the -awful reality before their eyes, it would have been impossible -for them to believe that the civilisation which had seemed so -strong and splendid four months before, could have collapsed -as it had done into such utter chaos.</p> - -<p>In those four short months the whole tragedy of human life -on earth seemed to have been re-enacted. The frenzy and -panic of war had degenerated into a universal delirium. Men, -women, and children had gone mad by millions. Religious -fanatics, impostors, and enthusiasts, if possible more insane than -their hearers, preached the wildest and most blasphemous -doctrines, and uttered the most hideous prophecies, not only as -to the approaching end of the world, but of the imaginary -eternal horrors that were to follow it.</p> - -<p>The art and science and culture of five hundred years had -been forgotten in those few weeks of madness, and mankind -had sunk back wholesale into the grossest superstitions of the -Dark Ages. Every night, when the flaming shape of the Fire-Cloud<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span> -blazed out among the stars, millions fell down on their -knees and greeted it with prayers and invocations, as savages -had once been wont to worship their fetishes.</p> - -<p>By the end of August, when the fiery arc overarched more -than two-thirds of the heavens and rivalled the sunlight itself -in brightness, the degeneration of humanity had advanced to -such a fearful stage of intellectual and moral depravity, that -even human sacrifices were offered to appease the wrath of the -deity who was believed to have taken the shape of the Fire-Cloud. -Under the influence of delirium the human mind had -gone back through twenty-five centuries, and the worship of -Baal and Moloch had returned upon earth.</p> - -<p>Only a small minority of men and women preserved their -senses amidst the universal madness. These greeted the -Aerians as friends, and heard their message, and promised to -remain steadfast to the end, but as day after day went by and -the terror grew and the nations plunged deeper and deeper into -the saturnalia of frenzy and despair, the task undertaken by -Alan and Alma grew more and more hopeless, and when the -last day of August came, they at length confessed to themselves -that it was useless to pursue it any further.</p> - -<p>This, too, was the day on which the term of absence granted -by the Council expired, and so at nightfall, after having carried -their message round the whole world and passed it, by the -mouths of those who were willing to listen, through many lands, -they at length reluctantly turned their prows homeward, -and, with hearts sickened by all the unspeakable horrors they -had witnessed, soared upward into the luridly-lighted heavens, -leaving the world to the fate which in twenty-three days more -would overwhelm the conquerors and the conquered, the few -sane and the many mad, in universal and inevitable destruction.</p> - -<p>Alan timed his arrival so that the <em>Alma</em> and her consort -crossed the Ridge a few minutes after sunrise on the 1st of -September. As they alighted in the central square of the city -and disembarked to greet the group of friends and kindred -who were waiting to receive them, a strange stillness struck -their ears and sent a mysterious chill to their hearts.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span></p> - -<p>The splendid capital of Aeria seemed like a city of the -dead. Its broad white streets and squares were empty, there -were no boats on the lake, and no aerial yachts in the air as -there were wont to be at sunrise. The gardens were deserted -and silent, even the songs of birds which had welled up from -them in a chorus of greeting to the coming sun were now hushed, -and the birds themselves were flying restlessly from branch to -branch, twittering and calling to each other, frightened sharers -in the universal fear. It was not long before Alan learnt from -his father the explanation of this strange and mournful -change in the life of the valley. A few days after their departure -a mysterious epidemic had appeared among the people -of Aeria. First the old, then the middle-aged, and then the -young had been silently and swiftly stricken down, first in -hundreds and then in thousands.</p> - -<p>There was no sign of physical disease, no apparent source -of physical infection, and none of the horrors which characterised -the plagues that were decimating the outside world. -Those attacked by it went to bed in apparently robust health, -and in the morning they were found dead with an expression -of perfect peace upon their features and no marks of disease -upon their bodies.</p> - -<p>That was all that was publicly known. There had been, -and, as the President told his son, there would be no inquiry -into the cause or origin of the epidemic. Whether those who -died died voluntarily, or whether the visitation was a merciful -release from the torment and terror of the general doom, it -was not for those who survived to ask.</p> - -<p>It was enough for them that the Shadow of Death had -begun to steal silently and swiftly over the land of the royal -race who had raised the dignity of humanity to a height -untouched before in the story of man. They were content -to know that their friends and kindred were permitted to die -in painless peace rather than forced to writhe out their last -hours in torture amidst the conflagration of the world.</p> - -<p>All day and all night for nearly a month the fires of a -hundred crematoria had burned, and day and night the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span> -funeral processions had never ceased passing through their -gates. The population of Aeria, which had been over a -million at the end of July, was now little more than a -hundred thousand, and these were hourly dwindling under -the mysterious epidemic.</p> - -<p>Those who had returned in the <em>Alma</em> and the <em>Isma</em> -accepted all without question and applied themselves with -all their energy to the performance of the solemn duties -that remained to them.</p> - -<p>The work in the caverns of Mount Austral was now -almost completed, and the minute calculations which had -been made had shown that it would be possible for two -hundred and fifty souls to find a refuge in them for ten days -if necessary.</p> - -<p>Sufficient supplies of food had been already stored, the -machinery for lighting the caverns was complete, and solid -oxygen had been enclosed in steel reservoirs to supply what -would be consumed by respiration, while provision had also -been made for continually abstracting the carbonic acid and -other injurious constituents from the respired air.</p> - -<p>Everything that human genius and skill at their best -could do to ensure the preservation of this remnant of -humanity, had been done, and by the 15th of September the -caverns were finally ready for occupation. Only one more -task now remained to be completed, and this was the selection -of those who were to survive, provided that the precautions -taken proved adequate. Unspeakably pathetic as this work -of selection was, it was performed with a calm and apparently -passionless precision worthy of the unparalleled solemnity of -the occasion and the splendid traditions of those who accomplished -it.</p> - -<p>The field of selection was first narrowed by confining it to -those who had been regularly betrothed when the first message -was received from Mars. From these first the physically -perfect were chosen, then the strongest and the fairest of -these, and finally those who to their physical perfections -added the highest intellectual and moral qualities.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span></p> - -<p>The work was performed by the Ruling Council assisted -by a council of an equal number of matrons who had what -had once been accounted the misfortune to be childless. -Neither joy nor sorrow was shown, at least in public, either -by those who were chosen or by those upon whom the joint -Council was forced to pronounce sentence of death by rejecting -them.</p> - -<p>The natural joy of the chosen was lost in the universal -sorrow of the now inevitable parting, and those who were -destined not to survive, satisfied with the perfect justice with -which the selection had been made, consoled each other with -the knowledge that they would die hand in hand and be -spared the sorrow of surviving all who were nearest and -dearest to them.</p> - -<p>On the morning of the 18th, the temple of Aeria witnessed -the last ceremony that would ever take place within its walls. -This was the marriage of those who, unless their last refuge -shared in the destruction that was about to bring chaos upon -earth, were to be the parents of the new race that was to -repeople the world.</p> - -<p>The survivors of the whole nation now barely filled the -vast interior of the temple. The solemn words which bound -youth and maid together as man and wife to face side by side -the last ordeal that humanity would ever have to pass through -were spoken in the midst of a silence which reigned not only -in the temple but now throughout the whole valley.</p> - -<p>All the sentinel ships had now been withdrawn save one, -which, from a height of fifteen thousand feet, still kept watch -and ward against the coming of the foe that was even yet -expected. But this was the only sign of life within the -confines of Aeria, and when the solemn ceremony was ended -and the assembly filed out of the doors, the members of it -betook themselves almost in silence to their homes, there to -make their final preparations for life or death as Destiny had -selected them to live or die.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXXI.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE LAST BATTLE.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_a.