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diff --git a/old/wtslw11.txt b/old/wtslw11.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6a198ea..0000000 --- a/old/wtslw11.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12044 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg Etext of When the Sleeper Wakes, by Wells -#7 in our series by H. G. Wells - - -Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check -the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! - -Please take a look at the important information in this header. -We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an -electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. - - -**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** - -**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** - -*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* - -Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and -further information is included below. We need your donations. - - -When the Sleeper Wakes - -by H. G. 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If you - don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are - payable to "Project Gutenberg Association / Benedictine - University" within the 60 days following each - date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) - your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. - -WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? -The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, -scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty -free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution -you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg -Association / Benedictine University". - -*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* - - - - - - - - - - -WHEN THE SLEEPER WAKES - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -INSOMNIA - -One afternoon, at low water, Mr. Isbister, a young -artist lodging at Boscastle, walked from that place to -the picturesque cove of Pentargen, desiring to examine -the caves there. Halfway down the precipitous path -to the Pentargen beach he came suddenly upon a man -sitting in an attitude of profound distress beneath -a projecting mass of rock. The hands of this man -hung limply over his knees, his eyes were red and -staring before him, and his face was wet with tears. - -He glanced round at Isbister's footfall. Both men -were disconcerted, Isbister the more so, and, to -override the awkwardness of his involuntary pause, he -remarked, with an air of mature conviction, that the -weather was hot for the time of year. - -"Very," answered the stranger shortly, hesitated a -second, and added in a colourless tone, "I can't sleep." - -Isbister stopped abruptly. "No?" was all he said, -but his bearing conveyed his helpful impulse. - -"It may sound incredible," said the stranger, turning -weary eyes to Isbister's face and emphasizing his -words with a languid hand, "but I have had no sleep --- no sleep at all for six nights." - -"Had advice?" - -"Yes. Bad advice for the most part. Drugs. My -nervous system... . They are all very well for -the run of people. It's hard to explain. I dare not -take . . . sufficiently powerful drugs." - -"That makes it difficult," said Isbister. - -He stood helplessly in the narrow path, perplexed -what to do. Clearly the man wanted to talk. An idea -natural enough under the circumstances, prompted -him to keep the conversation going. "I've never suffered -from sleeplessness myself," he said in a tone of -commonplace gossip, "but in those cases I have -known, people have usually found something --" - -"I dare make no experiments." - -He spoke wearily. He gave a gesture of rejection, -and for a space both men were silent. - -"Exercise?" suggested Isbister diffidently, with a -glance from his interlocutor's face of wretchedness to -the touring costume he wore. - -"That is what I have tried. Unwisely perhaps. I -have followed the coast, day after day -- from New -Quay. It has only added muscular fatigue to the mental. -The cause of this unrest was overwork -- trouble. -There was something --" - -He stopped as if from sheer fatigue. He rubbed his -forehead with a lean hand. He resumed speech like -one who talks to himself. - -"I am a lone wolf, a solitary man, wandering -through a world in which I have no part. I am wifeless -- -childless -- who is it speaks of the childless as -the dead twigs on the tree of life? I am wifeless, -I childless -- I could find no duty to do. No desire -even in my heart. One thing at last I set myself to do. - -"I said, I will do this, and to do it, to overcome -the