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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..021561c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60222 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60222) diff --git a/old/60222-8.txt b/old/60222-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5d23344..0000000 --- a/old/60222-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6560 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Raid of Dover, by Douglas Morey Ford - - -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 -www.gutenberg.org. 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. - - - - -Title: The Raid of Dover - A Romance of the Reign of Woman, A.D. 1940 - - -Author: Douglas Morey Ford - - - -Release Date: September 2, 2019 [eBook #60222] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RAID OF DOVER*** - - -E-text prepared by Tim Lindell, Graeme Mackreth, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images -generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/raidofdoverroman00ford - - - - - -THE RAID OF DOVER: - -A Romance Of The Reign Of Woman: - -A.D. 1940. - -by - -The Author of "A Time of Terror," "The Devil's -Peepshow," &c. - - - "If that Old England fall - Which Nelson left so great----" - - LORD TENNYSON. - - -London: King, Sell, & Olding, Limited, -27, Chancery Lane, W.C. -Portsmouth: Holbrook & Son, Limited. -1910. - - - -AUTHOR'S NOTE. - - -_While this Forecast in Fiction has been running as a Serial, -the writer has realised that in some respects it may be open to -misconstruction. Patriotism, not pessimism, is its real keynote._ - - "This England never did, nor never shall, - Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror, - But when it first did help to wound itself." - -_That is the crux. England is being wounded by Englishmen; and the -events imagined in this story are only a concrete example of the -possibilities foreshadowed by Mr. Balfour (Jan. 24th, 1910) in the -following words:--_ - - "If the pressure of public opinion is not effected, then I tell you - with all solemnity that there are difficulties and perils before this - country which neither we nor our fathers nor our grand-fathers nor our - great-grand-fathers have ever yet had to face, and that before many - years are out there will be a Nemesis for this manifest and scandalous - folly in saving money just at the wrong time, in refusing to carry out - a plain duty." - -_The history of the rise and fall of nations is only the story of Cause -and Effect. Given concomitant causes (1)--the unchecked blight of -Socialism, (2) the Revolt of Woman on "democratic lines," (3) weakened -Maritime Power--and the Effect is only too likely to be that England -will "lie at the proud foot of a conqueror." Let it be hoped that -the British people will remove the causes and prevent the otherwise -probable result._ - -_It must not be supposed that the writer identifies himself with the -views expressed by any of his characters on the subject of Woman or -Votes for Women. On the contrary, he thinks that women have been -treated with small tact and much harshness. But we already have -abundant evidence of the dangerous result of giving the franchise -to hundreds of thousands of uneducated men; and if, even short of -universal suffrage, the vote should be granted to the other sex on what -Mr. Asquith calls "democratic lines," it would mean that hundreds of -thousands of uneducated women might join hands with the existing forces -of enfranchised Socialism. That way madness lies, and the end of the -British Empire, "which peril Heaven forfend!"_ - -_The story is, in some sort, a sequel to "A Time of Terror," in which -the sign of the Spider may be taken as a reminder of the fabled Kraken. -The Kraken, in turn, may be taken to symbolise the German Fleet, "a -sea monster of vast size said to have been seen off the Coast of -Norway." Oddly enough, Pliny speaks of such a monster in the Straits of -Gibraltar,--which blocked the entrance of ships._ - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PROLOGUE. - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. THE LOST LEADER i. - - II. A PRISONER OF THE MAHDI v. - - - THE RAID OF DOVER. - - I. HOW NICHOLAS JARDINE ROSE 1 - - II. HOW ENGLAND FELL 6 - - III. ABOARD THE AIRSHIP 13 - - IV. THE STAR OF LIFE 21 - - V. A THREEFOLD PLEDGE 25 - - VI. THE REVOLT OF WOMAN 33 - - VII. THE PRICE OF POWER 44 - - VIII. WARDLAW'S WORKS 51 - - IX. THE LOOSENED GRIP 59 - - X. ZENOBIA'S DREAM 66 - - XI. THE NEW AMAZONS 82 - - XII. A SECRET AND A THUNDERBOLT 94 - - XIII. THE RAID OF THE EAGLES 104 - - XIV. THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT 114 - - XV. IN THE HEART OF THE HILL 122 - - XVI. SIGNS AND WONDERS 134 - - XVII. HOW THE RAID FAILED 142 - - XVIII. THE WRECK OF THE AIRSHIP 152 - - XIX. THE COUP D'ÉTAT? 164 - - XX. LINKED LIVES 172 - - XXI. THE WRATH OF SUL 179 - - - - -PROLOGUE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE LOST LEADER. - - -Wilson Renshaw, the most brilliant member of the House of Commons, -was on the verge of a complete breakdown at the end of the memorable -Session of 1930, a session in which the marshalled forces of Socialism, -allied with the insurgent women of England, had almost, but not quite, -swept the board. - -The Vacation of that year had brought a truce in the fiercest -Parliamentary campaign known to modern times, and Renshaw, under the -peremptory advice of medical specialists, left England for a prolonged -holiday. - -He went to Egypt, recruited his health at Cairo, and then, in pursuance -of a long-cherished wish, set out by a circuitous route for Khartum. -With the exception of Jerusalem, the Nubian capital was regarded by the -young English statesman as the most sacred spot on earth, sanctified, -as it was, by the blood of General Gordon, a Christian soldier, who, to -the indelible disgrace of the political clique then in power, had been -left unsupported in the midst of his blood-thirsty enemies, until it -was too late to rescue him. - -That for which Gordon had paved the way; that which Kitchener and -Macdonald had gallantly achieved, in these latter days political -sentimentalists, Englishmen of parochial mind, had gradually undone. -Egypt, brought to a pitch of high prosperity under the civil -administration of Lord Cromer, had been gradually allowed to lapse back -into native hands. There had been no absolute evacuation at the date -of Renshaw's arrival in the country, but the British garrison had been -reduced to insignificant proportions. - -But Renshaw did not come back! He had vanished from the ken of -civilization--swallowed up as effectually in the Nubian desert as -when the earth had opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the -congregation of Abiram. The history of Egypt and the Soudan, written -in blood at the period in question, only accorded with that written -in ink, in advance of the event, by those who in the first decade of -the twentieth century foresaw the outcome of Little Englandism all the -world over. The native movement--the strength of which the dominant -party in Parliament had chosen to ignore--manifested itself in scenes -of sudden and overwhelming violence, while at the same time the Holy -War, preached by a Mahdi in whose existence great numbers of people -had refused to believe, claimed as sacrificial victims nearly every -white-skinned man throughout the length and breadth of the Soudan. - -The caravan with which Renshaw was travelling fell into the hands of -the Mahdi's adherents, betrayed by a treacherous guide, who then spread -the news--anticipating what he had every reason to believe would really -happen--of the death of The White Kaffir, as a consequence of the -resistance he had offered to a band of "True Believers." The news was -received in England with grief and lamentation by those who esteemed -Renshaw, appreciated his talents, and knew how essential were his -services if the aims of the Socialist-Labour Leader, Nicholas Jardine, -and his party were to be defeated. But the public in general saw in the -disappearance of the rising statesman the almost inevitable result of a -rash enterprise. It came to be regarded only as an incidental episode -in the wholesale upheaval of which India, Egypt, and other lands once -dominated by the British sceptre soon became the scene. - -All this had happened ten years and more before the critical events -of 1940. From time to time during that period little-credited reports -reached England concerning a certain white prisoner in the hands of -the Mahdi, who was believed by some to be none other than Renshaw, -the missing man. But, except with a few, these rumours carried little -weight. It was not the first time that tales of that sort had reached -home after the disappearance of well-known men in remote regions of the -Dark Continent. Many, recalling the explorations of Dr. Livingstone, -and Stanley's expedition for the rescue of Emin Pasha, said that when -Renshaw was found and brought home they would believe that he was -alive--and not before. - -Meanwhile, in England, Nicholas Jardine carried everything before -him. The Constitutional Party, leaderless and disorganized, seemed -to sink into helpless apathy, and right and left the rapid shrinkage -of the British Empire bore witness to the ruinous success of new and -revolutionary parties in the State. Sometimes, in the House of Commons, -old followers of the Labour Leader's missing rival asked questions, -which, for the moment, attracted marked attention and, in some minds, -roused most sinister suspicions. Had the President received any -information that tended to confirm the rumour that Mr. Renshaw was -still living and undergoing the tortures of a barbarous imprisonment? -Was it a fact that, after a specified date, the Government, or any -members of it, had been notified, not only that Mr. Renshaw was alive, -but that on payment of a ransom he might be restored to his country? -Had any confidential information been received from certain oriental -visitors who, from time to time, had come to this country? Was it, or -was it not, a fact that certain periodical payments of large amount had -been made out of secret service funds in relation to Mr. Renshaw and -his alleged imprisonment? - -These searching questions were evaded in the usual Parliamentary -manner, and it was observed that never was President Jardine--such was -his official title as chief of the new Council of State--so black and -taciturn as when this suggestive topic was from time to time revived in -Parliament. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -A PRISONER OF THE MAHDI. - - -Through all those dreadful years Wilson Renshaw lived--lived day and -night the tortured life of a white man at the mercy of the black. Year -after year the iron entered his soul, even as the Mahdi's fetters ate -into his swollen and bleeding limbs. - -There were others who suffered with him in the barbaric prison-house. -What he endured was no less, no more, than they were made to bear. -Happy indeed were those whom death released from misery and anguish -that tongue could never tell, nor pen describe. Hell itself, as -pictured by maddest brain of the most fiendish fanatic, could not have -shown greater resources in the way of physical and mental torture. -The Black Hole of Calcutta lacked many of the special horrors of the -inner den in which the prophet's prisoners were herded during all the -awful hours of night. The bloodstained walls of the Tower of London, -if walls could speak, whispering of the rack, the thumbscrew, and the -boot, might tell indeed of sharper anguish, sooner over. The secret -history of the Spanish Inquisition, if published, would reveal not less -ingenuity--perhaps greater, in the refined subtleties of cruelty. But -the prison at Khartum excelled them all at least in one respect--the -prolongation of the agony inflicted. - -Not for weeks or months, but for years, if life endured, the prisoner -had to suffer. Wearing three sets of shackles, with an iron ring round -his neck, to which was attached a heavy chain, Renshaw--the White -Kaffir--the man of culture and social ease in London, but here the -reviled unbeliever, when night came was thrust into a stone-walled room -measuring some thirty feet each way. A large pillar, supporting the -roof, reduced the space available. Two prisoners, in chains, were dying -of smallpox in a corner; some thirty others, suffering from various -diseases, lay about the floor, which reeked with filth and swarmed with -vermin. A compound stench, sickening and over-powering, assailed the -nostrils, and every moment this increased as more prisoners, and yet -more, were driven in for the night. The groans of the sick, the screams -of the mad, the curses of others as they fought fiercely for places -against one or another of the walls, blended in awful tumult as the -door was closed upon the darkness within. Yet again and again that door -was opened, and more prisoners were crowded in; until, at last, they -fought and bit and raved even for standing room. - -Night after night, for nearly four years, Renshaw, the man of delicate -fibre and refined training, the son of Western civilization, lived -through such scenes as these, amid incidental horrors of bestiality -that cannot be set down. When the uproar in the prison attained -exceptional violence, the guards threw back the doors, and lashed with -their hide-whips at the heads and faces of the nearest prisoners, and -every time that this occurred some of them, struggling to move back, -fell to the ground, and were trampled under foot. - -Renshaw was the only white prisoner among the Soudanese and Egyptians -who thus endured the tender mercies of the Prophet--the Prophet for -whom, it was said, the Angels had fought and would fight again, until -every follower of the Cross accepted the Koran of Mahommed. For, like -many of the greatest crimes that stain the annals of mankind, this -prison discipline, in theory, was designed to benefit the souls of the -captives. The White Kaffir, as an unbeliever, a dog and an outcast, was -a special object of the Mahdi's solicitation. Only let him believe and -his fetters should be struck off, or, at least, some of them. He had -but to cry aloud in fervent faith, "There is but one God, and Mahommed -is his Prophet!" - -But it was a cry that never passed the lips of Wilson Renshaw. The lash -was tried again and again. Fifteen to twenty lashes at first; then a -hundred; then a hundred and fifty. But still the bleeding lips in which -the white man's teeth were biting in his anguish would not blaspheme. -"Will you not cry out?" the gaoler asked. "Dog of a Christian, are thy -head and heart of stone?" No answer; and again and yet again the lash -descended. - -If only death would come, kind death to end this pain of mutilated -flesh; this still sharper pain of degradation and humiliation! But -death came not. Courage, indomitable pride of race, a godlike quality -of patience, armed the White Kaffir to endure the slings and arrows of -his dreadful fate. Death he would welcome with a sigh of gladness, but -these barbarians should never, never break his spirit. - -At last the rigour of his sufferings was abated. Out of the mists of -what seemed an interminable period of delirium, he awoke to a change -of his treatment that caused him much surprise. No longer was he to be -half starved. At night he was allowed to sleep alone in a rough, dark -hut in a corner of the prison compound. Each day he was permitted, -though still fettered, to go down to the river, on the banks of which -the prison was placed, and wash in the waters of the Nile. From all -of these changes it became apparent that his life, and not his death, -was now desired. The motive for the change he had yet to realize. A -whisper here and there, a chance word from his gaolers, with sundry -indications, fugitive and various, at length convinced him that this -amelioration of his fate could have but one sinister explanation, and -one inspiring motive. If not the Mahdi himself, then some of the more -covetous of his leading followers must be drawing payment from some -mysterious source, a subsidy for holding him secure, here under the -burning African sun, remote and cut off from all chance of rescue or -escape. - -Yet escapes were planned, for even among these barbarous people there -were a few who felt compassion for the hapless condition of the White -Kaffir; and when it began to be rumoured that he was a man of high -consideration in his native country, others, moved by cupidity and -the prospect of a great reward, found means of letting Renshaw know -that, _on conditions_, they were willing to secure him at least a -chance of freedom. But every plan fell through. The Mahdi's spies -were everywhere, and those who fell under suspicion of seeking to -aid Renshaw to break free from his captivity received a punishment -so terrible that he shrank from listening to any further offer of -assistance. - -Presently his condition underwent yet further betterment. He became a -prisoner at large--though still fettered and still closely watched. -Employment he had none, save the performance of a few menial offices. -Books he had none, save Al-Koran, the volume containing the religious, -social, commercial, military, and legal code of Islam. But here, in -the heart of this dreadful land, among the dark people of the Dark -Continent, he now learned to look upon the book of life itself from -a new and startling standpoint. Before him was unfolded a new and -terrible chapter of history in the making, a chapter which revealed the -slow marshalling of millions of the dark-skinned races, eager to wrest -dominion and supremacy from the white-skinned masters of the world. - - - - -THE RAID OF DOVER. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -HOW NICHOLAS JARDINE ROSE. - - -The fall of England synchronised with the rise of Nicholas -Jardine--first Labour Prime Minister of this ancient realm. When he -married it was considered by his wife's relations that she had married -beneath her! It fell out thus. In the neighbourhood of Walsall an -accomplished young governess had found employment in the family of -a wealthy solicitor, who was largely interested in the ironworks of -the district. Her employer was conservative in his profession and -radical in his politics. He took the chair from time to time at public -meetings, and liked his family to be present on those occasions as a -sort of domestic entourage, to bear witness to the eloquence of his -orations. On one of these occasions a swarthy young engineer made -a speech which quite eclipsed that of the chairman. He carried the -meeting with him, raising enthusiasm and admiration to a remarkable -height, and storming, among other things, the heart of the clever young -governess. - -The young orator was not unconscious of the interest he excited. Bright -eyes told their tale, and the whole-hearted applause that greeted his -rhetorical flourishes could not escape attention at close quarters. -Fair and refined in face, with fine, wavy light hair, the girl -afforded a striking contrast to this forceful, dark-skinned man of the -people; but they were drawn to each other by those magnetic sympathies -which carry wireless messages from heart to heart. It would be too much -to say that he fell in love with her at first sight. Had they never met -again, mutual first impressions might have worn off; but they did meet -again, and yet again. Coming to her employer's house on some political -business, young Jardine encountered the girl in the hall, and she -frankly gave him her hand--blushingly and with a word or two of thanks -for the speech which had seemed to her so eloquent. After that, in the -grimy streets of Walsall and in various public places, the acquaintance -ripened, until one winter day, outside the town, she startled him with -an unusually earnest "good-bye." The children she had taught were going -away to school; she, too, was going away--whither she knew not. - -"Don't go," he said, slowly; "don't go. Stay and marry me." - -She was almost alone in the world, and shuddering at the grey prospect -of her life. Besides, she loved him, or at least believed she did. -Within a month they were married at the registrar's office. Nicholas -Jardine did not hold with any church or chapel observances. After the -banal ceremony of the civil law, he took his bride to London for a -week. Then they returned to Walsall. His means were of the scantiest; -they lived in a little five-roomed house, with endless tenements of -the same mean type and miserable material stretching right and left. -The conditions of life, after the first glamour faded, were dreary -and soul-subduing. All the women in Warwick Road knew or wanted to -know their neighbour's business; all resented 'uppish' airs on the -part of any particular resident. They were of the ordinary type, those -neighbours, kindly, slatternly, given to gossip. Mrs. Jardine was not, -and did not look like, one of them. She was sincerely desirous of -doing her duty in that drab state of life in which she found herself, -but she wholly failed to please her neighbours, whose quarrels she -heard through the miserable plaster walls, or witnessed from over the -road. Worse than that, she found with dismay, as time went on, that she -did not wholly please her husband. She was conscious of a gloomy sense -of disappointment on his part; and she, though bravely resisting the -growing feeling, knew in her heart that disillusionment had fallen upon -herself. The recurrent coarseness of the man's ideas and expressions -jarred upon her nerves. His way of eating, sleeping, and carrying -himself, in their cramped domestic circle, constantly offended her -fastidious tastes. - -When their child was born life went better; and all the time Jardine -himself, though rather grudgingly, had been improving under the -refining but unobstrusive influence of his cultured wife. One thing, at -least, they had in common: a love of reading. Most of the money that -could be spared in those days went in book buying. It was a time of -education for the husband, and a time of disenchantment for the wife. -She drooped amid their grey surroundings. The summers were sad, for the -Black Country is no paradise even in the time of flowers. Everywhere -the sombre industries of the place asserted themselves, and in the -gloomy winters short dark days seemed to be always giving place to long -dreary nights, hideously illumined by the lurid furnaces that glowed on -every side. - -Jardine himself was as strong as the steel with which he had so much to -do in the local works in which he found employment. But his wife found -herself less and less able to stand up against the adverse influences -of their environment. It came upon him with a shock that she had grown -strangely fragile. Great God in heaven!--men call upon the name of God -even when they profess to be agnostics--could she be going to die? - -Her great fear was for the future of the child; and her chief hope -that the passionate devotion of Jardine to the little girl would be a -redeeming influence in his own life and character. Both of them, from -the first, took what care they could that their daughter should not -grow up quite like the other children of the Walsall back streets. -Their precautions helped to make them unpopular, and "that little Obie -Jardine," as the Warwick Road ladies called Zenobia, was consequently -compelled to hear many caustic remarks concerning the airs and graces -that "some people" were supposed to give themselves. - -Good fortune and advancement came to Nicholas Jardine too late for -his wife to share in them. The once bright eyes were closed for ever -before the Trade Union of which he was secretary put him forward as a -Parliamentary candidate. The swing of the Labour pendulum carried him -in, and Jardine, M.P., and his little daughter moved to London. They -found lodgings in Guildford Place, opposite the Foundling Hospital. -The child was happier now, and the memory of the mother faded year by -year. Life grew more cheerful and interesting for both of them as time -went on. Members of Parliament and wire-pullers of the Labour party -came to the lodgings and filled the sitting-room with smoke and noisy -conversation. Zenobia listened and inwardly digested what she heard. -Sundays were the dullest days. She often felt that she would like to -go to service in the Foundling Chapel, but that was tacitly forbidden. -Religion was ignored by Mr. Jardine, and among the books he had brought -up from Walsall, and those he had since bought, neither Bible nor -Prayer Book found a place. - -Jardine had other things to think of. He was going forward rapidly, -and busy--in the world of politics--fighting Mr. Renshaw in the House -of Commons. When the old Labour leader in the House of Commons had -a paralytic seizure, the member for Walsall was chosen, though not -without opposition, to fill the vacant place. - -There were millions of voters behind him now; Nicholas Jardine had -become a power. At last the popular wave carried him into the foremost -position in the State. The resolute Republican mechanic of miry Walsall -actually became the foremost man in what for centuries had been the -greatest Empire in the world. - -Before that great step in promotion was obtained, Jardine had removed -from London to the riverside house, in which he still resided, when -a certain young Linton Herrick came from Canada and stayed with his -uncle--Jardine's next door neighbour. - -According to the new Constitution, the Government held office for five -years. The end of that term was now approaching, and every adult man -and woman in the land would shortly have the opportunity of voting for -his retention in office or for replacing him with a successor, man -or woman. He talked much with his daughter of the struggle that was -coming, as it had been his custom to do for years. She was his only -companion, the only object of his affections, the one domestic interest -in his life. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -HOW ENGLAND FELL. - - -So much for the man. What of the Empire? Nicholas Jardine had -witnessed, and assisted in, its collapse. He had witnessed the result -of a "corner" in food stuffs, and discovered that Uncle Sam was not -the man to miss his chance of making millions merely because in theory -blood is thicker than water. He had witnessed, also, some of the -effects of the great international confidence trick. The feature of -the common swindle so described is that the trickster makes ingenuous -professions. The dupe, not to be outdone in generous sentiments, -places his watch or his bank-notes in the trickster's hands--just to -show confidence. The trickster goes outside and does not come back -again. So, in the matter of national armaments, Germany had avowed -the friendliest disposition towards Great Britain. England, fatuously -eager to believe in another _entente cordiale_, obligingly sapped her -own resources. Germany, with her tongue in her cheek, went ahead, -determined that England should not catch up to her. Thus had the way -been paved for certain disastrous events: the cutting of the lion's -claws, the clipping of his venerable tail, and the annexation of vast -outlying domains in which the once unchallenged beast aforetime had -held his own, monarch of all he surveyed. - -When Germany conceived that the fateful moment had arrived, Germany -pounced. France was friendly, but not active, Russia active and not -friendly, Italy was busily occupied in Abyssinia, and nominally -allied with Germany. Austria had her hands full in Macedonia, and was -actually allied with Germany. Spain and Portugal did not count. Holland -disappeared from the map, following the example of Denmark. The German -cormorant swallowed them up, and German squadrons appropriated the -harbours on the North Sea, as previously those on the Baltic. While -these European changes were being effected with bewildering rapidity, -our former allies, the Japanese, who had learnt naval warfare in the -English school, played their own hand with notable promptitude and -success. Japan had long had her eye on Australia. She wanted elbow -room. She wanted to develop Asiatic power. Now was the time, when -British warships were engaged in a stupendous struggle thousands of -miles away. The little navy that the Australians had got together for -purposes of self-defence crumpled up like paper boats under the big -guns of the Yellow Fleet. Australia was lost. It made the heart ache to -think of the changes wrought by the cruel hand of time--wrought in only -a quarter of a century--in the pride of Britannia, in her power and her -possessions. - -India, that once bright and splendid jewel in the British Crown, the -great possession that gave the title of Empress to Queen Victoria of -illustrious memory--India, as a British possession, had been sliced to -less than half its size by those same Japanese, allied with pampered -Hindu millions; and it was problematical whether what was left could -be held much longer. The memorable alliance with Japan, running its -course for several years, had worn sharp and thin towards the end. -It had not been renewed. Japan never had really contemplated pulling -chestnuts out of the fire for the sole benefit of Great Britain. They -saved us from Russia only to help themselves; and now that Great -Britain was derisively spoken of as Beggared Britain, the astute Jap, -self-seeking, with limited ideas of gratitude, was England's enemy. - -In South Africa, alas! England had lost not only a slice, but all. -The men of words had overruled the men of deeds. What had been won in -many a hard-fought battle, was surrendered in the House of Commons. -Patriotism had been superseded by a policy of expediency. The great -Boer War had furnished a hecatomb of twenty thousand British lives. A -hundred thousand mourners bowed their heads in resignation for those -who died or fought and bled for England. Millions had groaned under the -burden of the war tax, and then, after years, we had enabled Brother -Boer to secure, by means of a ballot box, what he had lost for the -world's good in the stricken field. They had talked of a union of -races--a fond thing vainly invented. Oil and water never mix. - -Socialists, in alliance with sentimentalists in the swarming ranks of -enfranchised women, had reduced the British Lion to the condition of -a zoological specimen--a tame and clawless creature. The millennium -was to be expedited so that the poor old Lion might learn to eat straw -like the ox. If he could not get straw, let him eat dirt--dirt, in any -form of humble pie, that other nations thought fit to set before the -one-time King of Beasts. - -In another part of the world, the link between England and Canada, -another great dominion, as Linton Herrick well knew, had worn to the -tenuity of thinnest thread. Canada, as yet, had not formally thrown off -allegiance to the old country, but the thread might be snapped at any -moment. - -Linton, who had lived all his life in the Dominion, knew very well -how things were tending. The English were no longer the dominant -race in those vast tracts. They might have been, if a wise system of -colonisation had been organised by British Governments. But the rough -material of the race had been allowed to stagnate and rot here in the -crowded cities of England. Loafers, hooligans, and alien riff-raff had -reached incredible numbers in the course of the last five-and-twenty -years. Workhouses, hospitals, lunatic asylums, and prisons could not be -built fast enough to accommodate the unfit and the criminal. Meanwhile, -the vast tracts of grain-growing Canada, where a reinvigorated race -of Englishmen might have found unlimited elbow-room, had been largely -annexed by astute speculators from the United States. The Canadians, -unsupported, had found it impossible to hold their own. The State was -too big for them. As far back as 1906, the remnant of the British -Government garrison had said good-bye to Halifax; and the power and the -glory had gone, too, with the once familiar uniform of Tommy Atkins. - -At Quebec and Montreal, all the talk was of deals and dollars. The -whole country had been steadily Americanised, and Sir Wilfred Laurier, -when he went the ultimate way of all Premiers, was succeeded by -office-holders who cared nothing for Imperial ties. For a time they -were not keen about being absorbed by the United States, for that -would mean loss of highly paid posts and political prestige. The march -of events was too strong for them, and between the American and the -British stools they were falling to the ground. It was bound to come, -that final tumble. The force of things and the whirligig of time would -bring in the assured revenges. The big fish swallows the little fish -all the world over. - -It was the programme of Socialism that had weakened the foundations -of the British Empire and paved the way for the troublous times that -followed. Cajoled by noisy agitators and the shallow arguments of -Labour leaders and Socialists, the working man lost sight of the fact -that his living depended on working up raw material into manufactured -goods, and thus earning a wage that enabled him to pay for food -and shelter. The middle-class had proved not less supine. So long -as Britannia ruled the waves, and the butcher and baker were in a -position to supply the Briton's daily needs, all went well. But when -a family could get only one loaf, instead of four; and two pounds of -meat when it wanted five, it necessarily followed that a good many -people grew hungry. Hungry people are apt to lose their tempers, -their moral sense of right and wrong, and all those nice distinctions -between _meum et tuum_ on which the foundations of society so largely -depend. Moral chaos becomes painfully accentuated when, as the result -of a naval defeat and an incipient panic, the price of bread bounds -up to eighteenpence per quartern loaf, with a near prospect of being -unprocurable even for its weight in gold. All this had happened -in these once favoured isles, because the masses, encouraged by -self-seeking and parochially-minded leaders, had been more intent on -making war upon the classes than on securing their subsistence through -the agency of British shipping, protected by the British Navy at a -height of power that could keep all other navies at a distance. - -In olden time, when the earth was corrupt and filled with violence, -the word came from on high: "Make thee an ark of gopher wood." And -Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, -prepared an ark, to the saving of his house. But while the ark was -a-preparing, the people went about their business, marrying and giving -in marriage, making small account of the shipbuilder and his craze. -It had been pretty much the same in the twentieth century, when the -British people were warned that another sort of flood was coming, and -that they, too, would need an ark, of material considerably stronger -than gopher wood. They refused to believe in the flood. But it came. It -was bound to come. - -We fought, yes; when it came to the critical hour, we fought for dear -life and liberty--fought hard, fought desperately, but under conditions -that made comparative defeat inevitable. And the fight was for unequal -stakes. To us it was an issue of life or death. To our foes it was -an affair of wounds that would heal. The law of nations, the law of -humanity, itself counted for nothing in that deadly and colossal -struggle. Our merchant ships were sent to the bottom, crews and all. -No advantage of strength or numbers served to inspire magnanimity. It -was a fight, bloody, desperate, and remorseless for the sovereignty of -the seas, a fight to the bitter end. And it was over, for all practical -purposes, in a week. The British Government did not dare to maintain -the struggle any longer. The Navy would have fought on till victory -had been attained or every British warship had been sunk or disabled. -The spirit of the service did credit to both officers and men, for -much had been feared from disaffection. Socialism had crept into the -fleet. Political cheapjacks with their leaflets and promises had sown -discord between officers and men, and here and there had been clear -indications of a mutinous spirit. But when it came to the pinch, one -and all--officers, seamen, and stokers--had manfully done their duty. -Where they were victorious, they were humane. When they were beaten, -they faced the fortune of war, and death itself, with firmness and -discipline. But all in vain as regards the general result. England's -rulers for the time being, alarmed at the accumulating signs of a -crumbling empire, daunted by the popular disturbances that broke out -in London and the provinces, made all haste to negotiate such terms of -peace, and agreed to such an indemnity that the dust of Nelson, and -of Pitt, may well have shivered in their graves. Peace, peace at any -price! was the cry. Peace now, lest a worse thing happen through a -continuance of the struggle. Germany, however, would not have stayed -her hand, and England would have become a conscript province, but for -the daring feat of a little band of Englishmen. Six of them, in the -best equipped air-ship that money could buy, by means of bombs almost -entirely destroyed the enormous works of Messrs. Krupp at Essen. By -this means Germany's resources were so gravely prejudiced that it -suited her to stay her hand for the time being. Out of this act of -retaliation sprang the famous Air-Ship Convention, of which the outcome -will appear presently. - -During these dire events the women had votes, and many of them had -seats in Parliament. Their sex was dominant. They heard the cry of -the children. The men heard the lamentations of the women, and were -unmanned. - -Thus was Great Britain reduced to the level of a third-rate Power--a -downfall not without precedent in the history of the world's great -empires. But sadder even than the accomplished downfall was the fact -that vast numbers of Britons had grown used to the situation, had so -lost the patriotic spirit and fibre of their forefathers that the loss -of race-dominance and of the mighty influence of good which Empire -had sustained, seemed to them of little moment compared with their -immediate individual advantage and petty personal interests. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -ABOARD THE AIR-SHIP. - - -"So you've made the young lady's acquaintance on the river?" remarked -the Judge, looking amusedly at his nephew. - -"Yes," said Linton, "and the President's, ... in the garden." - -"'Youth, youth, how buoyant are thy hopes,'" quoted Sir Robert, -chuckling. - -"And," added the young man, with a slightly heightened colour, which -the gathering dusk failed to conceal, "they've promised me a trip in -their air-boat!" - -Sir Robert groaned. "Air-boats! Wish they'd never been invented." He -flicked away the ash of his cigar and gazed at the first stars faintly -twinkling in the evening sky. They were sitting on the terrace, and the -September air was as balmy as the breath of June. - -"Look!" exclaimed Herrick, springing to his feet, "don't you see one -over yonder?" - -His uncle gazed and nodded. "And just imagine," he said, "what it will -mean when the present law expires and all restrictions are removed. -Everyone will want to be at liberty to 'aviate'; and as a consequence, -we shall want an enormous staff of air-police to control the upper -traffic and check outrage and robbery. I tell you, sir, the world's -going too fast. The thing won't work!" - -"Everything will settle into shape in time," argued Linton, soothingly, -his eyes still following the evolutions of the air-boat with its -twinkling lights. - -"Well, you're young, and may live to see it, but it won't be in my -day," sighed Sir Robert, "and I don't want it to be. Who wants an -air-ship calling for his parlour-maid at the attic window? Who wants -thieves sailing up to his balcony? And as to collapses and collisions -overhead--we've had some of 'em already--and it don't add to the gaiety -of nations or the comfort and security of the peaceful citizen down -below." - -"It'll all come right, sir," said Herrick cheerfully. - -"Perhaps it will and perhaps it won't," was his uncle's comment. -"It's not so much a question of individuals as of nations. How are we -going to regulate international commerce? The fiscal question, like -the Eastern question, will assume a wholly different character. You -may sail a ship, but you can't build custom houses in the air. What -about imports and exports? What about a hundred things that have been -governed hitherto by the broad fact that man and merchandise have only -been able to move about either on sea or land?" - -"She's coming this way," exclaimed the inattentive Herrick. - -The little ship, wonderfully swift and graceful in her motions, was -crossing high above the river, then circled gradually lower and lower, -nearing them, like a bat, at every sweep. - -"There's a lady in her," said the Judge, "perhaps it's Miss Jardine." - -The two men, with the electric lights from the dining-room throwing -their figures into relief, must have been clearly outlined to the -people in the boat. - -"Yes," declared Linton. "I'll hail her. Boat ahoy! is that the -_Bladud_?" - -"Aye, aye," answered a man's voice, and then they thought they heard a -low laugh from the lady in the stern. The boat circled lower and lower. - -"Gently," said the Judge under his breath, "it's the President, it's -Jardine himself, with his daughter." - -"Would anyone like a sail?" came the question from above. - -"Yes, of all things," was Linton's eager reply. - -"She's not built for more than three, or we would offer to take you -too, Sir Robert." - -The Judge had risen to his feet. "Heaven forbid! Much obliged to you -all the same, Mr. President." - -The fans were at work now, assisting in the delicate process of letting -down the boat by slow degrees in the centre of the lawn. She reached -the ground gently and lightly, and Linton and the Judge went forward -and greeted her occupants. Then Linton Herrick stepped aboard, and his -uncle moved clear of the wings. - -The _Bladud_ rose to a height of about 200 feet. Then the elevating -apparatus was switched off, and the boat having circled in a few -ever-widening sweeps, sped away in the direction of London. Until now -the President, who was in charge of the machinery in the fore part of -the boat, had scarcely spoken. Linton sat in the stern beside Zenobia -Jardine, who, so far, also was silent, her attention being required for -the steering gear, with which, however, she seemed perfectly familiar. - -Jardine now explained that the _Bladud_ needed only one-third of her -power for keeping afloat, and two-thirds for propelling her. After -that he became unreservedly communicative. Whether it was due to the -fact of being in the air, instead of upon earth, or to a ready fancy -for the young Canadian, the President showed himself in a character -which seemed to cause his daughter pleased surprise. There was nothing -pompous or self-important in his manner. He talked like a man who is -delighted to get upon his favourite hobby in company with a sympathetic -listener. - -"It's the birds we had to study, the birds in the air," he said. "When -I was about your age I was an engineer, and I used to study birds, -because they gave us the best pattern for an air-ship; it's nature's -own pattern, and you can't beat nature. There's the breast bone, -for instance, provided with a sort of keel to serve as a point of -attachment for the muscles that set the wings in motion. There's the -small head, with a pointed beak, like a ship's bow. Then you've got the -light expanding wings that press like a fan on the elastic air waves. -Those are nature's aeroplanes, Mr. Herrick, and that's the model we've -had to follow. Then there's the tail, tapering off--that's nature's -rudder." - -"We get everything except the feathers," ventured Linton. - -"Feathers are not essential," was the answer. "There are wings of -other sorts. The bat has no feathers. It is fitted with a sort of -umbrella frame from top to toe, so to say, that can be expended when -required for flying. But for an air-ship we get the best model in the -frigate-bird or the albatross--that's what we've aimed at in our newest -aeroplanes." - -"And the best motive power?" queried Linton. - -"The air itself, compressed as we've got it here," said Mr. Jardine, -with decision. "Air can do everything. Nearly a century ago, 'Puffing -Billy,' the primitive locomotive, proved that the adhesion of the -wheels to the rails was sufficient to give drawing power. Everybody -had doubted it. Then everybody doubted whether anything heavier than -air could be sustained and move in air. That's why they wasted money -and lives in ballooning. The fallacy was disproved. We are disproving -it at this very moment. Then came another problem--what was the right -sort of motor? They tried everything. There were endless difficulties -as regards the steam engine. The internal combustion motor was a -remarkable source of power. They used it largely in submarines. It gave -the necessary electrical energy when the vessel was propelled under -the sea. But petrol was not the last word in locomotion. The first and -last power, when you know how to harness it, is the air itself. That's -what we've come to after many false starts and failures. You see, you -get extreme lightness combined with great power. The bursting pressure -and the reduced pressure are all calculated to a nicety per lb. to the -square inch. You can have power that will serve for a toy-ship--say -three-quarters of a minute, for a flight of 200 yards; or you can build -upon the same basis for any size, weight, or distance that can be -required." - -"Isn't it wonderful!" exclaimed his daughter with enthusiasm; and -Linton nodded. "Wonderful, indeed, yet here it is!" - -Her father went on stolidly: "It was proved many years ago that a -flying machine weighing nearly 8,000 lbs., carrying its own engine, -fuel, and passengers, can lift itself into the air. An aeroplane will -always lift a great deal more than a balloon of the same weight." - -"I know," agreed Linton, "and it can travel at a high rate of velocity -with less expenditure of power." - -"Exactly; a well-made screw propeller obtains sufficient grip on the -air to propel an air-boat at almost any speed; the greater the speed -the greater the efficiency of the screw. We are going slowly at this -moment, but I could put her along at 70 miles an hour, if one wanted -to." - -Suiting the action to the word, he did increase the speed very -considerably for a short distance, and conversation had to be -suspended. It was the quickest travelling Linton had yet experienced -in the upper air, and he turned with some anxiety to Zenobia Jardine, -thinking the pace might tax her nerves. She was perfectly calm, -however, and her father set all fears at rest by saying, as he -slackened pace again: - -"The steering with the new gyroscope is almost automatic, just as if -she were a torpedo. Even in a stiff wind she reverts to a horizontal -keel. It is simply like the balancing of a bird." - -"The _Bladud_ is splendid!" cried Linton with conviction. - -"She's hard to beat," was the President's comment. "But, after all, -she's only the natural outcome of the air-gun, which has been known -for generations. An air-gun is shaped like a rifle, with a hollow -boiler or reservoir of power. You force into the reservoir by means of -a condensing syringe as much air-power as it will hold. By opening a -valve a portion of the air escapes into the barrel of the gun. That's -what takes place when you pull the trigger. The released air presses -against the ball just as gunpowder would. Off goes your bullet without -a sound or sign to show that it has been discharged. Air condensed to -1-46th of its bulk gives about half the velocity of gunpowder. It's -precisely the same principle that's firing us through the air at the -present moment." - -"It's a wonderful discovery!" was Linton's comment. - -"Yes," mused Mr. Jardine, "and yet the thing was always there to be -discovered." - -"Just as the air waves were always ready for wireless telegraphy, but -unused till Marconi came along at the beginning of the present century." - -The President looked around him at the star-spangled heavens and drew -in a deep breath: - -"Yes," he said, slowly, "and there are more secrets waiting to be -revealed." - -"There's a professor of chemistry in one of the American universities -who thinks we shall be able to live on air some day," laughed the young -man. - -The President did not laugh. "Why not?" he asked. "We know well enough -we can't live without it. It's quite conceivable that the atmosphere -contains undetected sources of nourishment. They may be generated by -vaporisation or by electricity and chemical action within the air -itself. No one knew anything about ozone a hundred and fifty years ago, -and he would be a rash man who said that ozone is the last word in -atmospheric discovery." - -"It may end in air cakes," suggested Linton, rather flippantly. - -"Or begin with air-cakes and end in air-tabloids," said Zenobia. "What -a glorious idea! Only think how it would simplify housekeeping. Meat, -vegetables, fish, and all the rest, might be superseded, and the -butcher's bill would cease to be a terror." - -"And dyspepsia would be abolished with the weekly bills." - -"Nature, the only universal provider; complete independence of foreign -imports. No starvation and no over-feeding. We should no longer go in -for a big square meal, but for a small round tabloid." - -"Cooks, with all their greasy pots and pans, would not be wanted. You -could carry your meals in your waistcoat pocket and eat them when you -pleased." - -"Yes," agreed Miss Jardine with mock seriousness, "instead of sitting -down to a food function--soup, fish, joint, entrée, pastry and dessert, -as if it were a sort of religious ceremony! The possibilities are -endless." - -"And the prospect glorious!" chimed in the Canadian--then the two -young people, having kept the ball of frivolity rolling to their own -satisfaction, laughed merrily, and even the grim, dark face of the -President relaxed into something like a smile. - -"But there would be rather a sameness in the diet," added Zenobia, -thoughtfully. - -"We could vary it occasionally by harking back to the old fleshpots. -Besides, discovery would lead to discovery. The constituents of the -atmosphere defy the microscope at present, but by and by they may be -seized upon and served up in different forms and combinations for the -nourishment of man." - -"And woman." - -"The greater includes the less. They--oh! I beg your pardon! I was -forgetting. The old order is changed. We live in the Reign of Woman." - -Rather to Linton's surprise, instead of hearing a quick retort, he -thought he heard a low and rather plaintive sigh. - -"Ozone, at any rate, has a special flavour," remarked Mr. Jardine. "It -resembles lobster, and, like lobster, you can have too much of it. But -the plants have always lived on air. Man consumes the flesh of beasts, -but the beasts have built up their flesh by eating grass or plants. -Thus, indirectly, we ourselves live on air already, and draw our -vitality from the atmosphere. Presently we may get it by a shorter cut, -that's all. So your air-cakes and tabloids may really come to pass," -and Mr. Jardine nodded. - -This time there was no laughter, partly because the idea did not seem -so wild, and partly because they were now close to London, and the -wonder of the lighted capital spreading down below was a strange and -solemn thing to look upon. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE STAR OF LIFE. - - -The _Bladud_ passed swiftly over Paddington Station, and followed the -line of the Edgware Road to the Marble Arch. The incessant roar of -the traffic below reached their ears, and it was a relief to get over -the great, far-spreading Park--silent and only faintly lighted by the -scattered lamps. To the left, Park Lane had a gloomy look. The famous -residences of the wealthy, like hundreds of great London mansions in -the neighbouring squares, were untenanted. People could not afford to -live in such palaces nowadays; the governing bodies of the capital had -done their best to ruin it by Socialistic experiments and over-rating. - -At Hyde Park Corner, which was soon reached, once more the tumult of -the traffic rose into the air, and the long lines of electric lamps -stretching eastward along Piccadilly, gave the impression of an -enormous glittering serpent down below. They followed the route to -Piccadilly Circus, where the blaze of lights and the swiftly changing -units in the thoroughfares produced an effect that, seen for the first -time by Linton Herrick, held him in a sort of fascination. Trafalgar -Square and the Strand produced the same bewildering characteristics, -and to the right the effect conveyed by the illuminated bridges was -marvellously beautiful. The _Bladud_ circled widely so that Linton -might take his fill of the spectacle. Then Mr. Jardine headed her -eastward again, and for awhile the streets below lay gloomy and silent -until they had crossed the City. Soon the lights of the Commercial -Road and Whitechapel outlined the great thoroughfares of the East -End, while in every direction branch streams of flaring, smoky light -showed where the hawkers and hucksters plied their evening trade. -They had sailed over the Isle of Dogs and Greenwich Reach before the -President put the boat about; then in the distance, like a lighthouse, -the great clock towering over the Houses of Parliament came into view, -the dial shining like a huge, dull moon. In these days it was always -illuminated, whether the House were sitting or in recess. - -"Look!" exclaimed Zenobia, suddenly. - -Away in the heart of Southwark huge flames were shooting into the air, -and monstrous clouds of woolly looking smoke rolled slowly from above a -conflagration. - -"A fire," said Mr. Jardine, "and a big one, too. We'll have a look at -it." - -"Not too close, father," said his daughter, for the first time showing -nervousness. - -"Keep her to windward," said Mr. Jardine, slowing down a little, and -the girl obeyed. Vast showers of sparks rose into the air; they heard -the hiss and splash of water, and the pant-pant of half a dozen fire -engines as they played upon the burning buildings. The lights shone on -the helmets of the firemen--clambering here and there on the roofs of -towering warehouses, and dense masses of people seemed to be packed -into the streets, on whose pallid, upturned faces the lights produced a -strangely weird effect. - -The sight below seemed full of awe and terror. Presently, a sudden gust -of wind changed the direction of the smoke column and brought a volley -of sparks over the _Bladud_. - -"Hard a-port!" cried Mr. Jardine, "we'll get out of this." - -In a moment they had veered away from the scene of the conflagration, -and were crossing first the river, then Cannon Street, almost at full -speed. The fans were set to work, and they rose to a greater altitude -to avoid all risk of colliding with church towers and steeples. A dark, -domed mass took shape a hundred feet away, and over it the great cross -of St. Paul's loomed for an instant into view; a train with faces -showing against the lighted windows, crawled across the railway bridge -at the foot of Ludgate Hill; and far away in the West the gleam of -another fire lighted up the sky with a sudden threatening glare. - -From below there now arose the piteous bellowing of cattle. They were -passing over the huge markets in Smithfield, and the shouts of the -drovers blended with the noise made by the doomed and harried beasts, -whose flesh was to feed London on the morrow. Soon another long row of -lights revealed Southampton Row, running straight, as it seemed, from -Kingsway to Euston. The station clock showed that it was nearly ten. -They swept over the quiet West Central squares, over the Euston Road -and Regent's Park, and so onward and away, until the huddled dwellings -of the capital gave place to suburbs, dark roads, and silent fields. - -Linton, through the later sights and sounds of the night, was conscious -of being in a sort of dream; and in the dream the girl by his side -was the principal, nay, the only figure save his own. The end of a -light scarf that was round her neck blew across his face; the sway -of the _Bladud_ brought her arm against his own, and each slight -contact seemed to thrill him. Once or twice he glanced at her face, -almost inquiringly; for now he had the oddest feeling that she was no -stranger; that in reality they knew each other and had only met again; -that in the past, somehow, somewhere he knew not when, there had been a -kinship or a tie between them. From the first moment of their meeting -she had interested and attracted him. Of that he was well aware. -But not until they sat side by side in this aerial journey had the -impression of which he was now conscious crept into his mind or memory. -What could it mean? That strange exhilaration of the upper air, the -quickening of imagination, wrought by their rapid travelling high above -the solid earth and all its limitations, perhaps might account in some -degree for the puzzling feeling that possessed him. He glanced at her -again; their eyes met, and in hers he read, or fancied that he read, a -telepathic answer to his thoughts. - -Suddenly he found himself repeating, as if with better understanding, -lines that always lingered in his memory: - - "Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; - The soul that rises with us, our life's star, - Hath had elsewhere its setting, - And cometh from afar." - -"How odd," murmured the girl in a wondering voice, "the very lines that -I was thinking of," and in low tones she finished the quotation: - - "O joy, that in our embers - Is something that doth live; - That nature yet remembers, - What was so fugitive!" - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -A THREE-FOLD PLEDGE. - - -All through the following day the deep impressions of the previous -evening held Linton as one is held by the memory of some haunting -and impressive dream. Everything down below seemed insignificant -and irrelevant. They were dining out that evening, and he could -not shake off the feeling that in everything connected with that -ordinary function he was playing the part of a small automaton on a -puppet stage. He and his fellow-puppet, Sir Robert, got into a little -motor-car and rushed over five miles of little roads, between two -little hedges, to General Hartwell's little bungalow. Presently, they -were sitting round a little white-covered table, cutting up food with -little implements, and taking little sips out of little glasses. How -wise and important they thought themselves in the midst of all these -little things; how self-satisfied everyone appeared! There were four of -them at the dinner-table, the third guest being Major Edgar Wardlaw, -of the Sappers, a man to whom their host showed great deference and -affection. Wardlaw talked but little; the look in his eyes and the -lines on his broad, fair forehead suggested concentration of thought on -some problem remote from those which the others were discussing. - -The General himself did most of the talking. He was a woman-hater, that -is to say, a hater of woman in the abstract. To the individual woman he -was gentleness and kindness itself. But rumours of a new and daring -forward movement by the Vice-President of the Council and her party -had roused the veteran to a pitch of extraordinary resentment. It was -said that Lady Catherine contemplated forming a regiment of Amazons in -the Twentieth Century! It was monstrous. The General boiled over with -disgust and indignation. His language at times became absolutely lurid. - -"A devilish nice pass we've come to at last," he growled. Then he -seemed to be vainly ransacking his vocabulary for strong language, and -gulped down his wine in default of finding an adequate objurgation. The -judge laughed with gentle amusement at his fiery old friend. - -"It's all very well to laugh, Herrick, but, damme, sir, it's the last -straw, it's the last straw!" roared the General. - -"Just what we've been wanting," said Sir Robert, calmly. - -"Eh, what d'ye mean?" General Hartwell stared. - -"When people get the last straw laid on, they can't stand any more. So -now's the time for the worm to turn." - -"You're right! By gad, you're right! But how's the worm going to manage -it?" cried the old officer, leaning back. - -The judge fingered the stem of his wine glass and gazed thoughtfully -at the table-cloth. Major Wardlaw turned his gaze on him as if -suddenly recalled from the regions of mental speculation. Linton, also -self-absorbed as yet, began to listen and to wonder. - -"You have strong views about women. You don't exactly love the sex," -said the Judge. - -"How can a man love 'em when he sees the mischief they've done by -their ambitions and pertinacity?" demanded the General. - -"My dear fellow, you are too sweeping. They're not all alike. There are -plenty of good women left in the world." - -"Show me where they are, then! I don't say they all set out to break -the Ten Commandments. But it's their love of power, their restless -ambitions, their confounded unreasonableness, that have played the -deuce with us. They want to rule the world, sir, and they weren't meant -for it, and it's not good for them, and they know it!" - -They all laughed at the General's vehemence, and extending a wrinkled -forefinger, he went on, with unabated powers of declamation: - -"Men ought to have nipped it in the bud, that's what they ought to have -done. Instead of which we gave place to their insidious aggressions. -We gave 'em an inch and they took an ell. We gave 'em the whip hand, -and they weren't content with it in little things. By heaven, they're -chastising us with scorpions. And there'll be the devil to pay before -we can put 'em back in their proper place. But, mark you, it'll have to -be done, if we want to call our souls our own, it'll have to be done. -Why! my blood boils when I think of the misery shrewish, self-willed -women have inflicted on some of the best fellows in the world. I know -cases. I've seen it done among my old friends. I knew a man, he was a -retired Colonel with a splendid record. What do you think? His scold -of a wife used to send him out to buy cream for the apple-tart. It's -not always the wife. Sometimes it's the mother-in-law. Sometimes it's -a sister. Now and then it's a daughter. I know an old school-fellow, -a parson; the poor beggar has three plain sisters quartered on him; -great, gaunt women who talk about 'dear Robert,' and badger dear -Robert out of his life. His only happy moment is when they're all gone -to bed. He'd like to marry; but he's too soft-hearted to send 'em about -their business. I tell you the man's afraid. I know another fellow, too -... but there--what's the good of talking!" - -Major Wardlaw was raising from his seat. - -"Excuse me for two minutes, General!" - -"Yes, yes, to be sure," assented his host, and when the Major had -closed the door behind him, he dropped his voice and leaned across the -table. - -"Now there's a man! The best engineer the British army has produced -for thirty years. That man, sir, designed the great fort they built at -Dover to guard the Channel Tunnel. He's got a big brain and a great -heart, but in one way he's shown himself a fool. What does he do but -go and marry a garrison flirt, sir, a little thing with a pretty -face and fluffy hair, and the tongue of a viper. The poison of asps -was under her lips. I can tell you she led Wardlaw a life. Now she's -dead and gone, and I do believe he's sorry! He worships the child she -left him,--little Miss Flossie. She's upstairs at the present moment. -Wardlaw's gone to say good-night to her. He worships the ground she -walks on, and that child takes it all for granted. By heaven! she -orders him about. She's got her mother's blue eyes and fluffy hair, and -I'd wager she's got her temper too. By-and-by she'll lead her father a -pretty dance. He wouldn't come here to stay with me--and, mind you, I'm -his oldest friend,--no, he wouldn't come without Miss Flossie. Oh these -women! By heaven, they raise my gorge." - -"My dear Hartwell," said the Judge, calmly, "You go too far. You're -prejudiced...." - -"Prejudiced!" exclaimed the General, "were Thackeray and Dickens -prejudiced? Look at Becky Sharpe and the way she treated that big -affectionate booby, Rawdon Crawley. Look at that girl Blanche Amory, -the little plotter who ran after Pendennis. And if you come to Dickens, -what about Rosa Dartle,--a woman as venomous as a serpent!" - -"Types, my dear fellow, types; but not a universal type." - -"There's lots more like 'em," nodded the General. - -"And many more unlike them. You see, we old fogeys...." - -"Fogeys, by gad! Speak for yourself, Herrick." - -"I do," said the Judge, "it isn't that I feel like a fogey any more -than you do. It's the label that the world insists on fastening on men -of our age, and it is apt to make us feel bitter. We're supposed to -have had our time and finished it. It's not what we feel, Hartwell, -it's what we look that settles it, and I'm afraid, my dear fellow, -sometimes when our hair turns grey our tempers turn bitter. It's the -way of the world...." - -"It's the way of the women, I grant you." - -"Come, come, let us leave the women alone for a bit. They've brought -things to a crisis. It's the last straw. Well and good. Doesn't that -suggest an opportunity?" - -"Now, you know, you've got something in your lawyer's head. Come, man, -what the deuce are you driving at?" - -"We haven't drunk Renshaw's health yet," said the Judge with apparent -irrelevance. They rose and raised their glasses. Linton--who had taken -no part in the recent discussion--now watched his uncle expectantly. -"Renshaw, God bless him! and bring him back to England!" - -"By the way," said Sir Robert, casually, as they resumed their seats, -"is Wardlaw with us?" - -The General, who had taken his old friend's lecture in good part, -nodded: "Of course he is. Isn't nearly every man, in both services? Do -you suppose we want an army of Amazons armed with lethal weapons to -keep in order?" - -"What about the Corps of Commissionaires?" - -"Being their Commander, I ought to know. Seventy per cent. of 'em, at -least, are dead against petticoat government. They're good chaps, and -they've seen good service. They don't like the way the country is being -run any more than you or I do. You take my word for that." - -The Judge mused for a moment, tipping the ash from his cigar. - -"What about the old Household troops?" he asked. - -"Same story. But what can we do without a leader in Parliament? and -suppose, after all, poor Renshaw is dead?" - -Sir Robert Herrick suddenly abandoned his careless bearing, threw -away his cigar, and took from his pocket a letter written on foreign -notepaper. "Listen," he said, "both of you," and lowering his voice, -he read the letter, slowly and distinctly so that every word was -understood. Then he twisted it into a spill and burnt it bit by bit. -They sat for a few moments in silence. - -Then from the General, whose fierce little eyes seemed starting from -his head under the bristling white eyebrows, there came a sort of -gasping exclamation: "God bless my soul! Why not?" Then, after a pause, -dropping into the familiar style of their early days: "You know, Bob, -there's risk in it. I'm with you to the last. I'm with you; but there's -risk in it, we must remember that." - -"Yes, there's risk in it," answered Sir Robert, gravely. "We must -count the cost. But the risk and the cost are not half what they were -in other days, when men were ready to die for their country and their -cause. If Tower Hill could talk it could tell many a tale of men who -were faithful unto death. If the block could unfold its secrets; if -the red axe could speak, there'd be some stern lessons for modern men -to ponder on. Did you ever read how Balmerino faced the headsman after -Culloden? Come what may, we shouldn't have to face the axe, Hartwell." - -"Hanging would be no improvement," growled the General. "Still, mind -this, I'm with you heart and soul, if we can work it out." - -"I don't think we should have to face the hangman either," said the -Judge quietly. "We might, perhaps, have to spend the evening of our -days behind prison bars. Even that is doubtful. Nothing succeeds like -success. What's treason under one rule becomes loyalty under another. -History has illustrated that over and over again?" - -"What age would Renshaw be by this time?" - -"Why, not forty, even after ten years' captivity. He is the only man -who can bring back the ancient glory and prestige of the Kingdom. -Once in our midst, the people will rally round him with enthusiastic -loyalty. If well organised, it will be a bloodless revolution, -Hartwell, a glorious and thankful reversion to the old system of man's -government for man and woman. It is best suited to the British nation. -We've tried something else and it's proved a failure." - -"A d----d failure," agreed the General, heartily. - -"We've given way to cranks and noisy, shrill-voiced women; to vapouring -politicians; to socialism and all the other isms. We had a notion -that we could ante-date the millennium and work the scheme of national -life according to ideas of equality and uniformity. It can't be done. -Experience proves that anomalies work well when logical systems fail. -It's a conceited age, a puffed up generation. We are not really wiser -than our fathers, though we think we are. Let us try to revert to first -principles." - -"I'm your man, heart and soul," said General Hartwell, and the two old -friends grasped hands across the table. - -"I knew you would be!" There was a shine as of tears in the Judge's -eyes. "But you and I can't work this thing alone. We must have -colleagues; not many, but some, or at least one," and he looked at -Linton Herrick. - -"I'm with you too, sir," said the young man simply, "show me the way, -that's all." - -"We three alone at present, with loyal hearts and silent tongues," said -Sir Robert, gravely. - -"The Three Musketeers!" ventured Linton. - -"By Jove, yes," agreed the old officer. - -"And we undertake everything that serves the State," added Sir Robert, -solemnly. They rose by mutual understanding and clinked their glasses. - -"All for one! and one for all!" they cried with one accord. - -And Major Wardlaw, opening the door at that moment, stared amazed. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE REVOLT OF WOMAN. - - -England was agitated by two items of the latest intelligence. The same -journal which announced the sudden and serious illness of President -Jardine also recorded a bold move in the campaign of the Lady Catherine -Kellick, Vice-President of the Council of State. Enormous interest was -roused, not so much by the advertised notice of a public meeting on -affairs of State, as by the rumours of its real object. Ostensibly, -the people of London were invited, so far as the accommodation of the -Queen's Hall would permit, to hear a statement as to the position -of public affairs and to consider questions of national importance. -But it was well understood that the real aim of the convener of the -meeting was to strengthen her grip on the helm of State by means of her -rumoured forward policy, in the interests of the sex which she claimed -to represent. - -Long before the hour fixed for the meeting, multitudes of people of -both sexes approached Langham Place by every converging avenue. The -doors of the Hall were besieged by an enormous concourse, and the -police on duty soon found themselves entirely powerless to preserve -order. As evening approached, the crowd became more and more dense, -extending southward far into Regent Street, and northward into Portland -Place. Every window in the Langham Hotel was crowded with wondering -visitors, looking down upon the immense assembly, from which rose -angry shouts as mounted constables forced their horses through the -outskirts of the crowd in the vain effort to keep the people on the -move. When darkness rendered the situation still more dangerous, urgent -representations were made to the managers of the Hall, and the doors -were suddenly thrown open. A wild yell of relief or eagerness rose -from thousands of throats, and a scene of indescribable violence and -confusion followed, as men and woman pushed, struggled, and fought -their way towards the entrances. In a few moments every seat had been -seized, every inch of standing room occupied. The attempts of the -attendants to attend to the angry demands of those who held tickets -for reserved seats were absolutely futile. Every gangway was blocked -by pushing and struggling humanity, and those who, alarmed by such -a condition of things, sought to force their way out were prevented -from doing so by the swarms of people who were already wedged in the -corridors. - -A babel of voices arose on every side, but at length the audience was -weeded out to some extent, and the great numbers that remained settled -down in patient expectation, solaced, after a time, by the music of -the grand organ and the singing of the songs and choruses. Tier after -tier at the back of the platform, usually occupied by musicians, had -been reserved for Members of Parliament and officials of State. Not one -seat was vacant save the chair of the Vice-President. When the hour -appointed for the meeting struck on the clocks of the neighbouring -churches, there was a great clapping of hands, and an excited waving of -hats and handkerchiefs. A tall thin figure, wearing a flowing robe of -scarlet, now advanced from the right-hand side of the platform, and, on -emerging from behind the rows of palms and ferns, came into full view -of the audience. - -Although she had become so great a power in England, the Vice-President -was only known by means of pictures and photographs to a great number -of those who were present. They gazed at her with wonder and interest. -There was character in every line of her face. Her grey hair, swept -back from the broad low brow, made her look older than her actual -years. Her eyes were rather prominent and staring. The upper lip was so -long as to betoken a marked degree of obstinacy, and her chin, square -and firm, with the flesh bagging a little on either side, accentuated -the general indications of hardness. - -When she spoke, her greatest charm was made known. Her voice was -excellent, it had that kind of purring intonation which reminded some -of the older people of the celebrated actress Sarah Bernhardt; her -friends said that it was partly because of the "purr" that she had -acquired the popular nickname of "Lady Cat." - -There were no formal preliminaries. Raising her hand for silence, she -began to speak, and her first sentence was well chosen and arresting: - -"The Amazon is the greatest river in the world!" - -Puzzled glances were exchanged, and here and there was heard a -wondering titter. Were they in for a lecture on geography? - -The speaker went on without a pause, and swiftly undeceived them: - -"The Amazon flows from the Andes with such stupendous force, in such -enormous volume, that its waters are carried unmixed into the Atlantic -Ocean." - -They now had a dim idea of what was coming, and the impression was -speedily confirmed: - -"There are other mighty forces in the world besides that river, and I -for one, speaking for the sex to which I belong, would glory in the -name of Amazon. Call us Amazons, if you will. Let those laugh who win; -women are winning all along the line!" - -Shrill applause went up from hundreds of women in the audience. The -men, in a minority, were silent and uneasy. - -"The time has come for facing facts, for examining claims and titles. -Man's title to be Lord of Creation is full of flaws, and we dispute it." - -Frantic cheers and handkerchief-waving came from the women; a few deep -groans from the men. - -"It is no use trusting to recent history. The men by force and fraud -got into possession of all the good things, all the power that life -has to offer, and thousands of us have meekly acquiesced. If you are -content to be regarded as the weaker vessel, if it satisfies you to be -compared with men as water is compared with wine, or moonlight unto -sunlight, be it so; we who are wiser must leave you to your fate. But -some of us have already advanced a stage or two towards the position we -claim rightfully as our own. Yet, you women of England, mark this, the -stages already covered are nothing to what we can and will achieve." - -Excited applause for a few minutes prevented the speaker from -proceeding. A fierce disturbance broke out at the back of the Hall, but -was promptly quelled. - -"One thing all men and women here to-night must realise. There cannot -be two Kings in Brentford, no, nor a King and Queen. Of the two sexes, -one alone can reign. Which shall it be?" - -Shrill cries of "ours, ours!" broke from the speaker's supporters. - -"Yes," she cried triumphantly, "our turn has come at last; it _shall_ -be ours, if women only stand to their guns. But there can be no halting -half way. Forward or Retreat!" - -"Forward, Forward!" came from the now enthusiastic audience, with eager -cheers and shouts, and again the cry went up: "Forward, one and all." - -"Forward let it be. But, remember, the race will be to the swift and -the battle to the strong. To-night I call you to arms. To-night I -remind you that among the ancient races of the world there were women -who set us the example that we need. The story of the Amazons of old is -no fable. They lived--they fought for supremacy. They won it and they -held it. So can we!" - -Tumultuous cries, blended now with angry hisses from the men, disturbed -the meeting. But so great was the ascendency which the Vice-President -already had acquired over most of her hearers, that a wave of her -hand stilled the uproar, and she was enabled to proceed. At the same -moment, on a screen at the back of the platform, was thrown a startling -life-sized picture of an Amazonian warrior: - -"Behold!" cried the orator, grasping the dramatic moment and extending -her arm, "Behold Thalestris--Queen of the Amazons!" - -For an instant the vast audience paused--surprised, staring, almost -bewildered. - -"You are asking yourselves who was Thalestris," the speaker continued. -"The Amazons founded a state in Asia Minor on the coast of the Black -Sea. Herodotus will tell you how they fought with the Greeks; how they -hunted in the field and marched with the Scythians to battle. Well, -Thalestris became their Queen. They styled her the daughter of Mars. -She set the men to spin wool and do the work of the house. The women -went to the wars, and the men stayed at home and employed themselves in -those mean offices which in this country have been forced upon our sex. -The Amazons went from strength to strength; they built cities, erected -palaces, and created an empire. And there were other Amazonian nations. -All of them acted on the same principle. The women kept the public -offices and the magistracy in their own hands. Husbands submitted to -the authority of their wives. They were not encouraged, or allowed, to -throw off the yoke. The women, in order to maintain their authority, -cultivated every art of war. For this is certain--all history proves -it: force is the ultimate remedy in all things. That was why the -Amazons of old learnt how to draw the bow and throw the javelin." - -"For shame! for shame!" roared a man's voice from the balcony. - -"There is plenty of cause for shame," was the speaker's swift retort, -"but the shame is on the men, the swaggering, bullying, self-sufficient -men who in times past held women in subjection. Why, there were men in -England not so very long ago who would put a halter round a wife's neck -and bring her into open market, for sale to the highest bidder. It used -to be the law of England that men might chastise their wives with a rod -of specified dimensions...." - -"We don't do it now," shouted the same voice. - -"No! because you cannot and you dare not. It used to be said that there -was one law for the rich and another law for the poor. But it was -always a much more glaring truth that there was one law for men and -another law for women. It was so in the Divorce Court until we women -altered it. It was so in respect of the results of what was called a -lapse from virtue, and we are going to alter that. It was so in regard -to votes and representation, and you know we have changed all that!" -Loud and vehement applause from the majority of the audience greeted -this allusion to the suffrage. - -"More than half the nation is no longer disenfranchised. But we must -not rest content. Like Alexander, we seek more worlds to conquer, and -conquest will be ours. While women have grown, men have shrivelled. -Athletic exercise and a freer and more varied life have given our -women thews and sinews. But the men are decadent, degenerates who have -led indolent, self-indulgent lives. They have given up the Battle of -Life. Thousands of them are as enfeebled in body as in intellect. We -see around us an undeveloped, puny, stunted race. What? Call these -creatures men? I tell you they are not men, they are only mannikins!" - -Immense uproar broke out again in every part of the heated, crowded -building. When it was subdued, the speaker resumed in scornful tones: - -"Better masculine women than effeminate men! Better the Amazon than -the mannikin! Read the story of Boadicea, of Joan of Arc, and of Joan -of Montfort! Read what history will tell you about Margaret of Anjou! -Worthy successors were they of the Amazons of the Caucasus and the -Amazons of America, the noble women who gave their name to the greatest -river in the world. Like the women of old, let the Amazons of the -present century--the Amazons of England--learn to arm, and learn to -fight." - -There was a moment's pause. Then the Vice-President, in tones now -piercing and tremulous, cried out: - -"Who will join the First Regiment of the Amazons of England?" - -The electrified audience saw the speaker raise her hand, and at the -signal twenty girls in smart military uniform marched on to the -platform, saluted, and stood at attention. Each Amazon's hair was cut -short, but not too short to be frizzed. On each small head was worn a -helmet like that of Thalestris. The braided tunic was buttoned from -shoulder to shoulder in the Napoleonic style, and the two rows of gilt -buttons narrowed down to the bright leather belt that encircled the -waist. "Bloomers" completed the costume, and a light cutlass and a -revolver furnished each Amazon's warlike equipment. - -Laughter, applause, and shouted comments greeted the entrance of the -girl-soldiers. It became a scene of indescribable confusion. - -Then once more the Vice-President vehemently appealed to the audience: - -"Who will join the Amazons of England?" - -Shouts of "I will, I will!" came, first, from the body of the hall; -then from every part of the building, until, at last, the women seemed -to answer in a perfect scream of eagerness. Many minutes passed before -silence was restored. Then it was announced that all recruits could -give in their names as they left the hall, and the Vice-President went -on to move in formal terms a resolution declaring that this meeting was -firmly persuaded that the cause of the nation and of woman required -that the women of England should take up arms, and pledged itself, -first, to support the establishment of a new body of militia to be -recruited from the ranks of the young women of England; and, secondly, -to claim from the State the same rate of pay that hitherto had been -paid to men alone. - -A thin young woman with hectic cheeks and excited manner sprang to her -feet on the right of the platform and seconded the motion. She only -made one point, but it went home. "I'll ask you one question," she -exclaimed, in tones so shrill that here and there a laugh broke out: -"Are we inferior to poor Tommy Atkins?" - -The aggregate answer was so ready and so violent a negative that the -opposing element was momentarily subdued. Storms of applause broke out -as she resumed her seat. - -But with equal readiness another speaker was on her feet on the other -side of the platform. In clear high tones her voice rang out over the -noisy assembly: "I oppose it!" - -Another storm--a storm of remonstrance now arose. Cries of "Shame, -shame," were hurled towards the platform. Then, as some of the audience -recognized the new speaker, they exclaimed to the people near them: -"It's the President's daughter! It's Zenobia Jardine!" - -"Order, order!" roared a minority of the audience, now somewhat -encouraged, and in a few minutes, while Zenobia waited--her eyes -bright, her lips firmly set--order was secured. The Vice-President had -sat down. She looked at her young opponent with no friendly eye, taking -no trouble to secure her a quiet hearing. But there was a section of -the audience that had only waited for a champion, and meant to see fair -play. - -"I oppose it," repeated Zenobia, "because I believe that to arm women -and train them to fight will be a mad and wicked act. It would mean -a return to barbarism. It would be adding a monstrous climax to the -progress of a great cause. Instead of being the final exaltation of our -sex, it would lead to our political extinction and our ruin. Let us -have none of it." - -The Vice-President's face wore a wicked look, and her thin lips -tightened as this appeal drew a loud cheer from the men and from a -certain number of the women in the excited audience. - -"It has been said that the empire of women is an empire of softness, of -address. Her commands are caresses, her menaces are tears!" - -"No! No!" came from the throats of the Vice-President's supporters. The -Vice-President herself arose. - -"Will the speaker favour us with the authority for her quotations?" she -asked in loud and cutting tones. - -"Rousseau...." began Zenobia nervously. - -"An effeminate authority indeed!" exclaimed the Vice-President. "We are -not all in love" she added sneeringly. - -She seemed for the moment to have won the audience back to her cause. -But Zenobia was not beaten. - -"Very well!" she cried, "I will give you an English author. Doctor -Johnson, at least, was not effeminate. What did he say? 'The character -of the ancient Amazons was terrible, rather than lovely. The hand could -not be very delicate that was only employed in directing the bow and -brandishing the battle-axe. Their power was maintained by cruelty; -their courage was deformed by ferocity'.... Besides, the whole thing's -impossible." Conflicting cries broke out in every quarter, and the rest -of the sentence became wholly inaudible. There was a slight lull when -the Vice-President rose and raised her hand. - -"Is it your pleasure that this lady be heard further?" she demanded. -The hint received a ready response, and shrieks of "No, no!" drowned -the protests of the minority. In a moment, the Vice-President put her -resolution and called for a show of hands. In another moment, she had -declared the motion carried by an overwhelming majority. - -At a sign, the organ gave forth a trumpet note, and then burst into a -rushing volume of sound, which drowned all cries and counter-cries, and -ended the meeting in a scene of unexampled tumult and excitement. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE PRICE OF POWER. - - -After the great and epoch-making meeting in Queen's Hall, the disturbed -state of public feeling was accentuated. It was generally felt that -the sex-conflict which the revolt of woman had brought about now was -shaping towards some new and startling climax. A crisis was at hand. -Moreover, at the same time, the appearance and rapid development of a -serious and unfamiliar epidemic created widespread alarm. - -At first people had laughed at the "new disease," but the laughter was -shortlived--like great numbers of those whom the epidemic attacked. -Harley Street described it professionally as a recrudescence of _plica -polonica_; and just as at an earlier period people had contracted -influenza into "the flue," they now went about asking each other how -about the "plic." It was a malady which at one time had prevailed -extensively in Poland, and but little doubt could be felt that it had -now been introduced into England by the Polish Jews, whose alien colony -in Whitechapel and other parts of the East End had attained enormous -proportions. The peculiar feature of the plic. was that it attacked -the hair of the head, matting it together and twisting it in hard -knots, to touch which caused the most exquisite pain; this symptom was -often accompanied with manifestations of acute nervous disorder. The -patient speedily became feverish, and in most instances showed signs -of derangement in the functions of the brain. As the malady developed -sleep was banished, or, when obtained, would be disturbed by dreadful -dreams. Profound depression weighed upon the spirits, and the bare -sight of food and drink excited strong repulsion. Gouty pains in arms -and legs caused acute agony to some of the sufferers, and in many cases -there were fits of giddiness and an affection of the optic nerve that -produced temporary blindness. - -The disease more often than not proved fatal. Physicians were at a loss -for radical cures, and a course of thermal baths was found to be the -most efficacious palliative that the faculty could recommend. Under the -advice of Harley Street, great numbers of patients, in the early stages -of the disease, flocked to Bath for the water-cure. Not since the -days of the Georges had the famous city of the west harboured so many -afflicted visitors. Every hotel was crowded from basement to attic. The -lodging-house keepers exacted monstrous prices for the most indifferent -accommodation. Local doctors drove a roaring trade, and every other -woman in the street seemed to wear the familiar garb of the hospital -nurse. - -Among the distinguished persons who had been advised to have recourse -to the healing properties of the famous baths was the foremost man, -officially speaking, in the country. Nicholas Jardine was declared to -be suffering from a severe attack of the prevailing epidemic, and the -papers announced that the President would at the earliest possible -moment leave London for Bath. - -This intelligence caused far more anxiety throughout the country -than might have been anticipated. It was not that the President was -particularly beloved, but that among a large section of the community -the Vice-President was distinctly unpopular. Her ambitions and the -determination of her character were well known. Hence the prevailing -apprehensions. What might not Lady Cat accomplish in the temporary -absence of the President? And, worse still, what might not she dare and -do, as the champion and inciter of woman, if the head of the Government -should die? - -The instrument of Government provided that supreme executive authority -should be vested in one person--the President, or his deputy for -the time being, in conjunction with the Commons in Parliament -assembled. The functions of the Lords had long since been abrogated. -The President, or his deputy, in the circumstances stated, with the -assistance of the members of the Committee or Council of State, had -the fullest powers as the executive, and, in effect, presided over the -destinies of the nation. - -From the President the judiciaries and magistrates derived their -honours and emoluments. In him was vested civil command of the national -forces both by sea and land. With the sanction of the Council, he could -maintain peace or declare war. These powers were to some extent checked -by the enactment that no law of the realm could be repealed, suspended, -or amended without the consent of Parliament; but in Parliament the -Vice-President had powerful support. - -In the event of the death of the President, the other members of the -Council could immediately nominate his successor. It was well known -that the "Cat" had striven to ally herself in marriage with Nicholas -Jardine, with the object, as most people believed, of indirectly -grasping the reins of Government. It was known also that, foiled in -that design, she treasured feelings of animosity against the President -and his daughter. What, then, would be likely to limit her revenge or -curb her ambition if an opportunity like the present could be made to -serve her purpose? - -It was widely felt that a crisis impended; that events of dark -and threatening character were shaping for some great struggle or -convulsion, the issue of which no one could foresee. The men of -England, though in the course of years they had yielded inch by inch -before the persistent aggression of the other sex, were not wholly -forgetful of their past, nor blind to the possibilities of the future. -The more virile among them remained rebels against woman's dominion, -struggling, like strong but despairing swimmers, against the rushing -tide that was sweeping them away. But such men were in a notable -minority. Vast numbers seemed to have lapsed without resistance, if -not without reluctance, into the position of underlings. Relieved of -various responsibilities, they acquiesced in the position which the -other sex had gradually assumed. They had grown lazy and half-hearted. -With a shrug of the shoulders they accepted the widely-held dictum that -their own sex was decadent. In point of numbers that was beyond denial. -The entire birth rate of the country had fallen, year after year, but -more notable than that was the emphasis given to the dominant note of -the age by a steady diminution in the percentage of new-born males. - -The more vital question arose, what view would the women themselves -take of any new departure on the part of their leading representative -in the Councils of the State? But such a question could not readily -be answered. It might be hazarded that most of those who had displaced -the male competitor or who were already in the way of promotion, would -be for holding the ground and making any further bid for supremacy -that occasion should suggest. But still there were known to be great -numbers, patient and, so far, inarticulate women, who viewed the -existing state of things with deep regret, and anticipated the future -with positive alarm. If the men and the women were in opposite camps, -"the sex" undoubtedly was divided in sentiment; for the change of the -old order of things had brought many developments that told against the -grace and charm of woman's life. - -She had gained something; but she had lost more. The protective -character which in former times man had felt bound in honour to assume -for the benefit of the weaker vessel had been largely discarded. -Chivalrous feelings were blunted by the competition in which woman had -engaged with man. If the grey mare was bent on being the better horse, -she must accept the conditions of the competition. However reasonable -and welcome this might seem to the mature or hardened woman, it was -far from agreeable to the young and charming girl. For still there -were charming girls in England, girls who wanted to be wooed and won; -girls whose hearts fluttered at the sound of a certain footstep; girls -who did not want to rule their lovers, but to lean on them; girls to -whom romance was the spice of life. Such girls as these, and it was -whispered that they grew in numbers, shrank from the harsh conflict of -the battle of life, in which it seemed to be expected that each and -all would readily engage. They found in the open doors of professional -business or political life inadequate compensation for the deference, -tenderness, and delicate consideration which had been accorded by men -to earlier generations of women. The Forward faction with their facts -and figures, could count on great numbers of adherents. But certainly -there were others, and perhaps the best and sweetest in the world of -women, who looked with growing distaste and resentment upon the leaders -who had brought the business and the pleasures of life to such a pass. - -There was one English girl who, in the trouble that had come upon her -by reason of her father's illness, discovered and pondered on these -momentous questions. What would it profit a woman to force herself out -of her ordained place in the plan of creation? And what should she give -in exchange for that submissive tender love of wife for husband which -the Sacred Book declared to be the law of God? - -Zenobia Jardine, turning for the first time to the Bible, pondered over -mysterious passages of the early Scriptures, which came to her with all -the greater force because they had not been weakened by parrot-like -familiarity. It was a revelation. Historical or allegorical--regarded -either way--the story of the Garden of Eden and the first parents of -the human race was imperishable in its power and significance. Therein -lay the true lesson of life. The waves of the centuries had vainly -surged around it. Like pygmies biting on the rock, the newest of new -theologists, and the latest of scientific discoverers, had left the -rock still standing, impregnable in its eternal strength. The voice -that spake to the woman in the garden seemed to be speaking still: -"What is this that thou hast done?" And the woman's answer was: "The -serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." The enmity that had sprung from -that far-off and typical wrong-doing was bearing bitter fruit. The -bruising of the heel had been renewed through all the history of man -and woman. The woman now was bruised in her affections. - -In the Homeric story, Thetis took her son Achilles by the heel and -dipped him in the river Styx to make the boy invulnerable. The water -covered him save where the heel was covered by his mother's hand. And -it was through the heel, that one vulnerable spot, that ultimately -death assailed the hero. So, also, it seemed to the reflective girl, -the heel typified her heart. All the armour of life that she had taken -to herself under the auspices of her father would not avail against the -enemy who assailed her in that one weak spot. - -There were times when she felt that she had discredited her training -and fallen below her appointed level. There were other times when she -felt instinctively convinced that in woman's weakness lay her truest -strength--her greatest victory in her ordained defeat. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -WARDLAW'S WORKS. - - -To counteract the dangers arising from the Channel Tunnel, long since -an accomplished fact, and to soothe the apprehensions of a large -section of the public, new defence works of enormous strength and -intricacy had been constructed on the heights of Dover. Always a place -of vast importance by reason of its position, the ancient stronghold -now had become more notably than ever the key to England. As a -watering place it had steadily dwindled in importance. Its neighbour, -Folkestone, easily held the palm for all pleasure-seekers; but the -commercial development of Dover as a port of call for the great liners -had been remarkable, just as its strength for naval purposes had been -vastly augmented. The completion of the Admiralty Harbour by the -construction of the East Arm and the South Breakwater now afforded a -safe haven for the largest warships in the British Navy. Here they -might ride at anchor, or safely come and go, always protected by the -monster guns which had been mounted in the various forts. - -The commercial harbour had been provided with a huge marine station, -where transatlantic passengers in ever-increasing numbers were enabled -to land or embark under shelter, continuing their journey either on -land or sea with a modicum of inconvenience. It was the great aim -of competing steam and railway companies to simplify the methods of -travel and enable everybody to go everywhere and do everything with -the greatest possible amount of comfort. Those who could not trust -themselves, invaluable as they were to themselves, amid the chops of -the Channel, now might travel by tunnel to and from the Continent, and -thus avoid the risks of nausea or the inconsiderate assaults of wind or -wave. - -By one means or another thousands upon thousands of passengers of all -nations and tongues streamed through Dover year after year. It was -before all things a place of passage--in so far as it was not a place -of arms. If one had repeated to most of these globe-trotters Gloster's -question in King Lear: "Dost thou know Dover?" the answer would -probably have been: "Well, I just caught a glimpse of it." From the -Channel, Shakespeare's Cliff, to the westward of the Admiralty pier, -certainly was found less impressive than most people had expected. -Like English life, as a whole, it seemed less spacious than it was -considered to be in the days of good Queen Bess. But then, of course, -Shakespeare, with his cloud-capp'd towers and gorgeous palaces, -was always such a very imaginative dramatist. Still, there was the -ancient, though slowly-crumbling, cliff remaining in evidence to remind -English folk and foreigners of the splendid story of England's past. -There, too, on Castle Hill, the ancient Roman Pharos--adjoining St. -Mary's-in-Castro--reared its roofless walls towards the clouds. The -mariners of England and of Gaul no longer needed the lights of the -Pharos to guide them in the Channel, and, of course, the venerable -bells that used to ring for matins and evensong were silent many a -year before Admiral Rooke removed them to Portsmouth parish church. - -The great Castle, close at hand, was visited by very few excursionists. -The climb between Castle Hill and the Western heights was found -fatiguing. More Americans than Englishmen appeared to interest -themselves in the story of the Castle; its occupation by William of -Normandy after the Battle of Hastings, its associations with King -John's craven submission to the Papal Legate, its victorious defence -by Hubert de Burgh, the French attack--fruitless again--of 1278, and -other incidents of historic interest. The Long Gun, known as Queen -Elizabeth's pocket-pistol, still pointed its muzzle sea-ward, and the -inscription in low Dutch, very freely translated, rashly adjured the -current generation to-- - - "Load me well and keep me clean, - I'll carry my ball to Calais Green." - -But inspection of the Castle was not encouraged, and tourists of -foreign appearance who showed a disposition to take snapshots in the -vicinity were promptly checked in their pursuit of the pleasing but too -common art of photography. Yet it was certain that, pigeon-holed in -every war department, of continental and, perhaps, of certain Eastern -powers, there were full details, or nearly full, of the elaborate -defence works with which Dover was provided. It was known that Castle -Hill was honeycombed with subterranean passages and galleries, and -that the Castle (nowadays a barrack rather than a fortress) was thus -connected with the modern forts in its immediate vicinity. - -Fort Burgoyne, to the north of the castle itself, was, until recent -times, the strongest link in the chain of defence, its guns being of -great calibre, and commanding a vast range over land and sea. But far -more powerful, and better equipped with modern armament and military -resources, was Fort Warden; such being the name given to the works -which had been specially constructed as a safeguard against possible -attack by means of the Channel Tunnel. The very hill had been hewn and -carved and moulded to meet the needs of such a danger. Commanding the -gradual sweep by which the railway descended towards the Tunnel, the -great guns of Fort Warden were always trained upon the gaping archway -from which the incoming trains were constantly emerging. - -The highest battery of the Fort occupied a dominating position -overlooking all the _enceinte_ fortifications, which were armed with -machine guns and small cannon. There was a subterranean passage -connecting the fort with the waterworks of a large service reservoir -in a hollow of the hill, which had been constructed in modern times -to ensure an adequate supply of water for the troops and the Duke of -York's School. Fort Warden was complete in itself; but, linked up with -the other fortifications, it formed, as it were, the citadel of a -composite fortress where, in the event of attack, the last stand would -be made by England's defenders. Round the fort extended a double row -of trenches, and within these was a moat. Strong wire entanglements -defended the trenches, and the loopholes in the breastworks were -protected by 3/4-inch steel plates with a cross-shaped opening for the -rifles. In addition, strong bomb-proofs were provided for the reserves, -with wide bomb-proof passages leading to certain of the other forts. In -all directions on the hill were placed howitzers and mortars, most of -the battery positions and gun epaulements being ingeniously masked and -difficult for an advancing enemy to locate. The military scientist who -had designed most of the elaborate defences and put finishing touches -to those of earlier construction was Major Edgar Wardlaw of the Royal -Engineers. His old friend General Hartwell held that from the point -of view of an invading enemy, this quiet, unassuming officer was the -most dangerous man in all the British army. Major Wardlaw certainly -knew better than anyone else of what Dover Castle Hill was capable. -The military authorities were very chary of rehearsing its possible -performances, because, in the vulgar parlance of an earlier period, it -would give the show away. It was a "show" that must be closely reserved -and kept dark in times of international peace and quietness. - -Meanwhile, the hillside showed but few signs of life; the winds of -heaven blew over it, the rains descended, or the sun shone. Birds -hopped about, and people came and went. Often there was hardly a sound -to break the silence of the hill. A visitor who had climbed the heights -could gaze over the town of Dover and the hills and valleys behind -it, or look right across the Channel to the coast of France, quite -undisturbed by human voice or sound of busy life. But Major Wardlaw -could have told that visitor that on the instant, at a signal, this -placid scene could be converted into one of awful violence and furious -sound; that in a flash the hill would vomit forth, as if from many -avenues of hell, wholesale, fiery death and indiscriminate destruction. -On every side would rise the roar of monster ordnance, the ceaseless -rattle of machine guns, the deafening crack of musketry. - -Woe betide the foe that dared to rouse the sleeping monster of the hill! - -Such were Wardlaw's Works, as they were called throughout the British -army. When the Major retired from active service, he still lingered -in the neighbourhood of his _magnum opus_. In a charming bungalow, -perched on the hillside of Folkestone Warren, he and Miss Flossie spent -unruffled days amid eminently healthy surroundings. - -The Warren, a bay of much natural beauty, had been rescued from -neglect. A station on the line from Folkestone proper to Dover afforded -easy access to the Bay; trees had been planted and roads cut in the -hillside. Everywhere on summer nights the lights gleamed from villas -and bungalows, and down below on the new jetty, and at the mastheads -of scores of pleasure craft. The place suited Major Wardlaw admirably, -and even little Miss Wardlaw, who was by way of being exacting, seemed -quite satisfied with her surroundings. Her father kept a small cutter -in the bay, and frequently took the young lady for health-giving sails -upon the dancing sea. Usually their port of call was Dover. The Major -was always going to Dover. He couldn't keep away from it. When the -cutter was laid up for the winter, he went by train, or sometimes -walked across the wind-swept downs. Dover town itself had no particular -attractions for him. The magnet lay on Castle Hill. In short, Wardlaw -could not keep away from Wardlaw's Works. Even when he was not visiting -the Works, he was always thinking about them. When military friends of -his came over from the Castle or from Shorncliffe, they seemed to talk -of nothing else but Fort Warden--all that it was, and all that it would -be if the critical hour of conflict or invasion ever came. - -Flossie Wardlaw disapproved of the whole thing. It annoyed her--this -constant absorption, this ever recurring topic of conversation. -Personally, she refused to discuss the Works, and had it been possible -would have forbidden all allusion to the Fort when those tiresome -friends dropped in and talked "shop" with her father. Poor Wardlaw, -torn with conflicting emotions, knowing that the child was jealous of -the Works, used to look at her apologetically when one of his cronies -started the everlasting topic. But Flossie was not easily to be -mollified. With her little nose in the air, she would glance severely, -disdainfully, at the author of her being, tossing back that mass of -silky, sunny hair from which her pet name was derived. - -And now the hated subject of the "Works" was more to the fore than -ever, for the military movement among the women of England had brought -Fort Warden into prominence in the newspapers. The Vice-President -of the Council, in pursuance of her policy, was turning the Fort to -unforeseen account. The First Amazons, as they were popularly called, -had been "enrolled and uniformed," and now the Fighting Girls (as some -people styled them) were to have this wonderful fort placed at their -disposal for the purpose of training and instruction in the art of war. -The idea was very popular among the Amazons. Some two hundred of them -were to spend a fortnight in the Fort, and then give place to another -batch, the Fort meanwhile being vacated by the artillerymen, save only -a handful of gunnery instructors and lecturers. So the men marched out -of the tortoise-backed "Works," and the Amazons, very smart in their -new uniforms, and full of gleeful excitement, briskly and triumphantly -marched in. - -It was a picturesque episode in martial history which afforded -excellent scope for lively descriptive reporting. Great numbers of -people seemed to be pleasurably interested in the event, just as they -used to be in the volunteer military picnics on Easter Monday. There -were others, however, who, like General Hartwell noisily, and Edgar -Wardlaw quietly, condemned the whole thing as monstrous, unseemly, and -fraught with danger to the nation. The majority, however, laughed at -the minority. What was there to be afraid of? There was not a cloud -in the international sky. England's difficulties, they said, now were -purely domestic. Greater Britain had been so cut up and divided that we -had nothing further to fear. Surely no greedy Jezebel would dream of -stirring up a Continental Ahab to covet and lay violent hands on the -remnant of Naboth's Vineyard. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE LOOSENED GRIP. - - -"Bladud, the son of Lud, founded this Bath three hundred years before -Christ." - -It was a far cry from Bladud to Nicholas Jardine! A goodly span, too, -from the time when a great statesman was carried through the streets of -Bath, swathed in flannels; his livid face, peering through the windows -of the sedan chair, the fierce eyes staring from beneath his powdered -wig. One can almost see his ghost in Milsom Street, and hear the -whisper spread from group to group: "There he goes! the great Commoner, -Mr. Pitt!" - -And now through the streets of the same town they wheeled a very -different sort of statesman; and yet, perhaps, the product, by slow -processes of inevitable evolution, of that very time "when America -thrust aside the British sceptre, when the ingenious machine of Dr. -Guillotine removed the heads of King and Queen in France, when Ireland -rose in rebellion, when Napoleon grasped at the dominion of the Western -World, when Wellington fought the French Marshals in Spain," and when, -God be thanked! Nelson triumphed in Trafalgar Bay. - -Just as the inhabitants and visitors of Bath used to take off their -hats to William Pitt in his sedan chair, so now the new generation -saluted Nicholas Jardine, when, seated in his bath-chair, he was -drawn through the streets to the baths. For though times were changed, -the President in his way was a great personage--such a remarkably -successful man; and in all times it has been proved true that -nothing succeeds like success. Jardine, when he acknowledged these -salutations, showed an awkwardness unknown to those to the Manor born. -It disconcerted him to be stared at, especially now that he was ill. -He hated traversing the public streets, and often sat with closed -eyes until his chair entered the bathing establishment. Once there he -became alert and interested--but not in the reminiscences of Georgian -functions and the manners and customs of the fops and flirts of that -vanished period. What appealed to him, as a trained mechanic, was the -heritage of far remoter days. The brain of the Roman Engineer and the -skilled hand of the Roman Architect and Mason had left these signs and -wonders for future generations to look upon. The great rectangular -bath had only been uncovered about sixty years earlier. The Goths and -Vandals of an earlier period had built over it their trumpery shops -and dwelling-houses. But the present bath, with its modern additions, -actually was built upon the ancient piers. The very pavements, or -scholć, that bordered it were those which the Roman bathers had -trod. The recesses or exedrć corresponded with those at Pompeii, and -had been used for hanging the clothes of the Roman bathers or for -resting places. The floor of the bath was coated with lead, and in all -probability that lead was brought from the Roman mines in the Mendip -Hills, where had been discovered the imperial emblems of Claudius and -Vespasian. - -The President was not without a sense of the beautiful. The scene -around him awakened his imagination. He knew that the wooded slopes -of the stately hills, the stone hewn from the inexhaustible quarries, -and the broad river--formerly spanned by bridges and aqueducts graceful -in outline and noble in proportions--each and all had furnished the -means which skilful hands had put to glorious uses. Yet all these -ingredients of beauty might have remained unused but for the wonderful -thermal waters which here, for untold centuries, had risen ceaselessly -from fathomless depths, streaming ever from rocky fissures, filling the -pools and natural basins, and still overflowing into the rushing river. - -But this beneficent spring and these now verdant hills must have had -their remote origin in some terrible concussion of natural forces. -Mother Earth had laboured and brought them forth, far back in her -pre-historic ages. Subterranean fires, begotten by the portentous union -of iron and sulphur, had waited their appointed time. Drop after drop, -the hidden waters had filtered on inflammable ingredients, until the -imprisoned air at last exploded, and the earth, rending and rocking in -appalling convulsions, opened enormous chasms and brought forth, amid -fire and smoke and vapour, the embryo of all this lovely scene. The -City was the offspring of seismic action; the earth had travailed and -brought forth these wooded hills. The smiling valley, where now stood -the City, was but the crater of an extinct volcano, perpetuated in -memory by the steaming waters that still gushed upward from the mystic -depths. - -Below the streets and houses of the modern town were the original baths -of the City of Sulcastra, of many acres in extent. Here, indeed, in -this most wonderful of Spas, history unfolded itself page by page--the -City of Sul in the grip, successively, of Roman, Saxon, Dane; dynasty -succeeding dynasty, sovereign coming after sovereign, statesman after -statesman, until now, when a Walsall mechanic in a bath-chair was all -that England had to show by way of substitute for absolute sovereignty -and sceptred sway. - -And with Nicholas Jardine, too, the relentless law of time was at work. -The sceptre was falling from his grasp. The grass withereth; the flower -fadeth. Man passes to his long home, and the mourners go about the -street. Would it be his turn next? Every day Zenobia seemed to see in -her father's face signs of a slowly working change. She witnessed the -melancholy spectacle of waning strength, of failing interest in those -things that once had absorbed his thoughts and energies. It wrought in -her a corresponding change, a protective tenderness which she had never -felt before, a deepening sense of the transience and sadness of human -pomp and circumstance, a broadened sympathy with all the sons of men. - -A great silence seemed to have fallen upon the man who in the past had -made so many speeches. A brooding wistfulness revealed itself in his -expression. There was a haunting look of doubt or question in his eyes, -a look as of one who, without compass and without rudder, finds himself -drifting on an unknown sea. The land was fading from his sight. The -solid earth on which he had walked, self-confident, self-sufficient, -no longer gave him foothold. His nerveless hands were losing grip on -the only life of which he knew anything, the only life in which he had -been able to believe. And day by day, and night by night, there came to -his mind the memory of his earlier life, of the faith that he had seen -shining in the dying eyes of the woman who had believed while he had -disbelieved. Vividly he recalled to mind--albeit with a sense of wonder -and irritation--an occasion when he had sat beside her in the old -Cathedral at Lichfield. The sun was setting, and its glory illumined -the huge western window; the words of the great man of action, who was -also the man of great faith, were being read from the lectern, and at -a certain passage his wife had turned and looked at him with sad and -supplicating eyes: "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are -of all men most miserable." - -If in this life only ...! All other hope he had scorned and rejected. -No other hope had seemed needful to his happiness and success. But -now? Already _this_ life was dwindling and departing. He felt it; he -knew it in his inmost being, as his steps faltered, his hands grew -thin and pallid, and his brain, once so busy with a hundred projects -and ambitions, now refused to work, or brought to him only recurrent -recollections of things which in the prime and strength of his manhood -he had scouted and despised. - -If in this life only ...! - -Sometimes a great restlessness possessed him, and Zenobia, in the -silent watches of the night, heard him moving heavily and slowly about -his room. On one of these nights, anxious and alarmed, she hurried in -and found him standing at the window in the darkness. The furnished -house they occupied was on Bathwick Hill, and the night scene from the -windows was one of striking mystery and beauty. The blackness of the -valley in which lay the ancient city, and of the towering hills on -every side, was studded with myriads of lights--shining like stars in -an inverted firmament. - -"Father!" - -She crossed the room and laid her hand upon his arm; but, scarcely -heeding her, the sick man still stood by the window, looking as if -fascinated on the magical scene of the night. Zenobia also gazed, and -gazed steadfastly; but the impression made upon herself was wholly -different. With him it was a sad impression of farewell. But in -Zenobia's brain there suddenly sprang up an extraordinary sense of -recognition. There was a subtle, haunting familiarity in the scene she -looked upon--this valley and these hills, in and about which all that -was modern, save the lights, was quite invisible. Thus might the valley -of Sulcastra have looked under the darkened sky two thousand years -ago. Thus might the lamps of Roman villas, temples, baths, and public -buildings have twinkled when a vestal virgin, maintaining Sul's undying -fires upon the altar, looked down upon the silent city. - -The puzzled girl caught her breath, half sighing, unable to shake off -the belief that at some remote period she had gone through precisely -the same experience that was now presented to her. And, doubly strange, -in connection with the scene, though she could see no reason for it, -her thoughts flew instantly to Linton Herrick. She became oppressed, -almost suffocated, with a sense as of pre-existence--a bewildering -sensation, almost a revelation--that seemed to tell of the mystery of -the ego, of the indestructibility of human life. - - * * * * * - -It was the last time that Nicholas Jardine looked down upon the old -city, by night or by day. The next day he remained in bed, and the day -after, and all the days that were left to him. The afternoon sunshine -came upon the walls, the shadows followed, night succeeded day. The -demarcations of time became blurred. His calendar was growing shorter -and shorter. The world mattered less and less to him, who had played a -leading part in it; and already he mattered nothing to the world. Death -was not close at hand. Nevertheless he was dying. - - "For this losing is true dying: - This is lordly man's down-lying: - This his slow but sure reclining, - Star by star his world resigning." - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -ZENOBIA'S DREAM. - - -The night which followed her heartsearching experience of feeling on -looking down upon the sleeping city of Bath, Zenobia had a dream. It -was a vision of extraordinary vividness, and strangely circumstantial. - -Beneath her eyes the golden light of a summer sunset was flooding -the temples, the baths, the stately villas of ancient "Rome in -England"--the city of Sulcastra. Garbed as a Priestess of the Temple, -she stood upon a plateau, high on the Hill of Sul on the east side of -the valley. Behind her rose the Temple of the Goddess, and by her side -stood one whom she knew to be the sculptor Lucius Flaccus, son of that -centurion who was charged to carry Paul from Adramythium to Rome. He -had been telling her in graphic phrases of his association with the -great Apostle; how for the first time he had heard him on Mars' Hill -at Athens boldly rebuking the listening and resentful throng who had -erected there an altar _to the unknown God_. Then with a gesture of -repugnance which horrified the priestess, the narrator, quoting the -Christian preacher's words, had turned and pointed towards the Temple -in which she with other vestals kept ever burning the sacred fire of -Sul. - -"Forasmuch, then, as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to -think that the Godhead is like silver or gold, graven by art or man's -device...." Thus far he had spoken when her own voice interrupted -passionately: - -"Do not blaspheme the gods!" - -"The gods are dead," he answered sternly, "nay, rather, they have never -lived. Our Roman gods have eyes that see not, ears that hear not, they -are but silver, gold, or stone--the work of hands like these." Thus -speaking, he held forth his hands, delicate and mobile, in one of which -was grasped the chisel of his ancient art. The priestess stood for a -moment looking in his eyes, silent, terror-stricken. "Yet," he went on, -bending his gaze upon the city with a sigh, "Sulcastra is beautiful." - -He knew and loved each particular feature of artistic beauty in the -city. Its architecture afforded him a delight that never failed. The -symbolic work of the chisel was evidenced on every side. The noble -columns that supported the terraces; the pavements resembling those -of Pompeii; the graceful friezes and delicate cornices appealed -irresistibly to every votary of art. Indeed, the Thermć of Sulcastra -were held by many of the cultured Romans to be not less splendid than -the baths at Scipio Africanus, or even those built at Rome by Caracalla -and Diocletian. For here, too, the lofty chambers were ornamented -with curious mosaics, varied in rich colours and infinitely delicate -in design. And here, also, the medicinal waters were poured into vast -reservoirs through wide mouths of precious metal and Egyptian granite, -while the green marble of Numidia had been brought from afar to give -variety to the native stone from the adjacent quarries. The fame of -the wonderful waters went back for eight centuries before the birth of -Christ. Here, according to tradition, Bladud, son of Lud the British -King, father of King Lear, had found a cure for his foul leprosy. -Yonder had stood the first Temple of Minerva, dedicated by that same -Bladud to the goddess. Had he not sought by magical aid to soar aloft -like the eagle, only to fall and be dashed to pieces on Minerva's altar? - -The sculptor shaded his eyes against the slanting rays of sunlight, -and turned his gaze upon the vast stadium in which at stated intervals -the people of Sulcastra witnessed the elaborated games of mighty Rome. -Such an occasion recently had occurred, a scene of splendid pageantry -and power which invariably moved the spectators to superstitious awe, -and often to wild excesses of fanaticism. Young and old had implored -the favour of the gods, and pledged themselves to maintain unbroken the -religious observances of the Rome people. In the darkness of night, -mystic sacrifices had been offered on the banks of the river; and the -whole city, as the sculptor and the priestess now looked down upon -it, still seemed to be fermenting with the excitement which the great -celebration had occasioned. - -At that very moment an imposing procession was seen to be advancing -towards the Temple of Minerva. Trumpet note after trumpet note echoed -round the hills. Chariots full of garlands and branches of myrtle -approached the shrine. A large black bull was being led to the -sacrificial altar, and youths and maidens, chanting a hymn to Minerva, -carried in procession costly vases full of wine and milk to be poured -as libations to the goddess, while others bore cruets of wine, oil, and -perfumed essences to anoint the pillars of the sacred monuments within -the temple. - -Lucius Flaccus looked down upon the procession with sad and moody -eyes. The Vestal's eyes were bent no less sadly on the sculptor, as -if divining all his thoughts. They sprang, she doubted not, out of -the subject of their conversation, and she turned uneasily towards the -pillar-altar on which the sculptor's skilful hands had been at work. It -stood upon the turf at the entrance to a little grove which gave access -to the gates of the Temple of Sul, the temple in which she herself -ministered as priestess. - -A cloth lay over the graceful monument, to the inscription upon -which the young Roman had but just now put the final touch. His work -upon the monument, screened from view, had long excited the interest -and curiosity of the Romans and the slaves who passed that way, but -reverence for the goddess and respect for the sculptor himself had -served to arrest all questions. The work of art, it was thought, would -be unveiled in time; and doubtless it would prove to be another and a -worthy tribute to the goddess who presided in a special manner over the -fortunes of the city. - -Lucius Flaccus had studied in a great and noble school. He had gazed -long and often on the famous statue of the Olympian Jove modelled in -ivory by the master hand of Phidias. He had marked every curve and -feature of the Minerva--standing sixty cubits high--on whose shield the -great Athenian sculptor had so marvellously represented the wars of the -Amazons. There were those, indeed, familiar with the work of the young -Roman who foretold for him an imperishable reputation as an exponent of -the noble art to which he was devoted. - -Lucius Flaccus had been welcomed in Sulcastra as one who was likely to -add to the beauty of the city, and the honour of the special goddess -of the citizens. The sculptor's art, like the Ten Commandments, was -written on tables of stone. It was for all time; nearly five hundred -years had passed since the chisel dropped from the hand of Phidias, -but the glory of his work remained. It was indestructible. So also, -thought some, might the handiwork of Lucius Flaccus be handed down from -century to century. - -The cult of Sul was scarcely distinguishable from that of Vesta. Like -Vesta, she was a home-goddess, a national deity, whose vestals were -solemnly pledged ever to maintain her altar-fire, lest its extinction -should bring disaster on the people. - -Sul, also, was a fire deity. According to the kindred mythology of -Scandinavia, the goddess was so beautiful a being that she had been -placed in heaven to drive the chariot of the Sun from which she took -her name--that glorious sun, the rays of which were now illuminating -the city of Sulcastra. Sul, in the eyes of the Romans, was more exalted -than Soma, daughter of the Moon, though in the East Soma was held in -the highest reverence as the mother of Buddha. Soma was the sovereign -goddess of plants and planets. In the Vedic hymns she was identified -with the moon-plant which a falcon had brought down from heaven. Its -juice was an elixir of life. To drink it conferred immortality on -mortals, and even exhilarated the gods themselves. But even greater -virtue and miraculous power did the Romans attribute to the waters of -Sul, and with better evidence of their potency. For here, in Sulcastra, -century after century, and ever at the same temperature, the magical, -unfathomable well had poured forth its mystic waters for the healing of -the people. - -The Temple of Sul, like that of Vesta, was circular, to represent the -world; and in the centre of the temple stood the altar of the sacred -flame, ever burning to symbolise the central fires of Mother Earth, -just as the sun was deemed to be the centre of the universe. - -There were nothing strange or unusual in freedom of conversation -between the Priestess and the Sculptor--who, in former years, had added -many decorations to the Temple. The virgin priestesses were permitted -to receive the visits of men by day; by night none but women were -suffered to enter their apartments, which adjoined the sacred building -in which they ministered. Each priestess was pledged to continence for -thirty years. During the first ten they were employed in learning the -tenets and rites of their religion. During the next ten they engaged -in actual ministrations. In the final ten years they were employed in -training the younger vestals, and after the age of thirty they might -abandon the functions of the temple and marry. Few exercised that -option. Custom, when such an age was reached, had become ingrained, the -impulses of youth frozen, and the honour paid to their office became -more valued than the prospects of marriage. - -The reverence shown to them was very great, but so also was the -punishment that followed a lapse from the letter or the spirit of -their duties. The least levity in conduct, the smallest neglect of -ministerial duty, was dealt with by the Pontifex or the Flamens, -and visited with great severity. The loss of virginal honour, or -the failure to maintain the sacred fire, involved a penalty of -inexpressible terror. The condemned priestess, placed in a litter, shut -up so closely that her loudest cries were scarcely audible, was carried -through the city in the order, and with the adjuncts, of a funeral -procession, a journey of death in life--its goal the niche or narrow -vault in which the living vestal was to be immured. - - -THE SCULPTOR'S STORY. - -The dreamer knew these things, and still dreamed on. It seemed as if -her own voice broke the silence: - -"Fain would I know more of this same Paul of whom you speak." - -Then she paused, but looks still questioned him. Presently the young -Roman spoke again-- - -"My father, the centurion Julius, was charged to carry him to Rome, -and I had planned to bear him company. We took ship to sail along the -coasts of Asia; touched at Sidon and afterwards at Cyprus, the winds -being contrary. Later we transhipped at Alexandria, and thus reached -Crete. The seas grew dangerous, and the sailors feared. Scarcely had -we sailed when there arose that strong, tempestuous wind they call -Euroclydon. The ship, being caught, could not bear against the wind, -and we let her drive. Then, near the island of Clauda, we were like to -be driven on the shore; and fearing quicksands, we struck sail, and so -were driven again. The tempest tossed us, and the ship was lightened. -We cast adrift the tackling; but still the tempest held us; neither sun -nor star appeared for many days, and all that time the ship was driven -before the storm, until at length the shipmen deemed that we drew near -to land. They sounded and found twenty fathoms. Again they sounded and -found five fathoms less. Then, fearing we should be upon the rocks, -they made all haste to cast four anchors from the stern, and waited for -the day." - -"The storm had lasted long?" - -"For fourteen days and nights." - -"And there were many in the ship?" - -"Two hundred, three-score and sixteen souls; and everyone was saved. -Land lay before us, though we knew it not. But we discovered close at -hand a creek. So they took up the anchors, loosed the rudder-bands, -hoisted the mainsail to the wind, and made for shore. She ran into -a place where two seas met, and went aground. The forepart held and -seemed immovable, but soon the hinder part was broken by the violence -of the waves. The soldiers then would have killed all the prisoners, -lest they should escape, but my father stayed their hands. Those who -could swim sprang first into the sea. Others on boards, and some on -broken pieces of the ship, made for the land, and I, with all the rest, -came safe ashore." - -"The gods be thanked; the gods be thanked for that." The words came -fervently from the Vestal's lips. - -He turned on her and sighed. "What! still the gods?" - -She pressed her hands upon her brow. "Is there no more to tell?" - -He paused a moment. "Already I have told too much if told in vain. -The island we had reached was Melita, and Publius, the chief man -of the place, received us courteously. Paul healed his father of a -grievous sickness, and many others also, ere we departed in a ship of -Alexandria. We touched at Syracuse, and then at Rhegium, whence we went -towards Rome. There many brethren greeted Paul with joy, and there in -reverence and sorrow did I part from him." - -"And he--this Paul himself?" - -"Remains at Rome, having his own hired house, receiving all who come to -him, preaching of the Heavenly kingdom, teaching with all confidence, -of the coming of the Christ--no man yet forbidding him." - -Deep silence fell between them, and the only sound came from a droning -that in Sulcastra never ceased by night or day--the voice of the -rushing river as it poured across the weir. - -Now they stood erect; each was tall and nobly framed; each face had -beauty intellectual and physical. Yet in the sculptor's features and -his deep-set eyes there was the look that visionaries wear, the stamp -of those who nourish great ideals. The gaze the priestess bent upon -him told a different tale. The dreamer knew this woman loved this man, -while he, as yet, had found no passion in his soul for her. She raised -her hand in gesture of adieu, and moved with slow steps towards the -temple. Then, as if stirred by sudden impulse, she turned to him again. - -"And this Paul--tell me--what teacheth he concerning women?" - -"He teacheth that man is the image and the glory of God, and woman the -glory of the man. That man is not of the woman, but the woman of the -man: neither was man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. -He commandeth that women keep silence in the Christian churches, and in -all things be subject to their husbands, for the husband is the head of -the wife." - -"Then he forbiddeth not to marry?" - -"Is not Paul the Apostle of Him who blessed the marriage feast of Cana?" - -"In whom thou dost believe?" - -"In whom I do believe," he answered steadfastly. "I tell thee that -the banner of the Cross shall one day float above the capitol of Rome -itself." - -The priestess took two swifter steps towards him. "Then why, O Lucius -Flaccus, hast thou built here an altar to our Goddess Sul?" She pointed -to the pedestal beside them; and he, answering not a word, stretched -forth his hand and drew away the covering that concealed the apex. - -There, in the fading light, there stood revealed the hated emblem of -the Christian Faith. - -"A cross!" she cried, "a cross!" - -The sculptor raised his eyes and clasped his hands: - -"The Cross of Him who died for all the world!" - - -THE VESTAL'S FATE. - -The spirit of the dream had changed. A sense of horrible foreboding -agonized the dreamer. No longer did the sculptor and the priestess look -down upon Sulcastra. Yet the dreamer knew all that had happened and was -happening still. - -The city was in tumult. The baths, the public schools, the temples were -deserted. People thronged the streets. There was but one thing spoken -of--an outrage on the goddess whom they all revered. Lucius Flaccus, -the favoured sculptor of Sulcastra, son of Julius the centurion, had -erected on the threshold of her temple an altar to the God-Man of the -Nazarenes. Nor was that all. The sacred fire that should have been kept -burning in Sul's temple had been suffered to die out, if indeed it had -not been deliberately extinguished; climax of all--Verenia, priestess -of Sul, had been found in the broad light of day kneeling with bowed -head before the hated emblem that profaned the grove. Amazement had -given place to fury. The cry went up for punishment--a cry redoubled -when it became known that the augurs foretold dire calamity for -Sulcastra and the citizens, as the inevitable consequence of an outrage -so profane. The people feared the vengeance of the gods! - -Yet there were some who kept a grief-stricken silence in the midst of -all the raging of the citizens, for each of the offenders was well -esteemed, and both belonged to honoured Roman families. The dreadful -fate that lay in store alike for the sculptor and the priestess moved -many hearts to awe and anguished apprehension. In each case the -appalling penalty was as certain as the dawn of day. Lucius Flaccus -would be carried to the rock of Sul, high on the steepest hill that -overlooked the valley, and thence cast headlong on the rocks below. For -Verenia, the priestess, a yet more awful punishment was prepared--the -slow starvation of a living tomb. - -The dreadful preparations were complete. The Vestal's grave was -ready--a narrow niche in the massive stone foundations of the -Temple--the temple of that goddess whose worship she had mocked. In -this tiny cell was placed a pallet, a lamp that when lighted would burn -for forty hours, and a small quantity of food. All knew what course the -funeral ceremonies would follow. The Pontifex would read some prayers -over the doomed priestess, but without the lustrations and other -expiatory ceremonies that were used at the burial of the dead. When the -last prayer had been uttered, the lictors would let her down into the -vault, the entrance would be filled with slabs of stone, then covered -up with earth. - -The awful hours, the agonizing days, would slowly pass. The lamp -would flicker and the light expire. Deep silence that no shriek could -pierce would shut the buried vestal from the ken of all who loved her. -The food would fail; then, slowly, hour by hour, and day by day, the -dreadful sentence of the law would be fulfilled. No father, mother, -lover, friend, could save the victim, or by one iota lessen the -torture of starvation, or that still greater torture of the brain to -which her judges had condemned her. - -Did not the crime of which she was convicted strike at the root of the -religion of the people? The maintenance of the sacred fire as a pious -and propitiatory observance was not peculiar to the Romans. The Hebrews -held it a divine commandment: "The fire shall ever be burning upon -the altar, saith the Lord; it shall never go out." Undying fires were -maintained in the temples of Ceres at Mantinea; of Apollo at Delphos -and at Athens; and in that of Diana at Echatan. A lamp was always -burning in the temple of Jupiter Ammon. The ancient custom came from -the Egyptians to the Greeks, and from the Greeks to the Romans, who had -made it a vital, essential feature of their faith. Like the veil of -Astoreth in the temple of the moon-goddess at Carthage; like the sacred -shield which, as Numa Pompilius avowed, had fallen from heaven, the -altar-fire of Sul safeguarded the domestic prosperity, the political -wisdom, the military supremacy of Rome in Britain. - -And this gross insult to the mighty goddess had been perpetrated in the -midst of the festival; on the very eve of the ceremony of the blessed -waters used specially on that occasion for purifying the temple of Sul. -It was a local event of paramount importance, for then the statue of -Sul was covered with flowers and anointed with perfumed oil. The Salii -marched through the city carrying vessels, richly decorated and of -beautiful design, containing water from the sacred spring. The feast -lasted for three days, and during that time the Romans undertook no -serious or important business. The banquets with which the festival -was concluded were magnificent and costly. The edict of Numa Pompilius -enjoining reverence to the gods remain unrepealed. It was obeyed in -Sulcastra as in Rome itself. Inscribed on tables of stone, it could be -read in all the schools and temples: - -"Let none appear in the presence of the gods but with a pure heart -and sincere piety. Let none there make a vain show and ostentation of -their riches but fear lest they should thereby bring on themselves the -vengeance of heaven. - -"Let no one have particular gods of his own, or bring new ones into his -house, or receive strange ones unless allowed by edict. Let everyone -preserve in his house the oratories established by his fathers, and pay -his domestic gods the worship that has always been paid to them. - -"Let all honour the ancient gods of heaven, and the heroes whose -exploits have carried them thither, such as Bacchus, Hercules, Castor -and Pollux. Let altars be erected to the virtues which carry us up to -heaven; but never to vices." - -These dread laws the sculptor and the priestess had impiously broken -and defied. - -The climax was at hand. A strange, loud clangour beat upon the ear, -pierced by the wailing cry of weeping women. The dreamer heard the -tramp of many feet; then saw a long and closely packed procession -emerging from the centre of the city. Slowly and solemnly the multitude -advanced. The first section of the great procession reached the -narrower road which wound amid the trees that beautified the Hill -of Sul. High up on the barer slopes of the great hill stood out the -jutting rock from which the sculptor was to take his last long gaze -upon the sunlit world. A band of lictors headed the procession. Behind -them, with head erect, walked Lucius Flaccus on the road to death. - -The trees swayed gently in the morning breeze, the birds were singing -in the groves; the glory of the summer decked the land. Yet the -tenderness of nature and all the splendour of the world seemed but -to mock the tragedy of that slow procession. On every side was life, -life, strong, abundant, free; but this one lonely man, bare-headed and -white-faced, who climbed the hill, had done with life. With each step -of the slow advance he drew nearer and nearer to the gate of death. - -The second part of the procession was lead by twelve Salii, each of -whom carried a shield on his left arm and a javelin in his right hand. -They were dressed in habits striped with purple, girded with broad -belts, and clasped with buckles of brass. On their heads they wore -helmets which terminated in a point. From these men the clangour came. -Sometimes they sang in concert a hymn to Sul; sometimes they advanced -with dancing step, beating time with their javelins on their shields. -Next came many mourners, women and children, weeping and wringing their -hands as in a funeral procession; and then a closely-curtained litter, -with priests on either hand followed by the Pontifex, magnificently -habited and carrying a staff or sceptre in his hand. - -Priestesses, with bowed heads and clasped hands, followed the Pontifex. -Then came another body of lictors, followed by a miscellaneous -multitude of citizens and their families; and, finally, a tall -centurion leading a company of soldiers. - -The road grew steeper, narrower, winding round the hill; and the first -body of lictors, with their prisoner, had passed out of view of the -company that followed, when suddenly arose a violent outcry and the -clash of arms. The sculptor had turned upon his guard, seized a javelin -from one of them, and mounted the steep bank beside the road. The -whole procession halted in confusion. Disconcerted priests whispered -and gesticulated; the crowd closed up and filled the narrow way from -side to side. - -"Romans! hear me!" The appeal, in high-pitched, fervent tones, came -from Lucius Flaccus, and was not unanswered by the people: - -"Hear him! let him speak!" - -The lictors at the bidding of the Pontifex half turned, but being few -in number were daunted by the strenuous cries of the excited crowd. The -sculptor seized the moment of their irresolution and raised his voice -again: - -"Romans! spare her." He pointed to the litter. "You who have sisters, -daughters, restrain your rulers from an act that would disgrace a -barbarous nation." - -Murmurs and conflicting cries were raised. The priests sent messengers -to the soldiers at the rear of the procession. But the crowd, closer -and closer packed, rendered it difficult for the messengers to pass. -Above the tumult, the Pontifex cried in shrill excited tones: "The gods -demand her death!" - -Thus incited, many in the crowd shouted in assent, while others cried -again: "Hear Lucius Flaccus, hear him!" - -Once more the sculptor raised his voice: "The gods are names for -priests to conjure with...." - -For a moment indescribable tumult prevailed. The centurion sought in -vain to force a way through the dense, now struggling, mass of people. - -Again the sculptor made a passionate appeal: "I implore the aid of the -Roman people. I call upon my fellow citizens to save a woman. To what -purpose do we expose our lives in war? Why do we defend our wives and -sisters from a foreign enemy if Rome has tyrants who incite the people -to violent and vindictive acts? Soldiers in arms, do not endure these -things! Free citizens, exalt yourselves by being merciful." - -The frantic appeal now met with no response. Lucius Flaccus looked -wildly round, despair and desperation in his face. - -He raised the javelin, and for the last time his voice was heard: - -"Then thus, and thus only, can I save her from a crueller fate!" - -In an instant he sprang upon the lictors who confronted him, and, -striking left and right, actually reached the curtains of the litter. -A shudder of horror ran through all the crowd. The women shrieked. The -people swayed and struggled, and the next moment it was seen that the -sculptor had been beaten back, though not yet secured. He sprang upon a -rock beside the road and raised the javelin high in air. - -"Then, Romans, if infernal gods there be, let them accept another -sacrifice!" - -Down flashed the steel, the sharp point plunged into his heart; and, -throwing out his hands, he swayed into the lictors' arms. - -A dreadful silence fell upon the people. - -Then from within the thickly-curtained litter came a despairing and -half-stifled shriek. - - * * * * * - -With that wild, agonizing cry Zenobia awoke. The cry from the litter -was her cry. It was her own voice that died away, and what was this -mysterious sound--rising from the valley with the mists that melted -at the break of day? The sound was the same that the sculptor and -the priestess had heard nearly two thousand years ago; the voice of -many waters as they swept across the weir, insistent, unceasing--the -monotone of doom. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE NEW AMAZONS. - - -On every side the continued rivalry between the sexes in their struggle -for supremacy in national life was producing lamentable results. -To this general evil now was added the new move inaugurated by the -Vice-President of the Council in the matter of military training. The -unfortunate illness of President Jardine had facilitated the schemes -of that daring leader of the women, and it soon became apparent that -preparations for enrolling large bodies of Amazons, though hitherto -kept secret, in fact had been very far advanced before the memorable -meeting at Queen's Hall. - -Recruits flocked in from every quarter. The idea of military service or -a military picnic for a few months in the Amazonian militia appealed -to all sorts and conditions of girls and young women. Those who had -reached the age when the resources or pleasures of home life had begun -to pall, those who saw no chance of getting married, those who had -met with disappointments in love and were stirred with the restless -spirit of the times, those who rebelled against parental rule, domestic -employments, or the monotony of days spent in warehouse or office, one -and all caught eagerly at the idea of a course of military training -in smart uniforms, with the possibility of encountering experiences -and adventures from which parents and guardians had sought to withhold -them. - -Ready pens were at the service of the New Amazons. History and -tradition were ransacked by industrious scribes in search of precedents -and raw material for "copy." The _Epoch_, (the unofficial press organ -of the Vice-President) boldly vaunted the capacity of women to bear -arms. Who would dare to deny that women were as brave as men? In -modern times the Dahomey Amazons had been a force in being. An eminent -professor had made researches which went to show that the Amazons of -old were real warriors. Humboldt refused to regard American Amazons as -mythical, and other trustworthy authorities had confirmed his view. -Then there were the Shield Maidens of the Vikings, to whose existence -witness was borne by historical sagas. The ancient literature of -Ireland set forth as a fact that "men and women went alike to battle in -those days." Did not a certain abbot of Iona go to Ireland to organise -a movement against the custom of summoning women to join the standard -and fight the enemy? In Europe, not so very long ago, the Montenegrins -and Albanians called their women to arms in the hour of national -extremity. - -The _Epoch_ presented the 1st Amazons of England with a silken banner, -embroidered with a representation of Thalestris the Amazonian queen, -and pointed out that, however fabulous might be the achievements of the -women warriors of ancient times, modern warfare need make no similar -demands on the physical strength of woman. War had become a feat of -science, rather than of endurance. It was no longer necessary for -contending champions to engage in a trial of muscular strength. Macbeth -and Macduff were not called upon to "lay on" until one of them cried: -"Hold! enough." Battles were fought and victories won at long range. -Thin red lines and Balaclava charges belonged to ancient history. And -if by any chance it should come to fighting at close quarters, had -woman shown herself lacking in courage, or even in ferocity in such -encounters? Why, in every memorable riot in which the civil population -had been in conflict with the soldiery, the women, again and again, had -proved themselves to be the foremost in attack and the most fertile of -hostile resource. Thus argued the _Epoch_ and other press advocates of -the New Amazons, at the same time citing many instances of the prowess -exhibited by individual women on fields of battle. - -Vast numbers of young persons, supremely ignorant of life in its uglier -and more dangerous aspects, thus encited, discovered that they were -not, and could not be, happy at home all the year round. They wanted -variety; they pined for change and excitement; and all of them were -firmly pursuaded that they knew much better than their elders what -was good for them. In their eyes all things were not only lawful, but -all things were expedient. They stood up with stolid looks, deaf to -remonstrances and appeals, and expressed an obstinate wish to join the -Amazons. Numbers of them, being more self-willed than their parents, -got their own way, and were enrolled; while still larger numbers were -put back as physically ineligible, but with liberty, in some cases, to -renew their application at a future time. - -That the movement had "caught on" nobody could deny. That it was full -of dangerous possibilities became more and more apparent every day. - -Zenobia, who came to London to attend the Queen's Hall meeting, had -returned to Bath to nurse her father, whose illness showed increasingly -alarming symptoms. Linton Herrick, meanwhile, was not wholly without -occupation, for there were sundry private conferences between his -uncle and General Hartwell at which his presence was required. These -discussions and reports became of the more importance in view of -certain news from the East and of the complications likely to arise at -home in the event of the illness of the President proving fatal. - -Nevertheless, there were times when Linton found himself mooning about -his uncle's house and garden in a state both of mental and physical -restlessness. He missed Zenobia, missed a glimpse of her on the river, -or a flash of her as she sped away in the _Bladud_ to London. They had -met often, and it seemed to him as if they had known each other all -their lives. He would have given anything to hear the yelping of her -dog Peter next door, because it would have betokened the presence of -Peter's mistress. - -Before Mr. Jardine's departure for Bath, the young Canadian had sat -with him and talked on many topics and on several occasions. The -enormous strides which Canada had made, and was making, in the way -of prosperity greatly interested the President. Linton, however, was -astonished to find how little the man whom fortune had pitch-forked -into a foremost position in England really knew about Colonial affairs. -He frequently fell into amazing geographical errors, mistakes quite -comparable with that of a certain Duke of Newcastle who announced with -surprise to George II. his discovery that Cape Breton was an island. - -Linton liked the President, not wholly for the President's sake, but -partly for the same reason that he had developed a friendly feeling -towards Peter the dog. The President, on his part, certainly had taken -a fancy to him, and in those bedside conversations talked with far -less reserve than he was in the habit of employing in conversations -with Englishmen, particularly young Englishmen. These conversations -gradually impressed Linton with the belief that this hardheaded and -successful mechanic, who found himself, thanks to the strength of a -numerous and well-drilled party, at the head of the State, actually -was discovering his own deficiencies--the educational deficiencies, -the intellectual deficiencies for which doggedness and powers of -oratory were no true substitute. In a word, it seemed as if, in that -time of inactivity and reflection which a bed of sickness enforces, -Nicholas Jardine had begun to realise his own shortcomings as a ruler -of men--his unfitness to direct the destinies of a nation great in -history, and still great in possibilities of recuperation if only well -and wisely led. - -"If you should be down West, come and see me at Bath," were the -President's parting words. "Indeed I will," said the young man -heartily, and there was something in his eyes as he turned to say -good-bye to Zenobia that made her colour. Nothing seemed more probable -to both of them at that moment than that Linton would find himself down -West, and nothing more certain than that there would be only one reason -for his going there. - -The young man had fought his way into Queen's Hall on the night of -the great meeting, solely and wholly because he had heard that Miss -Jardine was likely to be present. But he had no idea what line she -was likely to adopt in reference to the momentous question under -discussion. Yet the one drawback that hitherto he had found in her was -her attitude, or what he feared was her attitude, towards the question -of woman's ascendency. In the crush of the hot and noisy meeting, he -had failed to see Zenobia on the platform, and when she rose to speak -his feelings were strangely blended--of admiration at her bearing, -and of dread less she might say something than ran counter to his own -convictions. But her actual utterance astonished and delighted him; -and the hostile method of the "Cat" provoked in him such feelings of -fierce resentment as he had never felt towards womanhood before. Yet -there was one sentence that fell from the Vice-President which caused -him to be sensible of emotion of another sort. That sneering suggestion -that the younger speaker must be in love excited him strangely. He felt -an intimate personal concern in that scornful imputation. In love with -whom? - -And now he had ample time in his uncle's riverside house, with the -empty dwelling and silent garden on the other side of the hedge, to -ponder the same question. The _Bladud_, however, proved a great boon. -It had been left at his disposal, and Wilton, the Jardine's engineer -and skipper, was always ready to accompany him in an air trip. Wilton -was a hard-featured little man with a soft heart and a shrewish wife, -who kept the domestic nest in so spick and span a condition that poor -Wilton could never take his ease at home, and therefore appreciated any -good and sufficient reason for getting out of it. - -Wilton confessed to Linton Herrick a treacherous thought. It concerned -the wife of his bosom and the new Amazons. - -"Seems to me," said the little man, "as this here scheme may be a good -thing in a manner of speaking. There's girls, and, maybe, there's wives -too, that wants a bit of a change. Well, that's right enough. Why not?" - -"What do you mean?" asked Linton, wondering and amused. - -"Wot I mean, under pervisions, mind, under pervisions...." Linton -laughed, but Wilton was quite serious, his thoughts engaged in a great -domestic problem, his hands busy with the machinery of the _Bladud_, in -which they were just about to go aloft. - -"Well, it's like this, I wouldn't be for letting women jine a reg'lar -army, but militia's different. They'd get a 'oliday at Government -expense. When they come back they'd be more contented-like with their -'omes; and while they was away, well, there...." rubbing his head with -a pair of pincers. - -"And while they were away the men would have a quiet time, eh?" laughed -Linton, who had heard of Wilton's family history. - -"You've 'it it, sir, you've 'it it," said Wilton, without the vestige -of a smile. "Not but what women has a lot to put up with, mind you; and -there's times when they're as kind as kind. Still, wot I say is, a lot -of 'em's never content unless they can have the upper 'and, and that's -what's wrong with England." - - * * * * * - -Meanwhile, at Bath, the condition of Nicholas Jardine had given Zenobia -cause for increasing anxiety. - -In the hushed and tranquil days that sometimes come with October, the -leaves fall of their own volition, and with scarcely perceptible sound. -Their hour has come, and, with a faint whisper or rustle of farewell, -one by one they flutter down to mother earth. Thus also, the leaves of -human life are ever falling--the sighing souls of men, obedient to the -immutable design, passing from out the bourn of time and space. - -In those last days, when the certainty of the end came home to him, -Jardine, for the first time, began to ponder on problems to which he -had scarcely given a thought in the active years of his remarkable -career. Perhaps in the silence of the days, and in the deeper silence -of the nights, he asked himself unconsciously those same questions -which, thousands of years ago, the Son of Sirach had framed for all -time in language so expressive: "What is man, and whereto serveth he? -What is his good, and what is his evil? As a drop of water unto the -sea, and a gravel-stone in comparison of the sand, so are a thousand -years to the days of eternity!" - -"All flesh waxeth old as a garment; for the covenant from the beginning -is: Thou shalt die the death. As the green leaves on a thick tree, some -fall and some grow: so is the generation of flesh and blood, one cometh -to an end, and another is born." - -"Every work rotteth and consumeth away, and the worker thereof shall go -withal!" - -One day the President startled Zenobia by asking for a Bible. She -brought it wonderingly. He signed to her to read. And as she read to -him, the sick man and his daughter looked up into each other's eyes -with something like bewilderment. - -"Father," cried the girl passionately, as she closed the Book, "Why did -you keep it from me? Why did you do it?" The dying man looked into her -face with troubled gaze, and whispered something very faintly. Was it -the word "Forgive?" - -A yet stranger and more terrible ordeal was in store for Zenobia. To -her lot it fell to hear from her father's lips a confession that seared -her to the very soul. This confession presently was embodied in his -will, which two days later he dictated to his daughter. - -His mind was perfectly clear, though his hand could scarcely hold the -pen. As a matter of precaution, he insisted that the doctor and the -nurse should be the attesting witnesses. The will was sealed in an -envelope, and placed under lock and key. When that was done, Zenobia, -with set face, hurried to the nearest telegraph office and sent the -following message to Linton Herrick: - -"I implore you to come immediately. A matter of life and death." - -Meanwhile, Jardine had settled his affairs, and finished with the -business of life. Like the King of old, he turned his face to the wall. -Yet startling things were occurring close at hand--strange occurrences -within this very city of Bath. To others they were sufficiently -alarming. Indeed, there had been something in the nature of a panic. - -The first manifestation had taken place at the Grand Pump Room Hotel. -The King of Bath, if he could have come to his realm again, would have -encountered not a few surprises, and would have found the famous Hotel -transformed beyond all recognition. The examples of London, Paris, and -New York had been diligently followed. There was a stately Palm Court, -with marble columns and gilded cornices. Oriental rugs and luxurious -fauteuils had been lavishly provided. On a raised marble terrace, -during the dinner hour, a stringed band furnished an undercurrent for -the banal remarks of the diners. There were rooms in the Adams style, -rooms in the Louis the Sixteenth style, a Charles II. Smaller dining -Room, and a Smoking Room in the Elizabethan style--with ingle-nook and -heavy ceiling beams in oak. But the people who dined and chattered -and smoked amid these surroundings were not Elizabethan, Stuart, or -Georgian in style. They were the product of the twentieth century, and -were of no style at all; they lacked repose and dignity; they were -self-conscious, self-assertive; believers, and encouraged to believe, -in the powers of the almighty dollar, hustlers and bustlers, who rushed -hither and thither, and did this or that without knowledge and without -appreciation, and solely for the purpose of being able to say that they -had done it. Everything inanimate in this twentieth-century Bath Hotel -was very beautiful. There were skilful imitations of Adams, Sheraton, -and Chippendale; there were coloured marbles, trophies, garlands, -ornamentation of all sorts in gilt and bronze; decorative panels, -with consoles and mirrors everywhere,--everything being in elaborate -imitation of something else and something older. - -But in one corner of the Grand Dining Hall was one thing real and -old--a fountain of Sulis water, which had been brought into a -decorative niche and enshrined amid elaborate allegorical figures which -nobody understood. - -It was typical of England. She had gained in some ways, she had lost -in many more. She had acquired electric appliances, telephones, and -air-ships, but lost in grace and picturesqueness. Frequenters of Bath -no longer wore wigs, laced coats, and buckled shoes. They no longer -settled their little difficulties with the rapier. The ladies had -discarded powder in any appreciable quantities, and patches altogether; -but people of quality had vanished from the once familiar scene. -Quantity had taken the place of quality everywhere. Money had proved -the great key and the great leveller. There was a dead level in style -and tone and appearance. Society had to be taken in the mass, instead -of in the class, and notabilities were far to seek. - -Such were the people upon whom the panic seized, amid the clatter -of knives and forks, the rattle of plates, and the popping of -corks--inseparable accompaniments of the _table d'hôte_ dinner hour. - -The visitors started to their feet with cries of dismay. An astonishing -thing had occurred. The fountain of Sulis water in the grotto at the -end of the great dining hall had suddenly burst its bounds! The pipes -were forced from their position. Great volumes of orange-tinted, -steaming water began to flood the room. The members of the string band, -whose seats and music stands were placed among the ferns and palms, in -immediate proximity to the fountain, grasped their instruments, and -beat a precipitate retreat. Ladies, uttering shrill cries, jumped upon -chairs. There was a scene of uncontrolled confusion. In a few moments, -water, almost boiling, covered the floor to the depth of several -inches, and male guests and waiters, carrying the ladies on chairs or -in their arms, made all haste to escape into the vestibule. - -At the same time the springs in the Roman baths displayed extraordinary -activity. Everywhere the water rose in enormous and unprecedented -volume. All the baths were hastily cleared of occupants and closed -to the public, and the most astounding reports spread like wildfire -through the city. The corporation officials speedily came upon the -scene, and trenches were hastily cut for the purpose of carrying the -overflow of water direct into the river. To the intense relief of -everybody, in the course of a few hours the flood slackened. - -Two days later, when people had begun to think there had been no -sufficient reason for their fears, came other sounds and signs -of abnormal activity in the earth itself. Faint tremors shook the -surrounding hills, more especially Lansdown, and these signs were -succeeded by sundry landslips, which sent many of the hillside -residents flying in terror from their houses. A huge crack presently -opened in the high plateau of the hill, and from this fissure arose at -intervals strong puffs of curious, reddish-tinted vapour. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -A SECRET AND A THUNDERBOLT. - - -President Jardine was dead. - -Low lay the head, and still the form of the man of whom flatterers -had often spoken as the uncrowned King--an Oliver the Second, the -Cromwell of the Twentieth Century. His, indeed, had been the power -symbolised by the ancient Crown, the Sceptre, and the Orb. The -vanished majesty of great dynasties--the Normans, the Plantaganets, -the Tudors, the Stuarts, and the House of Hanover--had but paved the -way for the practical rule of this man of the people. Even yet, it is -true, the jealousy of political parties had preserved--none knew for -how long--the title of King for a descendant of Queen Victoria. But a -grudging socialistic democracy had left the legitimate monarch little -more than the dignity of an august pensioner. The King was shorn of -regal authority, deprived of all real prerogative of royalty, and -neither expected nor allowed to take any real part in the government of -his shrunken empire. - -And now that the lifeless hand of the President had dropped the real -sceptre, whose hand was to take it up? Was the reign of woman to be -inaugurated on new and bolder lines; or would man, in the nick of time, -re-assert himself? The women had their leader in Catherine Kellick, a -daring, unscrupulous and energetic champion. But where was the leader -of men? Everywhere the lament was uttered: "If only Renshaw were back -at Westminster!" And everywhere the question was asked: "Where is he? -Is it true he is still alive?" - -Zenobia's telegram was delivered late at night, and in the absence of -Wilton it was impossible to start immediately. Before daybreak on the -following morning Linton was knocking at the door of his cottage, and -in half-an-hour the little engineer had got the _Bladud_ into working -order. - -It was very early, on a calm autumn morning, when Linton, at a sign -from Wilton, stepped on board. The _Bladud_, rose rapidly into the -air, but at first there was nothing to be seen. The atmosphere being -charged with the vapour of the night, the air was warm, and the sky -veiled with a misty curtain of cloud. In eight minutes they had risen -a thousand feet, and the earth below was hidden from them by a woolly -carpet of mist. Rising and rising still, at a height of 5,000 feet, the -_Bladud_ emerged from the clouds, and away in the east was seen a long, -long line, bright as silver. The day was breaking, and the shadows fled -away. Every moment the great silver bar lengthened and broadened, a -moving miracle of the empyrean, at which the young Canadian gazed in -fascination and in awe. - -But the marvel of marvels was to come; and it came swiftly, in that -deep silence of the spheres, which is as the silence of Him by whom all -things were made. Yes, all created things, thought Linton, filled with -wonder--the earth beneath them, still partly hidden from sight, the -limitless realms of the air through which they moved, and this great -orb of day that was rising as if from the depths of some immeasurable -crater. Presently the sun, as it climbed above the cloud rim, began to -flood with pure and glorious light the rolling tracts of vapour that -surrounded them, like an illimitable molten sea, whose billows glowed -and gleamed beneath the darting beams. - -Higher and higher rose the _Bladud_, a tiny speck in the midst of the -immeasurable clouds, which ever broke and crumbled into new shapes and -shreds in full light of the broadening sunshine. Already the morning -mists below were in some measure dispelled, and through the breaking -vapour glimpses of the earth became more plainly visible. - -At a height of 9,000 feet, the surrounding oceans and mountains of -vapour assumed a hue of roseate violet that far transcended the beauty -of anything upon which Linton's eyes had ever looked before; while from -the east a thousand golden rays--pathways of light and glory--were -darted forth above the sleeping world. When they had reached a height -of 13,000 feet, the air was almost clear, and far down below London -became visible--London so mighty, yet now so insignificant! Linton -could see a railway train creeping out of Paddington like some little -caterpillar on a garden path. The steam from the engine was but a thin -serpentine mist, like smoke from a man's pipe. Everything below was -flat and dwarfed to one mean artificial-looking plane. Away East, the -dome of St. Paul's seemed scarcely more important than a thimble. The -Docks were merely an elaborate toy in sections; the rolling Thames a -winding ditch; the ships like little playthings for young children. -Yet the range of view had become enormous, and as the morning cleared -Wilton pointed out hills and church steeples that were a hundred miles -away. - -In that solemn and wonderful hour Linton Herrick felt within himself, -as Goethe did, the germs of undeveloped faculties--faculties that men -must not expect to see developed in life as it is, so far, known to -us. Yet there was the aspiration in his heart and soul. How glorious -for the astral body to plunge into the aerial space; to look unmoved on -some unfathomable abyss; to glide above the roaring seas; to mount with -eagle's strength to heights unthinkable! - -Looking upon the supernal grandeur of the sunrise, he realised that -he was in the presence of God's daily miracle. It steeped his soul in -faith and thankfulness. - - * * * * * - -Linton, guessing that the President was _in extremis_, nevertheless had -hoped to be in time to bid a last farewell to the taciturn man who had -shown him much friendly feeling, and of whom, as Zenobia's father, he -was anxious to think the best. But when the _Bladud_ descended on the -spacious lawn of the house on Bathwick Hill, the blinds were down. The -whole place wore that sad and subtle air which impresses itself upon a -scene of death. There was no need to ask questions. Linton understood. - -A faint, half-hearted yelp from Peter was the first sound that greeted -him. Presently, inside the darkened house, he awaited the coming of -Peter's mistress. - -The door opened very quietly, and Zenobia entered; a slim, sad figure, -the blackness of whose dress in that dim light heightened the pallor -of her face. Her hand was in his own. He looked into her eyes; the -gaze of the lover softened and chastened to that of the tender and -compassionate friend. - -"You understand how much I feel for you," he said. - -"Yes," she answered gratefully, "It was good of you to come. But, in a -sense, it is too late." - -He waited quietly for what she chose to say. - -"I mean," she added "that I hoped you could come before ... before the -end. But at the last it was sudden, so sudden." - -"You have something to tell me. There is something I can do for you in -your trouble?" - -Zenobia paused for a moment. Then, with some effort and a faint tinge -of colour coming to her cheeks, continued: - -"If you had come while my father lived, I could have told him...." She -looked down, and drew a long deep sigh of distress. "I could have told -him," she then went on with greater firmness, "that you, if you were -willing, could help us, though so late, to do an act of justice to -another. Mr. Herrick, it grieves me to tell you...." - -She turned away and rested her elbows on the marble mantelpiece, unable -for the moment to proceed. - -"Perhaps I know more than you suppose," he said very gently, "and, -perhaps, I can guess the rest." - -"No," turning towards him, "I won't ask you to guess. Why should you -help me, unless I tell you all, everything--everything, fully and -frankly? Will you read this?" - -He look the paper the girl placed in his hands, but did not immediately -unfold it. - -"I am willing to do anything you can wish, asking no questions," he -said. - -She looked at him with eyes that seemed to shine with grateful tears. - -"You are good to me. I have no other friends." - -"I am your friend," said Herrick, not without a tremor in his voice, -"yours to command, always and in everything." - -For the moment she could not speak, but held out her hand to him -impulsively. Holding the slim fingers tenderly, he bent and kissed them. - -"That paper," she said, "is my father's will. Will you read it, please!" - -Then she sat down and turned away her face. - -Linton read the will. The sheets rustled as he turned them over. He -folded and returned them. - -"I knew something of this," he said quietly. "Now I understand all. You -need tell me no more." - -"Is Mr. Renshaw still living--is it _really_ true that he is still -alive?" she said looking up anxiously. - -"Quite true." - -"Thank God. Oh! God be thanked for that!" - -"It is not too late." - -"Only too late for him to know and seek forgiveness." - -"You mean your father?" - -The girl bowed her head. Then she burst out vehemently: "It must not -be softened down. I know, I feel, the horror, the wickedness of what -was done. I must accept the shame, the punishment. The sins of the -fathers must be visited on the children. It is the law of nature and -the law of God! I want to make atonement; yet nothing can undo the -past, the cruelty and wickedness of all those years of suffering and -imprisonment." - -"Renshaw will not harbour revengeful or vindictive feelings, I am sure -of that," Linton answered soothingly. "He is a man of noble character, -and a Christian gentleman." - -"And it was he, a man like that, whom my father...." she paused, biting -her trembling lips. "Oh it is horrible, horrible!" - -"But he repented, he was sorry--the will proves it," said Linton. - -"Yes, it is written there, a public confession, the dying declaration -of his sorrow and his shame. There shall be no concealment. He did not -wish it at the last. The truth must be made known to all the world." - -"If Renshaw wishes it. But I do not think he will." - -"Where is he now--is he ill, is he safe?" - -"He is recovering, getting back his strength, in a monastery in Herm, -one of the smaller Channel Islands. Arrangements are being made for his -return to England at the right moment." - -She stood up, interested and excited. - -"Yes, yes?" - -"A society has been formed--the members call themselves the Friends of -the Phoenix. My uncle and General Hartwell are at the head of it. The -aim is to restore Renshaw to power. He is the only man who can save the -country in the present crisis." - -"And you are helping--you are one of them?" - -He nodded. "I am to bring him back to England in the _Bladud_ if I have -your permission." - -"Don't lose an hour," she cried, "don't lose an hour!" - -"Not a moment, when the time is ripe. I am waiting orders. They will -reach me here." - -"If only my father could have known of this before he died." - -She sighed and looked at him wistfully, then said appealingly: "You -will come upstairs?" - -Linton bowed his head and followed her. Upstairs in the room from which -the President had looked out on the lights of Bath for the last time -the sheeted figure lay upon the bed. They paused for a moment side by -side. Then Linton gazed for the last time on the cold and rigid face of -Nicholas Jardine. - -Three days later, the sun, shining through the windows of the ancient -Abbey church, fell upon sculptured saint and heavenward-pointing -angel, revealed the lettering on many a mural tablet dedicated -to long-departed men and women, illumined the sombre crowd of -black-clothed worshippers, and gleamed on the silver coffin plate of -the dead President. - -Deep organ notes rolled beneath the fretted arches as choir and -congregation, with heads bowed low, raised in mournful cadence the wail -of the _Dies irć_. - -Apart from the girl, by whose side Linton Herrick knelt, perhaps there -were few present who really mourned for Nicholas Jardine. But, as -people do at such a time, they mourned for themselves, they mourned for -humanity; and recent local events--the strange convulsions of nature, -with the apprehension of more terrible possibilities to come, served -to accentuate the feelings of the worshippers. For the moment, at any -rate, they believed in the life of the world to come. They recognised -in the burial of the dead that dread passing through the gate of -judgment to which man, frail man, has ever been predestined. The air -was full of lamentations: - - "Day of wrath! O day of mourning! - See fulfill'd the prophets' warning! - Heav'n and earth in ashes burning! - - Oh, what fears, man's bosom rendeth, - When from heav'n the Judge descendeth, - On Whose sentence all dependeth! - - Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth, - Through earth's sepulchres it ringeth, - All before the Throne it bringeth!" - -Verse after verse the solemn litany continued: - - "Ah! that day of tears and mourning, - From the dust of earth returning, - Man for judgment must prepare him; - Spare, O God, in mercy spare him." - -The funeral march pealed forth as the body was borne from the Church. -Slowly the congregation dispersed, until at last only one figure -remained, the solitary kneeling form of Zenobia. - - * * * * * - -Within an hour after Linton had left the cemetery, he received -a telegram in cipher from Sir Robert Herrick. He gave immediate -instructions to Wilton, and sent a message to Zenobia. She came to him -at once. - -Linton looked at her with troubled eyes. There was something infinitely -pathetic in the aspect of this slim, fair girl with the sunny hair, on -whose face suffering and distress of spirit suddenly had set so sad a -stamp. - -"Good-bye," she answered, "God grant that you may both come safely -back. When Mr. Renshaw is in England, I must see him, I must tell him -all." - -With a final pressure of her hand, he turned away. However much his -heart might be wrung at leaving her, however hard to keep back the -words of love and tenderness that rose to his lips, he must be silent -for the moment. There was a task to be performed. It was the hour for -action. Great issues were involved. A national crisis was at hand. - -That much Linton knew. But as yet he did not know that the crisis -was to assume a double and appalling complexity. A thunderbolt had -been hurled against England from an unexpected quarter. A swift and -staggering blow, well timed in the hour of Jardine's death, had been -levelled against the remaining pillars of her once proud Empire. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE RAID OF THE EAGLES. - - -It was the suddenness of the calamity that staggered humanity. One -day not a cloud in the over-seas sky, and the next a catastrophe that -petrified the nation. In London the hoarse croaking notes of the -news-vendors--the ravens of the press--filled the streets and squares, -and flaring placards, displayed in every quarter, attracted the notice -of ever-increasing crowds. Men wrangled, and even fought, over copies -of the papers, and edition after edition was reeled off to meet the -enormous public demand. It was the news from Dover that created this -unparalleled excitement. An inconceivable thing had happened. By means -of crafty strategy, a mixed body of American and German troops had -seized and were in possession of Fort Warden! Immediately the wildest -and most conflicting accounts were in circulation. But, separating -the chaff from the wheat, the more responsible of the London journals -presently set forth a bald statement of the facts--facts that were -alleged to be beyond dispute. The statements published by these papers, -indeed, were said to be authorised by the Chiefs of the Intelligence -Department at the War Office. Further details, however, constantly were -coming over the wires, and it was known that large bodies of regular -and territorial troops were being hurried to the aid of the garrison at -Dover. - -The first report, viz., that foreigners had obtained a foothold by -means of the Channel Tunnel was officially contradicted. The simple -truth was as follow: On the previous evening a Hamburg liner had -entered the commercial harbour, and some hundreds of her passengers -at once had landed on the jetty. There was nothing remarkable or -suspicious in such an occurrence. The great German liner was a -familiar and frequent visitor to the port. Though it was noticed -that a large number of passengers came ashore, that circumstance was -plausibly explained by the statement of the ship's officers, who said -that something had gone wrong with her machinery. It would take the -engineers two hours or more to put right the defect. What more natural -than that most of the passengers should land and fill up the time by -the inspection of the points of interest in the town? The harbour -officials estimated that altogether some three hundred men had come -ashore. They had the appearance of tourists. The evening was cold, -and, wearing travelling caps and capes or ulsters, the visitors passed -briskly across the jetty and disappeared, in little parties of eight or -nine, into the town. - -The townspeople, as they were putting up their shutters, noticed the -strangers as they passed through the streets. It was remarked that they -spoke to each other in low tones or not at all, also that they did -not loiter or stare about them like ordinary sightseers. The general -impression was that they had only landed to stretch their legs, and -meant to climb the hill and then come back again. They certainly did -climb the hill, but none of them returned. It was not until an hour -later that an amazing rumour spread throughout the town. The story was -brought by bands of excited Amazons belonging to those to whom Fort -Warden had temporarily been given up for gunnery practice. Their pale -faces and distraught appearance at once made it clear that something -very serious had happened. Yet the townsfolk were incredulous. The -thing seemed so absurd, so impossible! These girl-soldiers, they -thought, were the victims of some monstrous practical joke or of -hysterical hallucination. Who could possibly credit such a tale? But -the Amazons, in trembling tones and with nervous gestures, declared -that it was true. Their numbers rapidly increased; some of them came -tearing down the Castle Hill in uncontrollable alarm. All of them, in -one way or another, verified the amazing story. - -It was this: A band of foreigners, comprising 150 Americans and 150 -soldierly Germans, armed with revolvers, had "rushed" Fort Warden. -The approaches were open at the time, and guarded by only a few -artillerymen. It was visitors' day, and the visitors were departing -as the foreigners arrived. The struggle was of the briefest. Those of -the artillerymen who showed fight had been instantly shot down. The -others had been secured, together with the chief gunnery instructor -and the head of the chemical department--a non-combatant from whom the -foreigners had violently forced such information as they needed. As -for the Amazons themselves, they had not been maltreated--but, what -was worse, many had been insultingly kissed or roughly caressed by the -invaders. With all speed and no ceremony, they had been contemptuously -bundled out of the fort--and here they were to tell the tale! - -A staff-officer at the local head-quarters, to whom the report was -carried by a breathless tradesman, lost no time in ringing up Fort -Warden. For some time there was no reply. He rang angrily again -and yet again; at last came some unintelligible response. He swore -irritably, and then roared an inquiry: - -"Are you there? Who is it?" - -Still no reply. - -"Why don't you answer? What's this I hear about the Fort?" - -The only answer was an inarticulate growl. - -"Why the devil don't you speak? Who are you?" - -Then, at last, came an intelligible response--in English with a strong -American intonation: - -"Guess you'd better come and see!" - - * * * * * - -How and why had this dastardly combined attack on England come to pass? -The story can be briefly told. Great Britain had long been regarded by -America as old and stricken in years--not merely as the old country, -but as a country that was in its dotage--old and played out. America -was young and lusty, and quite persuaded that the old folk at home were -too feeble to retain the management of the old Estate. Already the -United States, in the scramble for British possessions, had pocketed -some nice little pickings. The West Indian Islands, the Bermudas -and British Guiana, had been virtually surrendered to Washington. -England for years, but in vain, had sought to placate this big and -blustering branch of the ancient race whenever family friction had -arisen. Again and again weaker members of the clan, poor relations, -like Newfoundland, had been sacrificed to the demands of the United -States. But some appetites are insatiable, some ambitions unbounded. A -new order of American politicians had arisen, men who aimed at a great -federation of the Anglo-Saxon race, with America not as the junior -partner, but as the head and ruling spirit of that federation. When -the possessor of a great estate becomes imbecile or lapses into second -childhood his affairs are taken out of his hands--for his own good and -for the due protection of his solicitous relations. That, argued the -plotters, was just what was needed in the case of Great Britain. The -indications of decrepitude had been slowly but, to keen observers, -convincingly manifested during a period of more than thirty years. -Thirty years ago Englishmen would have scouted the idea of an American -invasion, or the idea of America in alliance with Germany against Great -Britain. Monstrous! Was not blood thicker than water? Were not the -American people our own kith and kin? Yes, but times had changed, while -human nature had remained the same. America had become a cosmopolitan -country. From all parts of Europe--and especially from Germany--men had -emigrated to the United States. Thither, too, swarms of the yellow from -China and Japan, had insidiously made their way in spite of opposition; -and year after year the black population of the great continent had -enormously increased, while the Anglo-Saxon birth-rate had rapidly -declined. The British element in America thus had been absorbed, -submerged. The old and consolatory theory of family ties, like other -popular fallacies fondly cherished in spite of the march of events, at -last had been convincingly exploded by the raid on Dover. - -Signs of the coming times had not been wanting. England, fearing a -German invasion, had kept her fleets in home waters. The great scheme -of Imperial Defence, much discussed in 1909, had not been perfected. As -far back as the earthquake of 1906 in Jamaica, the growing inability -of England to look after her outlying possessions had been strikingly -instanced. No British Squadron was near at hand in that hour of trial -to succour the afflicted islanders. Was it not an American, not an -English, Admiral who had come to the rescue of the British colony? -Had not the English Governor been summarily suppressed by the Home -Government because he had ventured sarcastically to point out that -American assistance, however kindly meant, was not required, and had -not been regulated by the accepted law of nations? - -From that day forth--and there had been other similar examples--the -more enterprising politicians of Washington took an increasing interest -in British affairs, and dreamed dreams in which the old familiar -colours on the map of the world--where once upon a time red was so -predominant--underwent some radical and striking alterations. - -Of course, there was one part of the British dominions, and that -very near to the centre of British Government, in which America -had taken the closest interest for more than a century. There was -Ireland, the emigrated population of which had become part of the -mixed population of the United States. The Irish vote, moreover, had -become of increasing importance to those who wished to hold the helm at -Washington; and, in truth, it was the old and long cherished idea of -planting the American standard on Irish soil that gradually had led up -to this daring exploit, the news of which the great guns of Fort Warden -were booming out to all the world. - -It was not really surprising that men with so marked an aptitude for -commercial enterprise as the American wire-pullers should have turned -covetous eyes towards the Isle of Erin. Ireland was the great junction -for the ship-line between the Old Country and the New, an unexploited -island of noble harbours, rich in mountain, lake, and river. - -A certain Senator Hiram P. Dexter, a Prince of Tammany, who had become -President of the United States, crystallised the idea thus: - -"England had colonised America. Why should not America re-colonise -depopulated Ireland. She could then dominate her former senior partner -in the ancient British firm and make things hum!" - -The idea was "cute," inspiring. Nevertheless, it was certain that, -however anxious she might be for peace and quietness, Britannia could -never tolerate another flag so near to her own centre of government. -The line must be drawn somewhere. Hiram P. Dexter and his friends -realised that for dominion in Ireland, even under the Jardine -dispensation and in the reign of woman, England must needs fight, fight -to the bitter end; unless, indeed, by some master-stroke of policy and -daring she could first be disabled by the strong man armed. - -Hence the plan of campaign--by unscrupulous strategy to seize the key -of the castle, the stronghold of Dover; while, at the same time, the -squadrons of the two Eagles menaced the coast of Ireland itself and -landed troops at various points. - -It was an infamy; it was a dastardly and fratricidal act; it was a -combination worthy of Herod and Pilate! All these things were said. -But history is not made or unmade by the aid of epithets. History -reckons with great national forces, race problems, and the bed-rock -of accomplished facts. Abundant precedents could have been cited, -and nothing succeeds likes success. In this case, if the attempt -should fail, it might be explained away as the mad raid of a band of -freebooters. Those who survived might be nominally called to account, -just as had happened fifty years earlier after the futile raid of a -certain Dr. Jameson, and others, when one Kruger was "King" of the -Transvaal. In either event, whatever England might think and say of -this stab in the back, there were millions in the States who would -applaud the blow as smart beyond anything that had ever been attempted -by American Presidents, and Hiram P. Dexter would go down to posterity -as a Napoleon of enterprise--the man who realised that even America -was not big enough in these mid-century days for the mixed peoples of -the States; that the dominant race in that massed population needed -more room to turn round in; more scope for hustling; fresh fields and -pastures new for the feverish multiplication of the almighty dollar. - -But there was another nation to be reckoned with. - -The two greatest competitors for world-power and commerce were Germany -and America. And Germany and America did not want to fight--at present. -A system of mutual concessions--with mental reservations--better suited -the provisional purposes of Berlin and Washington, at any rate for -the time being. Clearly, nothing could be done by way of aggression -in Europe without taking Germany into account. So the business-like -President of the States had engineered with the Germans what brokers -and auctioneers describe as a big "knock-out." They had come to -an understanding--about England--an understanding provisional and -tentative. - -Again, thirty years ago Englishmen would have scouted such an idea. -But nothing stands still. We ripe and ripe, and then from hour to hour -we rot and rot. So also with the Empires of the world. The law of the -survival of the fittest operates in all created things. Britain herself -had been one of the chief exponents of this immutable law. Not by means -of Peace Conferences and a tentative reduction of armaments, coupled -with pious platitudes concerning methods of barbarism--otherwise -War--had her great Empire been built up. With the strong hand, in past -times, we had belaboured effete and wealthy Spain. With force of arms -we had driven from the seas Holland--once our great and powerful rival -for the trade of the world. We had humbled Napoleon and the pride of -France on the field of Waterloo. India had been taken with the sword. -With shot and shell and reeking bayonet these and other things were -done. And as we had done unto others, by reason of the necessities of -national existence, so might we rationally have expected that others in -their turn would do unto us. - -History, though in our self-absorption we forget it, is full of -dramatic surprises, and suddenly develops startling situations. The -rise of Japan had been a staggering surprise--both for Europe and -America, and, indeed, had become a great factor in the latest departure -of American policy. There had been other shocks, and there were more -to follow. Over all the white nations there hung a dark and ominous -shadow, ever increasing, caused by the rise and rapid expansion of -the yellow and black. The East was filling up, and inasmuch as Great -Britain still held much coveted territory in the West, and had money in -her banks, it was around and against the British Isles that the Spirit -of Annexation still watchfully hovered--ready to pounce. - -The raid at Dover--whether failing or succeeding--therefore must be -viewed as a sign, a lurid, awful sign, of altered times. The hour was -well chosen. Nicholas Jardine, the Man of the People, lay dead. The -nation was in the throes of a domestic crisis, the Champion of the -Women straining every nerve to take the dead President's place, and -pursue a programme which would satisfy the special aspirations of her -sex. - -Yet it could not be believed that such a nation, a race originally -so splendid in fibre, so dogged in courage, would take the onslaught -of her rivals lying down. England, surely, now at the eleventh hour, -would be roused to action. England would fight, and even dying breathe -defiance to her foes. But, alas! England sorely needed leadership--the -potent magic of some great personality to inspire her people with -courage and enthusiasm. And in this hour of dire distress, Renshaw, the -only leader who could have commanded a widespread patriotic following, -was lost to England--lying scarred and beaten, it was said, chained -like a dog in the prison of the Mahdi. - -So thought most of those who thought of him at all. Yet, even while his -name was on their lips, the Phoenix was reviving. Sir Robert Herrick -knew it. General Hartwell and Linton knew it; and there were others, -quick of hearing, keen of sight, who already heard the flapping of the -wings; saw the Phoenix rising from the ashes of the past and speeding -from afar towards our violated shores. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT. - - -The enemy still held the fort. All through the night a terrific -bombardment had been maintained, and even when the first grey line of -dawn began to creep across the downs the insistent fury of the guns -increased rather than diminished. Major Wardlaw estimated that during -the last twelve hours over eleven thousand shots had been fired from -the big guns of Fort Warden, while thousands of shrapnel hurled against -its fortifications from the various encircling field batteries manned -by British gunners were beyond all definite calculation. At the height -of the bombardment not less than 80 per minute must have been directed -by way of return against the British batteries, and in this onslaught -the great guns (of which there were seven at work in Fort Warden) -contributed the most overwhelming and terrible results. This deafening -and incessant rain of fire was directed mainly against the Castle and -Fort Burgoyne, but, incidentally, it had wrought ruin and convulsion on -every side. Shells falling into the town of Dover had already reduced -it to heaps of tumbled masonry. Here and there great volumes of smoke -rose from the wreckage of shops and houses. The Town Hall--the ancient -_Maison Dieu_, founded by Hugh de Burgh, Constable of Dover, in the -reign of John--having escaped destruction during the night, caught -fire about daybreak, the flames, rushing upward in the morning air, -watched by thousands from the western heights, to which the terrified -inhabitants had fled for safety. - -On the Castle Hill the bluish haze caused by the ceaseless bursting -of shells and shrapnel in some measure veiled the central scene of -conflict; and this haze, spreading far and wide over the landscape, -presently assumed the most delicate and beautiful colours as the sun -rose up and threw its shafts of light on hill and dale. When the light -grew stronger, cloud after cloud of smoke was seen to rush aloft from -the contending forts, and every moment the sun, with growing glory, -painted these rolling billows with glorious hues of burnished gold or -bronze. Here and there, while the people watched, columns of earth -and chalk rose high into the air, as shot and shell ploughed deep -into the soil, while flashes of fire from the bursting shells, the -pale smoke rushing like steam from the shrapnels, and the leaping -fountains of soil, all combined to give the beholder the impression -of some terrific convulsion of nature. So extraordinary and ghastly -was the general effect produced that many of the spectators believed -they were witnessing a volcanic eruption allied in some way with the -seismic disturbances reported to have occurred at Bath and other inland -watering-places. - -Yet towards the awful crater of this man-made volcano, British troops -were now advancing. It had been fondly hoped by the British staff -that the tremendous bombardment from the big howitzers, maintained -ceaselessly during the night, would have disabled Fort Warden to such -an extent that an infantry attack in the morning would meet with but -feeble resistance. Very few of the officers, however, had any true -conception of the enormous strength and staying power with which -Wardlaw had endowed his military master-piece. - -Yet the onslaught had to be made. To the Highlanders--brought over -from Shorncliffe--was entrusted the honour of leading the attack on one -side, while the Royal Marines, from Chatham; were simultaneously to -advance on the other. The hour of trial came. Firing not a shot, but -with heads bent low, creeping forward, and taking advantage of every -inequality in the ground for cover, the attacking force approached the -flaming portals that confronted them. It was but a short distance, for -during the night the saps had been carried close to the first circle of -wire entanglements. Some of the wires, moreover, had been destroyed, -leaving gaps through which the Highlanders were ordered to drag light -scaling ladders and approach the moat, while others pushed sandbags -before them to take the invaders' fire. - -Suddenly the word of command broke hoarsely on their ears. As it came -from the Commanding Officer, a bullet struck him in the heart. He -fell with a groan that was hardly audible. At the last word of their -beloved Commander the Highlanders sprang up, and with an angry yell -rushed headlong towards the moat. But narrow though the space they had -to cross, the withering fire from the machine guns made it impossible -to traverse it. The leading ranks, officers and men alike, were beaten -down by lead as hail beats down a field of waving corn. The rest -wavered, turned, and in a moment the ill-starred regiment, all that was -left of it, rushed down the hill in desperate flight. Attempts to rally -them were futile. Neither man nor devil could, or would, stand against -that awful overwhelming hail of shot and shell. - -On the other side of the fort, the Marines had approached somewhat -nearer to success. Here the gaps in the wire entanglements seen at -close quarters afforded some encouragement. With an inspiring cheer, -the men dashed forward, their bayonets fixed; but suddenly, as if from -the earth itself, sprang up an opposing line of bayonets. The gaps in -the entanglement were filled with German soldiers, and in an instant -the combatants were engaged, man to man, in a furious hand-to-hand -encounter. Deep groans and screaming blasphemies blended with the -tumult of the guns. Here and there in the męlée, men whose bayonets -were broken off clubbed their rifles and savagely battered at each -other's faces; but still more ghastly than the injuries thus exchanged -was the hellish work effected by the hand grenades, of which the Fort -contained large quantities. These explosives, now used for the first -time on English soil, blew men literally to pieces. Neither skill -nor courage could avert these horrible results. The methods of the -anarchist had been allowed to find scope in the warfare of civilized -peoples. The bombs, wherever they struck, made mincemeat of humanity. - -The Marines, like the Highlanders, had been driven back, and there came -a ghastly interlude when the Germans sought to rescue their wounded -and distinguish and carry in the dead. Those who had been butchered by -the hand grenades had to be hastily shovelled into sacks and baskets -before their remains could be removed. No pen could dare describe in -detail all the revolting sights which this small battle-field in a few -brief moments had revealed. Severed heads rolled down the hill, the -eyes wide open, the features fixed in horror. In one spot from ten to -fifteen corpses, friends and foes together, involved and twisted in a -shapeless mass, were suddenly discovered in a hollow. In many instances -the force of the explosions had torn the clothing from the bodies of -the soldiers. Arms and legs had been wrenched from their trunks and -blown away. From pyramidal heaps of mutilated English corpses stiffened -fingers pointed towards the sky. - -Many of the Marines who had escaped the hand grenades had had limbs -clean amputated by the knife-like fragments of the high explosives ere -the rush was made. In some instances the upper halves of bodies lay -on the hill without marks of injury, the lower limbs having wholly -disappeared. Yet terribly and suddenly as death had come to these -devoted men, far more awful was the fate of those whom shell and bomb -had shattered without absolutely killing. These slowly dying fragments -of humanity lay moaning in their tortured state, praying as they had -never prayed before for that last agony which should release them from -sufferings that no tongue could utter and no imagination even picture. - -Already the havoc wrought in human flesh had been accompanied with -inconceivable disaster in all directions. Fort Burgoyne, its guns -silenced by the more modern ordnance, was little better than a heap -of ruins--ruins piled high above the dead and dying gunners. The more -exposed batteries on the Western Heights had been dismantled long -before the inhabitants of Dover climbed the hill and gazed across -the valley. When, after the repulse of the British attack, the fury -of fight was abated for a brief period, and the smoke of battle -temporarily rolled away, the appearance of Dover Castle itself filled -the spectators with amazement and dismay. So great was the destruction -and the transformation that it was difficult to believe that what they -now looked upon had any association with the great towers and massive -walls which had been familiar objects to them all their lives. The -Norman keep, with walls more than 20 feet thick, had been so battered -as to present the appearance of a jagged range of rock. Peveril's -Tower had disappeared. The Cotton Gate, rising as it did to a height -of 90 feet and 460 feet above sea-level, by some miracle had escaped -all damage; but the Constable's Tower was reduced to half its former -height. The upper half, it was conjectured, lay crumbling in the moat -below. - -What had happened to the Duke of York's School, which the boys had -evacuated overnight, or to the batteries that had been placed in -Northfall Meadows and on the Golf Links, could only be a matter -of surmise. The Pharos and St. Mary's Church so far seemed to be -untouched, possibly because the gunners in Fort Warden had not deemed -it worth while to waste their fire on either. - -In all the awestricken throng that stood upon the Western Heights and -gazed across the ruined town towards Castle Hill, none had feelings -that corresponded wholly with those of Major Wardlaw. Scanning the -field of operations through his glasses, his face twitched as if in -actual pain. The attention of the uninformed lookers-on was constantly -diverted from one thing to another, the wreck of the Castle, the crash -of a roof as it collapsed in the town below, or the woolly clouds -caused by bursting shrapnel, which still was being fired at intervals. -But Wardlaw heeded none of the more picturesque effects. His mind, his -powers of observation, his poignant feelings, were intent on causes, -not effects. Every inch of the scene of operations was known to him. He -knew the position and capacity of each fort and field battery. He could -distinguish, where others knew no distinction, between the work of the -big guns, the siege guns, howitzers, mortars, and field artillery. A -sudden and terrific detonation told him that a huge naval gun had been -landed from one of the great ships in the Admiralty Harbour. It must -have been a work of enormous difficulty to get that gun ashore, during -the night, and a still more terrific task to drag it into position to -play with full effect upon Fort Warden. It was the work, as he knew, -of British seamen--British seamen at their best, which happily still -meant that there were none better in the world. But, more than all, his -thoughts ran on Fort Warden--the Fort itself. - -Nearly all his life the study of fortification had obsessed him. -While he looked at people, or even talked to them, his mind had been -at work on parapets, banquettes, palisades, scarp and counter-scarp. -All the technicology of the art of war and of the scientific defence -of permanent positions was as familiar to this Engineer Officer as -are household words to household people. Fort Warden, as already -indicated, was the outcome of his concentrated mental labours and his -soldier's instinct. In his younger days superior officers had looked -rather coldly on his zeal. He had shown that he was a young man with -ideas, and ideas are unwelcome to officials who love red tape and -well-established grooves. - -But as years went on and slow promotion at last came to him, he had -gained the ear of men in military power. Thus advanced in confidence -and authority, he had been allowed almost a free hand in designing the -modernized defences of Castle Hill. It was so desirable to sooth the -public mind that public money had been spent upon the works without any -sort of stint. Everything that the Major thought Fort Warden ought to -have was there. In construction his plans had been faithfully observed. -He had been allowed to make experiments of every kind. Not satisfied -with earthworks, moats, wire entanglements, and bomb-proof shelters -for the trenches, Wardlaw had adopted a novel system of armour plates -for the protection of the Fort--plates that were produced by the use -of tantalum ore alloyed with steel. This hardy metal, imported from -Australia, had been proved to possess the most remarkable qualities. In -itself it was heavier than iron, and could be so treated as to increase -by 30 per cent. the resisting power of any armour plates previously in -use for naval or military purposes. - -The success of Wardlaw's designs, the wisdom of his -carefully-considered plans, the selection and apportionment of warlike -material (in the preparation of which the chemist played a more -important part than the armourer), had been only too amply justified. -Results affirmed the first principle of fortification and of the art -of gunnery, which principle lay in creating and arming a position of -such strength and such resources that it could be held by a body of -men greatly inferior in numbers to those by whom they were attacked. -Fort Warden, the great outcome of the Major's career, the splendid -achievement on the strength of which he had retired from active -service, thus stood justified beyond all cavil or dispute. - -Yet, as he gazed towards the work of his hands, Wardlaw's heart was -full of grief and bitterness. There stood the Fort in all its pride -and strength; around it lay the victims of its fury; within it less -than three hundred foreigners still defied thousands of British troops -on British soil. Above it floated, so far, in victory, two foreign -Eagles--the flags of Germany and the United States. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -IN THE HEART OF THE HILL. - - -While the dead were being buried and the wounded removed, there was -a long cessation of the savage struggle. Indeed, the long lull in -the firing almost led some people to believe that it would be heard -no more. Crowds on the Western heights glanced curiously, anxiously, -towards Fort Warden, with some idea that its picked garrison would now -abandon their desperate and daring attempt to hold the position. It -became known that the enemy's plans had been in part defeated--either -by reason of some official blunder or through the watchfulness of -the French at the other extremity of the Channel Tunnel. The German -troops that were to have raided the French terminus, and then poured -into England, under the protection of the guns of Fort Warden, already -seized by their advance guard, had not arrived, and could not now -approach to aid their countrymen. Movements of foreign warships and -transports were hourly reported by telegraph and wireless messages, but -the British Fleet had by this time formed a deadly barrier of iron and -steel around the coast line of Kent and Sussex. There must be a great -battle and a great defeat of our squadrons before another foreigner -could set his foot on Kentish shore. - -The brooding day wore on, tense with suspense and fear. In the -stillness that accompanied the deepening of twilight, hundreds of -field-glasses were finally directed towards the silent fort to -discover whether the American and German flags had yet given place to -the white flag of submission. Any such anticipation, however, proved -unfounded. For suddenly, as the dusk increased, the roar of artillery -was heard; the masked batteries of the British once more had opened -simultaneous fire upon the Fort. Instantly the challenge was accepted. -Fort Warden roared its defiance. The big naval gun thundered its -repeated demand for surrender; the siege guns crashed in unison; the -howitzers savagely chimed in, barking as in sudden fury, like monster -dogs of war; and fifty field guns combined to swell the dreadful, -deafening chorus. - -Presently the fire from the Fort slackened. It seemed clear they were -husbanding their strength for work more crucial. Or could it be that -they were running short of ammunition? Perhaps, it was conjectured, -more damage had been done to Wardlaw's Works than the British had -supposed. Such speculations cheered the spirits of officers and men. -But the wiser among them only shook their heads. They appreciated the -mettle of the men who held the fort, realised that they had counted -the cost, expected no quarter, and meant to win or die. The British -staff knew that it would be folly to cry until they were out of the -wood. They realised that many a man must bite the dust in agony before -the British Standard floated over Wardlaw's Works again, if, indeed, -it ever fluttered there at all! The invaders would, and must, hold the -Fort till their last gasp--not because they in themselves could hope -for ultimate triumph over the increasing forces that now surrounded -them, but because to them time was everything--time for their -countrymen to develop elsewhere the work of conquest; time for the -American and German combined squadrons to land troops at unprotected -spots of Great Britain and Ireland, while they, the daring three -hundred, monopolised the attention of the flower of England's troops. -The plans of the Allies were elaborate. This was but their first great -move. - -Meanwhile, imperative orders had been given for the British to attack -the Fort again. The attempt was to be made directly darkness had set -in, and it was only to pave the way for a new and even more determined -onslaught that the guns had broken forth in the renewed bombardment -already chronicled. Troops, Regular and Territorial, still were pouring -into Kent. - -No drum or bugle note disturbed the evening air; an interval of ominous -silence, pregnant with dreadful threats and dire potentialities, -preceded the renewed attack. When the hour had come, the word of -command, uttered in a whisper, was whispered on from rank to rank. -In open order, the swarming infantry battalions crept swiftly up the -hill, simultaneously making for the Fort on every side. They reached a -certain point, then paused under the last scrap of cover that remained -available, while the field telephones sent swift messages to certain -batteries. The signals served their purposes, and as the guns burst out -again, the men sprang to their feet and doubled forward. - -Those who were advancing from the South stopped almost instantly, -dazzled and confused. The powerful searchlight of the Fort glared -into their faces with bewildering suddenness, and the insistent -racket of rifles and machine guns told them that their advance had -been discovered. The doomed and blinded soldiers fell in scores, in -hundreds, before a withering storm of bullets. Then, just as suddenly -as it had been revealed, the flashlight was concealed; but only -to glare forth again on the British supports that were hurried to -the front. Thus, brilliant light and deepest darkness alternated in -swift and bewildering succession, and through both alike the leaden -messengers of death mowed down the advancing troops. - -Rank after rank reeled back upon their climbing comrades. On the South -side, once more, the attack had failed, and failed at heavy cost. - -North, West, and East, the result had been the same--repulse, defeat. -The night was now illumined with extraordinary brilliance. Star-shells, -rising high into the air above the Fort, burst in quick and dazzling -succession. The blinding glare lighted up the hill, the sea, and -every field and building, revealing, too, the fleeing figures of the -retreating force and the prostrate forms of hosts of dead and wounded. -A hail of bullets from the Maxims persistently pursued the remnant of -the fleeing soldiers, and swept the plateau and the hillside clear of -living things. - -Pom, pom, pom! the murderous machines of wholesale destruction -continued their deadly work until the men who worked them could find no -living thing to put to death. - -Broken and beaten--many of them desperately and horribly wounded--the -panting remnant of the attacking force heard, as, at last, they halted, -a shrill shout of triumph from the jubilant defenders of the Fort. - -But the night's work was far from finished. The Fort must fall--cost -what it might, the Fort must fall. If it could not be captured above -ground in the staring light of star-shells, the attack must be made -by burrowing in darkness through the hill itself. Preparations for -this desperate and dangerous work had been already started, and much -progress made. For twelve hours or more, during what appeared to be -a suspension of hostilities, the sappers had worked in relays with -furious and unremitting energy. While their comrades above ground were -being repulsed, while the star-shells went up in a rapid succession, -and the implacable searchlight swept the hill in all directions, the -picks of the Engineers, yard by yard, were steadily hacking a way -towards the very foundations of the Fort. - -These tunnelling operations would have been infinitely more tedious -and more arduous had not an elaborate system of subterranean passages -already been provided by Major Wardlaw. Various cunningly devised -galleries bad been secretly cut in the hill in order to furnish the -garrison of the Fort (on the assumption that the garrison would be -English and acting on the defensive), with the means of taking an -attacking force in the rear, and of laying mines for the destruction -of any besiegers. But the tables had been turned, though how far, if -at all, the invaders were aware of these hidden avenues and the method -by which they could be made available, remained a matter of doubt and -anxious speculation to the British Staff. Meanwhile, hour after hour, -deep in the heart of the hill, the sappers sweated at their work. -Nearer and nearer they approached to the spot at which a mine, if -exploded, might be expected to shatter at least a section of the Fort, -and open a way for British bayonets to enter. - -A few more yards and the vital point would be reached. Then, suddenly, -the sapper who was wielding a pickaxe in advance of all the rest paused -in his work, listening intently. He raised his hand excitedly, and the -officer in command of the party instantly crept forward, and with an -imperious gesture stopped the work. The sappers, their faces shining -in the lantern light, at first wondered what it meant. But soon enough -they heard and understood. Faintly, as through a massive wall, there -came to their ears the fateful sound of tapping--the click, click, -click of other pickaxes. It came from below the tunnel they themselves -were cutting. One thing, and only one, could explain the sound. The -invaders had found out, or someone had betrayed to them, one of the -secret tunnels of the hill. - -The sappers, pale as death, gazed in each other's faces. In a flash -they realised the awful jeopardy in which they stood. The invaders were -counter-mining at a lower stratum! beneath their very feet. At any -moment--while a breath was drawn or glances were exchanged--they might -explode their mine! - -There was an awesome pause, then the officer gave a sharp, -half-whispered order. Instantly, boldly, the picks were at their -work again. It was a desperate race for time--here in this cramped -tunnel--in the smothering depths of mother earth; and no man's life -was worth a moment's purchase. Yet iron self-discipline prevailed. The -sappers worked with almost frenzied haste and vigour. After ten minutes -of furious, exhausting labour, they were allowed to pause. The chests -of the toilers heaved painfully; some of them tried to hold their -breath; others shook their heads impatiently, as if to stop the singing -in their ears. They wanted to listen, to hear, and know their fate. - -No sound reached them. It was a moment of agonizing tension. Then, -nearer than before, they heard the picks again. Suddenly the sound -ceased. The invaders had completed their work. There was no time to -lose. At a sign from the officer, who brushed a handkerchief across his -face and drew a laboured breadth, a grim-faced sergeant began to crawl -back swiftly to the distant opening of the tunnel for the dynamite. -Another and more torturing pause ensued. - -Which mine would be exploded first? - -It was an affair of minutes, then of seconds. Their mine was not yet -ready. But duty held them to their ground. Though hell should burst -upon them on the instant, the flaming portals must be faced. - -Out in the open, those who watched and waited suddenly heard a -thunderous detonation. A huge mass of earth and chalk rose high in the -air, and clouds of whitish smoke spread skyward in the full glare of -the searchlights. Three engineers, half doubled up, now came rushing -from the tunnel to the outlet, bursting among a little group of -officers, who staggered back with horror in their faces. - -"Done for ... countermined!" One of the sappers gasped out the fateful -words, then sank exhausted on the ground. - -"My God!" exclaimed Helmore, the officer in charge of the relief party, -falling back a pace. Then, promptly recovering his self-control, he -cried: "Forward to the rescue. Some of our men may be alive!" He -himself dashed into the tunnel, followed by half a dozen men. At -a little distance, the narrow avenue was blocked. The miners were -entombed! but an indirect opening had been made by the concussion, -which gave the rescuing party access to another tunnel. Following -this, and finding it intact, Helmore, in advance of the party, raised -his lanthorn and saw in the distance an exposed angle of a massive -concrete wall. He understood at once that the exploded mine, working -in a lateral direction as well as upward, had exposed the caponiere, -or covered lodgment under the counter-scarp, which Wardlaw had sunk in -that position designedly for the protection of the Fort. Therefore, the -holders of the Fort, in a measure, were hoist with their own petard. -Their mine had exploded first, but at the same time it had exposed a -point against which a subterranean attack now might be directed. - -The moat encircling the Fort was twenty-eight feet wide and eighteen -deep. Strongly fortified everywhere, a special feature of its strength -lay in the caponiere gallery. The walls of this gallery, constructed -beneath the entire counter-scarp, were some seven feet thick. On -this, the South side, as also on the East, the gallery was divided by -concrete partitions into five communicating cells or chambers. These -chambers, as Lieutenant Helmore knew from the confidential plans of -the defence works, communicated, cell with cell, by low and narrow -doorways. From the last of the five cells, by a narrow flight of steps, -could be reached a door of massive steel, and on the other side of that -door a passage five feet wide passed beneath the rampart and the moat -into the interior of the Fort itself. This communication, of course, -was intended to enable defenders of the Fort to reach the caponieres -which jutted into the moat at intervals, and thence fire upon any -troops that sought to bridge it. - -The enormous importance of his discovery made Helmore forget for a -moment the fate or peril of his ill-starred comrades--buried as they -were in the adjacent débris. Indeed, it was apparent that nothing could -be done for them. Their dreadful fate was sealed, and the faint groans -that at first reached the ears of the would-be rescuers soon entirely -ceased to be heard. - -Helmore, after a moment's pause, sent a man back with news of the -discovery to his commanding officer, who instantly grasped the -requirements of the situation. He issued certain rapid orders, and a -hundred men darted down the hill in prompt obedience. Meanwhile, the -relief sappers, guided by Helmore, crept through the narrow tunnel into -which an opening had been forced by the explosion. Without losing an -instant, the Engineers began to chisel several holes in the exposed -section of the concrete wall. A charge of dynamite was passed along, -and all made ready. The men rushed back and waited. The crack and crash -of a violent explosion followed, and the sappers, hurrying forward, -followed by other troops, found that a broad gap had been made in the -gallery of the caponiere. Through this breach they crept and crawled, -to find themselves in the first of the five cells, or gallery-sections, -that have been described. - -Opposite to them was the arched doorway leading into the next chamber. -But already the defending force had occupied it. Foreseeing that the -entire gallery might be rushed chamber by chamber, they had brought -heavy sandbags and piled them high, close to the first doorway. - -Against these obstacles the attacking party hurled themselves, -furiously but in vain. Half a dozen engineers immediately commenced -to break through the wall itself, in the hope of thus reaching the -adjoining chamber. Only a few men could work in so confined a space, -and while they hacked against the solid wall, the German defenders -now thrust their rifles between the gaps of the sandbags and fired -at random. Four Englishmen fell dead, or desperately wounded. Their -comrades dragged them back, making room for others. The Colonel's -orders had now been carried out, and hand grenades were passed along -from man to man. These fearful engines of destruction were only to be -used in case of dire extremity; because, closed within these walls, -beneath the hill, the explosives might well prove as fatal to the men -who used them as to the enemy. For the same reasons, doubtless, the -German soldiers engaged in this subterranean struggle, so far, had made -no use of bombs. - -The sappers having found it hopeless to cut a wider entrance through -the wall into the adjoining chamber, another plan was quickly thought -of and attempted. A can of kerosene was passed along and poured upon -the sandbags; then another and another. The moment a light was applied, -the soaked sandbags began to burn with so fierce a flame that the -soldiers on each side were driven back, and for a brief space the -chambers on both sides of the archway were left quite tenantless. Then, -with a half stifled cheer, a dozen British soldiers, their rifles -clubbed, dashed across the chamber and thrust the burning mass into -the inner cell. The Germans in the opposite entry already were hastily -piling more sandbags in position, but the gap was not wholly filled -when the attacking party rushed upon them impetuously and with an -excited shout. Bayonets crossed bayonets now, but neither side could -get free play either for attack or for defence. Over the waist-high -sandbags in this second archway, the combatants with desperate fury -thrust and stabbed. Groans and savage oaths blended with the flash of -steel. The place grew slippery with blood. Men fell and could not rise -again. Comrade trod comrade under foot and heeded not. - -Only one lanthorn now remained alight, half revealing the intent and -savage faces of the combatants. The Germans seemed to have no light at -all. And poor Helmore, who held the solitary lanthorn aloft to guide -his men, thus helped to direct the fatal thrust that laid him low. -With a hoarse cry, one of the Germans had hurled a bayonet through the -doorway. It pierced deep into the lieutenant's throat. The lanthorn -dropped from his upraised hand, and he fell against the wall. Blood -gushed in a torrent from his mouth, even while he bravely strove to -utter the last word of command: - -"Forward, men, forward!" he gasped, then spoke no more. - -A young soldier who heard him had marked well the position of the -archway, ere darkness hid it, and, maddened at the fall of his -officer, he hurled a hand grenade towards the opening. The effect was -instantaneous and terrific. The dreadful shock was succeeded by a still -more dreadful silence. - -When a light was struck it was seen that every German in the inner -chamber had been blown to pieces. - -A moment's hesitation in face of the ghastly sight, then, as the light -went out again, the British sprang into the inner cell to find, or -rather feel, that it was splashed and smeared with blood and clogged -with spongy fragments of the mutilated dead. - -Cell number two, by some freak of the explosive, had not been affected, -and as the third chamber thus was gained, a sergeant, shouting in the -darkness, gave the eager word: - -"Forward again! we'll have the Fort! By God, we'll have the Fort!" - -Again the men pressed forward, but this time no defenders barred the -way. In the distance there was a sound of hurrying footsteps. The -Germans had retreated down the stone stair which led to the steel door -of communication. - -Reinforcements had now reached the gallery, and fresh lights were -brought. Well might the newcomers shudder and turn sick at what those -lights revealed in chamber number three. At the moment it was quite -impossible to carry the dead and wounded to the rear. Officers and -men were swarming in, and none could leave the gallery. But word was -passed along for surgeons to be sent, and the wounded were laid against -the walls, leaving a clear gangway. Then the advance was cautiously -continued. - -Another officer--Carlow, who had just obtained his company--now -took command. Promptly but slowly, he headed the advance, for this -silence, this sudden cessation of resistance, might betoken some deadly -ambuscade. - -The men went forward, two and two. Chambers four and five proved to be -quite deserted. They reached the farther archway of cell number five, -and there Carlow, halting, peered down into the darkness of the narrow -stair. - -As he stood, gazing, listening, strange and pungent fumes crept up -between the walls. He gasped for breath and staggered back. The men -behind him did the same. The fumes were rising, spreading--permeating -the low gallery with extraordinary rapidity, travelling swiftly -into every chamber. Only a few understood how this awful sense of -suffocation was occasioned; and some who guessed that from an air-pump -down below the Germans were pumping asphyxiating gas into the gallery -guessed it too late. A few, before the gas had wholly overpowered them, -fought their way back to the open, but more than a hundred men dropped -where they stood in the close chambers--dropped and died. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -SIGNS AND WONDERS. - - -That important person, Miss Flossie Wardlaw, was extremely angry! -Events were interfering with her plan of life, and upsetting all her -theories of fitness. The preoccupation, the infatuation, shown by the -only other member of her family for something outside domestic life was -too exasperating. That tiresome fort at Dover was absorbing all her -father's thoughts. He grew paler and more haggard day by day, bestowing -less and less attention on the far more important interests that -concerned his little daughter and the familiar programme of her daily -life. - -Flossie told herself that she was not unreasonable. She had been quite -ready to make allowances. Alarming things, she knew, had happened close -at hand. Impudent foreigners had seized Fort Warden by stealth. The -ceaseless boom of the big guns disturbed the current of existence in -the bungalow. Things were tiresome; indeed, quite worrying when they -kept on like that! It was dreadful, that Englishmen, her father's -soldier-friends, should be killed by foreigners--killed in England -too, only ten miles away; usually they were only killed a long way -off, and that seemed different. But, of course, it could only end in -one way; the offenders would be turned out and most severely punished. -Meanwhile, the repeated and prolonged absence of her father at Dover, -and his preoccupied behaviour when he was at home, filled Flossie -with mixed feelings of annoyance and sympathy, in which the former -ingredient became more and more predominant. Her queenly power seemed -to be undermined. Her faithful subject had deserted her. Oh! that -horrid Fort! - -Miss Flossie nursed the personal sense of injury, and husbanded her -growing grievance, to the exclusion of thoughts concerning the national -questions that arose. So much depends upon the point of view; and that, -in turn, so much depends upon one's age. - -Nevertheless, the issues of the struggle at Fort Warden were vitally -important. They riveted the attention of many millions of the -population of the world. Here in England itself the seizure of the fort -had assumed a colossal significance, shaking the nation out of the -ever-narrowing grooves of Parliamentary and municipal party conflict, -compelling men to look back to a great history and forward to an era of -littleness that gave pause even to the most selfish and complacent. - -Cost what it might, the enemy must be driven out. Our Flag must wave -above that fort again. - -A spreading feeling of fury and resentment arose against the -Government. To this complexion had we come! Pushing politicians, -self-seeking wire-pullers of both sexes, had dragged England in the -dust. So much for Petticoat Government! So much for the Amazonian -craze, this make-believe of women-soldiers and girl-gunners. Woman -had largely ousted man from place and power, and this was the result! -A handful of foreigners had been emboldened to assail us on our own -sacred soil. Popular anger expressed itself afresh by breaking out -viciously into the old doggerel:-- - - "Old Nick and the Cat, - With Johnnie and Jan, - Have brought poor England - Under a ban!" - -Truly, Man was needed at the helm to which at this crisis woman clung -so obstinately. Man was wanted in his old authority, and, behold! in -every department of control woman was clinging to his coat-tails, -hindering his action, dividing his counsels, prating of peace when -there could be no peace, and exhibiting a rudimentary unfitness to -grapple with an unprecedented and desperate situation. - -The outcry came not from the men alone, but with increasing vehemence -from the very sex that had struggled for supremacy. Women out of -office--necessarily the vast majority--now began to discover that -those aggressive or more fortunate representatives of their sex who -had obtained salaried posts or prominence of some sort in public life, -were in many cases frauds and failures. This rule of woman that had -come to pass was not what the great mass of her sex had contemplated -or intended. They confessed it to husbands and brothers; and husbands -and brothers nodded in wise and ready acquiescence. Their faces plainly -said: "I told you so." - -Thousands of women ruefully admitted the impeachment. Successful -rivalry--mostly vicarious--had brought them no real joy. They had -gained power and lost love; and in their inmost hearts they knew that -love was worth the world. Always it had been part of woman's character -to strive for her own way, and always she had ended by despising the -man who permitted her to gain it. Yes! woman's collective triumph in -this new age, as she now sadly realised, had cost her dear. With -the gradual abandonment of man's protective affection had gone the -true ingredients of her happiness; much that made up the grace and -joy of life, tenderness and chivalry, caressing mastery, the rightful -dominance of the stronger sex. Yes! love was worth the world. - -The heel of woman disclosed her weakness--and revealed her strength. -Fool and blind! grasping at the sceptre she had lost the kingdom; the -kingdom of the heart, encircled and protected by the strong arms of a -lover as the guardian-sea encircles England's shores. Like an electric -spark this spirit of regret and discontent flew through the land. A -little more, and it would mean a revolution. Away with the unnatural -dominion of Woman! Back to the reign of Man! - -It would have been idle to expect unanimity where pride and personal -interest were so closely involved. The pushing leaders of social -democracy and the Vice-President and her following were not likely to -submit without a struggle to the restoration of hereditary authority. -Woman in office and power throughout the State would be sure to cling -desperately to her foothold, and no one could yet foresee the outcome -of the swiftly dawning struggle. - -The hands of a little band of energetic men, however, were busy -throwing wide the floodgates, and no two men were more active than -those veterans, one of the army, and the other of the law--General -Hartwell and Sir Robert Herrick. To them it seemed that the signs of -the times were full of deep significance, and pregnant with the highest -hopes. They knew that there were still some men with grit in England, -men who saw with bitter wrath the pass to which the nation had been -brought. In their eyes the governance of this once glorious land had -become a byword and a mockery. And it was because of this that the -present humiliating spectacle was to be seen at Dover. - -Nor was that all. In the midst of these alarms, there was something -else that shook and terrified the people, filling the minds of -thousands with forebodings and distress. - -Strange symptoms of seismic disturbance had been reported not only -from Bath, but also from other parts of England. Such awe-inspiring -tremblings of the solid earth must ever produce a sense of apprehension -which at any moment may grow into a universal panic. It was noticed -that, so far, these disquieting indications were confined to the -neighbourhood of thermal waters. At Matlock, Harrogate, Leamington, and -Woodhall Spa, there had been a marked increase in the volume of the -rising waters, with other signs of an abnormal earth activity. - -What did these things betoken? Signs of the times, they were variously -interpreted. As in the days of Noah! The great multitude of men and -women laughed at the shipbuilder and went about the business of their -daily lives, so now hosts of dull and unimaginative persons remained -unmoved in their obtuse philosophy. Others there were who believed -a providential influence was at work--conveying an admonition and -a warning by some such solemn signs as those predicted to occur -before the last great change of all. Were there not to be signs in -the heavens, and signs in the quaking earth, the sea and the waves -roaring, nation rising against nation, creation, animate and inanimate, -preparing for the awful Armageddon foreshadowed in the page of Holy -Writ? - -Events were moving fast. A fanatic named Richards, stalking wild-eyed -through the land, broke out into fierce prophetic utterance, mocked and -jeered at by many, but followed by rapidly increasing numbers. This -strange man entered on a pilgrimage from one to the other of the inland -watering places, where symptoms of earthquake had been felt, everywhere -inspiring awe and wonder in breasts of thousands. In South London, -which he first visited, he was followed by enormous crowds, consisting -to a great extent of women. Here, on the Surrey side, there had been -a corresponding departure from the normal, for the old forgotten Spa -of Bermondsey had developed a new and disturbing energy. While this -ancient spring rose in unexampled quantities, and at high temperature, -the once famous Spa at Epsom, only some twenty miles away, exhibited -a like activity. The argument was irresistible that such far-spread -manifestations of the same character must necessarily spring from a -common cause. - -If so, then these mysterious subterranean workings also pointed to the -pending evolution of some common result; it might take the shape of -some terrific upheaval and convulsion that would reduce the British -Isles to their primeval form, submerge them in the sea, or even change -the face of Western Europe. - -Still these were but dark shadows and dread potentialities. Time alone -could show whether events would verify such grim forebodings. But, -meanwhile, there was one concrete and absorbing fact--the presence in -England of the invading foreigner. This, at least, was a stern reality, -pressing and predominant. The terrible Three Hundred still held the -Fort; the great guns still roared and boomed, the pom-poms worked -incessantly. Stiffened forms in increasing numbers strewed Castle -Hill; the numbers of the dead and dying mounted daily. - -The highest military authorities now were constantly engaged in -vehement and anxious conference with Major Wardlaw. The discussions, -renewed again and again, early and late, had dealt with all aspects -of the existing problem, had touched on and passed by many suggested -expedients. One project, in particular, had excited much difference -of opinion. Urgent advice had been given officially and through the -newspapers to call the air-ships into play. Fort Warden, turtle-roofed, -was supposed to be entirely bomb-proof, but it was argued that if all -the air-ships in England--some 200--were to concentrate above the Fort -and pour down bombs and explosives in great quantities, the result -could hardly fail to terrify, if not to annihilate, the obstinate -defenders. But Edgar Wardlaw shook his head. He alone knew the enormous -resisting power that he had built up against this very contingency of -warfare. - -Moreover, there were the obligations of treaties to be remembered. -Air-ships were not to be used in warfare. International compacts on the -subject of aerial navigation must be respected. To set a dishonourable -example by disregarding them for our own immediate purpose might lead -to disastrous international results. Two, and more than two, could play -at such a game as that! - -And even, while the idea was being mooted, its immediate adoption -became impossible. In a single night every English air-ship, the -whereabouts of which was known, sustained mysterious, and, in most -cases, irreparable damage. Such a discovery could not be concealed -from the public. It was clear that some great and elaborate conspiracy -was afoot, that the agents of the enemy were numerous, active, and -daring, here in the very heart of England. It was clear, too, that the -Government had been caught napping, and only too probable that worse -surprises might yet befall the country. The police, it is true, made -several arrests of suspected persons, but prevention, not cure, was the -national desideratum. While the grass grew the steed might starve. Of -what avail the slow formalities of legal, investigation, the jog-trot -of red-tape routine, when the enemy was already at the gate, aye, in -the heart of the citadel? - -In this crisis it transpired that the _Bladud_ was the only air-ship -unaccounted for. There were conflicting statements about her recent -movements; but presently it became known that she had been lent by the -late President to a young Canadian friend named Linton Herrick. Mr. -Herrick had been seen to go up with Wilton, the Engineer, and it was -believed that subsequently the _Bladud_ had been identified with an -air-ship that had been seen travelling rapidly, and at a considerable -altitude, over the English Channel. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -HOW THE RAID FAILED. - - -Flossie had spoken. Silent resentment, obdurately nursed for quite two -days, had given place to voluble reproaches. He was naughty, she told -her father; never before had she known him quite so naughty. Why! he -had hardly opened his lips for days and days; he had not taken her -out, nor brought things home, or done anything. Waking that morning -very early and very hungry, she had found nothing--not a thing--under -her pillow--no, not even a lump of sugar; and he knew perfectly well -that there were always lumps of sugar in the sideboard. No! he had -forgotten. He did not love her, that was quite clear. His head was -fuller than ever of that horrid Fort. If he did not look out he would -go there and get killed himself presently, and that would be a nice -thing to happen, wouldn't it? - -Under the shower of these reproaches, Major Wardlaw hung his head. His -silence and submissiveness slightly mollified the stern young lady. -Like many others of her sex, Flossie must needs scold and then be sorry -for the object of her reproaches. To-night there was something in her -father's looks and bearing that arrested her vehemence. Why! goodness -gracious! what was the matter? - -"You know," she said shrewdly, looking at him as she stood between -his knees with that steady gaze of youthful eyes that is often so -disconcerting, "You know, if you weren't a great big man, I should say -you were going to cry." - -"Nonsense, nonsense," her father answered, and hugged her closely in -his arms. - -"Mind my hair," said Flossie sharply, "I'm very tired and I'm going -to bed. I hope you won't be naughty any more. Promise!" He nodded -with a queer look in his eyes. "_You_ look tired, too! come up early. -To-morrow we'll be just the same as ever, won't we? You shall be very -nice, and I shall forgive you, because, after all, I do love you, don't -I?" - -"That's right," he said gravely. - -"Yes, but you're not right. I've never seen you quite like this. I'm -sure there's something. Where's my book?" - -He picked up the story-book and she tucked it under her arm, smothering -a yawn that suffused her blue eyes and showed all her pretty teeth. - -"Good-night; be good," she said, and kissed him. - -"Yes! But you've forgotten your hymn." - -The child looked at him searchingly. His manner puzzled her more and -more. His voice seemed hardly natural; he was grave, intensely grave, -yet trying to cloak his seriousness by speaking in ordinary tones. - -"Must I, to-night?" she asked, half closing her sleepy eyes. - -"Yes, dearest, please, to-night." - -She glanced down at the story-book under her arm, and her father -understood the look. Flossie wanted to reserve her few mental energies -to finish a chapter in bed. But with a little sigh of resignation, -she began in drowsy tones the recitation of the hymn. The theme was -resignation. Wardlaw seemed to hang upon the well-known words: - - "If Thou shouldst call me to resign - What most I prize, it ne'er was mine; - I only yield Thee what is Thine; - Thy Will be done." - -He bowed his head. - -Flossie, too heavy-eyed to notice, turned away. Her father looked up -quickly. - -"Kiss me again, darling." - -He held her by the arms in front of him, firmly but lightly. - -The child roused herself to sudden alertness. - -"One for you, and one for me, and one for both together. That's three!" -she observed after the third kiss--"Just for a treat." - -His eyes followed her as she crossed the room. At the door, she turned -and nodded warningly. - -"Something nice to-night, mind, and don't stay up too late." - -Wardlaw held his breath and kept his seat while Flossie went slowly, -languidly, up the stairs. Then, with clenched hands and tortured eyes, -he started to his feet. - -The last time! God in heaven, could it be truly that? - -Never to know the kiss of her childish lips again, never to feel her -warm, clinging little arms around his neck! - -With bloodshot eyes and still clenched hands he paced the room. - -Away in the distance the booming guns broke out again with their -dreadful monotone, recalled inexorably the work he had to do. He had -weighed it well, pondered it, as he told himself, too long already. The -Fort must fall! All other means had failed. Blood had been poured out -like water, and to no purpose. Yonder on the hill, thousands of men, -obedient unto death, his brothers in arms, had braved the weapons which -he, Wardlaw, had stored within those impregnable defences, weapons -which had been turned against his own country and his own people with -such terrible results. England could not wait while the foreigners were -starved into surrender. The Fort must fall without delay. He, Wardlaw, -knew the master-key of the position, and also knew that he who used it -must be prepared to lose his life. Why had he not used it before? - -There were reasons which would satisfy reasonable people: the surprise -of the situation, the slowness of the military authorities in inviting -his assistance, the probability that, finding themselves without -support in a hostile country, the invaders would throw up the sponge. -But none of these probabilities had been verified. The Fort was still -held by the foreigner; and the Fort must fall! - -Edgar Wardlaw was a scientific soldier--not one of those men of -bull-dog courage who, obedient to orders, would hurl themselves without -thought into a bloody struggle. The mind that can devise and perfect -death-dealing armaments is not necessarily, or even probably, a mind -that inspires and braces the fighting quality of the every-day soldier. -The red badge of courage can indeed be won by men of high-strung nerves -and delicate organisation, but it is won at most tremendous cost. -Wardlaw had been slow in coming to his resolution, but he would never -recede from it. They were arms of love that had enchained him, at the -last--the arms of a little child. But now he was breaking even those -fond links asunder. He was ready--almost ready. - -Pacing the room, he glanced at his watch. It was nearly ten o'clock. -Soon she would be asleep. He went over to the sideboard and made a -quick yet careful search, finding a small fancy cake, some fruit, and -sugar; as Flossie had said, there was always sugar, though other things -might fail. - -He must delay no longer. Carefully and on tiptoe he went up the -creaking stairs. The servants were chattering and laughing in the -kitchen, but in the child's bedroom there was not a sound. He entered -cautiously. Yes, she was asleep, long lashes resting on the delicately -flushed skin, lips slightly parted, one arm thrown out upon her open -book. - -Wardlaw moved cautiously across the room and stood looking down upon -the sleeping child. He looked long, and who shall say with what -poignant and unutterable agony of spirit. Then he slipped the paper bag -containing what he had brought with him under the pillow, and gently -moved the book, lest it should fall upon the floor and wake her. The -volume contained two stories, bound up together--"Sintram and his -Companions," and "Aslauga's Knight," stories whose leaves come out of -the old Saga-land, bringing with them the romance and adventure that -charm the children, while also they reveal to older folk the mystic -conflict of the human soul. Sintram's Companions, as Wardlaw knew, were -Sin and Death, Companions of us all. With Death by his side, Sintram -had to ride amid the terrors of the narrow mountain gorge--just as the -Pilgrim of the immortal Progress had journeyed through the Valley of -the Shadow. - -His eyes rested on the open page of the story-book:-- - - "When Death is coming near, - When thy heart shrinks in fear - And thy limbs fail, - - Then raise thy hands and pray - To Him who smoothes the way - Through the dark vale." - -He bowed his head and closed the book quietly, placing it near the -child's pillow. Downstairs the clock chimed a quarter after ten--cheery -little chimes, ticking off the flight of time as if endless days and -years still remained for all who heard them. - -And yet for him who listened only a few hours of life remained. Death -called him--not in the heat and excitement of battle, but in this still -hour of cool blood and calm reflection. It made it vastly harder to -obey. - -Never again would he hear those familiar tinkling chimes. This was his -last farewell to all that he held dear. Death coldly beckoned him, as -Sintram was beckoned at the entrance of the gorge. His hour had come to -pass into the Shadow. The stern implacable demand of duty was ringing -in his soul, and he dared gaze no longer on his sleeping child. If she -should wake and look into his eyes, courage, honour, duty, all that -makes man obedient unto death, might fail him even now. He dared not -press his lips upon her cheek; he dared not even touch her hand. - -She stirred and muttered something in her sleep. He quickly raised and -kissed a few strands of her lovely hair; it was the last touch, the -final leave-taking! - -The father turned away. The child slept on. - - * * * * * - -A hundred yards from the bungalow--appointed to stay there, so that -Flossie should not hear and wonder--a motor-car awaited him. The -chauffeur belonged to his own corps--the Engineers. The man saluted -him and looked anxiously at the drawn--white face, on which the -lamp-light fell. Not a word was spoken. Wardlaw took his seat, and -immediately the car, like a sentient thing let loose, sped swiftly on -the road to Dover. - -It was a night of starshine and soft breezes. As they climbed the -rising ground, the pure air from the sea grew stronger. Bracing, -health-giving, breathing life, it fanned the face of the silent man who -was rushing towards his self-appointed doom. Stiff and rigid, he sat, -staring into the night, but conscious of nothing around him or before -him. All his thoughts were of what was left behind--the dainty bedroom -with the shaded light, the rosy sleeping child, the delicate dimpled -face that he should see no more, his one ewe lamb of all the world. - -"If Thou shouldst call me to resign...." - -The burden of the hymn was ringing in his brain, insistent, agonizing. - -On and on sped the car. Away to the South the flashlights were sweeping -the Channel, and, ahead, the first outlying lights of Dover soon came -into view. Every moment the dull, dogged voices of the guns grew louder. - -Still Wardlaw remained rigid and voiceless, as one who is paralyzed by -some dreadful nightmare, while ding-dong in his mind the words of the -hymn persisted and repeated: "If Thou shouldst call me to resign.... If -Thou shouldst call me to resign." ... - -They were close to Dover now. The car sped down from the heights. Ahead -of them on the hard white road a lanthorn was swinging to and fro, and -the chauffeur slackened speed to answer the challenge of the guard. He -gave the password, and again the car tore forward. - -Houses on either side now were numerous. Presently the car wound down -into the town. Silent, half-ruined, the unlighted streets gave an -inexpressible impression of melancholy and disaster. Here and there -the vibration caused by the passing car brought down loosened stone -and brickwork with a sudden clatter. At one spot some fragments of -mortar flew out and struck Wardlaw in the face. They pricked him -into consciousness. He shook himself and gave a brief order to the -chauffeur. The car turned down a side street, and presently drew up -before a large house standing in the shelter of the Castle Hill. - -There were lights in all the windows; shadows passed and repassed -across the drawn blinds. A strained air of animation and activity -pervaded the place. A group of orderlies stood about the entrance, and -through the open doorway there were glimpses of officers hurrying from -room to room with clank of spur and rattle of accoutrement. This house, -the head-quarters of the military staff, contained for the time being -the brain of the British Army--foiled, so far, but still feverishly -bent on devising means for the expulsion of the obstinate invader. - -As the car stopped, a tall officer hurried out and grasped Wardlaw by -the hand. It was a grasp that told more than words could utter--a grasp -that recognized the arrival of a supreme moment, at once the grip of -friendship and the clasp of greeting and farewell. - -"The General's expecting you. I'll take you to him at once!" - -Wardlaw nodded, and, still as one that dreamed, followed the -aide-de-camp into the house. - - * * * * * - -On the following day great news was wired throughout the length and -breadth of England, and cabled far and wide throughout the civilised -world. - -The newspapers of London and the provinces, in eager competition, -issued special editions in quick succession. Everywhere great placards -announced in heavy type and infinite variety of colours, a gladdening -fact: the Fort had fallen! - -The hero of the hour was Major Wardlaw, but no sound of joy or triumph -could ever reach his ears--Wardlaw was dead. The published particulars, -though brief, were all-sufficient and convincing. The Major had calmly -and deliberately laid down his life for his country and his comrades. -What shot and shell and bayonet had failed to do, he, single-handed, -had achieved. The episode was all the more tragic and impressive by -reason of its great simplicity. A method was known to Major Wardlaw, -as the designer, by which he could flood the Fort. The enemy would be -drowned like so many rats in a gigantic trap. The master-key was in his -hands, and though--high honour be to them--there were other volunteers -for the fatal work, he had steadfastly refused to let another British -soldier lose his life in that prolonged and dreadful struggle. He was -prepared, resolved, to die--and death had come to him. - -Single-handed he had gone into the heart of the hill. The furious -inrush of the water stored in the reservoir, which his own hand had -deliberately let loose, claimed him, as he knew it must, first victim -of the overwhelming flood. - -But the Fort was ours again! It was a counter-stroke with which the -enemy had not reckoned; a danger which the invader was wholly unable to -avert. As the waters of the Red Sea overwhelmed the Egyptian Warriors; -as that ancient river, the river Kishon swept away the foes of the -armies of Israel, so, in a new and terrible way, the water floods had -destroyed the invaders of England. - -With a dull, elemental roar, with a suddenness that allowed of no -flight, and a force that admitted of no resistance, ton after ton of -water poured into the interior of the Fort. The sealed fate of its -occupants was almost instantaneous. Of the survivors barely twenty men -escaped with their lives, and these immediately fell into the hands of -the encircling troops, and became prisoners of war. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE WRECK OF THE AIR-SHIP. - - -The little island of Herm possessed only one building of importance, a -monastery of French refugees. In the great walled-in courtyard, there -was present an object of special and curious interest to the monks. The -arrival of the _Bladud_ had been observed with astonishment by all the -inmates of the monastery, who naturally associated its coming with that -of a certain mysterious visitor--a sun-scorched, iron-grey emaciated -man--who had recently landed on the island, coming, it was said, from -the coast of France. The visitor, who remained in complete seclusion -in the building, sedulously nursed back to health and strength, was -treated with extraordinary deference and respect by the Superior. -That much the monks could not fail to know; but any sly inquiries and -surmises on their part were met with the sternest and most peremptory -discouragement. - -Excitement was quickened, therefore, when, only a few hours after the -arrival of the air-ship, preparations were made for the distinguished -visitor's departure. Linton stood in the courtyard, glancing anxiously -at his watch, while Wilton, the engineer, put some finishing touches to -the gear. The little man had proved himself a model of discretion. He -asked no questions, but now and then threw quick glances towards the -tall, thin stranger, who, at a respectful sign from Linton, had taken -his seat in the stern of the boat. - -Whether Wilton knew or suspected the identity of Wilson Renshaw, who -now calmly waited for the voyage to commence, Linton could not tell. -He suspected that he did, and, little guessing what a few hours would -bring forth, he registered a mental promise that the silent, faithful -little engineer should not go unrewarded. It struck him that there -was a good deal of nervousness in Wilton's manner, as he threw upward -glances at the sky. - -While the preparations were being completed, the Superior of the Order -stood close at hand, addressing in subdued tones his deferential and -earnest farewells to Mr. Renshaw, and Herrick, raising his eyes, -saw the peering faces of at least a score of monks at the upper -windows of the monastery. Glancing higher still, he noted with some -uneasiness that the scurrying clouds, copper-tinged from the setting -sun, betokened the coming of a wild and stormy night. Fervently he -breathed a prayer that the aerial voyage might have a happy issue. But -by this time he knew enough of air-ships to be aware that there were -perils which no scientific inventions, and no precautions, can wholly -nullify: risks from defects and mishaps with machinery, dangers from -both combined, that at any moment might bring about some irreparable -catastrophe. Yet, to-night, everything must be hazarded. Not an hour, -not a moment must be lost. The time had come. To let it pass unseized -would be to miss the tide at the flood, to sacrifice the touchstone of -fortune. - -He glanced at Wilton: - -"Ready?" - -The engineer gave a quick nod and lifted a grimy finger towards his -cap. Linton, raising his own cap, turned towards the illustrious -passenger: - -"Shall we start, sir?" - -"At once, please," was the answer. - -Linton stepped aboard and grasped the helm. Wilton took his place -forward, and the Superior, bowing obsequiously, moved to a safe -distance from the aeroplane. - -The faint preliminary throbbing of the engine instantly commenced. -The boat began to rise, slowly at first, then more rapidly, as the -elevating power obtained freer play. Every window of the monastery -now was plastered with wondering, eager faces, intent on the _Bladud_ -as she soared aloft. The Superior made angry and imperious gestures, -but the monks did not, or pretended not to, see. This mounting of the -aeroplane with such a passenger must not be missed. It was a spectacle -the like of which they would not see again. - -Higher and higher climbed the _Bladud_, beating the air with her -flapping wings. The cold breeze rushed through the wind-harp on the -mast with a sighing, mournful sound as the boat swept in swiftly -widening circles through the air. The passenger, impressed but not -perturbed, glanced sharply round him; then, feeling the growing -keenness of the wind, he drew his fur coat across his chest. - -When they were high enough, Herrick, with one eye on the compass, put -the tiller over and gave an order. Wilton lightly moved a switch, and -immediately the _Bladud_ headed at high speed for the open sea. - - * * * * * - -As the hours passed, night fell dark and thick about them; the wind -became more violent, and ever and again chilly, sleety squalls affected -to some extent the equilibrium of the boat. No one spoke, except for -an occasional query from Herrick, to which Wilton responded by act or -gesture only. - -Not one of the three men on board knew of any definite cause for -anxiety, yet in the minds of at least two of them there was a growing -sense of tension and disquietude. The muscles of Wilton's face twitched -as he sat in silence, his eye watchful and his hand ready. - -Yet, so far, all went well. To avoid prolonged dangers of the open -channel, they tacked northwards towards the coast of France, intending -to resume the sea course as nearly as possible above the Straits of -Dover. Nearer land the air grew less cloudy. The twinkling lights of -habitations far below became visible like distant glow-worms. From -the numbers of these lights they could form an idea of the size of -the towns and villages over which they passed. Some thirty-five were -counted. Presently the silent passenger himself identified the locality -and said that they were passing over the highlands between Cape Blanc -and Calais. - -It was time to give the ship a different course; and once again below -them lay the wide expanse of sombre, tossing sea. But the _Bladud_ -now encountered the strength of a growing gale from the North-East, -and soon it became apparent that she was being dangerously deflected -from her proper course. It was a discovery silently made, but fraught -with the fears of potential disaster. If they should be blown out to -sea, there was but one ultimate certainty--death for all on board. The -store of motive power could only last for a given number of hours, and -already much of the power had been expended. Their hope must lie in -reaching dry ground within a period that grew perilously shorter and -shorter even while they thought of it. - -Entrusting the helm for a moment to the passenger, Herrick crawled -forward, and while the rising gale shrieked above them and around them, -held a hasty, whispered conversation with the now excited engineer. - -"We'll never do it, sir, we'll never do it," Wilton said, hoarsely. -"St. Margaret's Bay; Why, see! we've left it far behind already. No -landing there to-night. What's the best air-ship that ever was built -against a wind like this?" - -"Land us anywhere, anywhere," was Herrick's vehement answer. - -"Yes, if we can," muttered Wilton, gloomily. "I'm afeard there's -something wrong with her, and that's the truth, Mr. Herrick." - -"Good God!" exclaimed Herrick, with an anxious glance towards the -figure in the stern. - -"See that?" gasped the engineer, as a strong gust from the north drove -the bow of the boat farther sea-ward. "See that, sir? I tell you, she -can't stand it." - -Again and again the same thing happened. The gale, so far as it was -easterly, drove them westward along the coastline, and ever and again -the fierce gusts from the north forced them away from it. Linton -crept back to the stern. Thirty minutes passed--minutes of increasing -suspense. At the end of that time they had lost their bearings. The -_Bladud_ became more and more beyond control. - -"Is there danger?" Renshaw asked the question very softly. - -"I am afraid there is, sir," said Linton. - -The other nodded: "I thought so. What part of the coast is that down -there?" he asked after an interval. - -Linton peering over, pondered a minute before he answered: - -"Dover's left far behind by this time. We've passed Hastings. Those -must be the lights of Brighton." - -"We can't get down?" - -"Impossible at present. We must drive straight ahead. Inside the Isle -of Wight there'll be a chance for us--more shelter and more ships. -Wilton knows that part." - -"Can we last as long?" - -"I think so--I hope so." - -A long silence fell as the _Bladud_ battled with the wind. Then there -came a startling, rending sound that indicated some defect in the -machinery. The boat began to veer erratically. - -"Steady, sir, steady," roared Wilton, making a trumpet of his hands. -"For God's sake head her north!" - -From below there rose a sullen, surging sound, the threatening monotone -of angry waves breaking upon a rocky shore. - -The sound grew fainter. They must be travelling inland--across the Isle -of Wight. Now, then, was the time for a descent. Dimly in the forepart -of the boat, Wilton's bent form could be discerned, his face peering, -his hands at work in the complex box of the _Bladud's_ machinery. -Suddenly he threw himself back, sitting on his heels, and Herrick -thought he saw his hands raised with a gesture of despair. The _Bladud_ -lurched and swayed violently, and for a moment it seemed as if the -gyroscope had wholly failed to act. If that were so, in a moment the -boat might lose her equilibrium, and all would end. But that was not -the trouble. Linton now realised that it was the lowering apparatus -that would not work. The _Bladud_ still rushed madly forward. With -unchecked speed, they flew across the island. Another coast line then -came into view--the long low line of lights stretching from Portsmouth, -across Southsea to Eastney and Fort Cumberland. There was hope, then, -or if not ground for hope, at least a fighting chance! - -But the _Bladud_ now by some inexplicable perversity of the machinery -made obstinately for the eastern extremity of the line of lights. That, -again, might serve if only they could descend on the wide common of -Hayling Island. They were nearing it every moment. Presently from below -there rose a new menace, an angry sound--grating and monotonous, that -Linton could not understand. - -"What's that?" he shouted. - -"The Woolseners," bellowed Wilton, in reply, and made a wild gesture -with his disengaged hand. He knew the deadly peril--those shifting -banks of shingle churned in the shallows by the ceaseless action of the -tides and waves. The Woolseners were as fatal as the Goodwin Sands to -every ship or boat that found herself among them. - -With a desperate effort, aided by Renshaw and directed by Wilton, -Herrick forced over the helm. Another ominous crack reached their ears, -but for the moment they were successful, and a sudden squall from the -east aided their combined efforts. They now were heading straight for -Portsmouth Harbour. All might yet be well! - -Still travelling at great speed, they traversed nearly half the -distance, it now being Wilton's design to bring the _Bladud_ down on -Southsea Common. Then, suddenly, the horizontal movement of the boat -absolutely ceased. All the motive power that was left in her began -through some terrible mishap to be expended in the development of -rapid elevation. The frantic efforts of Wilton to check the upward -rush were unavailing, the boat went up and up with terrible velocity. -This last catastrophe was paralyzing, overwhelming. Climbing higher -and higher, the boat would rapidly exhaust her small remaining store -of compressed air. Then, in an instant, would commence a reversal, and -the _Bladud_ would rush down through space--the end for all on board, -inevitable death. - -Linton again left the helm in Renshaw's hands. It was useless to retain -it. He scrambled forward to assist Wilton in his desperate efforts to -right the machinery. A dreadful feeling of sickness began to overpower -him as the air-ship swayed and waltzed in the upper air-currents, -lurching and righting as if struck by successive waves, but ever -mounting higher and yet higher. - -It grew intensely cold. Feathery flakes of snow began to envelop them. -Their lungs laboured. It became more and more difficult to breathe. -Linton gasped enquiries which either Wilton did not hear or could not -answer. He glanced back at their ill-starred passenger, who had set -out to recover power and a great position and now was rushing to an -awful death. He saw that Renshaw's head rolled limply on his shoulders. -Already he seemed to be insensible. Filled with terror and alarm, he -shouted to Wilton though the man was close to hand, but his voice, -though the effort of utterance was so great, sounded even to himself -quite faint and far away. - -By the light of the protected spirit lamp fixed to the tiny engine -house, Linton saw that the recording instrument already registered an -altitude of 20,000 feet. - -A dull indifference began to take possession of his mind. His -faculties were slowly freezing. Even his eyesight now began to fail. He -could scarcely see the column of mercury in the glass, or the minute -hand of his watch. He felt that consciousness would soon completely -desert him. His right hand was resting on the gunwale of the boat; he -found he could not raise it. He could scarcely move his lower limbs, -and, turning once more to glance at the barometer, his head fell -forward helplessly. - -By a violent exercise of his muscles and his will, he raised his face -a little, but for an instant only. It drooped again. He slid down into -the bottom of the boat. His fading gaze sought that of Wilton. They -looked into each other's eyes, like dying men bidding one another -silent, sad farewells. The mists of death already seemed to be closing -on them, when a sudden variation of the temperature, or, it may be, -some magnetic current partially revived them. But the _Bladud_ still -rushed upward, ever upward. They had reached a height of four miles -above the earth, and the temperature had fallen to 24° below freezing -point of water. To this appalling altitude the _Bladud_ had ascended -with almost incredible rapidity. - -Upward, and upward still, they went, until five miles, then six, was -reached above the surface of the vanished earth. - -Out of the void a muffled voice reached Linton's ears, the welcome -voice of a living fellow-creature. It was Wilton trying to rouse him, -Wilton speaking with urgency and vehemence. - -Gradually he came out of his swoon; familiar objects close to him -revealed themselves again. Wilton was lying in the bottom of the boat. -He was striving in vain to reach Linton. The piercing cold had almost -paralyzed him. His hands were freezing. - -What did Wilton want? What was he trying to do? - -As far as could be judged, they had now reached an altitude of 37,000 -feet--nearly seven miles. The mists closed in again. The thread of life -was on the point of breaking. Linton became half conscious that a thick -crust of ice had formed upon his clothes, his breath was freezing on -his lips and in his nostrils. He glanced again with an agonizing effort -at the moving record of their elevation. Another 1,000 feet, and then -2,000 feet. Needles of ice were pricking at his eyes. Close to him the -prone form of Wilton seemed to be covered with minute crystals from -head to foot. Linton tried to stretch out his hands to touch him, but -found that they were helpless, numbed. What, he vaguely wondered, was -Wilton doing now? What mad idea was this? With an exhausting effort the -engineer had just smashed the lens of his telescope. Then his hands -seemed again to fail him. - -Watching him helplessly, Linton felt that everything was useless, -hopeless, lost. It would soon be over. - -But Wilton had gripped the broken glass of the telescope between -his teeth. What was he doing now? Why was he sawing frantically, -convulsively, at that tightened cord? - -Ah! that was it! Well done, Wilton. But it was hopeless, quite -hopeless, after all. Linton rolled his head feebly. They had climbed -another 1,000 feet, and they were mounting still. - -No! What was this? There was a change. Something had happened. Linton -was sensible of a strange eddying, a pause, a feebler flapping of the -aeroplanes. - -Merciful God! The boat had ceased to rise. Now she was sinking, -sinking, with appalling speed, yet checked to some extent by the broad -aeroplanes, just as a bird would be when, with extended wings, it -floated down to earth. - -He tried to frame some words; tried to touch Wilton with his hand; -failed to do either. Wilton lay motionless, with bleeding lips. - - * * * * * - -Out of the blur of mental chaos, Linton Herrick found himself roughly -dragged back to consciousness. Kneeling in the boat, he discovered that -he was submerged in water to the waist; flecks of salt water smote him -in the face; all around there was a welter of wild, tossing waves. - -In his ears, to add to his distraction, there sounded a harsh and -melancholy bell. It was tolling, tolling, close at hand. - -The _Bladud_, water-logged, tossed feebly in the trough of the angry -sea. Built on a theory that she could float for a considerable period, -it nevertheless rushed in upon Linton's mind that in a few minutes she -would sink. He struggled to his feet, grasping the rigging as he did -so. Something arrested his attention. What was that silent log-like -thing the waves were rolling yonder in the semi-darkness? It must be -Wilton, poor Wilton, who had saved their lives--or tried to save them, -only to lose his own. Wilton! Dead! - -A voice hailed him. It came from Renshaw, his companion. He also was on -his feet, swaying from side to side as the boat, settling deeper and -deeper in the water, plunged and lurched beneath them. - -"Look!" cried Renshaw, "the buoy! We must swim for it!" - -As he spoke he plunged over the side and struck out for a towering -object that rose and fell in the waves only a few yards away. Linton -realised that that was where the clangour of the bell was coming -from--the refuge of the shipwrecked--the bell-buoy close at hand! - -Before he fully knew what he was about, he, too, was struggling in the -waves. He was a strong swimmer, but, clogged with his wet clothing, -another yard or two would have been too much for him. He shouted some -incoherent words of encouragement to Renshaw, and struck out with all -his small remaining strength. The tall frame-work of the Spit-buoy rose -out of the sea just in front of him. From its apex came louder than -ever the noise of the iron clapper beating on the metal, as the tossing -sea roiled the huge buoy this way and that. - -His hand touched something hard. - -He grasped an iron rail. Slowly and laboriously he drew his dripping -form out of the sea. Then, panting heavily, he threw himself down face -downward, full length, on the deck of the buoy, and stretched out both -hands to the other swimmer. Renshaw's strength seemed well nigh spent. -He was making futile struggles to rid himself of his heavy coat. As he -rolled over helplessly, almost swept beneath the buoy, Linton grasped -his collar. - -The next moment he had drawn him to the rail. A breathing space, and -then another effort, exhausting and prolonged. - -Two panting men, half drowned but saved, lay side by side upon the -buoy, fenced from the greedy sea by rusty, dripping iron bars. Above -them, in the stormy mournful night, ding dong! the bell kept clanging -to and fro--this way and that, with every wave and motion of the -singing sea. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE COUP D'ÉTAT. - - -While the fierce struggle for Fort Warden was proceeding, and while -Nicholas Jardine lay dying, the Vice-President of the Council and her -adherents were engaged in desperate efforts to strengthen the grip of -Woman on the governance of England. To wrest to their own advantage -the crisis that would arise on the expected death of the President -was of paramount importance to the Kellick party. To turn it to their -destruction was the anxious object of their political opponents. Thus -was foreshadowed--for the critical hour--a fierce and crucial struggle -for supremacy. - -The chief directors of the counteracting movement, General Hartwell, -the woman-hater, and Sir Robert Herrick, wise in counsel and learned in -law, were in constant conference. They met daily, and their conferences -and study of reports often lasted far into the night. - -The outcome of their labours was to be seen in the creation of an -association, which Linton had mentioned to Zenobia. It embodied both -men and women, who styled themselves, as a bond of union, the Friends -of the Phoenix. The general aim of this association was to re-establish -man in his proper position in the State, and the particular aim to -bring about the restoration of the long-lost leader, Wilson Renshaw. - -The last mentioned feature of the programme, though at first received -with natural incredulity, presently acted with magical effect in -quickening public interest; and when secret, but authoritative, -assurances were forthcoming that Renshaw still lived, had been released -by the Mahdi, and was about to return to England, vast numbers speedily -enrolled themselves as Friends of the Phoenix. The great strength of -the movement lay in the voluntary enlistment of hosts of disciplined -men. The Police, the regular Army, and the Territorials, furnished many -thousands of recruits. - -The old Household troops followed General Hartwell almost to a man; the -Corps of Commissionaires followed suit. These men, in turn, rendered -excellent, because unsuspected, service as propagandists among the -humbler classes of the civil population. Evidences of disgust and -discontent with the aggressive dominion of Woman were found on every -side. - -The time was almost ripe. It looked as if but a match were needed to -produce a vast and far-reaching conflagration; and the main problem -that exercised the minds of General Hartwell and Sir Robert was how, -when the moment came, to use the ready instruments of revolt without -incurring the risk of bloodshed and the development of civil war. Every -possible precaution was taken. The Friends of the Phoenix pursued their -plans with the utmost secrecy, it being realised that, in order that -the projected _coup d'état_ might succeed, it was essential that it -should take the Kellick faction completely by surprise. - -Finally, it was decided to seize the occasion of a banquet in the City, -at which it was known that the Vice-President would make an oratorical -bid for a new mandate from the nation. This banquet, postponed from -time to time in consequence of events at Dover and the President's -illness, was to take place shortly after Mr. Jardine's funeral. It was -announced that reasons of State and public convenience rendered further -delay impossible; "Reasons of State" meant the interests of the Kellick -faction; "Public convenience" had reference to the opening of a new -London railway tube. - -An extension of the old Tube from the Post Office, via Gresham Street, -to the Guildhall, had long been a cherished scheme of the City Fathers. -The old approach through King Street and Cheapside to the head-quarters -of the Corporation was only suitable for use in fine weather. But -whatever changes and chances had befallen London during the first forty -years of the twentieth century, British weather had developed but -little alteration, and certainly no improvement. That State processions -and civic functions should be spoilt by drizzle, rain, or fog, as -so frequently had happened to pageants of the past, was felt to be -not merely inconvenient, but quite uncalled for. The new alternative -route presented many advantages. Celebrities and non-celebrities bound -for the City on great occasions would be enabled to enter a special -train at the West End, and could come to the surface in Guildhall -Yard. The feast of oratory and the flow of champagne might thus be -attained without the disadvantage of a preliminary journey through -the rain-swept streets of the murky city. In like manner the members -and officers of the corporation would enjoy similar immunity whenever -official occasion required them to go westward. - -The feminine note in politics had something to do with the project; for -woman, advanced woman, in her hours of ease and finery did not like -to have her feathers and laces spoilt by London smuts and drizzle; -and woman, of course, had become very much in evidence in the City of -London. Facetious persons went so far as to say that the City Fathers -had been superseded by the City Mothers, and further justified their -views by treating the male minority as indistinguishable from a set -of old women. The arrival of Woman as a member of County Councils and -other public bodies, not to say in Parliament itself, long ago had -rendered it practically certain that the conservatism of the City must -ultimately yield to the onslaughts of the sex. In the fulness of time -a woman took her place on the Bench as Chief Magistrate of the City -of London. A wondering world was called upon, for the first time, to -do honour to a Lady Mayoress, who shone with no reflected light. She -herself was the Sun of the City firmament. Lord Mayor for some years -there was none. - -The Lady Mayoress who held office at the critical period that had -now arrived was a devoted ally of the Vice-President, and bent on -advancing in every possible way the authority and interests of her -sex. To this end the Corporation, which had largely subsidised the new -branch tube, had solicitously waited the opportunity to entertain the -acting representative of government in honour of the occasion. On the -day of the banquet, the principal City streets presented their normal -appearance to the eyes of all ordinary observers. The Vice-President -and her supporters were to travel to the Guildhall by the new route. -There was no occasion, therefore, for decoration, or for the special -services of the military, or even of the police. Nevertheless, large -numbers of uniformed men might have been observed moving through the -side streets in small parties. In the neighbourhood of the General Post -Office and of the Guildhall these numbers rapidly increased as the hour -appointed for the function drew near. At the same time there were -similar musters in the immediate vicinity of the Houses of Parliament, -the War Office, the Admiralty, and other public offices. - -There was no apparent connection between these various groups, but -in reality they were acting in complete unison. They had the same -password--"the Phoenix"--and were directed from one and the same -centre. In a word, one and all, these men were Friends of the Phoenix. - -Towards afternoon, when Londoners began to look for the early editions -of the evening papers, which were expected to contain a summarised -report of the Vice-President's speech in the City, extraordinary -rumours began to spread throughout the Capital; and in the Clubs, the -restaurants, the railway stations, and in the streets groups of men and -women engaged in eager and excited discussion. The impatience of the -public became uncontrollable. Crowds besieged the news-vendors' shops, -and clamoured at the railway bookstalls. Even the newspaper offices -were invaded, and when, at length, copies of the evening journals were -available, hosts of people struggled fiercely to secure them. Scenes -of extraordinary tumult were witnessed. The newsboys, tearing through -the streets on their bicycles, were waylaid. Men fought and scrambled -for copies of the papers, and as placard after placard appeared, public -excitement was augmented until it reached the verge of frenzy. - - A COUP D'ÉTAT. - - REIGN OF WOMAN ENDS. - - RENSHAW RETURNS. - -Wild cheers and shouts broke out when lines like these were read by -gaping multitudes. People came hurrying to their doors and windows; -drivers of cabs and omnibuses stopped their vehicles, staring, -laughing, shouting, questioning, and adding to the general babel and -bewilderment. The streets were blocked. The news ran through the town -like flame, evoking everywhere unbounded enthusiasm and the wildest -joy. The climax was reached when overhead were heard the wind-harps -of a fleet of air-ships. Fifty or sixty of the official craft had -been repaired and brought into the service of the Phoenix. Sweeping -over every district of London, they scattered tens of thousands of -cards bearing Renshaw's portrait, and containing the same three-lined -announcement that figured on the placards of the leading newspapers. At -the same time, throughout the populous provincial centres, as well as -in the Capital, similar cards in enormous numbers passed from hand to -hand, and were scattered lavishly in every public place. - -But it was at Whitehall that the interest and excitement culminated. -For there, riding through the streets, bare-headed and gravely -acknowledging the plaudits of an enormous concourse, Renshaw himself -was seen, passing on his way to the House of Commons, supported by -General Hartwell and Sir Robert Herrick, and escorted by a jubilant -army of the Friends of the Phoenix. The Friends already were in -possession of all the Public Departments. Officials who withstood them -or protested were quietly but summarily displaced. - -Everywhere the plan of campaign had worked like clockwork and without -a hitch; and nowhere was the bloodless revolution more complete than -in the City itself. The Vice-President's expected speech had not been -reported because it was never uttered. The Friends of the Phoenix, in -strong force, had taken possession of the Post Office Station of the -new Tube directly the train carrying the City's distinguished guests -had passed into the tunnel. At the same moment, another body of the -Friends had seized the Guildhall terminus. Only those in the secret -knew of what was happening in the depths of the earth. The City went -about its business, the banquet waited, but no guests arrived. At both -ends of the avenue the approaches to the Tube were completely blocked. -The force available to maintain the blockade was more than sufficient. -A handful of resolute men could easily have prevented access to or -from the level of the streets. The lifts, by preconcerted signal, had -been disconnected; the narrow winding staircases from the subterranean -stations were effectually blocked. No violence was used; none was -necessary. Behind the barriers at the top and at the bottom of the -staircases stood resolute men, determined and trustworthy Friends of -the Phoenix, who turned a deaf ear to all appeals and protests. No one -was allowed to go down; no one was permitted to come up. Questions, -clamour, threats from the imprisoned Vice-President and her party -availed nothing. It was necessary to isolate certain people for a -certain time, and isolated they were. - -Meanwhile, London learnt about the great and new situation. The Friends -of the Phoenix carried out welcome change, and the nation got a firm -grip on the to the letter the plans of their leaders, and Wilson -Renshaw, saved from all perils, acclaimed throughout the Capital, was -triumphantly restored to a position of power from which no enemy or -rival could displace him. - -But he had a message for the nation, and for all nations, and the -speech in which he delivered it thrilled the white man's world. He -warned the peoples of Europe and America of a coming conflict, -which would dwarf to insignificance all the international struggles, -however stupendous, hitherto known to history. The white peoples, -he declared, must abandon their mutual rivalries and ambitions. The -sexes in civilised countries must check their suicidal competition for -supremacy. Each and all must prepare, with united and unbroken front, -to face the common foe. They were threatened with annihilation. Not -so long ago the British nation alone had embraced 360 millions of the -coloured races of the globe. Vast numbers of these had passed under -other sceptres; but the change had only served to accelerate the rising -of the dominated natives, who, far and wide, had learned to realise -the overwhelming strength with which the weight of numbers had endowed -them. No longer would the Black Man submit to their absolute dominion. -No longer would the Yellow and the Tawny accept as their predestined -masters the little band of pale-faced rulers by whom they had so -long been held in subjection. The revolt was imminent. The Mahdi had -proclaimed a holy war. The Crescent would be in the van, and North and -South, and East and West, the coloured races would rise against, and -seek to overwhelm, the recreant children of the Cross. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -LINKED LIVES. - - -Linton Herrick, losing not a day nor an hour in London, had carried the -great news to Zenobia. Much that wired and wireless messages could not -convey, he, as one of the inner circle, was in a position to explain. -But the triumph of the Friends of the Phoenix and the restoration of -Wilson Renshaw did not exhaust the subject of their conversation. -Linton was charged with an impressive and confidential message from -Renshaw himself. The restored Minister entreated the daughter of the -dead President to resort to no act of public reparation; he besought -her to let the dead past hold its dead. The story of her father's crime -need never be given in its fulness to a censorious world. Against his -enemy the rescued rival nourished no resentful bitterness. His feeling, -rather, was one of sorrow that the temptations of power and ambition -and the weakness of human nature had wrought the moral ruin of a man in -whom he had discerned many admirable and striking qualities. - -Zenobia Jardine was greatly moved. She recognised the nobility of -Renshaw's attitude, but she still had misgivings as to her own path -of duty. The messages reached her at a time when she was torn with -conflicting feelings, bewildered by new sensations, impressed with new -aspects of human life, agitated by complex thoughts and emotions to -which hitherto she had been a stranger. It was a crisis in her life. -Subtle but masterful influences were at work upon her inmost being. -Scales had failed, as it were, from her eyes, and her soul looked out -upon possibilities of which in her unenlightened days she had never -even dreamed. Love, duty, religion--each and all had acquired for her -a deep and wonderful significance, and in her heart she feared to be -presented with the problem of choice. Could these things be reconciled -in the light of the revelation that had come to her? Would they be her -armour and her strength wherewith she could go forward to some great -predestined goal; or, if she chose the one, must she of necessity -eschew the rest? One thing she knew for certain when she again held -Linton's hand and looked into his face. This was the man she loved -and always would love--stranger still, it seemed as if he were a man -she always _had_ loved. But she knew now of his daring, his fidelity, -his narrow escape from death, and realised his clear, though unspoken -devotion to herself. - -And he, for his part, had known no peace until he found himself at her -side again. Renshaw had placed at his disposal the _Albatross_, one -of the swiftest of the Government air-ships, and another engineer had -succeeded to the place of poor Wilton. Westwards he had rushed on the -wings of the _Albatross_, leaving the lights of London, its crowded -streets, its shouting and excited multitudes, far behind. - -And now, side by side, he and Zenobia and Peter, her dog, engaged in -dog-like explorations on the route, went slowly across the quaint -bridge with its low-roofed shops that spans the Avon, and passed -through the streets of ancient Bath. - -"What would you do? What is your advice?" the girl asked, turning to -him suddenly. They had been silent for some time, but each knew well -what occupied the other's thoughts. "Respect Renshaw's wishes," was -Linton's firm reply. - -"But the will--the confession is in the will," said Zenobia. - -"The will need not be proved. With or without it, what your father left -belongs to you, his sole next of kin." - -She looked down thoughtfully. "It is your advice?" she asked, quietly. - -"Yes, mine as well as his." - -"Then I shall follow it." - -When next they spoke it was upon another subject. - -"This place strikes me oddly," said Linton, looking round as they went -up the slopes of Victoria Park. "I have never been here before, and yet -I have a curious feeling...." - -She turned quickly. "How strange! I know what you are going to say." - -"I believe you have the same feeling--as if we had been here before, -you and I together, as if all that surrounds us were familiar." - -"Is this the first time you have felt like this?" she asked eagerly. - -"No, but I have never felt quite what I am feeling now." Again, with -puzzled brow, he glanced round. - -"Once," she went on, hesitatingly, "the first time we went up in the -_Bladud_, you remember that night ...?" - -"Yes, yes, I felt it then," cried Linton, pausing. - -"And the other night," Zenobia continued, seriously, "when I looked -from a window down on the lights of Bath I had a strange sensation as -if it were a scene which I had always known, and after that I had a -dream in which that feeling was confirmed." - -"Curious," said Linton. - -"Do you believe in the theory of pre-existence?" she asked, abruptly, -"do you think it possible that in some former state of being you and I -or others can have met before?" - -"It may be so," he answered gravely. "Wise men have held the theory. -Who can limit the life of the ego--fix its beginning, or appoint its -end?" - -"If the breath of God is in us," said Zenobia solemnly, "all things -must be possible. We, too, must be eternal. We may sleep and we may -wake, but all the time we live. The soul does not belong to time, but -to Eternity, and Eternity is an everlasting Now." - -"Yes," said Linton, "why should not the spirit have an all-pervading -presence:-- - - "Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, - And the round ocean, and the living air, - And the blue sky, and in the mind of man!" - -While they were speaking thus gravely, they entered the Botanical -Garden on the slope of the hill. Opposite the bench on which they sat -down they noticed a sundial of curious construction. On the face of the -dial, fixed at an angle, was an iron cross. They looked at the sacred -emblem, at first vaguely, and then with growing attention. Below it was -an inscription. - -"What mysteries, what mysteries enfold us," murmured Zenobia. She -turned to him with a smile and a sigh that were pathetic. "What, I -wonder, is the true philosophy of life?" she whispered. - -Linton sat silent for a moment. Then he leaned forward, and as he did -so one hand closed upon and held her own. "I think we have it here in -this inscription:-- - - "The hours are found around the Cross, and while 'tis fine, - The time is measured by a moving line, - But if the sky be clouded, mark the loss - Of hours not ruled by shadows from the Cross." - -"Ah! The Cross! The Cross!" sighed Zenobia. - -Linton repeated the word in a pondering and half-puzzled tone, raising -his hat with instinctive reverence. "I feel more than ever that this -place is not new to me," he added, rising and looking round with -wondering eyes. - -"And I, too, have the same persistent sense of memory," half whispered -Zenobia. "There is a tradition that perhaps explains my dream--do you -know it?--that in the days of the Romans there was a heathen temple -here, where we are sitting, and that an early convert to Christianity, -a sculptor of great skill, erected a cross upon its threshold." - -"And the sculptor was put to death! I have read it, or did I dream it?" -He turned and looked down upon the city, as if seeking some clue or -inspiration. "There was a priestess," he said slowly, "a priestess...." - -Zenobia had risen to her feet. "A priestess of the Temple of Sul. -Yes! she, too, was put to death. They buried her alive." She pressed -the backs of her hands to her brow; her gaze assumed an almost tragic -intensity. "She had listened to the sculptor. They found her kneeling -by the Cross, and in the Temple of Sul the sacred fire had gone out...." - -She paused. Each looked into the other's eyes. A flash of inspiration -came to both of them. - -"Your face," she said, "is the face of the sculptor in my dream." - - * * * * * - -Heavy clouds had been rapidly gathering overhead; the atmosphere had -grown strangely oppressive. So full had they been of other thoughts -that no reference had been made to the developments of natural -phenomena which had lately caused so much dismay in the locality, -and, indeed, throughout the country. It was known that the signs of -disturbance already chronicled had gradually diminished, and for some -days the volume of water rising from the thermal spring had been -little more than normal. The emission of smoke or vapour arising from -the fissure on Lansdown had entirely ceased. But at this moment the -sombre clouds that had gathered over the city seemed to be heavily -charged with electricity, and there was a peculiarity in the sultry -atmosphere which suggested some threatening association with the -abnormal signs that lately had caused so much alarm. - -The day, throughout, had been exceptionally hot for the time of year, -but it seemed to Linton as if the mercury must now be mounting up by -leaps and bounds. An unnatural, brooding stillness had spread over -the whole town. The few people who were walking in the Park did so -languidly and in silence; a heavy weight pressed irresistibly upon the -spirit. All things, animate and inanimate, seemed to be subsiding, -drooping, under the pressure of some gloomy and mysterious influence. - -Peter, returning from sniffing explorations in the undergrowth of the -gardens, came whining to his mistress's feet, as if seeking for the -consolation of close companionship. Zenobia sat down and patted the dog -affectionately. - -"Peter is frightened," she said, "there must be a storm coming." - -Linton looked around, but answered nothing. But he realised that the -signs within and without were such as people who lived in tropical -countries had more than once described to him. - -Peter sniffed the air, and then gave voice to a long and piteous howl. - -"We had better be going," said Linton, while Zenobia, still stooping, -tried to soothe the dog. - -When she looked up there was an expression on Linton's face that -puzzled her. She rose quickly and laid her hand upon his arm, following -his gaze upward and around. - -"What does it mean?" she asked, breathlessly. - -"If this were not England," he replied, with hesitation, "I should -think it meant...." - -As he spoke a low but formidable rumble became suddenly audible, coming -not from above, but from below. Fraught with indescribable awe and -menace, it produced an instantaneously petrifying effect. They stood -rigid, holding to each other, waiting, listening for the coming climax. -It came as in a flash. The rumble grew into a thunderous roar. A blue -flame suddenly shot into the heavy clouds above them, and beneath their -feet the solid earth rocked and swayed, again and yet again, as if with -the rolling motion of a mighty wave. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE WRATH OF SUL. - - -The earthquake, in the twinkling of an eye, had changed the face of -all nature around them, and while it did so it annihilated stereotyped -manners and conventional restraints. To Zenobia it did not seem strange -that Linton's arms should be folded protectingly about her, or that she -should cling to him, face to face and heart to heart. The moment of the -earth's convulsion had bridged a gulf and wrought a revelation. They -knew themselves, beyond all doubt, for what they were, lovers and twin -souls, pledged to each other by unspoken vows. - -The dreadful shock had come and gone, but the external changes -and terrors which the catastrophe had brought about could not be -immediately realised. Presently they discovered that the ground had -moved with them, and that they had been swept to a considerable -distance from the plateau on which they had been standing. A great -gap yawned where the sundial had stood. Peter had disappeared. They -themselves had been saved from falling by the trunk of a giant -tree--one of the few which had not been up-rooted--while below them, on -the slope of the hill, new spaces were revealed where other trees had -crashed down to the ground. - -The air was full of a strange echoing din, caused by the collapse of -buildings outside the limits of the park and in the town below. In -the midst of these reverberating sounds, and in strange contrast, was -heard the prolonged wail of terrified women and the shrill cry of a -frightened child. - -Gasping, and looking up the hill, they could see, rising from -Lansdown, dense volumes of sulphurous smoke, through which shot vivid -gleams of forking flame. Elsewhere a greyish veil began to spread -across the land. A steaming, suffocating atmosphere choked their lungs. - -"There may be another shock! We must escape for our very lives," Linton -whispered hoarsely. - -Zenobia, white to the lips, made a faint gesture of assent. "Hold my -hand! We must find a way across the river," he said quickly. - -Again she made an obedient sign; and Linton, guiding her, they moved -cautiously forward in the strange grey twilight which began to enfold -them. - -Awe-inspiring sounds had been succeeded by a silence which was scarcely -less terrible. A sense of horror half paralysed their faculties as -they cautiously moved forward down the slope. Almost at their feet -had opened a chasm which revealed many solid blocks of masonry, such -as had been used of old in the construction of the Roman Baths. The -rending of the earth had exposed to view a section of what looked like -the foundations of an ancient and imposing temple. Between the massive -walls, at the bottom of some steps, they observed a narrow cell or -chamber, and as they stepped past the shadowy opening, Zenobia's foot -came into contact with an ancient Roman lamp. - -Of these things neither of them was fully conscious at the moment. They -were mental photographs, vivid experiences unconsciously stored in -memory and fraught with a strange confirmatory significance not yet to -be appreciated. - -Hand in hand, picking their steps apprehensively, they made their -way between the fallen trees down to the broad avenue leading to the -lower gate of the Park. Here, at the gate, for the first time they -encountered evidence of death and disaster in the town itself. Houses -had collapsed on every side; distracting moans and piteous cries from -unseen sufferers assailed their ears. For a moment they paused before -a monumental heap of stone and timber, impelled to render help in -answer to these vague but terrible appeals. - -"We can do nothing," groaned Linton, in answer to Zenobia's questioning -pause. "Come," and he led her quickly round the wreckage of the houses. - -Stumbling, half running, they made their way by a devious route down -towards the heart of the town. In Queen Square there was a frightened -crowd. Women and children, weeping and sobbing, were kneeling on -the roadway with hands upraised in prayer. Men came running towards -them shouting unintelligible warnings ... questions. Terrified faces -appeared at many upper windows. They saw a frenzied girl leap from the -parapet of a tottering house and disappear behind a heap of ruins. - -In the lower streets the destruction wrought was less noticeable, -but a new terror was revealed. The sound of rushing waters reached -their ears, and every moment white-faced men and women tore past -them, crying in shrill tones: "The Spring! the Spring!" Then they saw -eddying streams of steaming, orange-tinted water creep round street -corners, overflow the gutters, and spread into the road. The water rose -so rapidly that they had to turn aside and once more take to higher -ground. They found themselves crossing Milsom Street, and as they did -so a loud explosion sounded at the upper end, accompanied with an -over-powering smell of gas. Screams rent the air, and another crowd -of men and women, some of them carrying children in their arms, came -rushing helter-skelter down the street. - -None of the houses at the lower end had fallen, but several were -bulging forward and appeared to be deserted. And here already -the predatory instinct was at work. Linton caught the arm of a -filthy-looking tramp just as he raised an iron bar to smash the plate -glass window of a jeweller's shop. He hurled the thief aside, then -grasping Zenobia's hand again he dragged her forward, making for the -nearest bridge. - -But once again their way was barred. From a great crack in the -roadway a fountain--a geyser--of the yellow, steaming water suddenly -leaped into the air. To avoid it they were compelled to make another -circuit. They hurried down some narrow streets and reached the open -space in front of the theatre. Fighting their way through excited and -gesticulating groups of people, they passed the hospital, and, turning -to the right, reached the front of the Grand Pump Room Hotel. Limping -and enfeebled invalids, who could scarcely move unaided, were streaming -from the the building, appealing eagerly for guidance to a way of -escape from the perils that surrounded them. Tremulous but unheeded -questions were heard on every side as Linton and Zenobia crossed the -road and reached the Colonnade. To their right, from the doorways of -the Grand Pump Room itself, another flood of tinted steaming water was -pouring rapidly over the broad pavement and stealing into the Abbey -Church. By keeping close to the opposite wall they escaped the stream, -and leaving the great Church, which so far seemed intact, upon their -right, they soon reached the space in front of the Guildhall. Only a -little distance and they would gain the bridge! - -"This way!" cried Zenobia, as Linton, who knew nothing of the town, -stopped in hesitation. But as she spoke, the pavement, barely ten -yards away, bulged suddenly, then split apart, and with a violent rush -another geyser burst into the street. They drew back just in time, and -hurried breathlessly towards the Station Road. On their left rose the -tall building of the Empire Hotel; behind them was the Abbey. A sudden -shout impelled them to look back. A third geyser had opened in the -middle of the roadway, and in an instant columns of steaming water were -spouting high into the air. - -"Quick! Quick!" urged Linton. His voice was scarcely audible, for -as they approached the river a mighty roar was coming from the weir, -dominating the multitudinous sounds of terror which filled the air on -every side. - -In this appalling crisis earth and air and water seemed united as in a -ruthless conspiracy for the destruction of humanity. In the presence -of these vast, mysterious, and irresistible forces, man, the boasted -master, lord of creation, was subdued and helpless. The effect produced -on the inhabitants of the city was that with which the struggling -atoms of the race, accustomed only to a calm and ordered system, ever -encounter nature in her moods of unfamiliar violence. In tempests of -the deep, in the awful hurricane, when winds and seas mix and contend -in a Titanic conflict, nature ignores the puppets tossing on the -helpless ship, or half drowned on the surging raft. What is man in -presence of the waterspout that towers from the ocean to the clouds? -How shall he face the unfathomable whirlpool that yawns for the frail -boat in which he is compelled to trust? Whither shall we fly, when, -as now, the earth vomits forth from unimaginable caverns the scalding -water floods that she has stored within her depths throughout uncounted -centuries? None can stand unmoved when the hills smoke and the earth -trembles; when darkness, a darkness that may be felt, spreads in a -sinister and all-pervading veil over a world that seems abandoned to -the powers of evil? Powdery ashes were falling everywhere upon the -doomed city. From Lansdown a vast vaporous column, a dreadful blend of -water, bitumen, and sulphur, rose high into the clouds. As the great -column branched and spread, assuming the form of an enormous pine-tree, -the darkness deepened, save where, above the hill itself, red-coloured -flames slashed hither and thither through the cloud at frequent -intervals. Terrific explosions accompanied these manifestations; and -Linton, as he half carried Zenobia towards the river, was possessed -with the fear that the great hill might be completely riven and pour -forth streams of boiling water or of lava, that would not only submerge -the town itself but destroy all life within a radius of many miles. - -Conceivably, indeed, it might be the beginning of the end--the end, -at least, of England; for what were the British Isles but the summit -of some vast mountain whose foundations were buried deep in the -unfathomed sea? It had been forgotten that Great Britain with Ireland -and its Giant's Causeway, afforded incontrovertible evidence of -volcanic origin. These islands, with the Hebrides, the Faroe Islets, -and, finally, Iceland, in fact constituted a vast volcanic chain, with -Mount Hecla as its seismic terminus--a focus more active than Vesuvius -itself. And here, at the other end of the chain, was Bath, where for -thousands of years the waters of Sul had maintained a disregarded -warning of that inevitable convulsion which, at last and in the fulness -of time, had come to pass. - -In the midst of these flashing thoughts and fears that darted through -his brain, Linton was possessed with the conviction that their only -possible hope of safety lay in crossing the river, the surging roar of -which each moment became more audible and threatening. Others in great -numbers were animated with the same belief. Linton and Zenobia, indeed, -found themselves involved in a madly-rushing crowd of panic-stricken -men and women. Swept this way and that, they were in danger of being -hurled to the ground and trodden underfoot by thousands of hurrying -fellow creatures bent on self-preservation and on nothing else. - -Still supporting Zenobia with one arm and fighting his way forward step -by step, Linton presently managed to turn the angle of the tall hotel. -On their right the river, swollen enormously by the inrush from the -hidden springs, had almost reached the level of the parapet. Boiling -floods had poured, and still poured, into the Avon, blending with the -normal stream; and the soul-subduing terror of the scene was augmented -by the great clouds of steam that rose from the surface of the hurtling -river. - -With desperate exertions, still supporting his half-fainting companion, -Linton reached the turning towards the bridge. The narrow entrance was -choked with a dense and struggling crowd, through which half a dozen -men, lashing frantically at rearing horses, strove recklessly to force -a passage. Screams and oaths blended with the angry roaring of the -weir. The struggling people swayed hither and thither in dense compact -masses, while a body of firemen from the station close at hand, seized -the heads of several horses and forced them back to give the foot -passengers some slight chance of escape. - -Individual efforts were futile in the midst of this confused and -fighting crowd. By the impetus and weight of numbers, however, Linton -and Zenobia, holding closely to each other, were swept as in a human -eddy on to the bridge itself. The same contributory force of numbers, -close packed between the windows of the shops, carried them rapidly -towards the other side. Again and again there was a crash of glass -as the terrific pressure forced in one or other of the windows; but -far more ominous was the angry, roaring voice of the invisible river -beneath them. Rising higher and yet higher every moment, it buffeted -the bridge with unceasing and increasing violence, the torrent whirling -round the piers and buttresses, fiercely impatient for greater -destruction, as it tore upon its way towards the thundering weir. - -It was a question of time, and the time must needs be brief. The bridge -must go. Half way across, beneath the feet of the scrambling, sobbing -crowd, the roadway split and cracked. There was a sudden lurch that -sent Linton and Zenobia, with a dozen others, into the open doorway -of a right-hand shop. Like all the rest of the bridge buildings, it -was but one storey high, and at the end of the short passage a narrow -stairway gave access through a trapdoor to the leads. Linton, breathing -heavily from his exertions, gasping a few words of encouragement to -Zenobia, pondered in a flash the possibilities of the position. Those -who had been swept into the deserted shop with them were making frantic -and futile efforts to force their way back into the endless crowd that -still streamed across the bridge in such maddened haste. But a place -once lost in that dense multitude never could be recovered. In truth, -there was no choice, and in a moment his resolve was taken. - -"The roof," he whispered, half to himself, "the roof!" Mounting the -steps, he swept back the trapdoor, and, reaching down his hand, drew -Zenobia after him. They emerged upon the flat roof of the shop. Only a -dwarf party wall divided it from the rest. - -Below, on their left, the rushing and tumbling tide of humanity pressed -forward to the Bathwick side. Below, on their right, they beheld the -terrifying river, curdled in foam and throwing off increasing clouds of -heavy steam. They scrambled forward quickly, passing on from roof to -roof. Behind them came the sudden sound of rending masonry. A dreadful -scream, a wild cry of despair from the multitude, pierced the powdery -air. The bridge was slowly yielding to the enormous pressure of the -swollen river; but Linton and Zenobia had safely reached the other -side. Raising the trap door of the last shop in the row they descended -rapidly and gained the road. Here the congested throng spread out -across the wider space, and hurried onward to Great Pulteney Street. - -As they paused there came a sound--terrible, arresting, -never-to-be-forgotten--the united wail of despairing voices, rising -above the crash of the collapsing bridge as it carried with it, down -into the boiling flood, hundreds of helpless and entangled fugitives. -Zenobia, clinging convulsively to her protector, drew sobbing breaths -at those appalling sounds. But for his supporting arms she would have -sunk fainting to the ground. - -"Courage," he whispered. "Courage still." - -For the moment he himself believed that on this side of the river they -were safe. But at that instant they felt again beneath their feet the -quaking of the ground--a long and undulating throb. They reeled against -a wall and stood there panting, until a quickened sense of peril -impelled them once again to hasten forward. Turning up Edward Street, -and leaving the church upon their left, they climbed the hill, until -exhaustion compelled them to sink down upon a roadside bench and ease -their labouring lungs. - -Thick grey smoke, heavy with choking particles and powdery ashes, was -spreading everywhere; and from this higher ground, looking back towards -the fiery summit of the volcanic hill, they could see cloud after cloud -of fire-torn vapour mounting with spiral motion towards the darkened -heavens. - -Wearied though they were, they struggled to their feet, and once more -set their faces towards the hill. Linton fully realised that the area -of disturbance was far wider than he had at first supposed. Safety, if -attainable at all, could only be secured by placing many miles between -themselves and the volcanic district. It was no time for weighing small -considerations. Silently he decided what to do. - -They reached the house in which the President had spent and ended -the last days of his life. The hall door was wide open; darkness and -silence reigned in the interior. The servants, obviously, had fled. -Linton shouted, but no answer came. It was clear to him that the -engineer of the _Albatross_ was in full flight with the rest. - -Bidding Zenobia rest a minute in the hall, he opened the glass doors on -the inner side and ran down the steps into the garden. There lay the -_Albatross_, ready, as he knew, for an immediate aerial journey. His -own knowledge of the mechanism of an air-ship, though not complete, -was now sufficient, or, at any rate, it must be trusted. The boat -was rather smaller than the _Bladud_, and in some respects contained -improvements. A swift examination of the machinery satisfied him that -the _Albatross_ was fit for flight. - -Hurrying up the steps he called Zenobia. She came to him obediently and -instantly, calmness restored to her, and in her look a ready submission -to all that he thought best. - -"Will you trust yourself to me?" he asked very tenderly, taking her -hand. "The boat is ready. I think you will be safe." - -"I trust you in all things," she answered. "I am ready." - -He led her down the steps into the garden and helped her to her seat on -the stern-bench of the _Albatross_. - -"You can steer?" he asked. - -"Yes, if you direct me." - -"All's ready, then. Keep her before the wind. Now, up and away!" - -He himself stepped into the boat and immediately switched on the motive -power, adjusting the gear to suit the plans he had already formed. - -The _Albatross_ rose steadily into the air, then, gathering speed in a -few rapid circles, began like some huge bird to wing her flight from -the dread scene of the catastrophe. - -Behind them as they sped upon their way arose another violent -detonation. Suddenly the clouded air was rent with vivid lightning, and -this revealed the falling pinnacles of the Abbey Church. Then, as the -thunder crashed above their heads, Linton beheld a vast and fiery chasm -open in the labouring hill. Out of its lurid depths the waters of Sul -leaped upwards in a mighty column, a fountain, as it were, of liquid -fire. - -Then darkness settled on the scene, and all was still. - - -The End. - - - - -_BY THE SAME AUTHOR._ - - -The Devil's Peepshow. - -_By the Author of "A Time of Terror."_ - - -Morning Post.--"_The Devil's Peepshow_ is a remarkable book.... Its -interest is never in doubt.... The causeries of this little company -afford just those opportunities for political criticisms and shrewd -moralising in which the author is singularly felicitous.... But the -political lessons are not framed in epigram alone.... The delightful -and erudite essay on the 'Weird of the Wanderer' is, perhaps, the best -thing in the book, and strikes the undercurrent of mysticism with -fine suggestiveness.... Whoever the author is, he is a man of nice -penetration, and a philosopher worth listening to." - -Westminster Review. "Love and politics in equal proportions form the -main ingredients of _The Devil's Peepshow_, ... and the lurid title ... -serves as a fitting preliminary to the series of sensational episodes -that make up this story with an unmistakable purpose." - -Liverpool Daily Post. "The volume is as thrilling as its -predecessor.... The central theme of the story, that of a strong man of -high qualities and noble ambitions, who falls a victim to the lures of -an enchantress, is well developed. The author has force of style." - -Irish Times.--"The most impressive passages are those regarding the -unfortunate position of some of the middle classes." - -Yorkshire Dally Post.--" ... it is a very up-to-date story of London -Society during the season 1906, in which all the prominent politicians -and personages of the day take part.... The novel is, however, no -mere sensational melodrama, for the author makes it the medium for -expressing very freely his ideas on politics and religion, which are -by no means complimentary to the present Government, whose individual -members he ridicules unsparingly and not without power ... the very -strength of the contrast gives it relish." - - - - -A TIME OF TERROR - -(Second Edition). - - -Evening Standard.--"A politico-social romance of London and -England--prophetic, of course, sensational and thrilling." - -Scotchman.--"Truly a time of terror, and the anonymous author has a -clever enough pen with which to expose the vices--some of them real -enough--of the opening years of the twentieth century." - -Outlook.--"The story of a man's revenge against a nation, our own. -After war and internal anarchy, the capture of the Kaiser and the death -of the avenger ends with a national thanksgiving. Very eventful." - -The Tribune.--"Whatever the cause, the occurrences are certainly -terrible; ... beside the lurid vision, enormous in range and horrifying -in nature, the accumulated sensations of a score of 'shilling shockers' -pale into insignificance.... The book is written with much spirit." - -Yorkshire Post.--"The details are worked out so cleverly that there is -a thrill on nearly every page. This is the work, one would say, of a -practised writer, and the lover of sensational literature should not -omit to read it." - -Literary World.--"This is a well-written, and in many respects a -powerful story.... There are many sensational scenes, and plentiful -satire of the social and political world of to-day." - -Aberdeen Free Press.--"The unaffectedly hair-raising title is indeed -a fitting preliminary to a series of as startling episodes as have -stirred the body corporate of English fiction for many a day.... The -whole book is, it is true, sensationalism, but it is sensationalism -with a purpose.... Some passages contain a fine plea for the Christian -faith. It is a most original book, and at its lowest value an excellent -entertainment." - -Newcastle Daily Journal.--"_A Time of Terror_ is original in conception -and vividly effective in development. Its author is sure to be heard of -again, and a later work from his pen will be eagerly awaited." - -Third (Sixpenny) Edition now on Sale. - -HURST & BLACKETT, Ltd. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RAID OF DOVER*** - - -******* This file should be named 60222-8.txt or 60222-8.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/0/2/2/60222 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -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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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: The Raid of Dover</p> -<p> A Romance of the Reign of Woman, A.D. 1940</p> -<p>Author: Douglas Morey Ford</p> -<p>Release Date: September 2, 2019 [eBook #60222]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RAID OF DOVER***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4>E-text prepared by Tim Lindell, Graeme Mackreth,<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/raidofdoverroman00ford"> - https://archive.org/details/raidofdoverroman00ford</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pg" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<p class="ph1">THE RAID OF DOVER.</p> -<div class="hidehand"> -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="cover" /> -</p></div> - - - - - - - - -<p class="ph2">THE</p> - -<p class="ph2">RAID OF DOVER:</p> - -<p class="ph4"><span class="smcap">A Romance of the Reign of Woman</span>:</p> - -<p class="ph5">A.D. 1940.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> -<p class="ph6" style="margin-top: 5em;">BY</p> - -<p class="ph5">The Author of "A Time of Terror," "The Devil's -Peepshow," &c.</p> -<hr class="tb" /> -<p class="ph4">"If that Old England fall<br /> -Which Nelson left so great——"</p> - -<p class="ph5"><span class="smcap">Lord Tennyson.</span></p> -<hr class="tb" /> -<p class="ph5" style="margin-top: 15em;"><span class="smcap">London: KING, SELL, & OLDING, Limited,</span></p> -<p class="ph6"><span class="smcap">27, Chancery Lane, W.C.</span></p> - -<p class="ph5"><span class="smcap">portsmouth: HOLBROOK & SON, Limited.</span></p> - -<p class="ph6">1910.</p> - - - - - - - - - - -<p class="ph2">AUTHOR'S NOTE.</p> - - -<p><i>While this Forecast in Fiction has been running as a Serial, -the writer has realised that in some respects it may be open to -misconstruction. Patriotism, not pessimism, is its real keynote.</i></p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"This England never did, nor never shall,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">But when it first did help to wound itself."</span><br /> -</p> - -<p><i>That is the crux. England is being wounded by Englishmen; and the -events imagined in this story are only a concrete example of the -possibilities foreshadowed by Mr. Balfour (Jan. 24th, 1910) in the -following words:—</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"If the pressure of public opinion is not effected, then I tell you -with all solemnity that there are difficulties and perils before this -country which neither we nor our fathers nor our grand-fathers nor our -great-grand-fathers have ever yet had to face, and that before many -years are out there will be a Nemesis for this manifest and scandalous -folly in saving money just at the wrong time, in refusing to carry out -a plain duty."</p></blockquote> - -<p><i>The history of the rise and fall of nations is only the story of Cause -and Effect. Given concomitant causes (1)—the unchecked blight of -Socialism, (2) the Revolt of Woman on "democratic lines," (3) weakened -Maritime Power—and the Effect is only too likely to be that England -will "lie at the proud foot of a conqueror." Let it be hoped that -the British people will remove the causes and prevent the otherwise -probable result.</i></p> - -<p><i>It must not be supposed that the writer identifies himself with the -views expressed by any of his characters on the subject of Woman or -Votes for Women. On the contrary, he thinks that women have been -treated with small tact and much harshness. But we already have -abundant evidence of the dangerous result of giving the franchise -to hundreds of thousands of uneducated men; and if, even short of -universal suffrage, the vote should be granted to the other sex on what -Mr. Asquith calls "democratic lines," it would mean that hundreds of -thousands of uneducated women might join hands with the existing forces -of enfranchised Socialism. That way madness lies, and the end of the -British Empire, "which peril Heaven forfend!"</i></p> - -<p><i>The story is, in some sort, a sequel to "A Time of Terror," in which -the sign of the Spider may be taken as a reminder of the fabled Kraken. -The Kraken, in turn, may be taken to symbolise the German Fleet, "a -sea monster of valign="right"ast size said to have been seen off the Coast of -Norway." Oddly enough, Pliny speaks of such a monster in the Straits of -Gibraltar,—which blocked the entrance of ships.</i></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CONTENTS.</p> - - -<table summary="toc" width="65%"> -<tr><td colspan="3" align="center"><a href="#PROLOGUE">PROLOGUE.</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">CHAP.</td> <td> </td> <td align="right">PAGE</td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">I.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_Ia">The Lost Leader</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_i">i.</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">II.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_IIb">A Prisoner of the Mahdi</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_v">v.</a></td></tr> - - -<tr><td colspan="3" align="center"><a href="#THE_RAID_OF_DOVER">THE RAID OF DOVER.</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">I.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">How Nicholas Jardine Rose</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">II.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">How England Fell</a></span></td> <td align="right"> <a href="#Page_6">6</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">III.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">Aboard the Airship</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">IV.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">The Star of Life</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">V.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">A Threefold Pledge</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">VI.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">The Revolt of Woman</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">VII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">The Price of Power</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">VIII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">Wardlaw's Works</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">IX.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">The Loosened Grip</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_59">59</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">X.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">Zenobia's Dream</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XI.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">The New Amazons</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">A Secret and a Thunderbolt</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">The Raid of the Eagles</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIV.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">The Fight for the Fort</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XV.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">In the Heart of the Hill</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XVI.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">Signs and Wonders</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XVII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">How the Raid Failed</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XVIII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">The Wreck of the Airship</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIX.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">The Coup D'État?</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XX.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">Linked Lives</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_172">172</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XXI.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">The Wrath of Sul</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr> -</table> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="PROLOGUE" id="PROLOGUE">PROLOGUE.</a></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_Ia" id="CHAPTER_Ia">CHAPTER I.</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE LOST LEADER.</p> - - -<p>Wilson Renshaw, the most brilliant member of the House of Commons, -was on the verge of a complete breakdown at the end of the memorable -Session of 1930, a session in which the marshalled forces of Socialism, -allied with the insurgent women of England, had almost, but not quite, -swept the board.</p> - -<p>The Vacation of that year had brought a truce in the fiercest -Parliamentary campaign known to modern times, and Renshaw, under the -peremptory advice of medical specialists, left England for a prolonged -holiday.</p> - -<p>He went to Egypt, recruited his health at Cairo, and then, in pursuance -of a long-cherished wish, set out by a circuitous route for Khartum. -With the exception of Jerusalem, the Nubian capital was regarded by the -young English statesman as the most sacred spot on earth, sanctified, -as it was, by the blood of General Gordon, a Christian soldier, who, to -the indelible disgrace of the political clique then in power, had been -left unsupported in the midst of his blood-thirsty enemies, until it -was too late to rescue him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p> - -<p>That for which Gordon had paved the way; that which Kitchener and -Macdonald had gallantly achieved, in these latter days political -sentimentalists, Englishmen of parochial mind, had gradually undone. -Egypt, brought to a pitch of high prosperity under the civil -administration of Lord Cromer, had been gradually allowed to lapse back -into native hands. There had been no absolute evacuation at the date -of Renshaw's arrival in the country, but the British garrison had been -reduced to insignificant proportions.</p> - -<p>But Renshaw did not come back! He had vanished from the ken of -civilization—swallowed up as effectually in the Nubian desert as -when the earth had opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the -congregation of Abiram. The history of Egypt and the Soudan, written -in blood at the period in question, only accorded with that written -in ink, in advance of the event, by those who in the first decade of -the twentieth century foresaw the outcome of Little Englandism all the -world over. The native movement—the strength of which the dominant -party in Parliament had chosen to ignore—manifested itself in scenes -of sudden and overwhelming violence, while at the same time the Holy -War, preached by a Mahdi in whose existence great numbers of people -had refused to believe, claimed as sacrificial victims nearly every -white-skinned man throughout the length and breadth of the Soudan.</p> - -<p>The caravan with which Renshaw was travelling fell into the hands of -the Mahdi's adherents, betrayed by a treacherous guide, who then spread -the news—anticipating what he had every reason to believe would really -happen—of the death of The White Kaffir, as a consequence of the -resistance he had offered to a band of "True Believers." The news was -received in England with grief and lamentation by those who esteemed -Renshaw, appreciated his talents, and knew how essential were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span> his -services if the aims of the Socialist-Labour Leader, Nicholas Jardine, -and his party were to be defeated. But the public in general saw in the -disappearance of the rising statesman the almost inevitable result of a -rash enterprise. It came to be regarded only as an incidental episode -in the wholesale upheaval of which India, Egypt, and other lands once -dominated by the British sceptre soon became the scene.</p> - -<p>All this had happened ten years and more before the critical events -of 1940. From time to time during that period little-credited reports -reached England concerning a certain white prisoner in the hands of -the Mahdi, who was believed by some to be none other than Renshaw, -the missing man. But, except with a few, these rumours carried little -weight. It was not the first time that tales of that sort had reached -home after the disappearance of well-known men in remote regions of the -Dark Continent. Many, recalling the explorations of Dr. Livingstone, -and Stanley's expedition for the rescue of Emin Pasha, said that when -Renshaw was found and brought home they would believe that he was -alive—and not before.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, in England, Nicholas Jardine carried everything before -him. The Constitutional Party, leaderless and disorganized, seemed -to sink into helpless apathy, and right and left the rapid shrinkage -of the British Empire bore witness to the ruinous success of new and -revolutionary parties in the State. Sometimes, in the House of Commons, -old followers of the Labour Leader's missing rival asked questions, -which, for the moment, attracted marked attention and, in some minds, -roused most sinister suspicions. Had the President received any -information that tended to confirm the rumour that Mr. Renshaw was -still living and undergoing the tortures of a barbarous imprisonment? -Was it a fact that, after a specified date, the Government, or any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span> -members of it, had been notified, not only that Mr. Renshaw was alive, -but that on payment of a ransom he might be restored to his country? -Had any confidential information been received from certain oriental -visitors who, from time to time, had come to this country? Was it, or -was it not, a fact that certain periodical payments of large amount had -been made out of secret service funds in relation to Mr. Renshaw and -his alleged imprisonment?</p> - -<p>These searching questions were evaded in the usual Parliamentary -manner, and it was observed that never was President Jardine—such was -his official title as chief of the new Council of State—so black and -taciturn as when this suggestive topic was from time to time revived in -Parliament.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_IIb" id="CHAPTER_IIb">CHAPTER II.</a></p> - -<p class="center">A PRISONER OF THE MAHDI.</p> - - -<p>Through all those dreadful years Wilson Renshaw lived—lived day and -night the tortured life of a white man at the mercy of the black. Year -after year the iron entered his soul, even as the Mahdi's fetters ate -into his swollen and bleeding limbs.</p> - -<p>There were others who suffered with him in the barbaric prison-house. -What he endured was no less, no more, than they were made to bear. -Happy indeed were those whom death released from misery and anguish -that tongue could never tell, nor pen describe. Hell itself, as -pictured by maddest brain of the most fiendish fanatic, could not have -shown greater resources in the way of physical and mental torture. -The Black Hole of Calcutta lacked many of the special horrors of the -inner den in which the prophet's prisoners were herded during all the -awful hours of night. The bloodstained walls of the Tower of London, -if walls could speak, whispering of the rack, the thumbscrew, and the -boot, might tell indeed of sharper anguish, sooner over. The secret -history of the Spanish Inquisition, if published, would reveal not less -ingenuity—perhaps greater, in the refined subtleties of cruelty. But -the prison at Khartum excelled them all at least in one respect—the -prolongation of the agony inflicted.</p> - -<p>Not for weeks or months, but for years, if life endured, the prisoner -had to suffer. Wearing three sets of shackles, with an iron ring round -his neck, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span> which was attached a heavy chain, Renshaw—the White -Kaffir—the man of culture and social ease in London, but here the -reviled unbeliever, when night came was thrust into a stone-walled room -measuring some thirty feet each way. A large pillar, supporting the -roof, reduced the space available. Two prisoners, in chains, were dying -of smallpox in a corner; some thirty others, suffering from various -diseases, lay about the floor, which reeked with filth and swarmed with -vermin. A compound stench, sickening and over-powering, assailed the -nostrils, and every moment this increased as more prisoners, and yet -more, were driven in for the night. The groans of the sick, the screams -of the mad, the curses of others as they fought fiercely for places -against one or another of the walls, blended in awful tumult as the -door was closed upon the darkness within. Yet again and again that door -was opened, and more prisoners were crowded in; until, at last, they -fought and bit and raved even for standing room.</p> - -<p>Night after night, for nearly four years, Renshaw, the man of delicate -fibre and refined training, the son of Western civilization, lived -through such scenes as these, amid incidental horrors of bestiality -that cannot be set down. When the uproar in the prison attained -exceptional violence, the guards threw back the doors, and lashed with -their hide-whips at the heads and faces of the nearest prisoners, and -every time that this occurred some of them, struggling to move back, -fell to the ground, and were trampled under foot.</p> - -<p>Renshaw was the only white prisoner among the Soudanese and Egyptians -who thus endured the tender mercies of the Prophet—the Prophet for -whom, it was said, the Angels had fought and would fight again, until -every follower of the Cross accepted the Koran of Mahommed. For, like -many of the greatest crimes that stain the annals of mankind,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span> this -prison discipline, in theory, was designed to benefit the souls of the -captives. The White Kaffir, as an unbeliever, a dog and an outcast, was -a special object of the Mahdi's solicitation. Only let him believe and -his fetters should be struck off, or, at least, some of them. He had -but to cry aloud in fervent faith, "There is but one God, and Mahommed -is his Prophet!"</p> - -<p>But it was a cry that never passed the lips of Wilson Renshaw. The lash -was tried again and again. Fifteen to twenty lashes at first; then a -hundred; then a hundred and fifty. But still the bleeding lips in which -the white man's teeth were biting in his anguish would not blaspheme. -"Will you not cry out?" the gaoler asked. "Dog of a Christian, are thy -head and heart of stone?" No answer; and again and yet again the lash -descended.</p> - -<p>If only death would come, kind death to end this pain of mutilated -flesh; this still sharper pain of degradation and humiliation! But -death came not. Courage, indomitable pride of race, a godlike quality -of patience, armed the White Kaffir to endure the slings and arrows of -his dreadful fate. Death he would welcome with a sigh of gladness, but -these barbarians should never, never break his spirit.</p> - -<p>At last the rigour of his sufferings was abated. Out of the mists of -what seemed an interminable period of delirium, he awoke to a change -of his treatment that caused him much surprise. No longer was he to be -half starved. At night he was allowed to sleep alone in a rough, dark -hut in a corner of the prison compound. Each day he was permitted, -though still fettered, to go down to the river, on the banks of which -the prison was placed, and wash in the waters of the Nile. From all -of these changes it became apparent that his life, and not his death, -was now desired. The motive for the change he had yet to realize. A -whisper here and there, a chance word from his gaolers, with sundry -indica<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span>tions, fugitive and various, at length convinced him that this -amelioration of his fate could have but one sinister explanation, and -one inspiring motive. If not the Mahdi himself, then some of the more -covetous of his leading followers must be drawing payment from some -mysterious source, a subsidy for holding him secure, here under the -burning African sun, remote and cut off from all chance of rescue or -escape.</p> - -<p>Yet escapes were planned, for even among these barbarous people there -were a few who felt compassion for the hapless condition of the White -Kaffir; and when it began to be rumoured that he was a man of high -consideration in his native country, others, moved by cupidity and -the prospect of a great reward, found means of letting Renshaw know -that, <i>on conditions</i>, they were willing to secure him at least a -chance of freedom. But every plan fell through. The Mahdi's spies -were everywhere, and those who fell under suspicion of seeking to -aid Renshaw to break free from his captivity received a punishment -so terrible that he shrank from listening to any further offer of -assistance.</p> - -<p>Presently his condition underwent yet further betterment. He became a -prisoner at large—though still fettered and still closely watched. -Employment he had none, save the performance of a few menial offices. -Books he had none, save Al-Koran, the volume containing the religious, -social, commercial, military, and legal code of Islam. But here, in -the heart of this dreadful land, among the dark people of the Dark -Continent, he now learned to look upon the book of life itself from -a new and startling standpoint. Before him was unfolded a new and -terrible chapter of history in the making, a chapter which revealed the -slow marshalling of millions of the dark-skinned races, eager to wrest -dominion and supremacy from the white-skinned masters of the world.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="THE_RAID_OF_DOVER" id="THE_RAID_OF_DOVER">THE RAID OF DOVER.</a></p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></p> - -<p class="center">HOW NICHOLAS JARDINE ROSE.</p> - - -<p>The fall of England synchronised with the rise of Nicholas -Jardine—first Labour Prime Minister of this ancient realm. When he -married it was considered by his wife's relations that she had married -beneath her! It fell out thus. In the neighbourhood of Walsall an -accomplished young governess had found employment in the family of -a wealthy solicitor, who was largely interested in the ironworks of -the district. Her employer was conservative in his profession and -radical in his politics. He took the chair from time to time at public -meetings, and liked his family to be present on those occasions as a -sort of domestic entourage, to bear witness to the eloquence of his -orations. On one of these occasions a swarthy young engineer made -a speech which quite eclipsed that of the chairman. He carried the -meeting with him, raising enthusiasm and admiration to a remarkable -height, and storming, among other things, the heart of the clever young -governess.</p> - -<p>The young orator was not unconscious of the interest he excited. Bright -eyes told their tale, and the whole-hearted applause that greeted his -rhetorical flourishes could not escape attention at close quarters. -Fair and refined in face, with fine, wavy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> light hair, the girl -afforded a striking contrast to this forceful, dark-skinned man of the -people; but they were drawn to each other by those magnetic sympathies -which carry wireless messages from heart to heart. It would be too much -to say that he fell in love with her at first sight. Had they never met -again, mutual first impressions might have worn off; but they did meet -again, and yet again. Coming to her employer's house on some political -business, young Jardine encountered the girl in the hall, and she -frankly gave him her hand—blushingly and with a word or two of thanks -for the speech which had seemed to her so eloquent. After that, in the -grimy streets of Walsall and in various public places, the acquaintance -ripened, until one winter day, outside the town, she startled him with -an unusually earnest "good-bye." The children she had taught were going -away to school; she, too, was going away—whither she knew not.</p> - -<p>"Don't go," he said, slowly; "don't go. Stay and marry me."</p> - -<p>She was almost alone in the world, and shuddering at the grey prospect -of her life. Besides, she loved him, or at least believed she did. -Within a month they were married at the registrar's office. Nicholas -Jardine did not hold with any church or chapel observances. After the -banal ceremony of the civil law, he took his bride to London for a -week. Then they returned to Walsall. His means were of the scantiest; -they lived in a little five-roomed house, with endless tenements of -the same mean type and miserable material stretching right and left. -The conditions of life, after the first glamour faded, were dreary -and soul-subduing. All the women in Warwick Road knew or wanted to -know their neighbour's business; all resented 'uppish' airs on the -part of any particular resident. They were of the ordinary type, those -neighbours, kindly, slatternly, given to gossip. Mrs. Jardine was not, -and did not look like,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> one of them. She was sincerely desirous of -doing her duty in that drab state of life in which she found herself, -but she wholly failed to please her neighbours, whose quarrels she -heard through the miserable plaster walls, or witnessed from over the -road. Worse than that, she found with dismay, as time went on, that she -did not wholly please her husband. She was conscious of a gloomy sense -of disappointment on his part; and she, though bravely resisting the -growing feeling, knew in her heart that disillusionment had fallen upon -herself. The recurrent coarseness of the man's ideas and expressions -jarred upon her nerves. His way of eating, sleeping, and carrying -himself, in their cramped domestic circle, constantly offended her -fastidious tastes.</p> - -<p>When their child was born life went better; and all the time Jardine -himself, though rather grudgingly, had been improving under the -refining but unobstrusive influence of his cultured wife. One thing, at -least, they had in common: a love of reading. Most of the money that -could be spared in those days went in book buying. It was a time of -education for the husband, and a time of disenchantment for the wife. -She drooped amid their grey surroundings. The summers were sad, for the -Black Country is no paradise even in the time of flowers. Everywhere -the sombre industries of the place asserted themselves, and in the -gloomy winters short dark days seemed to be always giving place to long -dreary nights, hideously illumined by the lurid furnaces that glowed on -every side.</p> - -<p>Jardine himself was as strong as the steel with which he had so much to -do in the local works in which he found employment. But his wife found -herself less and less able to stand up against the adverse influences -of their environment. It came upon him with a shock that she had grown -strangely fragile. Great God in heaven!—men call upon the name of God<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> -even when they profess to be agnostics—could she be going to die?</p> - -<p>Her great fear was for the future of the child; and her chief hope -that the passionate devotion of Jardine to the little girl would be a -redeeming influence in his own life and character. Both of them, from -the first, took what care they could that their daughter should not -grow up quite like the other children of the Walsall back streets. -Their precautions helped to make them unpopular, and "that little Obie -Jardine," as the Warwick Road ladies called Zenobia, was consequently -compelled to hear many caustic remarks concerning the airs and graces -that "some people" were supposed to give themselves.</p> - -<p>Good fortune and advancement came to Nicholas Jardine too late for -his wife to share in them. The once bright eyes were closed for ever -before the Trade Union of which he was secretary put him forward as a -Parliamentary candidate. The swing of the Labour pendulum carried him -in, and Jardine, M.P., and his little daughter moved to London. They -found lodgings in Guildford Place, opposite the Foundling Hospital. -The child was happier now, and the memory of the mother faded year by -year. Life grew more cheerful and interesting for both of them as time -went on. Members of Parliament and wire-pullers of the Labour party -came to the lodgings and filled the sitting-room with smoke and noisy -conversation. Zenobia listened and inwardly digested what she heard. -Sundays were the dullest days. She often felt that she would like to -go to service in the Foundling Chapel, but that was tacitly forbidden. -Religion was ignored by Mr. Jardine, and among the books he had brought -up from Walsall, and those he had since bought, neither Bible nor -Prayer Book found a place.</p> - -<p>Jardine had other things to think of. He was going forward rapidly, -and busy—in the world of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> politics—fighting Mr. Renshaw in the House -of Commons. When the old Labour leader in the House of Commons had -a paralytic seizure, the member for Walsall was chosen, though not -without opposition, to fill the vacant place.</p> - -<p>There were millions of voters behind him now; Nicholas Jardine had -become a power. At last the popular wave carried him into the foremost -position in the State. The resolute Republican mechanic of miry Walsall -actually became the foremost man in what for centuries had been the -greatest Empire in the world.</p> - -<p>Before that great step in promotion was obtained, Jardine had removed -from London to the riverside house, in which he still resided, when -a certain young Linton Herrick came from Canada and stayed with his -uncle—Jardine's next door neighbour.</p> - -<p>According to the new Constitution, the Government held office for five -years. The end of that term was now approaching, and every adult man -and woman in the land would shortly have the opportunity of voting for -his retention in office or for replacing him with a successor, man -or woman. He talked much with his daughter of the struggle that was -coming, as it had been his custom to do for years. She was his only -companion, the only object of his affections, the one domestic interest -in his life.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></p> - -<p class="center">HOW ENGLAND FELL.</p> - - -<p>So much for the man. What of the Empire? Nicholas Jardine had -witnessed, and assisted in, its collapse. He had witnessed the result -of a "corner" in food stuffs, and discovered that Uncle Sam was not -the man to miss his chance of making millions merely because in theory -blood is thicker than water. He had witnessed, also, some of the -effects of the great international confidence trick. The feature of -the common swindle so described is that the trickster makes ingenuous -professions. The dupe, not to be outdone in generous sentiments, -places his watch or his bank-notes in the trickster's hands—just to -show confidence. The trickster goes outside and does not come back -again. So, in the matter of national armaments, Germany had avowed -the friendliest disposition towards Great Britain. England, fatuously -eager to believe in another <i>entente cordiale</i>, obligingly sapped her -own resources. Germany, with her tongue in her cheek, went ahead, -determined that England should not catch up to her. Thus had the way -been paved for certain disastrous events: the cutting of the lion's -claws, the clipping of his venerable tail, and the annexation of vast -outlying domains in which the once unchallenged beast aforetime had -held his own, monarch of all he surveyed.</p> - -<p>When Germany conceived that the fateful moment had arrived, Germany -pounced. France was friendly, but not active, Russia active and not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> -friendly, Italy was busily occupied in Abyssinia, and nominally -allied with Germany. Austria had her hands full in Macedonia, and was -actually allied with Germany. Spain and Portugal did not count. Holland -disappeared from the map, following the example of Denmark. The German -cormorant swallowed them up, and German squadrons appropriated the -harbours on the North Sea, as previously those on the Baltic. While -these European changes were being effected with bewildering rapidity, -our former allies, the Japanese, who had learnt naval warfare in the -English school, played their own hand with notable promptitude and -success. Japan had long had her eye on Australia. She wanted elbow -room. She wanted to develop Asiatic power. Now was the time, when -British warships were engaged in a stupendous struggle thousands of -miles away. The little navy that the Australians had got together for -purposes of self-defence crumpled up like paper boats under the big -guns of the Yellow Fleet. Australia was lost. It made the heart ache to -think of the changes wrought by the cruel hand of time—wrought in only -a quarter of a century—in the pride of Britannia, in her power and her -possessions.</p> - -<p>India, that once bright and splendid jewel in the British Crown, the -great possession that gave the title of Empress to Queen Victoria of -illustrious memory—India, as a British possession, had been sliced to -less than half its size by those same Japanese, allied with pampered -Hindu millions; and it was problematical whether what was left could -be held much longer. The memorable alliance with Japan, running its -course for several years, had worn sharp and thin towards the end. -It had not been renewed. Japan never had really contemplated pulling -chestnuts out of the fire for the sole benefit of Great Britain. They -saved us from Russia only to help themselves; and now that Great -Britain was de<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>risively spoken of as Beggared Britain, the astute Jap, -self-seeking, with limited ideas of gratitude, was England's enemy.</p> - -<p>In South Africa, alas! England had lost not only a slice, but all. -The men of words had overruled the men of deeds. What had been won in -many a hard-fought battle, was surrendered in the House of Commons. -Patriotism had been superseded by a policy of expediency. The great -Boer War had furnished a hecatomb of twenty thousand British lives. A -hundred thousand mourners bowed their heads in resignation for those -who died or fought and bled for England. Millions had groaned under the -burden of the war tax, and then, after years, we had enabled Brother -Boer to secure, by means of a ballot box, what he had lost for the -world's good in the stricken field. They had talked of a union of -races—a fond thing vainly invented. Oil and water never mix.</p> - -<p>Socialists, in alliance with sentimentalists in the swarming ranks of -enfranchised women, had reduced the British Lion to the condition of -a zoological specimen—a tame and clawless creature. The millennium -was to be expedited so that the poor old Lion might learn to eat straw -like the ox. If he could not get straw, let him eat dirt—dirt, in any -form of humble pie, that other nations thought fit to set before the -one-time King of Beasts.</p> - -<p>In another part of the world, the link between England and Canada, -another great dominion, as Linton Herrick well knew, had worn to the -tenuity of thinnest thread. Canada, as yet, had not formally thrown off -allegiance to the old country, but the thread might be snapped at any -moment.</p> - -<p>Linton, who had lived all his life in the Dominion, knew very well -how things were tending. The English were no longer the dominant -race in those vast tracts. They might have been, if a wise system of -colonisation had been organised by British<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> Governments. But the rough -material of the race had been allowed to stagnate and rot here in the -crowded cities of England. Loafers, hooligans, and alien riff-raff had -reached incredible numbers in the course of the last five-and-twenty -years. Workhouses, hospitals, lunatic asylums, and prisons could not be -built fast enough to accommodate the unfit and the criminal. Meanwhile, -the vast tracts of grain-growing Canada, where a reinvigorated race -of Englishmen might have found unlimited elbow-room, had been largely -annexed by astute speculators from the United States. The Canadians, -unsupported, had found it impossible to hold their own. The State was -too big for them. As far back as 1906, the remnant of the British -Government garrison had said good-bye to Halifax; and the power and the -glory had gone, too, with the once familiar uniform of Tommy Atkins.</p> - -<p>At Quebec and Montreal, all the talk was of deals and dollars. The -whole country had been steadily Americanised, and Sir Wilfred Laurier, -when he went the ultimate way of all Premiers, was succeeded by -office-holders who cared nothing for Imperial ties. For a time they -were not keen about being absorbed by the United States, for that -would mean loss of highly paid posts and political prestige. The march -of events was too strong for them, and between the American and the -British stools they were falling to the ground. It was bound to come, -that final tumble. The force of things and the whirligig of time would -bring in the assured revenges. The big fish swallows the little fish -all the world over.</p> - -<p>It was the programme of Socialism that had weakened the foundations -of the British Empire and paved the way for the troublous times that -followed. Cajoled by noisy agitators and the shallow arguments of -Labour leaders and Socialists, the working man lost sight of the fact -that his living<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> depended on working up raw material into manufactured -goods, and thus earning a wage that enabled him to pay for food -and shelter. The middle-class had proved not less supine. So long -as Britannia ruled the waves, and the butcher and baker were in a -position to supply the Briton's daily needs, all went well. But when -a family could get only one loaf, instead of four; and two pounds of -meat when it wanted five, it necessarily followed that a good many -people grew hungry. Hungry people are apt to lose their tempers, -their moral sense of right and wrong, and all those nice distinctions -between <i>meum et tuum</i> on which the foundations of society so largely -depend. Moral chaos becomes painfully accentuated when, as the result -of a naval defeat and an incipient panic, the price of bread bounds -up to eighteenpence per quartern loaf, with a near prospect of being -unprocurable even for its weight in gold. All this had happened -in these once favoured isles, because the masses, encouraged by -self-seeking and parochially-minded leaders, had been more intent on -making war upon the classes than on securing their subsistence through -the agency of British shipping, protected by the British Navy at a -height of power that could keep all other navies at a distance.</p> - -<p>In olden time, when the earth was corrupt and filled with violence, -the word came from on high: "Make thee an ark of gopher wood." And -Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, -prepared an ark, to the saving of his house. But while the ark was -a-preparing, the people went about their business, marrying and giving -in marriage, making small account of the shipbuilder and his craze. -It had been pretty much the same in the twentieth century, when the -British people were warned that another sort of flood was coming, and -that they, too, would need an ark, of material considerably stronger -than gopher wood. They refused to believe in the flood. But it came. It -was bound to come.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> - -<p>We fought, yes; when it came to the critical hour, we fought for dear -life and liberty—fought hard, fought desperately, but under conditions -that made comparative defeat inevitable. And the fight was for unequal -stakes. To us it was an issue of life or death. To our foes it was -an affair of wounds that would heal. The law of nations, the law of -humanity, itself counted for nothing in that deadly and colossal -struggle. Our merchant ships were sent to the bottom, crews and all. -No advantage of strength or numbers served to inspire magnanimity. It -was a fight, bloody, desperate, and remorseless for the sovereignty of -the seas, a fight to the bitter end. And it was over, for all practical -purposes, in a week. The British Government did not dare to maintain -the struggle any longer. The Navy would have fought on till victory -had been attained or every British warship had been sunk or disabled. -The spirit of the service did credit to both officers and men, for -much had been feared from disaffection. Socialism had crept into the -fleet. Political cheapjacks with their leaflets and promises had sown -discord between officers and men, and here and there had been clear -indications of a mutinous spirit. But when it came to the pinch, one -and all—officers, seamen, and stokers—had manfully done their duty. -Where they were victorious, they were humane. When they were beaten, -they faced the fortune of war, and death itself, with firmness and -discipline. But all in vain as regards the general result. England's -rulers for the time being, alarmed at the accumulating signs of a -crumbling empire, daunted by the popular disturbances that broke out -in London and the provinces, made all haste to negotiate such terms of -peace, and agreed to such an indemnity that the dust of Nelson, and -of Pitt, may well have shivered in their graves. Peace, peace at any -price! was the cry. Peace now, lest a worse thing happen through a -continuance of the struggle. Germany, however, would not have stayed -her hand,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> and England would have become a conscript province, but for -the daring feat of a little band of Englishmen. Six of them, in the -best equipped air-ship that money could buy, by means of bombs almost -entirely destroyed the enormous works of Messrs. Krupp at Essen. By -this means Germany's resources were so gravely prejudiced that it -suited her to stay her hand for the time being. Out of this act of -retaliation sprang the famous Air-Ship Convention, of which the outcome -will appear presently.</p> - -<p>During these dire events the women had votes, and many of them had -seats in Parliament. Their sex was dominant. They heard the cry of -the children. The men heard the lamentations of the women, and were -unmanned.</p> - -<p>Thus was Great Britain reduced to the level of a third-rate Power—a -downfall not without precedent in the history of the world's great -empires. But sadder even than the accomplished downfall was the fact -that vast numbers of Britons had grown used to the situation, had so -lost the patriotic spirit and fibre of their forefathers that the loss -of race-dominance and of the mighty influence of good which Empire -had sustained, seemed to them of little moment compared with their -immediate individual advantage and petty personal interests.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></p> - -<p class="center">ABOARD THE AIR-SHIP.</p> - - -<p>"So you've made the young lady's acquaintance on the river?" remarked -the Judge, looking amusedly at his nephew.</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Linton, "and the President's, ... in the garden."</p> - -<p>"'Youth, youth, how buoyant are thy hopes,'" quoted Sir Robert, -chuckling.</p> - -<p>"And," added the young man, with a slightly heightened colour, which -the gathering dusk failed to conceal, "they've promised me a trip in -their air-boat!"</p> - -<p>Sir Robert groaned. "Air-boats! Wish they'd never been invented." He -flicked away the ash of his cigar and gazed at the first stars faintly -twinkling in the evening sky. They were sitting on the terrace, and the -September air was as balmy as the breath of June.</p> - -<p>"Look!" exclaimed Herrick, springing to his feet, "don't you see one -over yonder?"</p> - -<p>His uncle gazed and nodded. "And just imagine," he said, "what it will -mean when the present law expires and all restrictions are removed. -Everyone will want to be at liberty to 'aviate'; and as a consequence, -we shall want an enormous staff of air-police to control the upper -traffic and check outrage and robbery. I tell you, sir, the world's -going too fast. The thing won't work!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Everything will settle into shape in time," argued Linton, soothingly, -his eyes still following the evolutions of the air-boat with its -twinkling lights.</p> - -<p>"Well, you're young, and may live to see it, but it won't be in my -day," sighed Sir Robert, "and I don't want it to be. Who wants an -air-ship calling for his parlour-maid at the attic window? Who wants -thieves sailing up to his balcony? And as to collapses and collisions -overhead—we've had some of 'em already—and it don't add to the gaiety -of nations or the comfort and security of the peaceful citizen down -below."</p> - -<p>"It'll all come right, sir," said Herrick cheerfully.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps it will and perhaps it won't," was his uncle's comment. -"It's not so much a question of individuals as of nations. How are we -going to regulate international commerce? The fiscal question, like -the Eastern question, will assume a wholly different character. You -may sail a ship, but you can't build custom houses in the air. What -about imports and exports? What about a hundred things that have been -governed hitherto by the broad fact that man and merchandise have only -been able to move about either on sea or land?"</p> - -<p>"She's coming this way," exclaimed the inattentive Herrick.</p> - -<p>The little ship, wonderfully swift and graceful in her motions, was -crossing high above the river, then circled gradually lower and lower, -nearing them, like a bat, at every sweep.</p> - -<p>"There's a lady in her," said the Judge, "perhaps it's Miss Jardine."</p> - -<p>The two men, with the electric lights from the dining-room throwing -their figures into relief, must have been clearly outlined to the -people in the boat.</p> - -<p>"Yes," declared Linton. "I'll hail her. Boat ahoy! is that the -<i>Bladud</i>?"</p> - -<p>"Aye, aye," answered a man's voice, and then they thought they heard a -low laugh from the lady in the stern. The boat circled lower and lower.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Gently," said the Judge under his breath, "it's the President, it's -Jardine himself, with his daughter."</p> - -<p>"Would anyone like a sail?" came the question from above.</p> - -<p>"Yes, of all things," was Linton's eager reply.</p> - -<p>"She's not built for more than three, or we would offer to take you -too, Sir Robert."</p> - -<p>The Judge had risen to his feet. "Heaven forbid! Much obliged to you -all the same, Mr. President."</p> - -<p>The fans were at work now, assisting in the delicate process of letting -down the boat by slow degrees in the centre of the lawn. She reached -the ground gently and lightly, and Linton and the Judge went forward -and greeted her occupants. Then Linton Herrick stepped aboard, and his -uncle moved clear of the wings.</p> - -<p>The <i>Bladud</i> rose to a height of about 200 feet. Then the elevating -apparatus was switched off, and the boat having circled in a few -ever-widening sweeps, sped away in the direction of London. Until now -the President, who was in charge of the machinery in the fore part of -the boat, had scarcely spoken. Linton sat in the stern beside Zenobia -Jardine, who, so far, also was silent, her attention being required for -the steering gear, with which, however, she seemed perfectly familiar.</p> - -<p>Jardine now explained that the <i>Bladud</i> needed only one-third of her -power for keeping afloat, and two-thirds for propelling her. After -that he became unreservedly communicative. Whether it was due to the -fact of being in the air, instead of upon earth, or to a ready fancy -for the young Canadian, the President showed himself in a character -which seemed to cause his daughter pleased surprise. There was nothing -pompous or self-important in his manner. He talked like a man who is -delighted to get upon his favourite hobby in company with a sympathetic -listener.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p> - -<p>"It's the birds we had to study, the birds in the air," he said. "When -I was about your age I was an engineer, and I used to study birds, -because they gave us the best pattern for an air-ship; it's nature's -own pattern, and you can't beat nature. There's the breast bone, -for instance, provided with a sort of keel to serve as a point of -attachment for the muscles that set the wings in motion. There's the -small head, with a pointed beak, like a ship's bow. Then you've got the -light expanding wings that press like a fan on the elastic air waves. -Those are nature's aeroplanes, Mr. Herrick, and that's the model we've -had to follow. Then there's the tail, tapering off—that's nature's -rudder."