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-A">AT sunset on the 15th the sluice-door had been -finally lowered into its place and the pent-up -waters of the lake of Aeria had risen nearly forty -feet by the next morning. Only the upper parts -of the villas on its banks were visible and its -area was so enormously increased that the whole -appearance of the valley was altered.</p> - -<p>Rising at first at the rate of three feet an hour, a rate -which of course decreased as the area became greater, the -waters would reach the entrance to the caverns soon after -sunset on the evening of the fatal 23rd.</p> - -<p>A little before midnight on the 21st the <em>Orion</em>, the sentinel -ship that was on guard at the time, sank swiftly down with -the news that she had made out by the light of the Fire-Cloud -which, lurid and ghastly as it was, was as brilliant and penetrating -as that of the sun at noonday, a large fleet of air-ships -approaching from the northwards. The city was by this time -almost entirely submerged. Only a few minarets and towers -and the top of the great golden dome of the temple surmounted -by its crystal-winged figure, showed above the surface.</p> - -<p>The remnant of the people of Aeria, now reduced to less -than seven thousand souls, including those chosen to take -refuge in the caverns, were occupying the villas on the -slopes of Mount Austral about the entrance to the caverns. -Six thousand of them were men who had lived solely in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span> -hope of such an attack as was now about to be made and -which would enable them to die fighting the common enemy -of mankind to the last in defence of their beloved native land.</p> - -<p>Not even now, when the hand of Destiny had set a definite -limit to all human hopes and fears, and when the remainder -of their own lives could be counted by hours, could this -faithful remnant of the Aerians endure the thought that -what had been their paradise and their home should be -violated and polluted by the appearance of their foes.</p> - -<p>Therefore they had lived for this last battle, and five -hundred air-ships were waiting to carry them into the air to -engage in the last fight that ever would be fought on earth. -All their friends and kindred, saving only the Children of -Deliverance, as in fond fancy they had called the little band -of the chosen ones, were now dead, and the few hours of life -that were left to them had nothing more to give them.</p> - -<p>So they received with a grim joy the summons to battle -which had been so long expected. Four thousand of them -manned the air-ships, the rest occupied the mountain batteries, -and within a quarter of an hour of the bringing of the news -the war-ships had mounted into the air, and the great guns -of the batteries were ready to hurl their projectiles upon the -advancing foe.</p> - -<p>It was a spectacle to make angels weep and devils laugh, -this last marshalling of the forces of human hate and hostility -in the closing hours of the life of humanity and on the threshold -of eternity. It seemed that the Tragedy of Man was to be -played out to the bitter end, and that human strife was only -to cease on earth with the destruction of the world. This, too, -was the work of a single woman inspired by quenchless hatred -and insatiable ambition and a pride of spirit which, in its -haughty incredulity, still refused to believe that the end of her -conquering career had come.</p> - -<p>Pitiless and without scruple to the end, Olga, while she -was recovering from her wound under the shelter of the -Sultan’s roof, had managed, with the aid of her waiting-woman -Anna, not only to poison the Grand Vizier Musa and Hakem<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span> -the astronomer, but also to bring Khalid himself into the -same state of moral slavery in which she had so long held -Alan and Alexis.</p> - -<p>It was she who had brought this fleet from Alexandria to -Aeria. Once under the fatal spell of her will-poison, she had -commanded Khalid to revoke the orders that he had given for -peace, and he had obeyed. A fleet of more than five hundred air-ships -had been collected, and, taking Khalid with her on board -the <em>Revenge</em>, so that there should be no chance of his recovering -his volition, she had come to fulfil the prophecy which Paul -Romanoff uttered when in the last hour of his life he had -declared that one day the Eagle of Russia should fly over the -battlements of Aeria.</p> - -<p>All the materials for constructing ten air-ships had been -taken into the caverns, so that in the event of the remnant -surviving the empire of the air should still be theirs, but the -<em>Alma</em> and the <em>Isma</em> still lay outside the entrance when the -other ships had risen into the air.</p> - -<p>At the supreme moment a controversy had arisen as to -whether or not Alan and Alexis—the latter of whom had been -placed without question among the chosen, not only because -of his unequalled engineering skill, but also because without -him a daughter of the House of Arnold would have died of -her own will—should or should not take part with their companions -in the near approaching conflict.</p> - -<p>This dispute was brought to a sudden close by Alan, who, -with a sudden inspiration, cut short all the loving entreaties -that were being made to him to take refuge in the caverns -and avoid the chance which in the heat of the conflict might -destroy with him the male line of the descendants of the first -conqueror of the air.</p> - -<p>“Do you not see,” he said, “that it is quite possible that -their fleet may be twice as strong as ours, and that in spite of -all our gallant forlorn hope can do they may cross the mountains -and send their shells into the valley?</p> - -<p>“What if one of them exploded here and wrecked the outworks -and the entrance to the caverns? All hope, even for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span> -us, would then be lost, the doors could not be lowered, and we -should either have to let the waters of the lake flow out or -they would flow into the caverns by the upper entrance and -ruin all our labours.</p> - -<p>“We have proved that the <em>Alma</em> and the <em>Isma</em> are the two -best air-ships in existence. They can soar higher and travel -faster than any others. Would it not be madness to deprive -our defending force of them, and would it not be cowardice in -us not to do all we can to save all that is left for us to hope -for on earth? I for one shall go, and I don’t believe that I -shall go alone.”</p> - -<p>“If the <em>Alma</em> goes the <em>Isma</em> goes too,” said Alexis. “Alan -is right. We should be cowards to turn our backs on the -enemy at the last moment.”</p> - -<p>“And if you go, we go,” said Alma and Isma in a breath. -“If you live we will live with you, but we will not live -without you.”</p> - -<p>There was no answer to such reasoning as this, nor was -there any longer any law on earth save that of individual will. -The first motive power that had swayed the world was the -last that survived and would be the last to die. Those of the -old crews of the two air-ships who were found among the -chosen at once came forward to take their places, and with -them came too those who had elected to take the hazard of -life or death with them.</p> - -<p>“There shall be no widows in the new world,” said they. -And so every man who rose into the air on board the two great -warships carried with him the woman without whom the one -last chance of life would not have been worth taking.</p> - -<p>As they left the earth the remainder of the little company -retired into the caverns, leaving two sentinels posted at the -outer door ready to give the alarm in case it should be necessary -to lower the doors. As they did so a long, dull, distant -roar came from the northward telling that the last battle of -man with man had begun.</p> - -<p>In accordance with a plan hastily arranged before they rose, -the <em>Alma</em> was to guard the northern end of the valley, while<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span> -the <em>Isma</em> kept watch over the southern. They soared up and -up until the peaks of the mountains were a good five thousand -feet below them.</p> - -<p>From this elevation those on board the <em>Alma</em> could see the -enemy’s fleet stretching out in a huge crescent, made up of -tiny points of light which shone in the unnatural glare that -illumined the earth and sky, and ever and anon they saw -enormous spheres of flame blaze out along the line as the -projectiles from the land batteries burst in front of them. -The gunners were only trying their range and the enemy were -still beyond it.</p> - -<p>The explosion of the projectiles told the assailants that -Aeria was on the alert, still prepared for battle and still, for -all they knew, as impregnable as ever. Seeing this, they ceased -their advance and a battle of tactics preceded the pitiless -struggle which only the victors would survive.</p> - -<p>Hour after hour the Moslem and Russian air-ships strove -to out-soar the Aerians, or to make a rush in twos and threes -that would bring them within range of the charmed circle of -the mountains. But no sooner did one of them sweep up at -full speed out of the distance and slow down sufficiently to -train her guns than the atmosphere about her was convulsed -with a mighty shock and changed instantly into a mist of -fire, and when this vanished she had vanished too, shattered -to fragments which dropped in a rain of molten metal -thousands of feet to the earth below.</p> - -<p>Morning came, the flaming arch of the Fire-Cloud sank -lower and lower in the heavens until it stretched a broad -band of lurid light round the western horizon, and an -unclouded sun brought the last dawn but one that the -terror-maddened myriads of earth would ever see. <a id="Ref_354"></a>Still the -fight went on at long ranges; still ship after ship of the -hostile fleet made its desperate effort to cross the invisible -barrier which was drawn all round Aeria by the range of its -protecting guns, only to be overturned and hurled to the -earth by the shock of an exploding projectile or to be fairly -struck and dissolved to dust.