inertia of this dull body, I resorted to drugs. Great -God, I've had enough of drugs! I don't know if _you_ -feel the heavy inconvenience of the body, its -exasperating demand of time from the mind -- time -- -life! Live! We only live in patches. We have -to eat, and then comes the dull digestive complacencies -- -or irritations. We have to take the air or else -our thoughts grow sluggish, stupid, run into gulfs -and blind alleys. A thousand distractions arise from -within and without, and then comes drowsiness and -sleep. Men seem to live for sleep. How little of a -man's day is his own -- even at the best! And then -come those false friends, those Thug helpers, the -alkaloids that stifle natural fatigue and kill rest -- -black coffee, cocaine --" - -"I see," said Isbister. - -"I did my work," said the sleepless man with a -querulous intonation. - -"And this is the price?" - -"Yes." - -For a little while the two remained without speaking. - -"You cannot imagine the craving for rest that I -feel -- a hunger and thirst. For six long days, since -my work was done, my mind has been a whirlpool, -swift, unprogressive and incessant, a torrent of -thoughts leading nowhere, spinning round swift and -steady --" - -He paused. "Towards the gulf." - -"You must sleep," said Isbister decisively, and -with an air of a remedy discovered. "Certainly you -must sleep." - -"My mind is perfectly lucid. It was never clearer. -But I know I am drawing towards the vortex. -Presently --" - -"Yes?" - -"You have seen things go down an eddy? Out of -the light of the day, out of this sweet world of sanity -- -down --" - -"But," expostulated Isbister. - -The man threw out a hand towards him, and his -eyes were wild, and his voice suddenly high. "I shall -kill myself. If in no other way -- at the foot of yonder -dark precipice there, where the waves are green, -and the white surge lifts and falls, and that little -thread of water trembles down. There at any rate is -. . . sleep." - -"That's unreasonable," said Isbister, startled at the -man's hysterical gust of emotion. "Drugs are better -than that." - -"There at any rate is sleep," repeated the stranger, -not heeding him. - -Isbister looked at him and wondered transitorily if -some complex Providence had indeed brought them -together that afternoon. "It's not a cert, you know," -he remarked." There's a cliff like that at Lulworth -Cove -- as high, anyhow -- and a little girl fell from -top to bottom. And lives to-day -- sound and well." - -"But those rocks there?" - -"One might lie on them rather dismally through a -cold night, broken bones grating as one shivered, chill -water splashing over you. Eh?" - -Their eyes met. "Sorry to upset your ideals," said -Isbister with a sense of devil-may-careish brilliance. - -"But a suicide over that cliff (or any cliff for the matter -of that), really, as an artist --" He laughed. -"It's so damned amateurish." - -"But the other thing," said the sleepless man irritably, -"the other thing. No man can keep sane if -night after night --" - -"Have you been walking along this coast alone?" - -"Yes." - -"Silly sort of thing to do. If you'll excuse my -saying so. Alone! As you say; body fag is no cure -for brain fag. Who told you to? No wonder; -walking! And the sun on your head, heat, fag, solitude, -all the day long, and then, I suppose, you go to -bed and try very hard -- eh?" - -Isbister stopped short and looked at the sufferer -doubtfully. - -"Look at these rocks!" cried the seated man with -a sudden force of gesture. "Look at that sea that -has shone and quivered there for ever! See the white -spume rush into darkness under that great cliff. And -this blue vault, with the blinding sun pouring from -the dome of it. It is your world. You accept it, you -rejoice in it. It warms and supports and delights you. -And for me --" - -He turned his head and showed a ghastly face, -bloodshot pallid eyes and bloodless lips. He spoke -almost in a whisper. "It is the garment of my misery. -The whole world . . . is the garment of -my misery." - -Isbister looked at all the wild beauty of the sunlit -cliffs about them and back to that face of despair -For a moment he was silent. - -He started, and made a gesture of impatient rejection. -"You get a night's sleep," he said, "and you -won't see much misery out here. Take my word -for it." - -He was quite sure now that this was a providential -encounter. Only half an hour ago he had been feeling -horribly bored. Here was employment the bare -thought of which was righteous self-applause. He -took possession forthwith. It seemed to him that the -first need of this exhausted being was