</p> - -<p>"We get everything except the feathers," ventured Linton.</p> - -<p>"Feathers are not essential," was the answer. "There are wings of -other sorts. The bat has no feathers. It is fitted with a sort of -umbrella frame from top to toe, so to say, that can be expended when -required for flying. But for an air-ship we get the best model in the -frigate-bird or the albatross—that's what we've aimed at in our newest -aeroplanes."</p> - -<p>"And the best motive power?" queried Linton.</p> - -<p>"The air itself, compressed as we've got it here," said Mr. Jardine, -with decision. "Air can do everything. Nearly a century ago, 'Puffing -Billy,' the primitive locomotive, proved that the adhesion of the -wheels to the rails was sufficient to give drawing power. Everybody -had doubted it. Then everybody doubted whether anything heavier than -air could be sustained and move in air. That's why they wasted money -and lives in ballooning. The fallacy was disproved. We are disproving -it at this very moment. Then came another problem—what was the right -sort of motor? They tried everything. There were endless difficulties -as regards the steam engine. The internal combustion motor was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> a -remarkable source of power. They used it largely in submarines. It gave -the necessary electrical energy when the vessel was propelled under -the sea. But petrol was not the last word in locomotion. The first and -last power, when you know how to harness it, is the air itself. That's -what we've come to after many false starts and failures. You see, you -get extreme lightness combined with great power. The bursting pressure -and the reduced pressure are all calculated to a nicety per lb. to the -square inch. You can have power that will serve for a toy-ship—say -three-quarters of a minute, for a flight of 200 yards; or you can build -upon the same basis for any size, weight, or distance that can be -required."</p> - -<p>"Isn't it wonderful!" exclaimed his daughter with enthusiasm; and -Linton nodded. "Wonderful, indeed, yet here it is!"</p> - -<p>Her father went on stolidly: "It was proved many years ago that a -flying machine weighing nearly 8,000 lbs., carrying its own engine, -fuel, and passengers, can lift itself into the air. An aeroplane will -always lift a great deal more than a balloon of the same weight."</p> - -<p>"I know," agreed Linton, "and it can travel at a high rate of velocity -with less expenditure of power."</p> - -<p>"Exactly; a well-made screw propeller obtains sufficient grip on the -air to propel an air-boat at almost any speed; the greater the speed -the greater the efficiency of the screw. We are going slowly at this -moment, but I could put her along at 70 miles an hour, if one wanted -to."</p> - -<p>Suiting the action to the word, he did increase the speed very -considerably for a short distance, and conversation had to be -suspended. It was the quickest travelling Linton had yet experienced -in the upper air, and he turned with some anxiety to Zenobia Jardine, -thinking the pace might tax her nerves. She was perfectly calm, -however, and her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> father set all fears at rest by saying, as he -slackened pace again:</p> - -<p>"The steering with the new gyroscope is almost automatic, just as if -she were a torpedo. Even in a stiff wind she reverts to a horizontal -keel. It is simply like the balancing of a bird."</p> - -<p>"The <i>Bladud</i> is splendid!" cried Linton with conviction.</p> - -<p>"She's hard to beat," was the President's comment. "But, after all, -she's only the natural outcome of the air-gun, which has been known -for generations. An air-gun is shaped like a rifle, with a hollow -boiler or reservoir of power. You force into the reservoir by means of -a condensing syringe as much air-power as it will hold. By opening a -valve a portion of the air escapes into the barrel of the gun. That's -what takes place when you pull the trigger. The released air presses -against the ball just as gunpowder would. Off goes your bullet without -a sound or sign to show that it has been discharged. Air condensed to -1-46th of its bulk gives about half the velocity of gunpowder. It's -precisely the same principle that's firing us through the air at the -present moment."</p> - -<p>"It's a wonderful discovery!" was Linton's comment.</p> - -<p>"Yes," mused Mr. Jardine, "and yet the thing was always there to be -discovered."</p> - -<p>"Just as the air waves were always ready for wireless telegraphy, but -unused till Marconi came along at the beginning of the present century."</p> - -<p>The President looked around him at the star-spangled heavens and drew -in a deep breath:</p> - -<p>"Yes," he said, slowly, "and there are more secrets waiting to be -revealed."</p> - -<p>"There's a professor of chemistry in one of the American universities -who thinks we shall be able to live on air some day," laughed the young -man.</p> - -<p>The President did not laugh. "Why not?" he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> asked. "We know well enough -we can't live without it. It's quite conceivable that the atmosphere -contains undetected sources of nourishment. They may be generated by -vaporisation or by electricity and chemical action within the air -itself. No one knew anything about ozone a hundred and fifty years ago, -and he would be a rash man who said that ozone is the last word in -atmospheric discovery."</p> - -<p>"It may end in air cakes," suggested Linton, rather flippantly.</p> - -<p>"Or begin with air-cakes and end in air-tabloids," said Zenobia. "What -a glorious idea! Only think how it would simplify housekeeping. Meat, -vegetables, fish, and all the rest, might be superseded, and the -butcher's bill would cease to be a terror."</p> - -<p>"And dyspepsia would be abolished with the weekly bills."</p> - -<p>"Nature, the only universal provider; complete independence of foreign -imports. No starvation and no over-feeding. We should no longer go in -for a big square meal, but for a small round tabloid."</p> - -<p>"Cooks, with all their greasy pots and pans, would not be wanted. You -could carry your meals in your waistcoat pocket and eat them when you -pleased."</p> - -<p>"Yes," agreed Miss Jardine with mock seriousness, "instead of sitting -down to a food function—soup, fish, joint, entrée, pastry and dessert, -as if it were a sort of religious ceremony! The possibilities are -endless."</p> - -<p>"And the prospect glorious!" chimed in the Canadian—then the two -young people, having kept the ball of frivolity rolling to their own -satisfaction, laughed merrily, and even the grim, dark face of the -President relaxed into something like a smile.</p> - -<p>"But there would be rather a sameness in the diet," added Zenobia, -thoughtfully.</p> - -<p>"We could vary it occasionally by harking back to the old fleshpots. -Besides, discovery would lead<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> to discovery. The constituents of the -atmosphere defy the microscope at present, but by and by they may be -seized upon and served up in different forms and combinations for the -nourishment of man."</p> - -<p>"And woman."</p> - -<p>"The greater includes the less. They—oh! I beg your pardon! I was -forgetting. The old order is changed. We live in the Reign of Woman."</p> - -<p>Rather to Linton's surprise, instead of hearing a quick retort, he -thought he heard a low and rather plaintive sigh.</p> - -<p>"Ozone, at any rate, has a special flavour," remarked Mr. Jardine. "It -resembles lobster, and, like lobster, you can have too much of it. But -the plants have always lived on air. Man consumes the flesh of beasts, -but the beasts have built up their flesh by eating grass or plants. -Thus, indirectly, we ourselves live on air already, and draw our -vitality from the atmosphere. Presently we may get it by a shorter cut, -that's all. So your air-cakes and tabloids may really come to pass," -and Mr. Jardine nodded.</p> - -<p>This time there was no laughter, partly because the idea did not seem -so wild, and partly because they were now close to London, and the -wonder of the lighted capital spreading down below was a strange and -solemn thing to look upon.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE STAR OF LIFE.</p> - - -<p>The <i>Bladud</i> passed swiftly over Paddington Station, and followed the -line of the Edgware Road to the Marble Arch. The incessant roar of -the traffic below reached their ears, and it was a relief to get over -the great, far-spreading Park—silent and only faintly lighted by the -scattered lamps. To the left, Park Lane had a gloomy look. The famous -residences of the wealthy, like hundreds of great London mansions in -the neighbouring squares, were untenanted. People could not afford to -live in such palaces nowadays; the governing bodies of the capital had -done their best to ruin it by Socialistic experiments and over-rating.</p> - -<p>At Hyde Park Corner, which was soon reached, once more the tumult of -the traffic rose into the air, and the long lines of electric lamps -stretching eastward along Piccadilly, gave the impression of an -enormous glittering serpent down below. They followed the route to -Piccadilly Circus, where the blaze of lights and the swiftly changing -units in the thoroughfares produced an effect that, seen for the first -time by Linton Herrick, held him in a sort of fascination. Trafalgar -Square and the Strand produced the same bewildering characteristics, -and to the right the effect conveyed by the illuminated bridges was -marvellously beautiful. The <i>Bladud</i> circled widely so that Linton -might take his fill of the spectacle. Then Mr. Jardine headed her -eastward again, and for awhile the streets below lay gloomy and silent -until they had crossed the City. Soon the lights of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> the Commercial -Road and Whitechapel outlined the great thoroughfares of the East -End, while in every direction branch streams of flaring, smoky light -showed where the hawkers and hucksters plied their evening trade. -They had sailed over the Isle of Dogs and Greenwich Reach before the -President put the boat about; then in the distance, like a lighthouse, -the great clock towering over the Houses of Parliament came into view, -the dial shining like a huge, dull moon. In these days it was always -illuminated, whether the House were sitting or in recess.</p> - -<p>"Look!" exclaimed Zenobia, suddenly.</p> - -<p>Away in the heart of Southwark huge flames were shooting into the air, -and monstrous clouds of woolly looking smoke rolled slowly from above a -conflagration.</p> - -<p>"A fire," said Mr. Jardine, "and a big one, too. We'll have a look at -it."</p> - -<p>"Not too close, father," said his daughter, for the first time showing -nervousness.</p> - -<p>"Keep her to windward," said Mr. Jardine, slowing down a little, and -the girl obeyed. Vast showers of sparks rose into the air; they heard -the hiss and splash of water, and the pant-pant of half a dozen fire -engines as they played upon the burning buildings. The lights shone on -the helmets of the firemen—clambering here and there on the roofs of -towering warehouses, and dense masses of people seemed to be packed -into the streets, on whose pallid, upturned faces the lights produced a -strangely weird effect.</p> - -<p>The sight below seemed full of awe and terror. Presently, a sudden gust -of wind changed the direction of the smoke column and brought a volley -of sparks over the <i>Bladud</i>.</p> - -<p>"Hard a-port!" cried Mr. Jardine, "we'll get out of this."</p> - -<p>In a moment they had veered away from the scene of the conflagration, -and were crossing first the river,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> then Cannon Street, almost at full -speed. The fans were set to work, and they rose to a greater altitude -to avoid all risk of colliding with church towers and steeples. A dark, -domed mass took shape a hundred feet away, and over it the great cross -of St. Paul's loomed for an instant into view; a train with faces -showing against the lighted windows, crawled across the railway bridge -at the foot of Ludgate Hill; and far away in the West the gleam of -another fire lighted up the sky with a sudden threatening glare.</p> - -<p>From below there now arose the piteous bellowing of cattle. They were -passing over the huge markets in Smithfield, and the shouts of the -drovers blended with the noise made by the doomed and harried beasts, -whose flesh was to feed London on the morrow. Soon another long row of -lights revealed Southampton Row, running straight, as it seemed, from -Kingsway to Euston. The station clock showed that it was nearly ten. -They swept over the quiet West Central squares, over the Euston Road -and Regent's Park, and so onward and away, until the huddled dwellings -of the capital gave place to suburbs, dark roads, and silent fields.</p> - -<p>Linton, through the later sights and sounds of the night, was conscious -of being in a sort of dream; and in the dream the girl by his side -was the principal, nay, the only figure save his own. The end of a -light scarf that was round her neck blew across his face; the sway -of the <i>Bladud</i> brought her arm against his own, and each slight -contact seemed to thrill him. Once or twice he glanced at her face, -almost inquiringly; for now he had the oddest feeling that she was no -stranger; that in reality they knew each other and had only met again; -that in the past, somehow, somewhere he knew not when, there had been a -kinship or a tie between them. From the first moment of their meeting -she had interested and attracted him. Of that he was well aware. -But not until they sat side by side in this aerial<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> journey had the -impression of which he was now conscious crept into his mind or memory. -What could it mean? That strange exhilaration of the upper air, the -quickening of imagination, wrought by their rapid travelling high above -the solid earth and all its limitations, perhaps might account in some -degree for the puzzling feeling that possessed him. He glanced at her -again; their eyes met, and in hers he read, or fancied that he read, a -telepathic answer to his thoughts.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he found himself repeating, as if with better understanding, -lines that always lingered in his memory:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">The soul that rises with us, our life's star,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Hath had elsewhere its setting,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And cometh from afar."</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>"How odd," murmured the girl in a wondering voice, "the very lines that -I was thinking of," and in low tones she finished the quotation:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"O joy, that in our embers</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Is something that doth live;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">That nature yet remembers,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">What was so fugitive!"</span><br /> -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></p> - -<p class="center">A THREE-FOLD PLEDGE.</p> - - -<p>All through the following day the deep impressions of the previous -evening held Linton as one is held by the memory of some haunting -and impressive dream. Everything down below seemed insignificant -and irrelevant. They were dining out that evening, and he could -not shake off the feeling that in everything connected with that -ordinary function he was playing the part of a small automaton on a -puppet stage. He and his fellow-puppet, Sir Robert, got into a little -motor-car and rushed over five miles of little roads, between two -little hedges, to General Hartwell's little bungalow. Presently, they -were sitting round a little white-covered table, cutting up food with -little implements, and taking little sips out of little glasses. How -wise and important they thought themselves in the midst of all these -little things; how self-satisfied everyone appeared! There were four of -them at the dinner-table, the third guest being Major Edgar Wardlaw, -of the Sappers, a man to whom their host showed great deference and -affection. Wardlaw talked but little; the look in his eyes and the -lines on his broad, fair forehead suggested concentration of thought on -some problem remote from those which the others were discussing.</p> - -<p>The General himself did most of the talking. He was a woman-hater, that -is to say, a hater of woman in the abstract. To the individual woman he -was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> gentleness and kindness itself. But rumours of a new and daring -forward movement by the Vice-President of the Council and her party -had roused the veteran to a pitch of extraordinary resentment. It was -said that Lady Catherine contemplated forming a regiment of Amazons in -the Twentieth Century! It was monstrous. The General boiled over with -disgust and indignation. His language at times became absolutely lurid.</p> - -<p>"A devilish nice pass we've come to at last," he growled. Then he -seemed to be vainly ransacking his vocabulary for strong language, and -gulped down his wine in default of finding an adequate objurgation. The -judge laughed with gentle amusement at his fiery old friend.</p> - -<p>"It's all very well to laugh, Herrick, but, damme, sir, it's the last -straw, it's the last straw!" roared the General.</p> - -<p>"Just what we've been wanting," said Sir Robert, calmly.</p> - -<p>"Eh, what d'ye mean?" General Hartwell stared.</p> - -<p>"When people get the last straw laid on, they can't stand any more. So -now's the time for the worm to turn."</p> - -<p>"You're right! By gad, you're right! But how's the worm going to manage -it?" cried the old officer, leaning back.</p> - -<p>The judge fingered the stem of his wine glass and gazed thoughtfully -at the table-cloth. Major Wardlaw turned his gaze on him as if -suddenly recalled from the regions of mental speculation. Linton, also -self-absorbed as yet, began to listen and to wonder.</p> - -<p>"You have strong views about women. You don't exactly love the sex," -said the Judge.</p> - -<p>"How can a man love 'em when he sees the mis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>chief they've done by -their ambitions and pertinacity?" demanded the General.</p> - -<p>"My dear fellow, you are too sweeping. They're not all alike. There are -plenty of good women left in the world."</p> - -<p>"Show me where they are, then! I don't say they all set out to break -the Ten Commandments. But it's their love of power, their restless -ambitions, their confounded unreasonableness, that have played the -deuce with us. They want to rule the world, sir, and they weren't meant -for it, and it's not good for them, and they know it!"</p> - -<p>They all laughed at the General's vehemence, and extending a wrinkled -forefinger, he went on, with unabated powers of declamation:</p> - -<p>"Men ought to have nipped it in the bud, that's what they ought to have -done. Instead of which we gave place to their insidious aggressions. -We gave 'em an inch and they took an ell. We gave 'em the whip hand, -and they weren't content with it in little things. By heaven, they're -chastising us with scorpions. And there'll be the devil to pay before -we can put 'em back in their proper place. But, mark you, it'll have to -be done, if we want to call our souls our own, it'll have to be done. -Why! my blood boils when I think of the misery shrewish, self-willed -women have inflicted on some of the best fellows in the world. I know -cases. I've seen it done among my old friends. I knew a man, he was a -retired Colonel with a splendid record. What do you think? His scold -of a wife used to send him out to buy cream for the apple-tart. It's -not always the wife. Sometimes it's the mother-in-law. Sometimes it's -a sister. Now and then it's a daughter. I know an old school-fellow, -a parson; the poor beggar has three plain sisters quartered on him; -great, gaunt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> women who talk about 'dear Robert,' and badger dear -Robert out of his life. His only happy moment is when they're all gone -to bed. He'd like to marry; but he's too soft-hearted to send 'em about -their business. I tell you the man's afraid. I know another fellow, too -... but there—what's the good of talking!"</p> - -<p>Major Wardlaw was raising from his seat.</p> - -<p>"Excuse me for two minutes, General!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes, to be sure," assented his host, and when the Major had -closed the door behind him, he dropped his voice and leaned across the -table.</p> - -<p>"Now there's a man! The best engineer the British army has produced -for thirty years. That man, sir, designed the great fort they built at -Dover to guard the Channel Tunnel. He's got a big brain and a great -heart, but in one way he's shown himself a fool. What does he do but -go and marry a garrison flirt, sir, a little thing with a pretty -face and fluffy hair, and the tongue of a viper. The poison of asps -was under her lips. I can tell you she led Wardlaw a life. Now she's -dead and gone, and I do believe he's sorry! He worships the child she -left him,—little Miss Flossie. She's upstairs at the present moment. -Wardlaw's gone to say good-night to her. He worships the ground she -walks on, and that child takes it all for granted. By heaven! she -orders him about. She's got her mother's blue eyes and fluffy hair, and -I'd wager she's got her temper too. By-and-by she'll lead her father a -pretty dance. He wouldn't come here to stay with me—and, mind you, I'm -his oldest friend,—no, he wouldn't come without Miss Flossie. Oh these -women! By heaven, they raise my gorge."</p> - -<p>"My dear Hartwell," said the Judge, calmly, "You go too far. You're -prejudiced...."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Prejudiced!" exclaimed the General, "were Thackeray and Dickens -prejudiced? Look at Becky Sharpe and the way she treated that big -affectionate booby, Rawdon Crawley. Look at that girl Blanche Amory, -the little plotter who ran after Pendennis. And if you come to Dickens, -what about Rosa Dartle,—a woman as venomous as a serpent!"</p> - -<p>"Types, my dear fellow, types; but not a universal type."</p> - -<p>"There's lots more like 'em," nodded the General.</p> - -<p>"And many more unlike them. You see, we old fogeys...."</p> - -<p>"Fogeys, by gad! Speak for yourself, Herrick."</p> - -<p>"I do," said the Judge, "it isn't that I feel like a fogey any more -than you do. It's the label that the world insists on fastening on men -of our age, and it is apt to make us feel bitter. We're supposed to -have had our time and finished it. It's not what we feel, Hartwell, -it's what we look that settles it, and I'm afraid, my dear fellow, -sometimes when our hair turns grey our tempers turn bitter. It's the -way of the world...."</p> - -<p>"It's the way of the women, I grant you."</p> - -<p>"Come, come, let us leave the women alone for a bit. They've brought -things to a crisis. It's the last straw. Well and good. Doesn't that -suggest an opportunity?"</p> - -<p>"Now, you know, you've got something in your lawyer's head. Come, man, -what the deuce are you driving at?"</p> - -<p>"We haven't drunk Renshaw's health yet," said the Judge with apparent -irrelevance. They rose and raised their glasses. Linton—who had taken -no part in the recent discussion—now watched his uncle expectantly. -"Renshaw, God bless him! and bring him back to England!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p> - -<p>"By the way," said Sir Robert, casually, as they resumed their seats, -"is Wardlaw with us?"</p> - -<p>The General, who had taken his old friend's lecture in good part, -nodded: "Of course he is. Isn't nearly every man, in both services? Do -you suppose we want an army of Amazons armed with lethal weapons to -keep in order?"</p> - -<p>"What about the Corps of Commissionaires?"</p> - -<p>"Being their Commander, I ought to know. Seventy per cent. of 'em, at -least, are dead against petticoat government. They're good chaps, and -they've seen good service. They don't like the way the country is being -run any more than you or I do. You take my word for that."</p> - -<p>The Judge mused for a moment, tipping the ash from his cigar.</p> - -<p>"What about the old Household troops?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Same story. But what can we do without a leader in Parliament? and -suppose, after all, poor Renshaw is dead?"</p> - -<p>Sir Robert Herrick suddenly abandoned his careless bearing, threw -away his cigar, and took from his pocket a letter written on foreign -notepaper. "Listen," he said, "both of you," and lowering his voice, -he read the letter, slowly and distinctly so that every word was -understood. Then he twisted it into a spill and burnt it bit by bit. -They sat for a few moments in silence.</p> - -<p>Then from the General, whose fierce little eyes seemed starting from -his head under the bristling white eyebrows, there came a sort of -gasping exclamation: "God bless my soul! Why not?" Then, after a pause, -dropping into the familiar style of their early days: "You know, Bob, -there's risk in it. I'm with you to the last. I'm with you; but there's -risk in it, we must remember that."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Yes, there's risk in it," answered Sir Robert, gravely. "We must -count the cost. But the risk and the cost are not half what they were -in other days, when men were ready to die for their country and their -cause. If Tower Hill could talk it could tell many a tale of men who -were faithful unto death. If the block could unfold its secrets; if -the red axe could speak, there'd be some stern lessons for modern men -to ponder on. Did you ever read how Balmerino faced the headsman after -Culloden? Come what may, we shouldn't have to face the axe, Hartwell."</p> - -<p>"Hanging would be no improvement," growled the General. "Still, mind -this, I'm with you heart and soul, if we can work it out."</p> - -<p>"I don't think we should have to face the hangman either," said the -Judge quietly. "We might, perhaps, have to spend the evening of our -days behind prison bars. Even that is doubtful. Nothing succeeds like -success. What's treason under one rule becomes loyalty under another. -History has illustrated that over and over again?"</p> - -<p>"What age would Renshaw be by this time?"</p> - -<p>"Why, not forty, even after ten years' captivity. He is the only man -who can bring back the ancient glory and prestige of the Kingdom. -Once in our midst, the people will rally round him with enthusiastic -loyalty. If well organised, it will be a bloodless revolution, -Hartwell, a glorious and thankful reversion to the old system of man's -government for man and woman. It is best suited to the British nation. -We've tried something else and it's proved a failure."</p> - -<p>"A d——d failure," agreed the General, heartily.</p> - -<p>"We've given way to cranks and noisy, shrill-voiced women; to vapouring -politicians; to socialism<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> and all the other isms. We had a notion -that we could ante-date the millennium and work the scheme of national -life according to ideas of equality and uniformity. It can't be done. -Experience proves that anomalies work well when logical systems fail. -It's a conceited age, a puffed up generation. We are not really wiser -than our fathers, though we think we are. Let us try to revert to first -principles."</p> - -<p>"I'm your man, heart and soul," said General Hartwell, and the two old -friends grasped hands across the table.</p> - -<p>"I knew you would be!" There was a shine as of tears in the Judge's -eyes. "But you and I can't work this thing alone. We must have -colleagues; not many, but some, or at least one," and he looked at -Linton Herrick.</p> - -<p>"I'm with you too, sir," said the young man simply, "show me the way, -that's all."</p> - -<p>"We three alone at present, with loyal hearts and silent tongues," said -Sir Robert, gravely.</p> - -<p>"The Three Musketeers!" ventured Linton.</p> - -<p>"By Jove, yes," agreed the old officer.</p> - -<p>"And we undertake everything that serves the State," added Sir Robert, -solemnly. They rose by mutual understanding and clinked their glasses.</p> - -<p>"All for one! and one for all!" they cried with one accord.</p> - -<p>And Major Wardlaw, opening the door at that moment, stared amazed.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE REVOLT OF WOMAN.</p> - - -<p>England was agitated by two items of the latest intelligence. The same -journal which announced the sudden and serious illness of President -Jardine also recorded a bold move in the campaign of the Lady Catherine -Kellick, Vice-President of the Council of State. Enormous interest was -roused, not so much by the advertised notice of a public meeting on -affairs of State, as by the rumours of its real object. Ostensibly, -the people of London were invited, so far as the accommodation of the -Queen's Hall would permit, to hear a statement as to the position -of public affairs and to consider questions of national importance. -But it was well understood that the real aim of the convener of the -meeting was to strengthen her grip on the helm of State by means of her -rumoured forward policy, in the interests of the sex which she claimed -to represent.</p> - -<p>Long before the hour fixed for the meeting, multitudes of people of -both sexes approached Langham Place by every converging avenue. The -doors of the Hall were besieged by an enormous concourse, and the -police on duty soon found themselves entirely powerless to preserve -order. As evening approached, the crowd became more and more dense, -extending southward far into Regent Street, and northward into Portland -Place. Every window in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> the Langham Hotel was crowded with wondering -visitors, looking down upon the immense assembly, from which rose -angry shouts as mounted constables forced their horses through the -outskirts of the crowd in the vain effort to keep the people on the -move. When darkness rendered the situation still more dangerous, urgent -representations were made to the managers of the Hall, and the doors -were suddenly thrown open. A wild yell of relief or eagerness rose -from thousands of throats, and a scene of indescribable violence and -confusion followed, as men and woman pushed, struggled, and fought -their way towards the entrances. In a few moments every seat had been -seized, every inch of standing room occupied. The attempts of the -attendants to attend to the angry demands of those who held tickets -for reserved seats were absolutely futile. Every gangway was blocked -by pushing and struggling humanity, and those who, alarmed by such -a condition of things, sought to force their way out were prevented -from doing so by the swarms of people who were already wedged in the -corridors.</p> - -<p>A babel of voices arose on every side, but at length the audience was -weeded out to some extent, and the great numbers that remained settled -down in patient expectation, solaced, after a time, by the music of -the grand organ and the singing of the songs and choruses. Tier after -tier at the back of the platform, usually occupied by musicians, had -been reserved for Members of Parliament and officials of State. Not one -seat was vacant save the chair of the Vice-President. When the hour -appointed for the meeting struck on the clocks of the neighbouring -churches, there was a great clapping of hands, and an excited waving of -hats and handkerchiefs. A tall thin figure, wearing a flowing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> robe of -scarlet, now advanced from the right-hand side of the platform, and, on -emerging from behind the rows of palms and ferns, came into full view -of the audience.</p> - -<p>Although she had become so great a power in England, the Vice-President -was only known by means of pictures and photographs to a great number -of those who were present. They gazed at her with wonder and interest. -There was character in every line of her face. Her grey hair, swept -back from the broad low brow, made her look older than her actual -years. Her eyes were rather prominent and staring. The upper lip was so -long as to betoken a marked degree of obstinacy, and her chin, square -and firm, with the flesh bagging a little on either side, accentuated -the general indications of hardness.</p> - -<p>When she spoke, her greatest charm was made known. Her voice was -excellent, it had that kind of purring intonation which reminded some -of the older people of the celebrated actress Sarah Bernhardt; her -friends said that it was partly because of the "purr" that she had -acquired the popular nickname of "Lady Cat."</p> - -<p>There were no formal preliminaries. Raising her hand for silence, she -began to speak, and her first sentence was well chosen and arresting:</p> - -<p>"The Amazon is the greatest river in the world!"</p> - -<p>Puzzled glances were exchanged, and here and there was heard a -wondering titter. Were they in for a lecture on geography?</p> - -<p>The speaker went on without a pause, and swiftly undeceived them:</p> - -<p>"The Amazon flows from the Andes with such stupendous force, in such -enormous volume, that its waters are carried unmixed into the Atlantic -Ocean."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p> - -<p>They now had a dim idea of what was coming, and the impression was -speedily confirmed:</p> - -<p>"There are other mighty forces in the world besides that river, and I -for one, speaking for the sex to which I belong, would glory in the -name of Amazon. Call us Amazons, if you will. Let those laugh who win; -women are winning all along the line!"</p> - -<p>Shrill applause went up from hundreds of women in the audience. The -men, in a minority, were silent and uneasy.</p> - -<p>"The time has come for facing facts, for examining claims and titles. -Man's title to be Lord of Creation is full of flaws, and we dispute it."</p> - -<p>Frantic cheers and handkerchief-waving came from the women; a few deep -groans from the men.</p> - -<p>"It is no use trusting to recent history. The men by force and fraud -got into possession of all the good things, all the power that life -has to offer, and thousands of us have meekly acquiesced. If you are -content to be regarded as the weaker vessel, if it satisfies you to be -compared with men as water is compared with wine, or moonlight unto -sunlight, be it so; we who are wiser must leave you to your fate. But -some of us have already advanced a stage or two towards the position we -claim rightfully as our own. Yet, you women of England, mark this, the -stages already covered are nothing to what we can and will achieve."</p> - -<p>Excited applause for a few minutes prevented the speaker from -proceeding. A fierce disturbance broke out at the back of the Hall, but -was promptly quelled.</p> - -<p>"One thing all men and women here to-night must realise. There cannot -be two Kings in Brent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>ford, no, nor a King and Queen. Of the two sexes, -one alone can reign. Which shall it be?"</p> - -<p>Shrill cries of "ours, ours!" broke from the speaker's supporters.</p> - -<p>"Yes," she cried triumphantly, "our turn has come at last; it <i>shall</i> -be ours, if women only stand to their guns. But there can be no halting -half way. Forward or Retreat!"</p> - -<p>"Forward, Forward!" came from the now enthusiastic audience, with eager -cheers and shouts, and again the cry went up: "Forward, one and all."</p> - -<p>"Forward let it be. But, remember, the race will be to the swift and -the battle to the strong. To-night I call you to arms. To-night I -remind you that among the ancient races of the world there were women -who set us the example that we need. The story of the Amazons of old is -no fable. They lived—they fought for supremacy. They won it and they -held it. So can we!"</p> - -<p>Tumultuous cries, blended now with angry hisses from the men, disturbed -the meeting. But so great was the ascendency which the Vice-President -already had acquired over most of her hearers, that a wave of her -hand stilled the uproar, and she was enabled to proceed. At the same -moment, on a screen at the back of the platform, was thrown a startling -life-sized picture of an Amazonian warrior:</p> - -<p>"Behold!" cried the orator, grasping the dramatic moment and extending -her arm, "Behold Thalestris—Queen of the Amazons!"</p> - -<p>For an instant the vast audience paused—surprised, staring, almost -bewildered.</p> - -<p>"You are asking yourselves who was Thalestris," the speaker continued. -"The Amazons founded a state in Asia Minor on the coast of the Black -Sea. Herodotus will tell you how they fought with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> Greeks; how they -hunted in the field and marched with the Scythians to battle. Well, -Thalestris became their Queen. They styled her the daughter of Mars. -She set the men to spin wool and do the work of the house. The women -went to the wars, and the men stayed at home and employed themselves in -those mean offices which in this country have been forced upon our sex. -The Amazons went from strength to strength; they built cities, erected -palaces, and created an empire. And there were other Amazonian nations. -All of them acted on the same principle. The women kept the public -offices and the magistracy in their own hands. Husbands submitted to -the authority of their wives. They were not encouraged, or allowed, to -throw off the yoke. The women, in order to maintain their authority, -cultivated every art of war. For this is certain—all history proves -it: force is the ultimate remedy in all things. That was why the -Amazons of old learnt how to draw the bow and throw the javelin."</p> - -<p>"For shame! for shame!" roared a man's voice from the balcony.</p> - -<p>"There is plenty of cause for shame," was the speaker's swift retort, -"but the shame is on the men, the swaggering, bullying, self-sufficient -men who in times past held women in subjection. Why, there were men in -England not so very long ago who would put a halter round a wife's neck -and bring her into open market, for sale to the highest bidder. It used -to be the law of England that men might chastise their wives with a rod -of specified dimensions...."</p> - -<p>"We don't do it now," shouted the same voice.</p> - -<p>"No! because you cannot and you dare not. It used to be said that there -was one law for the rich and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> another law for the poor. But it was -always a much more glaring truth that there was one law for men and -another law for women. It was so in the Divorce Court until we women -altered it. It was so in respect of the results of what was called a -lapse from virtue, and we are going to alter that. It was so in regard -to votes and representation, and you know we have changed all that!" -Loud and vehement applause from the majority of the audience greeted -this allusion to the suffrage.</p> - -<p>"More than half the nation is no longer disenfranchised. But we must -not rest content. Like Alexander, we seek more worlds to conquer, and -conquest will be ours. While women have grown, men have shrivelled. -Athletic exercise and a freer and more varied life have given our -women thews and sinews. But the men are decadent, degenerates who have -led indolent, self-indulgent lives. They have given up the Battle of -Life. Thousands of them are as enfeebled in body as in intellect. We -see around us an undeveloped, puny, stunted race. What? Call these -creatures men? I tell you they are not men, they are only mannikins!"</p> - -<p>Immense uproar broke out again in every part of the heated, crowded -building. When it was subdued, the speaker resumed in scornful tones:</p> - -<p>"Better masculine women than effeminate men! Better the Amazon than -the mannikin! Read the story of Boadicea, of Joan of Arc, and of Joan -of Montfort! Read what history will tell you about Margaret of Anjou! -Worthy successors were they of the Amazons of the Caucasus and the -Amazons of America, the noble women who gave their name to the greatest -river in the world. Like the women of old, let the Amazons of the -present century—the Amazons of England—learn to arm, and learn to -fight."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p> - -<p>There was a moment's pause. Then the Vice-President, in tones now -piercing and tremulous, cried out:</p> - -<p>"Who will join the First Regiment of the Amazons of England?"</p> - -<p>The electrified audience saw the speaker raise her hand, and at the -signal twenty girls in smart military uniform marched on to the -platform, saluted, and stood at attention. Each Amazon's hair was cut -short, but not too short to be frizzed. On each small head was worn a -helmet like that of Thalestris. The braided tunic was buttoned from -shoulder to shoulder in the Napoleonic style, and the two rows of gilt -buttons narrowed down to the bright leather belt that encircled the -waist. "Bloomers" completed the costume, and a light cutlass and a -revolver furnished each Amazon's warlike equipment.</p> - -<p>Laughter, applause, and shouted comments greeted the entrance of the -girl-soldiers. It became a scene of indescribable confusion.</p> - -<p>Then once more the Vice-President vehemently appealed to the audience:</p> - -<p>"Who will join the Amazons of England?"</p> - -<p>Shouts of "I will, I will!" came, first, from the body of the hall; -then from every part of the building, until, at last, the women seemed -to answer in a perfect scream of eagerness. Many minutes passed before -silence was restored. Then it was announced that all recruits could -give in their names as they left the hall, and the Vice-President went -on to move in formal terms a resolution declaring that this meeting was -firmly persuaded that the cause of the nation and of woman required -that the women of England should take up arms, and pledged itself, -first, to support the establishment of a new body of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> militia to be -recruited from the ranks of the young women of England; and, secondly, -to claim from the State the same rate of pay that hitherto had been -paid to men alone.</p> - -<p>A thin young woman with hectic cheeks and excited manner sprang to her -feet on the right of the platform and seconded the motion. She only -made one point, but it went home. "I'll ask you one question," she -exclaimed, in tones so shrill that here and there a laugh broke out: -"Are we inferior to poor Tommy Atkins?"</p> - -<p>The aggregate answer was so ready and so violent a negative that the -opposing element was momentarily subdued. Storms of applause broke out -as she resumed her seat.</p> - -<p>But with equal readiness another speaker was on her feet on the other -side of the platform. In clear high tones her voice rang out over the -noisy assembly: "I oppose it!"</p> - -<p>Another storm—a storm of remonstrance now arose. Cries of "Shame, -shame," were hurled towards the platform. Then, as some of the audience -recognized the new speaker, they exclaimed to the people near them: -"It's the President's daughter! It's Zenobia Jardine!"</p> - -<p>"Order, order!" roared a minority of the audience, now somewhat -encouraged, and in a few minutes, while Zenobia waited—her eyes -bright, her lips firmly set—order was secured. The Vice-President had -sat down. She looked at her young opponent with no friendly eye, taking -no trouble to secure her a quiet hearing. But there was a section of -the audience that had only waited for a champion, and meant to see fair -play.</p> - -<p>"I oppose it," repeated Zenobia, "because I believe that to arm women -and train them to fight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> will be a mad and wicked act. It would mean -a return to barbarism. It would be adding a monstrous climax to the -progress of a great cause. Instead of being the final exaltation of our -sex, it would lead to our political extinction and our ruin. Let us -have none of it."</p> - -<p>The Vice-President's face wore a wicked look, and her thin lips -tightened as this appeal drew a loud cheer from the men and from a -certain number of the women in the excited audience.</p> - -<p>"It has been said that the empire of women is an empire of softness, of -address. Her commands are caresses, her menaces are tears!"</p> - -<p>"No! No!" came from the throats of the Vice-President's supporters. The -Vice-President herself arose.</p> - -<p>"Will the speaker favour us with the authority for her quotations?" she -asked in loud and cutting tones.</p> - -<p>"Rousseau...." began Zenobia nervously.</p> - -<p>"An effeminate authority indeed!" exclaimed the Vice-President. "We are -not all in love" she added sneeringly.</p> - -<p>She seemed for the moment to have won the audience back to her cause. -But Zenobia was not beaten.</p> - -<p>"Very well!" she cried, "I will give you an English author. Doctor -Johnson, at least, was not effeminate. What did he say? 'The character -of the ancient Amazons was terrible, rather than lovely. The hand could -not be very delicate that was only employed in directing the bow and -brandishing the battle-axe. Their power was maintained by cruelty; -their courage was deformed by ferocity'.... Besides, the whole thing's -impossible." Conflicting cries broke out in every quarter, and the rest -of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> sentence became wholly inaudible. There was a slight lull when -the Vice-President rose and raised her hand.</p> - -<p>"Is it your pleasure that this lady be heard further?" she demanded. -The hint received a ready response, and shrieks of "No, no!" drowned -the protests of the minority. In a moment, the Vice-President put her -resolution and called for a show of hands. In another moment, she had -declared the motion carried by an overwhelming majority.</p> - -<p>At a sign, the organ gave forth a trumpet note, and then burst into a -rushing volume of sound, which drowned all cries and counter-cries, and -ended the meeting in a scene of unexampled tumult and excitement.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE PRICE OF POWER.</p> - - -<p>After the great and epoch-making meeting in Queen's Hall, the disturbed -state of public feeling was accentuated. It was generally felt that -the sex-conflict which the revolt of woman had brought about now was -shaping towards some new and startling climax. A crisis was at hand. -Moreover, at the same time, the appearance and rapid development of a -serious and unfamiliar epidemic created widespread alarm.</p> - -<p>At first people had laughed at the "new disease," but the laughter was -shortlived—like great numbers of those whom the epidemic attacked. -Harley Street described it professionally as a recrudescence of <i>plica -polonica</i>; and just as at an earlier period people had contracted -influenza into "the flue," they now went about asking each other how -about the "plic." It was a malady which at one time had prevailed -extensively in Poland, and but little doubt could be felt that it had -now been introduced into England by the Polish Jews, whose alien colony -in Whitechapel and other parts of the East End had attained enormous -proportions. The peculiar feature of the plic. was that it attacked -the hair of the head, matting it together and twisting it in hard -knots, to touch which caused the most exquisite pain; this symptom was -often accompanied with manifestations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> of acute nervous disorder. The -patient speedily became feverish, and in most instances showed signs -of derangement in the functions of the brain. As the malady developed -sleep was banished, or, when obtained, would be disturbed by dreadful -dreams. Profound depression weighed upon the spirits, and the bare -sight of food and drink excited strong repulsion. Gouty pains in arms -and legs caused acute agony to some of the sufferers, and in many cases -there were fits of giddiness and an affection of the optic nerve that -produced temporary blindness.</p> - -<p>The disease more often than not proved fatal. Physicians were at a loss -for radical cures, and a course of thermal baths was found to be the -most efficacious palliative that the faculty could recommend. Under the -advice of Harley Street, great numbers of patients, in the early stages -of the disease, flocked to Bath for the water-cure. Not since the -days of the Georges had the famous city of the west harboured so many -afflicted visitors. Every hotel was crowded from basement to attic. The -lodging-house keepers exacted monstrous prices for the most indifferent -accommodation. Local doctors drove a roaring trade, and every other -woman in the street seemed to wear the familiar garb of the hospital -nurse.</p> - -<p>Among the distinguished persons who had been advised to have recourse -to the healing properties of the famous baths was the foremost man, -officially speaking, in the country. Nicholas Jardine was declared to -be suffering from a severe attack of the prevailing epidemic, and the -papers announced that the President would at the earliest possible -moment leave London for Bath.</p> - -<p>This intelligence caused far more anxiety throughout the country -than might have been anticipated.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> It was not that the President was -particularly beloved, but that among a large section of the community -the Vice-President was distinctly unpopular. Her ambitions and the -determination of her character were well known. Hence the prevailing -apprehensions. What might not Lady Cat accomplish in the temporary -absence of the President? And, worse still, what might not she dare and -do, as the champion and inciter of woman, if the head of the Government -should die?</p> - -<p>The instrument of Government provided that supreme executive authority -should be vested in one person—the President, or his deputy for -the time being, in conjunction with the Commons in Parliament -assembled. The functions of the Lords had long since been abrogated. -The President, or his deputy, in the circumstances stated, with the -assistance of the members of the Committee or Council of State, had -the fullest powers as the executive, and, in effect, presided over the -destinies of the nation.</p> - -<p>From the President the judiciaries and magistrates derived their -honours and emoluments. In him was vested civil command of the national -forces both by sea and land. With the sanction of the Council, he could -maintain peace or declare war. These powers were to some extent checked -by the enactment that no law of the realm could be repealed, suspended, -or amended without the consent of Parliament; but in Parliament the -Vice-President had powerful support.</p> - -<p>In the event of the death of the President, the other members of the -Council could immediately nominate his successor. It was well known -that the "Cat" had striven to ally herself in marriage with Nicholas -Jardine, with the object, as most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> people believed, of indirectly -grasping the reins of Government. It was known also that, foiled in -that design, she treasured feelings of animosity against the President -and his daughter. What, then, would be likely to limit her revenge or -curb her ambition if an opportunity like the present could be made to -serve her purpose?</p> - -<p>It was widely felt that a crisis impended; that events of dark -and threatening character were shaping for some great struggle or -convulsion, the issue of which no one could foresee. The men of -England, though in the course of years they had yielded inch by inch -before the persistent aggression of the other sex, were not wholly -forgetful of their past, nor blind to the possibilities of the future. -The more virile among them remained rebels against woman's dominion, -struggling, like strong but despairing swimmers, against the rushing -tide that was sweeping them away. But such men were in a notable -minority. Vast numbers seemed to have lapsed without resistance, if -not without reluctance, into the position of underlings. Relieved of -various responsibilities, they acquiesced in the position which the -other sex had gradually assumed. They had grown lazy and half-hearted. -With a shrug of the shoulders they accepted the widely-held dictum that -their own sex was decadent. In point of numbers that was beyond denial. -The entire birth rate of the country had fallen, year after year, but -more notable than that was the emphasis given to the dominant note of -the age by a steady diminution in the percentage of new-born males.</p> - -<p>The more vital question arose, what view would the women themselves -take of any new departure on the part of their leading representative -in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> Councils of the State? But such a question could not readily -be answered. It might be hazarded that most of those who had displaced -the male competitor or who were already in the way of promotion, would -be for holding the ground and making any further bid for supremacy -that occasion should suggest. But still there were known to be great -numbers, patient and, so far, inarticulate women, who viewed the -existing state of things with deep regret, and anticipated the future -with positive alarm. If the men and the women were in opposite camps, -"the sex" undoubtedly was divided in sentiment; for the change of the -old order of things had brought many developments that told against the -grace and charm of woman's life.</p> - -<p>She had gained something; but she had lost more. The protective -character which in former times man had felt bound in honour to assume -for the benefit of the weaker vessel had been largely discarded. -Chivalrous feelings were blunted by the competition in which woman had -engaged with man. If the grey mare was bent on being the better horse, -she must accept the conditions of the competition. However reasonable -and welcome this might seem to the mature or hardened woman, it was -far from agreeable to the young and charming girl. For still there -were charming girls in England, girls who wanted to be wooed and won; -girls whose hearts fluttered at the sound of a certain footstep; girls -who did not want to rule their lovers, but to lean on them; girls to -whom romance was the spice of life. Such girls as these, and it was -whispered that they grew in numbers, shrank from the harsh conflict of -the battle of life, in which it seemed to be expected that each and -all would readily engage. They found in the open doors of professional -business or political<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> life inadequate compensation for the deference, -tenderness, and delicate consideration which had been accorded by men -to earlier generations of women. The Forward faction with their facts -and figures, could count on great numbers of adherents. But certainly -there were others, and perhaps the best and sweetest in the world of -women, who looked with growing distaste and resentment upon the leaders -who had brought the business and the pleasures of life to such a pass.</p> - -<p>There was one English girl who, in the trouble that had come upon her -by reason of her father's illness, discovered and pondered on these -momentous questions. What would it profit a woman to force herself out -of her ordained place in the plan of creation? And what should she give -in exchange for that submissive tender love of wife for husband which -the Sacred Book declared to be the law of God?</p> - -<p>Zenobia Jardine, turning for the first time to the Bible, pondered over -mysterious passages of the early Scriptures, which came to her with all -the greater force because they had not been weakened by parrot-like -familiarity. It was a revelation. Historical or allegorical—regarded -either way—the story of the Garden of Eden and the first parents of -the human race was imperishable in its power and significance. Therein -lay the true lesson of life. The waves of the centuries had vainly -surged around it. Like pygmies biting on the rock, the newest of new -theologists, and the latest of scientific discoverers, had left the -rock still standing, impregnable in its eternal strength. The voice -that spake to the woman in the garden seemed to be speaking still: -"What is this that thou hast done?" And the woman's answer was: "The -serpent beguiled me,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> and I did eat." The enmity that had sprung from -that far-off and typical wrong-doing was bearing bitter fruit. The -bruising of the heel had been renewed through all the history of man -and woman. The woman now was bruised in her affections.</p> - -<p>In the Homeric story, Thetis took her son Achilles by the heel and -dipped him in the river Styx to make the boy invulnerable. The water -covered him save where the heel was covered by his mother's hand. And -it was through the heel, that one vulnerable spot, that ultimately -death assailed the hero. So, also, it seemed to the reflective girl, -the heel typified her heart. All the armour of life that she had taken -to herself under the auspices of her father would not avail against the -enemy who assailed her in that one weak spot.</p> - -<p>There were times when she felt that she had discredited her training -and fallen below her appointed level. There were other times when she -felt instinctively convinced that in woman's weakness lay her truest -strength—her greatest victory in her ordained defeat.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></p> - -<p class="center">WARDLAW'S WORKS.</p> - - -<p>To counteract the dangers arising from the Channel Tunnel, long since -an accomplished fact, and to soothe the apprehensions of a large -section of the public, new defence works of enormous strength and -intricacy had been constructed on the heights of Dover. Always a place -of vast importance by reason of its position, the ancient stronghold -now had become more notably than ever the key to England. As a -watering place it had steadily dwindled in importance. Its neighbour, -Folkestone, easily held the palm for all pleasure-seekers; but the -commercial development of Dover as a port of call for the great liners -had been remarkable, just as its strength for naval purposes had been -vastly augmented. The completion of the Admiralty Harbour by the -construction of the East Arm and the South Breakwater now afforded a -safe haven for the largest warships in the British Navy. Here they -might ride at anchor, or safely come and go, always protected by the -monster guns which had been mounted in the various forts.</p> - -<p>The commercial harbour had been provided with a huge marine station, -where transatlantic passengers in ever-increasing numbers were enabled -to land or embark under shelter, continuing their journey either on -land or sea with a modicum of in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>convenience. It was the great aim -of competing steam and railway companies to simplify the methods of -travel and enable everybody to go everywhere and do everything with -the greatest possible amount of comfort. Those who could not trust -themselves, invaluable as they were to themselves, amid the chops of -the Channel, now might travel by tunnel to and from the Continent, and -thus avoid the risks of nausea or the inconsiderate assaults of wind or -wave.</p> - -<p>By one means or another thousands upon thousands of passengers of all -nations and tongues streamed through Dover year after year. It was -before all things a place of passage—in so far as it was not a place -of arms. If one had repeated to most of these globe-trotters Gloster's -question in King Lear: "Dost thou know Dover?" the answer would -probably have been: "Well, I just caught a glimpse of it." From the -Channel, Shakespeare's Cliff, to the westward of the Admiralty pier, -certainly was found less impressive than most people had expected. -Like English life, as a whole, it seemed less spacious than it was -considered to be in the days of good Queen Bess. But then, of course, -Shakespeare, with his cloud-capp'd towers and gorgeous palaces, -was always such a very imaginative dramatist. Still, there was the -ancient, though slowly-crumbling, cliff remaining in evidence to remind -English folk and foreigners of the splendid story of England's past. -There, too, on Castle Hill, the ancient Roman Pharos—adjoining St. -Mary's-in-Castro—reared its roofless walls towards the clouds. The -mariners of England and of Gaul no longer needed the lights of the -Pharos to guide them in the Channel, and, of course, the venerable -bells that used to ring for matins and evensong were silent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> many a -year before Admiral Rooke removed them to Portsmouth parish church.</p> - -<p>The great Castle, close at hand, was visited by very few excursionists. -The climb between Castle Hill and the Western heights was found -fatiguing. More Americans than Englishmen appeared to interest -themselves in the story of the Castle; its occupation by William of -Normandy after the Battle of Hastings, its associations with King -John's craven submission to the Papal Legate, its victorious defence -by Hubert de Burgh, the French attack—fruitless again—of 1278, and -other incidents of historic interest. The Long Gun, known as Queen -Elizabeth's pocket-pistol, still pointed its muzzle sea-ward, and the -inscription in low Dutch, very freely translated, rashly adjured the -current generation to—</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"Load me well and keep me clean,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">I'll carry my ball to Calais Green."</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>But inspection of the Castle was not encouraged, and tourists of -foreign appearance who showed a disposition to take snapshots in the -vicinity were promptly checked in their pursuit of the pleasing but too -common art of photography. Yet it was certain that, pigeon-holed in -every war department, of continental and, perhaps, of certain Eastern -powers, there were full details, or nearly full, of the elaborate -defence works with which Dover was provided. It was known that Castle -Hill was honeycombed with subterranean passages and galleries, and -that the Castle (nowadays a barrack rather than a fortress) was thus -connected with the modern forts in its immediate vicinity.</p> - -<p>Fort Burgoyne, to the north of the castle itself, was, until recent -times, the strongest link in the chain of defence, its guns being of -great calibre, and commanding a vast range over land and sea. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> far -more powerful, and better equipped with modern armament and military -resources, was Fort Warden; such being the name given to the works -which had been specially constructed as a safeguard against possible -attack by means of the Channel Tunnel. The very hill had been hewn and -carved and moulded to meet the needs of such a danger. Commanding the -gradual sweep by which the railway descended towards the Tunnel, the -great guns of Fort Warden were always trained upon the gaping archway -from which the incoming trains were constantly emerging.</p> - -<p>The highest battery of the Fort occupied a dominating position -overlooking all the <i>enceinte</i> fortifications, which were armed with -machine guns and small cannon. There was a subterranean passage -connecting the fort with the waterworks of a large service reservoir -in a hollow of the hill, which had been constructed in modern times -to ensure an adequate supply of water for the troops and the Duke of -York's School. Fort Warden was complete in itself; but, linked up with -the other fortifications, it formed, as it were, the citadel of a -composite fortress where, in the event of attack, the last stand would -be made by England's defenders. Round the fort extended a double row -of trenches, and within these was a moat. Strong wire entanglements -defended the trenches, and the loopholes in the breastworks were -protected by 3/4-inch steel plates with a cross-shaped opening for the -rifles. In addition, strong bomb-proofs were provided for the reserves, -with wide bomb-proof passages leading to certain of the other forts. In -all directions on the hill were placed howitzers and mortars, most of -the battery positions and gun epaulements being ingeniously masked and -difficult for an advancing enemy to locate. The mili<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>tary scientist who -had designed most of the elaborate defences and put finishing touches -to those of earlier construction was Major Edgar Wardlaw of the Royal -Engineers. His old friend General Hartwell held that from the point -of view of an invading enemy, this quiet, unassuming officer was the -most dangerous man in all the British army. Major Wardlaw certainly -knew better than anyone else of what Dover Castle Hill was capable. -The military authorities were very chary of rehearsing its possible -performances, because, in the vulgar parlance of an earlier period, it -would give the show away. It was a "show" that must be closely reserved -and kept dark in times of international peace and quietness.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the hillside showed but few signs of life; the winds of -heaven blew over it, the rains descended, or the sun shone. Birds -hopped about, and people came and went. Often there was hardly a sound -to break the silence of the hill. A visitor who had climbed the heights -could gaze over the town of Dover and the hills and valleys behind -it, or look right across the Channel to the coast of France, quite -undisturbed by human voice or sound of busy life. But Major Wardlaw -could have told that visitor that on the instant, at a signal, this -placid scene could be converted into one of awful violence and furious -sound; that in a flash the hill would vomit forth, as if from many -avenues of hell, wholesale, fiery death and indiscriminate destruction. -On every side would rise the roar of monster ordnance, the ceaseless -rattle of machine guns, the deafening crack of musketry.</p> - -<p>Woe betide the foe that dared to rouse the sleeping monster of the hill!</p> - -<p>Such were Wardlaw's Works, as they were called throughout the British -army. When the Major<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> retired from active service, he still lingered -in the neighbourhood of his <i>magnum opus</i>. In a charming bungalow, -perched on the hillside of Folkestone Warren, he and Miss Flossie spent -unruffled days amid eminently healthy surroundings.</p> - -<p>The Warren, a bay of much natural beauty, had been rescued from -neglect. A station on the line from Folkestone proper to Dover afforded -easy access to the Bay; trees had been planted and roads cut in the -hillside. Everywhere on summer nights the lights gleamed from villas -and bungalows, and down below on the new jetty, and at the mastheads -of scores of pleasure craft. The place suited Major Wardlaw admirably, -and even little Miss Wardlaw, who was by way of being exacting, seemed -quite satisfied with her surroundings. Her father kept a small cutter -in the bay, and frequently took the young lady for health-giving sails -upon the dancing sea. Usually their port of call was Dover. The Major -was always going to Dover. He couldn't keep away from it. When the -cutter was laid up for the winter, he went by train, or sometimes -walked across the wind-swept downs. Dover town itself had no particular -attractions for him. The magnet lay on Castle Hill. In short, Wardlaw -could not keep away from Wardlaw's Works. Even when he was not visiting -the Works, he was always thinking about them. When military friends of -his came over from the Castle or from Shorncliffe, they seemed to talk -of nothing else but Fort Warden—all that it was, and all that it would -be if the critical hour of conflict or invasion ever came.</p> - -<p>Flossie Wardlaw disapproved of the whole thing. It annoyed her—this -constant absorption, this ever recurring topic of conversation. -Personally, she refused to discuss the Works, and had it been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> possible -would have forbidden all allusion to the Fort when those tiresome -friends dropped in and talked "shop" with her father. Poor Wardlaw, -torn with conflicting emotions, knowing that the child was jealous of -the Works, used to look at her apologetically when one of his cronies -started the everlasting topic. But Flossie was not easily to be -mollified. With her little nose in the air, she would glance severely, -disdainfully, at the author of her being, tossing back that mass of -silky, sunny hair from which her pet name was derived.</p> - -<p>And now the hated subject of the "Works" was more to the fore than -ever, for the military movement among the women of England had brought -Fort Warden into prominence in the newspapers. The Vice-President -of the Council, in pursuance of her policy, was turning the Fort to -unforeseen account. The First Amazons, as they were popularly called, -had been "enrolled and uniformed," and now the Fighting Girls (as some -people styled them) were to have this wonderful fort placed at their -disposal for the purpose of training and instruction in the art of war. -The idea was very popular among the Amazons. Some two hundred of them -were to spend a fortnight in the Fort, and then give place to another -batch, the Fort meanwhile being vacated by the artillerymen, save only -a handful of gunnery instructors and lecturers. So the men marched out -of the tortoise-backed "Works," and the Amazons, very smart in their -new uniforms, and full of gleeful excitement, briskly and triumphantly -marched in.</p> - -<p>It was a picturesque episode in martial history which afforded -excellent scope for lively descriptive reporting. Great numbers of -people seemed to be pleasurably interested in the event, just as they -used to be in the volunteer military picnics on Easter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> Monday. There -were others, however, who, like General Hartwell noisily, and Edgar -Wardlaw quietly, condemned the whole thing as monstrous, unseemly, and -fraught with danger to the nation. The majority, however, laughed at -the minority. What was there to be afraid of? There was not a cloud -in the international sky. England's difficulties, they said, now were -purely domestic. Greater Britain had been so cut up and divided that we -had nothing further to fear. Surely no greedy Jezebel would dream of -stirring up a Continental Ahab to covet and lay violent hands on the -remnant of Naboth's Vineyard.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE LOOSENED GRIP.</p> - - -<p>"Bladud, the son of Lud, founded this Bath three hundred years before -Christ."</p> - -<p>It was a far cry from Bladud to Nicholas Jardine! A goodly span, too, -from the time when a great statesman was carried through the streets of -Bath, swathed in flannels; his livid face, peering through the windows -of the sedan chair, the fierce eyes staring from beneath his powdered -wig. One can almost see his ghost in Milsom Street, and hear the -whisper spread from group to group: "There he goes! the great Commoner, -Mr. Pitt!"</p> - -<p>And now through the streets of the same town they wheeled a very -different sort of statesman; and yet, perhaps, the product, by slow -processes of inevitable evolution, of that very time "when America -thrust aside the British sceptre, when the ingenious machine of Dr. -Guillotine removed the heads of King and Queen in France, when Ireland -rose in rebellion, when Napoleon grasped at the dominion of the Western -World, when Wellington fought the French Marshals in Spain," and when, -God be thanked! Nelson triumphed in Trafalgar Bay.</p> - -<p>Just as the inhabitants and visitors of Bath used to take off their -hats to William Pitt in his sedan chair, so now the new generation -saluted Nicholas Jardine, when, seated in his bath-chair, he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> -drawn through the streets to the baths. For though times were changed, -the President in his way was a great personage—such a remarkably -successful man; and in all times it has been proved true that -nothing succeeds like success. Jardine, when he acknowledged these -salutations, showed an awkwardness unknown to those to the Manor born. -It disconcerted him to be stared at, especially now that he was ill. -He hated traversing the public streets, and often sat with closed -eyes until his chair entered the bathing establishment. Once there he -became alert and interested—but not in the reminiscences of Georgian -functions and the manners and customs of the fops and flirts of that -vanished period. What appealed to him, as a trained mechanic, was the -heritage of far remoter days. The brain of the Roman Engineer and the -skilled hand of the Roman Architect and Mason had left these signs and -wonders for future generations to look upon. The great rectangular -bath had only been uncovered about sixty years earlier. The Goths and -Vandals of an earlier period had built over it their trumpery shops -and dwelling-houses. But the present bath, with its modern additions, -actually was built upon the ancient piers. The very pavements, or -scholć, that bordered it were those which the Roman bathers had -trod. The recesses or exedrć corresponded with those at Pompeii, and -had been used for hanging the clothes of the Roman bathers or for -resting places. The floor of the bath was coated with lead, and in all -probability that lead was brought from the Roman mines in the Mendip -Hills, where had been discovered the imperial emblems of Claudius and -Vespasian.</p> - -<p>The President was not without a sense of the beautiful. The scene -around him awakened his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> imagination. He knew that the wooded slopes -of the stately hills, the stone hewn from the inexhaustible quarries, -and the broad river—formerly spanned by bridges and aqueducts graceful -in outline and noble in proportions—each and all had furnished the -means which skilful hands had put to glorious uses. Yet all these -ingredients of beauty might have remained unused but for the wonderful -thermal waters which here, for untold centuries, had risen ceaselessly -from fathomless depths, streaming ever from rocky fissures, filling the -pools and natural basins, and still overflowing into the rushing river.</p> - -<p>But this beneficent spring and these now verdant hills must have had -their remote origin in some terrible concussion of natural forces. -Mother Earth had laboured and brought them forth, far back in her -pre-historic ages. Subterranean fires, begotten by the portentous union -of iron and sulphur, had waited their appointed time. Drop after drop, -the hidden waters had filtered on inflammable ingredients, until the -imprisoned air at last exploded, and the earth, rending and rocking in -appalling convulsions, opened enormous chasms and brought forth, amid -fire and smoke and vapour, the embryo of all this lovely scene. The -City was the offspring of seismic action; the earth had travailed and -brought forth these wooded hills. The smiling valley, where now stood -the City, was but the crater of an extinct volcano, perpetuated in -memory by the steaming waters that still gushed upward from the mystic -depths.</p> - -<p>Below the streets and houses of the modern town were the original baths -of the City of Sulcastra, of many acres in extent. Here, indeed, in -this most wonderful of Spas, history unfolded itself page by page—the -City of Sul in the grip, successively, of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> Roman, Saxon, Dane; dynasty -succeeding dynasty, sovereign coming after sovereign, statesman after -statesman, until now, when a Walsall mechanic in a bath-chair was all -that England had to show by way of substitute for absolute sovereignty -and sceptred sway.</p> - -<p>And with Nicholas Jardine, too, the relentless law of time was at work. -The sceptre was falling from his grasp. The grass withereth; the flower -fadeth. Man passes to his long home, and the mourners go about the -street. Would it be his turn next? Every day Zenobia seemed to see in -her father's face signs of a slowly working change. She witnessed the -melancholy spectacle of waning strength, of failing interest in those -things that once had absorbed his thoughts and energies. It wrought in -her a corresponding change, a protective tenderness which she had never -felt before, a deepening sense of the transience and sadness of human -pomp and circumstance, a broadened sympathy with all the sons of men.</p> - -<p>A great silence seemed to have fallen upon the man who in the past had -made so many speeches. A brooding wistfulness revealed itself in his -expression. There was a haunting look of doubt or question in his eyes, -a look as of one who, without compass and without rudder, finds himself -drifting on an unknown sea. The land was fading from his sight. The -solid earth on which he had walked, self-confident, self-sufficient, -no longer gave him foothold. His nerveless hands were losing grip on -the only life of which he knew anything, the only life in which he had -been able to believe. And day by day, and night by night, there came to -his mind the memory of his earlier life, of the faith that he had seen -shining in the dying eyes of the woman<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> who had believed while he had -disbelieved. Vividly he recalled to mind—albeit with a sense of wonder -and irritation—an occasion when he had sat beside her in the old -Cathedral at Lichfield. The sun was setting, and its glory illumined -the huge western window; the words of the great man of action, who was -also the man of great faith, were being read from the lectern, and at -a certain passage his wife had turned and looked at him with sad and -supplicating eyes: "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are -of all men most miserable."</p> - -<p>If in this life only ...! All other hope he had scorned and rejected. -No other hope had seemed needful to his happiness and success. But -now? Already <i>this</i> life was dwindling and departing. He felt it; he -knew it in his inmost being, as his steps faltered, his hands grew -thin and pallid, and his brain, once so busy with a hundred projects -and ambitions, now refused to work, or brought to him only recurrent -recollections of things which in the prime and strength of his manhood -he had scouted and despised.</p> - -<p>If in this life only ...!</p> - -<p>Sometimes a great restlessness possessed him, and Zenobia, in the -silent watches of the night, heard him moving heavily and slowly about -his room. On one of these nights, anxious and alarmed, she hurried in -and found him standing at the window in the darkness. The furnished -house they occupied was on Bathwick Hill, and the night scene from the -windows was one of striking mystery and beauty. The blackness of the -valley in which lay the ancient city, and of the towering hills on -every side, was studded with myriads of lights—shining like stars in -an inverted firmament.</p> - -<p>"Father!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> - -<p>She crossed the room and laid her hand upon his arm; but, scarcely -heeding her, the sick man still stood by the window, looking as if -fascinated on the magical scene of the night. Zenobia also gazed, and -gazed steadfastly; but the impression made upon herself was wholly -different. With him it was a sad impression of farewell. But in -Zenobia's brain there suddenly sprang up an extraordinary sense of -recognition. There was a subtle, haunting familiarity in the scene she -looked upon—this valley and these hills, in and about which all that -was modern, save the lights, was quite invisible. Thus might the valley -of Sulcastra have looked under the darkened sky two thousand years -ago. Thus might the lamps of Roman villas, temples, baths, and public -buildings have twinkled when a vestal virgin, maintaining Sul's undying -fires upon the altar, looked down upon the silent city.</p> - -<p>The puzzled girl caught her breath, half sighing, unable to shake off -the belief that at some remote period she had gone through precisely -the same experience that was now presented to her. And, doubly strange, -in connection with the scene, though she could see no reason for it, -her thoughts flew instantly to Linton Herrick. She became oppressed, -almost suffocated, with a sense as of pre-existence—a bewildering -sensation, almost a revelation—that seemed to tell of the mystery of -the ego, of the indestructibility of human life.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was the last time that Nicholas Jardine looked down upon the old -city, by night or by day. The next day he remained in bed, and the day -after, and all the days that were left to him. The afternoon sunshine -came upon the walls, the shadows followed, night succeeded day. The -demarcations of time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> became blurred. His calendar was growing shorter -and shorter. The world mattered less and less to him, who had played a -leading part in it; and already he mattered nothing to the world. Death -was not close at hand. Nevertheless he was dying.</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"For this losing is true dying:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">This is lordly man's down-lying:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">This his slow but sure reclining,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Star by star his world resigning."</span><br /> -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></p> - -<p class="center">ZENOBIA'S DREAM.</p> - - -<p>The night which followed her heartsearching experience of feeling on -looking down upon the sleeping city of Bath, Zenobia had a dream. It -was a vision of extraordinary vividness, and strangely circumstantial.</p> - -<p>Beneath her eyes the golden light of a summer sunset was flooding -the temples, the baths, the stately villas of ancient "Rome in -England"—the city of Sulcastra. Garbed as a Priestess of the Temple, -she stood upon a plateau, high on the Hill of Sul on the east side of -the valley. Behind her rose the Temple of the Goddess, and by her side -stood one whom she knew to be the sculptor Lucius Flaccus, son of that -centurion who was charged to carry Paul from Adramythium to Rome. He -had been telling her in graphic phrases of his association with the -great Apostle; how for the first time he had heard him on Mars' Hill -at Athens boldly rebuking the listening and resentful throng who had -erected there an altar <i>to the unknown God</i>. Then with a gesture of -repugnance which horrified the priestess, the narrator, quoting the -Christian preacher's words, had turned and pointed towards the Temple -in which she with other vestals kept ever burning the sacred fire of -Sul.</p> - -<p>"Forasmuch, then, as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to -think that the Godhead is like silver<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> or gold, graven by art or man's -device...." Thus far he had spoken when her own voice interrupted -passionately:</p> - -<p>"Do not blaspheme the gods!"</p> - -<p>"The gods are dead," he answered sternly, "nay, rather, they have never -lived. Our Roman gods have eyes that see not, ears that hear not, they -are but silver, gold, or stone—the work of hands like these." Thus -speaking, he held forth his hands, delicate and mobile, in one of which -was grasped the chisel of his ancient art. The priestess stood for a -moment looking in his eyes, silent, terror-stricken. "Yet," he went on, -bending his gaze upon the city with a sigh, "Sulcastra is beautiful."</p> - -<p>He knew and loved each particular feature of artistic beauty in the -city. Its architecture afforded him a delight that never failed. The -symbolic work of the chisel was evidenced on every side. The noble -columns that supported the terraces; the pavements resembling those -of Pompeii; the graceful friezes and delicate cornices appealed -irresistibly to every votary of art. Indeed, the Thermć of Sulcastra -were held by many of the cultured Romans to be not less splendid than -the baths at Scipio Africanus, or even those built at Rome by Caracalla -and Diocletian. For here, too, the lofty chambers were ornamented -with curious mosaics, varied in rich colours and infinitely delicate -in design. And here, also, the medicinal waters were poured into vast -reservoirs through wide mouths of precious metal and Egyptian granite, -while the green marble of Numidia had been brought from afar to give -variety to the native stone from the adjacent quarries. The fame of -the wonderful waters went back for eight centuries before the birth of -Christ. Here, according to tradition, Bladud, son of Lud<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> the British -King, father of King Lear, had found a cure for his foul leprosy. -Yonder had stood the first Temple of Minerva, dedicated by that same -Bladud to the goddess. Had he not sought by magical aid to soar aloft -like the eagle, only to fall and be dashed to pieces on Minerva's altar?</p> - -<p>The sculptor shaded his eyes against the slanting rays of sunlight, -and turned his gaze upon the vast stadium in which at stated intervals -the people of Sulcastra witnessed the elaborated games of mighty Rome. -Such an occasion recently had occurred, a scene of splendid pageantry -and power which invariably moved the spectators to superstitious awe, -and often to wild excesses of fanaticism. Young and old had implored -the favour of the gods, and pledged themselves to maintain unbroken the -religious observances of the Rome people. In the darkness of night, -mystic sacrifices had been offered on the banks of the river; and the -whole city, as the sculptor and the priestess now looked down upon -it, still seemed to be fermenting with the excitement which the great -celebration had occasioned.</p> - -<p>At that very moment an imposing procession was seen to be advancing -towards the Temple of Minerva. Trumpet note after trumpet note echoed -round the hills. Chariots full of garlands and branches of myrtle -approached the shrine. A large black bull was being led to the -sacrificial altar, and youths and maidens, chanting a hymn to Minerva, -carried in procession costly vases full of wine and milk to be poured -as libations to the goddess, while others bore cruets of wine, oil, and -perfumed essences to anoint the pillars of the sacred monuments within -the temple.</p> - -<p>Lucius Flaccus looked down upon the procession with sad and moody -eyes. The Vestal's eyes were bent no less sadly on the sculptor, as -if divining all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> his thoughts. They sprang, she doubted not, out of -the subject of their conversation, and she turned uneasily towards the -pillar-altar on which the sculptor's skilful hands had been at work. It -stood upon the turf at the entrance to a little grove which gave access -to the gates of the Temple of Sul, the temple in which she herself -ministered as priestess.</p> - -<p>A cloth lay over the graceful monument, to the inscription upon -which the young Roman had but just now put the final touch. His work -upon the monument, screened from view, had long excited the interest -and curiosity of the Romans and the slaves who passed that way, but -reverence for the goddess and respect for the sculptor himself had -served to arrest all questions. The work of art, it was thought, would -be unveiled in time; and doubtless it would prove to be another and a -worthy tribute to the goddess who presided in a special manner over the -fortunes of the city.</p> - -<p>Lucius Flaccus had studied in a great and noble school. He had gazed -long and often on the famous statue of the Olympian Jove modelled in -ivory by the master hand of Phidias. He had marked every curve and -feature of the Minerva—standing sixty cubits high—on whose shield the -great Athenian sculptor had so marvellously represented the wars of the -Amazons. There were those, indeed, familiar with the work of the young -Roman who foretold for him an imperishable reputation as an exponent of -the noble art to which he was devoted.</p> - -<p>Lucius Flaccus had been welcomed in Sulcastra as one who was likely to -add to the beauty of the city, and the honour of the special goddess -of the citizens. The sculptor's art, like the Ten Commandments, was -written on tables of stone. It was for all time; nearly five hundred -years had passed since the chisel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> dropped from the hand of Phidias, -but the glory of his work remained. It was indestructible. So also, -thought some, might the handiwork of Lucius Flaccus be handed down from -century to century.</p> - -<p>The cult of Sul was scarcely distinguishable from that of Vesta. Like -Vesta, she was a home-goddess, a national deity, whose vestals were -solemnly pledged ever to maintain her altar-fire, lest its extinction -should bring disaster on the people.</p> - -<p>Sul, also, was a fire deity. According to the kindred mythology of -Scandinavia, the goddess was so beautiful a being that she had been -placed in heaven to drive the chariot of the Sun from which she took -her name—that glorious sun, the rays of which were now illuminating -the city of Sulcastra. Sul, in the eyes of the Romans, was more exalted -than Soma, daughter of the Moon, though in the East Soma was held in -the highest reverence as the mother of Buddha. Soma was the sovereign -goddess of plants and planets. In the Vedic hymns she was identified -with the moon-plant which a falcon had brought down from heaven. Its -juice was an elixir of life. To drink it conferred immortality on -mortals, and even exhilarated the gods themselves. But even greater -virtue and miraculous power did the Romans attribute to the waters of -Sul, and with better evidence of their potency. For here, in Sulcastra, -century after century, and ever at the same temperature, the magical, -unfathomable well had poured forth its mystic waters for the healing of -the people.</p> - -<p>The Temple of Sul, like that of Vesta, was circular, to represent the -world; and in the centre of the temple stood the altar of the sacred -flame, ever burning to symbolise the central fires of Mother Earth, -just as the sun was deemed to be the centre of the universe.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p> - -<p>There were nothing strange or unusual in freedom of conversation -between the Priestess and the Sculptor—who, in former years, had added -many decorations to the Temple. The virgin priestesses were permitted -to receive the visits of men by day; by night none but women were -suffered to enter their apartments, which adjoined the sacred building -in which they ministered. Each priestess was pledged to continence for -thirty years. During the first ten they were employed in learning the -tenets and rites of their religion. During the next ten they engaged -in actual ministrations. In the final ten years they were employed in -training the younger vestals, and after the age of thirty they might -abandon the functions of the temple and marry. Few exercised that -option. Custom, when such an age was reached, had become ingrained, the -impulses of youth frozen, and the honour paid to their office became -more valued than the prospects of marriage.</p> - -<p>The reverence shown to them was very great, but so also was the -punishment that followed a lapse from the letter or the spirit of -their duties. The least levity in conduct, the smallest neglect of -ministerial duty, was dealt with by the Pontifex or the Flamens, -and visited with great severity. The loss of virginal honour, or -the failure to maintain the sacred fire, involved a penalty of -inexpressible terror. The condemned priestess, placed in a litter, shut -up so closely that her loudest cries were scarcely audible, was carried -through the city in the order, and with the adjuncts, of a funeral -procession, a journey of death in life—its goal the niche or narrow -vault in which the living vestal was to be immured.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p> - - -<p class="center">THE SCULPTOR'S STORY.</p> - -<p>The dreamer knew these things, and still dreamed on. It seemed as if -her own voice broke the silence:</p> - -<p>"Fain would I know more of this same Paul of whom you speak."</p> - -<p>Then she paused, but looks still questioned him. Presently the young -Roman spoke again—</p> - -<p>"My father, the centurion Julius, was charged to carry him to Rome, -and I had planned to bear him company. We took ship to sail along the -coasts of Asia; touched at Sidon and afterwards at Cyprus, the winds -being contrary. Later we transhipped at Alexandria, and thus reached -Crete. The seas grew dangerous, and the sailors feared. Scarcely had -we sailed when there arose that strong, tempestuous wind they call -Euroclydon. The ship, being caught, could not bear against the wind, -and we let her drive. Then, near the island of Clauda, we were like to -be driven on the shore; and fearing quicksands, we struck sail, and so -were driven again. The tempest tossed us, and the ship was lightened. -We cast adrift the tackling; but still the tempest held us; neither sun -nor star appeared for many days, and all that time the ship was driven -before the storm, until at length the shipmen deemed that we drew near -to land. They sounded and found twenty fathoms. Again they sounded and -found five fathoms less. Then, fearing we should be upon the rocks, -they made all haste to cast four anchors from the stern, and waited for -the day."</p> - -<p>"The storm had lasted long?"</p> - -<p>"For fourteen days and nights."</p> - -<p>"And there were many in the ship?"</p> - -<p>"Two hundred, three-score and sixteen souls; and everyone was saved. -Land lay before us, though we knew it not. But we discovered close at -hand a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> creek. So they took up the anchors, loosed the rudder-bands, -hoisted the mainsail to the wind, and made for shore. She ran into -a place where two seas met, and went aground. The forepart held and -seemed immovable, but soon the hinder part was broken by the violence -of the waves. The soldiers then would have killed all the prisoners, -lest they should escape, but my father stayed their hands. Those who -could swim sprang first into the sea. Others on boards, and some on -broken pieces of the ship, made for the land, and I, with all the rest, -came safe ashore."</p> - -<p>"The gods be thanked; the gods be thanked for that." The words came -fervently from the Vestal's lips.</p> - -<p>He turned on her and sighed. "What! still the gods?"</p> - -<p>She pressed her hands upon her brow. "Is there no more to tell?"</p> - -<p>He paused a moment. "Already I have told too much if told in vain. -The island we had reached was Melita, and Publius, the chief man -of the place, received us courteously. Paul healed his father of a -grievous sickness, and many others also, ere we departed in a ship of -Alexandria. We touched at Syracuse, and then at Rhegium, whence we went -towards Rome. There many brethren greeted Paul with joy, and there in -reverence and sorrow did I part from him."</p> - -<p>"And he—this Paul himself?"</p> - -<p>"Remains at Rome, having his own hired house, receiving all who come to -him, preaching of the Heavenly kingdom, teaching with all confidence, -of the coming of the Christ—no man yet forbidding him."</p> - -<p>Deep silence fell between them, and the only sound<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> came from a droning -that in Sulcastra never ceased by night or day—the voice of the -rushing river as it poured across the weir.</p> - -<p>Now they stood erect; each was tall and nobly framed; each face had -beauty intellectual and physical. Yet in the sculptor's features and -his deep-set eyes there was the look that visionaries wear, the stamp -of those who nourish great ideals. The gaze the priestess bent upon -him told a different tale. The dreamer knew this woman loved this man, -while he, as yet, had found no passion in his soul for her. She raised -her hand in gesture of adieu, and moved with slow steps towards the -temple. Then, as if stirred by sudden impulse, she turned to him again.</p> - -<p>"And this Paul—tell me—what teacheth he concerning women?"</p> - -<p>"He teacheth that man is the image and the glory of God, and woman the -glory of the man. That man is not of the woman, but the woman of the -man: neither was man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. -He commandeth that women keep silence in the Christian churches, and in -all things be subject to their husbands, for the husband is the head of -the wife."</p> - -<p>"Then he forbiddeth not to marry?"</p> - -<p>"Is not Paul the Apostle of Him who blessed the marriage feast of Cana?"</p> - -<p>"In whom thou dost believe?"</p> - -<p>"In whom I do believe," he answered steadfastly. "I tell thee that -the banner of the Cross shall one day float above the capitol of Rome -itself."</p> - -<p>The priestess took two swifter steps towards him. "Then why, O Lucius -Flaccus, hast thou built here an altar to our Goddess Sul?" She pointed -to the pedestal beside them; and he, answering not a word,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> stretched -forth his hand and drew away the covering that concealed the apex.</p> - -<p>There, in the fading light, there stood revealed the hated emblem of -the Christian Faith.</p> - -<p>"A cross!" she cried, "a cross!"</p> - -<p>The sculptor raised his eyes and clasped his hands:</p> - -<p>"The Cross of Him who died for all the world!"</p> - - -<p class="center">THE VESTAL'S FATE.</p> - -<p>The spirit of the dream had changed. A sense of horrible foreboding -agonized the dreamer. No longer did the sculptor and the priestess look -down upon Sulcastra. Yet the dreamer knew all that had happened and was -happening still.</p> - -<p>The city was in tumult. The baths, the public schools, the temples were -deserted. People thronged the streets. There was but one thing spoken -of—an outrage on the goddess whom they all revered. Lucius Flaccus, -the favoured sculptor of Sulcastra, son of Julius the centurion, had -erected on the threshold of her temple an altar to the God-Man of the -Nazarenes. Nor was that all. The sacred fire that should have been kept -burning in Sul's temple had been suffered to die out, if indeed it had -not been deliberately extinguished; climax of all—Verenia, priestess -of Sul, had been found in the broad light of day kneeling with bowed -head before the hated emblem that profaned the grove. Amazement had -given place to fury. The cry went up for punishment—a cry redoubled -when it became known that the augurs foretold dire calamity for -Sulcastra and the citizens, as the inevitable consequence of an outrage -so profane. The people feared the vengeance of the gods!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p> - -<p>Yet there were some who kept a grief-stricken silence in the midst of -all the raging of the citizens, for each of the offenders was well -esteemed, and both belonged to honoured Roman families. The dreadful -fate that lay in store alike for the sculptor and the priestess moved -many hearts to awe and anguished apprehension. In each case the -appalling penalty was as certain as the dawn of day. Lucius Flaccus -would be carried to the rock of Sul, high on the steepest hill that -overlooked the valley, and thence cast headlong on the rocks below. For -Verenia, the priestess, a yet more awful punishment was prepared—the -slow starvation of a living tomb.</p> - -<p>The dreadful preparations were complete. The Vestal's grave was -ready—a narrow niche in the massive stone foundations of the -Temple—the temple of that goddess whose worship she had mocked. In -this tiny cell was placed a pallet, a lamp that when lighted would burn -for forty hours, and a small quantity of food. All knew what course the -funeral ceremonies would follow. The Pontifex would read some prayers -over the doomed priestess, but without the lustrations and other -expiatory ceremonies that were used at the burial of the dead. When the -last prayer had been uttered, the lictors would let her down into the -vault, the entrance would be filled with slabs of stone, then covered -up with earth.</p> - -<p>The awful hours, the agonizing days, would slowly pass. The lamp -would flicker and the light expire. Deep silence that no shriek could -pierce would shut the buried vestal from the ken of all who loved her. -The food would fail; then, slowly, hour by hour, and day by day, the -dreadful sentence of the law would be fulfilled. No father, mother, -lover, friend, could save the victim, or by one iota lessen the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> -torture of starvation, or that still greater torture of the brain to -which her judges had condemned her.</p> - -<p>Did not the crime of which she was convicted strike at the root of the -religion of the people? The maintenance of the sacred fire as a pious -and propitiatory observance was not peculiar to the Romans. The Hebrews -held it a divine commandment: "The fire shall ever be burning upon -the altar, saith the Lord; it shall never go out." Undying fires were -maintained in the temples of Ceres at Mantinea; of Apollo at Delphos -and at Athens; and in that of Diana at Echatan. A lamp was always -burning in the temple of Jupiter Ammon. The ancient custom came from -the Egyptians to the Greeks, and from the Greeks to the Romans, who had -made it a vital, essential feature of their faith. Like the veil of -Astoreth in the temple of the moon-goddess at Carthage; like the sacred -shield which, as Numa Pompilius avowed, had fallen from heaven, the -altar-fire of Sul safeguarded the domestic prosperity, the political -wisdom, the military supremacy of Rome in Britain.</p> - -<p>And this gross insult to the mighty goddess had been perpetrated in the -midst of the festival; on the very eve of the ceremony of the blessed -waters used specially on that occasion for purifying the temple of Sul. -It was a local event of paramount importance, for then the statue of -Sul was covered with flowers and anointed with perfumed oil. The Salii -marched through the city carrying vessels, richly decorated and of -beautiful design, containing water from the sacred spring. The feast -lasted for three days, and during that time the Romans undertook no -serious or important business. The banquets with which the festival -was concluded were magnificent and costly. The edict of Numa Pompilius -enjoining<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> reverence to the gods remain unrepealed. It was obeyed in -Sulcastra as in Rome itself. Inscribed on tables of stone, it could be -read in all the schools and temples:</p> - -<p>"Let none appear in the presence of the gods but with a pure heart -and sincere piety. Let none there make a vain show and ostentation of -their riches but fear lest they should thereby bring on themselves the -vengeance of heaven.</p> - -<p>"Let no one have particular gods of his own, or bring new ones into his -house, or receive strange ones unless allowed by edict. Let everyone -preserve in his house the oratories established by his fathers, and pay -his domestic gods the worship that has always been paid to them.</p> - -<p>"Let all honour the ancient gods of heaven, and the heroes whose -exploits have carried them thither, such as Bacchus, Hercules, Castor -and Pollux. Let altars be erected to the virtues which carry us up to -heaven; but never to vices."</p> - -<p>These dread laws the sculptor and the priestess had impiously broken -and defied.</p> - -<p>The climax was at hand. A strange, loud clangour beat upon the ear, -pierced by the wailing cry of weeping women. The dreamer heard the -tramp of many feet; then saw a long and closely packed procession -emerging from the centre of the city. Slowly and solemnly the multitude -advanced. The first section of the great procession reached the -narrower road which wound amid the trees that beautified the Hill -of Sul. High up on the barer slopes of the great hill stood out the -jutting rock from which the sculptor was to take his last long gaze -upon the sunlit world. A band of lictors headed the procession. Behind -them, with head erect, walked Lucius Flaccus on the road to death.</p> - -<p>The trees swayed gently in the morning breeze,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> the birds were singing -in the groves; the glory of the summer decked the land. Yet the -tenderness of nature and all the splendour of the world seemed but -to mock the tragedy of that slow procession. On every side was life, -life, strong, abundant, free; but this one lonely man, bare-headed and -white-faced, who climbed the hill, had done with life. With each step -of the slow advance he drew nearer and nearer to the gate of death.</p> - -<p>The second part of the procession was lead by twelve Salii, each of -whom carried a shield on his left arm and a javelin in his right hand. -They were dressed in habits striped with purple, girded with broad -belts, and clasped with buckles of brass. On their heads they wore -helmets which terminated in a point. From these men the clangour came. -Sometimes they sang in concert a hymn to Sul; sometimes they advanced -with dancing step, beating time with their javelins on their shields. -Next came many mourners, women and children, weeping and wringing their -hands as in a funeral procession; and then a closely-curtained litter, -with priests on either hand followed by the Pontifex, magnificently -habited and carrying a staff or sceptre in his hand.</p> - -<p>Priestesses, with bowed heads and clasped hands, followed the Pontifex. -Then came another body of lictors, followed by a miscellaneous -multitude of citizens and their families; and, finally, a tall -centurion leading a company of soldiers.</p> - -<p>The road grew steeper, narrower, winding round the hill; and the first -body of lictors, with their prisoner, had passed out of view of the -company that followed, when suddenly arose a violent outcry and the -clash of arms. The sculptor had turned upon his guard, seized a javelin -from one of them, and mounted the steep bank beside the road. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> -whole procession halted in confusion. Disconcerted priests whispered -and gesticulated; the crowd closed up and filled the narrow way from -side to side.</p> - -<p>"Romans! hear me!" The appeal, in high-pitched, fervent tones, came -from Lucius Flaccus, and was not unanswered by the people:</p> - -<p>"Hear him! let him speak!"</p> - -<p>The lictors at the bidding of the Pontifex half turned, but being few -in number were daunted by the strenuous cries of the excited crowd. The -sculptor seized the moment of their irresolution and raised his voice -again:</p> - -<p>"Romans! spare her." He pointed to the litter. "You who have sisters, -daughters, restrain your rulers from an act that would disgrace a -barbarous nation."</p> - -<p>Murmurs and conflicting cries were raised. The priests sent messengers -to the soldiers at the rear of the procession. But the crowd, closer -and closer packed, rendered it difficult for the messengers to pass. -Above the tumult, the Pontifex cried in shrill excited tones: "The gods -demand her death!"</p> - -<p>Thus incited, many in the crowd shouted in assent, while others cried -again: "Hear Lucius Flaccus, hear him!"</p> - -<p>Once more the sculptor raised his voice: "The gods are names for -priests to conjure with...."</p> - -<p>For a moment indescribable tumult prevailed. The centurion sought in -vain to force a way through the dense, now struggling, mass of people.</p> - -<p>Again the sculptor made a passionate appeal: "I implore the aid of the -Roman people. I call upon my fellow citizens to save a woman. To what -purpose do we expose our lives in war? Why do we defend our wives and -sisters from a foreign enemy if Rome has tyrants who incite the people -to violent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> and vindictive acts? Soldiers in arms, do not endure these -things! Free citizens, exalt yourselves by being merciful."</p> - -<p>The frantic appeal now met with no response. Lucius Flaccus looked -wildly round, despair and desperation in his face.</p> - -<p>He raised the javelin, and for the last time his voice was heard:</p> - -<p>"Then thus, and thus only, can I save her from a crueller fate!"</p> - -<p>In an instant he sprang upon the lictors who confronted him, and, -striking left and right, actually reached the curtains of the litter. -A shudder of horror ran through all the crowd. The women shrieked. The -people swayed and struggled, and the next moment it was seen that the -sculptor had been beaten back, though not yet secured. He sprang upon a -rock beside the road and raised the javelin high in air.</p> - -<p>"Then, Romans, if infernal gods there be, let them accept another -sacrifice!"</p> - -<p>Down flashed the steel, the sharp point plunged into his heart; and, -throwing out his hands, he swayed into the lictors' arms.</p> - -<p>A dreadful silence fell upon the people.</p> - -<p>Then from within the thickly-curtained litter came a despairing and -half-stifled shriek.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>With that wild, agonizing cry Zenobia awoke. The cry from the litter -was her cry. It was her own voice that died away, and what was this -mysterious sound—rising from the valley with the mists that melted -at the break of day? The sound was the same that the sculptor and -the priestess had heard nearly two thousand years ago; the voice of -many waters as they swept across the weir, insistent, unceasing—the -monotone of doom.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE NEW AMAZONS.</p> - - -<p>On every side the continued rivalry between the sexes in their struggle -for supremacy in national life was producing lamentable results. -To this general evil now was added the new move inaugurated by the -Vice-President of the Council in the matter of military training. The -unfortunate illness of President Jardine had facilitated the schemes -of that daring leader of the women, and it soon became apparent that -preparations for enrolling large bodies of Amazons, though hitherto -kept secret, in fact had been very far advanced before the memorable -meeting at Queen's Hall.</p> - -<p>Recruits flocked in from every quarter. The idea of military service or -a military picnic for a few months in the Amazonian militia appealed -to all sorts and conditions of girls and young women. Those who had -reached the age when the resources or pleasures of home life had begun -to pall, those who saw no chance of getting married, those who had -met with disappointments in love and were stirred with the restless -spirit of the times, those who rebelled against parental rule, domestic -employments, or the monotony of days spent in warehouse or office, one -and all caught eagerly at the idea of a course of military training -in smart uniforms, with the possibility of encountering experiences -and adventures from which parents and guardians had sought to withhold -them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p> - -<p>Ready pens were at the service of the New Amazons. History and -tradition were ransacked by industrious scribes in search of precedents -and raw material for "copy." The <i>Epoch</i>, (the unofficial press organ -of the Vice-President) boldly vaunted the capacity of women to bear -arms. Who would dare to deny that women were as brave as men? In -modern times the Dahomey Amazons had been a force in being. An eminent -professor had made researches which went to show that the Amazons of -old were real warriors. Humboldt refused to regard American Amazons as -mythical, and other trustworthy authorities had confirmed his view. -Then there were the Shield Maidens of the Vikings, to whose existence -witness was borne by historical sagas. The ancient literature of -Ireland set forth as a fact that "men and women went alike to battle in -those days." Did not a certain abbot of Iona go to Ireland to organise -a movement against the custom of summoning women to join the standard -and fight the enemy? In Europe, not so very long ago, the Montenegrins -and Albanians called their women to arms in the hour of national -extremity.</p> - -<p>The <i>Epoch</i> presented the 1st Amazons of England with a silken banner, -embroidered with a representation of Thalestris the Amazonian queen, -and pointed out that, however fabulous might be the achievements of the -women warriors of ancient times, modern warfare need make no similar -demands on the physical strength of woman. War had become a feat of -science, rather than of endurance. It was no longer necessary for -contending champions to engage in a trial of muscular strength. Macbeth -and Macduff were not called upon to "lay on" until one of them cried: -"Hold! enough." Battles were fought and victories won at long range. -Thin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> red lines and Balaclava charges belonged to ancient history. And -if by any chance it should come to fighting at close quarters, had -woman shown herself lacking in courage, or even in ferocity in such -encounters? Why, in every memorable riot in which the civil population -had been in conflict with the soldiery, the women, again and again, had -proved themselves to be the foremost in attack and the most fertile of -hostile resource. Thus argued the <i>Epoch</i> and other press advocates of -the New Amazons, at the same time citing many instances of the prowess -exhibited by individual women on fields of battle.</p> - -<p>Vast numbers of young persons, supremely ignorant of life in its uglier -and more dangerous aspects, thus encited, discovered that they were -not, and could not be, happy at home all the year round. They wanted -variety; they pined for change and excitement; and all of them were -firmly pursuaded that they knew much better than their elders what -was good for them. In their eyes all things were not only lawful, but -all things were expedient. They stood up with stolid looks, deaf to -remonstrances and appeals, and expressed an obstinate wish to join the -Amazons. Numbers of them, being more self-willed than their parents, -got their own way, and were enrolled; while still larger numbers were -put back as physically ineligible, but with liberty, in some cases, to -renew their application at a future time.</p> - -<p>That the movement had "caught on" nobody could deny. That it was full -of dangerous possibilities became more and more apparent every day.</p> - -<p>Zenobia, who came to London to attend the Queen's Hall meeting, had -returned to Bath to nurse her father, whose illness showed increasingly -alarming symptoms. Linton Herrick, meanwhile, was not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> wholly without -occupation, for there were sundry private conferences between his -uncle and General Hartwell at which his presence was required. These -discussions and reports became of the more importance in view of -certain news from the East and of the complications likely to arise at -home in the event of the illness of the President proving fatal.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, there were times when Linton found himself mooning about -his uncle's house and garden in a state both of mental and physical -restlessness. He missed Zenobia, missed a glimpse of her on the river, -or a flash of her as she sped away in the <i>Bladud</i> to London. They had -met often, and it seemed to him as if they had known each other all -their lives. He would have given anything to hear the yelping of her -dog Peter next door, because it would have betokened the presence of -Peter's mistress.</p> - -<p>Before Mr. Jardine's departure for Bath, the young Canadian had sat -with him and talked on many topics and on several occasions. The -enormous strides which Canada had made, and was making, in the way -of prosperity greatly interested the President. Linton, however, was -astonished to find how little the man whom fortune had pitch-forked -into a foremost position in England really knew about Colonial affairs. -He frequently fell into amazing geographical errors, mistakes quite -comparable with that of a certain Duke of Newcastle who announced with -surprise to George II. his discovery that Cape Breton was an island.</p> - -<p>Linton liked the President, not wholly for the President's sake, but -partly for the same reason that he had developed a friendly feeling -towards Peter the dog. The President, on his part, certainly had taken -a fancy to him, and in those bedside conver<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>sations talked with far -less reserve than he was in the habit of employing in conversations -with Englishmen, particularly young Englishmen. These conversations -gradually impressed Linton with the belief that this hardheaded and -successful mechanic, who found himself, thanks to the strength of a -numerous and well-drilled party, at the head of the State, actually -was discovering his own deficiencies—the educational deficiencies, -the intellectual deficiencies for which doggedness and powers of -oratory were no true substitute. In a word, it seemed as if, in that -time of inactivity and reflection which a bed of sickness enforces, -Nicholas Jardine had begun to realise his own shortcomings as a ruler -of men—his unfitness to direct the destinies of a nation great in -history, and still great in possibilities of recuperation if only well -and wisely led.</p> - -<p>"If you should be down West, come and see me at Bath," were the -President's parting words. "Indeed I will," said the young man -heartily, and there was something in his eyes as he turned to say -good-bye to Zenobia that made her colour. Nothing seemed more probable -to both of them at that moment than that Linton would find himself down -West, and nothing more certain than that there would be only one reason -for his going there.</p> - -<p>The young man had fought his way into Queen's Hall on the night of -the great meeting, solely and wholly because he had heard that Miss -Jardine was likely to be present. But he had no idea what line she -was likely to adopt in reference to the momentous question under -discussion. Yet the one drawback that hitherto he had found in her was -her attitude, or what he feared was her attitude, towards the question -of woman's ascendency. In the crush of the hot and noisy meeting, he -had failed to see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> Zenobia on the platform, and when she rose to speak -his feelings were strangely blended—of admiration at her bearing, -and of dread less she might say something than ran counter to his own -convictions. But her actual utterance astonished and delighted him; -and the hostile method of the "Cat" provoked in him such feelings of -fierce resentment as he had never felt towards womanhood before. Yet -there was one sentence that fell from the Vice-President which caused -him to be sensible of emotion of another sort. That sneering suggestion -that the younger speaker must be in love excited him strangely. He felt -an intimate personal concern in that scornful imputation. In love with -whom?</p> - -<p>And now he had ample time in his uncle's riverside house, with the -empty dwelling and silent garden on the other side of the hedge, to -ponder the same question. The <i>Bladud</i>, however, proved a great boon. -It had been left at his disposal, and Wilton, the Jardine's engineer -and skipper, was always ready to accompany him in an air trip. Wilton -was a hard-featured little man with a soft heart and a shrewish wife, -who kept the domestic nest in so spick and span a condition that poor -Wilton could never take his ease at home, and therefore appreciated any -good and sufficient reason for getting out of it.</p> - -<p>Wilton confessed to Linton Herrick a treacherous thought. It concerned -the wife of his bosom and the new Amazons.</p> - -<p>"Seems to me," said the little man, "as this here scheme may -be a good thing in a manner of speaking. There's girls, and, maybe, -there's wives too, that wants a bit of a change. Well, that's right -enough. Why not?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p> - -<p>"What do you mean?" asked Linton, wondering and amused.</p> - -<p>"Wot I mean, under pervisions, mind, under pervisions...." Linton -laughed, but Wilton was quite serious, his thoughts engaged in a great -domestic problem, his hands busy with the machinery of the <i>Bladud</i>, in -which they were just about to go aloft.</p> - -<p>"Well, it's like this, I wouldn't be for letting women jine a reg'lar -army, but militia's different. They'd get a 'oliday at Government -expense. When they come back they'd be more contented-like with their -'omes; and while they was away, well, there...." rubbing his head with -a pair of pincers.</p> - -<p>"And while they were away the men would have a quiet time, eh?" laughed -Linton, who had heard of Wilton's family history.</p> - -<p>"You've 'it it, sir, you've 'it it," said Wilton, without the vestige -of a smile. "Not but what women has a lot to put up with, mind you; and -there's times when they're as kind as kind. Still, wot I say is, a lot -of 'em's never content unless they can have the upper 'and, and that's -what's wrong with England."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Meanwhile, at Bath, the condition of Nicholas Jardine had given Zenobia -cause for increasing anxiety.</p> - -<p>In the hushed and tranquil days that sometimes come with October, the -leaves fall of their own volition, and with scarcely perceptible sound. -Their hour has come, and, with a faint whisper or rustle of farewell, -one by one they flutter down to mother earth. Thus also, the leaves of -human life are ever falling—the sighing souls of men, obedient to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> -immutable design, passing from out the bourn of time and space.</p> - -<p>In those last days, when the certainty of the end came home to him, -Jardine, for the first time, began to ponder on problems to which he -had scarcely given a thought in the active years of his remarkable -career. Perhaps in the silence of the days, and in the deeper silence -of the nights, he asked himself unconsciously those same questions -which, thousands of years ago, the Son of Sirach had framed for all -time in language so expressive: "What is man, and whereto serveth he? -What is his good, and what is his evil? As a drop of water unto the -sea, and a gravel-stone in comparison of the sand, so are a thousand -years to the days of eternity!"</p> - -<p>"All flesh waxeth old as a garment; for the covenant from the beginning -is: Thou shalt die the death. As the green leaves on a thick tree, some -fall and some grow: so is the generation of flesh and blood, one cometh -to an end, and another is born."</p> - -<p>"Every work rotteth and consumeth away, and the worker thereof shall go -withal!"</p> - -<p>One day the President startled Zenobia by asking for a Bible. She -brought it wonderingly. He signed to her to read. And as she read to -him, the sick man and his daughter looked up into each other's eyes -with something like bewilderment.</p> - -<p>"Father," cried the girl passionately, as she closed the Book, "Why did -you keep it from me? Why did you do it?" The dying man looked into her -face with troubled gaze, and whispered something very faintly. Was it -the word "Forgive?"</p> - -<p>A yet stranger and more terrible ordeal was in store for Zenobia. To -her lot it fell to hear from her father's lips a confession that seared -her to the very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> soul. This confession presently was embodied in his -will, which two days later he dictated to his daughter.</p> - -<p>His mind was perfectly clear, though his hand could scarcely hold the -pen. As a matter of precaution, he insisted that the doctor and the -nurse should be the attesting witnesses. The will was sealed in an -envelope, and placed under lock and key. When that was done, Zenobia, -with set face, hurried to the nearest telegraph office and sent the -following message to Linton Herrick:</p> - -<p>"I implore you to come immediately. A matter of life and death."