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_354" class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/i_391.jpg" width="600" height="415" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">Still the Fight went on at Long Ranges.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_354">Page 354</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span></p> - -<p>No matter how high they attempted to soar, the <em>Alma</em> -and the <em>Isma</em> were still above them, and if the shells from -the land batteries failed to do their work the guns of the -air-ships did it for them and the result was the same—annihilation.</p> - -<p>The night of the 22nd was spent in incessant attack and -defence. The crews of the Aerian ships, grown desperate in -their supreme despair, now left the mountains and sallied -forth into the open, engaging the enemy ship for ship and -gun for gun in a last determined effort to destroy them, or -be destroyed, and far out from the still untouched battlements -of Aeria the fight raged fast and furious.</p> - -<p>There now was no thought of safety in the hearts of the -Aerians. They had come forth to kill and be killed. The -rules of aerial tactics were utterly neglected. They laid -their guns alongside and, rushing through the air at their -utmost speed, they hurled themselves with the ram upon -every Moslem or Russian vessel that they could meet or -overtake, crashing into her with irresistible force and going -with her into annihilation as their two cargoes of shells -exploded under the shock.</p> - -<p>The last sun rose and saw the fight still going on. What -had begun as the greatest battle in the history of war had -now dwindled down to a series of single combats. At length -the end came. It was a few minutes after midday that the -last blow in the battle was struck. Ten Russian and Moslem -air-ships, all that remained of the great fleet that Olga had -brought against Aeria, formed in line ten miles from the Ridge -and made a last attempt to break through the defences.</p> - -<p>Flying through a storm of shells from the land batteries, -seven of them were torn to pieces and the other three, just -as they reached the Ridge, were met obliquely by the five -remaining vessels of the Aerian fleet. The same moment -the <em>Alma’s</em> broadside was discharged upon them, friend and -foe vanished together in a mist of flame—and so ended the -assault and defence of Aeria.</p> - -<p>“We can go down now!” said Alan in a broken voice to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span> -Alma, who was standing white and speechless with horror at -his side in the bows of the air-ship. “It is all over! God -rest their gallant souls, for they left the world like brave men -and true Aerians!”</p> - -<p>“Amen!” sighed Alma. Then, after a brief pause, she -said—“I wonder whether Olga Romanoff is alive or dead?”</p> - -<p>The two air-ships now sank together and alighted close to -the entrance to the caverns.</p> - -<p>There the splendid fabrics were reluctantly abandoned, -their crews disembarked, taking with them everything they -wished to preserve, and a minute inspection was made for the -last time of the triple doors and the machinery for lowering -them and filling the spaces between them with water to be -frozen as soon as they were in their places.</p> - -<p>This occupied the time until the evening, and then all went -once more into the open air to take what might be their last -look at the sun. The waters of the lake were now within a -few feet of the entrance, creeping more and more slowly -upwards, and across the vast expanse of water, lying unruffled -by the lightest breeze, fell the mingled rays of the sinking sun -and the brightening Fire-Cloud.</p> - -<p>There was not a cloud in the heavens and no breath of -wind relieved the almost suffocating heat of the inert and -sultry air. It seemed as though all terrestrial nature lay -paralysed in a stupor of terror, waiting for the fire-blast that -would wither it into death and ruin.</p> - -<p>As the sun sank down behind the veil of flame his disc -loomed redly and dully through it. Long streams of fire, -blue and green and orange, darted across the disc and leapt -and played round its circumference until it sank finally out -of sight. The little group on the shore of the lake gazed at -each other in silence as it disappeared.</p> - -<p>Their faces looked wan and ghastly in the awful light that -now reigned supreme in the heavens. Most of them turned -away in grief and horror too deep for words, and with one -last look at earth and sky, crept into the caverns, unable any -longer to support the terror of the scene.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span></p> - -<p>But a few remained, determined to see the fearful drama -played out to the end, if they could, and among these -were Alan and Alexis, whose duty kept them by the -doors, the President and Francis Tremayne, and Alma and -Isma, whom nothing could persuade to leave their husbands’ -sides.</p> - -<p>No human eyes had ever beheld so magnificent or so awful -a display of celestial splendours as they beheld during the -three hours that they stood in the doorway after sunset. The -Fire-Cloud now covered almost the whole heavens, and its -enormous nucleus blazed like a gigantic sun down out of the -zenith with a heat and radiance that were almost insupportable.</p> - -<p>Huge masses of flame leapt out continuously, as though -hurled from its fiery heart, and were projected far beyond its -circumference, while the incandescent cloud-mass which -surrounded it was torn and convulsed by internal commotions -which spread out and out in enormous waves -of many-coloured fires until they disappeared below the -horizon.</p> - -<p>Still there was neither sound nor breath of wind upon -earth, only the awful stillness in which the world waited for -the hour of its doom to strike. At last, towards ten o’clock, -the water began to lap the threshold of the entrance, and Alan, -pointing to it, said—</p> - -<p>“Come, we must take our last look at the world! It is -time to lower the doors.”</p> - -<p>The words were scarcely out of his mouth before a low -dull booming sound came echoing down the gorges of Mount -Austral. They looked up and saw huge masses of snow and -ice loosened from its upper heights gliding, at first slowly -and then more and more swiftly, down towards the valley -beneath, a mighty avalanche which in a few minutes more -would carry irresistible ruin in its path.</p> - -<p>“In with you all!” cried Alan. “Quick! That is the -beginning of the end; the snows are melting and the waters -will be over us in another hour.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span></p> - -<p>All but he and Alexis hurried in, and they, grasping the -levers on either side of the door, pulled them, and the -enormous sheet of steel descended quickly along its grooves -and shut them in from the outer world, upon which chaos -was about to fall.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_396.jpg" width="350" height="60" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XXXII.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">THE SHE-WOLF TO HER LAIR.</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_i.jpg" width="76" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-I">IN the mysterious revolution of human things it -came about that the only spectator of the closing -scene of the tragedy of humanity who endured -and survived its final terrors was the woman to -whom it had been due that the fire from heaven -had fallen upon a world mad with the frenzy and agony of -war instead of sane and calm with the sanity and calmness of -peace and reason.</p> - -<p>On the issue of the Battle of Aeria, Olga and, under her -unnaturally acquired influence, the Sultan, had staked the -empire of the world and lost it. Before the fight had been -raging many hours even she was forced to admit that Aeria -was impregnable to any assault that she could deliver. But -when the Aerians began to practise the desperate tactics of -the second day it became manifest that nothing but annihilation -awaited the invading fleet, out-matched as it was in -speed and gun-power by the new Aerian warships and the -land batteries.</p> - -<p>With eyes burning with rage and envy she had watched -through her glasses the incomparable <em>Alma</em> floating serenely -at her unattainable altitude far above the battle-storm, and -she had pictured Alan, her former slave, standing upon her -deck perhaps—bitterest thought of all—with his wedded -love beside him, and like a very arbiter of war hurling his -destroying lightnings far and wide upon her ships until the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span> -supreme moment came in which he would descend like a very -god from the upper air, and, hand in hand with Alma, strike -the last terrible blow which would end the last conflict of man -with man and leave neither friend nor foe alive to tell what -the issue had been.</p> - -<p>It would be a glorious end, worthy of him and the splendid -traditions of his race, and she loathed herself for the craven -fear that had seized upon her in the fateful hour of battle, -and made her incapable of challenging the same fate at his -hands. Khalid himself would have done so without hesitation, -but she had robbed him of his manhood and debased him, as -she had debased every other human being that had fallen -under her influence.