companionship -He flung himself down on the steeply sloping turf -beside the motionless seated figure, and deployed -forthwith into a skirmishing line of gossip. - -His hearer seemed to have lapsed into apathy; -he stared dismally seaward, and spoke only in answer -to Isbister's direct questions -- and not to all of those -But he made no sign of objection to this benevolent -intrusion upon his despair. - -In a helpless way he seemed even grateful, and -when presently Isbister, feeling that his unsupported -talk was losing vigour, suggested that they should -reascend the steep and return towards Boscastle, -alleging the view into Blackapit, he submitted quietly. -Halfway up he began talking to himself, and abruptly -turned a ghastly face on his helper. "What can be -happening?" he asked with a gaunt illustrative hand. -"What can be happening? Spin, spin, spin, spin. It -goes round and round, round and round for evermore." - -He stood with his hand circling - -"It's all right, old chap," said Isbister with the air -of an old friend. "Don't worry yourself. Trust to -me." - -The man dropped his hand and turned again. They -went over the brow in single file and to the headland -beyond Penally, with the sleepless man gesticulating -ever and again, and speaking fragmentary things -concerning his whirling brain. At the headland they -stood for a space by the seat that looks into the dark - - -mysteries of Blackapit, and then he sat down. Isbister -had resumed his talk whenever the path had widened -sufficiently for them to walk abreast. He was enlarging -upon the complex difficulty of making Boscastle -Harbour in bad weather, when suddenly and quite -irrelevantly his companion interrupted him again. - -"My head is not like what it was," he said, gesticulating -for want of expressive phrases. "It's not like -what it was. There is a sort of oppression, a weight. -No -- not drowsiness, would God it were! It is like -a shadow, a deep shadow falling suddenly and swiftly -across something busy. Spin, spin into the darkness -The tumult of thought, the confusion, the eddy and -eddy. I can't express it. I can hardly keep my mind -on it -- steadily enough to tell you." - -He stopped feebly. - -"Don't trouble, old chap," said Isbister. "I think -I can understand. At any rate, it don't matter very -much just at present about telling me, you know." - -The sleepless man thrust his knuckles into his eyes -and rubbed them. Isbister talked for awhile while -this rubbing continued, and then he had a fresh idea. -"Come down to my room," he said, "and try a pipe. -I can show you some sketches of this Blackapit. If -you'd care?" - -The other rose obediently and followed him down -the steep. - -Several times Isbister heard him stumble as they -came down, and his movements were slow and hesitating. -"Come in with me," said Isbister, "and try -some cigarettes and the blessed gift of alcohol. If -you take alcohol?" - -The stranger hesitated at the garden gate. He -seemed no longer clearly aware of his actions. "I -don't drink," he said slowly, coming up the garden -path, and after a moment's interval repeated absently, -"No -- I don't drink. It goes round. Spin, it goes --- spin --" - -He stumbled at the doorstep and entered the room -with the bearing of one who sees nothing. - -Then he sat down abruptly and heavily in the easy -chair, seemed almost to fall into it. He leant forward -with his brows on his hands and became motionless. - -Presently he made a faint sound in his throat. -Isbister moved about the room with the nervousness -of an inexperienced host, making little remarks that -scarcely required answering. He crossed the room -to his portfolio, placed it on the table and noticed -the mantel clock. - -"I don't know if you'd care to have supper with -me," he said with an unlighted cigarette in his hand -- -his mind troubled with a design of the furtive administration -of chloral. "Only cold mutton, you know, -but passing sweet. Welsh. And a tart, I believe." -He repeated this after momentary silence. - -The seated man made no answer. Isbister stopped, -match in hand, regarding him. - -The stillness lengthened. The match went out, the -cigarette was put down unlit. The man was certainly -very still. Isbister took up the portfolio, opened it, -put it down, hesitated, seemed about to speak. -"Perhaps," he whispered doubtfully. Presently he -glanced at the door and back to the figure. Then he -stole on tiptoe out of the room, glancing at his -companion after each elaborate pace. - -He closed the door noiselessly. The house door -was standing open, and he went out beyond the porch, -and stood where the