</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Jardine had settled his affairs, and finished with the -business of life. Like the King of old, he turned his face to the wall. -Yet startling things were occurring close at hand—strange occurrences -within this very city of Bath. To others they were sufficiently -alarming. Indeed, there had been something in the nature of a panic.</p> - -<p>The first manifestation had taken place at the Grand Pump Room Hotel. -The King of Bath, if he could have come to his realm again, would have -encountered not a few surprises, and would have found the famous Hotel -transformed beyond all recognition. The examples of London, Paris, and -New York had been diligently followed. There was a stately Palm Court, -with marble columns and gilded cornices. Oriental rugs and luxurious -fauteuils had been lavishly provided. On a raised marble terrace, -during the dinner hour, a stringed band furnished an undercurrent for -the banal remarks of the diners. There were rooms in the Adams style, -rooms in the Louis the Sixteenth style, a Charles II. Smaller dining -Room, and a Smoking Room in the Elizabethan style—with ingle-nook and -heavy ceiling beams in oak. But the people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> who dined and chattered -and smoked amid these surroundings were not Elizabethan, Stuart, or -Georgian in style. They were the product of the twentieth century, and -were of no style at all; they lacked repose and dignity; they were -self-conscious, self-assertive; believers, and encouraged to believe, -in the powers of the almighty dollar, hustlers and bustlers, who rushed -hither and thither, and did this or that without knowledge and without -appreciation, and solely for the purpose of being able to say that they -had done it. Everything inanimate in this twentieth-century Bath Hotel -was very beautiful. There were skilful imitations of Adams, Sheraton, -and Chippendale; there were coloured marbles, trophies, garlands, -ornamentation of all sorts in gilt and bronze; decorative panels, -with consoles and mirrors everywhere,—everything being in elaborate -imitation of something else and something older.</p> - -<p>But in one corner of the Grand Dining Hall was one thing real and -old—a fountain of Sulis water, which had been brought into a -decorative niche and enshrined amid elaborate allegorical figures which -nobody understood.</p> - -<p>It was typical of England. She had gained in some ways, she had lost -in many more. She had acquired electric appliances, telephones, and -air-ships, but lost in grace and picturesqueness. Frequenters of Bath -no longer wore wigs, laced coats, and buckled shoes. They no longer -settled their little difficulties with the rapier. The ladies had -discarded powder in any appreciable quantities, and patches altogether; -but people of quality had vanished from the once familiar scene. -Quantity had taken the place of quality everywhere. Money had proved -the great key and the great leveller. There was a dead level in style -and tone and appearance. Society had to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> be taken in the mass, instead -of in the class, and notabilities were far to seek.</p> - -<p>Such were the people upon whom the panic seized, amid the clatter -of knives and forks, the rattle of plates, and the popping of -corks—inseparable accompaniments of the <i>table d'hôte</i> dinner hour.</p> - -<p>The visitors started to their feet with cries of dismay. An astonishing -thing had occurred. The fountain of Sulis water in the grotto at the -end of the great dining hall had suddenly burst its bounds! The pipes -were forced from their position. Great volumes of orange-tinted, -steaming water began to flood the room. The members of the string band, -whose seats and music stands were placed among the ferns and palms, in -immediate proximity to the fountain, grasped their instruments, and -beat a precipitate retreat. Ladies, uttering shrill cries, jumped upon -chairs. There was a scene of uncontrolled confusion. In a few moments, -water, almost boiling, covered the floor to the depth of several -inches, and male guests and waiters, carrying the ladies on chairs or -in their arms, made all haste to escape into the vestibule.</p> - -<p>At the same time the springs in the Roman baths displayed extraordinary -activity. Everywhere the water rose in enormous and unprecedented -volume. All the baths were hastily cleared of occupants and closed -to the public, and the most astounding reports spread like wildfire -through the city. The corporation officials speedily came upon the -scene, and trenches were hastily cut for the purpose of carrying the -overflow of water direct into the river. To the intense relief of -everybody, in the course of a few hours the flood slackened.</p> - -<p>Two days later, when people had begun to think there had been no -sufficient reason for their fears,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> came other sounds and signs -of abnormal activity in the earth itself. Faint tremors shook the -surrounding hills, more especially Lansdown, and these signs were -succeeded by sundry landslips, which sent many of the hillside -residents flying in terror from their houses. A huge crack presently -opened in the high plateau of the hill, and from this fissure arose at -intervals strong puffs of curious, reddish-tinted vapour.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></p> - -<p class="center">A SECRET AND A THUNDERBOLT.</p> - - -<p>President Jardine was dead.</p> - -<p>Low lay the head, and still the form of the man of whom flatterers -had often spoken as the uncrowned King—an Oliver the Second, the -Cromwell of the Twentieth Century. His, indeed, had been the power -symbolised by the ancient Crown, the Sceptre, and the Orb. The -vanished majesty of great dynasties—the Normans, the Plantaganets, -the Tudors, the Stuarts, and the House of Hanover—had but paved the -way for the practical rule of this man of the people. Even yet, it is -true, the jealousy of political parties had preserved—none knew for -how long—the title of King for a descendant of Queen Victoria. But a -grudging socialistic democracy had left the legitimate monarch little -more than the dignity of an august pensioner. The King was shorn of -regal authority, deprived of all real prerogative of royalty, and -neither expected nor allowed to take any real part in the government of -his shrunken empire.</p> - -<p>And now that the lifeless hand of the President had dropped the real -sceptre, whose hand was to take it up? Was the reign of woman to be -inaugurated on new and bolder lines; or would man, in the nick of time, -re-assert himself? The women had their leader in Catherine Kellick, a -daring, unscrupulous and energetic champion. But where was the leader -of men? Everywhere the lament was uttered: "If<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> only Renshaw were back -at Westminster!" And everywhere the question was asked: "Where is he? -Is it true he is still alive?"</p> - -<p>Zenobia's telegram was delivered late at night, and in the absence of -Wilton it was impossible to start immediately. Before daybreak on the -following morning Linton was knocking at the door of his cottage, and -in half-an-hour the little engineer had got the <i>Bladud</i> into working -order.</p> - -<p>It was very early, on a calm autumn morning, when Linton, at a sign -from Wilton, stepped on board. The <i>Bladud</i>, rose rapidly into the -air, but at first there was nothing to be seen. The atmosphere being -charged with the vapour of the night, the air was warm, and the sky -veiled with a misty curtain of cloud. In eight minutes they had risen -a thousand feet, and the earth below was hidden from them by a woolly -carpet of mist. Rising and rising still, at a height of 5,000 feet, the -<i>Bladud</i> emerged from the clouds, and away in the east was seen a long, -long line, bright as silver. The day was breaking, and the shadows fled -away. Every moment the great silver bar lengthened and broadened, a -moving miracle of the empyrean, at which the young Canadian gazed in -fascination and in awe.</p> - -<p>But the marvel of marvels was to come; and it came swiftly, in that -deep silence of the spheres, which is as the silence of Him by whom all -things were made. Yes, all created things, thought Linton, filled with -wonder—the earth beneath them, still partly hidden from sight, the -limitless realms of the air through which they moved, and this great -orb of day that was rising as if from the depths of some immeasurable -crater. Presently the sun, as it climbed above the cloud rim, began to -flood with pure and glorious light the rolling tracts of vapour<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> that -surrounded them, like an illimitable molten sea, whose billows glowed -and gleamed beneath the darting beams.</p> - -<p>Higher and higher rose the <i>Bladud</i>, a tiny speck in the midst of the -immeasurable clouds, which ever broke and crumbled into new shapes and -shreds in full light of the broadening sunshine. Already the morning -mists below were in some measure dispelled, and through the breaking -vapour glimpses of the earth became more plainly visible.</p> - -<p>At a height of 9,000 feet, the surrounding oceans and mountains of -vapour assumed a hue of roseate violet that far transcended the beauty -of anything upon which Linton's eyes had ever looked before; while from -the east a thousand golden rays—pathways of light and glory—were -darted forth above the sleeping world. When they had reached a height -of 13,000 feet, the air was almost clear, and far down below London -became visible—London so mighty, yet now so insignificant! Linton -could see a railway train creeping out of Paddington like some little -caterpillar on a garden path. The steam from the engine was but a thin -serpentine mist, like smoke from a man's pipe. Everything below was -flat and dwarfed to one mean artificial-looking plane. Away East, the -dome of St. Paul's seemed scarcely more important than a thimble. The -Docks were merely an elaborate toy in sections; the rolling Thames a -winding ditch; the ships like little playthings for young children. -Yet the range of view had become enormous, and as the morning cleared -Wilton pointed out hills and church steeples that were a hundred miles -away.</p> - -<p>In that solemn and wonderful hour Linton Herrick felt within himself, -as Goethe did, the germs of undeveloped faculties—faculties that men -must not expect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> to see developed in life as it is, so far, known to -us. Yet there was the aspiration in his heart and soul. How glorious -for the astral body to plunge into the aerial space; to look unmoved on -some unfathomable abyss; to glide above the roaring seas; to mount with -eagle's strength to heights unthinkable!</p> - -<p>Looking upon the supernal grandeur of the sunrise, he realised that -he was in the presence of God's daily miracle. It steeped his soul in -faith and thankfulness.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Linton, guessing that the President was <i>in extremis</i>, nevertheless had -hoped to be in time to bid a last farewell to the taciturn man who had -shown him much friendly feeling, and of whom, as Zenobia's father, he -was anxious to think the best. But when the <i>Bladud</i> descended on the -spacious lawn of the house on Bathwick Hill, the blinds were down. The -whole place wore that sad and subtle air which impresses itself upon a -scene of death. There was no need to ask questions. Linton understood.</p> - -<p>A faint, half-hearted yelp from Peter was the first sound that greeted -him. Presently, inside the darkened house, he awaited the coming of -Peter's mistress.</p> - -<p>The door opened very quietly, and Zenobia entered; a slim, sad figure, -the blackness of whose dress in that dim light heightened the pallor -of her face. Her hand was in his own. He looked into her eyes; the -gaze of the lover softened and chastened to that of the tender and -compassionate friend.</p> - -<p>"You understand how much I feel for you," he said.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Yes," she answered gratefully, "It was good of you to come. But, in a -sense, it is too late."</p> - -<p>He waited quietly for what she chose to say.</p> - -<p>"I mean," she added "that I hoped you could come before ... before the -end. But at the last it was sudden, so sudden."</p> - -<p>"You have something to tell me. There is something I can do for you in -your trouble?"</p> - -<p>Zenobia paused for a moment. Then, with some effort and a faint tinge -of colour coming to her cheeks, continued:</p> - -<p>"If you had come while my father lived, I could have told him...." She -looked down, and drew a long deep sigh of distress. "I could have told -him," she then went on with greater firmness, "that you, if you were -willing, could help us, though so late, to do an act of justice to -another. Mr. Herrick, it grieves me to tell you...."</p> - -<p>She turned away and rested her elbows on the marble mantelpiece, unable -for the moment to proceed.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps I know more than you suppose," he said very gently, "and, -perhaps, I can guess the rest."</p> - -<p>"No," turning towards him, "I won't ask you to guess. Why should you -help me, unless I tell you all, everything—everything, fully and -frankly? Will you read this?"</p> - -<p>He look the paper the girl placed in his hands, but did not immediately -unfold it.</p> - -<p>"I am willing to do anything you can wish, asking no questions," he -said.</p> - -<p>She looked at him with eyes that seemed to shine with grateful tears.</p> - -<p>"You are good to me. I have no other friends."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I am your friend," said Herrick, not without a tremor in his voice, -"yours to command, always and in everything."</p> - -<p>For the moment she could not speak, but held out her hand to him -impulsively. Holding the slim fingers tenderly, he bent and kissed them.</p> - -<p>"That paper," she said, "is my father's will. Will you read it, please!"</p> - -<p>Then she sat down and turned away her face.</p> - -<p>Linton read the will. The sheets rustled as he turned them over. He -folded and returned them.</p> - -<p>"I knew something of this," he said quietly. "Now I understand all. You -need tell me no more."</p> - -<p>"Is Mr. Renshaw still living—is it <i>really</i> true that he is still -alive?" she said looking up anxiously.</p> - -<p>"Quite true."</p> - -<p>"Thank God. Oh! God be thanked for that!"</p> - -<p>"It is not too late."</p> - -<p>"Only too late for him to know and seek forgiveness."</p> - -<p>"You mean your father?"</p> - -<p>The girl bowed her head. Then she burst out vehemently: "It must not -be softened down. I know, I feel, the horror, the wickedness of what -was done. I must accept the shame, the punishment. The sins of the -fathers must be visited on the children. It is the law of nature and -the law of God! I want to make atonement; yet nothing can undo the -past, the cruelty and wickedness of all those years of suffering and -imprisonment."</p> - -<p>"Renshaw will not harbour revengeful or vindictive feelings, I am sure -of that," Linton answered soothingly. "He is a man of noble character, -and a Christian gentleman."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p> - -<p>"And it was he, a man like that, whom my father...." she paused, biting -her trembling lips. "Oh it is horrible, horrible!"</p> - -<p>"But he repented, he was sorry—the will proves it," said Linton.</p> - -<p>"Yes, it is written there, a public confession, the dying declaration -of his sorrow and his shame. There shall be no concealment. He did not -wish it at the last. The truth must be made known to all the world."</p> - -<p>"If Renshaw wishes it. But I do not think he will."</p> - -<p>"Where is he now—is he ill, is he safe?"</p> - -<p>"He is recovering, getting back his strength, in a monastery in Herm, -one of the smaller Channel Islands. Arrangements are being made for his -return to England at the right moment."</p> - -<p>She stood up, interested and excited.</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes?"</p> - -<p>"A society has been formed—the members call themselves the Friends of -the Phœnix. My uncle and General Hartwell are at the head of it. The -aim is to restore Renshaw to power. He is the only man who can save the -country in the present crisis."</p> - -<p>"And you are helping—you are one of them?"</p> - -<p>He nodded. "I am to bring him back to England in the <i>Bladud</i> if I have -your permission."</p> - -<p>"Don't lose an hour," she cried, "don't lose an hour!"</p> - -<p>"Not a moment, when the time is ripe. I am waiting orders. They will -reach me here."</p> - -<p>"If only my father could have known of this before he died."</p> - -<p>She sighed and looked at him wistfully, then said appealingly: "You -will come upstairs?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p> - -<p>Linton bowed his head and followed her. Upstairs in the room from which -the President had looked out on the lights of Bath for the last time -the sheeted figure lay upon the bed. They paused for a moment side by -side. Then Linton gazed for the last time on the cold and rigid face of -Nicholas Jardine.</p> - -<p>Three days later, the sun, shining through the windows of the ancient -Abbey church, fell upon sculptured saint and heavenward-pointing -angel, revealed the lettering on many a mural tablet dedicated -to long-departed men and women, illumined the sombre crowd of -black-clothed worshippers, and gleamed on the silver coffin plate of -the dead President.</p> - -<p>Deep organ notes rolled beneath the fretted arches as choir and -congregation, with heads bowed low, raised in mournful cadence the wail -of the <i>Dies irć</i>.</p> - -<p>Apart from the girl, by whose side Linton Herrick knelt, perhaps there -were few present who really mourned for Nicholas Jardine. But, as -people do at such a time, they mourned for themselves, they mourned for -humanity; and recent local events—the strange convulsions of nature, -with the apprehension of more terrible possibilities to come, served -to accentuate the feelings of the worshippers. For the moment, at any -rate, they believed in the life of the world to come. They recognised -in the burial of the dead that dread passing through the gate of -judgment to which man, frail man, has ever been predestined. The air -was full of lamentations:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"Day of wrath! O day of mourning!</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">See fulfill'd the prophets' warning!</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Heav'n and earth in ashes burning!</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Oh, what fears, man's bosom rendeth,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">When from heav'n the Judge descendeth,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">On Whose sentence all dependeth!</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Through earth's sepulchres it ringeth,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">All before the Throne it bringeth!"</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Verse after verse the solemn litany continued:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"Ah! that day of tears and mourning,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">From the dust of earth returning,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Man for judgment must prepare him;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Spare, O God, in mercy spare him."</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>The funeral march pealed forth as the body was borne from the Church. -Slowly the congregation dispersed, until at last only one figure -remained, the solitary kneeling form of Zenobia.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Within an hour after Linton had left the cemetery, he received -a telegram in cipher from Sir Robert Herrick. He gave immediate -instructions to Wilton, and sent a message to Zenobia. She came to him -at once.</p> - -<p>Linton looked at her with troubled eyes. There was something infinitely -pathetic in the aspect of this slim, fair girl with the sunny hair, on -whose face suffering and distress of spirit suddenly had set so sad a -stamp.</p> - -<p>"Good-bye," she answered, "God grant that you may both come safely -back. When Mr. Renshaw is in England, I must see him, I must tell him -all."</p> - -<p>With a final pressure of her hand, he turned away. However much his -heart might be wrung at leaving her, however hard to keep back the -words of love and tenderness that rose to his lips, he must be silent -for the moment. There was a task to be per<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>formed. It was the hour for -action. Great issues were involved. A national crisis was at hand.</p> - -<p>That much Linton knew. But as yet he did not know that the crisis -was to assume a double and appalling complexity. A thunderbolt had -been hurled against England from an unexpected quarter. A swift and -staggering blow, well timed in the hour of Jardine's death, had been -levelled against the remaining pillars of her once proud Empire.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE RAID OF THE EAGLES.</p> - - -<p>It was the suddenness of the calamity that staggered humanity. One -day not a cloud in the over-seas sky, and the next a catastrophe that -petrified the nation. In London the hoarse croaking notes of the -news-vendors—the ravens of the press—filled the streets and squares, -and flaring placards, displayed in every quarter, attracted the notice -of ever-increasing crowds. Men wrangled, and even fought, over copies -of the papers, and edition after edition was reeled off to meet the -enormous public demand. It was the news from Dover that created this -unparalleled excitement. An inconceivable thing had happened. By means -of crafty strategy, a mixed body of American and German troops had -seized and were in possession of Fort Warden! Immediately the wildest -and most conflicting accounts were in circulation. But, separating -the chaff from the wheat, the more responsible of the London journals -presently set forth a bald statement of the facts—facts that were -alleged to be beyond dispute. The statements published by these papers, -indeed, were said to be authorised by the Chiefs of the Intelligence -Department at the War Office. Further details, however, constantly were -coming over the wires, and it was known that large bodies of regular -and territorial troops were being hurried to the aid of the garrison at -Dover.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> - -<p>The first report, viz., that foreigners had obtained a foothold by -means of the Channel Tunnel was officially contradicted. The simple -truth was as follow: On the previous evening a Hamburg liner had -entered the commercial harbour, and some hundreds of her passengers -at once had landed on the jetty. There was nothing remarkable or -suspicious in such an occurrence. The great German liner was a -familiar and frequent visitor to the port. Though it was noticed -that a large number of passengers came ashore, that circumstance was -plausibly explained by the statement of the ship's officers, who said -that something had gone wrong with her machinery. It would take the -engineers two hours or more to put right the defect. What more natural -than that most of the passengers should land and fill up the time by -the inspection of the points of interest in the town? The harbour -officials estimated that altogether some three hundred men had come -ashore. They had the appearance of tourists. The evening was cold, -and, wearing travelling caps and capes or ulsters, the visitors passed -briskly across the jetty and disappeared, in little parties of eight or -nine, into the town.</p> - -<p>The townspeople, as they were putting up their shutters, noticed the -strangers as they passed through the streets. It was remarked that they -spoke to each other in low tones or not at all, also that they did -not loiter or stare about them like ordinary sightseers. The general -impression was that they had only landed to stretch their legs, and -meant to climb the hill and then come back again. They certainly did -climb the hill, but none of them returned. It was not until an hour -later that an amazing rumour spread throughout the town. The story was -brought by bands of excited Amazons belonging to those to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> whom Fort -Warden had temporarily been given up for gunnery practice. Their pale -faces and distraught appearance at once made it clear that something -very serious had happened. Yet the townsfolk were incredulous. The -thing seemed so absurd, so impossible! These girl-soldiers, they -thought, were the victims of some monstrous practical joke or of -hysterical hallucination. Who could possibly credit such a tale? But -the Amazons, in trembling tones and with nervous gestures, declared -that it was true. Their numbers rapidly increased; some of them came -tearing down the Castle Hill in uncontrollable alarm. All of them, in -one way or another, verified the amazing story.</p> - -<p>It was this: A band of foreigners, comprising 150 Americans and 150 -soldierly Germans, armed with revolvers, had "rushed" Fort Warden. -The approaches were open at the time, and guarded by only a few -artillerymen. It was visitors' day, and the visitors were departing -as the foreigners arrived. The struggle was of the briefest. Those of -the artillerymen who showed fight had been instantly shot down. The -others had been secured, together with the chief gunnery instructor -and the head of the chemical department—a non-combatant from whom the -foreigners had violently forced such information as they needed. As -for the Amazons themselves, they had not been maltreated—but, what -was worse, many had been insultingly kissed or roughly caressed by the -invaders. With all speed and no ceremony, they had been contemptuously -bundled out of the fort—and here they were to tell the tale!</p> - -<p>A staff-officer at the local head-quarters, to whom the report was -carried by a breathless tradesman, lost no time in ringing up Fort -Warden. For some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> time there was no reply. He rang angrily again -and yet again; at last came some unintelligible response. He swore -irritably, and then roared an inquiry:</p> - -<p>"Are you there? Who is it?"</p> - -<p>Still no reply.</p> - -<p>"Why don't you answer? What's this I hear about the Fort?"</p> - -<p>The only answer was an inarticulate growl.</p> - -<p>"Why the devil don't you speak? Who are you?"</p> - -<p>Then, at last, came an intelligible response—in English with a strong -American intonation:</p> - -<p>"Guess you'd better come and see!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>How and why had this dastardly combined attack on England come to pass? -The story can be briefly told. Great Britain had long been regarded by -America as old and stricken in years—not merely as the old country, -but as a country that was in its dotage—old and played out. America -was young and lusty, and quite persuaded that the old folk at home were -too feeble to retain the management of the old Estate. Already the -United States, in the scramble for British possessions, had pocketed -some nice little pickings. The West Indian Islands, the Bermudas -and British Guiana, had been virtually surrendered to Washington. -England for years, but in vain, had sought to placate this big and -blustering branch of the ancient race whenever family friction had -arisen. Again and again weaker members of the clan, poor relations, -like Newfoundland, had been sacrificed to the demands of the United -States. But some appetites are insatiable, some ambitions unbounded. A -new order of American politicians had arisen, men who aimed at a great -federation of the Anglo-Saxon race, with America not as the junior -partner, but as the head<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> and ruling spirit of that federation. When -the possessor of a great estate becomes imbecile or lapses into second -childhood his affairs are taken out of his hands—for his own good and -for the due protection of his solicitous relations. That, argued the -plotters, was just what was needed in the case of Great Britain. The -indications of decrepitude had been slowly but, to keen observers, -convincingly manifested during a period of more than thirty years. -Thirty years ago Englishmen would have scouted the idea of an American -invasion, or the idea of America in alliance with Germany against Great -Britain. Monstrous! Was not blood thicker than water? Were not the -American people our own kith and kin? Yes, but times had changed, while -human nature had remained the same. America had become a cosmopolitan -country. From all parts of Europe—and especially from Germany—men had -emigrated to the United States. Thither, too, swarms of the yellow from -China and Japan, had insidiously made their way in spite of opposition; -and year after year the black population of the great continent had -enormously increased, while the Anglo-Saxon birth-rate had rapidly -declined. The British element in America thus had been absorbed, -submerged. The old and consolatory theory of family ties, like other -popular fallacies fondly cherished in spite of the march of events, at -last had been convincingly exploded by the raid on Dover.</p> - -<p>Signs of the coming times had not been wanting. England, fearing a -German invasion, had kept her fleets in home waters. The great scheme -of Imperial Defence, much discussed in 1909, had not been perfected. As -far back as the earthquake of 1906 in Jamaica, the growing inability -of England to look after her outlying possessions had been strikingly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> -instanced. No British Squadron was near at hand in that hour of trial -to succour the afflicted islanders. Was it not an American, not an -English, Admiral who had come to the rescue of the British colony? -Had not the English Governor been summarily suppressed by the Home -Government because he had ventured sarcastically to point out that -American assistance, however kindly meant, was not required, and had -not been regulated by the accepted law of nations?</p> - -<p>From that day forth—and there had been other similar examples—the -more enterprising politicians of Washington took an increasing interest -in British affairs, and dreamed dreams in which the old familiar -colours on the map of the world—where once upon a time red was so -predominant—underwent some radical and striking alterations.</p> - -<p>Of course, there was one part of the British dominions, and that -very near to the centre of British Government, in which America -had taken the closest interest for more than a century. There was -Ireland, the emigrated population of which had become part of the -mixed population of the United States. The Irish vote, moreover, had -become of increasing importance to those who wished to hold the helm at -Washington; and, in truth, it was the old and long cherished idea of -planting the American standard on Irish soil that gradually had led up -to this daring exploit, the news of which the great guns of Fort Warden -were booming out to all the world.</p> - -<p>It was not really surprising that men with so marked an aptitude for -commercial enterprise as the American wire-pullers should have turned -covetous eyes towards the Isle of Erin. Ireland was the great junction -for the ship-line between the Old Country and the New, an unexploited -island of noble harbours, rich in mountain, lake, and river.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p> - -<p>A certain Senator Hiram P. Dexter, a Prince of Tammany, who had become -President of the United States, crystallised the idea thus:</p> - -<p>"England had colonised America. Why should not America re-colonise -depopulated Ireland. She could then dominate her former senior partner -in the ancient British firm and make things hum!"</p> - -<p>The idea was "cute," inspiring. Nevertheless, it was certain that, -however anxious she might be for peace and quietness, Britannia could -never tolerate another flag so near to her own centre of government. -The line must be drawn somewhere. Hiram P. Dexter and his friends -realised that for dominion in Ireland, even under the Jardine -dispensation and in the reign of woman, England must needs fight, fight -to the bitter end; unless, indeed, by some master-stroke of policy and -daring she could first be disabled by the strong man armed.</p> - -<p>Hence the plan of campaign—by unscrupulous strategy to seize the key -of the castle, the stronghold of Dover; while, at the same time, the -squadrons of the two Eagles menaced the coast of Ireland itself and -landed troops at various points.</p> - -<p>It was an infamy; it was a dastardly and fratricidal act; it was a -combination worthy of Herod and Pilate! All these things were said. -But history is not made or unmade by the aid of epithets. History -reckons with great national forces, race problems, and the bed-rock -of accomplished facts. Abundant precedents could have been cited, -and nothing succeeds likes success. In this case, if the attempt -should fail, it might be explained away as the mad raid of a band of -freebooters. Those who survived might be nominally called to account, -just as had happened fifty years earlier after the futile raid of a -certain Dr. Jameson, and others, when one Kruger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> was "King" of the -Transvaal. In either event, whatever England might think and say of -this stab in the back, there were millions in the States who would -applaud the blow as smart beyond anything that had ever been attempted -by American Presidents, and Hiram P. Dexter would go down to posterity -as a Napoleon of enterprise—the man who realised that even America -was not big enough in these mid-century days for the mixed peoples of -the States; that the dominant race in that massed population needed -more room to turn round in; more scope for hustling; fresh fields and -pastures new for the feverish multiplication of the almighty dollar.</p> - -<p>But there was another nation to be reckoned with.</p> - -<p>The two greatest competitors for world-power and commerce were Germany -and America. And Germany and America did not want to fight—at present. -A system of mutual concessions—with mental reservations—better suited -the provisional purposes of Berlin and Washington, at any rate for -the time being. Clearly, nothing could be done by way of aggression -in Europe without taking Germany into account. So the business-like -President of the States had engineered with the Germans what brokers -and auctioneers describe as a big "knock-out." They had come to -an understanding—about England—an understanding provisional and -tentative.</p> - -<p>Again, thirty years ago Englishmen would have scouted such an idea. -But nothing stands still. We ripe and ripe, and then from hour to hour -we rot and rot. So also with the Empires of the world. The law of the -survival of the fittest operates in all created things. Britain herself -had been one of the chief exponents of this immutable law. Not by means -of Peace Conferences and a tentative reduction<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> of armaments, coupled -with pious platitudes concerning methods of barbarism—otherwise -War—had her great Empire been built up. With the strong hand, in past -times, we had belaboured effete and wealthy Spain. With force of arms -we had driven from the seas Holland—once our great and powerful rival -for the trade of the world. We had humbled Napoleon and the pride of -France on the field of Waterloo. India had been taken with the sword. -With shot and shell and reeking bayonet these and other things were -done. And as we had done unto others, by reason of the necessities of -national existence, so might we rationally have expected that others in -their turn would do unto us.</p> - -<p>History, though in our self-absorption we forget it, is full of -dramatic surprises, and suddenly develops startling situations. The -rise of Japan had been a staggering surprise—both for Europe and -America, and, indeed, had become a great factor in the latest departure -of American policy. There had been other shocks, and there were more -to follow. Over all the white nations there hung a dark and ominous -shadow, ever increasing, caused by the rise and rapid expansion of -the yellow and black. The East was filling up, and inasmuch as Great -Britain still held much coveted territory in the West, and had money in -her banks, it was around and against the British Isles that the Spirit -of Annexation still watchfully hovered—ready to pounce.</p> - -<p>The raid at Dover—whether failing or succeeding—therefore must be -viewed as a sign, a lurid, awful sign, of altered times. The hour was -well chosen. Nicholas Jardine, the Man of the People, lay dead. The -nation was in the throes of a domestic crisis, the Champion of the -Women straining every nerve to take the dead President's place, and -pursue a pro<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>gramme which would satisfy the special aspirations of her -sex.</p> - -<p>Yet it could not be believed that such a nation, a race originally -so splendid in fibre, so dogged in courage, would take the onslaught -of her rivals lying down. England, surely, now at the eleventh hour, -would be roused to action. England would fight, and even dying breathe -defiance to her foes. But, alas! England sorely needed leadership—the -potent magic of some great personality to inspire her people with -courage and enthusiasm. And in this hour of dire distress, Renshaw, the -only leader who could have commanded a widespread patriotic following, -was lost to England—lying scarred and beaten, it was said, chained -like a dog in the prison of the Mahdi.</p> - -<p>So thought most of those who thought of him at all. Yet, even while his -name was on their lips, the Phœnix was reviving. Sir Robert Herrick -knew it. General Hartwell and Linton knew it; and there were others, -quick of hearing, keen of sight, who already heard the flapping of the -wings; saw the Phœnix rising from the ashes of the past and speeding -from afar towards our violated shores.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT.</p> - - -<p>The enemy still held the fort. All through the night a terrific -bombardment had been maintained, and even when the first grey line of -dawn began to creep across the downs the insistent fury of the guns -increased rather than diminished. Major Wardlaw estimated that during -the last twelve hours over eleven thousand shots had been fired from -the big guns of Fort Warden, while thousands of shrapnel hurled against -its fortifications from the various encircling field batteries manned -by British gunners were beyond all definite calculation. At the height -of the bombardment not less than 80 per minute must have been directed -by way of return against the British batteries, and in this onslaught -the great guns (of which there were seven at work in Fort Warden) -contributed the most overwhelming and terrible results. This deafening -and incessant rain of fire was directed mainly against the Castle and -Fort Burgoyne, but, incidentally, it had wrought ruin and convulsion on -every side. Shells falling into the town of Dover had already reduced -it to heaps of tumbled masonry. Here and there great volumes of smoke -rose from the wreckage of shops and houses. The Town Hall—the ancient -<i>Maison Dieu</i>, founded by Hugh de Burgh, Constable of Dover, in the -reign of John—having escaped destruction during the night, caught -fire about daybreak, the flames, rushing upward in the morning air, -watched by thousands from the western heights, to which the terrified -inhabitants had fled for safety.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p> - -<p>On the Castle Hill the bluish haze caused by the ceaseless bursting -of shells and shrapnel in some measure veiled the central scene of -conflict; and this haze, spreading far and wide over the landscape, -presently assumed the most delicate and beautiful colours as the sun -rose up and threw its shafts of light on hill and dale. When the light -grew stronger, cloud after cloud of smoke was seen to rush aloft from -the contending forts, and every moment the sun, with growing glory, -painted these rolling billows with glorious hues of burnished gold or -bronze. Here and there, while the people watched, columns of earth -and chalk rose high into the air, as shot and shell ploughed deep -into the soil, while flashes of fire from the bursting shells, the -pale smoke rushing like steam from the shrapnels, and the leaping -fountains of soil, all combined to give the beholder the impression -of some terrific convulsion of nature. So extraordinary and ghastly -was the general effect produced that many of the spectators believed -they were witnessing a volcanic eruption allied in some way with the -seismic disturbances reported to have occurred at Bath and other inland -watering-places.</p> - -<p>Yet towards the awful crater of this man-made volcano, British troops -were now advancing. It had been fondly hoped by the British staff -that the tremendous bombardment from the big howitzers, maintained -ceaselessly during the night, would have disabled Fort Warden to such -an extent that an infantry attack in the morning would meet with but -feeble resistance. Very few of the officers, however, had any true -conception of the enormous strength and staying power with which -Wardlaw had endowed his military master-piece.</p> - -<p>Yet the onslaught had to be made. To the High<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>landers—brought over -from Shorncliffe—was entrusted the honour of leading the attack on one -side, while the Royal Marines, from Chatham; were simultaneously to -advance on the other. The hour of trial came. Firing not a shot, but -with heads bent low, creeping forward, and taking advantage of every -inequality in the ground for cover, the attacking force approached the -flaming portals that confronted them. It was but a short distance, for -during the night the saps had been carried close to the first circle of -wire entanglements. Some of the wires, moreover, had been destroyed, -leaving gaps through which the Highlanders were ordered to drag light -scaling ladders and approach the moat, while others pushed sandbags -before them to take the invaders' fire.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the word of command broke hoarsely on their ears. As it came -from the Commanding Officer, a bullet struck him in the heart. He -fell with a groan that was hardly audible. At the last word of their -beloved Commander the Highlanders sprang up, and with an angry yell -rushed headlong towards the moat. But narrow though the space they had -to cross, the withering fire from the machine guns made it impossible -to traverse it. The leading ranks, officers and men alike, were beaten -down by lead as hail beats down a field of waving corn. The rest -wavered, turned, and in a moment the ill-starred regiment, all that was -left of it, rushed down the hill in desperate flight. Attempts to rally -them were futile. Neither man nor devil could, or would, stand against -that awful overwhelming hail of shot and shell.</p> - -<p>On the other side of the fort, the Marines had approached somewhat -nearer to success. Here the gaps in the wire entanglements seen at -close quarters afforded some encouragement. With an inspiring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> cheer, -the men dashed forward, their bayonets fixed; but suddenly, as if from -the earth itself, sprang up an opposing line of bayonets. The gaps in -the entanglement were filled with German soldiers, and in an instant -the combatants were engaged, man to man, in a furious hand-to-hand -encounter. Deep groans and screaming blasphemies blended with the -tumult of the guns. Here and there in the męlée, men whose bayonets -were broken off clubbed their rifles and savagely battered at each -other's faces; but still more ghastly than the injuries thus exchanged -was the hellish work effected by the hand grenades, of which the Fort -contained large quantities. These explosives, now used for the first -time on English soil, blew men literally to pieces. Neither skill -nor courage could avert these horrible results. The methods of the -anarchist had been allowed to find scope in the warfare of civilized -peoples. The bombs, wherever they struck, made mincemeat of humanity.</p> - -<p>The Marines, like the Highlanders, had been driven back, and there came -a ghastly interlude when the Germans sought to rescue their wounded -and distinguish and carry in the dead. Those who had been butchered by -the hand grenades had to be hastily shovelled into sacks and baskets -before their remains could be removed. No pen could dare describe in -detail all the revolting sights which this small battle-field in a few -brief moments had revealed. Severed heads rolled down the hill, the -eyes wide open, the features fixed in horror. In one spot from ten to -fifteen corpses, friends and foes together, involved and twisted in a -shapeless mass, were suddenly discovered in a hollow. In many instances -the force of the explosions had torn the clothing from the bodies of -the soldiers. Arms and legs had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> wrenched from their trunks and -blown away. From pyramidal heaps of mutilated English corpses stiffened -fingers pointed towards the sky.</p> - -<p>Many of the Marines who had escaped the hand grenades had had limbs -clean amputated by the knife-like fragments of the high explosives ere -the rush was made. In some instances the upper halves of bodies lay -on the hill without marks of injury, the lower limbs having wholly -disappeared. Yet terribly and suddenly as death had come to these -devoted men, far more awful was the fate of those whom shell and bomb -had shattered without absolutely killing. These slowly dying fragments -of humanity lay moaning in their tortured state, praying as they had -never prayed before for that last agony which should release them from -sufferings that no tongue could utter and no imagination even picture.</p> - -<p>Already the havoc wrought in human flesh had been accompanied with -inconceivable disaster in all directions. Fort Burgoyne, its guns -silenced by the more modern ordnance, was little better than a heap -of ruins—ruins piled high above the dead and dying gunners. The more -exposed batteries on the Western Heights had been dismantled long -before the inhabitants of Dover climbed the hill and gazed across -the valley. When, after the repulse of the British attack, the fury -of fight was abated for a brief period, and the smoke of battle -temporarily rolled away, the appearance of Dover Castle itself filled -the spectators with amazement and dismay. So great was the destruction -and the transformation that it was difficult to believe that what they -now looked upon had any association with the great towers and massive -walls which had been familiar objects to them all their lives. The -Norman keep, with walls more than 20 feet thick, had been so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> battered -as to present the appearance of a jagged range of rock. Peveril's -Tower had disappeared. The Cotton Gate, rising as it did to a height -of 90 feet and 460 feet above sea-level, by some miracle had escaped -all damage; but the Constable's Tower was reduced to half its former -height. The upper half, it was conjectured, lay crumbling in the moat -below.</p> - -<p>What had happened to the Duke of York's School, which the boys had -evacuated overnight, or to the batteries that had been placed in -Northfall Meadows and on the Golf Links, could only be a matter -of surmise. The Pharos and St. Mary's Church so far seemed to be -untouched, possibly because the gunners in Fort Warden had not deemed -it worth while to waste their fire on either.</p> - -<p>In all the awestricken throng that stood upon the Western Heights and -gazed across the ruined town towards Castle Hill, none had feelings -that corresponded wholly with those of Major Wardlaw. Scanning the -field of operations through his glasses, his face twitched as if in -actual pain. The attention of the uninformed lookers-on was constantly -diverted from one thing to another, the wreck of the Castle, the crash -of a roof as it collapsed in the town below, or the woolly clouds -caused by bursting shrapnel, which still was being fired at intervals. -But Wardlaw heeded none of the more picturesque effects. His mind, his -powers of observation, his poignant feelings, were intent on causes, -not effects. Every inch of the scene of operations was known to him. He -knew the position and capacity of each fort and field battery. He could -distinguish, where others knew no distinction, between the work of the -big guns, the siege guns, howitzers, mortars, and field artillery. A -sudden and terrific detonation told<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> him that a huge naval gun had been -landed from one of the great ships in the Admiralty Harbour. It must -have been a work of enormous difficulty to get that gun ashore, during -the night, and a still more terrific task to drag it into position to -play with full effect upon Fort Warden. It was the work, as he knew, -of British seamen—British seamen at their best, which happily still -meant that there were none better in the world. But, more than all, his -thoughts ran on Fort Warden—the Fort itself.</p> - -<p>Nearly all his life the study of fortification had obsessed him. -While he looked at people, or even talked to them, his mind had been -at work on parapets, banquettes, palisades, scarp and counter-scarp. -All the technicology of the art of war and of the scientific defence -of permanent positions was as familiar to this Engineer Officer as -are household words to household people. Fort Warden, as already -indicated, was the outcome of his concentrated mental labours and his -soldier's instinct. In his younger days superior officers had looked -rather coldly on his zeal. He had shown that he was a young man with -ideas, and ideas are unwelcome to officials who love red tape and -well-established grooves.</p> - -<p>But as years went on and slow promotion at last came to him, he had -gained the ear of men in military power. Thus advanced in confidence -and authority, he had been allowed almost a free hand in designing the -modernized defences of Castle Hill. It was so desirable to sooth the -public mind that public money had been spent upon the works without any -sort of stint. Everything that the Major thought Fort Warden ought to -have was there. In construction his plans had been faithfully observed. -He had been allowed to make experiments of every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> kind. Not satisfied -with earthworks, moats, wire entanglements, and bomb-proof shelters -for the trenches, Wardlaw had adopted a novel system of armour plates -for the protection of the Fort—plates that were produced by the use -of tantalum ore alloyed with steel. This hardy metal, imported from -Australia, had been proved to possess the most remarkable qualities. In -itself it was heavier than iron, and could be so treated as to increase -by 30 per cent. the resisting power of any armour plates previously in -use for naval or military purposes.</p> - -<p>The success of Wardlaw's designs, the wisdom of his -carefully-considered plans, the selection and apportionment of warlike -material (in the preparation of which the chemist played a more -important part than the armourer), had been only too amply justified. -Results affirmed the first principle of fortification and of the art -of gunnery, which principle lay in creating and arming a position of -such strength and such resources that it could be held by a body of -men greatly inferior in numbers to those by whom they were attacked. -Fort Warden, the great outcome of the Major's career, the splendid -achievement on the strength of which he had retired from active -service, thus stood justified beyond all cavil or dispute.</p> - -<p>Yet, as he gazed towards the work of his hands, Wardlaw's heart was -full of grief and bitterness. There stood the Fort in all its pride -and strength; around it lay the victims of its fury; within it less -than three hundred foreigners still defied thousands of British troops -on British soil. Above it floated, so far, in victory, two foreign -Eagles—the flags of Germany and the United States.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></p> - -<p class="center">IN THE HEART OF THE HILL.</p> - - -<p>While the dead were being buried and the wounded removed, there was -a long cessation of the savage struggle. Indeed, the long lull in -the firing almost led some people to believe that it would be heard -no more. Crowds on the Western heights glanced curiously, anxiously, -towards Fort Warden, with some idea that its picked garrison would now -abandon their desperate and daring attempt to hold the position. It -became known that the enemy's plans had been in part defeated—either -by reason of some official blunder or through the watchfulness of -the French at the other extremity of the Channel Tunnel. The German -troops that were to have raided the French terminus, and then poured -into England, under the protection of the guns of Fort Warden, already -seized by their advance guard, had not arrived, and could not now -approach to aid their countrymen. Movements of foreign warships and -transports were hourly reported by telegraph and wireless messages, but -the British Fleet had by this time formed a deadly barrier of iron and -steel around the coast line of Kent and Sussex. There must be a great -battle and a great defeat of our squadrons before another foreigner -could set his foot on Kentish shore.</p> - -<p>The brooding day wore on, tense with suspense and fear. In the -stillness that accompanied the deepening of twilight, hundreds of -field-glasses were finally directed towards the silent fort to -discover<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> whether the American and German flags had yet given place to -the white flag of submission. Any such anticipation, however, proved -unfounded. For suddenly, as the dusk increased, the roar of artillery -was heard; the masked batteries of the British once more had opened -simultaneous fire upon the Fort. Instantly the challenge was accepted. -Fort Warden roared its defiance. The big naval gun thundered its -repeated demand for surrender; the siege guns crashed in unison; the -howitzers savagely chimed in, barking as in sudden fury, like monster -dogs of war; and fifty field guns combined to swell the dreadful, -deafening chorus.</p> - -<p>Presently the fire from the Fort slackened. It seemed clear they were -husbanding their strength for work more crucial. Or could it be that -they were running short of ammunition? Perhaps, it was conjectured, -more damage had been done to Wardlaw's Works than the British had -supposed. Such speculations cheered the spirits of officers and men. -But the wiser among them only shook their heads. They appreciated the -mettle of the men who held the fort, realised that they had counted -the cost, expected no quarter, and meant to win or die. The British -staff knew that it would be folly to cry until they were out of the -wood. They realised that many a man must bite the dust in agony before -the British Standard floated over Wardlaw's Works again, if, indeed, -it ever fluttered there at all! The invaders would, and must, hold the -Fort till their last gasp—not because they in themselves could hope -for ultimate triumph over the increasing forces that now surrounded -them, but because to them time was everything—time for their -countrymen to develop elsewhere the work of conquest; time for the -American and German combined squadrons to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> land troops at unprotected -spots of Great Britain and Ireland, while they, the daring three -hundred, monopolised the attention of the flower of England's troops. -The plans of the Allies were elaborate. This was but their first great -move.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, imperative orders had been given for the British to attack -the Fort again. The attempt was to be made directly darkness had set -in, and it was only to pave the way for a new and even more determined -onslaught that the guns had broken forth in the renewed bombardment -already chronicled. Troops, Regular and Territorial, still were pouring -into Kent.</p> - -<p>No drum or bugle note disturbed the evening air; an interval of ominous -silence, pregnant with dreadful threats and dire potentialities, -preceded the renewed attack. When the hour had come, the word of -command, uttered in a whisper, was whispered on from rank to rank. -In open order, the swarming infantry battalions crept swiftly up the -hill, simultaneously making for the Fort on every side. They reached a -certain point, then paused under the last scrap of cover that remained -available, while the field telephones sent swift messages to certain -batteries. The signals served their purposes, and as the guns burst out -again, the men sprang to their feet and doubled forward.</p> - -<p>Those who were advancing from the South stopped almost instantly, -dazzled and confused. The powerful searchlight of the Fort glared -into their faces with bewildering suddenness, and the insistent -racket of rifles and machine guns told them that their advance had -been discovered. The doomed and blinded soldiers fell in scores, in -hundreds, before a withering storm of bullets. Then, just as suddenly -as it had been revealed, the flashlight was concealed;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> but only -to glare forth again on the British supports that were hurried to -the front. Thus, brilliant light and deepest darkness alternated in -swift and bewildering succession, and through both alike the leaden -messengers of death mowed down the advancing troops.</p> - -<p>Rank after rank reeled back upon their climbing comrades. On the South -side, once more, the attack had failed, and failed at heavy cost.</p> - -<p>North, West, and East, the result had been the same—repulse, defeat. -The night was now illumined with extraordinary brilliance. Star-shells, -rising high into the air above the Fort, burst in quick and dazzling -succession. The blinding glare lighted up the hill, the sea, and -every field and building, revealing, too, the fleeing figures of the -retreating force and the prostrate forms of hosts of dead and wounded. -A hail of bullets from the Maxims persistently pursued the remnant of -the fleeing soldiers, and swept the plateau and the hillside clear of -living things.</p> - -<p>Pom, pom, pom! the murderous machines of wholesale destruction -continued their deadly work until the men who worked them could find no -living thing to put to death.</p> - -<p>Broken and beaten—many of them desperately and horribly wounded—the -panting remnant of the attacking force heard, as, at last, they halted, -a shrill shout of triumph from the jubilant defenders of the Fort.</p> - -<p>But the night's work was far from finished. The Fort must fall—cost -what it might, the Fort must fall. If it could not be captured above -ground in the staring light of star-shells, the attack must be made -by burrowing in darkness through the hill itself. Preparations for -this desperate and dangerous work had been already started, and much -progress made.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> For twelve hours or more, during what appeared to be -a suspension of hostilities, the sappers had worked in relays with -furious and unremitting energy. While their comrades above ground were -being repulsed, while the star-shells went up in a rapid succession, -and the implacable searchlight swept the hill in all directions, the -picks of the Engineers, yard by yard, were steadily hacking a way -towards the very foundations of the Fort.</p> - -<p>These tunnelling operations would have been infinitely more tedious -and more arduous had not an elaborate system of subterranean passages -already been provided by Major Wardlaw. Various cunningly devised -galleries bad been secretly cut in the hill in order to furnish the -garrison of the Fort (on the assumption that the garrison would be -English and acting on the defensive), with the means of taking an -attacking force in the rear, and of laying mines for the destruction -of any besiegers. But the tables had been turned, though how far, if -at all, the invaders were aware of these hidden avenues and the method -by which they could be made available, remained a matter of doubt and -anxious speculation to the British Staff. Meanwhile, hour after hour, -deep in the heart of the hill, the sappers sweated at their work. -Nearer and nearer they approached to the spot at which a mine, if -exploded, might be expected to shatter at least a section of the Fort, -and open a way for British bayonets to enter.</p> - -<p>A few more yards and the vital point would be reached. Then, suddenly, -the sapper who was wielding a pickaxe in advance of all the rest paused -in his work, listening intently. He raised his hand excitedly, and the -officer in command of the party instantly crept forward, and with an -imperious gesture stopped the work. The sappers, their faces<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> shining -in the lantern light, at first wondered what it meant. But soon enough -they heard and understood. Faintly, as through a massive wall, there -came to their ears the fateful sound of tapping—the click, click, -click of other pickaxes. It came from below the tunnel they themselves -were cutting. One thing, and only one, could explain the sound. The -invaders had found out, or someone had betrayed to them, one of the -secret tunnels of the hill.</p> - -<p>The sappers, pale as death, gazed in each other's faces. In a flash -they realised the awful jeopardy in which they stood. The invaders were -counter-mining at a lower stratum! beneath their very feet. At any -moment—while a breath was drawn or glances were exchanged—they might -explode their mine!</p> - -<p>There was an awesome pause, then the officer gave a sharp, -half-whispered order. Instantly, boldly, the picks were at their -work again. It was a desperate race for time—here in this cramped -tunnel—in the smothering depths of mother earth; and no man's life -was worth a moment's purchase. Yet iron self-discipline prevailed. The -sappers worked with almost frenzied haste and vigour. After ten minutes -of furious, exhausting labour, they were allowed to pause. The chests -of the toilers heaved painfully; some of them tried to hold their -breath; others shook their heads impatiently, as if to stop the singing -in their ears. They wanted to listen, to hear, and know their fate.</p> - -<p>No sound reached them. It was a moment of agonizing tension. Then, -nearer than before, they heard the picks again. Suddenly the sound -ceased. The invaders had completed their work. There was no time to -lose. At a sign from the officer, who brushed a handkerchief across his -face and drew a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> laboured breadth, a grim-faced sergeant began to crawl -back swiftly to the distant opening of the tunnel for the dynamite. -Another and more torturing pause ensued.</p> - -<p>Which mine would be exploded first?</p> - -<p>It was an affair of minutes, then of seconds. Their mine was not yet -ready. But duty held them to their ground. Though hell should burst -upon them on the instant, the flaming portals must be faced.</p> - -<p>Out in the open, those who watched and waited suddenly heard a -thunderous detonation. A huge mass of earth and chalk rose high in the -air, and clouds of whitish smoke spread skyward in the full glare of -the searchlights. Three engineers, half doubled up, now came rushing -from the tunnel to the outlet, bursting among a little group of -officers, who staggered back with horror in their faces.</p> - -<p>"Done for ... countermined!" One of the sappers gasped out the fateful -words, then sank exhausted on the ground.</p> - -<p>"My God!" exclaimed Helmore, the officer in charge of the relief party, -falling back a pace. Then, promptly recovering his self-control, he -cried: "Forward to the rescue. Some of our men may be alive!" He -himself dashed into the tunnel, followed by half a dozen men. At -a little distance, the narrow avenue was blocked. The miners were -entombed! but an indirect opening had been made by the concussion, -which gave the rescuing party access to another tunnel. Following -this, and finding it intact, Helmore, in advance of the party, raised -his lanthorn and saw in the distance an exposed angle of a massive -concrete wall. He understood at once that the exploded mine, working -in a lateral direction as well as upward, had exposed the capo<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>niere, -or covered lodgment under the counter-scarp, which Wardlaw had sunk in -that position designedly for the protection of the Fort. Therefore, the -holders of the Fort, in a measure, were hoist with their own petard. -Their mine had exploded first, but at the same time it had exposed a -point against which a subterranean attack now might be directed.</p> - -<p>The moat encircling the Fort was twenty-eight feet wide and eighteen -deep. Strongly fortified everywhere, a special feature of its strength -lay in the caponiere gallery. The walls of this gallery, constructed -beneath the entire counter-scarp, were some seven feet thick. On -this, the South side, as also on the East, the gallery was divided by -concrete partitions into five communicating cells or chambers. These -chambers, as Lieutenant Helmore knew from the confidential plans of -the defence works, communicated, cell with cell, by low and narrow -doorways. From the last of the five cells, by a narrow flight of steps, -could be reached a door of massive steel, and on the other side of that -door a passage five feet wide passed beneath the rampart and the moat -into the interior of the Fort itself. This communication, of course, -was intended to enable defenders of the Fort to reach the caponieres -which jutted into the moat at intervals, and thence fire upon any -troops that sought to bridge it.</p> - -<p>The enormous importance of his discovery made Helmore forget for a -moment the fate or peril of his ill-starred comrades—buried as they -were in the adjacent débris. Indeed, it was apparent that nothing could -be done for them. Their dreadful fate was sealed, and the faint groans -that at first reached the ears of the would-be rescuers soon entirely -ceased to be heard.</p> - -<p>Helmore, after a moment's pause, sent a man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> back with news of the -discovery to his commanding officer, who instantly grasped the -requirements of the situation. He issued certain rapid orders, and a -hundred men darted down the hill in prompt obedience. Meanwhile, the -relief sappers, guided by Helmore, crept through the narrow tunnel into -which an opening had been forced by the explosion. Without losing an -instant, the Engineers began to chisel several holes in the exposed -section of the concrete wall. A charge of dynamite was passed along, -and all made ready. The men rushed back and waited. The crack and crash -of a violent explosion followed, and the sappers, hurrying forward, -followed by other troops, found that a broad gap had been made in the -gallery of the caponiere. Through this breach they crept and crawled, -to find themselves in the first of the five cells, or gallery-sections, -that have been described.</p> - -<p>Opposite to them was the arched doorway leading into the next chamber. -But already the defending force had occupied it. Foreseeing that the -entire gallery might be rushed chamber by chamber, they had brought -heavy sandbags and piled them high, close to the first doorway.</p> - -<p>Against these obstacles the attacking party hurled themselves, -furiously but in vain. Half a dozen engineers immediately commenced -to break through the wall itself, in the hope of thus reaching the -adjoining chamber. Only a few men could work in so confined a space, -and while they hacked against the solid wall, the German defenders -now thrust their rifles between the gaps of the sandbags and fired -at random. Four Englishmen fell dead, or desperately wounded. Their -comrades dragged them back, making room for others. The Colonel's -orders had now been carried out, and hand grenades<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> were passed along -from man to man. These fearful engines of destruction were only to be -used in case of dire extremity; because, closed within these walls, -beneath the hill, the explosives might well prove as fatal to the men -who used them as to the enemy. For the same reasons, doubtless, the -German soldiers engaged in this subterranean struggle, so far, had made -no use of bombs.</p> - -<p>The sappers having found it hopeless to cut a wider entrance through -the wall into the adjoining chamber, another plan was quickly thought -of and attempted. A can of kerosene was passed along and poured upon -the sandbags; then another and another. The moment a light was applied, -the soaked sandbags began to burn with so fierce a flame that the -soldiers on each side were driven back, and for a brief space the -chambers on both sides of the archway were left quite tenantless. Then, -with a half stifled cheer, a dozen British soldiers, their rifles -clubbed, dashed across the chamber and thrust the burning mass into -the inner cell. The Germans in the opposite entry already were hastily -piling more sandbags in position, but the gap was not wholly filled -when the attacking party rushed upon them impetuously and with an -excited shout. Bayonets crossed bayonets now, but neither side could -get free play either for attack or for defence. Over the waist-high -sandbags in this second archway, the combatants with desperate fury -thrust and stabbed. Groans and savage oaths blended with the flash of -steel. The place grew slippery with blood. Men fell and could not rise -again. Comrade trod comrade under foot and heeded not.</p> - -<p>Only one lanthorn now remained alight, half revealing the intent and -savage faces of the combatants. The Germans seemed to have no light at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> -all. And poor Helmore, who held the solitary lanthorn aloft to guide -his men, thus helped to direct the fatal thrust that laid him low. -With a hoarse cry, one of the Germans had hurled a bayonet through the -doorway. It pierced deep into the lieutenant's throat. The lanthorn -dropped from his upraised hand, and he fell against the wall. Blood -gushed in a torrent from his mouth, even while he bravely strove to -utter the last word of command:</p> - -<p>"Forward, men, forward!" he gasped, then spoke no more.</p> - -<p>A young soldier who heard him had marked well the position of the -archway, ere darkness hid it, and, maddened at the fall of his -officer, he hurled a hand grenade towards the opening. The effect was -instantaneous and terrific. The dreadful shock was succeeded by a still -more dreadful silence.</p> - -<p>When a light was struck it was seen that every German in the inner -chamber had been blown to pieces.</p> - -<p>A moment's hesitation in face of the ghastly sight, then, as the light -went out again, the British sprang into the inner cell to find, or -rather feel, that it was splashed and smeared with blood and clogged -with spongy fragments of the mutilated dead.</p> - -<p>Cell number two, by some freak of the explosive, had not been affected, -and as the third chamber thus was gained, a sergeant, shouting in the -darkness, gave the eager word:</p> - -<p>"Forward again! we'll have the Fort! By God, we'll have the Fort!"</p> - -<p>Again the men pressed forward, but this time no defenders barred the -way. In the distance there was a sound of hurrying footsteps. The -Germans had retreated down the stone stair which led to the steel door -of communication.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p> - -<p>Reinforcements had now reached the gallery, and fresh lights were -brought. Well might the newcomers shudder and turn sick at what those -lights revealed in chamber number three. At the moment it was quite -impossible to carry the dead and wounded to the rear. Officers and -men were swarming in, and none could leave the gallery. But word was -passed along for surgeons to be sent, and the wounded were laid against -the walls, leaving a clear gangway. Then the advance was cautiously -continued.</p> - -<p>Another officer—Carlow, who had just obtained his company—now -took command. Promptly but slowly, he headed the advance, for this -silence, this sudden cessation of resistance, might betoken some deadly -ambuscade.</p> - -<p>The men went forward, two and two. Chambers four and five proved to be -quite deserted. They reached the farther archway of cell number five, -and there Carlow, halting, peered down into the darkness of the narrow -stair.</p> - -<p>As he stood, gazing, listening, strange and pungent fumes crept up -between the walls. He gasped for breath and staggered back. The men -behind him did the same. The fumes were rising, spreading—permeating -the low gallery with extraordinary rapidity, travelling swiftly -into every chamber. Only a few understood how this awful sense of -suffocation was occasioned; and some who guessed that from an air-pump -down below the Germans were pumping asphyxiating gas into the gallery -guessed it too late. A few, before the gas had wholly overpowered them, -fought their way back to the open, but more than a hundred men dropped -where they stood in the close chambers—dropped and died.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></p> - -<p class="center">SIGNS AND WONDERS.</p> - - -<p>That important person, Miss Flossie Wardlaw, was extremely angry! -Events were interfering with her plan of life, and upsetting all her -theories of fitness. The preoccupation, the infatuation, shown by the -only other member of her family for something outside domestic life was -too exasperating. That tiresome fort at Dover was absorbing all her -father's thoughts. He grew paler and more haggard day by day, bestowing -less and less attention on the far more important interests that -concerned his little daughter and the familiar programme of her daily -life.</p> - -<p>Flossie told herself that she was not unreasonable. She had been quite -ready to make allowances. Alarming things, she knew, had happened close -at hand. Impudent foreigners had seized Fort Warden by stealth. The -ceaseless boom of the big guns disturbed the current of existence in -the bungalow. Things were tiresome; indeed, quite worrying when they -kept on like that! It was dreadful, that Englishmen, her father's -soldier-friends, should be killed by foreigners—killed in England -too, only ten miles away; usually they were only killed a long way -off, and that seemed different. But, of course, it could only end in -one way; the offenders would be turned out and most severely punished. -Meanwhile, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> repeated and prolonged absence of her father at Dover, -and his preoccupied behaviour when he was at home, filled Flossie -with mixed feelings of annoyance and sympathy, in which the former -ingredient became more and more predominant. Her queenly power seemed -to be undermined. Her faithful subject had deserted her. Oh! that -horrid Fort!</p> - -<p>Miss Flossie nursed the personal sense of injury, and husbanded her -growing grievance, to the exclusion of thoughts concerning the national -questions that arose. So much depends upon the point of view; and that, -in turn, so much depends upon one's age.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, the issues of the struggle at Fort Warden were vitally -important. They riveted the attention of many millions of the -population of the world. Here in England itself the seizure of the fort -had assumed a colossal significance, shaking the nation out of the -ever-narrowing grooves of Parliamentary and municipal party conflict, -compelling men to look back to a great history and forward to an era of -littleness that gave pause even to the most selfish and complacent.</p> - -<p>Cost what it might, the enemy must be driven out. Our Flag must wave -above that fort again.</p> - -<p>A spreading feeling of fury and resentment arose against the -Government. To this complexion had we come! Pushing politicians, -self-seeking wire-pullers of both sexes, had dragged England in the -dust. So much for Petticoat Government! So much for the Amazonian -craze, this make-believe of women-soldiers and girl-gunners. Woman -had largely ousted man from place and power, and this was the result! -A handful of foreigners had been emboldened to assail us on our own -sacred soil.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> Popular anger expressed itself afresh by breaking out -viciously into the old doggerel:—</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"Old Nick and the Cat,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">With Johnnie and Jan,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Have brought poor England</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Under a ban!"</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Truly, Man was needed at the helm to which at this crisis woman clung -so obstinately. Man was wanted in his old authority, and, behold! in -every department of control woman was clinging to his coat-tails, -hindering his action, dividing his counsels, prating of peace when -there could be no peace, and exhibiting a rudimentary unfitness to -grapple with an unprecedented and desperate situation.</p> - -<p>The outcry came not from the men alone, but with increasing vehemence -from the very sex that had struggled for supremacy. Women out of -office—necessarily the vast majority—now began to discover that -those aggressive or more fortunate representatives of their sex who -had obtained salaried posts or prominence of some sort in public life, -were in many cases frauds and failures. This rule of woman that had -come to pass was not what the great mass of her sex had contemplated -or intended. They confessed it to husbands and brothers; and husbands -and brothers nodded in wise and ready acquiescence. Their faces plainly -said: "I told you so."</p> - -<p>Thousands of women ruefully admitted the impeachment. Successful -rivalry—mostly vicarious—had brought them no real joy. They had -gained power and lost love; and in their inmost hearts they knew that -love was worth the world. Always it had been part of woman's character -to strive for her own way, and always she had ended by despising the -man who permitted her to gain it. Yes! woman's collective triumph in -this new age, as she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> now sadly realised, had cost her dear. With -the gradual abandonment of man's protective affection had gone the -true ingredients of her happiness; much that made up the grace and -joy of life, tenderness and chivalry, caressing mastery, the rightful -dominance of the stronger sex. Yes! love was worth the world.</p> - -<p>The heel of woman disclosed her weakness—and revealed her strength. -Fool and blind! grasping at the sceptre she had lost the kingdom; the -kingdom of the heart, encircled and protected by the strong arms of a -lover as the guardian-sea encircles England's shores. Like an electric -spark this spirit of regret and discontent flew through the land. A -little more, and it would mean a revolution. Away with the unnatural -dominion of Woman! Back to the reign of Man!</p> - -<p>It would have been idle to expect unanimity where pride and personal -interest were so closely involved. The pushing leaders of social -democracy and the Vice-President and her following were not likely to -submit without a struggle to the restoration of hereditary authority. -Woman in office and power throughout the State would be sure to cling -desperately to her foothold, and no one could yet foresee the outcome -of the swiftly dawning struggle.</p> - -<p>The hands of a little band of energetic men, however, were busy -throwing wide the floodgates, and no two men were more active than -those veterans, one of the army, and the other of the law—General -Hartwell and Sir Robert Herrick. To them it seemed that the signs of -the times were full of deep significance, and pregnant with the highest -hopes. They knew that there were still some men with grit in England, -men who saw with bitter wrath the pass to which the nation had been -brought. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> their eyes the governance of this once glorious land had -become a byword and a mockery. And it was because of this that the -present humiliating spectacle was to be seen at Dover.</p> - -<p>Nor was that all. In the midst of these alarms, there was something -else that shook and terrified the people, filling the minds of -thousands with forebodings and distress.</p> - -<p>Strange symptoms of seismic disturbance had been reported not only -from Bath, but also from other parts of England. Such awe-inspiring -tremblings of the solid earth must ever produce a sense of apprehension -which at any moment may grow into a universal panic. It was noticed -that, so far, these disquieting indications were confined to the -neighbourhood of thermal waters. At Matlock, Harrogate, Leamington, and -Woodhall Spa, there had been a marked increase in the volume of the -rising waters, with other signs of an abnormal earth activity.</p> - -<p>What did these things betoken? Signs of the times, they were variously -interpreted. As in the days of Noah! The great multitude of men and -women laughed at the shipbuilder and went about the business of their -daily lives, so now hosts of dull and unimaginative persons remained -unmoved in their obtuse philosophy. Others there were who believed -a providential influence was at work—conveying an admonition and -a warning by some such solemn signs as those predicted to occur -before the last great change of all. Were there not to be signs in -the heavens, and signs in the quaking earth, the sea and the waves -roaring, nation rising against nation, creation, animate and inanimate, -preparing for the awful Armageddon foreshadowed in the page of Holy -Writ?</p> - -<p>Events were moving fast. A fanatic named<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> Richards, stalking wild-eyed -through the land, broke out into fierce prophetic utterance, mocked and -jeered at by many, but followed by rapidly increasing numbers. This -strange man entered on a pilgrimage from one to the other of the inland -watering places, where symptoms of earthquake had been felt, everywhere -inspiring awe and wonder in breasts of thousands. In South London, -which he first visited, he was followed by enormous crowds, consisting -to a great extent of women. Here, on the Surrey side, there had been -a corresponding departure from the normal, for the old forgotten Spa -of Bermondsey had developed a new and disturbing energy. While this -ancient spring rose in unexampled quantities, and at high temperature, -the once famous Spa at Epsom, only some twenty miles away, exhibited -a like activity. The argument was irresistible that such far-spread -manifestations of the same character must necessarily spring from a -common cause.</p> - -<p>If so, then these mysterious subterranean workings also pointed to the -pending evolution of some common result; it might take the shape of -some terrific upheaval and convulsion that would reduce the British -Isles to their primeval form, submerge them in the sea, or even change -the face of Western Europe.</p> - -<p>Still these were but dark shadows and dread potentialities. Time alone -could show whether events would verify such grim forebodings. But, -meanwhile, there was one concrete and absorbing fact—the presence in -England of the invading foreigner. This, at least, was a stern reality, -pressing and predominant. The terrible Three Hundred still held the -Fort; the great guns still roared and boomed, the pom-poms worked -incessantly. Stiffened forms<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> in increasing numbers strewed Castle -Hill; the numbers of the dead and dying mounted daily.</p> - -<p>The highest military authorities now were constantly engaged in -vehement and anxious conference with Major Wardlaw. The discussions, -renewed again and again, early and late, had dealt with all aspects -of the existing problem, had touched on and passed by many suggested -expedients. One project, in particular, had excited much difference -of opinion. Urgent advice had been given officially and through the -newspapers to call the air-ships into play. Fort Warden, turtle-roofed, -was supposed to be entirely bomb-proof, but it was argued that if all -the air-ships in England—some 200—were to concentrate above the Fort -and pour down bombs and explosives in great quantities, the result -could hardly fail to terrify, if not to annihilate, the obstinate -defenders. But Edgar Wardlaw shook his head. He alone knew the enormous -resisting power that he had built up against this very contingency of -warfare.</p> - -<p>Moreover, there were the obligations of treaties to be remembered. -Air-ships were not to be used in warfare. International compacts on the -subject of aerial navigation must be respected. To set a dishonourable -example by disregarding them for our own immediate purpose might lead -to disastrous international results. Two, and more than two, could play -at such a game as that!</p> - -<p>And even, while the idea was being mooted, its immediate adoption -became impossible. In a single night every English air-ship, the -whereabouts of which was known, sustained mysterious, and, in most -cases, irreparable damage. Such a discovery could not be concealed -from the public. It was clear that some great and elaborate conspiracy -was afoot, that the agents of the enemy were numerous, active, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> -daring, here in the very heart of England. It was clear, too, that the -Government had been caught napping, and only too probable that worse -surprises might yet befall the country. The police, it is true, made -several arrests of suspected persons, but prevention, not cure, was the -national desideratum. While the grass grew the steed might starve. Of -what avail the slow formalities of legal, investigation, the jog-trot -of red-tape routine, when the enemy was already at the gate, aye, in -the heart of the citadel?</p> - -<p>In this crisis it transpired that the <i>Bladud</i> was the only air-ship -unaccounted for. There were conflicting statements about her recent -movements; but presently it became known that she had been lent by the -late President to a young Canadian friend named Linton Herrick. Mr. -Herrick had been seen to go up with Wilton, the Engineer, and it was -believed that subsequently the <i>Bladud</i> had been identified with an -air-ship that had been seen travelling rapidly, and at a considerable -altitude, over the English Channel.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></p> - -<p class="center">HOW THE RAID FAILED.</p> - - -<p>Flossie had spoken. Silent resentment, obdurately nursed for quite two -days, had given place to voluble reproaches. He was naughty, she told -her father; never before had she known him quite so naughty. Why! he -had hardly opened his lips for days and days; he had not taken her -out, nor brought things home, or done anything. Waking that morning -very early and very hungry, she had found nothing—not a thing—under -her pillow—no, not even a lump of sugar; and he knew perfectly well -that there were always lumps of sugar in the sideboard. No! he had -forgotten. He did not love her, that was quite clear. His head was -fuller than ever of that horrid Fort. If he did not look out he would -go there and get killed himself presently, and that would be a nice -thing to happen, wouldn't it?</p> - -<p>Under the shower of these reproaches, Major Wardlaw hung his head. His -silence and submissiveness slightly mollified the stern young lady. -Like many others of her sex, Flossie must needs scold and then be sorry -for the object of her reproaches. To-night there was something in her -father's looks and bearing that arrested her vehemence. Why! goodness -gracious! what was the matter?</p> - -<p>"You know," she said shrewdly, looking at him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> as she stood between -his knees with that steady gaze of youthful eyes that is often so -disconcerting, "You know, if you weren't a great big man, I should say -you were going to cry."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense, nonsense," her father answered, and hugged her closely in -his arms.</p> - -<p>"Mind my hair," said Flossie sharply, "I'm very tired and I'm going -to bed. I hope you won't be naughty any more. Promise!" He nodded -with a queer look in his eyes. "<i>You</i> look tired, too! come up early. -To-morrow we'll be just the same as ever, won't we? You shall be very -nice, and I shall forgive you, because, after all, I do love you, don't -I?"</p> - -<p>"That's right," he said gravely.</p> - -<p>"Yes, but you're not right. I've never seen you quite like this. I'm -sure there's something. Where's my book?"</p> - -<p>He picked up the story-book and she tucked it under her arm, smothering -a yawn that suffused her blue eyes and showed all her pretty teeth.</p> - -<p>"Good-night; be good," she said, and kissed him.</p> - -<p>"Yes! But you've forgotten your hymn."</p> - -<p>The child looked at him searchingly. His manner puzzled her more and -more. His voice seemed hardly natural; he was grave, intensely grave, -yet trying to cloak his seriousness by speaking in ordinary tones.</p> - -<p>"Must I, to-night?" she asked, half closing her sleepy eyes.</p> - -<p>"Yes, dearest, please, to-night."</p> - -<p>She glanced down at the story-book under her arm, and her father -understood the look. Flossie wanted to reserve her few mental energies -to finish a chapter in bed. But with a little sigh of resignation, -she began in drowsy tones the recitation of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> hymn. The theme was -resignation. Wardlaw seemed to hang upon the well-known words:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"If Thou shouldst call me to resign</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">What most I prize, it ne'er was mine;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">I only yield Thee what is Thine;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 9.5em;">Thy Will be done."</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>He bowed his head.</p> - -<p>Flossie, too heavy-eyed to notice, turned away. Her father looked up -quickly.</p> - -<p>"Kiss me again, darling."</p> - -<p>He held her by the arms in front of him, firmly but lightly.</p> - -<p>The child roused herself to sudden alertness.</p> - -<p>"One for you, and one for me, and one for both together. That's three!" -she observed after the third kiss—"Just for a treat."</p> - -<p>His eyes followed her as she crossed the room. At the door, she turned -and nodded warningly.</p> - -<p>"Something nice to-night, mind, and don't stay up too late."</p> - -<p>Wardlaw held his breath and kept his seat while Flossie went slowly, -languidly, up the stairs. Then, with clenched hands and tortured eyes, -he started to his feet.</p> - -<p>The last time! God in heaven, could it be truly that?</p> - -<p>Never to know the kiss of her childish lips again, never to feel her -warm, clinging little arms around his neck!</p> - -<p>With bloodshot eyes and still clenched hands he paced the room.</p> - -<p>Away in the distance the booming guns broke out again with their -dreadful monotone, recalled inexorably the work he had to do. He had -weighed it well, pondered it, as he told himself, too long already. The -Fort must fall! All other means had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> failed. Blood had been poured out -like water, and to no purpose. Yonder on the hill, thousands of men, -obedient unto death, his brothers in arms, had braved the weapons which -he, Wardlaw, had stored within those impregnable defences, weapons -which had been turned against his own country and his own people with -such terrible results. England could not wait while the foreigners were -starved into surrender. The Fort must fall without delay. He, Wardlaw, -knew the master-key of the position, and also knew that he who used it -must be prepared to lose his life. Why had he not used it before?</p> - -<p>There were reasons which would satisfy reasonable people: the surprise -of the situation, the slowness of the military authorities in inviting -his assistance, the probability that, finding themselves without -support in a hostile country, the invaders would throw up the sponge. -But none of these probabilities had been verified. The Fort was still -held by the foreigner; and the Fort must fall!</p> - -<p>Edgar Wardlaw was a scientific soldier—not one of those men of -bull-dog courage who, obedient to orders, would hurl themselves without -thought into a bloody struggle. The mind that can devise and perfect -death-dealing armaments is not necessarily, or even probably, a mind -that inspires and braces the fighting quality of the every-day soldier. -The red badge of courage can indeed be won by men of high-strung nerves -and delicate organisation, but it is won at most tremendous cost. -Wardlaw had been slow in coming to his resolution, but he would never -recede from it. They were arms of love that had enchained him, at the -last—the arms of a little child. But now he was breaking even those -fond links asunder. He was ready—almost ready.</p> - -<p>Pacing the room, he glanced at his watch. It was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> nearly ten o'clock. -Soon she would be asleep. He went over to the sideboard and made a -quick yet careful search, finding a small fancy cake, some fruit, and -sugar; as Flossie had said, there was always sugar, though other things -might fail.</p> - -<p>He must delay no longer. Carefully and on tiptoe he went up the -creaking stairs. The servants were chattering and laughing in the -kitchen, but in the child's bedroom there was not a sound. He entered -cautiously. Yes, she was asleep, long lashes resting on the delicately -flushed skin, lips slightly parted, one arm thrown out upon her open -book.</p> - -<p>Wardlaw moved cautiously across the room and stood looking down upon -the sleeping child. He looked long, and who shall say with what -poignant and unutterable agony of spirit. Then he slipped the paper bag -containing what he had brought with him under the pillow, and gently -moved the book, lest it should fall upon the floor and wake her. The -volume contained two stories, bound up together—"Sintram and his -Companions," and "Aslauga's Knight," stories whose leaves come out of -the old Saga-land, bringing with them the romance and adventure that -charm the children, while also they reveal to older folk the mystic -conflict of the human soul. Sintram's Companions, as Wardlaw knew, were -Sin and Death, Companions of us all. With Death by his side, Sintram -had to ride amid the terrors of the narrow mountain gorge—just as the -Pilgrim of the immortal Progress had journeyed through the Valley of -the Shadow.</p> - -<p>His eyes rested on the open page of the story-book:—</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"When Death is coming near,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">When thy heart shrinks in fear</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">And thy limbs fail,</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Then raise thy hands and pray</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">To Him who smoothes the way</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Through the dark vale."</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>He bowed his head and closed the book quietly, placing it near the -child's pillow. Downstairs the clock chimed a quarter after ten—cheery -little chimes, ticking off the flight of time as if endless days and -years still remained for all who heard them.</p> - -<p>And yet for him who listened only a few hours of life remained. Death -called him—not in the heat and excitement of battle, but in this still -hour of cool blood and calm reflection. It made it vastly harder to -obey.</p> - -<p>Never again would he hear those familiar tinkling chimes. This was his -last farewell to all that he held dear. Death coldly beckoned him, as -Sintram was beckoned at the entrance of the gorge. His hour had come to -pass into the Shadow. The stern implacable demand of duty was ringing -in his soul, and he dared gaze no longer on his sleeping child. If she -should wake and look into his eyes, courage, honour, duty, all that -makes man obedient unto death, might fail him even now. He dared not -press his lips upon her cheek; he dared not even touch her hand.</p> - -<p>She stirred and muttered something in her sleep. He quickly raised and -kissed a few strands of her lovely hair; it was the last touch, the -final leave-taking!</p> - -<p>The father turned away. The child slept on.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A hundred yards from the bungalow—appointed to stay there, so that -Flossie should not hear and wonder—a motor-car awaited him. The -chauffeur belonged to his own corps—the Engineers. The man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> saluted -him and looked anxiously at the drawn—white face, on which the -lamp-light fell. Not a word was spoken. Wardlaw took his seat, and -immediately the car, like a sentient thing let loose, sped swiftly on -the road to Dover.</p> - -<p>It was a night of starshine and soft breezes. As they climbed the -rising ground, the pure air from the sea grew stronger. Bracing, -health-giving, breathing life, it fanned the face of the silent man who -was rushing towards his self-appointed doom. Stiff and rigid, he sat, -staring into the night, but conscious of nothing around him or before -him. All his thoughts were of what was left behind—the dainty bedroom -with the shaded light, the rosy sleeping child, the delicate dimpled -face that he should see no more, his one ewe lamb of all the world.</p> - -<p>"If Thou shouldst call me to resign...."</p> - -<p>The burden of the hymn was ringing in his brain, insistent, agonizing.</p> - -<p>On and on sped the car. Away to the South the flashlights were sweeping -the Channel, and, ahead, the first outlying lights of Dover soon came -into view. Every moment the dull, dogged voices of the guns grew louder.</p> - -<p>Still Wardlaw remained rigid and voiceless, as one who is paralyzed by -some dreadful nightmare, while ding-dong in his mind the words of the -hymn persisted and repeated: "If Thou shouldst call me to resign.... If -Thou shouldst call me to resign." ...</p> - -<p>They were close to Dover now. The car sped down from the heights. Ahead -of them on the hard white road a lanthorn was swinging to and fro, and -the chauffeur slackened speed to answer the challenge of the guard. He -gave the password, and again the car tore forward.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p> - -<p>Houses on either side now were numerous. Presently the car wound down -into the town. Silent, half-ruined, the unlighted streets gave an -inexpressible impression of melancholy and disaster. Here and there -the vibration caused by the passing car brought down loosened stone -and brickwork with a sudden clatter. At one spot some fragments of -mortar flew out and struck Wardlaw in the face. They pricked him -into consciousness. He shook himself and gave a brief order to the -chauffeur. The car turned down a side street, and presently drew up -before a large house standing in the shelter of the Castle Hill.</p> - -<p>There were lights in all the windows; shadows passed and repassed -across the drawn blinds. A strained air of animation and activity -pervaded the place. A group of orderlies stood about the entrance, and -through the open doorway there were glimpses of officers hurrying from -room to room with clank of spur and rattle of accoutrement. This house, -the head-quarters of the military staff, contained for the time being -the brain of the British Army—foiled, so far, but still feverishly -bent on devising means for the expulsion of the obstinate invader.</p> - -<p>As the car stopped, a tall officer hurried out and grasped Wardlaw by -the hand. It was a grasp that told more than words could utter—a grasp -that recognized the arrival of a supreme moment, at once the grip of -friendship and the clasp of greeting and farewell.</p> - -<p>"The General's expecting you. I'll take you to him at once!"</p> - -<p>Wardlaw nodded, and, still as one that dreamed, followed the -aide-de-camp into the house.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>On the following day great news was wired<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> throughout the length and -breadth of England, and cabled far and wide throughout the civilised -world.</p> - -<p>The newspapers of London and the provinces, in eager competition, -issued special editions in quick succession. Everywhere great placards -announced in heavy type and infinite variety of colours, a gladdening -fact: the Fort had fallen!</p> - -<p>The hero of the hour was Major Wardlaw, but no sound of joy or triumph -could ever reach his ears—Wardlaw was dead. The published particulars, -though brief, were all-sufficient and convincing. The Major had calmly -and deliberately laid down his life for his country and his comrades. -What shot and shell and bayonet had failed to do, he, single-handed, -had achieved. The episode was all the more tragic and impressive by -reason of its great simplicity. A method was known to Major Wardlaw, -as the designer, by which he could flood the Fort. The enemy would be -drowned like so many rats in a gigantic trap. The master-key was in his -hands, and though—high honour be to them—there were other volunteers -for the fatal work, he had steadfastly refused to let another British -soldier lose his life in that prolonged and dreadful struggle. He was -prepared, resolved, to die—and death had come to him.</p> - -<p>Single-handed he had gone into the heart of the hill. The furious -inrush of the water stored in the reservoir, which his own hand had -deliberately let loose, claimed him, as he knew it must, first victim -of the overwhelming flood.</p> - -<p>But the Fort was ours again! It was a counter-stroke with which the -enemy had not reckoned; a danger which the invader was wholly unable to -avert. As the waters of the Red Sea overwhelmed the Egyptian Warriors; -as that ancient river, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> river Kishon swept away the foes of the -armies of Israel, so, in a new and terrible way, the water floods had -destroyed the invaders of England.</p> - -<p>With a dull, elemental roar, with a suddenness that allowed of no -flight, and a force that admitted of no resistance, ton after ton of -water poured into the interior of the Fort. The sealed fate of its -occupants was almost instantaneous. Of the survivors barely twenty men -escaped with their lives, and these immediately fell into the hands of -the encircling troops, and became prisoners of war.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE WRECK OF THE AIR-SHIP.</p> - - -<p>The little island of Herm possessed only one building of importance, a -monastery of French refugees. In the great walled-in courtyard, there -was present an object of special and curious interest to the monks. The -arrival of the <i>Bladud</i> had been observed with astonishment by all the -inmates of the monastery, who naturally associated its coming with that -of a certain mysterious visitor—a sun-scorched, iron-grey emaciated -man—who had recently landed on the island, coming, it was said, from -the coast of France. The visitor, who remained in complete seclusion -in the building, sedulously nursed back to health and strength, was -treated with extraordinary deference and respect by the Superior. -That much the monks could not fail to know; but any sly inquiries and -surmises on their part were met with the sternest and most peremptory -discouragement.</p> - -<p>Excitement was quickened, therefore, when, only a few hours after the -arrival of the air-ship, preparations were made for the distinguished -visitor's departure. Linton stood in the courtyard, glancing anxiously -at his watch, while Wilton, the engineer, put some finishing touches to -the gear. The little man had proved himself a model of discretion. He -asked no questions, but now and then threw quick glances towards the -tall, thin stranger, who, at a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> respectful sign from Linton, had taken -his seat in the stern of the boat.</p> - -<p>Whether Wilton knew or suspected the identity of Wilson Renshaw, who -now calmly waited for the voyage to commence, Linton could not tell. -He suspected that he did, and, little guessing what a few hours would -bring forth, he registered a mental promise that the silent, faithful -little engineer should not go unrewarded. It struck him that there -was a good deal of nervousness in Wilton's manner, as he threw upward -glances at the sky.</p> - -<p>While the preparations were being completed, the Superior of the Order -stood close at hand, addressing in subdued tones his deferential and -earnest farewells to Mr. Renshaw, and Herrick, raising his eyes, -saw the peering faces of at least a score of monks at the upper -windows of the monastery. Glancing higher still, he noted with some -uneasiness that the scurrying clouds, copper-tinged from the setting -sun, betokened the coming of a wild and stormy night. Fervently he -breathed a prayer that the aerial voyage might have a happy issue. But -by this time he knew enough of air-ships to be aware that there were -perils which no scientific inventions, and no precautions, can wholly -nullify: risks from defects and mishaps with machinery, dangers from -both combined, that at any moment might bring about some irreparable -catastrophe. Yet, to-night, everything must be hazarded. Not an hour, -not a moment must be lost. The time had come. To let it pass unseized -would be to miss the tide at the flood, to sacrifice the touchstone of -fortune.</p> - -<p>He glanced at Wilton:</p> - -<p>"Ready?"</p> - -<p>The engineer gave a quick nod and lifted a grimy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> finger towards his -cap. Linton, raising his own cap, turned towards the illustrious -passenger:</p> - -<p>"Shall we start, sir?"</p> - -<p>"At once, please," was the answer.</p> - -<p>Linton stepped aboard and grasped the helm. Wilton took his place -forward, and the Superior, bowing obsequiously, moved to a safe -distance from the aeroplane.</p> - -<p>The faint preliminary throbbing of the engine instantly commenced. -The boat began to rise, slowly at first, then more rapidly, as the -elevating power obtained freer play. Every window of the monastery -now was plastered with wondering, eager faces, intent on the <i>Bladud</i> -as she soared aloft. The Superior made angry and imperious gestures, -but the monks did not, or pretended not to, see. This mounting of the -aeroplane with such a passenger must not be missed. It was a spectacle -the like of which they would not see again.</p> - -<p>Higher and higher climbed the <i>Bladud</i>, beating the air with her -flapping wings. The cold breeze rushed through the wind-harp on the -mast with a sighing, mournful sound as the boat swept in swiftly -widening circles through the air. The passenger, impressed but not -perturbed, glanced sharply round him; then, feeling the growing -keenness of the wind, he drew his fur coat across his chest.</p> - -<p>When they were high enough, Herrick, with one eye on the compass, put -the tiller over and gave an order. Wilton lightly moved a switch, and -immediately the <i>Bladud</i> headed at high speed for the open sea.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As the hours passed, night fell dark and thick about them; the wind -became more violent, and ever and again chilly, sleety squalls affected -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> some extent the equilibrium of the boat. No one spoke, except for -an occasional query from Herrick, to which Wilton responded by act or -gesture only.</p> - -<p>Not one of the three men on board knew of any definite cause for -anxiety, yet in the minds of at least two of them there was a growing -sense of tension and disquietude. The muscles of Wilton's face twitched -as he sat in silence, his eye watchful and his hand ready.</p> - -<p>Yet, so far, all went well. To avoid prolonged dangers of the open -channel, they tacked northwards towards the coast of France, intending -to resume the sea course as nearly as possible above the Straits of -Dover. Nearer land the air grew less cloudy. The twinkling lights of -habitations far below became visible like distant glow-worms. From -the numbers of these lights they could form an idea of the size of -the towns and villages over which they passed. Some thirty-five were -counted. Presently the silent passenger himself identified the locality -and said that they were passing over the highlands between Cape Blanc -and Calais.</p> - -<p>It was time to give the ship a different course; and once again below -them lay the wide expanse of sombre, tossing sea. But the <i>Bladud</i> -now encountered the strength of a growing gale from the North-East, -and soon it became apparent that she was being dangerously deflected -from her proper course. It was a discovery silently made, but fraught -with the fears of potential disaster. If they should be blown out to -sea, there was but one ultimate certainty—death for all on board. The -store of motive power could only last for a given number of hours, and -already much of the power had been expended. Their hope must lie in -reaching dry ground within a period that grew perilously shorter and -shorter even while they thought of it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p> - -<p>Entrusting the helm for a moment to the passenger, Herrick crawled -forward, and while the rising gale shrieked above them and around them, -held a hasty, whispered conversation with the now excited engineer.</p> - -<p>"We'll never do it, sir, we'll never do it," Wilton said, hoarsely. -"St. Margaret's Bay; Why, see! we've left it far behind already. No -landing there to-night. What's the best air-ship that ever was built -against a wind like this?"</p> - -<p>"Land us anywhere, anywhere," was Herrick's vehement answer.</p> - -<p>"Yes, if we can," muttered Wilton, gloomily. "I'm afeard there's -something wrong with her, and that's the truth, Mr. Herrick."</p> - -<p>"Good God!" exclaimed Herrick, with an anxious glance towards the -figure in the stern.</p> - -<p>"See that?" gasped the engineer, as a strong gust from the north drove -the bow of the boat farther sea-ward. "See that, sir? I tell you, she -can't stand it."</p> - -<p>Again and again the same thing happened. The gale, so far as it was -easterly, drove them westward along the coastline, and ever and again -the fierce gusts from the north forced them away from it. Linton -crept back to the stern. Thirty minutes passed—minutes of increasing -suspense. At the end of that time they had lost their bearings. The -<i>Bladud</i> became more and more beyond control.</p> - -<p>"Is there danger?" Renshaw asked the question very softly.</p> - -<p>"I am afraid there is, sir," said Linton.</p> - -<p>The other nodded: "I thought so. What part of the coast is that down -there?" he asked after an interval.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p> - -<p>Linton peering over, pondered a minute before he answered:</p> - -<p>"Dover's left far behind by this time. We've passed Hastings. Those -must be the lights of Brighton."</p> - -<p>"We can't get down?"</p> - -<p>"Impossible at present. We must drive straight ahead. Inside the Isle -of Wight there'll be a chance for us—more shelter and more ships. -Wilton knows that part."</p> - -<p>"Can we last as long?"</p> - -<p>"I think so—I hope so."</p> - -<p>A long silence fell as the <i>Bladud</i> battled with the wind. Then there -came a startling, rending sound that indicated some defect in the -machinery. The boat began to veer erratically.</p> - -<p>"Steady, sir, steady," roared Wilton, making a trumpet of his hands. -"For God's sake head her north!"</p> - -<p>From below there rose a sullen, surging sound, the threatening monotone -of angry waves breaking upon a rocky shore.</p> - -<p>The sound grew fainter. They must be travelling inland—across the Isle -of Wight. Now, then, was the time for a descent. Dimly in the forepart -of the boat, Wilton's bent form could be discerned, his face peering, -his hands at work in the complex box of the <i>Bladud's</i> machinery. -Suddenly he threw himself back, sitting on his heels, and Herrick -thought he saw his hands raised with a gesture of despair. The <i>Bladud</i> -lurched and swayed violently, and for a moment it seemed as if the -gyroscope had wholly failed to act. If that were so, in a moment the -boat might lose her equilibrium, and all would end. But that was not -the trouble. Linton now realised that it was the lowering apparatus -that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> would not work. The <i>Bladud</i> still rushed madly forward. With -unchecked speed, they flew across the island. Another coast line then -came into view—the long low line of lights stretching from Portsmouth, -across Southsea to Eastney and Fort Cumberland. There was hope, then, -or if not ground for hope, at least a fighting chance!</p> - -<p>But the <i>Bladud</i> now by some inexplicable perversity of the machinery -made obstinately for the eastern extremity of the line of lights. That, -again, might serve if only they could descend on the wide common of -Hayling Island. They were nearing it every moment. Presently from below -there rose a new menace, an angry sound—grating and monotonous, that -Linton could not understand.</p> - -<p>"What's that?" he shouted.</p> - -<p>"The Woolseners," bellowed Wilton, in reply, and made a wild gesture -with his disengaged hand. He knew the deadly peril—those shifting -banks of shingle churned in the shallows by the ceaseless action of the -tides and waves. The Woolseners were as fatal as the Goodwin Sands to -every ship or boat that found herself among them.</p> - -<p>With a desperate effort, aided by Renshaw and directed by Wilton, -Herrick forced over the helm. Another ominous crack reached their ears, -but for the moment they were successful, and a sudden squall from the -east aided their combined efforts. They now were heading straight for -Portsmouth Harbour. All might yet be well!</p> - -<p>Still travelling at great speed, they traversed nearly half the -distance, it now being Wilton's design to bring the <i>Bladud</i> down on -Southsea Common. Then, suddenly, the horizontal movement of the boat -absolutely ceased. All the motive power that was left in her began -through some terrible mishap to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> expended in the development of -rapid elevation. The frantic efforts of Wilton to check the upward -rush were unavailing, the boat went up and up with terrible velocity. -This last catastrophe was paralyzing, overwhelming. Climbing higher -and higher, the boat would rapidly exhaust her small remaining store -of compressed air. Then, in an instant, would commence a reversal, and -the <i>Bladud</i> would rush down through space—the end for all on board, -inevitable death.</p> - -<p>Linton again left the helm in Renshaw's hands. It was useless to retain -it. He scrambled forward to assist Wilton in his desperate efforts to -right the machinery. A dreadful feeling of sickness began to overpower -him as the air-ship swayed and waltzed in the upper air-currents, -lurching and righting as if struck by successive waves, but ever -mounting higher and yet higher.</p> - -<p>It grew intensely cold. Feathery flakes of snow began to envelop them. -Their lungs laboured. It became more and more difficult to breathe. -Linton gasped enquiries which either Wilton did not hear or could not -answer. He glanced back at their ill-starred passenger, who had set -out to recover power and a great position and now was rushing to an -awful death. He saw that Renshaw's head rolled limply on his shoulders. -Already he seemed to be insensible. Filled with terror and alarm, he -shouted to Wilton though the man was close to hand, but his voice, -though the effort of utterance was so great, sounded even to himself -quite faint and far away.</p> - -<p>By the light of the protected spirit lamp fixed to the tiny engine -house, Linton saw that the recording instrument already registered an -altitude of 20,000 feet.</p> - -<p>A dull indifference began to take possession of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> mind. His -faculties were slowly freezing. Even his eyesight now began to fail. He -could scarcely see the column of mercury in the glass, or the minute -hand of his watch. He felt that consciousness would soon completely -desert him. His right hand was resting on the gunwale of the boat; he -found he could not raise it. He could scarcely move his lower limbs, -and, turning once more to glance at the barometer, his head fell -forward helplessly.</p> - -<p>By a violent exercise of his muscles and his will, he raised his face -a little, but for an instant only. It drooped again. He slid down into -the bottom of the boat. His fading gaze sought that of Wilton. They -looked into each other's eyes, like dying men bidding one another -silent, sad farewells. The mists of death already seemed to be closing -on them, when a sudden variation of the temperature, or, it may be, -some magnetic current partially revived them. But the <i>Bladud</i> still -rushed upward, ever upward. They had reached a height of four miles -above the earth, and the temperature had fallen to 24° below freezing -point of water. To this appalling altitude the <i>Bladud</i> had ascended -with almost incredible rapidity.</p> - -<p>Upward, and upward still, they went, until five miles, then six, was -reached above the surface of the vanished earth.</p> - -<p>Out of the void a muffled voice reached Linton's ears, the welcome -voice of a living fellow-creature. It was Wilton trying to rouse him, -Wilton speaking with urgency and vehemence.</p> - -<p>Gradually he came out of his swoon; familiar objects close to him -revealed themselves again. Wilton was lying in the bottom of the boat. -He was striving in vain to reach Linton. The piercing cold had almost -paralyzed him. His hands were freezing.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p> - -<p>What did Wilton want? What was he trying to do?</p> - -<p>As far as could be judged, they had now reached an altitude of 37,000 -feet—nearly seven miles. The mists closed in again. The thread of life -was on the point of breaking. Linton became half conscious that a thick -crust of ice had formed upon his clothes, his breath was freezing on -his lips and in his nostrils. He glanced again with an agonizing effort -at the moving record of their elevation. Another 1,000 feet, and then -2,000 feet. Needles of ice were pricking at his eyes. Close to him the -prone form of Wilton seemed to be covered with minute crystals from -head to foot. Linton tried to stretch out his hands to touch him, but -found that they were helpless, numbed. What, he vaguely wondered, was -Wilton doing now? What mad idea was this? With an exhausting effort the -engineer had just smashed the lens of his telescope. Then his hands -seemed again to fail him.</p> - -<p>Watching him helplessly, Linton felt that everything was useless, -hopeless, lost. It would soon be over.</p> - -<p>But Wilton had gripped the broken glass of the telescope between -his teeth. What was he doing now? Why was he sawing frantically, -convulsively, at that tightened cord?</p> - -<p>Ah! that was it! Well done, Wilton. But it was hopeless, quite -hopeless, after all. Linton rolled his head feebly. They had climbed -another 1,000 feet, and they were mounting still.</p> - -<p>No! What was this? There was a change. Something had happened. Linton -was sensible of a strange eddying, a pause, a feebler flapping of the -aeroplanes.</p> - -<p>Merciful God! The boat had ceased to rise. Now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> she was sinking, -sinking, with appalling speed, yet checked to some extent by the broad -aeroplanes, just as a bird would be when, with extended wings, it -floated down to earth.</p> - -<p>He tried to frame some words; tried to touch Wilton with his hand; -failed to do either. Wilton lay motionless, with bleeding lips.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Out of the blur of mental chaos, Linton Herrick found himself roughly -dragged back to consciousness. Kneeling in the boat, he discovered that -he was submerged in water to the waist; flecks of salt water smote him -in the face; all around there was a welter of wild, tossing waves.</p> - -<p>In his ears, to add to his distraction, there sounded a harsh and -melancholy bell. It was tolling, tolling, close at hand.</p> - -<p>The <i>Bladud</i>, water-logged, tossed feebly in the trough of the angry -sea. Built on a theory that she could float for a considerable period, -it nevertheless rushed in upon Linton's mind that in a few minutes she -would sink. He struggled to his feet, grasping the rigging as he did -so. Something arrested his attention. What was that silent log-like -thing the waves were rolling yonder in the semi-darkness? It must be -Wilton, poor Wilton, who had saved their lives—or tried to save them, -only to lose his own. Wilton! Dead!</p> - -<p>A voice hailed him. It came from Renshaw, his companion. He also was on -his feet, swaying from side to side as the boat, settling deeper and -deeper in the water, plunged and lurched beneath them.</p> - -<p>"Look!" cried Renshaw, "the buoy! We must swim for it!"</p> - -<p>As he spoke he plunged over the side and struck out for a towering -object that rose and fell in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> waves only a few yards away. Linton -realised that that was where the clangour of the bell was coming -from—the refuge of the shipwrecked—the bell-buoy close at hand!</p> - -<p>Before he fully knew what he was about, he, too, was struggling in the -waves. He was a strong swimmer, but, clogged with his wet clothing, -another yard or two would have been too much for him. He shouted some -incoherent words of encouragement to Renshaw, and struck out with all -his small remaining strength. The tall frame-work of the Spit-buoy rose -out of the sea just in front of him. From its apex came louder than -ever the noise of the iron clapper beating on the metal, as the tossing -sea roiled the huge buoy this way and that.</p> - -<p>His hand touched something hard.</p> - -<p>He grasped an iron rail. Slowly and laboriously he drew his dripping -form out of the sea. Then, panting heavily, he threw himself down face -downward, full length, on the deck of the buoy, and stretched out both -hands to the other swimmer. Renshaw's strength seemed well nigh spent. -He was making futile struggles to rid himself of his heavy coat. As he -rolled over helplessly, almost swept beneath the buoy, Linton grasped -his collar.</p> - -<p>The next moment he had drawn him to the rail. A breathing space, and -then another effort, exhausting and prolonged.</p> - -<p>Two panting men, half drowned but saved, lay side by side upon the -buoy, fenced from the greedy sea by rusty, dripping iron bars. Above -them, in the stormy mournful night, ding dong! the bell kept clanging -to and fro—this way and that, with every wave and motion of the -singing sea.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE COUP D'ÉTAT.</p> - - -<p>While the fierce struggle for Fort Warden was proceeding, and while -Nicholas Jardine lay dying, the Vice-President of the Council and her -adherents were engaged in desperate efforts to strengthen the grip of -Woman on the governance of England. To wrest to their own advantage -the crisis that would arise on the expected death of the President -was of paramount importance to the Kellick party. To turn it to their -destruction was the anxious object of their political opponents. Thus -was foreshadowed—for the critical hour—a fierce and crucial struggle -for supremacy.