</p> - -<p>She had spent nearly the whole of the night of the 22nd -on deck, and when the awful radiance of the Fire-Cloud was -for the last time succeeded by the light of day, even her haughty -spirit had at last bowed before the supernatural terrors that -were multiplying about her. For the first time since she -had brought bloodshed back into the world a thrill of panic -shuddered through her soul, and, for the first time, she learnt -the meaning of fear.</p> - -<p>Then, too, came a longing which for the time being -overmastered all other considerations. The elementary -animal instinct of self-preservation rose up within her with -irresistible force and conquered the hate and the ambition -whose objects would have vanished when another sun had -risen.</p> - -<p>Her thoughts went back to her old stronghold in the -snowy solitudes of Antarctica, to the deep dark caverns of -Mount Terror. Surely those mighty walls of living rock, -shrouded in eternal ice and snow, would give her an asylum -in which she could defy the fate that was about to overwhelm -humanity—and what then? For a moment an awful -vision of the unspeakable loneliness of such a survival amidst -the ruins of the world struck such terror to her heart that she -almost resolved to head the <em>Revenge</em> into the thick of the -fight that was still raging round Aeria, and die rather than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span> -face it. Then the vision passed, and the terrors of the present -blotted out the fear of the future.</p> - -<p>The last sun that the human race would ever see was -just rising when she sent for Boris Lossenski, who was still -commanding the <em>Revenge</em> under her, and said abruptly, and -without even consulting Khalid, who was standing by her -side—</p> - -<p>“There is nothing but death to be found here. We will -escape if we can. Head the ship for Mount Terror and make -her fly as she has never flown before. Don’t spare either -the engines or the power. We must be there before nightfall -if possible.”</p> - -<p>Boris saluted and obeyed in silence, and Olga turned to -Khalid and said in a tone of weariness and almost of despair—</p> - -<p>“It is no use fighting any longer. The Fates themselves -are against us, and I—yes, I have been frightened into belief -at last. A shameful confession is it not?”</p> - -<p>“Not shameful but only reasonable,” he replied. “All I -regret is that you did not believe sooner, and save this last -slaughter of these gallant people.”</p> - -<p>“What is done, is done!” she said with a half-regretful -glance at the mountains of Aeria, which were now rapidly -fading away into the blue distance; “it is only a question -of sooner instead of later. Indeed, it seems hardly worth -while even for us to attempt to live when, even if we survive, -only the ruins of the world can be ours. And yet”—</p> - -<p>“Yet sweeter would be life with you even in a wilderness -of death than destruction that might be eternal parting,” -replied Khalid in low tones that thrilled with passion. “Nay, -what dearer destiny could man desire than to be the Adam of -a new world of which you were the Eve?”</p> - -<p>The words of her husband—for Khalid was her husband -now as well as her slave—brought a sudden flush to Olga’s -face, and this was succeeded by an almost deathly pallor. -She put up her hand to the broadened circlet of gold which -concealed the terrible scar of the wound made by Alan’s -bullet, and said almost in a whisper—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span></p> - -<p>“You and I—yes, you and I may live. We <em>will</em>! But if -we do we must save ourselves alone.”</p> - -<p>And with that she left him abruptly and went to her own -room with the plan of her last crime already shaped in her -mind.</p> - -<p>She was the only woman on board the <em>Revenge</em>. Her maid -Anna had been left behind at Alexandria, a maniac driven mad -by the universal terror. What of Boris and the twenty-five men -who formed the air-ship’s crew? If they were permitted to -survive to the time when there would be no law but might, -she would be the one woman in the world—one woman, -beautiful and almost defenceless, among those who, though -now her servants, would then be ready to slay each other in -the dispute as to which of them should be her master.</p> - -<p>Such a thought in such a mind as hers could have but one -outcome. When the hour for the midday meal arrived, she -bade Boris invite the whole crew into the main saloon, saying -that, as this might be the last meal that any of them would eat, -they would take it together. Then, as though moved by some -sudden gracious fancy, she filled for every man with her own -hands a glass of the best and oldest wine that had been reserved -for her own use.</p> - -<p>Khalid, rigid Moslem as he was, refused it, and she only -touched it with her lips, but the others drained their glasses -and drank death at her hands, even as the Aerians had drunk -it in the same fashion and at the same table seven years -before.</p> - -<p>But this time it was fated that her sin should find her out -more quickly. Later on in the afternoon Boris, to his amazement -and alarm, found every man of his crew succumbing to -an irresistible drowsiness, and soon this began to affect himself. -A terrible thought at once flashed into his ever-suspicious -mind. Fighting against the stupor that was stealing over his -senses, he took a deep draught of strong spirit.</p> - -<p>This conquered the poison for a time and cleared his intellect -sufficiently for him to see what his pitiless mistress had done, -and then there rose up in his mind a desperate longing for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span> -vengeance on the murderess who had used him and his companions -as long as they were useful and then poisoned them -like so many rats.</p> - -<p>He took out his pistol and examined it to see if it was -charged, and then, with the poison and the spirit fighting in -his brain for mastery, he made his way from the engine-room -to the quarter-deck, where Olga and Khalid were standing, -watching with strained, fascinated eyes and faces that looked -livid and corpse-like in the unnatural light of the Fire-Cloud, -the long tongues of many-coloured flame that were shooting -like so many gigantic serpents down from the zenith, as -though they would lick the life-blood out of the world that -now lay panting for breath and paralysed with fear beneath -them.</p> - -<p>Just as he reached the top of the companion-way a mist -swam before Boris’s eyes, his brain reeled, and he stumbled -forward on to the deck, discharging his pistol aimlessly as he -did so. The bullet struck and broke to fragments against -the bulwarks. Khalid and Olga turned round to see him -lying on his side with savagely-gleaming eyes, livid face, and -foam-flecked lips, trying to raise himself on one hand and take -aim at them with the other.</p> - -<p>As Khalid sprang forward Olga’s ever-ready pistol came -out of her belt. She cried to Khalid to get out of the line of -fire, but just as she spoke Boris made his last effort, and, taking -what aim he could, pulled the trigger. Khalid stopped short -and clasped his hand to his right side. Then Olga, with a low -cry of fury breaking from her white lips through her clenched -teeth, sent a bullet through Boris’s brain just as he was -struggling to bring his pistol up again.</p> - -<p>“Are you hurt, Khalid?” she asked with a deadly fear at -her heart as she crossed the deck to where he was standing -with his hand still pressed to his side.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” he gasped. “He has shot me through the lung.”</p> - -<p>Then he coughed, and Olga saw drops of blood on his black -beard and moustache. Without wasting any time in useless -words she helped him down into the saloon and set herself at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span> -once to examine and dress his wound. The bullet had entered -between the fourth and fifth ribs on the right side, drilled a -clean hole through the lower lobe of the right lung, and passed -out at the back without touching any bone.</p> - -<p>With perfect rest and quiet there was nothing to prevent -recovery from such a wound, but Olga shuddered as she -thought of its consequences in their present situation. If -Khalid succumbed, as he well might do under the unknown -terrors and dangers of the night that was now so near, she -would have to choose between killing herself beside him, or, -if the rock-chambers of Mount Terror proved a safe asylum, -living mateless and alone until she starved to death on the -wilderness that the world would be when it had passed through -its baptism of fire.</p> - -<p>She satisfied Khalid’s whispered request for an explanation -of Boris’s attempt on their lives by saying that he had probably -made himself drunk in an attempt to fortify himself against the -terrors that were multiplying around him. Then she went -through the ship and in a few minutes came back and said—</p> - -<p>“I shall have to take the ship to Mount Terror myself. -It was not only Boris, for every man of the crew is dead drunk. -Think of them making such brutes of themselves at such a -time!</p> - -<p>“No,” she continued, putting her hand on his shoulder as -she saw him make an attempt to rise. “You must not move -yet; you will want all your strength when we get there, for -you will have to regulate the engines while I am in the -conning-tower. As for these animals, we will leave them to -their fate.”</p> - -<p>A couple of hours later she went on deck to see whether -Mount Terror, or at anyrate the smoke-crest of Mount Erebus, -was in sight, for the <em>Revenge</em> had now been flying almost long -enough to have reached the confines of Antarctica. The speed -was, however, so great that nothing was distinctly visible. -There was only the flaming heaven above and a grey blur -beneath, so she went to the engine-room and slowed down to -a hundred miles an hour.