monkshood rose at the corner -of the garden bed. From this point he could see the -stranger through the open window, still and dim, -sitting head on hand. He had not moved. - -A number of children going along the road stopped -and regarded the artist curiously. A boatman exchanged -civilities with him. He felt that possibly his -circumspect attitude and position seemed peculiar and -unaccountable. Smoking, perhaps, might seem more -natural. He drew pipe and pouch from his pocket, -filled the pipe slowly. - -"I wonder," . . . he said, with a scarcely perceptible -loss of complacency. "At any rate we must -give him a chance." He struck a match in the virile -way, and proceeded to light his pipe. - -Presently he heard his landlady behind him, coming -with his lamp lit from the kitchen. He turned, -gesticulating with his pipe, and stopped her at the door -of his sitting-room. He had some difficulty in -explaining the situation in whispers, for she did not -know he had a visitor. She retreated again with the -lamp, still a little mystified to judge from her manner, -and he resumed his hovering at the corner of the -porch, flushed and less at his ease. - -Long after he had smoked out his pipe, and when -the bats were abroad, his curiosity dominated his -complex hesitations, and he stole back into his -darkling sitting-room. He paused in the doorway. The -stranger was still in the same attitude, dark against -the window. Save for the singing of some sailors -aboard one of the little slate-carrying ships in the -harbour, the evening was very still. Outside, the spikes -of monkshood and delphinium stood erect and motionless -against the shadow of the hillside. Something -flashed into Isbister's mind; he started, and leaning -over the table, listened. An unpleasant suspicion -grew stronger; became conviction. Astonishment -seized him and became -- dread! - -No sound of breathing came from the seated figure! - -He crept slowly and noiselessly round the table, -pausing twice to listen. At last he could lay his hand -on the back of the armchair. He bent down until the -two heads were ear to ear. - -Then he bent still lower to look up at his visitor's -face. He started violently and uttered an exclamation. -The eyes were void spaces of white. - -He looked again and saw that they were open and -with the pupils rolled under the lids. He was -suddenly afraid. Overcome by the strangeness of the -man's condition, he took him by the shoulder and -shook him. "Are you asleep?" he said, with his voice -jumping into alto, and again, "Are you asleep?" - -A conviction took possession of his mind that this -man was dead. He suddenly became active and -noisy, strode across the room, blundering against the -table as he did so, and rang the bell. - -"Please bring a light at once," he said in the passage. -"There is something wrong with my friend." - -Then he returned to the motionless seated figure, -grasped the shoulder, shook it, and shouted. The -room was flooded with yellow glare as his astonished -landlady entered with the light. His face was white -as he turned blinking towards her. "I must fetch -a doctor at once," he said. "It is either death or a -fit. Is there a doctor in the village? Where is a -doctor to be found?" - -CHAPTER II - -THE TRANCE - -The state of cataleptic rigour into which this man -had fallen, lasted for an unprecedented length of time, -and then he passed slowly to the flaccid state, to a lax -attitude suggestive of profound repose. Then it was -his eyes could be closed. - -He was removed from the hotel to the Boscastle -surgery, and from the surgery, after some weeks, to -London. But he still resisted every attempt at -reanimation. After a time, for reasons that will appear -later, these attempts were discontinued. For a great -space he lay in that strange condition, inert and still -neither dead nor living but, as it were, suspended, -hanging midway between nothingness and existence. -His was a darkness unbroken by a ray of thought or -sensation, a dreamless inanition, a vast space of peace. -The tumult of his mind had swelled and risen to an -abrupt climax of silence. Where was the man? -Where is any man when insensibility takes hold of -him? - -"It seems only yesterday," said Isbister. "I -remember it all as though it happened yesterday -- -clearer perhaps, than if it had happened yesterday." - -It was the Isbister of the last chapter, but he was -no longer a young man. The hair that had been -brown and a trifle in excess of the fashionable length, -was iron grey and clipped close, and the face that had -been pink and white was buff and ruddy. He had a -pointed beard