</p> - -<p>The chief directors of the counteracting movement, General Hartwell, -the woman-hater, and Sir Robert Herrick, wise in counsel and learned in -law, were in constant conference. They met daily, and their conferences -and study of reports often lasted far into the night.</p> - -<p>The outcome of their labours was to be seen in the creation of an -association, which Linton had mentioned to Zenobia. It embodied -both men and women, who styled themselves, as a bond of union, the -Friends of the Phœnix. The general aim of this association was -to re-establish man in his proper position in the State, and the -particular aim to bring about the restoration of the long-lost leader, -Wilson Renshaw.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p> - -<p>The last mentioned feature of the programme, though at first received -with natural incredulity, presently acted with magical effect in -quickening public interest; and when secret, but authoritative, -assurances were forthcoming that Renshaw still lived, had been released -by the Mahdi, and was about to return to England, vast numbers speedily -enrolled themselves as Friends of the Phœnix. The great strength of -the movement lay in the voluntary enlistment of hosts of disciplined -men. The Police, the regular Army, and the Territorials, furnished many -thousands of recruits.</p> - -<p>The old Household troops followed General Hartwell almost to a man; the -Corps of Commissionaires followed suit. These men, in turn, rendered -excellent, because unsuspected, service as propagandists among the -humbler classes of the civil population. Evidences of disgust and -discontent with the aggressive dominion of Woman were found on every -side.</p> - -<p>The time was almost ripe. It looked as if but a match were needed to -produce a vast and far-reaching conflagration; and the main problem -that exercised the minds of General Hartwell and Sir Robert was how, -when the moment came, to use the ready instruments of revolt without -incurring the risk of bloodshed and the development of civil war. Every -possible precaution was taken. The Friends of the Phœnix pursued -their plans with the utmost secrecy, it being realised that, in order -that the projected <i>coup d'état</i> might succeed, it was essential that -it should take the Kellick faction completely by surprise.</p> - -<p>Finally, it was decided to seize the occasion of a banquet in the City, -at which it was known that the Vice-President would make an oratorical -bid for a new mandate from the nation. This banquet, post<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>poned from -time to time in consequence of events at Dover and the President's -illness, was to take place shortly after Mr. Jardine's funeral. It was -announced that reasons of State and public convenience rendered further -delay impossible; "Reasons of State" meant the interests of the Kellick -faction; "Public convenience" had reference to the opening of a new -London railway tube.</p> - -<p>An extension of the old Tube from the Post Office, via Gresham Street, -to the Guildhall, had long been a cherished scheme of the City Fathers. -The old approach through King Street and Cheapside to the head-quarters -of the Corporation was only suitable for use in fine weather. But -whatever changes and chances had befallen London during the first forty -years of the twentieth century, British weather had developed but -little alteration, and certainly no improvement. That State processions -and civic functions should be spoilt by drizzle, rain, or fog, as -so frequently had happened to pageants of the past, was felt to be -not merely inconvenient, but quite uncalled for. The new alternative -route presented many advantages. Celebrities and non-celebrities bound -for the City on great occasions would be enabled to enter a special -train at the West End, and could come to the surface in Guildhall -Yard. The feast of oratory and the flow of champagne might thus be -attained without the disadvantage of a preliminary journey through -the rain-swept streets of the murky city. In like manner the members -and officers of the corporation would enjoy similar immunity whenever -official occasion required them to go westward.</p> - -<p>The feminine note in politics had something to do with the project; for -woman, advanced woman, in her hours of ease and finery did not like -to have her feathers and laces spoilt by London smuts and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> drizzle; -and woman, of course, had become very much in evidence in the City of -London. Facetious persons went so far as to say that the City Fathers -had been superseded by the City Mothers, and further justified their -views by treating the male minority as indistinguishable from a set -of old women. The arrival of Woman as a member of County Councils and -other public bodies, not to say in Parliament itself, long ago had -rendered it practically certain that the conservatism of the City must -ultimately yield to the onslaughts of the sex. In the fulness of time -a woman took her place on the Bench as Chief Magistrate of the City -of London. A wondering world was called upon, for the first time, to -do honour to a Lady Mayoress, who shone with no reflected light. She -herself was the Sun of the City firmament. Lord Mayor for some years -there was none.</p> - -<p>The Lady Mayoress who held office at the critical period that had -now arrived was a devoted ally of the Vice-President, and bent on -advancing in every possible way the authority and interests of her -sex. To this end the Corporation, which had largely subsidised the new -branch tube, had solicitously waited the opportunity to entertain the -acting representative of government in honour of the occasion. On the -day of the banquet, the principal City streets presented their normal -appearance to the eyes of all ordinary observers. The Vice-President -and her supporters were to travel to the Guildhall by the new route. -There was no occasion, therefore, for decoration, or for the special -services of the military, or even of the police. Nevertheless, large -numbers of uniformed men might have been observed moving through the -side streets in small parties. In the neighbourhood of the General Post -Office and of the Guildhall these numbers rapidly increased as the hour -appointed for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> the function drew near. At the same time there were -similar musters in the immediate vicinity of the Houses of Parliament, -the War Office, the Admiralty, and other public offices.</p> - -<p>There was no apparent connection between these various groups, but -in reality they were acting in complete unison. They had the same -password—"the Phœnix"—and were directed from one and the same -centre. In a word, one and all, these men were Friends of the Phœnix.</p> - -<p>Towards afternoon, when Londoners began to look for the early editions -of the evening papers, which were expected to contain a summarised -report of the Vice-President's speech in the City, extraordinary -rumours began to spread throughout the Capital; and in the Clubs, the -restaurants, the railway stations, and in the streets groups of men and -women engaged in eager and excited discussion. The impatience of the -public became uncontrollable. Crowds besieged the news-vendors' shops, -and clamoured at the railway bookstalls. Even the newspaper offices -were invaded, and when, at length, copies of the evening journals were -available, hosts of people struggled fiercely to secure them. Scenes -of extraordinary tumult were witnessed. The newsboys, tearing through -the streets on their bicycles, were waylaid. Men fought and scrambled -for copies of the papers, and as placard after placard appeared, public -excitement was augmented until it reached the verge of frenzy.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">A COUP D'ÉTAT.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">REIGN OF WOMAN ENDS.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">RENSHAW RETURNS.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Wild cheers and shouts broke out when lines like these were read by -gaping multitudes. People came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> hurrying to their doors and windows; -drivers of cabs and omnibuses stopped their vehicles, staring, -laughing, shouting, questioning, and adding to the general babel and -bewilderment. The streets were blocked. The news ran through the town -like flame, evoking everywhere unbounded enthusiasm and the wildest -joy. The climax was reached when overhead were heard the wind-harps -of a fleet of air-ships. Fifty or sixty of the official craft had -been repaired and brought into the service of the Phœnix. Sweeping -over every district of London, they scattered tens of thousands of -cards bearing Renshaw's portrait, and containing the same three-lined -announcement that figured on the placards of the leading newspapers. At -the same time, throughout the populous provincial centres, as well as -in the Capital, similar cards in enormous numbers passed from hand to -hand, and were scattered lavishly in every public place.</p> - -<p>But it was at Whitehall that the interest and excitement culminated. -For there, riding through the streets, bare-headed and gravely -acknowledging the plaudits of an enormous concourse, Renshaw himself -was seen, passing on his way to the House of Commons, supported by -General Hartwell and Sir Robert Herrick, and escorted by a jubilant -army of the Friends of the Phœnix. The Friends already were in -possession of all the Public Departments. Officials who withstood them -or protested were quietly but summarily displaced.</p> - -<p>Everywhere the plan of campaign had worked like clockwork and without -a hitch; and nowhere was the bloodless revolution more complete than -in the City itself. The Vice-President's expected speech had not been -reported because it was never uttered. The Friends of the Phœnix, in -strong force, had taken pos<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>session of the Post Office Station of the -new Tube directly the train carrying the City's distinguished guests -had passed into the tunnel. At the same moment, another body of the -Friends had seized the Guildhall terminus. Only those in the secret -knew of what was happening in the depths of the earth. The City went -about its business, the banquet waited, but no guests arrived. At both -ends of the avenue the approaches to the Tube were completely blocked. -The force available to maintain the blockade was more than sufficient. -A handful of resolute men could easily have prevented access to or -from the level of the streets. The lifts, by preconcerted signal, had -been disconnected; the narrow winding staircases from the subterranean -stations were effectually blocked. No violence was used; none was -necessary. Behind the barriers at the top and at the bottom of the -staircases stood resolute men, determined and trustworthy Friends of -the Phœnix, who turned a deaf ear to all appeals and protests. No -one was allowed to go down; no one was permitted to come up. Questions, -clamour, threats from the imprisoned Vice-President and her party -availed nothing. It was necessary to isolate certain people for a -certain time, and isolated they were.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, London learnt about the great and new situation. The Friends -of the Phœnix carried out welcome change, and the nation got a -firm grip on the to the letter the plans of their leaders, and Wilson -Renshaw, saved from all perils, acclaimed throughout the Capital, was -triumphantly restored to a position of power from which no enemy or -rival could displace him.</p> - -<p>But he had a message for the nation, and for all nations, and the -speech in which he delivered it thrilled the white man's world. He -warned the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> peoples of Europe and America of a coming conflict, -which would dwarf to insignificance all the international struggles, -however stupendous, hitherto known to history. The white peoples, -he declared, must abandon their mutual rivalries and ambitions. The -sexes in civilised countries must check their suicidal competition for -supremacy. Each and all must prepare, with united and unbroken front, -to face the common foe. They were threatened with annihilation. Not -so long ago the British nation alone had embraced 360 millions of the -coloured races of the globe. Vast numbers of these had passed under -other sceptres; but the change had only served to accelerate the rising -of the dominated natives, who, far and wide, had learned to realise -the overwhelming strength with which the weight of numbers had endowed -them. No longer would the Black Man submit to their absolute dominion. -No longer would the Yellow and the Tawny accept as their predestined -masters the little band of pale-faced rulers by whom they had so -long been held in subjection. The revolt was imminent. The Mahdi had -proclaimed a holy war. The Crescent would be in the van, and North and -South, and East and West, the coloured races would rise against, and -seek to overwhelm, the recreant children of the Cross.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a></p> - -<p class="center">LINKED LIVES.</p> - - -<p>Linton Herrick, losing not a day nor an hour in London, had carried the -great news to Zenobia. Much that wired and wireless messages could not -convey, he, as one of the inner circle, was in a position to explain. -But the triumph of the Friends of the Phœnix and the restoration -of Wilson Renshaw did not exhaust the subject of their conversation. -Linton was charged with an impressive and confidential message from -Renshaw himself. The restored Minister entreated the daughter of the -dead President to resort to no act of public reparation; he besought -her to let the dead past hold its dead. The story of her father's crime -need never be given in its fulness to a censorious world. Against his -enemy the rescued rival nourished no resentful bitterness. His feeling, -rather, was one of sorrow that the temptations of power and ambition -and the weakness of human nature had wrought the moral ruin of a man in -whom he had discerned many admirable and striking qualities.</p> - -<p>Zenobia Jardine was greatly moved. She recognised the nobility of -Renshaw's attitude, but she still had misgivings as to her own path -of duty. The messages reached her at a time when she was torn with -conflicting feelings, bewildered by new sensations, impressed with new -aspects of human life, agitated by complex thoughts and emotions to -which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> hitherto she had been a stranger. It was a crisis in her life. -Subtle but masterful influences were at work upon her inmost being. -Scales had failed, as it were, from her eyes, and her soul looked out -upon possibilities of which in her unenlightened days she had never -even dreamed. Love, duty, religion—each and all had acquired for her -a deep and wonderful significance, and in her heart she feared to be -presented with the problem of choice. Could these things be reconciled -in the light of the revelation that had come to her? Would they be her -armour and her strength wherewith she could go forward to some great -predestined goal; or, if she chose the one, must she of necessity -eschew the rest? One thing she knew for certain when she again held -Linton's hand and looked into his face. This was the man she loved -and always would love—stranger still, it seemed as if he were a man -she always <i>had</i> loved. But she knew now of his daring, his fidelity, -his narrow escape from death, and realised his clear, though unspoken -devotion to herself.</p> - -<p>And he, for his part, had known no peace until he found himself at her -side again. Renshaw had placed at his disposal the <i>Albatross</i>, one -of the swiftest of the Government air-ships, and another engineer had -succeeded to the place of poor Wilton. Westwards he had rushed on the -wings of the <i>Albatross</i>, leaving the lights of London, its crowded -streets, its shouting and excited multitudes, far behind.</p> - -<p>And now, side by side, he and Zenobia and Peter, her dog, engaged in -dog-like explorations on the route, went slowly across the quaint -bridge with its low-roofed shops that spans the Avon, and passed -through the streets of ancient Bath.</p> - -<p>"What would you do? What is your advice?" the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> girl asked, turning to -him suddenly. They had been silent for some time, but each knew well -what occupied the other's thoughts. "Respect Renshaw's wishes," was -Linton's firm reply.</p> - -<p>"But the will—the confession is in the will," said Zenobia.</p> - -<p>"The will need not be proved. With or without it, what your father left -belongs to you, his sole next of kin."</p> - -<p>She looked down thoughtfully. "It is your advice?" she asked, quietly.</p> - -<p>"Yes, mine as well as his."</p> - -<p>"Then I shall follow it."</p> - -<p>When next they spoke it was upon another subject.</p> - -<p>"This place strikes me oddly," said Linton, looking round as they went -up the slopes of Victoria Park. "I have never been here before, and yet -I have a curious feeling...."</p> - -<p>She turned quickly. "How strange! I know what you are going to say."</p> - -<p>"I believe you have the same feeling—as if we had been here before, -you and I together, as if all that surrounds us were familiar."</p> - -<p>"Is this the first time you have felt like this?" she asked eagerly.</p> - -<p>"No, but I have never felt quite what I am feeling now." Again, with -puzzled brow, he glanced round.</p> - -<p>"Once," she went on, hesitatingly, "the first time we went up in the -<i>Bladud</i>, you remember that night ...?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes, I felt it then," cried Linton, pausing.</p> - -<p>"And the other night," Zenobia continued, seriously, "when I looked -from a window down on the lights of Bath I had a strange sensation as -if it were a scene which I had always known, and after that I had a -dream in which that feeling was confirmed."</p> - -<p>"Curious," said Linton.</p> - -<p>"Do you believe in the theory of pre-existence?"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> she asked, abruptly, -"do you think it possible that in some former state of being you and I -or others can have met before?"</p> - -<p>"It may be so," he answered gravely. "Wise men have held the theory. -Who can limit the life of the ego—fix its beginning, or appoint its -end?"</p> - -<p>"If the breath of God is in us," said Zenobia solemnly, "all things -must be possible. We, too, must be eternal. We may sleep and we may -wake, but all the time we live. The soul does not belong to time, but -to Eternity, and Eternity is an everlasting Now."</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Linton, "why should not the spirit have an all-pervading -presence:—</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And the round ocean, and the living air,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And the blue sky, and in the mind of man!"</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>While they were speaking thus gravely, they entered the Botanical -Garden on the slope of the hill. Opposite the bench on which they sat -down they noticed a sundial of curious construction. On the face of the -dial, fixed at an angle, was an iron cross. They looked at the sacred -emblem, at first vaguely, and then with growing attention. Below it was -an inscription.</p> - -<p>"What mysteries, what mysteries enfold us," murmured Zenobia. She -turned to him with a smile and a sigh that were pathetic. "What, I -wonder, is the true philosophy of life?" she whispered.</p> - -<p>Linton sat silent for a moment. Then he leaned forward, and as he did -so one hand closed upon and held her own. "I think we have it here in -this inscription:—</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"The hours are found around the Cross, and while 'tis fine,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">The time is measured by a moving line,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">But if the sky be clouded, mark the loss</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Of hours not ruled by shadows from the Cross."</span><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Ah! The Cross! The Cross!" sighed Zenobia.</p> - -<p>Linton repeated the word in a pondering and half-puzzled tone, raising -his hat with instinctive reverence. "I feel more than ever that this -place is not new to me," he added, rising and looking round with -wondering eyes.</p> - -<p>"And I, too, have the same persistent sense of memory," half whispered -Zenobia. "There is a tradition that perhaps explains my dream—do you -know it?—that in the days of the Romans there was a heathen temple -here, where we are sitting, and that an early convert to Christianity, -a sculptor of great skill, erected a cross upon its threshold."</p> - -<p>"And the sculptor was put to death! I have read it, or did I dream it?" -He turned and looked down upon the city, as if seeking some clue or -inspiration. "There was a priestess," he said slowly, "a priestess...."</p> - -<p>Zenobia had risen to her feet. "A priestess of the Temple of Sul. -Yes! she, too, was put to death. They buried her alive." She pressed -the backs of her hands to her brow; her gaze assumed an almost tragic -intensity. "She had listened to the sculptor. They found her kneeling -by the Cross, and in the Temple of Sul the sacred fire had gone out...."</p> - -<p>She paused. Each looked into the other's eyes. A flash of inspiration -came to both of them.</p> - -<p>"Your face," she said, "is the face of the sculptor in my dream."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Heavy clouds had been rapidly gathering overhead; the atmosphere had -grown strangely oppressive. So full had they been of other thoughts -that no reference had been made to the developments of natural -phenomena which had lately caused so much dismay in the locality, -and, indeed, throughout the country. It was known that the signs of -disturbance already chronicled had gradually diminished, and for some -days the volume of water rising from the thermal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> spring had been -little more than normal. The emission of smoke or vapour arising from -the fissure on Lansdown had entirely ceased. But at this moment the -sombre clouds that had gathered over the city seemed to be heavily -charged with electricity, and there was a peculiarity in the sultry -atmosphere which suggested some threatening association with the -abnormal signs that lately had caused so much alarm.</p> - -<p>The day, throughout, had been exceptionally hot for the time of year, -but it seemed to Linton as if the mercury must now be mounting up by -leaps and bounds. An unnatural, brooding stillness had spread over -the whole town. The few people who were walking in the Park did so -languidly and in silence; a heavy weight pressed irresistibly upon the -spirit. All things, animate and inanimate, seemed to be subsiding, -drooping, under the pressure of some gloomy and mysterious influence.</p> - -<p>Peter, returning from sniffing explorations in the undergrowth of the -gardens, came whining to his mistress's feet, as if seeking for the -consolation of close companionship. Zenobia sat down and patted the dog -affectionately.</p> - -<p>"Peter is frightened," she said, "there must be a storm coming."</p> - -<p>Linton looked around, but answered nothing. But he realised that the -signs within and without were such as people who lived in tropical -countries had more than once described to him.</p> - -<p>Peter sniffed the air, and then gave voice to a long and piteous howl.</p> - -<p>"We had better be going," said Linton, while Zenobia, still stooping, -tried to soothe the dog.</p> - -<p>When she looked up there was an expression on Linton's face that -puzzled her. She rose quickly and laid her hand upon his arm, following -his gaze upward and around.</p> - -<p>"What does it mean?" she asked, breathlessly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p> - -<p>"If this were not England," he replied, with hesitation, "I should -think it meant...."</p> - -<p>As he spoke a low but formidable rumble became suddenly audible, coming -not from above, but from below. Fraught with indescribable awe and -menace, it produced an instantaneously petrifying effect. They stood -rigid, holding to each other, waiting, listening for the coming climax. -It came as in a flash. The rumble grew into a thunderous roar. A blue -flame suddenly shot into the heavy clouds above them, and beneath their -feet the solid earth rocked and swayed, again and yet again, as if with -the rolling motion of a mighty wave.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.</a></p> - -<p class="center">THE WRATH OF SUL.</p> - - -<p>The earthquake, in the twinkling of an eye, had changed the face of -all nature around them, and while it did so it annihilated stereotyped -manners and conventional restraints. To Zenobia it did not seem strange -that Linton's arms should be folded protectingly about her, or that she -should cling to him, face to face and heart to heart. The moment of the -earth's convulsion had bridged a gulf and wrought a revelation. They -knew themselves, beyond all doubt, for what they were, lovers and twin -souls, pledged to each other by unspoken vows.</p> - -<p>The dreadful shock had come and gone, but the external changes -and terrors which the catastrophe had brought about could not be -immediately realised. Presently they discovered that the ground had -moved with them, and that they had been swept to a considerable -distance from the plateau on which they had been standing. A great -gap yawned where the sundial had stood. Peter had disappeared. They -themselves had been saved from falling by the trunk of a giant -tree—one of the few which had not been up-rooted—while below them, on -the slope of the hill, new spaces were revealed where other trees had -crashed down to the ground.</p> - -<p>The air was full of a strange echoing din, caused by the collapse of -buildings outside the limits of the park and in the town below. In -the midst of these reverberating sounds, and in strange contrast, was -heard the prolonged wail of terrified women and the shrill cry of a -frightened child.</p> - -<p>Gasping, and looking up the hill, they could see,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> rising from -Lansdown, dense volumes of sulphurous smoke, through which shot vivid -gleams of forking flame. Elsewhere a greyish veil began to spread -across the land. A steaming, suffocating atmosphere choked their lungs.</p> - -<p>"There may be another shock! We must escape for our very lives," Linton -whispered hoarsely.</p> - -<p>Zenobia, white to the lips, made a faint gesture of assent. "Hold my -hand! We must find a way across the river," he said quickly.</p> - -<p>Again she made an obedient sign; and Linton, guiding her, they moved -cautiously forward in the strange grey twilight which began to enfold -them.</p> - -<p>Awe-inspiring sounds had been succeeded by a silence which was scarcely -less terrible. A sense of horror half paralysed their faculties as -they cautiously moved forward down the slope. Almost at their feet -had opened a chasm which revealed many solid blocks of masonry, such -as had been used of old in the construction of the Roman Baths. The -rending of the earth had exposed to view a section of what looked like -the foundations of an ancient and imposing temple. Between the massive -walls, at the bottom of some steps, they observed a narrow cell or -chamber, and as they stepped past the shadowy opening, Zenobia's foot -came into contact with an ancient Roman lamp.</p> - -<p>Of these things neither of them was fully conscious at the moment. They -were mental photographs, vivid experiences unconsciously stored in -memory and fraught with a strange confirmatory significance not yet to -be appreciated.</p> - -<p>Hand in hand, picking their steps apprehensively, they made their -way between the fallen trees down to the broad avenue leading to the -lower gate of the Park. Here, at the gate, for the first time they -encountered evidence of death and disaster in the town itself. Houses -had collapsed on every side; distracting moans and piteous cries from -unseen sufferers assailed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> their ears. For a moment they paused before -a monumental heap of stone and timber, impelled to render help in -answer to these vague but terrible appeals.</p> - -<p>"We can do nothing," groaned Linton, in answer to Zenobia's questioning -pause. "Come," and he led her quickly round the wreckage of the houses.</p> - -<p>Stumbling, half running, they made their way by a devious route down -towards the heart of the town. In Queen Square there was a frightened -crowd. Women and children, weeping and sobbing, were kneeling on -the roadway with hands upraised in prayer. Men came running towards -them shouting unintelligible warnings ... questions. Terrified faces -appeared at many upper windows. They saw a frenzied girl leap from the -parapet of a tottering house and disappear behind a heap of ruins.</p> - -<p>In the lower streets the destruction wrought was less noticeable, -but a new terror was revealed. The sound of rushing waters reached -their ears, and every moment white-faced men and women tore past -them, crying in shrill tones: "The Spring! the Spring!" Then they saw -eddying streams of steaming, orange-tinted water creep round street -corners, overflow the gutters, and spread into the road. The water rose -so rapidly that they had to turn aside and once more take to higher -ground. They found themselves crossing Milsom Street, and as they did -so a loud explosion sounded at the upper end, accompanied with an -over-powering smell of gas. Screams rent the air, and another crowd -of men and women, some of them carrying children in their arms, came -rushing helter-skelter down the street.</p> - -<p>None of the houses at the lower end had fallen, but several were -bulging forward and appeared to be deserted. And here already -the predatory instinct was at work. Linton caught the arm of a -filthy-looking tramp just as he raised an iron bar to smash the plate -glass window of a jeweller's shop. He hurled the thief<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> aside, then -grasping Zenobia's hand again he dragged her forward, making for the -nearest bridge.</p> - -<p>But once again their way was barred. From a great crack in the -roadway a fountain—a geyser—of the yellow, steaming water suddenly -leaped into the air. To avoid it they were compelled to make another -circuit. They hurried down some narrow streets and reached the open -space in front of the theatre. Fighting their way through excited and -gesticulating groups of people, they passed the hospital, and, turning -to the right, reached the front of the Grand Pump Room Hotel. Limping -and enfeebled invalids, who could scarcely move unaided, were streaming -from the the building, appealing eagerly for guidance to a way of -escape from the perils that surrounded them. Tremulous but unheeded -questions were heard on every side as Linton and Zenobia crossed the -road and reached the Colonnade. To their right, from the doorways of -the Grand Pump Room itself, another flood of tinted steaming water was -pouring rapidly over the broad pavement and stealing into the Abbey -Church. By keeping close to the opposite wall they escaped the stream, -and leaving the great Church, which so far seemed intact, upon their -right, they soon reached the space in front of the Guildhall. Only a -little distance and they would gain the bridge!</p> - -<p>"This way!" cried Zenobia, as Linton, who knew nothing of the town, -stopped in hesitation. But as she spoke, the pavement, barely ten -yards away, bulged suddenly, then split apart, and with a violent rush -another geyser burst into the street. They drew back just in time, and -hurried breathlessly towards the Station Road. On their left rose the -tall building of the Empire Hotel; behind them was the Abbey. A sudden -shout impelled them to look back. A third geyser had opened in the -middle of the roadway, and in an instant columns of steaming water were -spouting high into the air.</p> - -<p>"Quick! Quick!" urged Linton. His voice was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> scarcely audible, for -as they approached the river a mighty roar was coming from the weir, -dominating the multitudinous sounds of terror which filled the air on -every side.</p> - -<p>In this appalling crisis earth and air and water seemed united as in a -ruthless conspiracy for the destruction of humanity. In the presence -of these vast, mysterious, and irresistible forces, man, the boasted -master, lord of creation, was subdued and helpless. The effect produced -on the inhabitants of the city was that with which the struggling -atoms of the race, accustomed only to a calm and ordered system, ever -encounter nature in her moods of unfamiliar violence. In tempests of -the deep, in the awful hurricane, when winds and seas mix and contend -in a Titanic conflict, nature ignores the puppets tossing on the -helpless ship, or half drowned on the surging raft. What is man in -presence of the waterspout that towers from the ocean to the clouds? -How shall he face the unfathomable whirlpool that yawns for the frail -boat in which he is compelled to trust? Whither shall we fly, when, -as now, the earth vomits forth from unimaginable caverns the scalding -water floods that she has stored within her depths throughout uncounted -centuries? None can stand unmoved when the hills smoke and the earth -trembles; when darkness, a darkness that may be felt, spreads in a -sinister and all-pervading veil over a world that seems abandoned to -the powers of evil? Powdery ashes were falling everywhere upon the -doomed city. From Lansdown a vast vaporous column, a dreadful blend of -water, bitumen, and sulphur, rose high into the clouds. As the great -column branched and spread, assuming the form of an enormous pine-tree, -the darkness deepened, save where, above the hill itself, red-coloured -flames slashed hither and thither through the cloud at frequent -intervals. Terrific explosions accompanied these manifestations; and -Linton, as he half carried Zenobia towards the river, was possessed -with the fear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> that the great hill might be completely riven and pour -forth streams of boiling water or of lava, that would not only submerge -the town itself but destroy all life within a radius of many miles.</p> - -<p>Conceivably, indeed, it might be the beginning of the end—the end, -at least, of England; for what were the British Isles but the summit -of some vast mountain whose foundations were buried deep in the -unfathomed sea? It had been forgotten that Great Britain with Ireland -and its Giant's Causeway, afforded incontrovertible evidence of -volcanic origin. These islands, with the Hebrides, the Faroe Islets, -and, finally, Iceland, in fact constituted a vast volcanic chain, with -Mount Hecla as its seismic terminus—a focus more active than Vesuvius -itself. And here, at the other end of the chain, was Bath, where for -thousands of years the waters of Sul had maintained a disregarded -warning of that inevitable convulsion which, at last and in the fulness -of time, had come to pass.</p> - -<p>In the midst of these flashing thoughts and fears that darted through -his brain, Linton was possessed with the conviction that their only -possible hope of safety lay in crossing the river, the surging roar of -which each moment became more audible and threatening. Others in great -numbers were animated with the same belief. Linton and Zenobia, indeed, -found themselves involved in a madly-rushing crowd of panic-stricken -men and women. Swept this way and that, they were in danger of being -hurled to the ground and trodden underfoot by thousands of hurrying -fellow creatures bent on self-preservation and on nothing else.</p> - -<p>Still supporting Zenobia with one arm and fighting his way forward step -by step, Linton presently managed to turn the angle of the tall hotel. -On their right the river, swollen enormously by the inrush from the -hidden springs, had almost reached the level of the parapet. Boiling -floods had poured, and still<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> poured, into the Avon, blending with the -normal stream; and the soul-subduing terror of the scene was augmented -by the great clouds of steam that rose from the surface of the hurtling -river.</p> - -<p>With desperate exertions, still supporting his half-fainting companion, -Linton reached the turning towards the bridge. The narrow entrance was -choked with a dense and struggling crowd, through which half a dozen -men, lashing frantically at rearing horses, strove recklessly to force -a passage. Screams and oaths blended with the angry roaring of the -weir. The struggling people swayed hither and thither in dense compact -masses, while a body of firemen from the station close at hand, seized -the heads of several horses and forced them back to give the foot -passengers some slight chance of escape.</p> - -<p>Individual efforts were futile in the midst of this confused and -fighting crowd. By the impetus and weight of numbers, however, Linton -and Zenobia, holding closely to each other, were swept as in a human -eddy on to the bridge itself. The same contributory force of numbers, -close packed between the windows of the shops, carried them rapidly -towards the other side. Again and again there was a crash of glass -as the terrific pressure forced in one or other of the windows; but -far more ominous was the angry, roaring voice of the invisible river -beneath them. Rising higher and yet higher every moment, it buffeted -the bridge with unceasing and increasing violence, the torrent whirling -round the piers and buttresses, fiercely impatient for greater -destruction, as it tore upon its way towards the thundering weir.</p> - -<p>It was a question of time, and the time must needs be brief. The bridge -must go. Half way across, beneath the feet of the scrambling, sobbing -crowd, the roadway split and cracked. There was a sudden lurch that -sent Linton and Zenobia, with a dozen others, into the open doorway -of a right-hand shop. Like all the rest of the bridge buildings, it -was but one storey<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> high, and at the end of the short passage a narrow -stairway gave access through a trapdoor to the leads. Linton, breathing -heavily from his exertions, gasping a few words of encouragement to -Zenobia, pondered in a flash the possibilities of the position. Those -who had been swept into the deserted shop with them were making frantic -and futile efforts to force their way back into the endless crowd that -still streamed across the bridge in such maddened haste. But a place -once lost in that dense multitude never could be recovered. In truth, -there was no choice, and in a moment his resolve was taken.</p> - -<p>"The roof," he whispered, half to himself, "the roof!" Mounting the -steps, he swept back the trapdoor, and, reaching down his hand, drew -Zenobia after him. They emerged upon the flat roof of the shop. Only a -dwarf party wall divided it from the rest.</p> - -<p>Below, on their left, the rushing and tumbling tide of humanity pressed -forward to the Bathwick side. Below, on their right, they beheld the -terrifying river, curdled in foam and throwing off increasing clouds of -heavy steam. They scrambled forward quickly, passing on from roof to -roof. Behind them came the sudden sound of rending masonry. A dreadful -scream, a wild cry of despair from the multitude, pierced the powdery -air. The bridge was slowly yielding to the enormous pressure of the -swollen river; but Linton and Zenobia had safely reached the other -side. Raising the trap door of the last shop in the row they descended -rapidly and gained the road. Here the congested throng spread out -across the wider space, and hurried onward to Great Pulteney Street.</p> - -<p>As they paused there came a sound—terrible, arresting, -never-to-be-forgotten—the united wail of despairing voices, rising -above the crash of the collapsing bridge as it carried with it, down -into the boiling flood, hundreds of helpless and entangled fugitives. -Zenobia, clinging convulsively to her protector, drew sobbing breaths -at those appalling sounds. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> for his supporting arms she would have -sunk fainting to the ground.</p> - -<p>"Courage," he whispered. "Courage still."</p> - -<p>For the moment he himself believed that on this side of the river they -were safe. But at that instant they felt again beneath their feet the -quaking of the ground—a long and undulating throb. They reeled against -a wall and stood there panting, until a quickened sense of peril -impelled them once again to hasten forward. Turning up Edward Street, -and leaving the church upon their left, they climbed the hill, until -exhaustion compelled them to sink down upon a roadside bench and ease -their labouring lungs.</p> - -<p>Thick grey smoke, heavy with choking particles and powdery ashes, was -spreading everywhere; and from this higher ground, looking back towards -the fiery summit of the volcanic hill, they could see cloud after cloud -of fire-torn vapour mounting with spiral motion towards the darkened -heavens.</p> - -<p>Wearied though they were, they struggled to their feet, and once more -set their faces towards the hill. Linton fully realised that the area -of disturbance was far wider than he had at first supposed. Safety, if -attainable at all, could only be secured by placing many miles between -themselves and the volcanic district. It was no time for weighing small -considerations. Silently he decided what to do.</p> - -<p>They reached the house in which the President had spent and ended -the last days of his life. The hall door was wide open; darkness and -silence reigned in the interior. The servants, obviously, had fled. -Linton shouted, but no answer came. It was clear to him that the -engineer of the <i>Albatross</i> was in full flight with the rest.</p> - -<p>Bidding Zenobia rest a minute in the hall, he opened the glass doors on -the inner side and ran down the steps into the garden. There lay the -<i>Albatross</i>, ready, as he knew, for an immediate aerial journey. His -own knowledge of the mechanism of an air-ship, though not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> complete, -was now sufficient, or, at any rate, it must be trusted. The boat -was rather smaller than the <i>Bladud</i>, and in some respects contained -improvements. A swift examination of the machinery satisfied him that -the <i>Albatross</i> was fit for flight.</p> - -<p>Hurrying up the steps he called Zenobia. She came to him obediently and -instantly, calmness restored to her, and in her look a ready submission -to all that he thought best.</p> - -<p>"Will you trust yourself to me?" he asked very tenderly, taking her -hand. "The boat is ready. I think you will be safe."</p> - -<p>"I trust you in all things," she answered. "I am ready."</p> - -<p>He led her down the steps into the garden and helped her to her seat on -the stern-bench of the <i>Albatross</i>.</p> - -<p>"You can steer?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Yes, if you direct me."</p> - -<p>"All's ready, then. Keep her before the wind. Now, up and away!"</p> - -<p>He himself stepped into the boat and immediately switched on the motive -power, adjusting the gear to suit the plans he had already formed.</p> - -<p>The <i>Albatross</i> rose steadily into the air, then, gathering speed in a -few rapid circles, began like some huge bird to wing her flight from -the dread scene of the catastrophe.</p> - -<p>Behind them as they sped upon their way arose another violent -detonation. Suddenly the clouded air was rent with vivid lightning, and -this revealed the falling pinnacles of the Abbey Church. Then, as the -thunder crashed above their heads, Linton beheld a vast and fiery chasm -open in the labouring hill. Out of its lurid depths the waters of Sul -leaped upwards in a mighty column, a fountain, as it were, of liquid -fire.</p> - -<p>Then darkness settled on the scene, and all was still.</p> - - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The End.</span></p> - - - -<p style="margin-top: 10em;"><i>BY THE SAME AUTHOR.</i></p> - - -<p>The Devil's Peepshow.</p> - -<p><i>By the Author of "A Time of Terror."</i></p> - - -<p>Morning Post.—"<i>The Devil's Peepshow</i> is a remarkable book.... -Its interest is never in doubt.... The causeries of this little company -afford just those opportunities for political criticisms and shrewd -moralising in which the author is singularly felicitous.... But the -political lessons are not framed in epigram alone.... The delightful -and erudite essay on the 'Weird of the Wanderer' is, perhaps, the best -thing in the book, and strikes the undercurrent of mysticism with -fine suggestiveness.... Whoever the author is, he is a man of nice -penetration, and a philosopher worth listening to."</p> - -<p>Westminster Review. "Love and politics in equal proportions -form the main ingredients of <i>The Devil's Peepshow</i>, ... and the lurid -title ... serves as a fitting preliminary to the series of sensational -episodes that make up this story with an unmistakable purpose."</p> - -<p>Liverpool Daily Post. "The volume is as thrilling as its -predecessor.... The central theme of the story, that of a strong man of -high qualities and noble ambitions, who falls a victim to the lures of -an enchantress, is well developed. The author has force of style."</p> - -<p>Irish Times.—"The most impressive passages are those regarding -the unfortunate position of some of the middle classes."</p> - -<p>Yorkshire Dally Post.—" ... it is a very up-to-date story of -London Society during the season 1906, in which all the prominent -politicians and personages of the day take part.... The novel is, -however, no mere sensational melodrama, for the author makes it the -medium for expressing very freely his ideas on politics and religion, -which are by no means complimentary to the present Government, whose -individual members he ridicules unsparingly and not without power ... -the very strength of the contrast gives it relish."</p> - - - -<p><i>BY THE SAME AUTHOR.</i></p> - - -<p>A TIME OF TERROR</p> - -<p>(Second Edition).</p> - - -<p>Evening Standard.—"A politico-social romance of London and -England—prophetic, of course, sensational and thrilling."</p> - -<p>Scotchman.—"Truly a time of terror, and the anonymous author -has a clever enough pen with which to expose the vices—some of them -real enough—of the opening years of the twentieth century."</p> - -<p>Outlook.—"The story of a man's revenge against a nation, our -own. After war and internal anarchy, the capture of the Kaiser and the -death of the avenger ends with a national thanksgiving. Very eventful."</p> - -<p>The Tribune.—"Whatever the cause, the occurrences are certainly -terrible; ... beside the lurid vision, enormous in range and horrifying -in nature, the accumulated sensations of a score of 'shilling shockers' -pale into insignificance.... The book is written with much spirit."</p> - -<p>Yorkshire Post.—"The details are worked out so cleverly that -there is a thrill on nearly every page. This is the work, one would -say, of a practised writer, and the lover of sensational literature -should not omit to read it."</p> - -<p>Literary World.—"This is a well-written, and in many respects -a powerful story.... There are many sensational scenes, and plentiful -satire of the social and political world of to-day."</p> - -<p>Aberdeen Free Press.—"The unaffectedly hair-raising title is -indeed a fitting preliminary to a series of as startling episodes as -have stirred the body corporate of English fiction for many a day.... -The whole book is, it is true, sensationalism, but it is sensationalism -with a purpose.... Some passages contain a fine plea for the Christian -faith. It is a most original book, and at its lowest value an excellent -entertainment."</p> - -<p>Newcastle Daily Journal.—"<i>A Time of Terror</i> is original in conception -and vividly effective in development. Its author is sure to be heard of -again, and a later work from his pen will be eagerly awaited."</p> - -<p>Third (Sixpenny) Edition now on Sale.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">HURST & BLACKETT, Ltd.</span></p> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pg" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RAID OF DOVER***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 60222-h.htm or 60222-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/0/2/2/60222">http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/2/2/60222</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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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition.</p> - -<p>Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org</p> - -<p>This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.</p> - -</body> -</html> - diff --git a/old/60222-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/60222-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 635ad80..0000000 --- a/old/60222-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60222.txt b/old/60222.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9b2af5a..0000000 --- a/old/60222.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6560 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Raid of Dover, by Douglas Morey Ford - - -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 -www.gutenberg.org. 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. - - - - -Title: The Raid of Dover - A Romance of the Reign of Woman, A.D. 1940 - - -Author: Douglas Morey Ford - - - -Release Date: September 2, 2019 [eBook #60222] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RAID OF DOVER*** - - -E-text prepared by Tim Lindell, Graeme Mackreth, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images -generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/raidofdoverroman00ford - - - - - -THE RAID OF DOVER: - -A Romance Of The Reign Of Woman: - -A.D. 1940. - -by - -The Author of "A Time of Terror," "The Devil's -Peepshow," &c. - - - "If that Old England fall - Which Nelson left so great----" - - LORD TENNYSON. - - -London: King, Sell, & Olding, Limited, -27, Chancery Lane, W.C. -Portsmouth: Holbrook & Son, Limited. -1910. - - - -AUTHOR'S NOTE. - - -_While this Forecast in Fiction has been running as a Serial, -the writer has realised that in some respects it may be open to -misconstruction. Patriotism, not pessimism, is its real keynote._ - - "This England never did, nor never shall, - Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror, - But when it first did help to wound itself." - -_That is the crux. England is being wounded by Englishmen; and the -events imagined in this story are only a concrete example of the -possibilities foreshadowed by Mr. Balfour (Jan. 24th, 1910) in the -following words:--_ - - "If the pressure of public opinion is not effected, then I tell you - with all solemnity that there are difficulties and perils before this - country which neither we nor our fathers nor our grand-fathers nor our - great-grand-fathers have ever yet had to face, and that before many - years are out there will be a Nemesis for this manifest and scandalous - folly in saving money just at the wrong time, in refusing to carry out - a plain duty." - -_The history of the rise and fall of nations is only the story of Cause -and Effect. Given concomitant causes (1)--the unchecked blight of -Socialism, (2) the Revolt of Woman on "democratic lines," (3) weakened -Maritime Power--and the Effect is only too likely to be that England -will "lie at the proud foot of a conqueror." Let it be hoped that -the British people will remove the causes and prevent the otherwise -probable result._ - -_It must not be supposed that the writer identifies himself with the -views expressed by any of his characters on the subject of Woman or -Votes for Women. On the contrary, he thinks that women have been -treated with small tact and much harshness. But we already have -abundant evidence of the dangerous result of giving the franchise -to hundreds of thousands of uneducated men; and if, even short of -universal suffrage, the vote should be granted to the other sex on what -Mr. Asquith calls "democratic lines," it would mean that hundreds of -thousands of uneducated women might join hands with the existing forces -of enfranchised Socialism. That way madness lies, and the end of the -British Empire, "which peril Heaven forfend!"_ - -_The story is, in some sort, a sequel to "A Time of Terror," in which -the sign of the Spider may be taken as a reminder of the fabled Kraken. -The Kraken, in turn, may be taken to symbolise the German Fleet, "a -sea monster of vast size said to have been seen off the Coast of -Norway." Oddly enough, Pliny speaks of such a monster in the Straits of -Gibraltar,--which blocked the entrance of ships._ - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PROLOGUE. - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. THE LOST LEADER i. - - II. A PRISONER OF THE MAHDI v. - - - THE RAID OF DOVER. - - I. HOW NICHOLAS JARDINE ROSE 1 - - II. HOW ENGLAND FELL 6 - - III. ABOARD THE AIRSHIP 13 - - IV. THE STAR OF LIFE 21 - - V. A THREEFOLD PLEDGE 25 - - VI. THE REVOLT OF WOMAN 33 - - VII. THE PRICE OF POWER 44 - - VIII. WARDLAW'S WORKS 51 - - IX. THE LOOSENED GRIP 59 - - X. ZENOBIA'S DREAM 66 - - XI. THE NEW AMAZONS 82 - - XII. A SECRET AND A THUNDERBOLT 94 - - XIII. THE RAID OF THE EAGLES 104 - - XIV. THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT 114 - - XV. IN THE HEART OF THE HILL 122 - - XVI. SIGNS AND WONDERS 134 - - XVII. HOW THE RAID FAILED 142 - - XVIII. THE WRECK OF THE AIRSHIP 152 - - XIX. THE COUP D'ETAT? 164 - - XX. LINKED LIVES 172 - - XXI. THE WRATH OF SUL 179 - - - - -PROLOGUE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE LOST LEADER. - - -Wilson Renshaw, the most brilliant member of the House of Commons, -was on the verge of a complete breakdown at the end of the memorable -Session of 1930, a session in which the marshalled forces of Socialism, -allied with the insurgent women of England, had almost, but not quite, -swept the board. - -The Vacation of that year had brought a truce in the fiercest -Parliamentary campaign known to modern times, and Renshaw, under the -peremptory advice of medical specialists, left England for a prolonged -holiday. - -He went to Egypt, recruited his health at Cairo, and then, in pursuance -of a long-cherished wish, set out by a circuitous route for Khartum. -With the exception of Jerusalem, the Nubian capital was regarded by the -young English statesman as the most sacred spot on earth, sanctified, -as it was, by the blood of General Gordon, a Christian soldier, who, to -the indelible disgrace of the political clique then in power, had been -left unsupported in the midst of his blood-thirsty enemies, until it -was too late to rescue him. - -That for which Gordon had paved the way; that which Kitchener and -Macdonald had gallantly achieved, in these latter days political -sentimentalists, Englishmen of parochial mind, had gradually undone. -Egypt, brought to a pitch of high prosperity under the civil -administration of Lord Cromer, had been gradually allowed to lapse back -into native hands. There had been no absolute evacuation at the date -of Renshaw's arrival in the country, but the British garrison had been -reduced to insignificant proportions. - -But Renshaw did not come back! He had vanished from the ken of -civilization--swallowed up as effectually in the Nubian desert as -when the earth had opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the -congregation of Abiram. The history of Egypt and the Soudan, written -in blood at the period in question, only accorded with that written -in ink, in advance of the event, by those who in the first decade of -the twentieth century foresaw the outcome of Little Englandism all the -world over. The native movement--the strength of which the dominant -party in Parliament had chosen to ignore--manifested itself in scenes -of sudden and overwhelming violence, while at the same time the Holy -War, preached by a Mahdi in whose existence great numbers of people -had refused to believe, claimed as sacrificial victims nearly every -white-skinned man throughout the length and breadth of the Soudan. - -The caravan with which Renshaw was travelling fell into the hands of -the Mahdi's adherents, betrayed by a treacherous guide, who then spread -the news--anticipating what he had every reason to believe would really -happen--of the death of The White Kaffir, as a consequence of the -resistance he had offered to a band of "True Believers." The news was -received in England with grief and lamentation by those who esteemed -Renshaw, appreciated his talents, and knew how essential were his -services if the aims of the Socialist-Labour Leader, Nicholas Jardine, -and his party were to be defeated. But the public in general saw in the -disappearance of the rising statesman the almost inevitable result of a -rash enterprise. It came to be regarded only as an incidental episode -in the wholesale upheaval of which India, Egypt, and other lands once -dominated by the British sceptre soon became the scene. - -All this had happened ten years and more before the critical events -of 1940. From time to time during that period little-credited reports -reached England concerning a certain white prisoner in the hands of -the Mahdi, who was believed by some to be none other than Renshaw, -the missing man. But, except with a few, these rumours carried little -weight. It was not the first time that tales of that sort had reached -home after the disappearance of well-known men in remote regions of the -Dark Continent. Many, recalling the explorations of Dr. Livingstone, -and Stanley's expedition for the rescue of Emin Pasha, said that when -Renshaw was found and brought home they would believe that he was -alive--and not before. - -Meanwhile, in England, Nicholas Jardine carried everything before -him. The Constitutional Party, leaderless and disorganized, seemed -to sink into helpless apathy, and right and left the rapid shrinkage -of the British Empire bore witness to the ruinous success of new and -revolutionary parties in the State. Sometimes, in the House of Commons, -old followers of the Labour Leader's missing rival asked questions, -which, for the moment, attracted marked attention and, in some minds, -roused most sinister suspicions. Had the President received any -information that tended to confirm the rumour that Mr. Renshaw was -still living and undergoing the tortures of a barbarous imprisonment? -Was it a fact that, after a specified date, the Government, or any -members of it, had been notified, not only that Mr. Renshaw was alive, -but that on payment of a ransom he might be restored to his country? -Had any confidential information been received from certain oriental -visitors who, from time to time, had come to this country? Was it, or -was it not, a fact that certain periodical payments of large amount had -been made out of secret service funds in relation to Mr. Renshaw and -his alleged imprisonment? - -These searching questions were evaded in the usual Parliamentary -manner, and it was observed that never was President Jardine--such was -his official title as chief of the new Council of State--so black and -taciturn as when this suggestive topic was from time to time revived in -Parliament. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -A PRISONER OF THE MAHDI. - - -Through all those dreadful years Wilson Renshaw lived--lived day and -night the tortured life of a white man at the mercy of the black. Year -after year the iron entered his soul, even as the Mahdi's fetters ate -into his swollen and bleeding limbs. - -There were others who suffered with him in the barbaric prison-house. -What he endured was no less, no more, than they were made to bear. -Happy indeed were those whom death released from misery and anguish -that tongue could never tell, nor pen describe. Hell itself, as -pictured by maddest brain of the most fiendish fanatic, could not have -shown greater resources in the way of physical and mental torture. -The Black Hole of Calcutta lacked many of the special horrors of the -inner den in which the prophet's prisoners were herded during all the -awful hours of night. The bloodstained walls of the Tower of London, -if walls could speak, whispering of the rack, the thumbscrew, and the -boot, might tell indeed of sharper anguish, sooner over. The secret -history of the Spanish Inquisition, if published, would reveal not less -ingenuity--perhaps greater, in the refined subtleties of cruelty. But -the prison at Khartum excelled them all at least in one respect--the -prolongation of the agony inflicted. - -Not for weeks or months, but for years, if life endured, the prisoner -had to suffer. Wearing three sets of shackles, with an iron ring round -his neck, to which was attached a heavy chain, Renshaw--the White -Kaffir--the man of culture and social ease in London, but here the -reviled unbeliever, when night came was thrust into a stone-walled room -measuring some thirty feet each way. A large pillar, supporting the -roof, reduced the space available. Two prisoners, in chains, were dying -of smallpox in a corner; some thirty others, suffering from various -diseases, lay about the floor, which reeked with filth and swarmed with -vermin. A compound stench, sickening and over-powering, assailed the -nostrils, and every moment this increased as more prisoners, and yet -more, were driven in for the night. The groans of the sick, the screams -of the mad, the curses of others as they fought fiercely for places -against one or another of the walls, blended in awful tumult as the -door was closed upon the darkness within. Yet again and again that door -was opened, and more prisoners were crowded in; until, at last, they -fought and bit and raved even for standing room. - -Night after night, for nearly four years, Renshaw, the man of delicate -fibre and refined training, the son of Western civilization, lived -through such scenes as these, amid incidental horrors of bestiality -that cannot be set down. When the uproar in the prison attained -exceptional violence, the guards threw back the doors, and lashed with -their hide-whips at the heads and faces of the nearest prisoners, and -every time that this occurred some of them, struggling to move back, -fell to the ground, and were trampled under foot. - -Renshaw was the only white prisoner among the Soudanese and Egyptians -who thus endured the tender mercies of the Prophet--the Prophet for -whom, it was said, the Angels had fought and would fight again, until -every follower of the Cross accepted the Koran of Mahommed. For, like -many of the greatest crimes that stain the annals of mankind, this -prison discipline, in theory, was designed to benefit the souls of the -captives. The White Kaffir, as an unbeliever, a dog and an outcast, was -a special object of the Mahdi's solicitation. Only let him believe and -his fetters should be struck off, or, at least, some of them. He had -but to cry aloud in fervent faith, "There is but one God, and Mahommed -is his Prophet!" - -But it was a cry that never passed the lips of Wilson Renshaw. The lash -was tried again and again. Fifteen to twenty lashes at first; then a -hundred; then a hundred and fifty. But still the bleeding lips in which -the white man's teeth were biting in his anguish would not blaspheme. -"Will you not cry out?" the gaoler asked. "Dog of a Christian, are thy -head and heart of stone?" No answer; and again and yet again the lash -descended. - -If only death would come, kind death to end this pain of mutilated -flesh; this still sharper pain of degradation and humiliation! But -death came not. Courage, indomitable pride of race, a godlike quality -of patience, armed the White Kaffir to endure the slings and arrows of -his dreadful fate. Death he would welcome with a sigh of gladness, but -these barbarians should never, never break his spirit. - -At last the rigour of his sufferings was abated. Out of the mists of -what seemed an interminable period of delirium, he awoke to a change -of his treatment that caused him much surprise. No longer was he to be -half starved. At night he was allowed to sleep alone in a rough, dark -hut in a corner of the prison compound. Each day he was permitted, -though still fettered, to go down to the river, on the banks of which -the prison was placed, and wash in the waters of the Nile. From all -of these changes it became apparent that his life, and not his death, -was now desired. The motive for the change he had yet to realize. A -whisper here and there, a chance word from his gaolers, with sundry -indications, fugitive and various, at length convinced him that this -amelioration of his fate could have but one sinister explanation, and -one inspiring motive. If not the Mahdi himself, then some of the more -covetous of his leading followers must be drawing payment from some -mysterious source, a subsidy for holding him secure, here under the -burning African sun, remote and cut off from all chance of rescue or -escape. - -Yet escapes were planned, for even among these barbarous people there -were a few who felt compassion for the hapless condition of the White -Kaffir; and when it began to be rumoured that he was a man of high -consideration in his native country, others, moved by cupidity and -the prospect of a great reward, found means of letting Renshaw know -that, _on conditions_, they were willing to secure him at least a -chance of freedom. But every plan fell through. The Mahdi's spies -were everywhere, and those who fell under suspicion of seeking to -aid Renshaw to break free from his captivity received a punishment -so terrible that he shrank from listening to any further offer of -assistance. - -Presently his condition underwent yet further betterment. He became a -prisoner at large--though still fettered and still closely watched. -Employment he had none, save the performance of a few menial offices. -Books he had none, save Al-Koran, the volume containing the religious, -social, commercial, military, and legal code of Islam. But here, in -the heart of this dreadful land, among the dark people of the Dark -Continent, he now learned to look upon the book of life itself from -a new and startling standpoint. Before him was unfolded a new and -terrible chapter of history in the making, a chapter which revealed the -slow marshalling of millions of the dark-skinned races, eager to wrest -dominion and supremacy from the white-skinned masters of the world. - - - - -THE RAID OF DOVER. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -HOW NICHOLAS JARDINE ROSE. - - -The fall of England synchronised with the rise of Nicholas -Jardine--first Labour Prime Minister of this ancient realm. When he -married it was considered by his wife's relations that she had married -beneath her! It fell out thus. In the neighbourhood of Walsall an -accomplished young governess had found employment in the family of -a wealthy solicitor, who was largely interested in the ironworks of -the district. Her employer was conservative in his profession and -radical in his politics. He took the chair from time to time at public -meetings, and liked his family to be present on those occasions as a -sort of domestic entourage, to bear witness to the eloquence of his -orations. On one of these occasions a swarthy young engineer made -a speech which quite eclipsed that of the chairman. He carried the -meeting with him, raising enthusiasm and admiration to a remarkable -height, and storming, among other things, the heart of the clever young -governess. - -The young orator was not unconscious of the interest he excited. Bright -eyes told their tale, and the whole-hearted applause that greeted his -rhetorical flourishes could not escape attention at close quarters. -Fair and refined in face, with fine, wavy light hair, the girl -afforded a striking contrast to this forceful, dark-skinned man of the -people; but they were drawn to each other by those magnetic sympathies -which carry wireless messages from heart to heart. It would be too much -to say that he fell in love with her at first sight. Had they never met -again, mutual first impressions might have worn off; but they did meet -again, and yet again. Coming to her employer's house on some political -business, young Jardine encountered the girl in the hall, and she -frankly gave him her hand--blushingly and with a word or two of thanks -for the speech which had seemed to her so eloquent. After that, in the -grimy streets of Walsall and in various public places, the acquaintance -ripened, until one winter day, outside the town, she startled him with -an unusually earnest "good-bye." The children she had taught were going -away to school; she, too, was going away--whither she knew not. - -"Don't go," he said, slowly; "don't go. Stay and marry me." - -She was almost alone in the world, and shuddering at the grey prospect -of her life. Besides, she loved him, or at least believed she did. -Within a month they were married at the registrar's office. Nicholas -Jardine did not hold with any church or chapel observances. After the -banal ceremony of the civil law, he took his bride to London for a -week. Then they returned to Walsall. His means were of the scantiest; -they lived in a little five-roomed house, with endless tenements of -the same mean type and miserable material stretching right and left. -The conditions of life, after the first glamour faded, were dreary -and soul-subduing. All the women in Warwick Road knew or wanted to -know their neighbour's business; all resented 'uppish' airs on the -part of any particular resident. They were of the ordinary type, those -neighbours, kindly, slatternly, given to gossip. Mrs. Jardine was not, -and did not look like, one of them. She was sincerely desirous of -doing her duty in that drab state of life in which she found herself, -but she wholly failed to please her neighbours, whose quarrels she -heard through the miserable plaster walls, or witnessed from over the -road. Worse than that, she found with dismay, as time went on, that she -did not wholly please her husband. She was conscious of a gloomy sense -of disappointment on his part; and she, though bravely resisting the -growing feeling, knew in her heart that disillusionment had fallen upon -herself. The recurrent coarseness of the man's ideas and expressions -jarred upon her nerves. His way of eating, sleeping, and carrying -himself, in their cramped domestic circle, constantly offended her -fastidious tastes. - -When their child was born life went better; and all the time Jardine -himself, though rather grudgingly, had been improving under the -refining but unobstrusive influence of his cultured wife. One thing, at -least, they had in common: a love of reading. Most of the money that -could be spared in those days went in book buying. It was a time of -education for the husband, and a time of disenchantment for the wife. -She drooped amid their grey surroundings. The summers were sad, for the -Black Country is no paradise even in the time of flowers. Everywhere -the sombre industries of the place asserted themselves, and in the -gloomy winters short dark days seemed to be always giving place to long -dreary nights, hideously illumined by the lurid furnaces that glowed on -every side. - -Jardine himself was as strong as the steel with which he had so much to -do in the local works in which he found employment. But his wife found -herself less and less able to stand up against the adverse influences -of their environment. It came upon him with a shock that she had grown -strangely fragile. Great God in heaven!--men call upon the name of God -even when they profess to be agnostics--could she be going to die? - -Her great fear was for the future of the child; and her chief hope -that the passionate devotion of Jardine to the little girl would be a -redeeming influence in his own life and character. Both of them, from -the first, took what care they could that their daughter should not -grow up quite like the other children of the Walsall back streets. -Their precautions helped to make them unpopular, and "that little Obie -Jardine," as the Warwick Road ladies called Zenobia, was consequently -compelled to hear many caustic remarks concerning the airs and graces -that "some people" were supposed to give themselves. - -Good fortune and advancement came to Nicholas Jardine too late for -his wife to share in them. The once bright eyes were closed for ever -before the Trade Union of which he was secretary put him forward as a -Parliamentary candidate. The swing of the Labour pendulum carried him -in, and Jardine, M.P., and his little daughter moved to London. They -found lodgings in Guildford Place, opposite the Foundling Hospital. -The child was happier now, and the memory of the mother faded year by -year. Life grew more cheerful and interesting for both of them as time -went on. Members of Parliament and wire-pullers of the Labour party -came to the lodgings and filled the sitting-room with smoke and noisy -conversation. Zenobia listened and inwardly digested what she heard. -Sundays were the dullest days. She often felt that she would like to -go to service in the Foundling Chapel, but that was tacitly forbidden. -Religion was ignored by Mr. Jardine, and among the books he had brought -up from Walsall, and those he had since bought, neither Bible nor -Prayer Book found a place. - -Jardine had other things to think of. He was going forward rapidly, -and busy--in the world of politics--fighting Mr. Renshaw in the House -of Commons. When the old Labour leader in the House of Commons had -a paralytic seizure, the member for Walsall was chosen, though not -without opposition, to fill the vacant place. - -There were millions of voters behind him now; Nicholas Jardine had -become a power. At last the popular wave carried him into the foremost -position in the State. The resolute Republican mechanic of miry Walsall -actually became the foremost man in what for centuries had been the -greatest Empire in the world. - -Before that great step in promotion was obtained, Jardine had removed -from London to the riverside house, in which he still resided, when -a certain young Linton Herrick came from Canada and stayed with his -uncle--Jardine's next door neighbour. - -According to the new Constitution, the Government held office for five -years. The end of that term was now approaching, and every adult man -and woman in the land would shortly have the opportunity of voting for -his retention in office or for replacing him with a successor, man -or woman. He talked much with his daughter of the struggle that was -coming, as it had been his custom to do for years. She was his only -companion, the only object of his affections, the one domestic interest -in his life. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -HOW ENGLAND FELL. - - -So much for the man. What of the Empire? Nicholas Jardine had -witnessed, and assisted in, its collapse. He had witnessed the result -of a "corner" in food stuffs, and discovered that Uncle Sam was not -the man to miss his chance of making millions merely because in theory -blood is thicker than water. He had witnessed, also, some of the -effects of the great international confidence trick. The feature of -the common swindle so described is that the trickster makes ingenuous -professions. The dupe, not to be outdone in generous sentiments, -places his watch or his bank-notes in the trickster's hands--just to -show confidence. The trickster goes outside and does not come back -again. So, in the matter of national armaments, Germany had avowed -the friendliest disposition towards Great Britain. England, fatuously -eager to believe in another _entente cordiale_, obligingly sapped her -own resources. Germany, with her tongue in her cheek, went ahead, -determined that England should not catch up to her. Thus had the way -been paved for certain disastrous events: the cutting of the lion's -claws, the clipping of his venerable tail, and the annexation of vast -outlying domains in which the once unchallenged beast aforetime had -held his own, monarch of all he surveyed. - -When Germany conceived that the fateful moment had arrived, Germany -pounced. France was friendly, but not active, Russia active and not -friendly, Italy was busily occupied in Abyssinia, and nominally -allied with Germany. Austria had her hands full in Macedonia, and was -actually allied with Germany. Spain and Portugal did not count. Holland -disappeared from the map, following the example of Denmark. The German -cormorant swallowed them up, and German squadrons appropriated the -harbours on the North Sea, as previously those on the Baltic. While -these European changes were being effected with bewildering rapidity, -our former allies, the Japanese, who had learnt naval warfare in the -English school, played their own hand with notable promptitude and -success. Japan had long had her eye on Australia. She wanted elbow -room. She wanted to develop Asiatic power. Now was the time, when -British warships were engaged in a stupendous struggle thousands of -miles away. The little navy that the Australians had got together for -purposes of self-defence crumpled up like paper boats under the big -guns of the Yellow Fleet. Australia was lost. It made the heart ache to -think of the changes wrought by the cruel hand of time--wrought in only -a quarter of a century--in the pride of Britannia, in her power and her -possessions. - -India, that once bright and splendid jewel in the British Crown, the -great possession that gave the title of Empress to Queen Victoria of -illustrious memory--India, as a British possession, had been sliced to -less than half its size by those same Japanese, allied with pampered -Hindu millions; and it was problematical whether what was left could -be held much longer. The memorable alliance with Japan, running its -course for several years, had worn sharp and thin towards the end. -It had not been renewed. Japan never had really contemplated pulling -chestnuts out of the fire for the sole benefit of Great Britain. They -saved us from Russia only to help themselves; and now that Great -Britain was derisively spoken of as Beggared Britain, the astute Jap, -self-seeking, with limited ideas of gratitude, was England's enemy. - -In South Africa, alas! England had lost not only a slice, but all. -The men of words had overruled the men of deeds. What had been won in -many a hard-fought battle, was surrendered in the House of Commons. -Patriotism had been superseded by a policy of expediency. The great -Boer War had furnished a hecatomb of twenty thousand British lives. A -hundred thousand mourners bowed their heads in resignation for those -who died or fought and bled for England. Millions had groaned under the -burden of the war tax, and then, after years, we had enabled Brother -Boer to secure, by means of a ballot box, what he had lost for the -world's good in the stricken field. They had talked of a union of -races--a fond thing vainly invented. Oil and water never mix. - -Socialists, in alliance with sentimentalists in the swarming ranks of -enfranchised women, had reduced the British Lion to the condition of -a zoological specimen--a tame and clawless creature. The millennium -was to be expedited so that the poor old Lion might learn to eat straw -like the ox. If he could not get straw, let him eat dirt--dirt, in any -form of humble pie, that other nations thought fit to set before the -one-time King of Beasts. - -In another part of the world, the link between England and Canada, -another great dominion, as Linton Herrick well knew, had worn to the -tenuity of thinnest thread. Canada, as yet, had not formally thrown off -allegiance to the old country, but the thread might be snapped at any -moment. - -Linton, who had lived all his life in the Dominion, knew very well -how things were tending. The English were no longer the dominant -race in those vast tracts. They might have been, if a wise system of -colonisation had been organised by British Governments. But the rough -material of the race had been allowed to stagnate and rot here in the -crowded cities of England. Loafers, hooligans, and alien riff-raff had -reached incredible numbers in the course of the last five-and-twenty -years. Workhouses, hospitals, lunatic asylums, and prisons could not be -built fast enough to accommodate the unfit and the criminal. Meanwhile, -the vast tracts of grain-growing Canada, where a reinvigorated race -of Englishmen might have found unlimited elbow-room, had been largely -annexed by astute speculators from the United States. The Canadians, -unsupported, had found it impossible to hold their own. The State was -too big for them. As far back as 1906, the remnant of the British -Government garrison had said good-bye to Halifax; and the power and the -glory had gone, too, with the once familiar uniform of Tommy Atkins. - -At Quebec and Montreal, all the talk was of deals and dollars. The -whole country had been steadily Americanised, and Sir Wilfred Laurier, -when he went the ultimate way of all Premiers, was succeeded by -office-holders who cared nothing for Imperial ties. For a time they -were not keen about being absorbed by the United States, for that -would mean loss of highly paid posts and political prestige. The march -of events was too strong for them, and between the American and the -British stools they were falling to the ground. It was bound to come, -that final tumble. The force of things and the whirligig of time would -bring in the assured revenges. The big fish swallows the little fish -all the world over. - -It was the programme of Socialism that had weakened the foundations -of the British Empire and paved the way for the troublous times that -followed. Cajoled by noisy agitators and the shallow arguments of -Labour leaders and Socialists, the working man lost sight of the fact -that his living depended on working up raw material into manufactured -goods, and thus earning a wage that enabled him to pay for food -and shelter. The middle-class had proved not less supine. So long -as Britannia ruled the waves, and the butcher and baker were in a -position to supply the Briton's daily needs, all went well. But when -a family could get only one loaf, instead of four; and two pounds of -meat when it wanted five, it necessarily followed that a good many -people grew hungry. Hungry people are apt to lose their tempers, -their moral sense of right and wrong, and all those nice distinctions -between _meum et tuum_ on which the foundations of society so largely -depend. Moral chaos becomes painfully accentuated when, as the result -of a naval defeat and an incipient panic, the price of bread bounds -up to eighteenpence per quartern loaf, with a near prospect of being -unprocurable even for its weight in gold. All this had happened -in these once favoured isles, because the masses, encouraged by -self-seeking and parochially-minded leaders, had been more intent on -making war upon the classes than on securing their subsistence through -the agency of British shipping, protected by the British Navy at a -height of power that could keep all other navies at a distance. - -In olden time, when the earth was corrupt and filled with violence, -the word came from on high: "Make thee an ark of gopher wood." And -Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, -prepared an ark, to the saving of his house. But while the ark was -a-preparing, the people went about their business, marrying and giving -in marriage, making small account of the shipbuilder and his craze. -It had been pretty much the same in the twentieth century, when the -British people were warned that another sort of flood was coming, and -that they, too, would need an ark, of material considerably stronger -than gopher wood. They refused to believe in the flood. But it came. It -was bound to come. - -We fought, yes; when it came to the critical hour, we fought for dear -life and liberty--fought hard, fought desperately, but under conditions -that made comparative defeat inevitable. And the fight was for unequal -stakes. To us it was an issue of life or death. To our foes it was -an affair of wounds that would heal. The law of nations, the law of -humanity, itself counted for nothing in that deadly and colossal -struggle. Our merchant ships were sent to the bottom, crews and all. -No advantage of strength or numbers served to inspire magnanimity. It -was a fight, bloody, desperate, and remorseless for the sovereignty of -the seas, a fight to the bitter end. And it was over, for all practical -purposes, in a week. The British Government did not dare to maintain -the struggle any longer. The Navy would have fought on till victory -had been attained or every British warship had been sunk or disabled. -The spirit of the service did credit to both officers and men, for -much had been feared from disaffection. Socialism had crept into the -fleet. Political cheapjacks with their leaflets and promises had sown -discord between officers and men, and here and there had been clear -indications of a mutinous spirit. But when it came to the pinch, one -and all--officers, seamen, and stokers--had manfully done their duty. -Where they were victorious, they were humane. When they were beaten, -they faced the fortune of war, and death itself, with firmness and -discipline. But all in vain as regards the general result. England's -rulers for the time being, alarmed at the accumulating signs of a -crumbling empire, daunted by the popular disturbances that broke out -in London and the provinces, made all haste to negotiate such terms of -peace, and agreed to such an indemnity that the dust of Nelson, and -of Pitt, may well have shivered in their graves. Peace, peace at any -price! was the cry. Peace now, lest a worse thing happen through a -continuance of the struggle. Germany, however, would not have stayed -her hand, and England would have become a conscript province, but for -the daring feat of a little band of Englishmen. Six of them, in the -best equipped air-ship that money could buy, by means of bombs almost -entirely destroyed the enormous works of Messrs. Krupp at Essen. By -this means Germany's resources were so gravely prejudiced that it -suited her to stay her hand for the time being. Out of this act of -retaliation sprang the famous Air-Ship Convention, of which the outcome -will appear presently. - -During these dire events the women had votes, and many of them had -seats in Parliament. Their sex was dominant. They heard the cry of -the children. The men heard the lamentations of the women, and were -unmanned. - -Thus was Great Britain reduced to the level of a third-rate Power--a -downfall not without precedent in the history of the world's great -empires. But sadder even than the accomplished downfall was the fact -that vast numbers of Britons had grown used to the situation, had so -lost the patriotic spirit and fibre of their forefathers that the loss -of race-dominance and of the mighty influence of good which Empire -had sustained, seemed to them of little moment compared with their -immediate individual advantage and petty personal interests. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -ABOARD THE AIR-SHIP. - - -"So you've made the young lady's acquaintance on the river?" remarked -the Judge, looking amusedly at his nephew. - -"Yes," said Linton, "and the President's, ... in the garden." - -"'Youth, youth, how buoyant are thy hopes,'" quoted Sir Robert, -chuckling. - -"And," added the young man, with a slightly heightened colour, which -the gathering dusk failed to conceal, "they've promised me a trip in -their air-boat!" - -Sir Robert groaned. "Air-boats! Wish they'd never been invented." He -flicked away the ash of his cigar and gazed at the first stars faintly -twinkling in the evening sky. They were sitting on the terrace, and the -September air was as balmy as the breath of June. - -"Look!" exclaimed Herrick, springing to his feet, "don't you see one -over yonder?" - -His uncle gazed and nodded. "And just imagine," he said, "what it will -mean when the present law expires and all restrictions are removed. -Everyone will want to be at liberty to 'aviate'; and as a consequence, -we shall want an enormous staff of air-police to control the upper -traffic and check outrage and robbery. I tell you, sir, the world's -going too fast. The thing won't work!" - -"Everything will settle into shape in time," argued Linton, soothingly, -his eyes still following the evolutions of the air-boat with its -twinkling lights. - -"Well, you're young, and may live to see it, but it won't be in my -day," sighed Sir Robert, "and I don't want it to be. Who wants an -air-ship calling for his parlour-maid at the attic window? Who wants -thieves sailing up to his balcony? And as to collapses and collisions -overhead--we've had some of 'em already--and it don't add to the gaiety -of nations or the comfort and security of the peaceful citizen down -below." - -"It'll all come right, sir," said Herrick cheerfully. - -"Perhaps it will and perhaps it won't," was his uncle's comment. -"It's not so much a question of individuals as of nations. How are we -going to regulate international commerce? The fiscal question, like -the Eastern question, will assume a wholly different character. You -may sail a ship, but you can't build custom houses in the air. What -about imports and exports? What about a hundred things that have been -governed hitherto by the broad fact that man and merchandise have only -been able to move about either on sea or land?" - -"She's coming this way," exclaimed the inattentive Herrick. - -The little ship, wonderfully swift and graceful in her motions, was -crossing high above the river, then circled gradually lower and lower, -nearing them, like a bat, at every sweep. - -"There's a lady in her," said the Judge, "perhaps it's Miss Jardine." - -The two men, with the electric lights from the dining-room throwing -their figures into relief, must have been clearly outlined to the -people in the boat. - -"Yes," declared Linton. "I'll hail her. Boat ahoy! is that the -_Bladud_?" - -"Aye, aye," answered a man's voice, and then they thought they heard a -low laugh from the lady in the stern. The boat circled lower and lower. - -"Gently," said the Judge under his breath, "it's the President, it's -Jardine himself, with his daughter." - -"Would anyone like a sail?" came the question from above. - -"Yes, of all things," was Linton's eager reply. - -"She's not built for more than three, or we would offer to take you -too, Sir Robert." - -The Judge had risen to his feet. "Heaven forbid! Much obliged to you -all the same, Mr. President." - -The fans were at work now, assisting in the delicate process of letting -down the boat by slow degrees in the centre of the lawn. She reached -the ground gently and lightly, and Linton and the Judge went forward -and greeted her occupants. Then Linton Herrick stepped aboard, and his -uncle moved clear of the wings. - -The _Bladud_ rose to a height of about 200 feet. Then the elevating -apparatus was switched off, and the boat having circled in a few -ever-widening sweeps, sped away in the direction of London. Until now -the President, who was in charge of the machinery in the fore part of -the boat, had scarcely spoken. Linton sat in the stern beside Zenobia -Jardine, who, so far, also was silent, her attention being required for -the steering gear, with which, however, she seemed perfectly familiar. - -Jardine now explained that the _Bladud_ needed only one-third of her -power for keeping afloat, and two-thirds for propelling her. After -that he became unreservedly communicative. Whether it was due to the -fact of being in the air, instead of upon earth, or to a ready fancy -for the young Canadian, the President showed himself in a character -which seemed to cause his daughter pleased surprise. There was nothing -pompous or self-important in his manner. He talked like a man who is -delighted to get upon his favourite hobby in company with a sympathetic -listener. - -"It's the birds we had to study, the birds in the air," he said. "When -I was about your age I was an engineer, and I used to study birds, -because they gave us the best pattern for an air-ship; it's nature's -own pattern, and you can't beat nature. There's the breast bone, -for instance, provided with a sort of keel to serve as a point of -attachment for the muscles that set the wings in motion. There's the -small head, with a pointed beak, like a ship's bow. Then you've got the -light expanding wings that press like a fan on the elastic air waves. -Those are nature's aeroplanes, Mr. Herrick, and that's the model we've -had to follow. Then there's the tail, tapering off--that's nature's -rudder." - -"We get everything except the feathers," ventured Linton. - -"Feathers are not essential," was the answer. "There are wings of -other sorts. The bat has no feathers. It is fitted with a sort of -umbrella frame from top to toe, so to say, that can be expended when -required for flying. But for an air-ship we get the best model in the -frigate-bird or the albatross--that's what we've aimed at in our newest -aeroplanes." - -"And the best motive power?" queried Linton. - -"The air itself, compressed as we've got it here," said Mr. Jardine, -with decision. "Air can do everything. Nearly a century ago, 'Puffing -Billy,' the primitive locomotive, proved that the adhesion of the -wheels to the rails was sufficient to give drawing power. Everybody -had doubted it. Then everybody doubted whether anything heavier than -air could be sustained and move in air. That's why they wasted money -and lives in ballooning. The fallacy was disproved. We are disproving -it at this very moment. Then came another problem--what was the right -sort of motor? They tried everything. There were endless difficulties -as regards the steam engine. The internal combustion motor was a -remarkable source of power. They used it largely in submarines. It gave -the necessary electrical energy when the vessel was propelled under -the sea. But petrol was not the last word in locomotion. The first and -last power, when you know how to harness it, is the air itself. That's -what we've come to after many false starts and failures. You see, you -get extreme lightness combined with great power. The bursting pressure -and the reduced pressure are all calculated to a nicety per lb. to the -square inch. You can have power that will serve for a toy-ship--say -three-quarters of a minute, for a flight of 200 yards; or you can build -upon the same basis for any size, weight, or distance that can be -required." - -"Isn't it wonderful!" exclaimed his daughter with enthusiasm; and -Linton nodded. "Wonderful, indeed, yet here it is!" - -Her father went on stolidly: "It was proved many years ago that a -flying machine weighing nearly 8,000 lbs., carrying its own engine, -fuel, and passengers, can lift itself into the air. An aeroplane will -always lift a great deal more than a balloon of the same weight." - -"I know," agreed Linton, "and it can travel at a high rate of velocity -with less expenditure of power." - -"Exactly; a well-made screw propeller obtains sufficient grip on the -air to propel an air-boat at almost any speed; the greater the speed -the greater the efficiency of the screw. We are going slowly at this -moment, but I could put her along at 70 miles an hour, if one wanted -to." - -Suiting the action to the word, he did increase the speed very -considerably for a short distance, and conversation had to be -suspended. It was the quickest travelling Linton had yet experienced -in the upper air, and he turned with some anxiety to Zenobia Jardine, -thinking the pace might tax her nerves. She was perfectly calm, -however, and her father set all fears at rest by saying, as he -slackened pace again: - -"The steering with the new gyroscope is almost automatic, just as if -she were a torpedo. Even in a stiff wind she reverts to a horizontal -keel. It is simply like the balancing of a bird." - -"The _Bladud_ is splendid!" cried Linton with conviction. - -"She's hard to beat," was the President's comment. "But, after all, -she's only the natural outcome of the air-gun, which has been known -for generations. An air-gun is shaped like a rifle, with a hollow -boiler or reservoir of power. You force into the reservoir by means of -a condensing syringe as much air-power as it will hold. By opening a -valve a portion of the air escapes into the barrel of the gun. That's -what takes place when you pull the trigger. The released air presses -against the ball just as gunpowder would. Off goes your bullet without -a sound or sign to show that it has been discharged. Air condensed to -1-46th of its bulk gives about half the velocity of gunpowder. It's -precisely the same principle that's firing us through the air at the -present moment." - -"It's a wonderful discovery!" was Linton's comment. - -"Yes," mused Mr. Jardine, "and yet the thing was always there to be -discovered." - -"Just as the air waves were always ready for wireless telegraphy, but -unused till Marconi came along at the beginning of the present century." - -The President looked around him at the star-spangled heavens and drew -in a deep breath: - -"Yes," he said, slowly, "and there are more secrets waiting to be -revealed." - -"There's a professor of chemistry in one of the American universities -who thinks we shall be able to live on air some day," laughed the young -man. - -The President did not laugh. "Why not?" he asked. "We know well enough -we can't live without it. It's quite conceivable that the atmosphere -contains undetected sources of nourishment. They may be generated by -vaporisation or by electricity and chemical action within the air -itself. No one knew anything about ozone a hundred and fifty years ago, -and he would be a rash man who said that ozone is the last word in -atmospheric discovery." - -"It may end in air cakes," suggested Linton, rather flippantly. - -"Or begin with air-cakes and end in air-tabloids," said Zenobia. "What -a glorious idea! Only think how it would simplify housekeeping. Meat, -vegetables, fish, and all the rest, might be superseded, and the -butcher's bill would cease to be a terror." - -"And dyspepsia would be abolished with the weekly bills." - -"Nature, the only universal provider; complete independence of foreign -imports. No starvation and no over-feeding. We should no longer go in -for a big square meal, but for a small round tabloid." - -"Cooks, with all their greasy pots and pans, would not be wanted. You -could carry your meals in your waistcoat pocket and eat them when you -pleased." - -"Yes," agreed Miss Jardine with mock seriousness, "instead of sitting -down to a food function--soup, fish, joint, entree, pastry and dessert, -as if it were a sort of religious ceremony! The possibilities are -endless." - -"And the prospect glorious!" chimed in the Canadian--then the two -young people, having kept the ball of frivolity rolling to their own -satisfaction, laughed merrily, and even the grim, dark face of the -President relaxed into something like a smile. - -"But there would be rather a sameness in the diet," added Zenobia, -thoughtfully. - -"We could vary it occasionally by harking back to the old fleshpots. -Besides, discovery would lead to discovery. The constituents of the -atmosphere defy the microscope at present, but by and by they may be -seized upon and served up in different forms and combinations for the -nourishment of man." - -"And woman." - -"The greater includes the less. They--oh! I beg your pardon! I was -forgetting. The old order is changed. We live in the Reign of Woman." - -Rather to Linton's surprise, instead of hearing a quick retort, he -thought he heard a low and rather plaintive sigh. - -"Ozone, at any rate, has a special flavour," remarked Mr. Jardine. "It -resembles lobster, and, like lobster, you can have too much of it. But -the plants have always lived on air. Man consumes the flesh of beasts, -but the beasts have built up their flesh by eating grass or plants. -Thus, indirectly, we ourselves live on air already, and draw our -vitality from the atmosphere. Presently we may get it by a shorter cut, -that's all. So your air-cakes and tabloids may really come to pass," -and Mr. Jardine nodded. - -This time there was no laughter, partly because the idea did not seem -so wild, and partly because they were now close to London, and the -wonder of the lighted capital spreading down below was a strange and -solemn thing to look upon. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE STAR OF LIFE. - - -The _Bladud_ passed swiftly over Paddington Station, and followed the -line of the Edgware Road to the Marble Arch. The incessant roar of -the traffic below reached their ears, and it was a relief to get over -the great, far-spreading Park--silent and only faintly lighted by the -scattered lamps. To the left, Park Lane had a gloomy look. The famous -residences of the wealthy, like hundreds of great London mansions in -the neighbouring squares, were untenanted. People could not afford to -live in such palaces nowadays; the governing bodies of the capital had -done their best to ruin it by Socialistic experiments and over-rating. - -At Hyde Park Corner, which was soon reached, once more the tumult of -the traffic rose into the air, and the long lines of electric lamps -stretching eastward along Piccadilly, gave the impression of an -enormous glittering serpent down below. They followed the route to -Piccadilly Circus, where the blaze of lights and the swiftly changing -units in the thoroughfares produced an effect that, seen for the first -time by Linton Herrick, held him in a sort of fascination. Trafalgar -Square and the Strand produced the same bewildering characteristics, -and to the right the effect conveyed by the illuminated bridges was -marvellously beautiful. The _Bladud_ circled widely so that Linton -might take his fill of the spectacle. Then Mr. Jardine headed her -eastward again, and for awhile the streets below lay gloomy and silent -until they had crossed the City. Soon the lights of the Commercial -Road and Whitechapel outlined the great thoroughfares of the East -End, while in every direction branch streams of flaring, smoky light -showed where the hawkers and hucksters plied their evening trade. -They had sailed over the Isle of Dogs and Greenwich Reach before the -President put the boat about; then in the distance, like a lighthouse, -the great clock towering over the Houses of Parliament came into view, -the dial shining like a huge, dull moon. In these days it was always -illuminated, whether the House were sitting or in recess. - -"Look!" exclaimed Zenobia, suddenly. - -Away in the heart of Southwark huge flames were shooting into the air, -and monstrous clouds of woolly looking smoke rolled slowly from above a -conflagration. - -"A fire," said Mr. Jardine, "and a big one, too. We'll have a look at -it." - -"Not too close, father," said his daughter, for the first time showing -nervousness. - -"Keep her to windward," said Mr. Jardine, slowing down a little, and -the girl obeyed. Vast showers of sparks rose into the air; they heard -the hiss and splash of water, and the pant-pant of half a dozen fire -engines as they played upon the burning buildings. The lights shone on -the helmets of the firemen--clambering here and there on the roofs of -towering warehouses, and dense masses of people seemed to be packed -into the streets, on whose pallid, upturned faces the lights produced a -strangely weird effect. - -The sight below seemed full of awe and terror. Presently, a sudden gust -of wind changed the direction of the smoke column and brought a volley -of sparks over the _Bladud_. - -"Hard a-port!" cried Mr. Jardine, "we'll get out of this." - -In a moment they had veered away from the scene of the conflagration, -and were crossing first the river, then Cannon Street, almost at full -speed. The fans were set to work, and they rose to a greater altitude -to avoid all risk of colliding with church towers and steeples. A dark, -domed mass took shape a hundred feet away, and over it the great cross -of St. Paul's loomed for an instant into view; a train with faces -showing against the lighted windows, crawled across the railway bridge -at the foot of Ludgate Hill; and far away in the West the gleam of -another fire lighted up the sky with a sudden threatening glare. - -From below there now arose the piteous bellowing of cattle. They were -passing over the huge markets in Smithfield, and the shouts of the -drovers blended with the noise made by the doomed and harried beasts, -whose flesh was to feed London on the morrow. Soon another long row of -lights revealed Southampton Row, running straight, as it seemed, from -Kingsway to Euston. The station clock showed that it was nearly ten. -They swept over the quiet West Central squares, over the Euston Road -and Regent's Park, and so onward and away, until the huddled dwellings -of the capital gave place to suburbs, dark roads, and silent fields. - -Linton, through the later sights and sounds of the night, was conscious -of being in a sort of dream; and in the dream the girl by his side -was the principal, nay, the only figure save his own. The end of a -light scarf that was round her neck blew across his face; the sway -of the _Bladud_ brought her arm against his own, and each slight -contact seemed to thrill him. Once or twice he glanced at her face, -almost inquiringly; for now he had the oddest feeling that she was no -stranger; that in reality they knew each other and had only met again; -that in the past, somehow, somewhere he knew not when, there had been a -kinship or a tie between them. From the first moment of their meeting -she had interested and attracted him. Of that he was well aware. -But not until they sat side by side in this aerial journey had the -impression of which he was now conscious crept into his mind or memory. -What could it mean? That strange exhilaration of the upper air, the -quickening of imagination, wrought by their rapid travelling high above -the solid earth and all its limitations, perhaps might account in some -degree for the puzzling feeling that possessed him. He glanced at her -again; their eyes met, and in hers he read, or fancied that he read, a -telepathic answer to his thoughts. - -Suddenly he found himself repeating, as if with better understanding, -lines that always lingered in his memory: - - "Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; - The soul that rises with us, our life's star, - Hath had elsewhere its setting, - And cometh from afar." - -"How odd," murmured the girl in a wondering voice, "the very lines that -I was thinking of," and in low tones she finished the quotation: - - "O joy, that in our embers - Is something that doth live; - That nature yet remembers, - What was so fugitive!" - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -A THREE-FOLD PLEDGE. - - -All through the following day the deep impressions of the previous -evening held Linton as one is held by the memory of some haunting -and impressive dream. Everything down below seemed insignificant -and irrelevant. They were dining out that evening, and he could -not shake off the feeling that in everything connected with that -ordinary function he was playing the part of a small automaton on a -puppet stage. He and his fellow-puppet, Sir Robert, got into a little -motor-car and rushed over five miles of little roads, between two -little hedges, to General Hartwell's little bungalow. Presently, they -were sitting round a little white-covered table, cutting up food with -little implements, and taking little sips out of little glasses. How -wise and important they thought themselves in the midst of all these -little things; how self-satisfied everyone appeared! There were four of -them at the dinner-table, the third guest being Major Edgar Wardlaw, -of the Sappers, a man to whom their host showed great deference and -affection. Wardlaw talked but little; the look in his eyes and the -lines on his broad, fair forehead suggested concentration of thought on -some problem remote from those which the others were discussing. - -The General himself did most of the talking. He was a woman-hater, that -is to say, a hater of woman in the abstract. To the individual woman he -was gentleness and kindness itself. But rumours of a new and daring -forward movement by the Vice-President of the Council and her party -had roused the veteran to a pitch of extraordinary resentment. It was -said that Lady Catherine contemplated forming a regiment of Amazons in -the Twentieth Century! It was monstrous. The General boiled over with -disgust and indignation. His language at times became absolutely lurid. - -"A devilish nice pass we've come to at last," he growled. Then he -seemed to be vainly ransacking his vocabulary for strong language, and -gulped down his wine in default of finding an adequate objurgation. The -judge laughed with gentle amusement at his fiery old friend. - -"It's all very well to laugh, Herrick, but, damme, sir, it's the last -straw, it's the last straw!" roared the General. - -"Just what we've been wanting," said Sir Robert, calmly. - -"Eh, what d'ye mean?" General Hartwell stared. - -"When people get the last straw laid on, they can't stand any more. So -now's the time for the worm to turn." - -"You're right! By gad, you're right! But how's the worm going to manage -it?" cried the old officer, leaning back. - -The judge fingered the stem of his wine glass and gazed thoughtfully -at the table-cloth. Major Wardlaw turned his gaze on him as if -suddenly recalled from the regions of mental speculation. Linton, also -self-absorbed as yet, began to listen and to wonder. - -"You have strong views about women. You don't exactly love the sex," -said the Judge. - -"How can a man love 'em when he sees the mischief they've done by -their ambitions and pertinacity?" demanded the General. - -"My dear fellow, you are too sweeping. They're not all alike. There are -plenty of good women left in the world." - -"Show me where they are, then! I don't say they all set out to break -the Ten Commandments. But it's their love of power, their restless -ambitions, their confounded unreasonableness, that have played the -deuce with us. They want to rule the world, sir, and they weren't meant -for it, and it's not good for them, and they know it!" - -They all laughed at the General's vehemence, and extending a wrinkled -forefinger, he went on, with unabated powers of declamation: - -"Men ought to have nipped it in the bud, that's what they ought to have -done. Instead of which we gave place to their insidious aggressions. -We gave 'em an inch and they took an ell. We gave 'em the whip hand, -and they weren't content with it in little things. By heaven, they're -chastising us with scorpions. And there'll be the devil to pay before -we can put 'em back in their proper place. But, mark you, it'll have to -be done, if we want to call our souls our own, it'll have to be done. -Why! my blood boils when I think of the misery shrewish, self-willed -women have inflicted on some of the best fellows in the world. I know -cases. I've seen it done among my old friends. I knew a man, he was a -retired Colonel with a splendid record. What do you think? His scold -of a wife used to send him out to buy cream for the apple-tart. It's -not always the wife. Sometimes it's the mother-in-law. Sometimes it's -a sister. Now and then it's a daughter. I know an old school-fellow, -a parson; the poor beggar has three plain sisters quartered on him; -great, gaunt women who talk about 'dear Robert,' and badger dear -Robert out of his life. His only happy moment is when they're all gone -to bed. He'd like to marry; but he's too soft-hearted to send 'em about -their business. I tell you the man's afraid. I know another fellow, too -... but there--what's the good of talking!" - -Major Wardlaw was raising from his seat. - -"Excuse me for two minutes, General!" - -"Yes, yes, to be sure," assented his host, and when the Major had -closed the door behind him, he dropped his voice and leaned across the -table. - -"Now there's a man! The best engineer the British army has produced -for thirty years. That man, sir, designed the great fort they built at -Dover to guard the Channel Tunnel. He's got a big brain and a great -heart, but in one way he's shown himself a fool. What does he do but -go and marry a garrison flirt, sir, a little thing with a pretty -face and fluffy hair, and the tongue of a viper. The poison of asps -was under her lips. I can tell you she led Wardlaw a life. Now she's -dead and gone, and I do believe he's sorry! He worships the child she -left him,--little Miss Flossie. She's upstairs at the present moment. -Wardlaw's gone to say good-night to her. He worships the ground she -walks on, and that child takes it all for granted. By heaven! she -orders him about. She's got her mother's blue eyes and fluffy hair, and -I'd wager she's got her temper too. By-and-by she'll lead her father a -pretty dance. He wouldn't come here to stay with me--and, mind you, I'm -his oldest friend,--no, he wouldn't come without Miss Flossie. Oh these -women! By heaven, they raise my gorge." - -"My dear Hartwell," said the Judge, calmly, "You go too far. You're -prejudiced...." - -"Prejudiced!" exclaimed the General, "were Thackeray and Dickens -prejudiced? Look at Becky Sharpe and the way she treated that big -affectionate booby, Rawdon Crawley. Look at that girl Blanche Amory, -the little plotter who ran after Pendennis. And if you come to Dickens, -what about Rosa Dartle,--a woman as venomous as a serpent!" - -"Types, my dear fellow, types; but not a universal type." - -"There's lots more like 'em," nodded the General. - -"And many more unlike them. You see, we old fogeys...." - -"Fogeys, by gad! Speak for yourself, Herrick." - -"I do," said the Judge, "it isn't that I feel like a fogey any more -than you do. It's the label that the world insists on fastening on men -of our age, and it is apt to make us feel bitter. We're supposed to -have had our time and finished it. It's not what we feel, Hartwell, -it's what we look that settles it, and I'm afraid, my dear fellow, -sometimes when our hair turns grey our tempers turn bitter. It's the -way of the world...." - -"It's the way of the women, I grant you." - -"Come, come, let us leave the women alone for a bit. They've brought -things to a crisis. It's the last straw. Well and good. Doesn't that -suggest an opportunity?" - -"Now, you know, you've got something in your lawyer's head. Come, man, -what the deuce are you driving at?" - -"We haven't drunk Renshaw's health yet," said the Judge with apparent -irrelevance. They rose and raised their glasses. Linton--who had taken -no part in the recent discussion--now watched his uncle expectantly. -"Renshaw, God bless him! and bring him back to England!" - -"By the way," said Sir Robert, casually, as they resumed their seats, -"is Wardlaw with us?" - -The General, who had taken his old friend's lecture in good part, -nodded: "Of course he is. Isn't nearly every man, in both services? Do -you suppose we want an army of Amazons armed with lethal weapons to -keep in order?" - -"What about the Corps of Commissionaires?" - -"Being their Commander, I ought to know. Seventy per cent. of 'em, at -least, are dead against petticoat government. They're good chaps, and -they've seen good service. They don't like the way the country is being -run any more than you or I do. You take my word for that." - -The Judge mused for a moment, tipping the ash from his cigar. - -"What about the old Household troops?" he asked. - -"Same story. But what can we do without a leader in Parliament? and -suppose, after all, poor Renshaw is dead?" - -Sir Robert Herrick suddenly abandoned his careless bearing, threw -away his cigar, and took from his pocket a letter written on foreign -notepaper. "Listen," he said, "both of you," and lowering his voice, -he read the letter, slowly and distinctly so that every word was -understood. Then he twisted it into a spill and burnt it bit by bit. -They sat for a few moments in silence. - -Then from the General, whose fierce little eyes seemed starting from -his head under the bristling white eyebrows, there came a sort of -gasping exclamation: "God bless my soul! Why not?" Then, after a pause, -dropping into the familiar style of their early days: "You know, Bob, -there's risk in it. I'm with you to the last. I'm with you; but there's -risk in it, we must remember that." - -"Yes, there's risk in it," answered Sir Robert, gravely. "We must -count the cost. But the risk and the cost are not half what they were -in other days, when men were ready to die for their country and their -cause. If Tower Hill could talk it could tell many a tale of men who -were faithful unto death. If the block could unfold its secrets; if -the red axe could speak, there'd be some stern lessons for modern men -to ponder on. Did you ever read how Balmerino faced the headsman after -Culloden? Come what may, we shouldn't have to face the axe, Hartwell." - -"Hanging would be no improvement," growled the General. "Still, mind -this, I'm with you heart and soul, if we can work it out." - -"I don't think we should have to face the hangman either," said the -Judge quietly. "We might, perhaps, have to spend the evening of our -days behind prison bars. Even that is doubtful. Nothing succeeds like -success. What's treason under one rule becomes loyalty under another. -History has illustrated that over and over again?" - -"What age would Renshaw be by this time?" - -"Why, not forty, even after ten years' captivity. He is the only man -who can bring back the ancient glory and prestige of the Kingdom. -Once in our midst, the people will rally round him with enthusiastic -loyalty. If well organised, it will be a bloodless revolution, -Hartwell, a glorious and thankful reversion to the old system of man's -government for man and woman. It is best suited to the British nation. -We've tried something else and it's proved a failure." - -"A d----d failure," agreed the General, heartily. - -"We've given way to cranks and noisy, shrill-voiced women; to vapouring -politicians; to socialism and all the other isms. We had a notion -that we could ante-date the millennium and work the scheme of national -life according to ideas of equality and uniformity. It can't be done. -Experience proves that anomalies work well when logical systems fail. -It's a conceited age, a puffed up generation. We are not really wiser -than our fathers, though we think we are. Let us try to revert to first -principles." - -"I'm your man, heart and soul," said General Hartwell, and the two old -friends grasped hands across the table. - -"I knew you would be!" There was a shine as of tears in the Judge's -eyes. "But you and I can't work this thing alone. We must have -colleagues; not many, but some, or at least one," and he looked at -Linton Herrick. - -"I'm with you too, sir," said the young man simply, "show me the way, -that's all." - -"We three alone at present, with loyal hearts and silent tongues," said -Sir Robert, gravely. - -"The Three Musketeers!" ventured Linton. - -"By Jove, yes," agreed the old officer. - -"And we undertake everything that serves the State," added Sir Robert, -solemnly. They rose by mutual understanding and clinked their glasses. - -"All for one! and one for all!" they cried with one accord. - -And Major Wardlaw, opening the door at that moment, stared amazed. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE REVOLT OF WOMAN. - - -England was agitated by two items of the latest intelligence. The same -journal which announced the sudden and serious illness of President -Jardine also recorded a bold move in the campaign of the Lady Catherine -Kellick, Vice-President of the Council of State. Enormous interest was -roused, not so much by the advertised notice of a public meeting on -affairs of State, as by the rumours of its real object. Ostensibly, -the people of London were invited, so far as the accommodation of the -Queen's Hall would permit, to hear a statement as to the position -of public affairs and to consider questions of national importance. -But it was well understood that the real aim of the convener of the -meeting was to strengthen her grip on the helm of State by means of her -rumoured forward policy, in the interests of the sex which she claimed -to represent. - -Long before the hour fixed for the meeting, multitudes of people of -both sexes approached Langham Place by every converging avenue. The -doors of the Hall were besieged by an enormous concourse, and the -police on duty soon found themselves entirely powerless to preserve -order. As evening approached, the crowd became more and more dense, -extending southward far into Regent Street, and northward into Portland -Place. Every window in the Langham Hotel was crowded with wondering -visitors, looking down upon the immense assembly, from which rose -angry shouts as mounted constables forced their horses through the -outskirts of the crowd in the vain effort to keep the people on the -move. When darkness rendered the situation still more dangerous, urgent -representations were made to the managers of the Hall, and the doors -were suddenly thrown open. A wild yell of relief or eagerness rose -from thousands of throats, and a scene of indescribable violence and -confusion followed, as men and woman pushed, struggled, and fought -their way towards the entrances. In a few moments every seat had been -seized, every inch of standing room occupied. The attempts of the -attendants to attend to the angry demands of those who held tickets -for reserved seats were absolutely futile. Every gangway was blocked -by pushing and struggling humanity, and those who, alarmed by such -a condition of things, sought to force their way out were prevented -from doing so by the swarms of people who were already wedged in the -corridors. - -A babel of voices arose on every side, but at length the audience was -weeded out to some extent, and the great numbers that remained settled -down in patient expectation, solaced, after a time, by the music of -the grand organ and the singing of the songs and choruses. Tier after -tier at the back of the platform, usually occupied by musicians, had -been reserved for Members of Parliament and officials of State. Not one -seat was vacant save the chair of the Vice-President. When the hour -appointed for the meeting struck on the clocks of the neighbouring -churches, there was a great clapping of hands, and an excited waving of -hats and handkerchiefs. A tall thin figure, wearing a flowing robe of -scarlet, now advanced from the right-hand side of the platform, and, on -emerging from behind the rows of palms and ferns, came into full view -of the audience. - -Although she had become so great a power in England, the Vice-President -was only known by means of pictures and photographs to a great number -of those who were present. They gazed at her with wonder and interest. -There was character in every line of her face. Her grey hair, swept -back from the broad low brow, made her look older than her actual -years. Her eyes were rather prominent and staring. The upper lip was so -long as to betoken a marked degree of obstinacy, and her chin, square -and firm, with the flesh bagging a little on either side, accentuated -the general indications of hardness. - -When she spoke, her greatest charm was made known. Her voice was -excellent, it had that kind of purring intonation which reminded some -of the older people of the celebrated actress Sarah Bernhardt; her -friends said that it was partly because of the "purr" that she had -acquired the popular nickname of "Lady Cat." - -There were no formal preliminaries. Raising her hand for silence, she -began to speak, and her first sentence was well chosen and arresting: - -"The Amazon is the greatest river in the world!" - -Puzzled glances were exchanged, and here and there was heard a -wondering titter. Were they in for a lecture on geography? - -The speaker went on without a pause, and swiftly undeceived them: - -"The Amazon flows from the Andes with such stupendous force, in such -enormous volume, that its waters are carried unmixed into the Atlantic -Ocean." - -They now had a dim idea of what was coming, and the impression was -speedily confirmed: - -"There are other mighty forces in the world besides that river, and I -for one, speaking for the sex to which I belong, would glory in the -name of Amazon. Call us Amazons, if you will. Let those laugh who win; -women are winning all along the line!" - -Shrill applause went up from hundreds of women in the audience. The -men, in a minority, were silent and uneasy. - -"The time has come for facing facts, for examining claims and titles. -Man's title to be Lord of Creation is full of flaws, and we dispute it." - -Frantic cheers and handkerchief-waving came from the women; a few deep -groans from the men. - -"It is no use trusting to recent history. The men by force and fraud -got into possession of all the good things, all the power that life -has to offer, and thousands of us have meekly acquiesced. If you are -content to be regarded as the weaker vessel, if it satisfies you to be -compared with men as water is compared with wine, or moonlight unto -sunlight, be it so; we who are wiser must leave you to your fate. But -some of us have already advanced a stage or two towards the position we -claim rightfully as our own. Yet, you women of England, mark this, the -stages already covered are nothing to what we can and will achieve." - -Excited applause for a few minutes prevented the speaker from -proceeding. A fierce disturbance broke out at the back of the Hall, but -was promptly quelled. - -"One thing all men and women here to-night must realise. There cannot -be two Kings in Brentford, no, nor a King and Queen. Of the two sexes, -one alone can reign. Which shall it be?" - -Shrill cries of "ours, ours!" broke from the speaker's supporters. - -"Yes," she cried triumphantly, "our turn has come at last; it _shall_ -be ours, if women only stand to their guns. But there can be no halting -half way. Forward or Retreat!" - -"Forward, Forward!" came from the now enthusiastic audience, with eager -cheers and shouts, and again the cry went up: "Forward, one and all." - -"Forward let it be. But, remember, the race will be to the swift and -the battle to the strong. To-night I call you to arms. To-night I -remind you that among the ancient races of the world there were women -who set us the example that we need. The story of the Amazons of old is -no fable. They lived--they fought for supremacy. They won it and they -held it. So can we!" - -Tumultuous cries, blended now with angry hisses from the men, disturbed -the meeting. But so great was the ascendency which the Vice-President -already had acquired over most of her hearers, that a wave of her -hand stilled the uproar, and she was enabled to proceed. At the same -moment, on a screen at the back of the platform, was thrown a startling -life-sized picture of an Amazonian warrior: - -"Behold!" cried the orator, grasping the dramatic moment and extending -her arm, "Behold Thalestris--Queen of the Amazons!" - -For an instant the vast audience paused--surprised, staring, almost -bewildered. - -"You are asking yourselves who was Thalestris," the speaker continued. -"The Amazons founded a state in Asia Minor on the coast of the Black -Sea. Herodotus will tell you how they fought with the Greeks; how they -hunted in the field and marched with the Scythians to battle. Well, -Thalestris became their Queen. They styled her the daughter of Mars. -She set the men to spin wool and do the work of the house. The women -went to the wars, and the men stayed at home and employed themselves in -those mean offices which in this country have been forced upon our sex. -The Amazons went from strength to strength; they built cities, erected -palaces, and created an empire. And there were other Amazonian nations. -All of them acted on the same principle. The women kept the public -offices and the magistracy in their own hands. Husbands submitted to -the authority of their wives. They were not encouraged, or allowed, to -throw off the yoke. The women, in order to maintain their authority, -cultivated every art of war. For this is certain--all history proves -it: force is the ultimate remedy in all things. That was why the -Amazons of old learnt how to draw the bow and throw the javelin." - -"For shame! for shame!" roared a man's voice from the balcony. - -"There is plenty of cause for shame," was the speaker's swift retort, -"but the shame is on the men, the swaggering, bullying, self-sufficient -men who in times past held women in subjection. Why, there were men in -England not so very long ago who would put a halter round a wife's neck -and bring her into open market, for sale to the highest bidder. It used -to be the law of England that men might chastise their wives with a rod -of specified dimensions...." - -"We don't do it now," shouted the same voice. - -"No! because you cannot and you dare not. It used to be said that there -was one law for the rich and another law for the poor. But it was -always a much more glaring truth that there was one law for men and -another law for women. It was so in the Divorce Court until we women -altered it. It was so in respect of the results of what was called a -lapse from virtue, and we are going to alter that. It was so in regard -to votes and representation, and you know we have changed all that!" -Loud and vehement applause from the majority of the audience greeted -this allusion to the suffrage. - -"More than half the nation is no longer disenfranchised. But we must -not rest content. Like Alexander, we seek more worlds to conquer, and -conquest will be ours. While women have grown, men have shrivelled. -Athletic exercise and a freer and more varied life have given our -women thews and sinews. But the men are decadent, degenerates who have -led indolent, self-indulgent lives. They have given up the Battle of -Life. Thousands of them are as enfeebled in body as in intellect. We -see around us an undeveloped, puny, stunted race. What? Call these -creatures men? I tell you they are not men, they are only mannikins!" - -Immense uproar broke out again in every part of the heated, crowded -building. When it was subdued, the speaker resumed in scornful tones: - -"Better masculine women than effeminate men! Better the Amazon than -the mannikin! Read the story of Boadicea, of Joan of Arc, and of Joan -of Montfort! Read what history will tell you about Margaret of Anjou! -Worthy successors were they of the Amazons of the Caucasus and the -Amazons of America, the noble women who gave their name to the greatest -river in the world. Like the women of old, let the Amazons of the -present century--the Amazons of England--learn to arm, and learn to -fight." - -There was a moment's pause. Then the Vice-President, in tones now -piercing and tremulous, cried out: - -"Who will join the First Regiment of the Amazons of England?" - -The electrified audience saw the speaker raise her hand, and at the -signal twenty girls in smart military uniform marched on to the -platform, saluted, and stood at attention. Each Amazon's hair was cut -short, but not too short to be frizzed. On each small head was worn a -helmet like that of Thalestris. The braided tunic was buttoned from -shoulder to shoulder in the Napoleonic style, and the two rows of gilt -buttons narrowed down to the bright leather belt that encircled the -waist. "Bloomers" completed the costume, and a light cutlass and a -revolver furnished each Amazon's warlike equipment. - -Laughter, applause, and shouted comments greeted the entrance of the -girl-soldiers. It became a scene of indescribable confusion. - -Then once more the Vice-President vehemently appealed to the audience: - -"Who will join the Amazons of England?" - -Shouts of "I will, I will!" came, first, from the body of the hall; -then from every part of the building, until, at last, the women seemed -to answer in a perfect scream of eagerness. Many minutes passed before -silence was restored. Then it was announced that all recruits could -give in their names as they left the hall, and the Vice-President went -on to move in formal terms a resolution declaring that this meeting was -firmly persuaded that the cause of the nation and of woman required -that the women of England should take up arms, and pledged itself, -first, to support the establishment of a new body of militia to be -recruited from the ranks of the young women of England; and, secondly, -to claim from the State the same rate of pay that hitherto had been -paid to men alone. - -A thin young woman with hectic cheeks and excited manner sprang to her -feet on the right of the platform and seconded the motion. She only -made one point, but it went home. "I'll ask you one question," she -exclaimed, in tones so shrill that here and there a laugh broke out: -"Are we inferior to poor Tommy Atkins?" - -The aggregate answer was so ready and so violent a negative that the -opposing element was momentarily subdued. Storms of applause broke out -as she resumed her seat. - -But with equal readiness another speaker was on her feet on the other -side of the platform. In clear high tones her voice rang out over the -noisy assembly: "I oppose it!" - -Another storm--a storm of remonstrance now arose. Cries of "Shame, -shame," were hurled towards the platform. Then, as some of the audience -recognized the new speaker, they exclaimed to the people near them: -"It's the President's daughter! It's Zenobia Jardine!" - -"Order, order!" roared a minority of the audience, now somewhat -encouraged, and in a few minutes, while Zenobia waited--her eyes -bright, her lips firmly set--order was secured. The Vice-President had -sat down. She looked at her young opponent with no friendly eye, taking -no trouble to secure her a quiet hearing. But there was a section of -the audience that had only waited for a champion, and meant to see fair -play. - -"I oppose it," repeated Zenobia, "because I believe that to arm women -and train them to fight will be a mad and wicked act. It would mean -a return to barbarism. It would be adding a monstrous climax to the -progress of a great cause. Instead of being the final exaltation of our -sex, it would lead to our political extinction and our ruin. Let us -have none of it." - -The Vice-President's face wore a wicked look, and her thin lips -tightened as this appeal drew a loud cheer from the men and from a -certain number of the women in the excited audience. - -"It has been said that the empire of women is an empire of softness, of -address. Her commands are caresses, her menaces are tears!" - -"No! No!" came from the throats of the Vice-President's supporters. The -Vice-President herself arose. - -"Will the speaker favour us with the authority for her quotations?" she -asked in loud and cutting tones. - -"Rousseau...." began Zenobia nervously. - -"An effeminate authority indeed!" exclaimed the Vice-President. "We are -not all in love" she added sneeringly. - -She seemed for the moment to have won the audience back to her cause. -But Zenobia was not beaten. - -"Very well!" she cried, "I will give you an English author. Doctor -Johnson, at least, was not effeminate. What did he say? 'The character -of the ancient Amazons was terrible, rather than lovely. The hand could -not be very delicate that was only employed in directing the bow and -brandishing the battle-axe. Their power was maintained by cruelty; -their courage was deformed by ferocity'.... Besides, the whole thing's -impossible." Conflicting cries broke out in every quarter, and the rest -of the sentence became wholly inaudible. There was a slight lull when -the Vice-President rose and raised her hand. - -"Is it your pleasure that this lady be heard further?" she demanded. -The hint received a ready response, and shrieks of "No, no!" drowned -the protests of the minority. In a moment, the Vice-President put her -resolution and called for a show of hands. In another moment, she had -declared the motion carried by an overwhelming majority. - -At a sign, the organ gave forth a trumpet note, and then burst into a -rushing volume of sound, which drowned all cries and counter-cries, and -ended the meeting in a scene of unexampled tumult and excitement. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE PRICE OF POWER. - - -After the great and epoch-making meeting in Queen's Hall, the disturbed -state of public feeling was accentuated. It was generally felt that -the sex-conflict which the revolt of woman had brought about now was -shaping towards some new and startling climax. A crisis was at hand. -Moreover, at the same time, the appearance and rapid development of a -serious and unfamiliar epidemic created widespread alarm. - -At first people had laughed at the "new disease," but the laughter was -shortlived--like great numbers of those whom the epidemic attacked. -Harley Street described it professionally as a recrudescence of _plica -polonica_; and just as at an earlier period people had contracted -influenza into "the flue," they now went about asking each other how -about the "plic." It was a malady which at one time had prevailed -extensively in Poland, and but little doubt could be felt that it had -now been introduced into England by the Polish Jews, whose alien colony -in Whitechapel and other parts of the East End had attained enormous -proportions. The peculiar feature of the plic. was that it attacked -the hair of the head, matting it together and twisting it in hard -knots, to touch which caused the most exquisite pain; this symptom was -often accompanied with manifestations of acute nervous disorder. The -patient speedily became feverish, and in most instances showed signs -of derangement in the functions of the brain. As the malady developed -sleep was banished, or, when obtained, would be disturbed by dreadful -dreams. Profound depression weighed upon the spirits, and the bare -sight of food and drink excited strong repulsion. Gouty pains in arms -and legs caused acute agony to some of the sufferers, and in many cases -there were fits of giddiness and an affection of the optic nerve that -produced temporary blindness. - -The disease more often than not proved fatal. Physicians were at a loss -for radical cures, and a course of thermal baths was found to be the -most efficacious palliative that the faculty could recommend. Under the -advice of Harley Street, great numbers of patients, in the early stages -of the disease, flocked to Bath for the water-cure. Not since the -days of the Georges had the famous city of the west harboured so many -afflicted visitors. Every hotel was crowded from basement to attic. The -lodging-house keepers exacted monstrous prices for the most indifferent -accommodation. Local doctors drove a roaring trade, and every other -woman in the street seemed to wear the familiar garb of the hospital -nurse. - -Among the distinguished persons who had been advised to have recourse -to the healing properties of the famous baths was the foremost man, -officially speaking, in the country. Nicholas Jardine was declared to -be suffering from a severe attack of the prevailing epidemic, and the -papers announced that the President would at the earliest possible -moment leave London for Bath. - -This intelligence caused far more anxiety throughout the country -than might have been anticipated. It was not that the President was -particularly beloved, but that among a large section of the community -the Vice-President was distinctly unpopular. Her ambitions and the -determination of her character were well known. Hence the prevailing -apprehensions. What might not Lady Cat accomplish in the temporary -absence of the President? And, worse still, what might not she dare and -do, as the champion and inciter of woman, if the head of the Government -should die? - -The instrument of Government provided that supreme executive authority -should be vested in one person--the President, or his deputy for -the time being, in conjunction with the Commons in Parliament -assembled. The functions of the Lords had long since been abrogated. -The President, or his deputy, in the circumstances stated, with the -assistance of the members of the Committee or Council of State, had -the fullest powers as the executive, and, in effect, presided over the -destinies of the nation. - -From the President the judiciaries and magistrates derived their -honours and emoluments. In him was vested civil command of the national -forces both by sea and land. With the sanction of the Council, he could -maintain peace or declare war. These powers were to some extent checked -by the enactment that no law of the realm could be repealed, suspended, -or amended without the consent of Parliament; but in Parliament the -Vice-President had powerful support. - -In the event of the death of the President, the other members of the -Council could immediately nominate his successor. It was well known -that the "Cat" had striven to ally herself in marriage with Nicholas -Jardine, with the object, as most people believed, of indirectly -grasping the reins of Government. It was known also that, foiled in -that design, she treasured feelings of animosity against the President -and his daughter. What, then, would be likely to limit her revenge or -curb her ambition if an opportunity like the present could be made to -serve her purpose? - -It was widely felt that a crisis impended; that events of dark -and threatening character were shaping for some great struggle or -convulsion, the issue of which no one could foresee. The men of -England, though in the course of years they had yielded inch by inch -before the persistent aggression of the other sex, were not wholly -forgetful of their past, nor blind to the possibilities of the future. -The more virile among them remained rebels against woman's dominion, -struggling, like strong but despairing swimmers, against the rushing -tide that was sweeping them away. But such men were in a notable -minority. Vast numbers seemed to have lapsed without resistance, if -not without reluctance, into the position of underlings. Relieved of -various responsibilities, they acquiesced in the position which the -other sex had gradually assumed. They had grown lazy and half-hearted. -With a shrug of the shoulders they accepted the widely-held dictum that -their own sex was decadent. In point of numbers that was beyond denial. -The entire birth rate of the country had fallen, year after year, but -more notable than that was the emphasis given to the dominant note of -the age by a steady diminution in the percentage of new-born males. - -The more vital question arose, what view would the women themselves -take of any new departure on the part of their leading representative -in the Councils of the State? But such a question could not readily -be answered. It might be hazarded that most of those who had displaced -the male competitor or who were already in the way of promotion, would -be for holding the ground and making any further bid for supremacy -that occasion should suggest. But still there were known to be great -numbers, patient and, so far, inarticulate women, who viewed the -existing state of things with deep regret, and anticipated the future -with positive alarm. If the men and the women were in opposite camps, -"the sex" undoubtedly was divided in sentiment; for the change of the -old order of things had brought many developments that told against the -grace and charm of woman's life. - -She had gained something; but she had lost more. The protective -character which in former times man had felt bound in honour to assume -for the benefit of the weaker vessel had been largely discarded. -Chivalrous feelings were blunted by the competition in which woman had -engaged with man. If the grey mare was bent on being the better horse, -she must accept the conditions of the competition. However reasonable -and welcome this might seem to the mature or hardened woman, it was -far from agreeable to the young and charming girl. For still there -were charming girls in England, girls who wanted to be wooed and won; -girls whose hearts fluttered at the sound of a certain footstep; girls -who did not want to rule their lovers, but to lean on them; girls to -whom romance was the spice of life. Such girls as these, and it was -whispered that they grew in numbers, shrank from the harsh conflict of -the battle of life, in which it seemed to be expected that each and -all would readily engage. They found in the open doors of professional -business or political life inadequate compensation for the deference, -tenderness, and delicate consideration which had been accorded by men -to earlier generations of women. The Forward faction with their facts -and figures, could count on great numbers of adherents. But certainly -there were others, and perhaps the best and sweetest in the world of -women, who looked with growing distaste and resentment upon the leaders -who had brought the business and the pleasures of life to such a pass. - -There was one English girl who, in the trouble that had come upon her -by reason of her father's illness, discovered and pondered on these -momentous questions. What would it profit a woman to force herself out -of her ordained place in the plan of creation? And what should she give -in exchange for that submissive tender love of wife for husband which -the Sacred Book declared to be the law of God? - -Zenobia Jardine, turning for the first time to the Bible, pondered over -mysterious passages of the early Scriptures, which came to her with all -the greater force because they had not been weakened by parrot-like -familiarity. It was a revelation. Historical or allegorical--regarded -either way--the story of the Garden of Eden and the first parents of -the human race was imperishable in its power and significance. Therein -lay the true lesson of life. The waves of the centuries had vainly -surged around it. Like pygmies biting on the rock, the newest of new -theologists, and the latest of scientific discoverers, had left the -rock still standing, impregnable in its eternal strength. The voice -that spake to the woman in the garden seemed to be speaking still: -"What is this that thou hast done?" And the woman's answer was: "The -serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." The enmity that had sprung from -that far-off and typical wrong-doing was bearing bitter fruit. The -bruising of the heel had been renewed through all the history of man -and woman. The woman now was bruised in her affections. - -In the Homeric story, Thetis took her son Achilles by the heel and -dipped him in the river Styx to make the boy invulnerable. The water -covered him save where the heel was covered by his mother's hand. And -it was through the heel, that one vulnerable spot, that ultimately -death assailed the hero. So, also, it seemed to the reflective girl, -the heel typified her heart. All the armour of life that she had taken -to herself under the auspices of her father would not avail against the -enemy who assailed her in that one weak spot. - -There were times when she felt that she had discredited her training -and fallen below her appointed level. There were other times when she -felt instinctively convinced that in woman's weakness lay her truest -strength--her greatest victory in her ordained defeat. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -WARDLAW'S WORKS. - - -To counteract the dangers arising from the Channel Tunnel, long since -an accomplished fact, and to soothe the apprehensions of a large -section of the public, new defence works of enormous strength and -intricacy had been constructed on the heights of Dover. Always a place -of vast importance by reason of its position, the ancient stronghold -now had become more notably than ever the key to England. As a -watering place it had steadily dwindled in importance. Its neighbour, -Folkestone, easily held the palm for all pleasure-seekers; but the -commercial development of Dover as a port of call for the great liners -had been remarkable, just as its strength for naval purposes had been -vastly augmented. The completion of the Admiralty Harbour by the -construction of the East Arm and the South Breakwater now afforded a -safe haven for the largest warships in the British Navy. Here they -might ride at anchor, or safely come and go, always protected by the -monster guns which had been mounted in the various forts. - -The commercial harbour had been provided with a huge marine station, -where transatlantic passengers in ever-increasing numbers were enabled -to land or embark under shelter, continuing their journey either on -land or sea with a modicum of inconvenience. It was the great aim -of competing steam and railway companies to simplify the methods of -travel and enable everybody to go everywhere and do everything with -the greatest possible amount of comfort. Those who could not trust -themselves, invaluable as they were to themselves, amid the chops of -the Channel, now might travel by tunnel to and from the Continent, and -thus avoid the risks of nausea or the inconsiderate assaults of wind or -wave. - -By one means or another thousands upon thousands of passengers of all -nations and tongues streamed through Dover year after year. It was -before all things a place of passage--in so far as it was not a place -of arms. If one had repeated to most of these globe-trotters Gloster's -question in King Lear: "Dost thou know Dover?" the answer would -probably have been: "Well, I just caught a glimpse of it." From the -Channel, Shakespeare's Cliff, to the westward of the Admiralty pier, -certainly was found less impressive than most people had expected. -Like English life, as a whole, it seemed less spacious than it was -considered to be in the days of good Queen Bess. But then, of course, -Shakespeare, with his cloud-capp'd towers and gorgeous palaces, -was always such a very imaginative dramatist. Still, there was the -ancient, though slowly-crumbling, cliff remaining in evidence to remind -English folk and foreigners of the splendid story of England's past. -There, too, on Castle Hill, the ancient Roman Pharos--adjoining St. -Mary's-in-Castro--reared its roofless walls towards the clouds. The -mariners of England and of Gaul no longer needed the lights of the -Pharos to guide them in the Channel, and, of course, the venerable -bells that used to ring for matins and evensong were silent many a -year before Admiral Rooke removed them to Portsmouth parish church. - -The great Castle, close at hand, was visited by very few excursionists. -The climb between Castle Hill and the Western heights was found -fatiguing. More Americans than Englishmen appeared to interest -themselves in the story of the Castle; its occupation by William of -Normandy after the Battle of Hastings, its associations with King -John's craven submission to the Papal Legate, its victorious defence -by Hubert de Burgh, the French attack--fruitless again--of 1278, and -other incidents of historic interest. The Long Gun, known as Queen -Elizabeth's pocket-pistol, still pointed its muzzle sea-ward, and the -inscription in low Dutch, very freely translated, rashly adjured the -current generation to-- - - "Load me well and keep me clean, - I'll carry my ball to Calais Green." - -But inspection of the Castle was not encouraged, and tourists of -foreign appearance who showed a disposition to take snapshots in the -vicinity were promptly checked in their pursuit of the pleasing but too -common art of photography. Yet it was certain that, pigeon-holed in -every war department, of continental and, perhaps, of certain Eastern -powers, there were full details, or nearly full, of the elaborate -defence works with which Dover was provided. It was known that Castle -Hill was honeycombed with subterranean passages and galleries, and -that the Castle (nowadays a barrack rather than a fortress) was thus -connected with the modern forts in its immediate vicinity. - -Fort Burgoyne, to the north of the castle itself, was, until recent -times, the strongest link in the chain of defence, its guns being of -great calibre, and commanding a vast range over land and sea. But far -more powerful, and better equipped with modern armament and military -resources, was Fort Warden; such being the name given to the works -which had been specially constructed as a safeguard against possible -attack by means of the Channel Tunnel. The very hill had been hewn and -carved and moulded to meet the needs of such a danger. Commanding the -gradual sweep by which the railway descended towards the Tunnel, the -great guns of Fort Warden were always trained upon the gaping archway -from which the incoming trains were constantly emerging. - -The highest battery of the Fort occupied a dominating position -overlooking all the _enceinte_ fortifications, which were armed with -machine guns and small cannon. There was a subterranean passage -connecting the fort with the waterworks of a large service reservoir -in a hollow of the hill, which had been constructed in modern times -to ensure an adequate supply of water for the troops and the Duke of -York's School. Fort Warden was complete in itself; but, linked up with -the other fortifications, it formed, as it were, the citadel of a -composite fortress where, in the event of attack, the last stand would -be made by England's defenders. Round the fort extended a double row -of trenches, and within these was a moat. Strong wire entanglements -defended the trenches, and the loopholes in the breastworks were -protected by 3/4-inch steel plates with a cross-shaped opening for the -rifles. In addition, strong bomb-proofs were provided for the reserves, -with wide bomb-proof passages leading to certain of the other forts. In -all directions on the hill were placed howitzers and mortars, most of -the battery positions and gun epaulements being ingeniously masked and -difficult for an advancing enemy to locate. The military scientist who -had designed most of the elaborate defences and put finishing touches -to those of earlier construction was Major Edgar Wardlaw of the Royal -Engineers. His old friend General Hartwell held that from the point -of view of an invading enemy, this quiet, unassuming officer was the -most dangerous man in all the British army. Major Wardlaw certainly -knew better than anyone else of what Dover Castle Hill was capable. -The military authorities were very chary of rehearsing its possible -performances, because, in the vulgar parlance of an earlier period, it -would give the show away. It was a "show" that must be closely reserved -and kept dark in times of international peace and quietness. - -Meanwhile, the hillside showed but few signs of life; the winds of -heaven blew over it, the rains descended, or the sun shone. Birds -hopped about, and people came and went. Often there was hardly a sound -to break the silence of the hill. A visitor who had climbed the heights -could gaze over the town of Dover and the hills and valleys behind -it, or look right across the Channel to the coast of France, quite -undisturbed by human voice or sound of busy life. But Major Wardlaw -could have told that visitor that on the instant, at a signal, this -placid scene could be converted into one of awful violence and furious -sound; that in a flash the hill would vomit forth, as if from many -avenues of hell, wholesale, fiery death and indiscriminate destruction. -On every side would rise the roar of monster ordnance, the ceaseless -rattle of machine guns, the deafening crack of musketry. - -Woe betide the foe that dared to rouse the sleeping monster of the hill! - -Such were Wardlaw's Works, as they were called throughout the British -army. When the Major retired from active service, he still lingered -in the neighbourhood of his _magnum opus_. In a charming bungalow, -perched on the hillside of Folkestone Warren, he and Miss Flossie spent -unruffled days amid eminently healthy surroundings. - -The Warren, a bay of much natural beauty, had been rescued from -neglect. A station on the line from Folkestone proper to Dover afforded -easy access to the Bay; trees had been planted and roads cut in the -hillside. Everywhere on summer nights the lights gleamed from villas -and bungalows, and down below on the new jetty, and at the mastheads -of scores of pleasure craft. The place suited Major Wardlaw admirably, -and even little Miss Wardlaw, who was by way of being exacting, seemed -quite satisfied with her surroundings. Her father kept a small cutter -in the bay, and frequently took the young lady for health-giving sails -upon the dancing sea. Usually their port of call was Dover. The Major -was always going to Dover. He couldn't keep away from it. When the -cutter was laid up for the winter, he went by train, or sometimes -walked across the wind-swept downs. Dover town itself had no particular -attractions for him. The magnet lay on Castle Hill. In short, Wardlaw -could not keep away from Wardlaw's Works. Even when he was not visiting -the Works, he was always thinking about them. When military friends of -his came over from the Castle or from Shorncliffe, they seemed to talk -of nothing else but Fort Warden--all that it was, and all that it would -be if the critical hour of conflict or invasion ever came. - -Flossie Wardlaw disapproved of the whole thing. It annoyed her--this -constant absorption, this ever recurring topic of conversation. -Personally, she refused to discuss the Works, and had it been possible -would have forbidden all allusion to the Fort when those tiresome -friends dropped in and talked "shop" with her father. Poor Wardlaw, -torn with conflicting emotions, knowing that the child was jealous of -the Works, used to look at her apologetically when one of his cronies -started the everlasting topic. But Flossie was not easily to be -mollified. With her little nose in the air, she would glance severely, -disdainfully, at the author of her being, tossing back that mass of -silky, sunny hair from which her pet name was derived. - -And now the hated subject of the "Works" was more to the fore than -ever, for the military movement among the women of England had brought -Fort Warden into prominence in the newspapers. The Vice-President -of the Council, in pursuance of her policy, was turning the Fort to -unforeseen account. The First Amazons, as they were popularly called, -had been "enrolled and uniformed," and now the Fighting Girls (as some -people styled them) were to have this wonderful fort placed at their -disposal for the purpose of training and instruction in the art of war. -The idea was very popular among the Amazons. Some two hundred of them -were to spend a fortnight in the Fort, and then give place to another -batch, the Fort meanwhile being vacated by the artillerymen, save only -a handful of gunnery instructors and lecturers. So the men marched out -of the tortoise-backed "Works," and the Amazons, very smart in their -new uniforms, and full of gleeful excitement, briskly and triumphantly -marched in. - -It was a picturesque episode in martial history which afforded -excellent scope for lively descriptive reporting. Great numbers of -people seemed to be pleasurably interested in the event, just as they -used to be in the volunteer military picnics on Easter Monday. There -were others, however, who, like General Hartwell noisily, and Edgar -Wardlaw quietly, condemned the whole thing as monstrous, unseemly, and -fraught with danger to the nation. The majority, however, laughed at -the minority. What was there to be afraid of? There was not a cloud -in the international sky. England's difficulties, they said, now were -purely domestic. Greater Britain had been so cut up and divided that we -had nothing further to fear. Surely no greedy Jezebel would dream of -stirring up a Continental Ahab to covet and lay violent hands on the -remnant of Naboth's Vineyard. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE LOOSENED GRIP. - - -"Bladud, the son of Lud, founded this Bath three hundred years before -Christ." - -It was a far cry from Bladud to Nicholas Jardine! A goodly span, too, -from the time when a great statesman was carried through the streets of -Bath, swathed in flannels; his livid face, peering through the windows -of the sedan chair, the fierce eyes staring from beneath his powdered -wig. One can almost see his ghost in Milsom Street, and hear the -whisper spread from group to group: "There he goes! the great Commoner, -Mr. Pitt!" - -And now through the streets of the same town they wheeled a very -different sort of statesman; and yet, perhaps, the product, by slow -processes of inevitable evolution, of that very time "when America -thrust aside the British sceptre, when the ingenious machine of Dr. -Guillotine removed the heads of King and Queen in France, when Ireland -rose in rebellion, when Napoleon grasped at the dominion of the Western -World, when Wellington fought the French Marshals in Spain," and when, -God be thanked! Nelson triumphed in Trafalgar Bay. - -Just as the inhabitants and visitors of Bath used to take off their -hats to William Pitt in his sedan chair, so now the new generation -saluted Nicholas Jardine, when, seated in his bath-chair, he was -drawn through the streets to the baths. For though times were changed, -the President in his way was a great personage--such a remarkably -successful man; and in all times it has been proved true that -nothing succeeds like success. Jardine, when he acknowledged these -salutations, showed an awkwardness unknown to those to the Manor born. -It disconcerted him to be stared at, especially now that he was ill. -He hated traversing the public streets, and often sat with closed -eyes until his chair entered the bathing establishment. Once there he -became alert and interested--but not in the reminiscences of Georgian -functions and the manners and customs of the fops and flirts of that -vanished period. What appealed to him, as a trained mechanic, was the -heritage of far remoter days. The brain of the Roman Engineer and the -skilled hand of the Roman Architect and Mason had left these signs and -wonders for future generations to look upon. The great rectangular -bath had only been uncovered about sixty years earlier. The Goths and -Vandals of an earlier period had built over it their trumpery shops -and dwelling-houses. But the present bath, with its modern additions, -actually was built upon the ancient piers. The very pavements, or -scholae, that bordered it were those which the Roman bathers had -trod. The recesses or exedrae corresponded with those at Pompeii, and -had been used for hanging the clothes of the Roman bathers or for -resting places. The floor of the bath was coated with lead, and in all -probability that lead was brought from the Roman mines in the Mendip -Hills, where had been discovered the imperial emblems of Claudius and -Vespasian. - -The President was not without a sense of the beautiful. The scene -around him awakened his imagination. He knew that the wooded slopes -of the stately hills, the stone hewn from the inexhaustible quarries, -and the broad river--formerly spanned by bridges and aqueducts graceful -in outline and noble in proportions--each and all had furnished the -means which skilful hands had put to glorious uses. Yet all these -ingredients of beauty might have remained unused but for the wonderful -thermal waters which here, for untold centuries, had risen ceaselessly -from fathomless depths, streaming ever from rocky fissures, filling the -pools and natural basins, and still overflowing into the rushing river. - -But this beneficent spring and these now verdant hills must have had -their remote origin in some terrible concussion of natural forces. -Mother Earth had laboured and brought them forth, far back in her -pre-historic ages. Subterranean fires, begotten by the portentous union -of iron and sulphur, had waited their appointed time. Drop after drop, -the hidden waters had filtered on inflammable ingredients, until the -imprisoned air at last exploded, and the earth, rending and rocking in -appalling convulsions, opened enormous chasms and brought forth, amid -fire and smoke and vapour, the embryo of all this lovely scene. The -City was the offspring of seismic action; the earth had travailed and -brought forth these wooded hills. The smiling valley, where now stood -the City, was but the crater of an extinct volcano, perpetuated in -memory by the steaming waters that still gushed upward from the mystic -depths. - -Below the streets and houses of the modern town were the original baths -of the City of Sulcastra, of many acres in extent. Here, indeed, in -this most wonderful of Spas, history unfolded itself page by page--the -City of Sul in the grip, successively, of Roman, Saxon, Dane; dynasty -succeeding dynasty, sovereign coming after sovereign, statesman after -statesman, until now, when a Walsall mechanic in a bath-chair was all -that England had to show by way of substitute for absolute sovereignty -and sceptred sway. - -And with Nicholas Jardine, too, the relentless law of time was at work. -The sceptre was falling from his grasp. The grass withereth; the flower -fadeth. Man passes to his long home, and the mourners go about the -street. Would it be his turn next? Every day Zenobia seemed to see in -her father's face signs of a slowly working change. She witnessed the -melancholy spectacle of waning strength, of failing interest in those -things that once had absorbed his thoughts and energies. It wrought in -her a corresponding change, a protective tenderness which she had never -felt before, a deepening sense of the transience and sadness of human -pomp and circumstance, a broadened sympathy with all the sons of men. - -A great silence seemed to have fallen upon the man who in the past had -made so many speeches. A brooding wistfulness revealed itself in his -expression. There was a haunting look of doubt or question in his eyes, -a look as of one who, without compass and without rudder, finds himself -drifting on an unknown sea. The land was fading from his sight. The -solid earth on which he had walked, self-confident, self-sufficient, -no longer gave him foothold. His nerveless hands were losing grip on -the only life of which he knew anything, the only life in which he had -been able to believe. And day by day, and night by night, there came to -his mind the memory of his earlier life, of the faith that he had seen -shining in the dying eyes of the woman who had believed while he had -disbelieved. Vividly he recalled to mind--albeit with a sense of wonder -and irritation--an occasion when he had sat beside her in the old -Cathedral at Lichfield. The sun was setting, and its glory illumined -the huge western window; the words of the great man of action, who was -also the man of great faith, were being read from the lectern, and at -a certain passage his wife had turned and looked at him with sad and -supplicating eyes: "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are -of all men most miserable." - -If in this life only ...! All other hope he had scorned and rejected. -No other hope had seemed needful to his happiness and success. But -now? Already _this_ life was dwindling and departing. He felt it; he -knew it in his inmost being, as his steps faltered, his hands grew -thin and pallid, and his brain, once so busy with a hundred projects -and ambitions, now refused to work, or brought to him only recurrent -recollections of things which in the prime and strength of his manhood -he had scouted and despised. - -If in this life only ...! - -Sometimes a great restlessness possessed him, and Zenobia, in the -silent watches of the night, heard him moving heavily and slowly about -his room. On one of these nights, anxious and alarmed, she hurried in -and found him standing at the window in the darkness. The furnished -house they occupied was on Bathwick Hill, and the night scene from the -windows was one of striking mystery and beauty. The blackness of the -valley in which lay the ancient city, and of the towering hills on -every side, was studded with myriads of lights--shining like stars in -an inverted firmament. - -"Father!" - -She crossed the room and laid her hand upon his arm; but, scarcely -heeding her, the sick man still stood by the window, looking as if -fascinated on the magical scene of the night. Zenobia also gazed, and -gazed steadfastly; but the impression made upon herself was wholly -different. With him it was a sad impression of farewell. But in -Zenobia's brain there suddenly sprang up an extraordinary sense of -recognition. There was a subtle, haunting familiarity in the scene she -looked upon--this valley and these hills, in and about which all that -was modern, save the lights, was quite invisible. Thus might the valley -of Sulcastra have looked under the darkened sky two thousand years -ago. Thus might the lamps of Roman villas, temples, baths, and public -buildings have twinkled when a vestal virgin, maintaining Sul's undying -fires upon the altar, looked down upon the silent city. - -The puzzled girl caught her breath, half sighing, unable to shake off -the belief that at some remote period she had gone through precisely -the same experience that was now presented to her. And, doubly strange, -in connection with the scene, though she could see no reason for it, -her thoughts flew instantly to Linton Herrick. She became oppressed, -almost suffocated, with a sense as of pre-existence--a bewildering -sensation, almost a revelation--that seemed to tell of the mystery of -the ego, of the indestructibility of human life. - - * * * * * - -It was the last time that Nicholas Jardine looked down upon the old -city, by night or by day. The next day he remained in bed, and the day -after, and all the days that were left to him. The afternoon sunshine -came upon the walls, the shadows followed, night succeeded day. The -demarcations of time became blurred. His calendar was growing shorter -and shorter. The world mattered less and less to him, who had played a -leading part in it; and already he mattered nothing to the world. Death -was not close at hand. Nevertheless he was dying. - - "For this losing is true dying: - This is lordly man's down-lying: - This his slow but sure reclining, - Star by star his world resigning." - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -ZENOBIA'S DREAM. - - -The night which followed her heartsearching experience of feeling on -looking down upon the sleeping city of Bath, Zenobia had a dream. It -was a vision of extraordinary vividness, and strangely circumstantial. - -Beneath her eyes the golden light of a summer sunset was flooding -the temples, the baths, the stately villas of ancient "Rome in -England"--the city of Sulcastra. Garbed as a Priestess of the Temple, -she stood upon a plateau, high on the Hill of Sul on the east side of -the valley. Behind her rose the Temple of the Goddess, and by her side -stood one whom she knew to be the sculptor Lucius Flaccus, son of that -centurion who was charged to carry Paul from Adramythium to Rome. He -had been telling her in graphic phrases of his association with the -great Apostle; how for the first time he had heard him on Mars' Hill -at Athens boldly rebuking the listening and resentful throng who had -erected there an altar _to the unknown God_. Then with a gesture of -repugnance which horrified the priestess, the narrator, quoting the -Christian preacher's words, had turned and pointed towards the Temple -in which she with other vestals kept ever burning the sacred fire of -Sul. - -"Forasmuch, then, as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to -think that the Godhead is like silver or gold, graven by art or man's -device...." Thus far he had spoken when her own voice interrupted -passionately: - -"Do not blaspheme the gods!" - -"The gods are dead," he answered sternly, "nay, rather, they have never -lived. Our Roman gods have eyes that see not, ears that hear not, they -are but silver, gold, or stone--the work of hands like these." Thus -speaking, he held forth his hands, delicate and mobile, in one of which -was grasped the chisel of his ancient art. The priestess stood for a -moment looking in his eyes, silent, terror-stricken. "Yet," he went on, -bending his gaze upon the city with a sigh, "Sulcastra is beautiful." - -He knew and loved each particular feature of artistic beauty in the -city. Its architecture afforded him a delight that never failed. The -symbolic work of the chisel was evidenced on every side. The noble -columns that supported the terraces; the pavements resembling those -of Pompeii; the graceful friezes and delicate cornices appealed -irresistibly to every votary of art. Indeed, the Thermae of Sulcastra -were held by many of the cultured Romans to be not less splendid than -the baths at Scipio Africanus, or even those built at Rome by Caracalla -and Diocletian. For here, too, the lofty chambers were ornamented -with curious mosaics, varied in rich colours and infinitely delicate -in design. And here, also, the medicinal waters were poured into vast -reservoirs through wide mouths of precious metal and Egyptian granite, -while the green marble of Numidia had been brought from afar to give -variety to the native stone from the adjacent quarries. The fame of -the wonderful waters went back for eight centuries before the birth of -Christ. Here, according to tradition, Bladud, son of Lud the British -King, father of King Lear, had found a cure for his foul leprosy. -Yonder had stood the first Temple of Minerva, dedicated by that same -Bladud to the goddess. Had he not sought by magical aid to soar aloft -like the eagle, only to fall and be dashed to pieces on Minerva's altar? - -The sculptor shaded his eyes against the slanting rays of sunlight, -and turned his gaze upon the vast stadium in which at stated intervals -the people of Sulcastra witnessed the elaborated games of mighty Rome. -Such an occasion recently had occurred, a scene of splendid pageantry -and power which invariably moved the spectators to superstitious awe, -and often to wild excesses of fanaticism. Young and old had implored -the favour of the gods, and pledged themselves to maintain unbroken the -religious observances of the Rome people. In the darkness of night, -mystic sacrifices had been offered on the banks of the river; and the -whole city, as the sculptor and the priestess now looked down upon -it, still seemed to be fermenting with the excitement which the great -celebration had occasioned. - -At that very moment an imposing procession was seen to be advancing -towards the Temple of Minerva. Trumpet note after trumpet note echoed -round the hills. Chariots full of garlands and branches of myrtle -approached the shrine. A large black bull was being led to the -sacrificial altar, and youths and maidens, chanting a hymn to Minerva, -carried in procession costly vases full of wine and milk to be poured -as libations to the goddess, while others bore cruets of wine, oil, and -perfumed essences to anoint the pillars of the sacred monuments within -the temple. - -Lucius Flaccus looked down upon the procession with sad and moody -eyes. The Vestal's eyes were bent no less sadly on the sculptor, as -if divining all his thoughts. They sprang, she doubted not, out of -the subject of their conversation, and she turned uneasily towards the -pillar-altar on which the sculptor's skilful hands had been at work. It -stood upon the turf at the entrance to a little grove which gave access -to the gates of the Temple of Sul, the temple in which she herself -ministered as priestess. - -A cloth lay over the graceful monument, to the inscription upon -which the young Roman had but just now put the final touch. His work -upon the monument, screened from view, had long excited the interest -and curiosity of the Romans and the slaves who passed that way, but -reverence for the goddess and respect for the sculptor himself had -served to arrest all questions. The work of art, it was thought, would -be unveiled in time; and doubtless it would prove to be another and a -worthy tribute to the goddess who presided in a special manner over the -fortunes of the city. - -Lucius Flaccus had studied in a great and noble school. He had gazed -long and often on the famous statue of the Olympian Jove modelled in -ivory by the master hand of Phidias. He had marked every curve and -feature of the Minerva--standing sixty cubits high--on whose shield the -great Athenian sculptor had so marvellously represented the wars of the -Amazons. There were those, indeed, familiar with the work of the young -Roman who foretold for him an imperishable reputation as an exponent of -the noble art to which he was devoted. - -Lucius Flaccus had been welcomed in Sulcastra as one who was likely to -add to the beauty of the city, and the honour of the special goddess -of the citizens. The sculptor's art, like the Ten Commandments, was -written on tables of stone. It was for all time; nearly five hundred -years had passed since the chisel dropped from the hand of Phidias, -but the glory of his work remained. It was indestructible. So also, -thought some, might the handiwork of Lucius Flaccus be handed down from -century to century. - -The cult of Sul was scarcely distinguishable from that of Vesta. Like -Vesta, she was a home-goddess, a national deity, whose vestals were -solemnly pledged ever to maintain her altar-fire, lest its extinction -should bring disaster on the people. - -Sul, also, was a fire deity. According to the kindred mythology of -Scandinavia, the goddess was so beautiful a being that she had been -placed in heaven to drive the chariot of the Sun from which she took -her name--that glorious sun, the rays of which were now illuminating -the city of Sulcastra. Sul, in the eyes of the Romans, was more exalted -than Soma, daughter of the Moon, though in the East Soma was held in -the highest reverence as the mother of Buddha. Soma was the sovereign -goddess of plants and planets. In the Vedic hymns she was identified -with the moon-plant which a falcon had brought down from heaven. Its -juice was an elixir of life. To drink it conferred immortality on -mortals, and even exhilarated the gods themselves. But even greater -virtue and miraculous power did the Romans attribute to the waters of -Sul, and with better evidence of their potency. For here, in Sulcastra, -century after century, and ever at the same temperature, the magical, -unfathomable well had poured forth its mystic waters for the healing of -the people. - -The Temple of Sul, like that of Vesta, was circular, to represent the -world; and in the centre of the temple stood the altar of the sacred -flame, ever burning to symbolise the central fires of Mother Earth, -just as the sun was deemed to be the centre of the universe. - -There were nothing strange or unusual in freedom of conversation -between the Priestess and the Sculptor--who, in former years, had added -many decorations to the Temple. The virgin priestesses were permitted -to receive the visits of men by day; by night none but women were -suffered to enter their apartments, which adjoined the sacred building -in which they ministered. Each priestess was pledged to continence for -thirty years. During the first ten they were employed in learning the -tenets and rites of their religion. During the next ten they engaged -in actual ministrations. In the final ten years they were employed in -training the younger vestals, and after the age of thirty they might -abandon the functions of the temple and marry. Few exercised that -option. Custom, when such an age was reached, had become ingrained, the -impulses of youth frozen, and the honour paid to their office became -more valued than the prospects of marriage. - -The reverence shown to them was very great, but so also was the -punishment that followed a lapse from the letter or the spirit of -their duties. The least levity in conduct, the smallest neglect of -ministerial duty, was dealt with by the Pontifex or the Flamens, -and visited with great severity. The loss of virginal honour, or -the failure to maintain the sacred fire, involved a penalty of -inexpressible terror. The condemned priestess, placed in a litter, shut -up so closely that her loudest cries were scarcely audible, was carried -through the city in the order, and with the adjuncts, of a funeral -procession, a journey of death in life--its goal the niche or narrow -vault in which the living vestal was to be immured. - - -THE SCULPTOR'S STORY. - -The dreamer knew these things, and still dreamed on. It seemed as if -her own voice broke the silence: - -"Fain would I know more of this same Paul of whom you speak." - -Then she paused, but looks still questioned him. Presently the young -Roman spoke again-- - -"My father, the centurion Julius, was charged to carry him to Rome, -and I had planned to bear him company. We took ship to sail along the -coasts of Asia; touched at Sidon and afterwards at Cyprus, the winds -being contrary. Later we transhipped at Alexandria, and thus reached -Crete. The seas grew dangerous, and the sailors feared. Scarcely had -we sailed when there arose that strong, tempestuous wind they call -Euroclydon. The ship, being caught, could not bear against the wind, -and we let her drive. Then, near the island of Clauda, we were like to -be driven on the shore; and fearing quicksands, we struck sail, and so -were driven again. The tempest tossed us, and the ship was lightened. -We cast adrift the tackling; but still the tempest held us; neither sun -nor star appeared for many days, and all that time the ship was driven -before the storm, until at length the shipmen deemed that we drew near -to land. They sounded and found twenty fathoms. Again they sounded and -found five fathoms less. Then, fearing we should be upon the rocks, -they made all haste to cast four anchors from the stern, and waited for -the day." - -"The storm had lasted long?" - -"For fourteen days and nights." - -"And there were many in the ship?" - -"Two hundred, three-score and sixteen souls; and everyone was saved. -Land lay before us, though we knew it not. But we discovered close at -hand a creek. So they took up the anchors, loosed the rudder-bands, -hoisted the mainsail to the wind, and made for shore. She ran into -a place where two seas met, and went aground. The forepart held and -seemed immovable, but soon the hinder part was broken by the violence -of the waves. The soldiers then would have killed all the prisoners, -lest they should escape, but my father stayed their hands. Those who -could swim sprang first into the sea. Others on boards, and some on -broken pieces of the ship, made for the land, and I, with all the rest, -came safe ashore." - -"The gods be thanked; the gods be thanked for that." The words came -fervently from the Vestal's lips. - -He turned on her and sighed. "What! still the gods?" - -She pressed her hands upon her brow. "Is there no more to tell?" - -He paused a moment. "Already I have told too much if told in vain. -The island we had reached was Melita, and Publius, the chief man -of the place, received us courteously. Paul healed his father of a -grievous sickness, and many others also, ere we departed in a ship of -Alexandria. We touched at Syracuse, and then at Rhegium, whence we went -towards Rome. There many brethren greeted Paul with joy, and there in -reverence and sorrow did I part from him." - -"And he--this Paul himself?" - -"Remains at Rome, having his own hired house, receiving all who come to -him, preaching of the Heavenly kingdom, teaching with all confidence, -of the coming of the Christ--no man yet forbidding him." - -Deep silence fell between them, and the only sound came from a droning -that in Sulcastra never ceased by night or day--the voice of the -rushing river as it poured across the weir. - -Now they stood erect; each was tall and nobly framed; each face had -beauty intellectual and physical. Yet in the sculptor's features and -his deep-set eyes there was the look that visionaries wear, the stamp -of those who nourish great ideals. The gaze the priestess bent upon -him told a different tale. The dreamer knew this woman loved this man, -while he, as yet, had found no passion in his soul for her. She raised -her hand in gesture of adieu, and moved with slow steps towards the -temple. Then, as if stirred by sudden impulse, she turned to him again. - -"And this Paul--tell me--what teacheth he concerning women?" - -"He teacheth that man is the image and the glory of God, and woman the -glory of the man. That man is not of the woman, but the woman of the -man: neither was man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. -He commandeth that women keep silence in the Christian churches, and in -all things be subject to their husbands, for the husband is the head of -the wife." - -"Then he forbiddeth not to marry?" - -"Is not Paul the Apostle of Him who blessed the marriage feast of Cana?" - -"In whom thou dost believe?" - -"In whom I do believe," he answered steadfastly. "I tell thee that -the banner of the Cross shall one day float above the capitol of Rome -itself." - -The priestess took two swifter steps towards him. "Then why, O Lucius -Flaccus, hast thou built here an altar to our Goddess Sul?" She pointed -to the pedestal beside them; and he, answering not a word, stretched -forth his hand and drew away the covering that concealed the apex. - -There, in the fading light, there stood revealed the hated emblem of -the Christian Faith. - -"A cross!" she cried, "a cross!" - -The sculptor raised his eyes and clasped his hands: - -"The Cross of Him who died for all the world!" - - -THE VESTAL'S FATE. - -The spirit of the dream had changed. A sense of horrible foreboding -agonized the dreamer. No longer did the sculptor and the priestess look -down upon Sulcastra. Yet the dreamer knew all that had happened and was -happening still. - -The city was in tumult. The baths, the public schools, the temples were -deserted. People thronged the streets. There was but one thing spoken -of--an outrage on the goddess whom they all revered. Lucius Flaccus, -the favoured sculptor of Sulcastra, son of Julius the centurion, had -erected on the threshold of her temple an altar to the God-Man of the -Nazarenes. Nor was that all. The sacred fire that should have been kept -burning in Sul's temple had been suffered to die out, if indeed it had -not been deliberately extinguished; climax of all--Verenia, priestess -of Sul, had been found in the broad light of day kneeling with bowed -head before the hated emblem that profaned the grove. Amazement had -given place to fury. The cry went up for punishment--a cry redoubled -when it became known that the augurs foretold dire calamity for -Sulcastra and the citizens, as the inevitable consequence of an outrage -so profane. The people feared the vengeance of the gods! - -Yet there were some who kept a grief-stricken silence in the midst of -all the raging of the citizens, for each of the offenders was well -esteemed, and both belonged to honoured Roman families. The dreadful -fate that lay in store alike for the sculptor and the priestess moved -many hearts to awe and anguished apprehension. In each case the -appalling penalty was as certain as the dawn of day. Lucius Flaccus -would be carried to the rock of Sul, high on the steepest hill that -overlooked the valley, and thence cast headlong on the rocks below. For -Verenia, the priestess, a yet more awful punishment was prepared--the -slow starvation of a living tomb. - -The dreadful preparations were complete. The Vestal's grave was -ready--a narrow niche in the massive stone foundations of the -Temple--the temple of that goddess whose worship she had mocked. In -this tiny cell was placed a pallet, a lamp that when lighted would burn -for forty hours, and a small quantity of food. All knew what course the -funeral ceremonies would follow. The Pontifex would read some prayers -over the doomed priestess, but without the lustrations and other -expiatory ceremonies that were used at the burial of the dead. When the -last prayer had been uttered, the lictors would let her down into the -vault, the entrance would be filled with slabs of stone, then covered -up with earth. - -The awful hours, the agonizing days, would slowly pass. The lamp -would flicker and the light expire. Deep silence that no shriek could -pierce would shut the buried vestal from the ken of all who loved her. -The food would fail; then, slowly, hour by hour, and day by day, the -dreadful sentence of the law would be fulfilled. No father, mother, -lover, friend, could save the victim, or by one iota lessen the -torture of starvation, or that still greater torture of the brain to -which her judges had condemned her. - -Did not the crime of which she was convicted strike at the root of the -religion of the people? The maintenance of the sacred fire as a pious -and propitiatory observance was not peculiar to the Romans. The Hebrews -held it a divine commandment: "The fire shall ever be burning upon -the altar, saith the Lord; it shall never go out." Undying fires were -maintained in the temples of Ceres at Mantinea; of Apollo at Delphos -and at Athens; and in that of Diana at Echatan. A lamp was always -burning in the temple of Jupiter Ammon. The ancient custom came from -the Egyptians to the Greeks, and from the Greeks to the Romans, who had -made it a vital, essential feature of their faith. Like the veil of -Astoreth in the temple of the moon-goddess at Carthage; like the sacred -shield which, as Numa Pompilius avowed, had fallen from heaven, the -altar-fire of Sul safeguarded the domestic prosperity, the political -wisdom, the military supremacy of Rome in Britain. - -And this gross insult to the mighty goddess had been perpetrated in the -midst of the festival; on the very eve of the ceremony of the blessed -waters used specially on that occasion for purifying the temple of Sul. -It was a local event of paramount importance, for then the statue of -Sul was covered with flowers and anointed with perfumed oil. The Salii -marched through the city carrying vessels, richly decorated and of -beautiful design, containing water from the sacred spring. The feast -lasted for three days, and during that time the Romans undertook no -serious or important business. The banquets with which the festival -was concluded were magnificent and costly. The edict of Numa Pompilius -enjoining reverence to the gods remain unrepealed. It was obeyed in -Sulcastra as in Rome itself. Inscribed on tables of stone, it could be -read in all the schools and temples: - -"Let none appear in the presence of the gods but with a pure heart -and sincere piety. Let none there make a vain show and ostentation of -their riches but fear lest they should thereby bring on themselves the -vengeance of heaven. - -"Let no one have particular gods of his own, or bring new ones into his -house, or receive strange ones unless allowed by edict. Let everyone -preserve in his house the oratories established by his fathers, and pay -his domestic gods the worship that has always been paid to them. - -"Let all honour the ancient gods of heaven, and the heroes whose -exploits have carried them thither, such as Bacchus, Hercules, Castor -and Pollux. Let altars be erected to the virtues which carry us up to -heaven; but never to vices." - -These dread laws the sculptor and the priestess had impiously broken -and defied. - -The climax was at hand. A strange, loud clangour beat upon the ear, -pierced by the wailing cry of weeping women. The dreamer heard the -tramp of many feet; then saw a long and closely packed procession -emerging from the centre of the city. Slowly and solemnly the multitude -advanced. The first section of the great procession reached the -narrower road which wound amid the trees that beautified the Hill -of Sul. High up on the barer slopes of the great hill stood out the -jutting rock from which the sculptor was to take his last long gaze -upon the sunlit world. A band of lictors headed the procession. Behind -them, with head erect, walked Lucius Flaccus on the road to death. - -The trees swayed gently in the morning breeze, the birds were singing -in the groves; the glory of the summer decked the land. Yet the -tenderness of nature and all the splendour of the world seemed but -to mock the tragedy of that slow procession. On every side was life, -life, strong, abundant, free; but this one lonely man, bare-headed and -white-faced, who climbed the hill, had done with life. With each step -of the slow advance he drew nearer and nearer to the gate of death. - -The second part of the procession was lead by twelve Salii, each of -whom carried a shield on his left arm and a javelin in his right hand. -They were dressed in habits striped with purple, girded with broad -belts, and clasped with buckles of brass. On their heads they wore -helmets which terminated in a point. From these men the clangour came. -Sometimes they sang in concert a hymn to Sul; sometimes they advanced -with dancing step, beating time with their javelins on their shields. -Next came many mourners, women and children, weeping and wringing their -hands as in a funeral procession; and then a closely-curtained litter, -with priests on either hand followed by the Pontifex, magnificently -habited and carrying a staff or sceptre in his hand. - -Priestesses, with bowed heads and clasped hands, followed the Pontifex. -Then came another body of lictors, followed by a miscellaneous -multitude of citizens and their families; and, finally, a tall -centurion leading a company of soldiers. - -The road grew steeper, narrower, winding round the hill; and the first -body of lictors, with their prisoner, had passed out of view of the -company that followed, when suddenly arose a violent outcry and the -clash of arms. The sculptor had turned upon his guard, seized a javelin -from one of them, and mounted the steep bank beside the road. The -whole procession halted in confusion. Disconcerted priests whispered -and gesticulated; the crowd closed up and filled the narrow way from -side to side. - -"Romans! hear me!" The appeal, in high-pitched, fervent tones, came -from Lucius Flaccus, and was not unanswered by the people: - -"Hear him! let him speak!" - -The lictors at the bidding of the Pontifex half turned, but being few -in number were daunted by the strenuous cries of the excited crowd. The -sculptor seized the moment of their irresolution and raised his voice -again: - -"Romans! spare her." He pointed to the litter. "You who have sisters, -daughters, restrain your rulers from an act that would disgrace a -barbarous nation." - -Murmurs and conflicting cries were raised. The priests sent messengers -to the soldiers at the rear of the procession. But the crowd, closer -and closer packed, rendered it difficult for the messengers to pass. -Above the tumult, the Pontifex cried in shrill excited tones: "The gods -demand her death!" - -Thus incited, many in the crowd shouted in assent, while others cried -again: "Hear Lucius Flaccus, hear him!" - -Once more the sculptor raised his voice: "The gods are names for -priests to conjure with...." - -For a moment indescribable tumult prevailed. The centurion sought in -vain to force a way through the dense, now struggling, mass of people. - -Again the sculptor made a passionate appeal: "I implore the aid of the -Roman people. I call upon my fellow citizens to save a woman. To what -purpose do we expose our lives in war? Why do we defend our wives and -sisters from a foreign enemy if Rome has tyrants who incite the people -to violent and vindictive acts? Soldiers in arms, do not endure these -things! Free citizens, exalt yourselves by being merciful." - -The frantic appeal now met with no response. Lucius Flaccus looked -wildly round, despair and desperation in his face. - -He raised the javelin, and for the last time his voice was heard: - -"Then thus, and thus only, can I save her from a crueller fate!" - -In an instant he sprang upon the lictors who confronted him, and, -striking left and right, actually reached the curtains of the litter. -A shudder of horror ran through all the crowd. The women shrieked. The -people swayed and struggled, and the next moment it was seen that the -sculptor had been beaten back, though not yet secured. He sprang upon a -rock beside the road and raised the javelin high in air. - -"Then, Romans, if infernal gods there be, let them accept another -sacrifice!" - -Down flashed the steel, the sharp point plunged into his heart; and, -throwing out his hands, he swayed into the lictors' arms. - -A dreadful silence fell upon the people. - -Then from within the thickly-curtained litter came a despairing and -half-stifled shriek. - - * * * * * - -With that wild, agonizing cry Zenobia awoke. The cry from the litter -was her cry. It was her own voice that died away, and what was this -mysterious sound--rising from the valley with the mists that melted -at the break of day? The sound was the same that the sculptor and -the priestess had heard nearly two thousand years ago; the voice of -many waters as they swept across the weir, insistent, unceasing--the -monotone of doom. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE NEW AMAZONS. - - -On every side the continued rivalry between the sexes in their struggle -for supremacy in national life was producing lamentable results. -To this general evil now was added the new move inaugurated by the -Vice-President of the Council in the matter of military training. The -unfortunate illness of President Jardine had facilitated the schemes -of that daring leader of the women, and it soon became apparent that -preparations for enrolling large bodies of Amazons, though hitherto -kept secret, in fact had been very far advanced before the memorable -meeting at Queen's Hall. - -Recruits flocked in from every quarter. The idea of military service or -a military picnic for a few months in the Amazonian militia appealed -to all sorts and conditions of girls and young women. Those who had -reached the age when the resources or pleasures of home life had begun -to pall, those who saw no chance of getting married, those who had -met with disappointments in love and were stirred with the restless -spirit of the times, those who rebelled against parental rule, domestic -employments, or the monotony of days spent in warehouse or office, one -and all caught eagerly at the idea of a course of military training -in smart uniforms, with the possibility of encountering experiences -and adventures from which parents and guardians had sought to withhold -them. - -Ready pens were at the service of the New Amazons. History and -tradition were ransacked by industrious scribes in search of precedents -and raw material for "copy." The _Epoch_, (the unofficial press organ -of the Vice-President) boldly vaunted the capacity of women to bear -arms. Who would dare to deny that women were as brave as men? In -modern times the Dahomey Amazons had been a force in being. An eminent -professor had made researches which went to show that the Amazons of -old were real warriors. Humboldt refused to regard American Amazons as -mythical, and other trustworthy authorities had confirmed his view. -Then there were the Shield Maidens of the Vikings, to whose existence -witness was borne by historical sagas. The ancient literature of -Ireland set forth as a fact that "men and women went alike to battle in -those days." Did not a certain abbot of Iona go to Ireland to organise -a movement against the custom of summoning women to join the standard -and fight the enemy? In Europe, not so very long ago, the Montenegrins -and Albanians called their women to arms in the hour of national -extremity. - -The _Epoch_ presented the 1st Amazons of England with a silken banner, -embroidered with a representation of Thalestris the Amazonian queen, -and pointed out that, however fabulous might be the achievements of the -women warriors of ancient times, modern warfare need make no similar -demands on the physical strength of woman. War had become a feat of -science, rather than of endurance. It was no longer necessary for -contending champions to engage in a trial of muscular strength. Macbeth -and Macduff were not called upon to "lay on" until one of them cried: -"Hold! enough." Battles were fought and victories won at long range. -Thin red lines and Balaclava charges belonged to ancient history. And -if by any chance it should come to fighting at close quarters, had -woman shown herself lacking in courage, or even in ferocity in such -encounters? Why, in every memorable riot in which the civil population -had been in conflict with the soldiery, the women, again and again, had -proved themselves to be the foremost in attack and the most fertile of -hostile resource. Thus argued the _Epoch_ and other press advocates of -the New Amazons, at the same time citing many instances of the prowess -exhibited by individual women on fields of battle. - -Vast numbers of young persons, supremely ignorant of life in its uglier -and more dangerous aspects, thus encited, discovered that they were -not, and could not be, happy at home all the year round. They wanted -variety; they pined for change and excitement; and all of them were -firmly pursuaded that they knew much better than their elders what -was good for them. In their eyes all things were not only lawful, but -all things were expedient. They stood up with stolid looks, deaf to -remonstrances and appeals, and expressed an obstinate wish to join the -Amazons. Numbers of them, being more self-willed than their parents, -got their own way, and were enrolled; while still larger numbers were -put back as physically ineligible, but with liberty, in some cases, to -renew their application at a future time. - -That the movement had "caught on" nobody could deny. That it was full -of dangerous possibilities became more and more apparent every day. - -Zenobia, who came to London to attend the Queen's Hall meeting, had -returned to Bath to nurse her father, whose illness showed increasingly -alarming symptoms. Linton Herrick, meanwhile, was not wholly without -occupation, for there were sundry private conferences between his -uncle and General Hartwell at which his presence was required. These -discussions and reports became of the more importance in view of -certain news from the East and of the complications likely to arise at -home in the event of the illness of the President proving fatal. - -Nevertheless, there were times when Linton found himself mooning about -his uncle's house and garden in a state both of mental and physical -restlessness. He missed Zenobia, missed a glimpse of her on the river, -or a flash of her as she sped away in the _Bladud_ to London. They had -met often, and it seemed to him as if they had known each other all -their lives. He would have given anything to hear the yelping of her -dog Peter next door, because it would have betokened the presence of -Peter's mistress. - -Before Mr. Jardine's departure for Bath, the young Canadian had sat -with him and talked on many topics and on several occasions. The -enormous strides which Canada had made, and was making, in the way -of prosperity greatly interested the President. Linton, however, was -astonished to find how little the man whom fortune had pitch-forked -into a foremost position in England really knew about Colonial affairs. -He frequently fell into amazing geographical errors, mistakes quite -comparable with that of a certain Duke of Newcastle who announced with -surprise to George II. his discovery that Cape Breton was an island. - -Linton liked the President, not wholly for the President's sake, but -partly for the same reason that he had developed a friendly feeling -towards Peter the dog. The President, on his part, certainly had taken -a fancy to him, and in those bedside conversations talked with far -less reserve than he was in the habit of employing in conversations -with Englishmen, particularly young Englishmen. These conversations -gradually impressed Linton with the belief that this hardheaded and -successful mechanic, who found himself, thanks to the strength of a -numerous and well-drilled party, at the head of the State, actually -was discovering his own deficiencies--the educational deficiencies, -the intellectual deficiencies for which doggedness and powers of -oratory were no true substitute. In a word, it seemed as if, in that -time of inactivity and reflection which a bed of sickness enforces, -Nicholas Jardine had begun to realise his own shortcomings as a ruler -of men--his unfitness to direct the destinies of a nation great in -history, and still great in possibilities of recuperation if only well -and wisely led. - -"If you should be down West, come and see me at Bath," were the -President's parting words. "Indeed I will," said the young man -heartily, and there was something in his eyes as he turned to say -good-bye to Zenobia that made her colour. Nothing seemed more probable -to both of them at that moment than that Linton would find himself down -West, and nothing more certain than that there would be only one reason -for his going there. - -The young man had fought his way into Queen's Hall on the night of -the great meeting, solely and wholly because he had heard that Miss -Jardine was likely to be present. But he had no idea what line she -was likely to adopt in reference to the momentous question under -discussion. Yet the one drawback that hitherto he had found in her was -her attitude, or what he feared was her attitude, towards the question -of woman's ascendency. In the crush of the hot and noisy meeting, he -had failed to see Zenobia on the platform, and when she rose to speak -his feelings were strangely blended--of admiration at her bearing, -and of dread less she might say something than ran counter to his own -convictions. But her actual utterance astonished and delighted him; -and the hostile method of the "Cat" provoked in him such feelings of -fierce resentment as he had never felt towards womanhood before. Yet -there was one sentence that fell from the Vice-President which caused -him to be sensible of emotion of another sort. That sneering suggestion -that the younger speaker must be in love excited him strangely. He felt -an intimate personal concern in that scornful imputation. In love with -whom? - -And now he had ample time in his uncle's riverside house, with the -empty dwelling and silent garden on the other side of the hedge, to -ponder the same question. The _Bladud_, however, proved a great boon. -It had been left at his disposal, and Wilton, the Jardine's engineer -and skipper, was always ready to accompany him in an air trip. Wilton -was a hard-featured little man with a soft heart and a shrewish wife, -who kept the domestic nest in so spick and span a condition that poor -Wilton could never take his ease at home, and therefore appreciated any -good and sufficient reason for getting out of it. - -Wilton confessed to Linton Herrick a treacherous thought. It concerned -the wife of his bosom and the new Amazons. - -"Seems to me," said the little man, "as this here scheme may be a good -thing in a manner of speaking. There's girls, and, maybe, there's wives -too, that wants a bit of a change. Well, that's right enough. Why not?" - -"What do you mean?" asked Linton, wondering and amused. - -"Wot I mean, under pervisions, mind, under pervisions...." Linton -laughed, but Wilton was quite serious, his thoughts engaged in a great -domestic problem, his hands busy with the machinery of the _Bladud_, in -which they were just about to go aloft. - -"Well, it's like this, I wouldn't be for letting women jine a reg'lar -army, but militia's different. They'd get a 'oliday at Government -expense. When they come back they'd be more contented-like with their -'omes; and while they was away, well, there...." rubbing his head with -a pair of pincers. - -"And while they were away the men would have a quiet time, eh?" laughed -Linton, who had heard of Wilton's family history. - -"You've 'it it, sir, you've 'it it," said Wilton, without the vestige -of a smile. "Not but what women has a lot to put up with, mind you; and -there's times when they're as kind as kind. Still, wot I say is, a lot -of 'em's never content unless they can have the upper 'and, and that's -what's wrong with England." - - * * * * * - -Meanwhile, at Bath, the condition of Nicholas Jardine had given Zenobia -cause for increasing anxiety. - -In the hushed and tranquil days that sometimes come with October, the -leaves fall of their own volition, and with scarcely perceptible sound. -Their hour has come, and, with a faint whisper or rustle of farewell, -one by one they flutter down to mother earth. Thus also, the leaves of -human life are ever falling--the sighing souls of men, obedient to the -immutable design, passing from out the bourn of time and space. - -In those last days, when the certainty of the end came home to him, -Jardine, for the first time, began to ponder on problems to which he -had scarcely given a thought in the active years of his remarkable -career. Perhaps in the silence of the days, and in the deeper silence -of the nights, he asked himself unconsciously those same questions -which, thousands of years ago, the Son of Sirach had framed for all -time in language so expressive: "What is man, and whereto serveth he? -What is his good, and what is his evil? As a drop of water unto the -sea, and a gravel-stone in comparison of the sand, so are a thousand -years to the days of eternity!" - -"All flesh waxeth old as a garment; for the covenant from the beginning -is: Thou shalt die the death. As the green leaves on a thick tree, some -fall and some grow: so is the generation of flesh and blood, one cometh -to an end, and another is born." - -"Every work rotteth and consumeth away, and the worker thereof shall go -withal!" - -One day the President startled Zenobia by asking for a Bible. She -brought it wonderingly. He signed to her to read. And as she read to -him, the sick man and his daughter looked up into each other's eyes -with something like bewilderment. - -"Father," cried the girl passionately, as she closed the Book, "Why did -you keep it from me? Why did you do it?" The dying man looked into her -face with troubled gaze, and whispered something very faintly. Was it -the word "Forgive?" - -A yet stranger and more terrible ordeal was in store for Zenobia. To -her lot it fell to hear from her father's lips a confession that seared -her to the very soul. This confession presently was embodied in his -will, which two days later he dictated to his daughter. - -His mind was perfectly clear, though his hand could scarcely hold the -pen. As a matter of precaution, he insisted that the doctor and the -nurse should be the attesting witnesses. The will was sealed in an -envelope, and placed under lock and key. When that was done, Zenobia, -with set face, hurried to the nearest telegraph office and sent the -following message to Linton Herrick: - -"I implore you to come immediately. A matter of life and death." - -Meanwhile, Jardine had settled his affairs, and finished with the -business of life. Like the King of old, he turned his face to the wall. -Yet startling things were occurring close at hand--strange occurrences -within this very city of Bath. To others they were sufficiently -alarming. Indeed, there had been something in the nature of a panic. - -The first manifestation had taken place at the Grand Pump Room Hotel. -The King of Bath, if he could have come to his realm again, would have -encountered not a few surprises, and would have found the famous Hotel -transformed beyond all recognition. The examples of London, Paris, and -New York had been diligently followed. There was a stately Palm Court, -with marble columns and gilded cornices. Oriental rugs and luxurious -fauteuils had been lavishly provided. On a raised marble terrace, -during the dinner hour, a stringed band furnished an undercurrent for -the banal remarks of the diners. There were rooms in the Adams style, -rooms in the Louis the Sixteenth style, a Charles II. Smaller dining -Room, and a Smoking Room in the Elizabethan style--with ingle-nook and -heavy ceiling beams in oak. But the people who dined and chattered -and smoked amid these surroundings were not Elizabethan, Stuart, or -Georgian in style. They were the product of the twentieth century, and -were of no style at all; they lacked repose and dignity; they were -self-conscious, self-assertive; believers, and encouraged to believe, -in the powers of the almighty dollar, hustlers and bustlers, who rushed -hither and thither, and did this or that without knowledge and without -appreciation, and solely for the purpose of being able to say that they -had done it. Everything inanimate in this twentieth-century Bath Hotel -was very beautiful. There were skilful imitations of Adams, Sheraton, -and Chippendale; there were coloured marbles, trophies, garlands, -ornamentation of all sorts in gilt and bronze; decorative panels, -with consoles and mirrors everywhere,--everything being in elaborate -imitation of something else and something older. - -But in one corner of the Grand Dining Hall was one thing real and -old--a fountain of Sulis water, which had been brought into a -decorative niche and enshrined amid elaborate allegorical figures which -nobody understood. - -It was typical of England. She had gained in some ways, she had lost -in many more. She had acquired electric appliances, telephones, and -air-ships, but lost in grace and picturesqueness. Frequenters of Bath -no longer wore wigs, laced coats, and buckled shoes. They no longer -settled their little difficulties with the rapier. The ladies had -discarded powder in any appreciable quantities, and patches altogether; -but people of quality had vanished from the once familiar scene. -Quantity had taken the place of quality everywhere. Money had proved -the great key and the great leveller. There was a dead level in style -and tone and appearance. Society had to be taken in the mass, instead -of in the class, and notabilities were far to seek. - -Such were the people upon whom the panic seized, amid the clatter -of knives and forks, the rattle of plates, and the popping of -corks--inseparable accompaniments of the _table d'hote_ dinner hour. - -The visitors started to their feet with cries of dismay. An astonishing -thing had occurred. The fountain of Sulis water in the grotto at the -end of the great dining hall had suddenly burst its bounds! The pipes -were forced from their position. Great volumes of orange-tinted, -steaming water began to flood the room. The members of the string band, -whose seats and music stands were placed among the ferns and palms, in -immediate proximity to the fountain, grasped their instruments, and -beat a precipitate retreat. Ladies, uttering shrill cries, jumped upon -chairs. There was a scene of uncontrolled confusion. In a few moments, -water, almost boiling, covered the floor to the depth of several -inches, and male guests and waiters, carrying the ladies on chairs or -in their arms, made all haste to escape into the vestibule. - -At the same time the springs in the Roman baths displayed extraordinary -activity. Everywhere the water rose in enormous and unprecedented -volume. All the baths were hastily cleared of occupants and closed -to the public, and the most astounding reports spread like wildfire -through the city. The corporation officials speedily came upon the -scene, and trenches were hastily cut for the purpose of carrying the -overflow of water direct into the river. To the intense relief of -everybody, in the course of a few hours the flood slackened. - -Two days later, when people had begun to think there had been no -sufficient reason for their fears, came other sounds and signs -of abnormal activity in the earth itself. Faint tremors shook the -surrounding hills, more especially Lansdown, and these signs were -succeeded by sundry landslips, which sent many of the hillside -residents flying in terror from their houses. A huge crack presently -opened in the high plateau of the hill, and from this fissure arose at -intervals strong puffs of curious, reddish-tinted vapour. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -A SECRET AND A THUNDERBOLT. - - -President Jardine was dead. - -Low lay the head, and still the form of the man of whom flatterers -had often spoken as the uncrowned King--an Oliver the Second, the -Cromwell of the Twentieth Century. His, indeed, had been the power -symbolised by the ancient Crown, the Sceptre, and the Orb. The -vanished majesty of great dynasties--the Normans, the Plantaganets, -the Tudors, the Stuarts, and the House of Hanover--had but paved the -way for the practical rule of this man of the people. Even yet, it is -true, the jealousy of political parties had preserved--none knew for -how long--the title of King for a descendant of Queen Victoria. But a -grudging socialistic democracy had left the legitimate monarch little -more than the dignity of an august pensioner. The King was shorn of -regal authority, deprived of all real prerogative of royalty, and -neither expected nor allowed to take any real part in the government of -his shrunken empire. - -And now that the lifeless hand of the President had dropped the real -sceptre, whose hand was to take it up? Was the reign of woman to be -inaugurated on new and bolder lines; or would man, in the nick of time, -re-assert himself? The women had their leader in Catherine Kellick, a -daring, unscrupulous and energetic champion. But where was the leader -of men? Everywhere the lament was uttered: "If only Renshaw were back -at Westminster!" And everywhere the question was asked: "Where is he? -Is it true he is still alive?" - -Zenobia's telegram was delivered late at night, and in the absence of -Wilton it was impossible to start immediately. Before daybreak on the -following morning Linton was knocking at the door of his cottage, and -in half-an-hour the little engineer had got the _Bladud_ into working -order. - -It was very early, on a calm autumn morning, when Linton, at a sign -from Wilton, stepped on board. The _Bladud_, rose rapidly into the -air, but at first there was nothing to be seen. The atmosphere being -charged with the vapour of the night, the air was warm, and the sky -veiled with a misty curtain of cloud. In eight minutes they had risen -a thousand feet, and the earth below was hidden from them by a woolly -carpet of mist. Rising and rising still, at a height of 5,000 feet, the -_Bladud_ emerged from the clouds, and away in the east was seen a long, -long line, bright as silver. The day was breaking, and the shadows fled -away. Every moment the great silver bar lengthened and broadened, a -moving miracle of the empyrean, at which the young Canadian gazed in -fascination and in awe. - -But the marvel of marvels was to come; and it came swiftly, in that -deep silence of the spheres, which is as the silence of Him by whom all -things were made. Yes, all created things, thought Linton, filled with -wonder--the earth beneath them, still partly hidden from sight, the -limitless realms of the air through which they moved, and this great -orb of day that was rising as if from the depths of some immeasurable -crater. Presently the sun, as it climbed above the cloud rim, began to -flood with pure and glorious light the rolling tracts of vapour that -surrounded them, like an illimitable molten sea, whose billows glowed -and gleamed beneath the darting beams. - -Higher and higher rose the _Bladud_, a tiny speck in the midst of the -immeasurable clouds, which ever broke and crumbled into new shapes and -shreds in full light of the broadening sunshine. Already the morning -mists below were in some measure dispelled, and through the breaking -vapour glimpses of the earth became more plainly visible. - -At a height of 9,000 feet, the surrounding oceans and mountains of -vapour assumed a hue of roseate violet that far transcended the beauty -of anything upon which Linton's eyes had ever looked before; while from -the east a thousand golden rays--pathways of light and glory--were -darted forth above the sleeping world. When they had reached a height -of 13,000 feet, the air was almost clear, and far down below London -became visible--London so mighty, yet now so insignificant! Linton -could see a railway train creeping out of Paddington like some little -caterpillar on a garden path. The steam from the engine was but a thin -serpentine mist, like smoke from a man's pipe. Everything below was -flat and dwarfed to one mean artificial-looking plane. Away East, the -dome of St. Paul's seemed scarcely more important than a thimble. The -Docks were merely an elaborate toy in sections; the rolling Thames a -winding ditch; the ships like little playthings for young children. -Yet the range of view had become enormous, and as the morning cleared -Wilton pointed out hills and church steeples that were a hundred miles -away. - -In that solemn and wonderful hour Linton Herrick felt within himself, -as Goethe did, the germs of undeveloped faculties--faculties that men -must not expect to see developed in life as it is, so far, known to -us. Yet there was the aspiration in his heart and soul. How glorious -for the astral body to plunge into the aerial space; to look unmoved on -some unfathomable abyss; to glide above the roaring seas; to mount with -eagle's strength to heights unthinkable! - -Looking upon the supernal grandeur of the sunrise, he realised that -he was in the presence of God's daily miracle. It steeped his soul in -faith and thankfulness. - - * * * * * - -Linton, guessing that the President was _in extremis_, nevertheless had -hoped to be in time to bid a last farewell to the taciturn man who had -shown him much friendly feeling, and of whom, as Zenobia's father, he -was anxious to think the best. But when the _Bladud_ descended on the -spacious lawn of the house on Bathwick Hill, the blinds were down. The -whole place wore that sad and subtle air which impresses itself upon a -scene of death. There was no need to ask questions. Linton understood. - -A faint, half-hearted yelp from Peter was the first sound that greeted -him. Presently, inside the darkened house, he awaited the coming of -Peter's mistress. - -The door opened very quietly, and Zenobia entered; a slim, sad figure, -the blackness of whose dress in that dim light heightened the pallor -of her face. Her hand was in his own. He looked into her eyes; the -gaze of the lover softened and chastened to that of the tender and -compassionate friend. - -"You understand how much I feel for you," he said. - -"Yes," she answered gratefully, "It was good of you to come. But, in a -sense, it is too late." - -He waited quietly for what she chose to say. - -"I mean," she added "that I hoped you could come before ... before the -end. But at the last it was sudden, so sudden." - -"You have something to tell me. There is something I can do for you in -your trouble?" - -Zenobia paused for a moment. Then, with some effort and a faint tinge -of colour coming to her cheeks, continued: - -"If you had come while my father lived, I could have told him...." She -looked down, and drew a long deep sigh of distress. "I could have told -him," she then went on with greater firmness, "that you, if you were -willing, could help us, though so late, to do an act of justice to -another. Mr. Herrick, it grieves me to tell you...." - -She turned away and rested her elbows on the marble mantelpiece, unable -for the moment to proceed. - -"Perhaps I know more than you suppose," he said very gently, "and, -perhaps, I can guess the rest." - -"No," turning towards him, "I won't ask you to guess. Why should you -help me, unless I tell you all, everything--everything, fully and -frankly? Will you read this?" - -He look the paper the girl placed in his hands, but did not immediately -unfold it. - -"I am willing to do anything you can wish, asking no questions," he -said. - -She looked at him with eyes that seemed to shine with grateful tears. - -"You are good to me. I have no other friends." - -"I am your friend," said Herrick, not without a tremor in his voice, -"yours to command, always and in everything." - -For the moment she could not speak, but held out her hand to him -impulsively. Holding the slim fingers tenderly, he bent and kissed them. - -"That paper," she said, "is my father's will. Will you read it, please!" - -Then she sat down and turned away her face. - -Linton read the will. The sheets rustled as he turned them over. He -folded and returned them. - -"I knew something of this," he said quietly. "Now I understand all. You -need tell me no more." - -"Is Mr. Renshaw still living--is it _really_ true that he is still -alive?" she said looking up anxiously. - -"Quite true." - -"Thank God. Oh! God be thanked for that!" - -"It is not too late." - -"Only too late for him to know and seek forgiveness." - -"You mean your father?" - -The girl bowed her head. Then she burst out vehemently: "It must not -be softened down. I know, I feel, the horror, the wickedness of what -was done. I must accept the shame, the punishment. The sins of the -fathers must be visited on the children. It is the law of nature and -the law of God! I want to make atonement; yet nothing can undo the -past, the cruelty and wickedness of all those years of suffering and -imprisonment." - -"Renshaw will not harbour revengeful or vindictive feelings, I am sure -of that," Linton answered soothingly. "He is a man of noble character, -and a Christian gentleman." - -"And it was he, a man like that, whom my father...." she paused, biting -her trembling lips. "Oh it is horrible, horrible!" - -"But he repented, he was sorry--the will proves it," said Linton. - -"Yes, it is written there, a public confession, the dying declaration -of his sorrow and his shame. There shall be no concealment. He did not -wish it at the last. The truth must be made known to all the world." - -"If Renshaw wishes it. But I do not think he will." - -"Where is he now--is he ill, is he safe?" - -"He is recovering, getting back his strength, in a monastery in Herm, -one of the smaller Channel Islands. Arrangements are being made for his -return to England at the right moment." - -She stood up, interested and excited. - -"Yes, yes?" - -"A society has been formed--the members call themselves the Friends of -the Phoenix. My uncle and General Hartwell are at the head of it. The -aim is to restore Renshaw to power. He is the only man who can save the -country in the present crisis." - -"And you are helping--you are one of them?" - -He nodded. "I am to bring him back to England in the _Bladud_ if I have -your permission." - -"Don't lose an hour," she cried, "don't lose an hour!" - -"Not a moment, when the time is ripe. I am waiting orders. They will -reach me here." - -"If only my father could have known of this before he died." - -She sighed and looked at him wistfully, then said appealingly: "You -will come upstairs?" - -Linton bowed his head and followed her. Upstairs in the room from which -the President had looked out on the lights of Bath for the last time -the sheeted figure lay upon the bed. They paused for a moment side by -side. Then Linton gazed for the last time on the cold and rigid face of -Nicholas Jardine. - -Three days later, the sun, shining through the windows of the ancient -Abbey church, fell upon sculptured saint and heavenward-pointing -angel, revealed the lettering on many a mural tablet dedicated -to long-departed men and women, illumined the sombre crowd of -black-clothed worshippers, and gleamed on the silver coffin plate of -the dead President. - -Deep organ notes rolled beneath the fretted arches as choir and -congregation, with heads bowed low, raised in mournful cadence the wail -of the _Dies irae_. - -Apart from the girl, by whose side Linton Herrick knelt, perhaps there -were few present who really mourned for Nicholas Jardine. But, as -people do at such a time, they mourned for themselves, they mourned for -humanity; and recent local events--the strange convulsions of nature, -with the apprehension of more terrible possibilities to come, served -to accentuate the feelings of the worshippers. For the moment, at any -rate, they believed in the life of the world to come. They recognised -in the burial of the dead that dread passing through the gate of -judgment to which man, frail man, has ever been predestined. The air -was full of lamentations: - - "Day of wrath! O day of mourning! - See fulfill'd the prophets' warning! - Heav'n and earth in ashes burning! - - Oh, what fears, man's bosom rendeth, - When from heav'n the Judge descendeth, - On Whose sentence all dependeth! - - Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth, - Through earth's sepulchres it ringeth, - All before the Throne it bringeth!" - -Verse after verse the solemn litany continued: - - "Ah! that day of tears and mourning, - From the dust of earth returning, - Man for judgment must prepare him; - Spare, O God, in mercy spare him." - -The funeral march pealed forth as the body was borne from the Church. -Slowly the congregation dispersed, until at last only one figure -remained, the solitary kneeling form of Zenobia. - - * * * * * - -Within an hour after Linton had left the cemetery, he received -a telegram in cipher from Sir Robert Herrick. He gave immediate -instructions to Wilton, and sent a message to Zenobia. She came to him -at once. - -Linton looked at her with troubled eyes. There was something infinitely -pathetic in the aspect of this slim, fair girl with the sunny hair, on -whose face suffering and distress of spirit suddenly had set so sad a -stamp. - -"Good-bye," she answered, "God grant that you may both come safely -back. When Mr. Renshaw is in England, I must see him, I must tell him -all." - -With a final pressure of her hand, he turned away. However much his -heart might be wrung at leaving her, however hard to keep back the -words of love and tenderness that rose to his lips, he must be silent -for the moment. There was a task to be performed. It was the hour for -action. Great issues were involved. A national crisis was at hand. - -That much Linton knew. But as yet he did not know that the crisis -was to assume a double and appalling complexity. A thunderbolt had -been hurled against England from an unexpected quarter. A swift and -staggering blow, well timed in the hour of Jardine's death, had been -levelled against the remaining pillars of her once proud Empire. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE RAID OF THE EAGLES. - - -It was the suddenness of the calamity that staggered humanity. One -day not a cloud in the over-seas sky, and the next a catastrophe that -petrified the nation. In London the hoarse croaking notes of the -news-vendors--the ravens of the press--filled the streets and squares, -and flaring placards, displayed in every quarter, attracted the notice -of ever-increasing crowds. Men wrangled, and even fought, over copies -of the papers, and edition after edition was reeled off to meet the -enormous public demand. It was the news from Dover that created this -unparalleled excitement. An inconceivable thing had happened. By means -of crafty strategy, a mixed body of American and German troops had -seized and were in possession of Fort Warden! Immediately the wildest -and most conflicting accounts were in circulation. But, separating -the chaff from the wheat, the more responsible of the London journals -presently set forth a bald statement of the facts--facts that were -alleged to be beyond dispute. The statements published by these papers, -indeed, were said to be authorised by the Chiefs of the Intelligence -Department at the War Office. Further details, however, constantly were -coming over the wires, and it was known that large bodies of regular -and territorial troops were being hurried to the aid of the garrison at -Dover. - -The first report, viz., that foreigners had obtained a foothold by -means of the Channel Tunnel was officially contradicted. The simple -truth was as follow: On the previous evening a Hamburg liner had -entered the commercial harbour, and some hundreds of her passengers -at once had landed on the jetty. There was nothing remarkable or -suspicious in such an occurrence. The great German liner was a -familiar and frequent visitor to the port. Though it was noticed -that a large number of passengers came ashore, that circumstance was -plausibly explained by the statement of the ship's officers, who said -that something had gone wrong with her machinery. It would take the -engineers two hours or more to put right the defect. What more natural -than that most of the passengers should land and fill up the time by -the inspection of the points of interest in the town? The harbour -officials estimated that altogether some three hundred men had come -ashore. They had the appearance of tourists. The evening was cold, -and, wearing travelling caps and capes or ulsters, the visitors passed -briskly across the jetty and disappeared, in little parties of eight or -nine, into the town. - -The townspeople, as they were putting up their shutters, noticed the -strangers as they passed through the streets. It was remarked that they -spoke to each other in low tones or not at all, also that they did -not loiter or stare about them like ordinary sightseers. The general -impression was that they had only landed to stretch their legs, and -meant to climb the hill and then come back again. They certainly did -climb the hill, but none of them returned. It was not until an hour -later that an amazing rumour spread throughout the town. The story was -brought by bands of excited Amazons belonging to those to whom Fort -Warden had temporarily been given up for gunnery practice. Their pale -faces and distraught appearance at once made it clear that something -very serious had happened. Yet the townsfolk were incredulous. The -thing seemed so absurd, so impossible! These girl-soldiers, they -thought, were the victims of some monstrous practical joke or of -hysterical hallucination. Who could possibly credit such a tale? But -the Amazons, in trembling tones and with nervous gestures, declared -that it was true. Their numbers rapidly increased; some of them came -tearing down the Castle Hill in uncontrollable alarm. All of them, in -one way or another, verified the amazing story. - -It was this: A band of foreigners, comprising 150 Americans and 150 -soldierly Germans, armed with revolvers, had "rushed" Fort Warden. -The approaches were open at the time, and guarded by only a few -artillerymen. It was visitors' day, and the visitors were departing -as the foreigners arrived. The struggle was of the briefest. Those of -the artillerymen who showed fight had been instantly shot down. The -others had been secured, together with the chief gunnery instructor -and the head of the chemical department--a non-combatant from whom the -foreigners had violently forced such information as they needed. As -for the Amazons themselves, they had not been maltreated--but, what -was worse, many had been insultingly kissed or roughly caressed by the -invaders. With all speed and no ceremony, they had been contemptuously -bundled out of the fort--and here they were to tell the tale! - -A staff-officer at the local head-quarters, to whom the report was -carried by a breathless tradesman, lost no time in ringing up Fort -Warden. For some time there was no reply. He rang angrily again -and yet again; at last came some unintelligible response. He swore -irritably, and then roared an inquiry: - -"Are you there? Who is it?" - -Still no reply. - -"Why don't you answer? What's this I hear about the Fort?" - -The only answer was an inarticulate growl. - -"Why the devil don't you speak? Who are you?" - -Then, at last, came an intelligible response--in English with a strong -American intonation: - -"Guess you'd better come and see!" - - * * * * * - -How and why had this dastardly combined attack on England come to pass? -The story can be briefly told. Great Britain had long been regarded by -America as old and stricken in years--not merely as the old country, -but as a country that was in its dotage--old and played out. America -was young and lusty, and quite persuaded that the old folk at home were -too feeble to retain the management of the old Estate. Already the -United States, in the scramble for British possessions, had pocketed -some nice little pickings. The West Indian Islands, the Bermudas -and British Guiana, had been virtually surrendered to Washington. -England for years, but in vain, had sought to placate this big and -blustering branch of the ancient race whenever family friction had -arisen. Again and again weaker members of the clan, poor relations, -like Newfoundland, had been sacrificed to the demands of the United -States. But some appetites are insatiable, some ambitions unbounded. A -new order of American politicians had arisen, men who aimed at a great -federation of the Anglo-Saxon race, with America not as the junior -partner, but as the head and ruling spirit of that federation. When -the possessor of a great estate becomes imbecile or lapses into second -childhood his affairs are taken out of his hands--for his own good and -for the due protection of his solicitous relations. That, argued the -plotters, was just what was needed in the case of Great Britain. The -indications of decrepitude had been slowly but, to keen observers, -convincingly manifested during a period of more than thirty years. -Thirty years ago Englishmen would have scouted the idea of an American -invasion, or the idea of America in alliance with Germany against Great -Britain. Monstrous! Was not blood thicker than water? Were not the -American people our own kith and kin? Yes, but times had changed, while -human nature had remained the same. America had become a cosmopolitan -country. From all parts of Europe--and especially from Germany--men had -emigrated to the United States. Thither, too, swarms of the yellow from -China and Japan, had insidiously made their way in spite of opposition; -and year after year the black population of the great continent had -enormously increased, while the Anglo-Saxon birth-rate had rapidly -declined. The British element in America thus had been absorbed, -submerged. The old and consolatory theory of family ties, like other -popular fallacies fondly cherished in spite of the march of events, at -last had been convincingly exploded by the raid on Dover. - -Signs of the coming times had not been wanting. England, fearing a -German invasion, had kept her fleets in home waters. The great scheme -of Imperial Defence, much discussed in 1909, had not been perfected. As -far back as the earthquake of 1906 in Jamaica, the growing inability -of England to look after her outlying possessions had been strikingly -instanced. No British Squadron was near at hand in that hour of trial -to succour the afflicted islanders. Was it not an American, not an -English, Admiral who had come to the rescue of the British colony? -Had not the English Governor been summarily suppressed by the Home -Government because he had ventured sarcastically to point out that -American assistance, however kindly meant, was not required, and had -not been regulated by the accepted law of nations? - -From that day forth--and there had been other similar examples--the -more enterprising politicians of Washington took an increasing interest -in British affairs, and dreamed dreams in which the old familiar -colours on the map of the world--where once upon a time red was so -predominant--underwent some radical and striking alterations. - -Of course, there was one part of the British dominions, and that -very near to the centre of British Government, in which America -had taken the closest interest for more than a century. There was -Ireland, the emigrated population of which had become part of the -mixed population of the United States. The Irish vote, moreover, had -become of increasing importance to those who wished to hold the helm at -Washington; and, in truth, it was the old and long cherished idea of -planting the American standard on Irish soil that gradually had led up -to this daring exploit, the news of which the great guns of Fort Warden -were booming out to all the world. - -It was not really surprising that men with so marked an aptitude for -commercial enterprise as the American wire-pullers should have turned -covetous eyes towards the Isle of Erin. Ireland was the great junction -for the ship-line between the Old Country and the New, an unexploited -island of noble harbours, rich in mountain, lake, and river. - -A certain Senator Hiram P. Dexter, a Prince of Tammany, who had become -President of the United States, crystallised the idea thus: - -"England had colonised America. Why should not America re-colonise -depopulated Ireland. She could then dominate her former senior partner -in the ancient British firm and make things hum!" - -The idea was "cute," inspiring. Nevertheless, it was certain that, -however anxious she might be for peace and quietness, Britannia could -never tolerate another flag so near to her own centre of government. -The line must be drawn somewhere. Hiram P. Dexter and his friends -realised that for dominion in Ireland, even under the Jardine -dispensation and in the reign of woman, England must needs fight, fight -to the bitter end; unless, indeed, by some master-stroke of policy and -daring she could first be disabled by the strong man armed. - -Hence the plan of campaign--by unscrupulous strategy to seize the key -of the castle, the stronghold of Dover; while, at the same time, the -squadrons of the two Eagles menaced the coast of Ireland itself and -landed troops at various points. - -It was an infamy; it was a dastardly and fratricidal act; it was a -combination worthy of Herod and Pilate! All these things were said. -But history is not made or unmade by the aid of epithets. History -reckons with great national forces, race problems, and the bed-rock -of accomplished facts. Abundant precedents could have been cited, -and nothing succeeds likes success. In this case, if the attempt -should fail, it might be explained away as the mad raid of a band of -freebooters. Those who survived might be nominally called to account, -just as had happened fifty years earlier after the futile raid of a -certain Dr. Jameson, and others, when one Kruger was "King" of the -Transvaal. In either event, whatever England might think and say of -this stab in the back, there were millions in the States who would -applaud the blow as smart beyond anything that had ever been attempted -by American Presidents, and Hiram P. Dexter would go down to posterity -as a Napoleon of enterprise--the man who realised that even America -was not big enough in these mid-century days for the mixed peoples of -the States; that the dominant race in that massed population needed -more room to turn round in; more scope for hustling; fresh fields and -pastures new for the feverish multiplication of the almighty dollar. - -But there was another nation to be reckoned with. - -The two greatest competitors for world-power and commerce were Germany -and America. And Germany and America did not want to fight--at present. -A system of mutual concessions--with mental reservations--better suited -the provisional purposes of Berlin and Washington, at any rate for -the time being. Clearly, nothing could be done by way of aggression -in Europe without taking Germany into account. So the business-like -President of the States had engineered with the Germans what brokers -and auctioneers describe as a big "knock-out." They had come to -an understanding--about England--an understanding provisional and -tentative. - -Again, thirty years ago Englishmen would have scouted such an idea. -But nothing stands still. We ripe and ripe, and then from hour to hour -we rot and rot. So also with the Empires of the world. The law of the -survival of the fittest operates in all created things. Britain herself -had been one of the chief exponents of this immutable law. Not by means -of Peace Conferences and a tentative reduction of armaments, coupled -with pious platitudes concerning methods of barbarism--otherwise -War--had her great Empire been built up. With the strong hand, in past -times, we had belaboured effete and wealthy Spain. With force of arms -we had driven from the seas Holland--once our great and powerful rival -for the trade of the world. We had humbled Napoleon and the pride of -France on the field of Waterloo. India had been taken with the sword. -With shot and shell and reeking bayonet these and other things were -done. And as we had done unto others, by reason of the necessities of -national existence, so might we rationally have expected that others in -their turn would do unto us. - -History, though in our self-absorption we forget it, is full of -dramatic surprises, and suddenly develops startling situations. The -rise of Japan had been a staggering surprise--both for Europe and -America, and, indeed, had become a great factor in the latest departure -of American policy. There had been other shocks, and there were more -to follow. Over all the white nations there hung a dark and ominous -shadow, ever increasing, caused by the rise and rapid expansion of -the yellow and black. The East was filling up, and inasmuch as Great -Britain still held much coveted territory in the West, and had money in -her banks, it was around and against the British Isles that the Spirit -of Annexation still watchfully hovered--ready to pounce. - -The raid at Dover--whether failing or succeeding--therefore must be -viewed as a sign, a lurid, awful sign, of altered times. The hour was -well chosen. Nicholas Jardine, the Man of the People, lay dead. The -nation was in the throes of a domestic crisis, the Champion of the -Women straining every nerve to take the dead President's place, and -pursue a programme which would satisfy the special aspirations of her -sex. - -Yet it could not be believed that such a nation, a race originally -so splendid in fibre, so dogged in courage, would take the onslaught -of her rivals lying down. England, surely, now at the eleventh hour, -would be roused to action. England would fight, and even dying breathe -defiance to her foes. But, alas! England sorely needed leadership--the -potent magic of some great personality to inspire her people with -courage and enthusiasm. And in this hour of dire distress, Renshaw, the -only leader who could have commanded a widespread patriotic following, -was lost to England--lying scarred and beaten, it was said, chained -like a dog in the prison of the Mahdi. - -So thought most of those who thought of him at all. Yet, even while his -name was on their lips, the Phoenix was reviving. Sir Robert Herrick -knew it. General Hartwell and Linton knew it; and there were others, -quick of hearing, keen of sight, who already heard the flapping of the -wings; saw the Phoenix rising from the ashes of the past and speeding -from afar towards our violated shores. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT. - - -The enemy still held the fort. All through the night a terrific -bombardment had been maintained, and even when the first grey line of -dawn began to creep across the downs the insistent fury of the guns -increased rather than diminished. Major Wardlaw estimated that during -the last twelve hours over eleven thousand shots had been fired from -the big guns of Fort Warden, while thousands of shrapnel hurled against -its fortifications from the various encircling field batteries manned -by British gunners were beyond all definite calculation. At the height -of the bombardment not less than 80 per minute must have been directed -by way of return against the British batteries, and in this onslaught -the great guns (of which there were seven at work in Fort Warden) -contributed the most overwhelming and terrible results. This deafening -and incessant rain of fire was directed mainly against the Castle and -Fort Burgoyne, but, incidentally, it had wrought ruin and convulsion on -every side. Shells falling into the town of Dover had already reduced -it to heaps of tumbled masonry. Here and there great volumes of smoke -rose from the wreckage of shops and houses. The Town Hall--the ancient -_Maison Dieu_, founded by Hugh de Burgh, Constable of Dover, in the -reign of John--having escaped destruction during the night, caught -fire about daybreak, the flames, rushing upward in the morning air, -watched by thousands from the western heights, to which the terrified -inhabitants had fled for safety. - -On the Castle Hill the bluish haze caused by the ceaseless bursting -of shells and shrapnel in some measure veiled the central scene of -conflict; and this haze, spreading far and wide over the landscape, -presently assumed the most delicate and beautiful colours as the sun -rose up and threw its shafts of light on hill and dale. When the light -grew stronger, cloud after cloud of smoke was seen to rush aloft from -the contending forts, and every moment the sun, with growing glory, -painted these rolling billows with glorious hues of burnished gold or -bronze. Here and there, while the people watched, columns of earth -and chalk rose high into the air, as shot and shell ploughed deep -into the soil, while flashes of fire from the bursting shells, the -pale smoke rushing like steam from the shrapnels, and the leaping -fountains of soil, all combined to give the beholder the impression -of some terrific convulsion of nature. So extraordinary and ghastly -was the general effect produced that many of the spectators believed -they were witnessing a volcanic eruption allied in some way with the -seismic disturbances reported to have occurred at Bath and other inland -watering-places. - -Yet towards the awful crater of this man-made volcano, British troops -were now advancing. It had been fondly hoped by the British staff -that the tremendous bombardment from the big howitzers, maintained -ceaselessly during the night, would have disabled Fort Warden to such -an extent that an infantry attack in the morning would meet with but -feeble resistance. Very few of the officers, however, had any true -conception of the enormous strength and staying power with which -Wardlaw had endowed his military master-piece. - -Yet the onslaught had to be made. To the Highlanders--brought over -from Shorncliffe--was entrusted the honour of leading the attack on one -side, while the Royal Marines, from Chatham; were simultaneously to -advance on the other. The hour of trial came. Firing not a shot, but -with heads bent low, creeping forward, and taking advantage of every -inequality in the ground for cover, the attacking force approached the -flaming portals that confronted them. It was but a short distance, for -during the night the saps had been carried close to the first circle of -wire entanglements. Some of the wires, moreover, had been destroyed, -leaving gaps through which the Highlanders were ordered to drag light -scaling ladders and approach the moat, while others pushed sandbags -before them to take the invaders' fire. - -Suddenly the word of command broke hoarsely on their ears. As it came -from the Commanding Officer, a bullet struck him in the heart. He -fell with a groan that was hardly audible. At the last word of their -beloved Commander the Highlanders sprang up, and with an angry yell -rushed headlong towards the moat. But narrow though the space they had -to cross, the withering fire from the machine guns made it impossible -to traverse it. The leading ranks, officers and men alike, were beaten -down by lead as hail beats down a field of waving corn. The rest -wavered, turned, and in a moment the ill-starred regiment, all that was -left of it, rushed down the hill in desperate flight. Attempts to rally -them were futile. Neither man nor devil could, or would, stand against -that awful overwhelming hail of shot and shell. - -On the other side of the fort, the Marines had approached somewhat -nearer to success. Here the gaps in the wire entanglements seen at -close quarters afforded some encouragement. With an inspiring cheer, -the men dashed forward, their bayonets fixed; but suddenly, as if from -the earth itself, sprang up an opposing line of bayonets. The gaps in -the entanglement were filled with German soldiers, and in an instant -the combatants were engaged, man to man, in a furious hand-to-hand -encounter. Deep groans and screaming blasphemies blended with the -tumult of the guns. Here and there in the melee, men whose bayonets -were broken off clubbed their rifles and savagely battered at each -other's faces; but still more ghastly than the injuries thus exchanged -was the hellish work effected by the hand grenades, of which the Fort -contained large quantities. These explosives, now used for the first -time on English soil, blew men literally to pieces. Neither skill -nor courage could avert these horrible results. The methods of the -anarchist had been allowed to find scope in the warfare of civilized -peoples. The bombs, wherever they struck, made mincemeat of humanity. - -The Marines, like the Highlanders, had been driven back, and there came -a ghastly interlude when the Germans sought to rescue their wounded -and distinguish and carry in the dead. Those who had been butchered by -the hand grenades had to be hastily shovelled into sacks and baskets -before their remains could be removed. No pen could dare describe in -detail all the revolting sights which this small battle-field in a few -brief moments had revealed. Severed heads rolled down the hill, the -eyes wide open, the features fixed in horror. In one spot from ten to -fifteen corpses, friends and foes together, involved and twisted in a -shapeless mass, were suddenly discovered in a hollow. In many instances -the force of the explosions had torn the clothing from the bodies of -the soldiers. Arms and legs had been wrenched from their trunks and -blown away. From pyramidal heaps of mutilated English corpses stiffened -fingers pointed towards the sky. - -Many of the Marines who had escaped the hand grenades had had limbs -clean amputated by the knife-like fragments of the high explosives ere -the rush was made. In some instances the upper halves of bodies lay -on the hill without marks of injury, the lower limbs having wholly -disappeared. Yet terribly and suddenly as death had come to these -devoted men, far more awful was the fate of those whom shell and bomb -had shattered without absolutely killing. These slowly dying fragments -of humanity lay moaning in their tortured state, praying as they had -never prayed before for that last agony which should release them from -sufferings that no tongue could utter and no imagination even picture. - -Already the havoc wrought in human flesh had been accompanied with -inconceivable disaster in all directions. Fort Burgoyne, its guns -silenced by the more modern ordnance, was little better than a heap -of ruins--ruins piled high above the dead and dying gunners. The more -exposed batteries on the Western Heights had been dismantled long -before the inhabitants of Dover climbed the hill and gazed across -the valley. When, after the repulse of the British attack, the fury -of fight was abated for a brief period, and the smoke of battle -temporarily rolled away, the appearance of Dover Castle itself filled -the spectators with amazement and dismay. So great was the destruction -and the transformation that it was difficult to believe that what they -now looked upon had any association with the great towers and massive -walls which had been familiar objects to them all their lives. The -Norman keep, with walls more than 20 feet thick, had been so battered -as to present the appearance of a jagged range of rock. Peveril's -Tower had disappeared. The Cotton Gate, rising as it did to a height -of 90 feet and 460 feet above sea-level, by some miracle had escaped -all damage; but the Constable's Tower was reduced to half its former -height. The upper half, it was conjectured, lay crumbling in the moat -below. - -What had happened to the Duke of York's School, which the boys had -evacuated overnight, or to the batteries that had been placed in -Northfall Meadows and on the Golf Links, could only be a matter -of surmise. The Pharos and St. Mary's Church so far seemed to be -untouched, possibly because the gunners in Fort Warden had not deemed -it worth while to waste their fire on either. - -In all the awestricken throng that stood upon the Western Heights and -gazed across the ruined town towards Castle Hill, none had feelings -that corresponded wholly with those of Major Wardlaw. Scanning the -field of operations through his glasses, his face twitched as if in -actual pain. The attention of the uninformed lookers-on was constantly -diverted from one thing to another, the wreck of the Castle, the crash -of a roof as it collapsed in the town below, or the woolly clouds -caused by bursting shrapnel, which still was being fired at intervals. -But Wardlaw heeded none of the more picturesque effects. His mind, his -powers of observation, his poignant feelings, were intent on causes, -not effects. Every inch of the scene of operations was known to him. He -knew the position and capacity of each fort and field battery. He could -distinguish, where others knew no distinction, between the work of the -big guns, the siege guns, howitzers, mortars, and field artillery. A -sudden and terrific detonation told him that a huge naval gun had been -landed from one of the great ships in the Admiralty Harbour. It must -have been a work of enormous difficulty to get that gun ashore, during -the night, and a still more terrific task to drag it into position to -play with full effect upon Fort Warden. It was the work, as he knew, -of British seamen--British seamen at their best, which happily still -meant that there were none better in the world. But, more than all, his -thoughts ran on Fort Warden--the Fort itself. - -Nearly all his life the study of fortification had obsessed him. -While he looked at people, or even talked to them, his mind had been -at work on parapets, banquettes, palisades, scarp and counter-scarp. -All the technicology of the art of war and of the scientific defence -of permanent positions was as familiar to this Engineer Officer as -are household words to household people. Fort Warden, as already -indicated, was the outcome of his concentrated mental labours and his -soldier's instinct. In his younger days superior officers had looked -rather coldly on his zeal. He had shown that he was a young man with -ideas, and ideas are unwelcome to officials who love red tape and -well-established grooves. - -But as years went on and slow promotion at last came to him, he had -gained the ear of men in military power. Thus advanced in confidence -and authority, he had been allowed almost a free hand in designing the -modernized defences of Castle Hill. It was so desirable to sooth the -public mind that public money had been spent upon the works without any -sort of stint. Everything that the Major thought Fort Warden ought to -have was there. In construction his plans had been faithfully observed. -He had been allowed to make experiments of every kind. Not satisfied -with earthworks, moats, wire entanglements, and bomb-proof shelters -for the trenches, Wardlaw had adopted a novel system of armour plates -for the protection of the Fort--plates that were produced by the use -of tantalum ore alloyed with steel. This hardy metal, imported from -Australia, had been proved to possess the most remarkable qualities. In -itself it was heavier than iron, and could be so treated as to increase -by 30 per cent. the resisting power of any armour plates previously in -use for naval or military purposes. - -The success of Wardlaw's designs, the wisdom of his -carefully-considered plans, the selection and apportionment of warlike -material (in the preparation of which the chemist played a more -important part than the armourer), had been only too amply justified. -Results affirmed the first principle of fortification and of the art -of gunnery, which principle lay in creating and arming a position of -such strength and such resources that it could be held by a body of -men greatly inferior in numbers to those by whom they were attacked. -Fort Warden, the great outcome of the Major's career, the splendid -achievement on the strength of which he had retired from active -service, thus stood justified beyond all cavil or dispute. - -Yet, as he gazed towards the work of his hands, Wardlaw's heart was -full of grief and bitterness. There stood the Fort in all its pride -and strength; around it lay the victims of its fury; within it less -than three hundred foreigners still defied thousands of British troops -on British soil. Above it floated, so far, in victory, two foreign -Eagles--the flags of Germany and the United States. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -IN THE HEART OF THE HILL. - - -While the dead were being buried and the wounded removed, there was -a long cessation of the savage struggle. Indeed, the long lull in -the firing almost led some people to believe that it would be heard -no more. Crowds on the Western heights glanced curiously, anxiously, -towards Fort Warden, with some idea that its picked garrison would now -abandon their desperate and daring attempt to hold the position. It -became known that the enemy's plans had been in part defeated--either -by reason of some official blunder or through the watchfulness of -the French at the other extremity of the Channel Tunnel. The German -troops that were to have raided the French terminus, and then poured -into England, under the protection of the guns of Fort Warden, already -seized by their advance guard, had not arrived, and could not now -approach to aid their countrymen. Movements of foreign warships and -transports were hourly reported by telegraph and wireless messages, but -the British Fleet had by this time formed a deadly barrier of iron and -steel around the coast line of Kent and Sussex. There must be a great -battle and a great defeat of our squadrons before another foreigner -could set his foot on Kentish shore. - -The brooding day wore on, tense with suspense and fear. In the -stillness that accompanied the deepening of twilight, hundreds of -field-glasses were finally directed towards the silent fort to -discover whether the American and German flags had yet given place to -the white flag of submission. Any such anticipation, however, proved -unfounded. For suddenly, as the dusk increased, the roar of artillery -was heard; the masked batteries of the British once more had opened -simultaneous fire upon the Fort. Instantly the challenge was accepted. -Fort Warden roared its defiance. The big naval gun thundered its -repeated demand for surrender; the siege guns crashed in unison; the -howitzers savagely chimed in, barking as in sudden fury, like monster -dogs of war; and fifty field guns combined to swell the dreadful, -deafening chorus. - -Presently the fire from the Fort slackened. It seemed clear they were -husbanding their strength for work more crucial. Or could it be that -they were running short of ammunition? Perhaps, it was conjectured, -more damage had been done to Wardlaw's Works than the British had -supposed. Such speculations cheered the spirits of officers and men. -But the wiser among them only shook their heads. They appreciated the -mettle of the men who held the fort, realised that they had counted -the cost, expected no quarter, and meant to win or die. The British -staff knew that it would be folly to cry until they were out of the -wood. They realised that many a man must bite the dust in agony before -the British Standard floated over Wardlaw's Works again, if, indeed, -it ever fluttered there at all! The invaders would, and must, hold the -Fort till their last gasp--not because they in themselves could hope -for ultimate triumph over the increasing forces that now surrounded -them, but because to them time was everything--time for their -countrymen to develop elsewhere the work of conquest; time for the -American and German combined squadrons to land troops at unprotected -spots of Great Britain and Ireland, while they, the daring three -hundred, monopolised the attention of the flower of England's troops. -The plans of the Allies were elaborate. This was but their first great -move. - -Meanwhile, imperative orders had been given for the British to attack -the Fort again. The attempt was to be made directly darkness had set -in, and it was only to pave the way for a new and even more determined -onslaught that the guns had broken forth in the renewed bombardment -already chronicled. Troops, Regular and Territorial, still were pouring -into Kent. - -No drum or bugle note disturbed the evening air; an interval of ominous -silence, pregnant with dreadful threats and dire potentialities, -preceded the renewed attack. When the hour had come, the word of -command, uttered in a whisper, was whispered on from rank to rank. -In open order, the swarming infantry battalions crept swiftly up the -hill, simultaneously making for the Fort on every side. They reached a -certain point, then paused under the last scrap of cover that remained -available, while the field telephones sent swift messages to certain -batteries. The signals served their purposes, and as the guns burst out -again, the men sprang to their feet and doubled forward. - -Those who were advancing from the South stopped almost instantly, -dazzled and confused. The powerful searchlight of the Fort glared -into their faces with bewildering suddenness, and the insistent -racket of rifles and machine guns told them that their advance had -been discovered. The doomed and blinded soldiers fell in scores, in -hundreds, before a withering storm of bullets. Then, just as suddenly -as it had been revealed, the flashlight was concealed; but only -to glare forth again on the British supports that were hurried to -the front. Thus, brilliant light and deepest darkness alternated in -swift and bewildering succession, and through both alike the leaden -messengers of death mowed down the advancing troops. - -Rank after rank reeled back upon their climbing comrades. On the South -side, once more, the attack had failed, and failed at heavy cost. - -North, West, and East, the result had been the same--repulse, defeat. -The night was now illumined with extraordinary brilliance. Star-shells, -rising high into the air above the Fort, burst in quick and dazzling -succession. The blinding glare lighted up the hill, the sea, and -every field and building, revealing, too, the fleeing figures of the -retreating force and the prostrate forms of hosts of dead and wounded. -A hail of bullets from the Maxims persistently pursued the remnant of -the fleeing soldiers, and swept the plateau and the hillside clear of -living things. - -Pom, pom, pom! the murderous machines of wholesale destruction -continued their deadly work until the men who worked them could find no -living thing to put to death. - -Broken and beaten--many of them desperately and horribly wounded--the -panting remnant of the attacking force heard, as, at last, they halted, -a shrill shout of triumph from the jubilant defenders of the Fort. - -But the night's work was far from finished. The Fort must fall--cost -what it might, the Fort must fall. If it could not be captured above -ground in the staring light of star-shells, the attack must be made -by burrowing in darkness through the hill itself. Preparations for -this desperate and dangerous work had been already started, and much -progress made. For twelve hours or more, during what appeared to be -a suspension of hostilities, the sappers had worked in relays with -furious and unremitting energy. While their comrades above ground were -being repulsed, while the star-shells went up in a rapid succession, -and the implacable searchlight swept the hill in all directions, the -picks of the Engineers, yard by yard, were steadily hacking a way -towards the very foundations of the Fort. - -These tunnelling operations would have been infinitely more tedious -and more arduous had not an elaborate system of subterranean passages -already been provided by Major Wardlaw. Various cunningly devised -galleries bad been secretly cut in the hill in order to furnish the -garrison of the Fort (on the assumption that the garrison would be -English and acting on the defensive), with the means of taking an -attacking force in the rear, and of laying mines for the destruction -of any besiegers. But the tables had been turned, though how far, if -at all, the invaders were aware of these hidden avenues and the method -by which they could be made available, remained a matter of doubt and -anxious speculation to the British Staff. Meanwhile, hour after hour, -deep in the heart of the hill, the sappers sweated at their work. -Nearer and nearer they approached to the spot at which a mine, if -exploded, might be expected to shatter at least a section of the Fort, -and open a way for British bayonets to enter. - -A few more yards and the vital point would be reached. Then, suddenly, -the sapper who was wielding a pickaxe in advance of all the rest paused -in his work, listening intently. He raised his hand excitedly, and the -officer in command of the party instantly crept forward, and with an -imperious gesture stopped the work. The sappers, their faces shining -in the lantern light, at first wondered what it meant. But soon enough -they heard and understood. Faintly, as through a massive wall, there -came to their ears the fateful sound of tapping--the click, click, -click of other pickaxes. It came from below the tunnel they themselves -were cutting. One thing, and only one, could explain the sound. The -invaders had found out, or someone had betrayed to them, one of the -secret tunnels of the hill. - -The sappers, pale as death, gazed in each other's faces. In a flash -they realised the awful jeopardy in which they stood. The invaders were -counter-mining at a lower stratum! beneath their very feet. At any -moment--while a breath was drawn or glances were exchanged--they might -explode their mine! - -There was an awesome pause, then the officer gave a sharp, -half-whispered order. Instantly, boldly, the picks were at their -work again. It was a desperate race for time--here in this cramped -tunnel--in the smothering depths of mother earth; and no man's life -was worth a moment's purchase. Yet iron self-discipline prevailed. The -sappers worked with almost frenzied haste and vigour. After ten minutes -of furious, exhausting labour, they were allowed to pause. The chests -of the toilers heaved painfully; some of them tried to hold their -breath; others shook their heads impatiently, as if to stop the singing -in their ears. They wanted to listen, to hear, and know their fate. - -No sound reached them. It was a moment of agonizing tension. Then, -nearer than before, they heard the picks again. Suddenly the sound -ceased. The invaders had completed their work. There was no time to -lose. At a sign from the officer, who brushed a handkerchief across his -face and drew a laboured breadth, a grim-faced sergeant began to crawl -back swiftly to the distant opening of the tunnel for the dynamite. -Another and more torturing pause ensued. - -Which mine would be exploded first? - -It was an affair of minutes, then of seconds. Their mine was not yet -ready. But duty held them to their ground. Though hell should burst -upon them on the instant, the flaming portals must be faced. - -Out in the open, those who watched and waited suddenly heard a -thunderous detonation. A huge mass of earth and chalk rose high in the -air, and clouds of whitish smoke spread skyward in the full glare of -the searchlights. Three engineers, half doubled up, now came rushing -from the tunnel to the outlet, bursting among a little group of -officers, who staggered back with horror in their faces. - -"Done for ... countermined!" One of the sappers gasped out the fateful -words, then sank exhausted on the ground. - -"My God!" exclaimed Helmore, the officer in charge of the relief party, -falling back a pace. Then, promptly recovering his self-control, he -cried: "Forward to the rescue. Some of our men may be alive!" He -himself dashed into the tunnel, followed by half a dozen men. At -a little distance, the narrow avenue was blocked. The miners were -entombed! but an indirect opening had been made by the concussion, -which gave the rescuing party access to another tunnel. Following -this, and finding it intact, Helmore, in advance of the party, raised -his lanthorn and saw in the distance an exposed angle of a massive -concrete wall. He understood at once that the exploded mine, working -in a lateral direction as well as upward, had exposed the caponiere, -or covered lodgment under the counter-scarp, which Wardlaw had sunk in -that position designedly for the protection of the Fort. Therefore, the -holders of the Fort, in a measure, were hoist with their own petard. -Their mine had exploded first, but at the same time it had exposed a -point against which a subterranean attack now might be directed. - -The moat encircling the Fort was twenty-eight feet wide and eighteen -deep. Strongly fortified everywhere, a special feature of its strength -lay in the caponiere gallery. The walls of this gallery, constructed -beneath the entire counter-scarp, were some seven feet thick. On -this, the South side, as also on the East, the gallery was divided by -concrete partitions into five communicating cells or chambers. These -chambers, as Lieutenant Helmore knew from the confidential plans of -the defence works, communicated, cell with cell, by low and narrow -doorways. From the last of the five cells, by a narrow flight of steps, -could be reached a door of massive steel, and on the other side of that -door a passage five feet wide passed beneath the rampart and the moat -into the interior of the Fort itself. This communication, of course, -was intended to enable defenders of the Fort to reach the caponieres -which jutted into the moat at intervals, and thence fire upon any -troops that sought to bridge it. - -The enormous importance of his discovery made Helmore forget for a -moment the fate or peril of his ill-starred comrades--buried as they -were in the adjacent debris. Indeed, it was apparent that nothing could -be done for them. Their dreadful fate was sealed, and the faint groans -that at first reached the ears of the would-be rescuers soon entirely -ceased to be heard. - -Helmore, after a moment's pause, sent a man back with news of the -discovery to his commanding officer, who instantly grasped the -requirements of the situation. He issued certain rapid orders, and a -hundred men darted down the hill in prompt obedience. Meanwhile, the -relief sappers, guided by Helmore, crept through the narrow tunnel into -which an opening had been forced by the explosion. Without losing an -instant, the Engineers began to chisel several holes in the exposed -section of the concrete wall. A charge of dynamite was passed along, -and all made ready. The men rushed back and waited. The crack and crash -of a violent explosion followed, and the sappers, hurrying forward, -followed by other troops, found that a broad gap had been made in the -gallery of the caponiere. Through this breach they crept and crawled, -to find themselves in the first of the five cells, or gallery-sections, -that have been described. - -Opposite to them was the arched doorway leading into the next chamber. -But already the defending force had occupied it. Foreseeing that the -entire gallery might be rushed chamber by chamber, they had brought -heavy sandbags and piled them high, close to the first doorway. - -Against these obstacles the attacking party hurled themselves, -furiously but in vain. Half a dozen engineers immediately commenced -to break through the wall itself, in the hope of thus reaching the -adjoining chamber. Only a few men could work in so confined a space, -and while they hacked against the solid wall, the German defenders -now thrust their rifles between the gaps of the sandbags and fired -at random. Four Englishmen fell dead, or desperately wounded. Their -comrades dragged them back, making room for others. The Colonel's -orders had now been carried out, and hand grenades were passed along -from man to man. These fearful engines of destruction were only to be -used in case of dire extremity; because, closed within these walls, -beneath the hill, the explosives might well prove as fatal to the men -who used them as to the enemy. For the same reasons, doubtless, the -German soldiers engaged in this subterranean struggle, so far, had made -no use of bombs. - -The sappers having found it hopeless to cut a wider entrance through -the wall into the adjoining chamber, another plan was quickly thought -of and attempted. A can of kerosene was passed along and poured upon -the sandbags; then another and another. The moment a light was applied, -the soaked sandbags began to burn with so fierce a flame that the -soldiers on each side were driven back, and for a brief space the -chambers on both sides of the archway were left quite tenantless. Then, -with a half stifled cheer, a dozen British soldiers, their rifles -clubbed, dashed across the chamber and thrust the burning mass into -the inner cell. The Germans in the opposite entry already were hastily -piling more sandbags in position, but the gap was not wholly filled -when the attacking party rushed upon them impetuously and with an -excited shout. Bayonets crossed bayonets now, but neither side could -get free play either for attack or for defence. Over the waist-high -sandbags in this second archway, the combatants with desperate fury -thrust and stabbed. Groans and savage oaths blended with the flash of -steel. The place grew slippery with blood. Men fell and could not rise -again. Comrade trod comrade under foot and heeded not. - -Only one lanthorn now remained alight, half revealing the intent and -savage faces of the combatants. The Germans seemed to have no light at -all. And poor Helmore, who held the solitary lanthorn aloft to guide -his men, thus helped to direct the fatal thrust that laid him low. -With a hoarse cry, one of the Germans had hurled a bayonet through the -doorway. It pierced deep into the lieutenant's throat. The lanthorn -dropped from his upraised hand, and he fell against the wall. Blood -gushed in a torrent from his mouth, even while he bravely strove to -utter the last word of command: - -"Forward, men, forward!" he gasped, then spoke no more. - -A young soldier who heard him had marked well the position of the -archway, ere darkness hid it, and, maddened at the fall of his -officer, he hurled a hand grenade towards the opening. The effect was -instantaneous and terrific. The dreadful shock was succeeded by a still -more dreadful silence. - -When a light was struck it was seen that every German in the inner -chamber had been blown to pieces. - -A moment's hesitation in face of the ghastly sight, then, as the light -went out again, the British sprang into the inner cell to find, or -rather feel, that it was splashed and smeared with blood and clogged -with spongy fragments of the mutilated dead. - -Cell number two, by some freak of the explosive, had not been affected, -and as the third chamber thus was gained, a sergeant, shouting in the -darkness, gave the eager word: - -"Forward again! we'll have the Fort! By God, we'll have the Fort!" - -Again the men pressed forward, but this time no defenders barred the -way. In the distance there was a sound of hurrying footsteps. The -Germans had retreated down the stone stair which led to the steel door -of communication. - -Reinforcements had now reached the gallery, and fresh lights were -brought. Well might the newcomers shudder and turn sick at what those -lights revealed in chamber number three. At the moment it was quite -impossible to carry the dead and wounded to the rear. Officers and -men were swarming in, and none could leave the gallery. But word was -passed along for surgeons to be sent, and the wounded were laid against -the walls, leaving a clear gangway. Then the advance was cautiously -continued. - -Another officer--Carlow, who had just obtained his company--now -took command. Promptly but slowly, he headed the advance, for this -silence, this sudden cessation of resistance, might betoken some deadly -ambuscade. - -The men went forward, two and two. Chambers four and five proved to be -quite deserted. They reached the farther archway of cell number five, -and there Carlow, halting, peered down into the darkness of the narrow -stair. - -As he stood, gazing, listening, strange and pungent fumes crept up -between the walls. He gasped for breath and staggered back. The men -behind him did the same. The fumes were rising, spreading--permeating -the low gallery with extraordinary rapidity, travelling swiftly -into every chamber. Only a few understood how this awful sense of -suffocation was occasioned; and some who guessed that from an air-pump -down below the Germans were pumping asphyxiating gas into the gallery -guessed it too late. A few, before the gas had wholly overpowered them, -fought their way back to the open, but more than a hundred men dropped -where they stood in the close chambers--dropped and died. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -SIGNS AND WONDERS. - - -That important person, Miss Flossie Wardlaw, was extremely angry! -Events were interfering with her plan of life, and upsetting all her -theories of fitness. The preoccupation, the infatuation, shown by the -only other member of her family for something outside domestic life was -too exasperating. That tiresome fort at Dover was absorbing all her -father's thoughts. He grew paler and more haggard day by day, bestowing -less and less attention on the far more important interests that -concerned his little daughter and the familiar programme of her daily -life. - -Flossie told herself that she was not unreasonable. She had been quite -ready to make allowances. Alarming things, she knew, had happened close -at hand. Impudent foreigners had seized Fort Warden by stealth. The -ceaseless boom of the big guns disturbed the current of existence in -the bungalow. Things were tiresome; indeed, quite worrying when they -kept on like that! It was dreadful, that Englishmen, her father's -soldier-friends, should be killed by foreigners--killed in England -too, only ten miles away; usually they were only killed a long way -off, and that seemed different. But, of course, it could only end in -one way; the offenders would be turned out and most severely punished. -Meanwhile, the repeated and prolonged absence of her father at Dover, -and his preoccupied behaviour when he was at home, filled Flossie -with mixed feelings of annoyance and sympathy, in which the former -ingredient became more and more predominant. Her queenly power seemed -to be undermined. Her faithful subject had deserted her. Oh! that -horrid Fort! - -Miss Flossie nursed the personal sense of injury, and husbanded her -growing grievance, to the exclusion of thoughts concerning the national -questions that arose. So much depends upon the point of view; and that, -in turn, so much depends upon one's age. - -Nevertheless, the issues of the struggle at Fort Warden were vitally -important. They riveted the attention of many millions of the -population of the world. Here in England itself the seizure of the fort -had assumed a colossal significance, shaking the nation out of the -ever-narrowing grooves of Parliamentary and municipal party conflict, -compelling men to look back to a great history and forward to an era of -littleness that gave pause even to the most selfish and complacent. - -Cost what it might, the enemy must be driven out. Our Flag must wave -above that fort again. - -A spreading feeling of fury and resentment arose against the -Government. To this complexion had we come! Pushing politicians, -self-seeking wire-pullers of both sexes, had dragged England in the -dust. So much for Petticoat Government! So much for the Amazonian -craze, this make-believe of women-soldiers and girl-gunners. Woman -had largely ousted man from place and power, and this was the result! -A handful of foreigners had been emboldened to assail us on our own -sacred soil. Popular anger expressed itself afresh by breaking out -viciously into the old doggerel:-- - - "Old Nick and the Cat, - With Johnnie and Jan, - Have brought poor England - Under a ban!" - -Truly, Man was needed at the helm to which at this crisis woman clung -so obstinately. Man was wanted in his old authority, and, behold! in -every department of control woman was clinging to his coat-tails, -hindering his action, dividing his counsels, prating of peace when -there could be no peace, and exhibiting a rudimentary unfitness to -grapple with an unprecedented and desperate situation. - -The outcry came not from the men alone, but with increasing vehemence -from the very sex that had struggled for supremacy. Women out of -office--necessarily the vast majority--now began to discover that -those aggressive or more fortunate representatives of their sex who -had obtained salaried posts or prominence of some sort in public life, -were in many cases frauds and failures. This rule of woman that had -come to pass was not what the great mass of her sex had contemplated -or intended. They confessed it to husbands and brothers; and husbands -and brothers nodded in wise and ready acquiescence. Their faces plainly -said: "I told you so." - -Thousands of women ruefully admitted the impeachment. Successful -rivalry--mostly vicarious--had brought them no real joy. They had -gained power and lost love; and in their inmost hearts they knew that -love was worth the world. Always it had been part of woman's character -to strive for her own way, and always she had ended by despising the -man who permitted her to gain it. Yes! woman's collective triumph in -this new age, as she now sadly realised, had cost her dear. With -the gradual abandonment of man's protective affection had gone the -true ingredients of her happiness; much that made up the grace and -joy of life, tenderness and chivalry, caressing mastery, the rightful -dominance of the stronger sex. Yes! love was worth the world. - -The heel of woman disclosed her weakness--and revealed her strength. -Fool and blind! grasping at the sceptre she had lost the kingdom; the -kingdom of the heart, encircled and protected by the strong arms of a -lover as the guardian-sea encircles England's shores. Like an electric -spark this spirit of regret and discontent flew through the land. A -little more, and it would mean a revolution. Away with the unnatural -dominion of Woman! Back to the reign of Man! - -It would have been idle to expect unanimity where pride and personal -interest were so closely involved. The pushing leaders of social -democracy and the Vice-President and her following were not likely to -submit without a struggle to the restoration of hereditary authority. -Woman in office and power throughout the State would be sure to cling -desperately to her foothold, and no one could yet foresee the outcome -of the swiftly dawning struggle. - -The hands of a little band of energetic men, however, were busy -throwing wide the floodgates, and no two men were more active than -those veterans, one of the army, and the other of the law--General -Hartwell and Sir Robert Herrick. To them it seemed that the signs of -the times were full of deep significance, and pregnant with the highest -hopes. They knew that there were still some men with grit in England, -men who saw with bitter wrath the pass to which the nation had been -brought. In their eyes the governance of this once glorious land had -become a byword and a mockery. And it was because of this that the -present humiliating spectacle was to be seen at Dover. - -Nor was that all. In the midst of these alarms, there was something -else that shook and terrified the people, filling the minds of -thousands with forebodings and distress. - -Strange symptoms of seismic disturbance had been reported not only -from Bath, but also from other parts of England. Such awe-inspiring -tremblings of the solid earth must ever produce a sense of apprehension -which at any moment may grow into a universal panic. It was noticed -that, so far, these disquieting indications were confined to the -neighbourhood of thermal waters. At Matlock, Harrogate, Leamington, and -Woodhall Spa, there had been a marked increase in the volume of the -rising waters, with other signs of an abnormal earth activity. - -What did these things betoken? Signs of the times, they were variously -interpreted. As in the days of Noah! The great multitude of men and -women laughed at the shipbuilder and went about the business of their -daily lives, so now hosts of dull and unimaginative persons remained -unmoved in their obtuse philosophy. Others there were who believed -a providential influence was at work--conveying an admonition and -a warning by some such solemn signs as those predicted to occur -before the last great change of all. Were there not to be signs in -the heavens, and signs in the quaking earth, the sea and the waves -roaring, nation rising against nation, creation, animate and inanimate, -preparing for the awful Armageddon foreshadowed in the page of Holy -Writ? - -Events were moving fast. A fanatic named Richards, stalking wild-eyed -through the land, broke out into fierce prophetic utterance, mocked and -jeered at by many, but followed by rapidly increasing numbers. This -strange man entered on a pilgrimage from one to the other of the inland -watering places, where symptoms of earthquake had been felt, everywhere -inspiring awe and wonder in breasts of thousands. In South London, -which he first visited, he was followed by enormous crowds, consisting -to a great extent of women. Here, on the Surrey side, there had been -a corresponding departure from the normal, for the old forgotten Spa -of Bermondsey had developed a new and disturbing energy. While this -ancient spring rose in unexampled quantities, and at high temperature, -the once famous Spa at Epsom, only some twenty miles away, exhibited -a like activity. The argument was irresistible that such far-spread -manifestations of the same character must necessarily spring from a -common cause. - -If so, then these mysterious subterranean workings also pointed to the -pending evolution of some common result; it might take the shape of -some terrific upheaval and convulsion that would reduce the British -Isles to their primeval form, submerge them in the sea, or even change -the face of Western Europe. - -Still these were but dark shadows and dread potentialities. Time alone -could show whether events would verify such grim forebodings. But, -meanwhile, there was one concrete and absorbing fact--the presence in -England of the invading foreigner. This, at least, was a stern reality, -pressing and predominant. The terrible Three Hundred still held the -Fort; the great guns still roared and boomed, the pom-poms worked -incessantly. Stiffened forms in increasing numbers strewed Castle -Hill; the numbers of the dead and dying mounted daily. - -The highest military authorities now were constantly engaged in -vehement and anxious conference with Major Wardlaw. The discussions, -renewed again and again, early and late, had dealt with all aspects -of the existing problem, had touched on and passed by many suggested -expedients. One project, in particular, had excited much difference -of opinion. Urgent advice had been given officially and through the -newspapers to call the air-ships into play. Fort Warden, turtle-roofed, -was supposed to be entirely bomb-proof, but it was argued that if all -the air-ships in England--some 200--were to concentrate above the Fort -and pour down bombs and explosives in great quantities, the result -could hardly fail to terrify, if not to annihilate, the obstinate -defenders. But Edgar Wardlaw shook his head. He alone knew the enormous -resisting power that he had built up against this very contingency of -warfare. - -Moreover, there were the obligations of treaties to be remembered. -Air-ships were not to be used in warfare. International compacts on the -subject of aerial navigation must be respected. To set a dishonourable -example by disregarding them for our own immediate purpose might lead -to disastrous international results. Two, and more than two, could play -at such a game as that! - -And even, while the idea was being mooted, its immediate adoption -became impossible. In a single night every English air-ship, the -whereabouts of which was known, sustained mysterious, and, in most -cases, irreparable damage. Such a discovery could not be concealed -from the public. It was clear that some great and elaborate conspiracy -was afoot, that the agents of the enemy were numerous, active, and -daring, here in the very heart of England. It was clear, too, that the -Government had been caught napping, and only too probable that worse -surprises might yet befall the country. The police, it is true, made -several arrests of suspected persons, but prevention, not cure, was the -national desideratum. While the grass grew the steed might starve. Of -what avail the slow formalities of legal, investigation, the jog-trot -of red-tape routine, when the enemy was already at the gate, aye, in -the heart of the citadel? - -In this crisis it transpired that the _Bladud_ was the only air-ship -unaccounted for. There were conflicting statements about her recent -movements; but presently it became known that she had been lent by the -late President to a young Canadian friend named Linton Herrick. Mr. -Herrick had been seen to go up with Wilton, the Engineer, and it was -believed that subsequently the _Bladud_ had been identified with an -air-ship that had been seen travelling rapidly, and at a considerable -altitude, over the English Channel. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -HOW THE RAID FAILED. - - -Flossie had spoken. Silent resentment, obdurately nursed for quite two -days, had given place to voluble reproaches. He was naughty, she told -her father; never before had she known him quite so naughty. Why! he -had hardly opened his lips for days and days; he had not taken her -out, nor brought things home, or done anything. Waking that morning -very early and very hungry, she had found nothing--not a thing--under -her pillow--no, not even a lump of sugar; and he knew perfectly well -that there were always lumps of sugar in the sideboard. No! he had -forgotten. He did not love her, that was quite clear. His head was -fuller than ever of that horrid Fort. If he did not look out he would -go there and get killed himself presently, and that would be a nice -thing to happen, wouldn't it? - -Under the shower of these reproaches, Major Wardlaw hung his head. His -silence and submissiveness slightly mollified the stern young lady. -Like many others of her sex, Flossie must needs scold and then be sorry -for the object of her reproaches. To-night there was something in her -father's looks and bearing that arrested her vehemence. Why! goodness -gracious! what was the matter? - -"You know," she said shrewdly, looking at him as she stood between -his knees with that steady gaze of youthful eyes that is often so -disconcerting, "You know, if you weren't a great big man, I should say -you were going to cry." - -"Nonsense, nonsense," her father answered, and hugged her closely in -his arms. - -"Mind my hair," said Flossie sharply, "I'm very tired and I'm going -to bed. I hope you won't be naughty any more. Promise!" He nodded -with a queer look in his eyes. "_You_ look tired, too! come up early. -To-morrow we'll be just the same as ever, won't we? You shall be very -nice, and I shall forgive you, because, after all, I do love you, don't -I?" - -"That's right," he said gravely. - -"Yes, but you're not right. I've never seen you quite like this. I'm -sure there's something. Where's my book?" - -He picked up the story-book and she tucked it under her arm, smothering -a yawn that suffused her blue eyes and showed all her pretty teeth. - -"Good-night; be good," she said, and kissed him. - -"Yes! But you've forgotten your hymn." - -The child looked at him searchingly. His manner puzzled her more and -more. His voice seemed hardly natural; he was grave, intensely grave, -yet trying to cloak his seriousness by speaking in ordinary tones. - -"Must I, to-night?" she asked, half closing her sleepy eyes. - -"Yes, dearest, please, to-night." - -She glanced down at the story-book under her arm, and her father -understood the look. Flossie wanted to reserve her few mental energies -to finish a chapter in bed. But with a little sigh of resignation, -she began in drowsy tones the recitation of the hymn. The theme was -resignation. Wardlaw seemed to hang upon the well-known words: - - "If Thou shouldst call me to resign - What most I prize, it ne'er was mine; - I only yield Thee what is Thine; - Thy Will be done." - -He bowed his head. - -Flossie, too heavy-eyed to notice, turned away. Her father looked up -quickly. - -"Kiss me again, darling." - -He held her by the arms in front of him, firmly but lightly. - -The child roused herself to sudden alertness. - -"One for you, and one for me, and one for both together. That's three!" -she observed after the third kiss--"Just for a treat." - -His eyes followed her as she crossed the room. At the door, she turned -and nodded warningly. - -"Something nice to-night, mind, and don't stay up too late." - -Wardlaw held his breath and kept his seat while Flossie went slowly, -languidly, up the stairs. Then, with clenched hands and tortured eyes, -he started to his feet. - -The last time! God in heaven, could it be truly that? - -Never to know the kiss of her childish lips again, never to feel her -warm, clinging little arms around his neck! - -With bloodshot eyes and still clenched hands he paced the room. - -Away in the distance the booming guns broke out again with their -dreadful monotone, recalled inexorably the work he had to do. He had -weighed it well, pondered it, as he told himself, too long already. The -Fort must fall! All other means had failed. Blood had been poured out -like water, and to no purpose. Yonder on the hill, thousands of men, -obedient unto death, his brothers in arms, had braved the weapons which -he, Wardlaw, had stored within those impregnable defences, weapons -which had been turned against his own country and his own people with -such terrible results. England could not wait while the foreigners were -starved into surrender. The Fort must fall without delay. He, Wardlaw, -knew the master-key of the position, and also knew that he who used it -must be prepared to lose his life. Why had he not used it before? - -There were reasons which would satisfy reasonable people: the surprise -of the situation, the slowness of the military authorities in inviting -his assistance, the probability that, finding themselves without -support in a hostile country, the invaders would throw up the sponge. -But none of these probabilities had been verified. The Fort was still -held by the foreigner; and the Fort must fall! - -Edgar Wardlaw was a scientific soldier--not one of those men of -bull-dog courage who, obedient to orders, would hurl themselves without -thought into a bloody struggle. The mind that can devise and perfect -death-dealing armaments is not necessarily, or even probably, a mind -that inspires and braces the fighting quality of the every-day soldier. -The red badge of courage can indeed be won by men of high-strung nerves -and delicate organisation, but it is won at most tremendous cost. -Wardlaw had been slow in coming to his resolution, but he would never -recede from it. They were arms of love that had enchained him, at the -last--the arms of a little child. But now he was breaking even those -fond links asunder. He was ready--almost ready. - -Pacing the room, he glanced at his watch. It was nearly ten o'clock. -Soon she would be asleep. He went over to the sideboard and made a -quick yet careful search, finding a small fancy cake, some fruit, and -sugar; as Flossie had said, there was always sugar, though other things -might fail. - -He must delay no longer. Carefully and on tiptoe he went up the -creaking stairs. The servants were chattering and laughing in the -kitchen, but in the child's bedroom there was not a sound. He entered -cautiously. Yes, she was asleep, long lashes resting on the delicately -flushed skin, lips slightly parted, one arm thrown out upon her open -book. - -Wardlaw moved cautiously across the room and stood looking down upon -the sleeping child. He looked long, and who shall say with what -poignant and unutterable agony of spirit. Then he slipped the paper bag -containing what he had brought with him under the pillow, and gently -moved the book, lest it should fall upon the floor and wake her. The -volume contained two stories, bound up together--"Sintram and his -Companions," and "Aslauga's Knight," stories whose leaves come out of -the old Saga-land, bringing with them the romance and adventure that -charm the children, while also they reveal to older folk the mystic -conflict of the human soul. Sintram's Companions, as Wardlaw knew, were -Sin and Death, Companions of us all. With Death by his side, Sintram -had to ride amid the terrors of the narrow mountain gorge--just as the -Pilgrim of the immortal Progress had journeyed through the Valley of -the Shadow. - -His eyes rested on the open page of the story-book:-- - - "When Death is coming near, - When thy heart shrinks in fear - And thy limbs fail, - - Then raise thy hands and pray - To Him who smoothes the way - Through the dark vale." - -He bowed his head and closed the book quietly, placing it near the -child's pillow. Downstairs the clock chimed a quarter after ten--cheery -little chimes, ticking off the flight of time as if endless days and -years still remained for all who heard them. - -And yet for him who listened only a few hours of life remained. Death -called him--not in the heat and excitement of battle, but in this still -hour of cool blood and calm reflection. It made it vastly harder to -obey. - -Never again would he hear those familiar tinkling chimes. This was his -last farewell to all that he held dear. Death coldly beckoned him, as -Sintram was beckoned at the entrance of the gorge. His hour had come to -pass into the Shadow. The stern implacable demand of duty was ringing -in his soul, and he dared gaze no longer on his sleeping child. If she -should wake and look into his eyes, courage, honour, duty, all that -makes man obedient unto death, might fail him even now. He dared not -press his lips upon her cheek; he dared not even touch her hand. - -She stirred and muttered something in her sleep. He quickly raised and -kissed a few strands of her lovely hair; it was the last touch, the -final leave-taking! - -The father turned away. The child slept on. - - * * * * * - -A hundred yards from the bungalow--appointed to stay there, so that -Flossie should not hear and wonder--a motor-car awaited him. The -chauffeur belonged to his own corps--the Engineers. The man saluted -him and looked anxiously at the drawn--white face, on which the -lamp-light fell. Not a word was spoken. Wardlaw took his seat, and -immediately the car, like a sentient thing let loose, sped swiftly on -the road to Dover. - -It was a night of starshine and soft breezes. As they climbed the -rising ground, the pure air from the sea grew stronger. Bracing, -health-giving, breathing life, it fanned the face of the silent man who -was rushing towards his self-appointed doom. Stiff and rigid, he sat, -staring into the night, but conscious of nothing around him or before -him. All his thoughts were of what was left behind--the dainty bedroom -with the shaded light, the rosy sleeping child, the delicate dimpled -face that he should see no more, his one ewe lamb of all the world. - -"If Thou shouldst call me to resign...." - -The burden of the hymn was ringing in his brain, insistent, agonizing. - -On and on sped the car. Away to the South the flashlights were sweeping -the Channel, and, ahead, the first outlying lights of Dover soon came -into view. Every moment the dull, dogged voices of the guns grew louder. - -Still Wardlaw remained rigid and voiceless, as one who is paralyzed by -some dreadful nightmare, while ding-dong in his mind the words of the -hymn persisted and repeated: "If Thou shouldst call me to resign.... If -Thou shouldst call me to resign." ... - -They were close to Dover now. The car sped down from the heights. Ahead -of them on the hard white road a lanthorn was swinging to and fro, and -the chauffeur slackened speed to answer the challenge of the guard. He -gave the password, and again the car tore forward. - -Houses on either side now were numerous. Presently the car wound down -into the town. Silent, half-ruined, the unlighted streets gave an -inexpressible impression of melancholy and disaster. Here and there -the vibration caused by the passing car brought down loosened stone -and brickwork with a sudden clatter. At one spot some fragments of -mortar flew out and struck Wardlaw in the face. They pricked him -into consciousness. He shook himself and gave a brief order to the -chauffeur. The car turned down a side street, and presently drew up -before a large house standing in the shelter of the Castle Hill. - -There were lights in all the windows; shadows passed and repassed -across the drawn blinds. A strained air of animation and activity -pervaded the place. A group of orderlies stood about the entrance, and -through the open doorway there were glimpses of officers hurrying from -room to room with clank of spur and rattle of accoutrement. This house, -the head-quarters of the military staff, contained for the time being -the brain of the British Army--foiled, so far, but still feverishly -bent on devising means for the expulsion of the obstinate invader. - -As the car stopped, a tall officer hurried out and grasped Wardlaw by -the hand. It was a grasp that told more than words could utter--a grasp -that recognized the arrival of a supreme moment, at once the grip of -friendship and the clasp of greeting and farewell. - -"The General's expecting you. I'll take you to him at once!" - -Wardlaw nodded, and, still as one that dreamed, followed the -aide-de-camp into the house. - - * * * * * - -On the following day great news was wired throughout the length and -breadth of England, and cabled far and wide throughout the civilised -world. - -The newspapers of London and the provinces, in eager competition, -issued special editions in quick succession. Everywhere great placards -announced in heavy type and infinite variety of colours, a gladdening -fact: the Fort had fallen! - -The hero of the hour was Major Wardlaw, but no sound of joy or triumph -could ever reach his ears--Wardlaw was dead. The published particulars, -though brief, were all-sufficient and convincing. The Major had calmly -and deliberately laid down his life for his country and his comrades. -What shot and shell and bayonet had failed to do, he, single-handed, -had achieved. The episode was all the more tragic and impressive by -reason of its great simplicity. A method was known to Major Wardlaw, -as the designer, by which he could flood the Fort. The enemy would be -drowned like so many rats in a gigantic trap. The master-key was in his -hands, and though--high honour be to them--there were other volunteers -for the fatal work, he had steadfastly refused to let another British -soldier lose his life in that prolonged and dreadful struggle. He was -prepared, resolved, to die--and death had come to him. - -Single-handed he had gone into the heart of the hill. The furious -inrush of the water stored in the reservoir, which his own hand had -deliberately let loose, claimed him, as he knew it must, first victim -of the overwhelming flood. - -But the Fort was ours again! It was a counter-stroke with which the -enemy had not reckoned; a danger which the invader was wholly unable to -avert. As the waters of the Red Sea overwhelmed the Egyptian Warriors; -as that ancient river, the river Kishon swept away the foes of the -armies of Israel, so, in a new and terrible way, the water floods had -destroyed the invaders of England. - -With a dull, elemental roar, with a suddenness that allowed of no -flight, and a force that admitted of no resistance, ton after ton of -water poured into the interior of the Fort. The sealed fate of its -occupants was almost instantaneous. Of the survivors barely twenty men -escaped with their lives, and these immediately fell into the hands of -the encircling troops, and became prisoners of war. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE WRECK OF THE AIR-SHIP. - - -The little island of Herm possessed only one building of importance, a -monastery of French refugees. In the great walled-in courtyard, there -was present an object of special and curious interest to the monks. The -arrival of the _Bladud_ had been observed with astonishment by all the -inmates of the monastery, who naturally associated its coming with that -of a certain mysterious visitor--a sun-scorched, iron-grey emaciated -man--who had recently landed on the island, coming, it was said, from -the coast of France. The visitor, who remained in complete seclusion -in the building, sedulously nursed back to health and strength, was -treated with extraordinary deference and respect by the Superior. -That much the monks could not fail to know; but any sly inquiries and -surmises on their part were met with the sternest and most peremptory -discouragement. - -Excitement was quickened, therefore, when, only a few hours after the -arrival of the air-ship, preparations were made for the distinguished -visitor's departure. Linton stood in the courtyard, glancing anxiously -at his watch, while Wilton, the engineer, put some finishing touches to -the gear. The little man had proved himself a model of discretion. He -asked no questions, but now and then threw quick glances towards the -tall, thin stranger, who, at a respectful sign from Linton, had taken -his seat in the stern of the boat. - -Whether Wilton knew or suspected the identity of Wilson Renshaw, who -now calmly waited for the voyage to commence, Linton could not tell. -He suspected that he did, and, little guessing what a few hours would -bring forth, he registered a mental promise that the silent, faithful -little engineer should not go unrewarded. It struck him that there -was a good deal of nervousness in Wilton's manner, as he threw upward -glances at the sky. - -While the preparations were being completed, the Superior of the Order -stood close at hand, addressing in subdued tones his deferential and -earnest farewells to Mr. Renshaw, and Herrick, raising his eyes, -saw the peering faces of at least a score of monks at the upper -windows of the monastery. Glancing higher still, he noted with some -uneasiness that the scurrying clouds, copper-tinged from the setting -sun, betokened the coming of a wild and stormy night. Fervently he -breathed a prayer that the aerial voyage might have a happy issue. But -by this time he knew enough of air-ships to be aware that there were -perils which no scientific inventions, and no precautions, can wholly -nullify: risks from defects and mishaps with machinery, dangers from -both combined, that at any moment might bring about some irreparable -catastrophe. Yet, to-night, everything must be hazarded. Not an hour, -not a moment must be lost. The time had come. To let it pass unseized -would be to miss the tide at the flood, to sacrifice the touchstone of -fortune. - -He glanced at Wilton: - -"Ready?" - -The engineer gave a quick nod and lifted a grimy finger towards his -cap. Linton, raising his own cap, turned towards the illustrious -passenger: - -"Shall we start, sir?" - -"At once, please," was the answer. - -Linton stepped aboard and grasped the helm. Wilton took his place -forward, and the Superior, bowing obsequiously, moved to a safe -distance from the aeroplane. - -The faint preliminary throbbing of the engine instantly commenced. -The boat began to rise, slowly at first, then more rapidly, as the -elevating power obtained freer play. Every window of the monastery -now was plastered with wondering, eager faces, intent on the _Bladud_ -as she soared aloft. The Superior made angry and imperious gestures, -but the monks did not, or pretended not to, see. This mounting of the -aeroplane with such a passenger must not be missed. It was a spectacle -the like of which they would not see again. - -Higher and higher climbed the _Bladud_, beating the air with her -flapping wings. The cold breeze rushed through the wind-harp on the -mast with a sighing, mournful sound as the boat swept in swiftly -widening circles through the air. The passenger, impressed but not -perturbed, glanced sharply round him; then, feeling the growing -keenness of the wind, he drew his fur coat across his chest. - -When they were high enough, Herrick, with one eye on the compass, put -the tiller over and gave an order. Wilton lightly moved a switch, and -immediately the _Bladud_ headed at high speed for the open sea. - - * * * * * - -As the hours passed, night fell dark and thick about them; the wind -became more violent, and ever and again chilly, sleety squalls affected -to some extent the equilibrium of the boat. No one spoke, except for -an occasional query from Herrick, to which Wilton responded by act or -gesture only. - -Not one of the three men on board knew of any definite cause for -anxiety, yet in the minds of at least two of them there was a growing -sense of tension and disquietude. The muscles of Wilton's face twitched -as he sat in silence, his eye watchful and his hand ready. - -Yet, so far, all went well. To avoid prolonged dangers of the open -channel, they tacked northwards towards the coast of France, intending -to resume the sea course as nearly as possible above the Straits of -Dover. Nearer land the air grew less cloudy. The twinkling lights of -habitations far below became visible like distant glow-worms. From -the numbers of these lights they could form an idea of the size of -the towns and villages over which they passed. Some thirty-five were -counted. Presently the silent passenger himself identified the locality -and said that they were passing over the highlands between Cape Blanc -and Calais. - -It was time to give the ship a different course; and once again below -them lay the wide expanse of sombre, tossing sea. But the _Bladud_ -now encountered the strength of a growing gale from the North-East, -and soon it became apparent that she was being dangerously deflected -from her proper course. It was a discovery silently made, but fraught -with the fears of potential disaster. If they should be blown out to -sea, there was but one ultimate certainty--death for all on board. The -store of motive power could only last for a given number of hours, and -already much of the power had been expended. Their hope must lie in -reaching dry ground within a period that grew perilously shorter and -shorter even while they thought of it. - -Entrusting the helm for a moment to the passenger, Herrick crawled -forward, and while the rising gale shrieked above them and around them, -held a hasty, whispered conversation with the now excited engineer. - -"We'll never do it, sir, we'll never do it," Wilton said, hoarsely. -"St. Margaret's Bay; Why, see! we've left it far behind already. No -landing there to-night. What's the best air-ship that ever was built -against a wind like this?" - -"Land us anywhere, anywhere," was Herrick's vehement answer. - -"Yes, if we can," muttered Wilton, gloomily. "I'm afeard there's -something wrong with her, and that's the truth, Mr. Herrick." - -"Good God!" exclaimed Herrick, with an anxious glance towards the -figure in the stern. - -"See that?" gasped the engineer, as a strong gust from the north drove -the bow of the boat farther sea-ward. "See that, sir? I tell you, she -can't stand it." - -Again and again the same thing happened. The gale, so far as it was -easterly, drove them westward along the coastline, and ever and again -the fierce gusts from the north forced them away from it. Linton -crept back to the stern. Thirty minutes passed--minutes of increasing -suspense. At the end of that time they had lost their bearings. The -_Bladud_ became more and more beyond control. - -"Is there danger?" Renshaw asked the question very softly. - -"I am afraid there is, sir," said Linton. - -The other nodded: "I thought so. What part of the coast is that down -there?" he asked after an interval. - -Linton peering over, pondered a minute before he answered: - -"Dover's left far behind by this time. We've passed Hastings. Those -must be the lights of Brighton." - -"We can't get down?" - -"Impossible at present. We must drive straight ahead. Inside the Isle -of Wight there'll be a chance for us--more shelter and more ships. -Wilton knows that part." - -"Can we last as long?" - -"I think so--I hope so." - -A long silence fell as the _Bladud_ battled with the wind. Then there -came a startling, rending sound that indicated some defect in the -machinery. The boat began to veer erratically. - -"Steady, sir, steady," roared Wilton, making a trumpet of his hands. -"For God's sake head her north!" - -From below there rose a sullen, surging sound, the threatening monotone -of angry waves breaking upon a rocky shore. - -The sound grew fainter. They must be travelling inland--across the Isle -of Wight. Now, then, was the time for a descent. Dimly in the forepart -of the boat, Wilton's bent form could be discerned, his face peering, -his hands at work in the complex box of the _Bladud's_ machinery. -Suddenly he threw himself back, sitting on his heels, and Herrick -thought he saw his hands raised with a gesture of despair. The _Bladud_ -lurched and swayed violently, and for a moment it seemed as if the -gyroscope had wholly failed to act. If that were so, in a moment the -boat might lose her equilibrium, and all would end. But that was not -the trouble. Linton now realised that it was the lowering apparatus -that would not work. The _Bladud_ still rushed madly forward. With -unchecked speed, they flew across the island. Another coast line then -came into view--the long low line of lights stretching from Portsmouth, -across Southsea to Eastney and Fort Cumberland. There was hope, then, -or if not ground for hope, at least a fighting chance! - -But the _Bladud_ now by some inexplicable perversity of the machinery -made obstinately for the eastern extremity of the line of lights. That, -again, might serve if only they could descend on the wide common of -Hayling Island. They were nearing it every moment. Presently from below -there rose a new menace, an angry sound--grating and monotonous, that -Linton could not understand. - -"What's that?" he shouted. - -"The Woolseners," bellowed Wilton, in reply, and made a wild gesture -with his disengaged hand. He knew the deadly peril--those shifting -banks of shingle churned in the shallows by the ceaseless action of the -tides and waves. The Woolseners were as fatal as the Goodwin Sands to -every ship or boat that found herself among them. - -With a desperate effort, aided by Renshaw and directed by Wilton, -Herrick forced over the helm. Another ominous crack reached their ears, -but for the moment they were successful, and a sudden squall from the -east aided their combined efforts. They now were heading straight for -Portsmouth Harbour. All might yet be well! - -Still travelling at great speed, they traversed nearly half the -distance, it now being Wilton's design to bring the _Bladud_ down on -Southsea Common. Then, suddenly, the horizontal movement of the boat -absolutely ceased. All the motive power that was left in her began -through some terrible mishap to be expended in the development of -rapid elevation. The frantic efforts of Wilton to check the upward -rush were unavailing, the boat went up and up with terrible velocity. -This last catastrophe was paralyzing, overwhelming. Climbing higher -and higher, the boat would rapidly exhaust her small remaining store -of compressed air. Then, in an instant, would commence a reversal, and -the _Bladud_ would rush down through space--the end for all on board, -inevitable death. - -Linton again left the helm in Renshaw's hands. It was useless to retain -it. He scrambled forward to assist Wilton in his desperate efforts to -right the machinery. A dreadful feeling of sickness began to overpower -him as the air-ship swayed and waltzed in the upper air-currents, -lurching and righting as if struck by successive waves, but ever -mounting higher and yet higher. - -It grew intensely cold. Feathery flakes of snow began to envelop them. -Their lungs laboured. It became more and more difficult to breathe. -Linton gasped enquiries which either Wilton did not hear or could not -answer. He glanced back at their ill-starred passenger, who had set -out to recover power and a great position and now was rushing to an -awful death. He saw that Renshaw's head rolled limply on his shoulders. -Already he seemed to be insensible. Filled with terror and alarm, he -shouted to Wilton though the man was close to hand, but his voice, -though the effort of utterance was so great, sounded even to himself -quite faint and far away. - -By the light of the protected spirit lamp fixed to the tiny engine -house, Linton saw that the recording instrument already registered an -altitude of 20,000 feet. - -A dull indifference began to take possession of his mind. His -faculties were slowly freezing. Even his eyesight now began to fail. He -could scarcely see the column of mercury in the glass, or the minute -hand of his watch. He felt that consciousness would soon completely -desert him. His right hand was resting on the gunwale of the boat; he -found he could not raise it. He could scarcely move his lower limbs, -and, turning once more to glance at the barometer, his head fell -forward helplessly. - -By a violent exercise of his muscles and his will, he raised his face -a little, but for an instant only. It drooped again. He slid down into -the bottom of the boat. His fading gaze sought that of Wilton. They -looked into each other's eyes, like dying men bidding one another -silent, sad farewells. The mists of death already seemed to be closing -on them, when a sudden variation of the temperature, or, it may be, -some magnetic current partially revived them. But the _Bladud_ still -rushed upward, ever upward. They had reached a height of four miles -above the earth, and the temperature had fallen to 24 deg. below -freezing point of water. To this appalling altitude the _Bladud_ had -ascended with almost incredible rapidity. - -Upward, and upward still, they went, until five miles, then six, was -reached above the surface of the vanished earth. - -Out of the void a muffled voice reached Linton's ears, the welcome -voice of a living fellow-creature. It was Wilton trying to rouse him, -Wilton speaking with urgency and vehemence. - -Gradually he came out of his swoon; familiar objects close to him -revealed themselves again. Wilton was lying in the bottom of the boat. -He was striving in vain to reach Linton. The piercing cold had almost -paralyzed him. His hands were freezing. - -What did Wilton want? What was he trying to do? - -As far as could be judged, they had now reached an altitude of 37,000 -feet--nearly seven miles. The mists closed in again. The thread of life -was on the point of breaking. Linton became half conscious that a thick -crust of ice had formed upon his clothes, his breath was freezing on -his lips and in his nostrils. He glanced again with an agonizing effort -at the moving record of their elevation. Another 1,000 feet, and then -2,000 feet. Needles of ice were pricking at his eyes. Close to him the -prone form of Wilton seemed to be covered with minute crystals from -head to foot. Linton tried to stretch out his hands to touch him, but -found that they were helpless, numbed. What, he vaguely wondered, was -Wilton doing now? What mad idea was this? With an exhausting effort the -engineer had just smashed the lens of his telescope. Then his hands -seemed again to fail him. - -Watching him helplessly, Linton felt that everything was useless, -hopeless, lost. It would soon be over. - -But Wilton had gripped the broken glass of the telescope between -his teeth. What was he doing now? Why was he sawing frantically, -convulsively, at that tightened cord? - -Ah! that was it! Well done, Wilton. But it was hopeless, quite -hopeless, after all. Linton rolled his head feebly. They had climbed -another 1,000 feet, and they were mounting still. - -No! What was this? There was a change. Something had happened. Linton -was sensible of a strange eddying, a pause, a feebler flapping of the -aeroplanes. - -Merciful God! The boat had ceased to rise. Now she was sinking, -sinking, with appalling speed, yet checked to some extent by the broad -aeroplanes, just as a bird would be when, with extended wings, it -floated down to earth. - -He tried to frame some words; tried to touch Wilton with his hand; -failed to do either. Wilton lay motionless, with bleeding lips. - - * * * * * - -Out of the blur of mental chaos, Linton Herrick found himself roughly -dragged back to consciousness. Kneeling in the boat, he discovered that -he was submerged in water to the waist; flecks of salt water smote him -in the face; all around there was a welter of wild, tossing waves. - -In his ears, to add to his distraction, there sounded a harsh and -melancholy bell. It was tolling, tolling, close at hand. - -The _Bladud_, water-logged, tossed feebly in the trough of the angry -sea. Built on a theory that she could float for a considerable period, -it nevertheless rushed in upon Linton's mind that in a few minutes she -would sink. He struggled to his feet, grasping the rigging as he did -so. Something arrested his attention. What was that silent log-like -thing the waves were rolling yonder in the semi-darkness? It must be -Wilton, poor Wilton, who had saved their lives--or tried to save them, -only to lose his own. Wilton! Dead! - -A voice hailed him. It came from Renshaw, his companion. He also was on -his feet, swaying from side to side as the boat, settling deeper and -deeper in the water, plunged and lurched beneath them. - -"Look!" cried Renshaw, "the buoy! We must swim for it!" - -As he spoke he plunged over the side and struck out for a towering -object that rose and fell in the waves only a few yards away. Linton -realised that that was where the clangour of the bell was coming -from--the refuge of the shipwrecked--the bell-buoy close at hand! - -Before he fully knew what he was about, he, too, was struggling in the -waves. He was a strong swimmer, but, clogged with his wet clothing, -another yard or two would have been too much for him. He shouted some -incoherent words of encouragement to Renshaw, and struck out with all -his small remaining strength. The tall frame-work of the Spit-buoy rose -out of the sea just in front of him. From its apex came louder than -ever the noise of the iron clapper beating on the metal, as the tossing -sea roiled the huge buoy this way and that. - -His hand touched something hard. - -He grasped an iron rail. Slowly and laboriously he drew his dripping -form out of the sea. Then, panting heavily, he threw himself down face -downward, full length, on the deck of the buoy, and stretched out both -hands to the other swimmer. Renshaw's strength seemed well nigh spent. -He was making futile struggles to rid himself of his heavy coat. As he -rolled over helplessly, almost swept beneath the buoy, Linton grasped -his collar. - -The next moment he had drawn him to the rail. A breathing space, and -then another effort, exhausting and prolonged. - -Two panting men, half drowned but saved, lay side by side upon the -buoy, fenced from the greedy sea by rusty, dripping iron bars. Above -them, in the stormy mournful night, ding dong! the bell kept clanging -to and fro--this way and that, with every wave and motion of the -singing sea. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE COUP D'ETAT. - - -While the fierce struggle for Fort Warden was proceeding, and while -Nicholas Jardine lay dying, the Vice-President of the Council and her -adherents were engaged in desperate efforts to strengthen the grip of -Woman on the governance of England. To wrest to their own advantage -the crisis that would arise on the expected death of the President -was of paramount importance to the Kellick party. To turn it to their -destruction was the anxious object of their political opponents. Thus -was foreshadowed--for the critical hour--a fierce and crucial struggle -for supremacy. - -The chief directors of the counteracting movement, General Hartwell, -the woman-hater, and Sir Robert Herrick, wise in counsel and learned in -law, were in constant conference. They met daily, and their conferences -and study of reports often lasted far into the night. - -The outcome of their labours was to be seen in the creation of an -association, which Linton had mentioned to Zenobia. It embodied both -men and women, who styled themselves, as a bond of union, the Friends -of the Phoenix. The general aim of this association was to re-establish -man in his proper position in the State, and the particular aim to -bring about the restoration of the long-lost leader, Wilson Renshaw. - -The last mentioned feature of the programme, though at first received -with natural incredulity, presently acted with magical effect in -quickening public interest; and when secret, but authoritative, -assurances were forthcoming that Renshaw still lived, had been released -by the Mahdi, and was about to return to England, vast numbers speedily -enrolled themselves as Friends of the Phoenix. The great strength of -the movement lay in the voluntary enlistment of hosts of disciplined -men. The Police, the regular Army, and the Territorials, furnished many -thousands of recruits. - -The old Household troops followed General Hartwell almost to a man; the -Corps of Commissionaires followed suit. These men, in turn, rendered -excellent, because unsuspected, service as propagandists among the -humbler classes of the civil population. Evidences of disgust and -discontent with the aggressive dominion of Woman were found on every -side. - -The time was almost ripe. It looked as if but a match were needed to -produce a vast and far-reaching conflagration; and the main problem -that exercised the minds of General Hartwell and Sir Robert was how, -when the moment came, to use the ready instruments of revolt without -incurring the risk of bloodshed and the development of civil war. Every -possible precaution was taken. The Friends of the Phoenix pursued their -plans with the utmost secrecy, it being realised that, in order that -the projected _coup d'etat_ might succeed, it was essential that it -should take the Kellick faction completely by surprise. - -Finally, it was decided to seize the occasion of a banquet in the City, -at which it was known that the Vice-President would make an oratorical -bid for a new mandate from the nation. This banquet, postponed from -time to time in consequence of events at Dover and the President's -illness, was to take place shortly after Mr. Jardine's funeral. It was -announced that reasons of State and public convenience rendered further -delay impossible; "Reasons of State" meant the interests of the Kellick -faction; "Public convenience" had reference to the opening of a new -London railway tube. - -An extension of the old Tube from the Post Office, via Gresham Street, -to the Guildhall, had long been a cherished scheme of the City Fathers. -The old approach through King Street and Cheapside to the head-quarters -of the Corporation was only suitable for use in fine weather. But -whatever changes and chances had befallen London during the first forty -years of the twentieth century, British weather had developed but -little alteration, and certainly no improvement. That State processions -and civic functions should be spoilt by drizzle, rain, or fog, as -so frequently had happened to pageants of the past, was felt to be -not merely inconvenient, but quite uncalled for. The new alternative -route presented many advantages. Celebrities and non-celebrities bound -for the City on great occasions would be enabled to enter a special -train at the West End, and could come to the surface in Guildhall -Yard. The feast of oratory and the flow of champagne might thus be -attained without the disadvantage of a preliminary journey through -the rain-swept streets of the murky city. In like manner the members -and officers of the corporation would enjoy similar immunity whenever -official occasion required them to go westward. - -The feminine note in politics had something to do with the project; for -woman, advanced woman, in her hours of ease and finery did not like -to have her feathers and laces spoilt by London smuts and drizzle; -and woman, of course, had become very much in evidence in the City of -London. Facetious persons went so far as to say that the City Fathers -had been superseded by the City Mothers, and further justified their -views by treating the male minority as indistinguishable from a set -of old women. The arrival of Woman as a member of County Councils and -other public bodies, not to say in Parliament itself, long ago had -rendered it practically certain that the conservatism of the City must -ultimately yield to the onslaughts of the sex. In the fulness of time -a woman took her place on the Bench as Chief Magistrate of the City -of London. A wondering world was called upon, for the first time, to -do honour to a Lady Mayoress, who shone with no reflected light. She -herself was the Sun of the City firmament. Lord Mayor for some years -there was none. - -The Lady Mayoress who held office at the critical period that had -now arrived was a devoted ally of the Vice-President, and bent on -advancing in every possible way the authority and interests of her -sex. To this end the Corporation, which had largely subsidised the new -branch tube, had solicitously waited the opportunity to entertain the -acting representative of government in honour of the occasion. On the -day of the banquet, the principal City streets presented their normal -appearance to the eyes of all ordinary observers. The Vice-President -and her supporters were to travel to the Guildhall by the new route. -There was no occasion, therefore, for decoration, or for the special -services of the military, or even of the police. Nevertheless, large -numbers of uniformed men might have been observed moving through the -side streets in small parties. In the neighbourhood of the General Post -Office and of the Guildhall these numbers rapidly increased as the hour -appointed for the function drew near. At the same time there were -similar musters in the immediate vicinity of the Houses of Parliament, -the War Office, the Admiralty, and other public offices. - -There was no apparent connection between these various groups, but -in reality they were acting in complete unison. They had the same -password--"the Phoenix"--and were directed from one and the same -centre. In a word, one and all, these men were Friends of the Phoenix. - -Towards afternoon, when Londoners began to look for the early editions -of the evening papers, which were expected to contain a summarised -report of the Vice-President's speech in the City, extraordinary -rumours began to spread throughout the Capital; and in the Clubs, the -restaurants, the railway stations, and in the streets groups of men and -women engaged in eager and excited discussion. The impatience of the -public became uncontrollable. Crowds besieged the news-vendors' shops, -and clamoured at the railway bookstalls. Even the newspaper offices -were invaded, and when, at length, copies of the evening journals were -available, hosts of people struggled fiercely to secure them. Scenes -of extraordinary tumult were witnessed. The newsboys, tearing through -the streets on their bicycles, were waylaid. Men fought and scrambled -for copies of the papers, and as placard after placard appeared, public -excitement was augmented until it reached the verge of frenzy. - - A COUP D'ETAT. - - REIGN OF WOMAN ENDS. - - RENSHAW RETURNS. - -Wild cheers and shouts broke out when lines like these were read by -gaping multitudes. People came hurrying to their doors and windows; -drivers of cabs and omnibuses stopped their vehicles, staring, -laughing, shouting, questioning, and adding to the general babel and -bewilderment. The streets were blocked. The news ran through the town -like flame, evoking everywhere unbounded enthusiasm and the wildest -joy. The climax was reached when overhead were heard the wind-harps -of a fleet of air-ships. Fifty or sixty of the official craft had -been repaired and brought into the service of the Phoenix. Sweeping -over every district of London, they scattered tens of thousands of -cards bearing Renshaw's portrait, and containing the same three-lined -announcement that figured on the placards of the leading newspapers. At -the same time, throughout the populous provincial centres, as well as -in the Capital, similar cards in enormous numbers passed from hand to -hand, and were scattered lavishly in every public place. - -But it was at Whitehall that the interest and excitement culminated. -For there, riding through the streets, bare-headed and gravely -acknowledging the plaudits of an enormous concourse, Renshaw himself -was seen, passing on his way to the House of Commons, supported by -General Hartwell and Sir Robert Herrick, and escorted by a jubilant -army of the Friends of the Phoenix. The Friends already were in -possession of all the Public Departments. Officials who withstood them -or protested were quietly but summarily displaced. - -Everywhere the plan of campaign had worked like clockwork and without -a hitch; and nowhere was the bloodless revolution more complete than -in the City itself. The Vice-President's expected speech had not been -reported because it was never uttered. The Friends of the Phoenix, in -strong force, had taken possession of the Post Office Station of the -new Tube directly the train carrying the City's distinguished guests -had passed into the tunnel. At the same moment, another body of the -Friends had seized the Guildhall terminus. Only those in the secret -knew of what was happening in the depths of the earth. The City went -about its business, the banquet waited, but no guests arrived. At both -ends of the avenue the approaches to the Tube were completely blocked. -The force available to maintain the blockade was more than sufficient. -A handful of resolute men could easily have prevented access to or -from the level of the streets. The lifts, by preconcerted signal, had -been disconnected; the narrow winding staircases from the subterranean -stations were effectually blocked. No violence was used; none was -necessary. Behind the barriers at the top and at the bottom of the -staircases stood resolute men, determined and trustworthy Friends of -the Phoenix, who turned a deaf ear to all appeals and protests. No one -was allowed to go down; no one was permitted to come up. Questions, -clamour, threats from the imprisoned Vice-President and her party -availed nothing. It was necessary to isolate certain people for a -certain time, and isolated they were. - -Meanwhile, London learnt about the great and new situation. The Friends -of the Phoenix carried out welcome change, and the nation got a firm -grip on the to the letter the plans of their leaders, and Wilson -Renshaw, saved from all perils, acclaimed throughout the Capital, was -triumphantly restored to a position of power from which no enemy or -rival could displace him. - -But he had a message for the nation, and for all nations, and the -speech in which he delivered it thrilled the white man's world. He -warned the peoples of Europe and America of a coming conflict, -which would dwarf to insignificance all the international struggles, -however stupendous, hitherto known to history. The white peoples, -he declared, must abandon their mutual rivalries and ambitions. The -sexes in civilised countries must check their suicidal competition for -supremacy. Each and all must prepare, with united and unbroken front, -to face the common foe. They were threatened with annihilation. Not -so long ago the British nation alone had embraced 360 millions of the -coloured races of the globe. Vast numbers of these had passed under -other sceptres; but the change had only served to accelerate the rising -of the dominated natives, who, far and wide, had learned to realise -the overwhelming strength with which the weight of numbers had endowed -them. No longer would the Black Man submit to their absolute dominion. -No longer would the Yellow and the Tawny accept as their predestined -masters the little band of pale-faced rulers by whom they had so -long been held in subjection. The revolt was imminent. The Mahdi had -proclaimed a holy war. The Crescent would be in the van, and North and -South, and East and West, the coloured races would rise against, and -seek to overwhelm, the recreant children of the Cross. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -LINKED LIVES. - - -Linton Herrick, losing not a day nor an hour in London, had carried the -great news to Zenobia. Much that wired and wireless messages could not -convey, he, as one of the inner circle, was in a position to explain. -But the triumph of the Friends of the Phoenix and the restoration of -Wilson Renshaw did not exhaust the subject of their conversation. -Linton was charged with an impressive and confidential message from -Renshaw himself. The restored Minister entreated the daughter of the -dead President to resort to no act of public reparation; he besought -her to let the dead past hold its dead. The story of her father's crime -need never be given in its fulness to a censorious world. Against his -enemy the rescued rival nourished no resentful bitterness. His feeling, -rather, was one of sorrow that the temptations of power and ambition -and the weakness of human nature had wrought the moral ruin of a man in -whom he had discerned many admirable and striking qualities. - -Zenobia Jardine was greatly moved. She recognised the nobility of -Renshaw's attitude, but she still had misgivings as to her own path -of duty. The messages reached her at a time when she was torn with -conflicting feelings, bewildered by new sensations, impressed with new -aspects of human life, agitated by complex thoughts and emotions to -which hitherto she had been a stranger. It was a crisis in her life. -Subtle but masterful influences were at work upon her inmost being. -Scales had failed, as it were, from her eyes, and her soul looked out -upon possibilities of which in her unenlightened days she had never -even dreamed. Love, duty, religion--each and all had acquired for her -a deep and wonderful significance, and in her heart she feared to be -presented with the problem of choice. Could these things be reconciled -in the light of the revelation that had come to her? Would they be her -armour and her strength wherewith she could go forward to some great -predestined goal; or, if she chose the one, must she of necessity -eschew the rest? One thing she knew for certain when she again held -Linton's hand and looked into his face. This was the man she loved -and always would love--stranger still, it seemed as if he were a man -she always _had_ loved. But she knew now of his daring, his fidelity, -his narrow escape from death, and realised his clear, though unspoken -devotion to herself. - -And he, for his part, had known no peace until he found himself at her -side again. Renshaw had placed at his disposal the _Albatross_, one -of the swiftest of the Government air-ships, and another engineer had -succeeded to the place of poor Wilton. Westwards he had rushed on the -wings of the _Albatross_, leaving the lights of London, its crowded -streets, its shouting and excited multitudes, far behind. - -And now, side by side, he and Zenobia and Peter, her dog, engaged in -dog-like explorations on the route, went slowly across the quaint -bridge with its low-roofed shops that spans the Avon, and passed -through the streets of ancient Bath. - -"What would you do? What is your advice?" the girl asked, turning to -him suddenly. They had been silent for some time, but each knew well -what occupied the other's thoughts. "Respect Renshaw's wishes," was -Linton's firm reply. - -"But the will--the confession is in the will," said Zenobia. - -"The will need not be proved. With or without it, what your father left -belongs to you, his sole next of kin." - -She looked down thoughtfully. "It is your advice?" she asked, quietly. - -"Yes, mine as well as his." - -"Then I shall follow it." - -When next they spoke it was upon another subject. - -"This place strikes me oddly," said Linton, looking round as they went -up the slopes of Victoria Park. "I have never been here before, and yet -I have a curious feeling...." - -She turned quickly. "How strange! I know what you are going to say." - -"I believe you have the same feeling--as if we had been here before, -you and I together, as if all that surrounds us were familiar." - -"Is this the first time you have felt like this?" she asked eagerly. - -"No, but I have never felt quite what I am feeling now." Again, with -puzzled brow, he glanced round. - -"Once," she went on, hesitatingly, "the first time we went up in the -_Bladud_, you remember that night ...?" - -"Yes, yes, I felt it then," cried Linton, pausing. - -"And the other night," Zenobia continued, seriously, "when I looked -from a window down on the lights of Bath I had a strange sensation as -if it were a scene which I had always known, and after that I had a -dream in which that feeling was confirmed." - -"Curious," said Linton. - -"Do you believe in the theory of pre-existence?" she asked, abruptly, -"do you think it possible that in some former state of being you and I -or others can have met before?" - -"It may be so," he answered gravely. "Wise men have held the theory. -Who can limit the life of the ego--fix its beginning, or appoint its -end?" - -"If the breath of God is in us," said Zenobia solemnly, "all things -must be possible. We, too, must be eternal. We may sleep and we may -wake, but all the time we live. The soul does not belong to time, but -to Eternity, and Eternity is an everlasting Now." - -"Yes," said Linton, "why should not the spirit have an all-pervading -presence:-- - - "Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, - And the round ocean, and the living air, - And the blue sky, and in the mind of man!" - -While they were speaking thus gravely, they entered the Botanical -Garden on the slope of the hill. Opposite the bench on which they sat -down they noticed a sundial of curious construction. On the face of the -dial, fixed at an angle, was an iron cross. They looked at the sacred -emblem, at first vaguely, and then with growing attention. Below it was -an inscription. - -"What mysteries, what mysteries enfold us," murmured Zenobia. She -turned to him with a smile and a sigh that were pathetic. "What, I -wonder, is the true philosophy of life?" she whispered. - -Linton sat silent for a moment. Then he leaned forward, and as he did -so one hand closed upon and held her own. "I think we have it here in -this inscription:-- - - "The hours are found around the Cross, and while 'tis fine, - The time is measured by a moving line, - But if the sky be clouded, mark the loss - Of hours not ruled by shadows from the Cross." - -"Ah! The Cross! The Cross!" sighed Zenobia. - -Linton repeated the word in a pondering and half-puzzled tone, raising -his hat with instinctive reverence. "I feel more than ever that this -place is not new to me," he added, rising and looking round with -wondering eyes. - -"And I, too, have the same persistent sense of memory," half whispered -Zenobia. "There is a tradition that perhaps explains my dream--do you -know it?--that in the days of the Romans there was a heathen temple -here, where we are sitting, and that an early convert to Christianity, -a sculptor of great skill, erected a cross upon its threshold." - -"And the sculptor was put to death! I have read it, or did I dream it?" -He turned and looked down upon the city, as if seeking some clue or -inspiration. "There was a priestess," he said slowly, "a priestess...." - -Zenobia had risen to her feet. "A priestess of the Temple of Sul. -Yes! she, too, was put to death. They buried her alive." She pressed -the backs of her hands to her brow; her gaze assumed an almost tragic -intensity. "She had listened to the sculptor. They found her kneeling -by the Cross, and in the Temple of Sul the sacred fire had gone out...." - -She paused. Each looked into the other's eyes. A flash of inspiration -came to both of them. - -"Your face," she said, "is the face of the sculptor in my dream." - - * * * * * - -Heavy clouds had been rapidly gathering overhead; the atmosphere had -grown strangely oppressive. So full had they been of other thoughts -that no reference had been made to the developments of natural -phenomena which had lately caused so much dismay in the locality, -and, indeed, throughout the country. It was known that the signs of -disturbance already chronicled had gradually diminished, and for some -days the volume of water rising from the thermal spring had been -little more than normal. The emission of smoke or vapour arising from -the fissure on Lansdown had entirely ceased. But at this moment the -sombre clouds that had gathered over the city seemed to be heavily -charged with electricity, and there was a peculiarity in the sultry -atmosphere which suggested some threatening association with the -abnormal signs that lately had caused so much alarm. - -The day, throughout, had been exceptionally hot for the time of year, -but it seemed to Linton as if the mercury must now be mounting up by -leaps and bounds. An unnatural, brooding stillness had spread over -the whole town. The few people who were walking in the Park did so -languidly and in silence; a heavy weight pressed irresistibly upon the -spirit. All things, animate and inanimate, seemed to be subsiding, -drooping, under the pressure of some gloomy and mysterious influence. - -Peter, returning from sniffing explorations in the undergrowth of the -gardens, came whining to his mistress's feet, as if seeking for the -consolation of close companionship. Zenobia sat down and patted the dog -affectionately. - -"Peter is frightened," she said, "there must be a storm coming." - -Linton looked around, but answered nothing. But he realised that the -signs within and without were such as people who lived in tropical -countries had more than once described to him. - -Peter sniffed the air, and then gave voice to a long and piteous howl. - -"We had better be going," said Linton, while Zenobia, still stooping, -tried to soothe the dog. - -When she looked up there was an expression on Linton's face that -puzzled her. She rose quickly and laid her hand upon his arm, following -his gaze upward and around. - -"What does it mean?" she asked, breathlessly. - -"If this were not England," he replied, with hesitation, "I should -think it meant...." - -As he spoke a low but formidable rumble became suddenly audible, coming -not from above, but from below. Fraught with indescribable awe and -menace, it produced an instantaneously petrifying effect. They stood -rigid, holding to each other, waiting, listening for the coming climax. -It came as in a flash. The rumble grew into a thunderous roar. A blue -flame suddenly shot into the heavy clouds above them, and beneath their -feet the solid earth rocked and swayed, again and yet again, as if with -the rolling motion of a mighty wave. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE WRATH OF SUL. - - -The earthquake, in the twinkling of an eye, had changed the face of -all nature around them, and while it did so it annihilated stereotyped -manners and conventional restraints. To Zenobia it did not seem strange -that Linton's arms should be folded protectingly about her, or that she -should cling to him, face to face and heart to heart. The moment of the -earth's convulsion had bridged a gulf and wrought a revelation. They -knew themselves, beyond all doubt, for what they were, lovers and twin -souls, pledged to each other by unspoken vows. - -The dreadful shock had come and gone, but the external changes -and terrors which the catastrophe had brought about could not be -immediately realised. Presently they discovered that the ground had -moved with them, and that they had been swept to a considerable -distance from the plateau on which they had been standing. A great -gap yawned where the sundial had stood. Peter had disappeared. They -themselves had been saved from falling by the trunk of a giant -tree--one of the few which had not been up-rooted--while below them, on -the slope of the hill, new spaces were revealed where other trees had -crashed down to the ground. - -The air was full of a strange echoing din, caused by the collapse of -buildings outside the limits of the park and in the town below. In -the midst of these reverberating sounds, and in strange contrast, was -heard the prolonged wail of terrified women and the shrill cry of a -frightened child. - -Gasping, and looking up the hill, they could see, rising from -Lansdown, dense volumes of sulphurous smoke, through which shot vivid -gleams of forking flame. Elsewhere a greyish veil began to spread -across the land. A steaming, suffocating atmosphere choked their lungs. - -"There may be another shock! We must escape for our very lives," Linton -whispered hoarsely. - -Zenobia, white to the lips, made a faint gesture of assent. "Hold my -hand! We must find a way across the river," he said quickly. - -Again she made an obedient sign; and Linton, guiding her, they moved -cautiously forward in the strange grey twilight which began to enfold -them. - -Awe-inspiring sounds had been succeeded by a silence which was scarcely -less terrible. A sense of horror half paralysed their faculties as -they cautiously moved forward down the slope. Almost at their feet -had opened a chasm which revealed many solid blocks of masonry, such -as had been used of old in the construction of the Roman Baths. The -rending of the earth had exposed to view a section of what looked like -the foundations of an ancient and imposing temple. Between the massive -walls, at the bottom of some steps, they observed a narrow cell or -chamber, and as they stepped past the shadowy opening, Zenobia's foot -came into contact with an ancient Roman lamp. - -Of these things neither of them was fully conscious at the moment. They -were mental photographs, vivid experiences unconsciously stored in -memory and fraught with a strange confirmatory significance not yet to -be appreciated. - -Hand in hand, picking their steps apprehensively, they made their -way between the fallen trees down to the broad avenue leading to the -lower gate of the Park. Here, at the gate, for the first time they -encountered evidence of death and disaster in the town itself. Houses -had collapsed on every side; distracting moans and piteous cries from -unseen sufferers assailed their ears. For a moment they paused before -a monumental heap of stone and timber, impelled to render help in -answer to these vague but terrible appeals. - -"We can do nothing," groaned Linton, in answer to Zenobia's questioning -pause. "Come," and he led her quickly round the wreckage of the houses. - -Stumbling, half running, they made their way by a devious route down -towards the heart of the town. In Queen Square there was a frightened -crowd. Women and children, weeping and sobbing, were kneeling on -the roadway with hands upraised in prayer. Men came running towards -them shouting unintelligible warnings ... questions. Terrified faces -appeared at many upper windows. They saw a frenzied girl leap from the -parapet of a tottering house and disappear behind a heap of ruins. - -In the lower streets the destruction wrought was less noticeable, -but a new terror was revealed. The sound of rushing waters reached -their ears, and every moment white-faced men and women tore past -them, crying in shrill tones: "The Spring! the Spring!" Then they saw -eddying streams of steaming, orange-tinted water creep round street -corners, overflow the gutters, and spread into the road. The water rose -so rapidly that they had to turn aside and once more take to higher -ground. They found themselves crossing Milsom Street, and as they did -so a loud explosion sounded at the upper end, accompanied with an -over-powering smell of gas. Screams rent the air, and another crowd -of men and women, some of them carrying children in their arms, came -rushing helter-skelter down the street. - -None of the houses at the lower end had fallen, but several were -bulging forward and appeared to be deserted. And here already -the predatory instinct was at work. Linton caught the arm of a -filthy-looking tramp just as he raised an iron bar to smash the plate -glass window of a jeweller's shop. He hurled the thief aside, then -grasping Zenobia's hand again he dragged her forward, making for the -nearest bridge. - -But once again their way was barred. From a great crack in the -roadway a fountain--a geyser--of the yellow, steaming water suddenly -leaped into the air. To avoid it they were compelled to make another -circuit. They hurried down some narrow streets and reached the open -space in front of the theatre. Fighting their way through excited and -gesticulating groups of people, they passed the hospital, and, turning -to the right, reached the front of the Grand Pump Room Hotel. Limping -and enfeebled invalids, who could scarcely move unaided, were streaming -from the the building, appealing eagerly for guidance to a way of -escape from the perils that surrounded them. Tremulous but unheeded -questions were heard on every side as Linton and Zenobia crossed the -road and reached the Colonnade. To their right, from the doorways of -the Grand Pump Room itself, another flood of tinted steaming water was -pouring rapidly over the broad pavement and stealing into the Abbey -Church. By keeping close to the opposite wall they escaped the stream, -and leaving the great Church, which so far seemed intact, upon their -right, they soon reached the space in front of the Guildhall. Only a -little distance and they would gain the bridge! - -"This way!" cried Zenobia, as Linton, who knew nothing of the town, -stopped in hesitation. But as she spoke, the pavement, barely ten -yards away, bulged suddenly, then split apart, and with a violent rush -another geyser burst into the street. They drew back just in time, and -hurried breathlessly towards the Station Road. On their left rose the -tall building of the Empire Hotel; behind them was the Abbey. A sudden -shout impelled them to look back. A third geyser had opened in the -middle of the roadway, and in an instant columns of steaming water were -spouting high into the air. - -"Quick! Quick!" urged Linton. His voice was scarcely audible, for -as they approached the river a mighty roar was coming from the weir, -dominating the multitudinous sounds of terror which filled the air on -every side. - -In this appalling crisis earth and air and water seemed united as in a -ruthless conspiracy for the destruction of humanity. In the presence -of these vast, mysterious, and irresistible forces, man, the boasted -master, lord of creation, was subdued and helpless. The effect produced -on the inhabitants of the city was that with which the struggling -atoms of the race, accustomed only to a calm and ordered system, ever -encounter nature in her moods of unfamiliar violence. In tempests of -the deep, in the awful hurricane, when winds and seas mix and contend -in a Titanic conflict, nature ignores the puppets tossing on the -helpless ship, or half drowned on the surging raft. What is man in -presence of the waterspout that towers from the ocean to the clouds? -How shall he face the unfathomable whirlpool that yawns for the frail -boat in which he is compelled to trust? Whither shall we fly, when, -as now, the earth vomits forth from unimaginable caverns the scalding -water floods that she has stored within her depths throughout uncounted -centuries? None can stand unmoved when the hills smoke and the earth -trembles; when darkness, a darkness that may be felt, spreads in a -sinister and all-pervading veil over a world that seems abandoned to -the powers of evil? Powdery ashes were falling everywhere upon the -doomed city. From Lansdown a vast vaporous column, a dreadful blend of -water, bitumen, and sulphur, rose high into the clouds. As the great -column branched and spread, assuming the form of an enormous pine-tree, -the darkness deepened, save where, above the hill itself, red-coloured -flames slashed hither and thither through the cloud at frequent -intervals. Terrific explosions accompanied these manifestations; and -Linton, as he half carried Zenobia towards the river, was possessed -with the fear that the great hill might be completely riven and pour -forth streams of boiling water or of lava, that would not only submerge -the town itself but destroy all life within a radius of many miles. - -Conceivably, indeed, it might be the beginning of the end--the end, -at least, of England; for what were the British Isles but the summit -of some vast mountain whose foundations were buried deep in the -unfathomed sea? It had been forgotten that Great Britain with Ireland -and its Giant's Causeway, afforded incontrovertible evidence of -volcanic origin. These islands, with the Hebrides, the Faroe Islets, -and, finally, Iceland, in fact constituted a vast volcanic chain, with -Mount Hecla as its seismic terminus--a focus more active than Vesuvius -itself. And here, at the other end of the chain, was Bath, where for -thousands of years the waters of Sul had maintained a disregarded -warning of that inevitable convulsion which, at last and in the fulness -of time, had come to pass. - -In the midst of these flashing thoughts and fears that darted through -his brain, Linton was possessed with the conviction that their only -possible hope of safety lay in crossing the river, the surging roar of -which each moment became more audible and threatening. Others in great -numbers were animated with the same belief. Linton and Zenobia, indeed, -found themselves involved in a madly-rushing crowd of panic-stricken -men and women. Swept this way and that, they were in danger of being -hurled to the ground and trodden underfoot by thousands of hurrying -fellow creatures bent on self-preservation and on nothing else. - -Still supporting Zenobia with one arm and fighting his way forward step -by step, Linton presently managed to turn the angle of the tall hotel. -On their right the river, swollen enormously by the inrush from the -hidden springs, had almost reached the level of the parapet. Boiling -floods had poured, and still poured, into the Avon, blending with the -normal stream; and the soul-subduing terror of the scene was augmented -by the great clouds of steam that rose from the surface of the hurtling -river. - -With desperate exertions, still supporting his half-fainting companion, -Linton reached the turning towards the bridge. The narrow entrance was -choked with a dense and struggling crowd, through which half a dozen -men, lashing frantically at rearing horses, strove recklessly to force -a passage. Screams and oaths blended with the angry roaring of the -weir. The struggling people swayed hither and thither in dense compact -masses, while a body of firemen from the station close at hand, seized -the heads of several horses and forced them back to give the foot -passengers some slight chance of escape. - -Individual efforts were futile in the midst of this confused and -fighting crowd. By the impetus and weight of numbers, however, Linton -and Zenobia, holding closely to each other, were swept as in a human -eddy on to the bridge itself. The same contributory force of numbers, -close packed between the windows of the shops, carried them rapidly -towards the other side. Again and again there was a crash of glass -as the terrific pressure forced in one or other of the windows; but -far more ominous was the angry, roaring voice of the invisible river -beneath them. Rising higher and yet higher every moment, it buffeted -the bridge with unceasing and increasing violence, the torrent whirling -round the piers and buttresses, fiercely impatient for greater -destruction, as it tore upon its way towards the thundering weir. - -It was a question of time, and the time must needs be brief. The bridge -must go. Half way across, beneath the feet of the scrambling, sobbing -crowd, the roadway split and cracked. There was a sudden lurch that -sent Linton and Zenobia, with a dozen others, into the open doorway -of a right-hand shop. Like all the rest of the bridge buildings, it -was but one storey high, and at the end of the short passage a narrow -stairway gave access through a trapdoor to the leads. Linton, breathing -heavily from his exertions, gasping a few words of encouragement to -Zenobia, pondered in a flash the possibilities of the position. Those -who had been swept into the deserted shop with them were making frantic -and futile efforts to force their way back into the endless crowd that -still streamed across the bridge in such maddened haste. But a place -once lost in that dense multitude never could be recovered. In truth, -there was no choice, and in a moment his resolve was taken. - -"The roof," he whispered, half to himself, "the roof!" Mounting the -steps, he swept back the trapdoor, and, reaching down his hand, drew -Zenobia after him. They emerged upon the flat roof of the shop. Only a -dwarf party wall divided it from the rest. - -Below, on their left, the rushing and tumbling tide of humanity pressed -forward to the Bathwick side. Below, on their right, they beheld the -terrifying river, curdled in foam and throwing off increasing clouds of -heavy steam. They scrambled forward quickly, passing on from roof to -roof. Behind them came the sudden sound of rending masonry. A dreadful -scream, a wild cry of despair from the multitude, pierced the powdery -air. The bridge was slowly yielding to the enormous pressure of the -swollen river; but Linton and Zenobia had safely reached the other -side. Raising the trap door of the last shop in the row they descended -rapidly and gained the road. Here the congested throng spread out -across the wider space, and hurried onward to Great Pulteney Street. - -As they paused there came a sound--terrible, arresting, -never-to-be-forgotten--the united wail of despairing voices, rising -above the crash of the collapsing bridge as it carried with it, down -into the boiling flood, hundreds of helpless and entangled fugitives. -Zenobia, clinging convulsively to her protector, drew sobbing breaths -at those appalling sounds. But for his supporting arms she would have -sunk fainting to the ground. - -"Courage," he whispered. "Courage still." - -For the moment he himself believed that on this side of the river they -were safe. But at that instant they felt again beneath their feet the -quaking of the ground--a long and undulating throb. They reeled against -a wall and stood there panting, until a quickened sense of peril -impelled them once again to hasten forward. Turning up Edward Street, -and leaving the church upon their left, they climbed the hill, until -exhaustion compelled them to sink down upon a roadside bench and ease -their labouring lungs. - -Thick grey smoke, heavy with choking particles and powdery ashes, was -spreading everywhere; and from this higher ground, looking back towards -the fiery summit of the volcanic hill, they could see cloud after cloud -of fire-torn vapour mounting with spiral motion towards the darkened -heavens. - -Wearied though they were, they struggled to their feet, and once more -set their faces towards the hill. Linton fully realised that the area -of disturbance was far wider than he had at first supposed. Safety, if -attainable at all, could only be secured by placing many miles between -themselves and the volcanic district. It was no time for weighing small -considerations. Silently he decided what to do. - -They reached the house in which the President had spent and ended -the last days of his life. The hall door was wide open; darkness and -silence reigned in the interior. The servants, obviously, had fled. -Linton shouted, but no answer came. It was clear to him that the -engineer of the _Albatross_ was in full flight with the rest. - -Bidding Zenobia rest a minute in the hall, he opened the glass doors on -the inner side and ran down the steps into the garden. There lay the -_Albatross_, ready, as he knew, for an immediate aerial journey. His -own knowledge of the mechanism of an air-ship, though not complete, -was now sufficient, or, at any rate, it must be trusted. The boat -was rather smaller than the _Bladud_, and in some respects contained -improvements. A swift examination of the machinery satisfied him that -the _Albatross_ was fit for flight. - -Hurrying up the steps he called Zenobia. She came to him obediently and -instantly, calmness restored to her, and in her look a ready submission -to all that he thought best. - -"Will you trust yourself to me?" he asked very tenderly, taking her -hand. "The boat is ready. I think you will be safe." - -"I trust you in all things," she answered. "I am ready." - -He led her down the steps into the garden and helped her to her seat on -the stern-bench of the _Albatross_. - -"You can steer?" he asked. - -"Yes, if you direct me." - -"All's ready, then. Keep her before the wind. Now, up and away!" - -He himself stepped into the boat and immediately switched on the motive -power, adjusting the gear to suit the plans he had already formed. - -The _Albatross_ rose steadily into the air, then, gathering speed in a -few rapid circles, began like some huge bird to wing her flight from -the dread scene of the catastrophe. - -Behind them as they sped upon their way arose another violent -detonation. Suddenly the clouded air was rent with vivid lightning, and -this revealed the falling pinnacles of the Abbey Church. Then, as the -thunder crashed above their heads, Linton beheld a vast and fiery chasm -open in the labouring hill. Out of its lurid depths the waters of Sul -leaped upwards in a mighty column, a fountain, as it were, of liquid -fire. - -Then darkness settled on the scene, and all was still. - - -The End. - - - - -_BY THE SAME AUTHOR._ - - -The Devil's Peepshow. - -_By the Author of "A Time of Terror."_ - - -Morning Post.--"_The Devil's Peepshow_ is a remarkable book.... Its -interest is never in doubt.... The causeries of this little company -afford just those opportunities for political criticisms and shrewd -moralising in which the author is singularly felicitous.... But the -political lessons are not framed in epigram alone.... The delightful -and erudite essay on the 'Weird of the Wanderer' is, perhaps, the best -thing in the book, and strikes the undercurrent of mysticism with -fine suggestiveness.... Whoever the author is, he is a man of nice -penetration, and a philosopher worth listening to." - -Westminster Review. "Love and politics in equal proportions form the -main ingredients of _The Devil's Peepshow_, ... and the lurid title ... -serves as a fitting preliminary to the series of sensational episodes -that make up this story with an unmistakable purpose." - -Liverpool Daily Post. "The volume is as thrilling as its -predecessor.... The central theme of the story, that of a strong man of -high qualities and noble ambitions, who falls a victim to the lures of -an enchantress, is well developed. The author has force of style." - -Irish Times.--"The most impressive passages are those regarding the -unfortunate position of some of the middle classes." - -Yorkshire Dally Post.--" ... it is a very up-to-date story of London -Society during the season 1906, in which all the prominent politicians -and personages of the day take part.... The novel is, however, no -mere sensational melodrama, for the author makes it the medium for -expressing very freely his ideas on politics and religion, which are -by no means complimentary to the present Government, whose individual -members he ridicules unsparingly and not without power ... the very -strength of the contrast gives it relish." - - - - -A TIME OF TERROR - -(Second Edition). - - -Evening Standard.--"A politico-social romance of London and -England--prophetic, of course, sensational and thrilling." - -Scotchman.--"Truly a time of terror, and the anonymous author has a -clever enough pen with which to expose the vices--some of them real -enough--of the opening years of the twentieth century." - -Outlook.--"The story of a man's revenge against a nation, our own. -After war and internal anarchy, the capture of the Kaiser and the death -of the avenger ends with a national thanksgiving. Very eventful." - -The Tribune.--"Whatever the cause, the occurrences are certainly -terrible; ... beside the lurid vision, enormous in range and horrifying -in nature, the accumulated sensations of a score of 'shilling shockers' -pale into insignificance.... The book is written with much spirit." - -Yorkshire Post.--"The details are worked out so cleverly that there is -a thrill on nearly every page. This is the work, one would say, of a -practised writer, and the lover of sensational literature should not -omit to read it." - -Literary World.--"This is a well-written, and in many respects a -powerful story.... There are many sensational scenes, and plentiful -satire of the social and political world of to-day." - -Aberdeen Free Press.--"The unaffectedly hair-raising title is indeed -a fitting preliminary to a series of as startling episodes as have -stirred the body corporate of English fiction for many a day.... The -whole book is, it is true, sensationalism, but it is sensationalism -with a purpose.... Some passages contain a fine plea for the Christian -faith. It is a most original book, and at its lowest value an excellent -entertainment." - -Newcastle Daily Journal.--"_A Time of Terror_ is original in conception -and vividly effective in development. 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