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span></p> - -<p>Then she helped Khalid to the engineer’s seat in front of -the controlling levers and took her place in the conning-tower. -She had scarcely been at her post half an hour before she saw -the huge white cones of the twin mountains of Antarctica -shining against the dull grey sky beyond, one of them crowned -as she had last seen it by a long stream of smoke that rose -almost vertically in the windless air.</p> - -<p>She signalled to Khalid to reduce the speed, first to fifty -and then to thirty miles an hour, allowing the <em>Revenge</em> at the -same time to sink gently down towards the ice-covered continent. -She crossed the well-remembered bay in which the -<em>Narwhal</em> had performed her terrible exploit, swept over the -ice-wall at an elevation of a hundred feet, swung the ship -round and stopped her in front of the great cleft in the side of -Mount Terror.</p> - -<p>No human foot seemed to have trodden the Antarctic -solitude from the day she left it to crown herself Tsarina of the -Russias to this one on which she brought her flagship back -with its crew of murdered men to seek her last chance of life -amidst the general doom which she could now almost bring -herself to believe she had directly brought upon the world.</p> - -<p>She ran the <em>Revenge</em> slowly into the vast portal that yawned -black and deep before her between the snow slopes of the -mountain, and then, turning on the search-light, took her along -the great gallery which led to the shore of the subterranean -lake, and there lowered her for the last time to the earth. -Then she and Khalid disembarked, he moving slowly and painfully, -and she supporting him as well as she was able, and -watching him with the intense anxiety of a supreme selfishness -which had now centred itself upon him as the one possibility -of making her life endurable.</p> - -<p>Thus did Tsarina Olga and Khalid the Magnificent, conquerors -of the earth and sharers of the world-throne, come back, -one wounded almost to death, and the other half distraught -with fear and perplexity, to take refuge at the uttermost ends -of the earth from the assault of the foe that had confounded all -their schemes of conquest.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span></p> - -<p>Leaving the <em>Revenge</em> in the great gallery, she led him to the -council chamber and laid him on the cushions of the luxurious -divan on which she had been wont to hold her audiences. -There she examined and redressed his wound, and then for the -next three hours she busied herself bringing supplies of food -and drink from the ship and preparing for the final siege which -their last stronghold would so soon have to endure.</p> - -<p>Then the fancy took her to go once more into the air to -take one more look at the world and the splendours of the fate -that was menacing it. Nineteen hours had passed since she -gave the order to head the <em>Revenge</em> for Mount Terror. Sixteen -of these had been consumed in the most rapid flight that the -air-ship had ever accomplished. So fast had the <em>Revenge</em> flown -westward and southward that the sun had almost seemed to -stand still waiting for her journey to be accomplished, but still -it had slowly sunk farther and farther down into the luminous -mist that now seemed to fill the whole sky.</p> - -<p>The difference between the longitude of Aeria and Mount -Terror had lengthened the last fateful day by nearly five hours, -but now the end was very near at hand, and here even, on the -very confines of the world, life had little more than four hours -to live. To the north the whole sky was flaming out into -indescribable splendours, and the long fire-streams radiating -from the nucleus now seemed to be literally holding the planet -in their clasp. Enormous meteors were bursting out from the -heart of the flaming cloud and exploding without a sound in -the ever-silent abysses of space.</p> - -<p>She stood rooted to the spot by the weird and awful glories -of the spectacle, and for the time being seemed to forget even -Khalid and the indescribable dangers that were threatening -them both. Instead of being daunted, her spirit rose as though -in response to the splendours before her. She felt that she was -standing upon Nature’s funeral pyre watching the conflagration -of the world she had ruined. Saving only Khalid there was -not another human being within thousands of miles of her, and -in her loneliness her soul seemed to expand and rise to a -nobility that it had never known before.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[367]</a></span></p> - -<p>She saw the utter insignificance and contemptibility of the -human strife which had been superseded and silenced by this -majestic assault of the primal forces of Nature, and for the first -time in her life she thought of herself and her sins with a -disgust and shame that humbled her in her own eyes to the dust.</p> - -<p>So she stood and watched, oblivious of everything but the -celestial glories above and around her, until a rapid series -of frightful explosions seemed to run roaring round the whole -horizon. She looked up with shaded eyes towards the zenith. -The central mass had suddenly become convulsed and expanded -until it looked as though the whole sky had been transformed -into an ocean of fire torn by incessant storms.</p> - -<p>Huge masses of many-coloured flame were falling from it -in all directions on the devoted earth, and as each of these -entered the atmosphere it burst into myriads of fragments which -fell in swarms until <a id="Ref_367"></a>the blazing sky was literally raining fire -over sea and land.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_367" class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/i_406.jpg" width="600" height="422" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">The blazing Sky was literally raining Fire over Sea and Land.</span> -<em><a href="#Ref_367">Page 367</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p>The Fire-Cloud had at last invaded the outer confines of -the earth’s atmosphere.</p> - -<p>All this while there had been no change in the Antarctic -cold of the air, but soon after the first storm of explosions -roared out Olga felt a puff of warm tainted air blow across her -face. Then came another and another, and then she heard -what had never been heard before on the slopes of Mount -Terror—the sound of running water. The snows were melting, -and soon there would come avalanche and deluge.</p> - -<p>She hurried back into the council chamber, convinced that -it was no longer safe to remain in the open air. She made -the great bronze doors fast and covered them with layer after -layer of thick heavy curtains. Every other opening into the -chamber she closed up as tightly as possible. In the nature of -the case they were compelled to trust to the supply of air -already in it to last them through the ordeal.</p> - -<p>Then she went and sat down on the divan by Khalid’s side, -and, taking his hand in hers, bent over him and kissed him on -the lips, saying—</p> - -<p>“Now we must wait for life or death together!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[368]</a></span></p> - -<p><a id="Ref_368"></a>And so they waited—waited while the ages-old snow and -ice melted from the bare black rocks under the fierce breath of -the fire-storm; while the ocean of flame seethed and roared -and eddied about them, licking up the seas and melted snows -and fighting with them as fire and water have fought since the -world began; while the foundations of the Southern Pole -quivered and rocked beneath their feet, and the walls of their -refuge quaked and cracked with the throes of the writhing -earth, and cosmos was dissolved into chaos once more.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/i_408.jpg" width="350" height="55" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2>EPILOGUE.<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont ">“VENGEANCE IS MINE.”</span></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-capi" src="images/i_t.jpg" width="77" height="80" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-capi-quoteT">“THE temperature has been normal now for three -hours. Don’t you think we may venture to raise -the sluice-gate?”</p> - -<p>“I see nothing against it. If the world is -not habitable again now it never will be. It is a -good two days since the contact now, and if the atmosphere -had been burnt up or carried away by the attraction of the -comet it would either be much colder or much hotter than that.”</p> - -<p>“Very well then, up it comes, and then we shall get our -last question answered.”</p> - -<p>It was Alan who thus questioned and answered his father. -All had gone well with the refugees of Mount Austral and the -remnant of the Aerian race. Their science and their faith in -themselves had been triumphantly justified by the event and -had carried them safely through the sternest ordeal that man -had ever been called upon to face.</p> - -<p>And now there was only one more chance to be met, one -more problem to be solved. The temperature showed that the -earth still possessed an atmosphere, but was that atmosphere -capable of supporting human life? If yes, all would be well -and they could go forth into the wasted world and possess and -replenish it. If no, then all their labour would have been in -vain and they might as well have died in battle or with those -friends and kin who had taken their silent and dignified farewell -of the world in the last days of the State of Aeria.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span></p> - -<p>They had a calorimeter and a pressure-gauge communicating -with the outer world to tell the temperature and the height of -the water in the valley. The former, after rising for a few -hours to over a thousand degrees, had now sunk back to normal, -while the latter stood at thirty feet above the entrance doors to -the cavern.