shot with grey. He talked to an elderly -man who wore a summer suit of drill (the summer of -that year was unusually hot). This was Warming, a -London solicitor and next of kin to Graham, the man -who had fallen into the trance. And the two men -stood side by side in a room in a house in London -regarding his recumbent figure. - -It was a yellow figure lying lax upon a water-bed -and clad in a flowing shirt, a figure with a shrunken -face and a stubby beard, lean limbs and lank nails, and -about it was a case of thin glass. This glass seemed - - -to mark off the sleeper from the reality of life about -him, he was a thing apart, a strange, isolated abnormality. -The two men stood close to the glass, -peering in. - -"The thing gave me a shock," said Isbister "I -feel a queer sort of surprise even now when I think of -his white eyes. They were white, you know, rolled -up. Coming here again brings it all back to me. - -"Have you never seen him since that time?" asked -Warming. - -"Often wanted to come," said Isbister; "but business -nowadays is too serious a thing for much holiday -keeping. I've been in America most of the time." - -"If I remember rightly," said Warming, "you were -an artist?" - -"Was. And then I became a married man. I saw -it was all up with black and white, very soon -- at -least for a mediocre man, and I jumped on to process. -Those posters on the Cliffs at Dover are by my -people." - -"Good posters," admitted the solicitor, "though I -was sorry to see them there." - -"Last as long as the cliffs, if necessary," exclaimed -Isbister with satisfaction. "The world changes. -When he fell asleep, twenty years ago, I was down -at Boscastle with a box of water-colours and a noble, -old-fashioned ambition. I didn't expect that some -day my pigments would glorify the whole blessed coast -of England, from Land's End round again to the Lizard. -Luck comes to a man very often when he's not -looking." - -Warming seemed to doubt the quality of the luck. -"I just missed seeing you, if I recollect aright." - -"You came back by the trap that took me to Camelford -railway station. It was close on the Jubilee, -Victoria's Jubilee, because I remember the seats and flags -in Westminster, and the row with the cabman at -Chelsea." - -"The Diamond Jubilee, it was," said Warming; -"the second one." - -"Ah, yes! At the proper Jubilee -- the Fifty Year -affair -- I was down at Wookey -- a boy. I missed -all that. . . . What a fuss we had with him! My -landlady wouldn't take him in, wouldn't let him stay -- -he looked so queer when he was rigid. We had to -carry him in a chair up to the hotel. And the -Boscastle doctor -- it wasn't the present chap, but the -G.P. before him -- was at him until nearly two, with, -me and the landlord holding lights and so forth." - -"It was a cataleptic rigour at first, wasn't it?" - -"Stiff! -- wherever you bent him he stuck. You -might have stood him on his head and he'd have -stopped. I never saw such stiffness. Of course this" --- he indicated the prostrate figure by a movement of -his head -- "is quite different. And, of course, the -little doctor -- what was his name?" - -"Smithers?" - -"Smithers it was -- was quite wrong in trying to -fetch him round too soon, according to all accounts. -The things he did. Even now it makes me feel all -- -ugh! Mustard, snuff, pricking. And one of those -beastly little things, not dynamos --" - -"Induction coils." - -"Yes. You could see his muscles throb and jump, -and he twisted about. There was just two flaring -yellow candles, and all the shadows were shivering, -and the little doctor nervous and putting on side, and -him -- stark and squirming in the most unnatural -ways. Well, it made me dream." - -Pause. - -"It's a strange state," said Warming. - -"It's a sort of complete absence," said Isbister. - -"Here's the body, empty. Not dead a bit, and yet -not alive. It's like a seat vacant and marked 'engaged.' -No feeling, no digestion, no beating of the -heart -- not a flutter. _That_ doesn't make me feel as -if there was a man present. In a sense it's more dead -than death, for these doctors tell me that even the hair -has stopped growing. Now with the proper dead, the -hair will go on growing --" - -"I know," said Warming, with a flash of pain in -his expression. - -They peered through the glass again. Graham was -indeed in a strange state, in the flaccid phase of a -trance, but a trance unprecedented in medical history. -Trances had lasted for as much as a year before --- but at the end of that time it had ever been -waking or a death; sometimes first one and then the -other. Isbister noted the marks