</p> - -<p>The machinery for raising the sluice-gate was put into -motion and they watched it with almost breathless anxiety lest -the straining or shifting of the rocks, which had been very perceptible -during the terrific convulsions which had apparently -lasted for nearly ten hours, should have so dislocated the grooves -that the gate could not be raised.</p> - -<p>There were a few preliminary creaks and groans, a hitch -and an increased strain on the lifting chains, and then the -great sheet of steel rose easily and smoothly to the top of the -channel and the pent-up waters rushed forth in a black boiling -flood through the narrow opening and roared away, foaming -and tossing along the bottom of the crevasse, once more on their -way to their unknown destination.</p> - -<p>Very soon after this it was discovered that the waters were -subsiding much more rapidly than could be accounted for by -the volume that escaped through the subterranean channel. It -was therefore necessary to conclude that there must have been -some convulsion in another part of the mountains which had -opened a fresh channel from the lake to the outer world.</p> - -<p>The next step was to raise the two inner of the three doors -which guarded the entrance to the caverns. The raising of the -first one showed the ice still intact between it and the second, -and this had to be broken up and removed before the second -could be reached. Then the middle door was raised an inch or -so and the water spurted out from beneath it.</p> - -<p>Was this the water of the melted ice or was it that which -filled the valley? Had their outer door stood firm or had it -cracked or shrivelled up under the heat of the furnace through -which the earth had passed? It flowed for ten minutes and -then slackened and stopped. The outer door had held fast. -Then, in case of accidents, the middle one was lowered again<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[371]</a></span> -and they waited until the waters should have sufficiently subsided -to enable them to challenge the last hazard on which -their fate depended.</p> - -<p>The sluice-gate had been raised at what would be four o’clock -on the morning of the 26th of September, if the cataclysm -through which the earth had passed had not so far affected the -terrestrial economy as to alter the relations of day and night. -Twelve hours later the pressure-gauge ceased to act, showing -that the rapidly-sinking waters of the lake had reached the -threshold of the outer door. The time had now come to ask -the question on the answer to which the lives of the remnant -of humanity depended—was the atmosphere breathable or -not?</p> - -<p>That was the one question which occupied, to the momentary -exclusion of all others, the mind of every Aerian who was -in the caverns. The middle gate was lifted, and every heart -stood still as Alan and Alexis strode forward into the dark -passage and grasped the levers which actuated the lifting -mechanism of the outer one.</p> - -<p>They took one glance back at the anxious faces which -showed so white in the gleam of the electric lamps, and then -they pulled. The machinery creaked and groaned as the power -was applied. Then came a rending sound and a dull crash. -The door lifted a little, quivered and dropped again, and -remained immovable.</p> - -<p>“The machinery has broken down!” said Alan, going back -into the gallery. “There must have been a land-slip over the -doorway.”</p> - -<p>“What will you do then?” said Alma. “Surely we have -not escaped the conflagration of the world to be buried alive -after all!”</p> - -<p>“No,” he said, looking down at her with a reassuring smile. -“It can hardly be as bad as that. Unless a whole mountain -has fallen in front of the door, we shall soon find a way out.”</p> - -<p>The first thing to be done was to get rid of the door, and -this Alan accomplished in summary fashion by undermining it -with drills, and then, after he had sent everyone into the inner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[372]</a></span> -recesses of the caverns, tearing it to fragments with a small -quantity of the explosive used in the shells.</p> - -<p>A mass of earth and stones came rolling into the gallery -immediately after the explosion, then an excavating machine -was run up on hastily-laid rails and was soon boring its way -into the obstructing mass. A distance of ten yards was -tunnelled and then there was a rattle and whir in front of the -machine, which told that the work was done. There was a -cloud of dust from pulverised stones and earth and then came -a rush of fresh warm air and a gleam of sunlight through the -opening.</p> - -<p>“Thank God the atmosphere is still there and the sun is still -shining!” cried Alan, as he drew the machine back and ran out -into the open air.</p> - -<p>He looked about him for a few moments and then turned -and walked back to his companions, who were already crowding -towards the opening with faces glad with new hope and drawing -deep breaths of the life-giving air, which the mysterious alchemy -of Nature had restored unchanged to the earth. He stopped -them with a gesture and said—</p> - -<p>“Don’t go out yet till we have made the tunnel safe. You -will find an awful change out yonder. Aeria is no longer a -paradise. It is only a swamp surrounded by naked rocks!”</p> - -<p>And so they found it to be when they at length passed out -through the tunnel and stood upon the black oozy shores of the -dreary lake which still half filled what had once been the lovely -land of Aeria.</p> - -<p>The once verdure-clad mountains rose up bare and gaunt -and blackened, a vast circle of ragged rock, unrelieved by a -blade of grass or a single tree of all the myriads that had -clothed their slopes three days before. It seemed as though -the clock of Time had been put back through countless ages -and the world was once more as it had been before the first -forms of life appeared upon it.</p> - -<p>But still the air that fanned their cheeks was fresh and -warm and sweet, and the afternoon sun was shining across the -western peaks out of a cloudless sky of purest blue. The calm<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[373]</a></span> -had come after the storm and the world was waiting to begin -its life anew. The <em>Alma</em> and the <em>Isma</em> had utterly vanished, -and were probably buried deep in the black slimy mud. Of -the city of Aeria not a vestige was visible.</p> - -<p>The first thing that Alan did as soon as the last momentous -question had thus been asked and answered was to ask his -father to order one of the smaller air-ships, which had been -stored in sections in the cavern, to be put together and charged -with motive-power as rapidly as possible.</p> - -<p>“Certainly if you wish it,” he replied; “but what is your -reason for being in such a hurry to reassert your empire of the -air?”</p> - -<p>“I can tell you now,” said Alan in reply, “what there -would have been no need to tell you if, well, if we had not been -able to leave the caverns. Just after sunrise on the last day -of the battle Bruno Vincent brought the <em>Orion</em> as near as he -could to the <em>Alma</em> and told me by signal that he had seen the -<em>Revenge</em> leave the fight and head away at full speed to the -southward and westward. That means, I think, that Olga’s -courage failed her at the last and that she meant to try the -forlorn hope of saving herself in her old stronghold at Mount -Terror. I am going to see whether she is alive or dead.”</p> - -<p>“And suppose by a miracle you should find her alive. -What then?” said Alma, who had overheard his request, coming -up to him and looking up into his face with melting eyes as she -slipped her hand caressingly through his arm.</p> - -<p>“The world is beginning its life anew in us, dear,” he replied -with tenderness in his eyes but none in his voice, “and there -shall be no snake in our Eden if I”—</p> - -<p>“If you have to be the Cain of the new world to prevent -it!” interrupted Alma, reading his dark meaning at a glance, -and interpreting it with a directness and force that startled -him. “No, Alan, that must not be! If she has escaped the -vengeance of God you may well forego yours. I can hardly -think that she is still alive, but it is right that we should go -and see”—</p> - -<p>“We!” echoed Alan before she could finish. “Do you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[374]</a></span> -mean that you will come with me? No, Alma, you must not -do that. Remember that if she has by any chance escaped, the -crew of the <em>Revenge</em> may be alive too, and then we may have -to fight”—</p> - -<p>“No, no, Alan, not that! not that!” she cried with a gesture -of horror. “The world has done with fighting, for there is -nothing left to fight about. We will go as friends with open -hands to them, and the new life of the world shall be begun -with the forgiveness of our enemies. Who are we that we -should judge after the Voice of God has spoken?”</p> - -<p>In the end she had her way, and so it came to pass that soon -after sunrise on the following day an air-ship, which a hundred -skilled and willing hands had toiled all night in fitting together -and equipping for her voyage, rose into the air above the ghastly -wilderness that had once been Aeria, and winged her way -towards the southern pole.</p> - -<p>Twenty hours later she sank down on to the ice that had -already re-covered the rocks in front of the fissure in the side -of Mount Terror, and as she did so a figure came forth out in -the darkness into the half light of the polar morning.</p> - -<p>“Look! There she is!” said Alma in an awe-stricken whisper -to Alan. “Alone in this awful place! Come, let us go to her.”</p> - -<p>As she spoke the gangway steps were lowered and she -descended them first, followed by Alan, his father, Alexis, and -Isma. Some strange influence held the others back as she -advanced with outstretched hands and words of kindly greeting -on her lips towards the piteous wreck of womanhood that slowly -emerged from the gloom of the chasm.</p> - -<p><a id="Ref_374"></a>Olga Romanoff had survived the doom of the world, but the -hand of a just vengeance had fallen heavily upon her. Her -once splendid form was shrunken as though three score years -had passed over her in as many hours. Her left side was half -paralysed and her shaking limbs hung loosely as she tottered -along.</p> - -<div id ="Fig_374" class="figcenter" style="width: 465px;"> -<img src="images/i_415.jpg" width="465" height="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">Olga Romanoff had survived the Doom of the World</span>. -<em><a href="#Ref_374">Page 374</a>.</em></p></div> -</div> - -<p>Her golden fillet and jewelled wings had been cast away, -leaving bare the great livid scar that crossed her forehead; her -white, drawn face was seamed with deep lines marked by agony<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[375]</a></span> -and terror, and the thick masses of the once glorious hair that -hung about her head and shoulders were streaked with grey and -clotted with blood.</p> - -<p>The fire had died out of her eyes and the red from her -shrivelled lips, and the weak broken voice in which she -answered Alma’s greeting quavered like that of an old woman -in her dotage.</p> - -<p>“I have been expecting you,” she said as Alma took her -trembling hands in hers. “I thought you would come. You -have come for Alan, haven’t you? He is yonder, but he is dead. -I kept him alive as long as I could but he was wounded, and -when the world was changed to hell for my sins the fire choked -him.</p> - -<p>“I tried to die too, but it wouldn’t kill me. There was air -enough for me and I wanted to give it to him to breathe but he -wouldn’t take it. I suppose you have been dead and are an -angel now like those others behind you. Come, I will take you -to him. It is dark but I know the way.”</p> - -<p>The moment she began to speak Alma saw the awful -calamity that had befallen her. The haughty daring spirit that -had essayed and almost achieved the conquest of the world -was dissolved in the bitter waters of the Marah of Madness. -The soul that had quailed before no human fear had collapsed -into imbecility under the superhuman terrors which she alone -had witnessed and survived. Without a word she suffered her -to lead her into the gloom, beckoning to the others to follow. -They turned on the electric lamps they had brought with them -and entered the chasm.</p> - -<p>They reached the black ash-strewn floor of the gloomy -subterranean lake in the heart of the mountain, and Alan, -pausing for a moment, flashed the light of his lamp round the -vast chamber that had once been so terribly familiar to him. -The walls were burnt and blackened, and here and there masses -of rock and boulders had been calcined to dust as though the -long pent-up lava that had once flowed in fiery torrents over -them had again been let loose.</p> - -<p>Then the light fell upon something that was not rock and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[376]</a></span> -which gave back a dull metallic sheen. He took a few strides -towards it and soon recognised it as all that was left of the once -shapely and beautiful <em>Ithuriel</em>, the old flagship of the Aerian -fleet with which he had lost the mastery of his own manhood -and his people the empire of the air.</p> - -<p>The crystal dome of the roof was gone and lay in patches -of congealed glass about the blackened and shrivelled-up deck. -The wings were burnt away and the transverse ribs of azurine -stood out bare and twisted like the bones of a skeleton, and in -the fore part of the hull a great gap showed where her magazine -had taken fire and burnt with such terrific heat that it had -melted even the azurine plates of which she was built.</p> - -<p>“The poor old <em>Ithuriel</em> has flown her last flight!” he said to -himself with a sigh as he turned away and followed the others, -thinking sadly of all that had come to pass since he had last -trodden her deck.</p> - -<p>Olga, holding Alma by the hand, led the way from the lower -gallery to the council chamber. As she pulled the curtain -aside from the doorway a puff of foul air that seemed to bear a -faint smell of blood was wafted in their faces. Alan called -Alma back, fearing that she would faint in the sickening -atmosphere, and at the sound of his voice Olga stopped short -and looked back with a reawakened gleam in her eyes.</p> - -<p>“Who is that?” she cried, pressing her hand to her brow. -“Why, it is Alan! But no, Alan is here—here. He has been -with me all the time since Khalid shot him. My God, can he -have come to life again?”</p> - -<p>Her voice rose to a shrill wavering scream as she said this. -She dropped Alma’s hand and ran with faltering, stumbling -steps towards a divan on which lay the form of a man whose -black beard and moustache were thickly clotted with blood. -She stopped and bent over it for a moment, then she raised -herself and faced them with her hands locked in her hair and the -light of frenzied insanity blazing in her eyes.</p> - -<p>“No! No!” she cried in a voice, half a scream and half a -wail, that rang weirdly through the great chamber. “He is -dead still and that is only his ghost. Oh, Alan, my love, Alan!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[377]</a></span> -Why could I not die with you? Curse the hand that wounded -you. Curse”—</p> - -<p>In the one syllable her voice died away from a scream to a -whisper, and at the same instant the paralysis, which had -already smitten her once, laid its swift icy hand on her heart -and brain. She swayed to and fro for a moment and then fell -forward across the corpse of the man whose love for her had -plunged the world into madness on the eve of its doom.</p> - -<p>“What an awful end!” gasped Alma, shuddering in the -close embrace she had sought in Alan’s arms. “And yet, Alan, -she loved you to the end through all. That love for you was -the one true thing in her life, and for its sake I will say God -forgive her! Come, let us go!”</p> - -<p class="center p2">THE END.</p> - -<p class="center p2 smallfont">MORRISON AND GIBB, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The 8th of December, on which day, in the year 1904, the armies of the -Anglo-Saxon Federation and the aerial navy of the Terrorists defeated and -almost annihilated the hosts of the Franco-Slavonian League, then besieging -London under the command of Alexander Romanoff, last of the Tsars of -Russia, and so made possible the universal disarmament which took place the -following year.—<cite>The Angel of the Revolution</cite>, chap. xlvi.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> The good old word had now regained its ancient and uncorrupted -meaning.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Such a poison as this is no figment of the imagination. It has been -known to Oriental adepts in poisoning for many centuries, and the Borghias -were certainly familiar with it. A kindred drug was used by the Russian -agents who kidnapped the late Prince Alexander of Bulgaria, though in his -case the injury was permanent. It reduced him from one of the most able -and daring princes in Europe to a mental and moral cripple, who was perfectly -content to live in the obscurity to which his enemies had consigned him.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Those readers who may be inclined to think this speed extravagant or -impossible are requested to remember that the most recent experiments in aerodynamics -have proved that the higher the speed of an aerial machine the less is -the power required to support and propel it, or, to quote the words of Professor -Langley, of the Smithsonian Institute, “One horse-power will transport a -larger weight at twenty miles an hour than at ten, a still larger at forty miles -an hour than at twenty, and so on with increasing economy of power with each -higher speed up to some remote limit not yet attained in experiment.” Granted -therefore the practically illimitable energy of the motive power supposed to be -at the command of the Aerians, there is no reason why a ship of the dimensions -of the <em>Avenger</em> should not be propelled at the enormous speed mentioned -in the text.</p></div></div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p class="center largefont boldfont">Now ready, Eighth Edition, price 6s. post free,</p> - -<p class="center"><em>With numerous Illustrations by Fred. T. Jane and Edwin S. Hope</em>,</p> - -<p class="center xxlargefont sansseriffont">THE ANGEL OF THE REVOLUTION.</p> - -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">A TALE OF THE COMING TERROR.</p> - -<p class="center largefont sansseriffont"><span class="smcap">By GEORGE GRIFFITH.</span></p> - -<p>In this Romance of Love, War, and Revolution, the action takes place -ten years hence, and turns upon the solution of the problem of aerial -navigation, which enables a vast Secret Society to decide the issue of the -coming world-war, for which the great nations of the earth are now preparing. -Battles such as have hitherto only been vaguely dreamed of are fought on -land and sea and in the air. Aerial navies engage armies and fleets and -fortresses, and fight with each other in an unsparing warfare, which has for -its prize the empire of the world. Unlike all other essays in prophetic -fiction, it deals with the events of to-morrow, and with characters familiar -in the eyes of living men. It marks an entirely new departure in fiction, -and opens up possibilities which may become stupendous and appalling -realities before the present generation of men has passed away.</p> - -<p class="center xlargefont"><em>A FEW PRESS OPINIONS.