the physicians had -made in injecting nourishment, for that device had -been resorted to to postpone collapse; he pointed them -out to Warming, who had been trying not to see them. - -"And while he has been lying here," said Isbister, -with the zest of a life freely spent, "I have changed my -plans in life; married, raised a family, my eldest lad -- -I hadn't begun to think of sons then -- is an American -citizen, and looking forward to leaving Harvard. -There's a touch of grey in my hair. And this man, -not a day older nor wiser (practically) than I was in -my downy days. It's curious to think of." - -Warming turned. "And I have grown old too. I -played cricket with him when I was still only a lad. -And he looks a young man still. Yellow perhaps. -But that is a young man nevertheless." - -"And there's been the War," said Isbister. - -"From beginning to end." - -"And these Martians." - -"I've understood," said Isbister after a pause, "that -he had some moderate property of his own?" - -"That is so," said Warming. He coughed primly. -"As it happens -- have charge of it." - -"Ah!" Isbister thought, hesitated and spoke: -"No doubt -- his keep here is not expensive -- no -doubt it will have improved -- accumulated?" - -"It has. He will wake up very much better off -- -if he wakes -- than when he slept." - -"As a business man," said Isbister, "that thought -has naturally been in my mind. I have, indeed, -sometimes thought that, speaking commercially, of course, -this sleep may be a very good thing for him. That -he knows what he is about, so to speak, in being -insensible so long. If he had lived straight on --" - -"I doubt if he would have premeditated as much," -said Warming. "He was not a far-sighted man. In -fact --" - -"Yes?" - -"We differed on that point. I stood to him somewhat -in the relation of a guardian. You have probably -seen enough of affairs to recognise that -occasionally a certain friction --. But even if that was the -case, there is a doubt whether he will ever wake. This -sleep exhausts slowly, but it exhausts. Apparently -he is sliding slowly, very slowly and tediously, down -a long slope, if you can understand me?" - -"It will be a pity to lose his surprise. There's been -a lot of change these twenty years. It's Rip Van -Winkle come real." - -"It's Bellamy," said Warming. "There has been -a lot of change certainly. And, among other changes, -I have changed. I am an old man." - -Isbister hesitated, and then feigned a belated surprise. -"I shouldn't have thought it." - -"I was forty-three when his bankers -- you remember -you wired to his bankers -- sent on to me." - -"I got their address from the cheque book in his -pocket," said Isbister. - -"Well, the addition is not difficult," said Warming. - -There was another pause, and then Isbister gave -way to an unavoidable curiosity. "He may go on -for years yet," he said, and had a moment of hesitation. -"We have to consider that. His affairs, you -know, may fall some day into the hands of -- someone -else, you know." - -"That, if you will believe me, Mr. Isbister, is one -of the problems most constantly before my mind. We -happen to be -- as a matter of fact, there are no very -trustworthy connections of ours. It is a grotesque -and unprecedented position." - -"It is," said Isbister. "As a matter of fact, it's a -case for a public trustee, if only we had such a -functionary." - -"It seems to me it's a case for some public body, -some practically undying guardian. If he really is -going on living -- as the doctors, some of them, think. -As a matter of fact, I have gone to one or two public -men about it. But, so far, nothing has been done." - -"It wouldn't be a bad idea to hand him over to -some public body -- the British Museum Trustees, or -the Royal College of Physicians. Sounds a bit odd, -of course, but the whole situation is odd." - -"The difficulty is to induce them to take him." - -"Red tape, I suppose?" - -"Partly." - -Pause. "It's a curious business, certainly," said -Isbister. "And compound interest has a way of -mounting up." - -"It has," said Warming. "And now the gold supplies -are running short there is a tendency towards -. . . appreciation." - -"I've felt that," said Isbister with a grimace. "But -it makes it better for him." - -"If he wakes." - -"If he wakes," echoed Isbister. "Do you notice -the pinched-ill look of his nose, and the way in which -his eyelids sink?" - -Warming looked and thought for a space. "I doubt -if he will wake," he said at last. - -"I never properly understood," said Isbister, "what -it was brought this on. He told me something about -overstudy. I've often been