</em></p> - -<p>“Since the days of the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, we know of no writer -who ‘takes the cake’ like Mr. George Griffith.”—<cite>Daily Chronicle.</cite></p> - -<p>“A really exciting and sensational romance.”—<cite>Literary World.</cite></p> - -<p>“As a work of imagination it takes high rank.”—<cite>Belfast News Letter.</cite></p> - -<p>“Full of absorbing interest.”—<cite>Barrow Herald.</cite></p> - -<p>“This powerful story.”—<cite>Liverpool Mercury.</cite></p> - -<p>“An entirely new departure in fiction.”—<cite>Reynolds’ Newspaper.</cite></p> - -<p>“Of exceptional brilliancy and power.”—<cite>Western Figaro.</cite></p> - -<p>“This remarkable story.”—<cite>Weekly Times and Echo.</cite></p> - -<p>“There is a fascination about his book that few will be able to resist.”—<cite>Birmingham -Gazette.</cite></p> - -<p>“This exciting romance.”—<cite>Licensing World.</cite></p> - -<p>“A work of strong imaginative power.”—<cite>Dundee Courier.</cite></p> - -<p>“We must congratulate the author upon the vividness and reality with -which he draws his unprecedented pictures.”—<cite>Bristol Mercury.</cite></p> - -<p>“Is quite enthralling.”—<cite>Glasgow Herald.</cite></p> - -<p>“A striking and fascinating novel.”—<cite>Hampshire Telegraph.</cite></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p class="center boldfont">PRICE 1s. Post Free,</p> - -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">A HEROINE OF THE SLUMS, and other Tales of the Times.</p> - -<p class="center largefont sansseriffont"><span class="smcap">By GEORGE GRIFFITH, Author of “The Angel of the Revolution.”</span></p> - -<p>These Tales form a series of narratives in which are depicted some of the most thrilling -situations and startling incidents taken from real everyday life that have ever appeared -in print. They are written with all the vividness of description and fascination of style -which gained for their Author so much renown in his highly-popular work, “The Angel of -the Revolution,” and should prove most attractive to all classes of readers.</p> - -<p>“A capital shilling collection of exciting and laughable stories.”—<cite>Weekly Times and -Echo.</cite></p> - -<p>“A very entertaining shilling’s worth.”—<cite>N. B. Daily Mail.</cite></p> - -<p>“A collection of cleverly written stories.”—<cite>Bristol Mercury.</cite></p> - -<p>“A capital book for a holiday or a railway train.”—<cite>Scotsman.</cite></p> - -<p>“An attractive mélange of fiction, and that of a kind extremely popular in these days.”—<cite>Dundee -Advertiser.</cite></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p class="center boldfont">PRICE 6s. POST FREE,</p> - -<p class="center"><em>With numerous Illustrations by T. S. C. Crowther and Captain C. Field, -In addition to Nine Military Maps</em>,</p> - -<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont">THE GREAT WAR IN ENGLAND IN 1897.</p> - -<p class="center largefont"><span class="smcap">By WILLIAM LE QUEUX</span>,</p> - -<p class="center smallfont">AUTHOR OF “GUILTY BONDS,” “STRANGE TALES OF A NIHILIST,” ETC.</p> - -<p>There is a curious division of opinion upon the merits of Mr. -<span class="smcap">William Le Queux’s</span> remarkable book, “The Great War in England -in 1897.” The Author has performed a task never before attempted, -namely, to forecast an invasion of the whole of England and Scotland, -and the reviewers have taken him to task very freely. It has received -the warmest commendation from the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of -Connaught, Lord Wolseley, Lord Roberts, and Lord George Hamilton; -and the “Service” papers, who should know something of our army and -navy, unanimously praise it. <cite>The Admiralty and Horse Guards Gazette</cite> -says:—“Mr. Le Queux is a vivid writer, and his work gives evidence of -care and thoroughness. <b>The book is the best of its kind</b> we -have come across.” <cite>The United Service Gazette</cite> says that the author -has studied the tactical and strategical problems thoroughly, and that -“<b>the book will do a national service</b>”; while <cite>The Naval and -Military Record</cite> and the <cite>Army and Navy Gazette</cite> say that Mr. Le -Queux has special qualifications for the task he has carried out so -successfully. Most of the influential daily papers have also eulogised -it strongly, amongst them the <cite>Times</cite>, <cite>Standard</cite>, <cite>World</cite>, <cite>Sketch</cite>, -<cite>Nottingham Daily Guardian</cite>, <cite>Scotsman</cite>, <cite>Glasgow Herald</cite>, <cite>Yorkshire -Post</cite>, <cite>Aberdeen Free Press</cite>, <cite>Bradford Argus</cite>, <cite>Manchester Courier</cite>, -<cite>Western Morning News</cite>, <cite>Bristol Mercury</cite>, and the <cite>Liverpool Courier</cite>. -<cite>The Newcastle Daily Chronicle</cite> devoted a column to a review of a -most commendatory character. <cite>The Daily Graphic</cite> says it is “<b>the -most comprehensive and thrilling of anything yet -attempted</b>.” Three of the most powerful papers on the Continent, -the Paris <cite>Figaro</cite>, the Milan <cite>Secolo</cite>, and the Rome <cite>Opinione</cite>, have -devoted leading articles to the problems put forward by the Author, -all three journals declaring that <b>the work is unique</b>, while <cite>The -Sheffield Daily Telegraph</cite> says it is “<b>the sensation</b> as well as <b>the -success</b> of the book season.” That it is phenomenally successful -is proved by the fact that <b>Five Editions were sold within four -weeks</b>.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p class="center largefont boldfont">Now ready, Fourth Edition, price 6s. post free,</p> - -<p class="center"><em>Demy 8vo, handsomely bound in cloth gilt</em>,</p> - -<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont">THE CAPTAIN OF THE MARY ROSE.</p> - -<p class="center largefont"><em>A TALE OF TO-MORROW.</em></p> - -<p class="center largefont sansseriffont"><span class="smcap">By W. LAIRD CLOWES</span>,</p> - -<p class="center smallfont">U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE.</p> - -<p class="center boldfont">With 60 Illustrations by the Chevalier de Martino and Fred. T. Jane.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 120px;"> -<img src="images/i_422.jpg" width="120" height="8" alt="Curly line." /> -</div> - -<p>This work has been truly described by the public press as an intensely -realistic and stirring romance of the near future. It describes the -wonderful adventures of an armour-clad cruiser, built on the Tyne, -which takes part in a great Naval War that suddenly breaks out -between France and Great Britain. The dashing way in which the -vessel is handled, her narrow escapes, the boldness of her successful -attacks upon the enemy, and the heroic conduct of her commander and -crew, form altogether a narrative of most absorbing interest, and full of -exciting scenes and situations.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 120px;"> -<img src="images/i_422.jpg" width="120" height="8" alt="Curly line." /> -</div> - -<p class="center largefont sansseriffont">THE FOLLOWING ARE A FEW PRESS OPINIONS.</p> - -<p>“Deserves something more than a mere passing notice.”—<cite>The Times.</cite></p> - -<p>“Full of exciting situations.... Has manifold attractions for all -sorts of readers.”—<cite>Army and Navy Gazette.</cite></p> - -<p>“The most notable book of the season.”—<cite>The Standard.</cite></p> - -<p>“A clever book. Mr. Clowes is pre-eminent for literary touch and -practical knowledge of naval affairs.”—<cite>Daily Chronicle.</cite></p> - -<p>“Mr. W. Laird Clowes’ exciting story.”—<cite>Daily Telegraph.</cite></p> - -<p>“We read ‘The Captain of the Mary Rose’ at a sitting.”—<cite>The -Pall Mall Gazette.</cite></p> - -<p>“Written with no little spirit and imagination.... A stirring -romance of the future.”—<cite>Manchester Guardian.</cite></p> - -<p>“Is of a realistic and exciting character.... Designed to show -what the naval warfare of the future may be.”—<cite>Glasgow Herald.</cite></p> - -<p>“One of the most interesting volumes of the year.”—<cite>Liverpool -Journal of Commerce.</cite></p> - -<p>“It is well told and magnificently illustrated.”—<cite>United Service -Magazine.</cite></p> - -<p>“Full of absorbing interest.”—<cite>Engineers’ Gazette.</cite></p> - -<p>“Is intensely realistic, so much so that after commencing the story -every one will be anxious to read to the end.”—<cite>Dundee Advertiser.</cite></p> - -<p>“The book is splendidly illustrated.”—<cite>Northern Whig.</cite></p> - -<p class="center largefont boldfont">TOWER PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED,</p> - -<p class="center boldfont">95 MINORIES, LONDON, E.</p> -<hr class="tb" /> -<p> </p> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<div class="transnote"> -<h2 style="margin-top: 0em">Transcriber’s Note:</h2> - -<p>Footnotes have been moved to the end of the text just before the -advertisements and relabeled consecutively through the document.</p> - -<p>Illustrations have been moved to paragraph breaks near where they are -mentioned.</p> - -<p>Punctuation has been made consistent.</p> - -<p>Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in -the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors -have been corrected.</p> - -<p>The following changes were made:</p> - -<p><a href="#Ref_40">p. 40</a>: himself changed to herself (correct herself, she)</p> - -<p><a href="#Ref_46">p. 46</a>: of changed to so (and so the)</p> -</div> - -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLGA ROMANOFF***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 54096-h.htm or 54096-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/4/0/9/54096">http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/0/9/54096</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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