curious." - -"He was a man of considerable gifts, but spasmodic, -emotional. He had grave domestic troubles, -divorced his wife, in fact, and it was as a relief from -that, I think, that he took up politics of the rabid sort. -He was a fanatical Radical -- a Socialist -- or typical -Liberal, as they used to call themselves,-of the advanced -school. Energetic -- flighty -- undisciplined. Overwork -upon a controversy did this for him. I remember -the pamphlet he wrote -- a curious production. Wild, -whirling stuff. There were one or two prophecies. -Some of them are already exploded, some of them are -established facts. But for the most part to read such -a thesis is to realise how full the world is of -unanticipated things. He will have much to learn, much to -unlearn, when he wakes. If ever a waking comes." - -"I'd give anything to be there," said Isbister, "just -to hear what he would say to it all." - -"So would I," said Warming. "Aye! so would -I," with an old man's sudden turn to self pity. "But -I shall never see him wake." - -He stood looking thoughtfully at the waxen figure. -"He will never wake," he said at last. He sighed -"He will never wake again." - -CHAPTER III - -THE AWAKENING - -But Warming was wrong in that. An awakening -came. - -What a wonderfully complex thing! this simple -seeming unity -- the self! Who can trace its -reintegration as morning after morning we awaken, the -flux and confluence of its countless factors interweaving, -rebuilding, the dim first stirrings of the soul, the -growth and synthesis of the unconscious to the -subconscious, the sub-conscious to dawning consciousness, -until at last we recognise ourselves again. And -as it happens to most of us after the night's sleep, so -it was with Graham at the end of his vast slumber. -A dim cloud of sensation taking shape, a cloudy -dreariness, and he found himself vaguely somewhere, -recumbent, faint, but alive. - -The pilgrimage towards a personal being seemed to -traverse vast gulfs, to occupy epochs. Gigantic - - -dreams that were terrible realities at the time, left -vague perplexing memories, strange creatures, strange -scenery, as if from another planet. There was a distinct -impression, too, of a momentous conversation, of -a name -- he could not tell what name -- that was -subsequently to recur, of some queer long-forgotten -sensation of vein and muscle, of a feeling of vast -hopeless effort, the effort of a man near drowning in -darkness. Then came a panorama of dazzling unstable -confluent scenes. - -Graham became aware his eyes were open and regarding -some unfamiliar thing. - -It was something white, the edge of something, a -frame of wood. He moved his head slightly, following -the contour of this shape. It went up beyond the -top of his eyes. He tried to think where he might be. -Did it matter, seeing he was so wretched? The colour -of his thoughts was a dark depression. He felt the -featureless misery of one who wakes towards the hour -of dawn. He had an uncertain sense of whispers and -footsteps hastily receding. - -The movement of his head involved a perception of -extreme physical weakness. He supposed he was in -bed in the hotel at the place in the valley -- but he -could not recall that white edge. He must have slept. -He remembered now that he had wanted to sleep. He -recalled the cliff and waterfall again, and then -recollected something about talking to a passer-by. - -How long had he slept? What was that sound of -pattering feet? And that rise and fall, like the -murmur of breakers on pebbles? He put out a languid -hand to reach his watch from the chair whereon it -was his habit to place it, and touched some smooth -hard surface like glass. This was so unexpected that -it startled him extremely. Quite suddenly he rolled -over, stared for a moment, and struggled into a sitting -position. The effort was unexpectedly difficult, and -it left him giddy and weak -- and amazed. - -He rubbed his eyes. The riddle of his surroundings -was confusing but his mind was quite clear -- evidently -his sleep had benefited him. He was not in a -bed at all as he understood the word, but lying naked -on a very soft and yielding mattress, in a trough of -dark glass. The mattress was partly transparent, a -fact he observed with a strange sense of insecurity, and -below it was a mirror reflecting him greyly. About -his arm -- and he saw with a shock that his skin was -strangely dry and yellow -- was bound a curious apparatus -of rubber, bound so cunningly that it seemed -to pass into his skin above and below. And this -strange bed was placed in a case of greenish coloured -glass (as it seemed to him), a bar in the white framework -of which had first arrested his attention. In -the corner of the case was a stand of glittering and -delicately made apparatus, for the most part quite -strange appliances, though a maximum and minimum -thermometer was recognisable. - -The slightly greenish tint of the glass-like substance -which surrounded him on every hand obscured what -lay behind, but he perceived it was a vast apartment -of splendid appearance, and with a very large and -simple white archway facing him. Close to the walls -of the cage were articles of furniture, a table covered -with a silvery cloth, silvery like the side of a fish, a -couple of graceful chairs, and on the table a number -of dishes with substances piled on them, a bottle and -two glasses. He realised that he was intensely hungry. - -He could see no human being, and after a period -of hesitation scrambled off the translucent mattress -and tried to stand on the clean white floor of his little -apartment. He had miscalculated his strength, however, -and staggered and put his hand against the glasslike -pane before him to steady himself. For a moment -it resisted his hand, bending outward like a distended -bladder, then it broke with a slight report and vanished -- a -pricked bubble. He reeled out into the -general space of the hall, greatly astonished. He -caught at the table to save himself, knocking one of -the glasses to the floor -- it rang but did not break -- -and sat down in one of the armchairs. - -When he had a little recovered he filled the remaining -glass from the bottle and drank -- a colourless -liquid it was, but not water, with a pleasing faint -aroma and taste and a quality of immediate support -and stimulus. He put down the vessel and looked -about him. - -The apartment lost none of its size and magnificence -now that the greenish transparency that had intervened -was removed. The archway he saw led to a -flight of steps, going downward without the -intermediation of a door, to a spacious transverse passage. -This passage ran between polished pillars of some -white-veined substance of deep ultramarine, and along -it came the sound of human movements and voices -and a deep undeviating droning note. He sat, now -fully awake, listening alertly, forgetting the viands in -his attention. - -Then with a shock he remembered that he was -naked, and casting about him for covering, saw a long -black robe thrown on one of the chairs beside him. -This he wrapped about him and sat down again, -trembling. - -His mind was still a surging perplexity. Clearly -he had slept. and had been removed in his sleep. But -here? And who were those people, the distant -crowd beyond the deep blue pillars? Boscastle? He -poured out and partially drank another glass of the -colourless fluid. - -What was this place? -- this place that to his senses -seemed subtly quivering like a thing alive? He looked -about him at the clean and beautiful form of the apartment, -unstained by ornament, and saw that the roof -was broken in one place by a circular shaft full of -light, and, as he looked, a steady, sweeping shadow -blotted it out and passed, and came again and passed. -"Beat, beat," that sweeping shadow had a note of its -own in the subdued tumult that filled the air. - -He would have called out, but only a little sound -came into his throat. Then he stood up, and, with -the uncertain steps of a drunkard, made his way -towards the archway. He staggered down the steps, -tripped on the corner of the black cloak he had -wrapped about himself, and saved himself by catching -at one of the blue pillars. - -The passage ran down a cool vista of blue and purple, -and ended remotely in a railed space like a balcony, -brightly lit and projecting into a space of haze, -a space like the interior of some gigantic building. -Beyond and remote were vast and vague architectural -forms. The tumult of voices rose now loud and clear, -and on the balcony and with their backs to him, -gesticulating and apparently in animated conversation, -were three figures, richly dressed in loose and easy -garments of bright soft colourings. The noise of a -great multitude of people poured up over the balcony, -and once it seemed the top of a banner passed, and -once some brightly coloured object, a pale blue cap -or garment thrown up into the air perhaps, flashed -athwart the space and fell. The shouts sounded like -English, there was a reiteration of "Wake!" He -heard some indistinct shrill cry, and abruptly the -three men began laughing. - - -"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed one -- a red-haired man in -a short purple robe. "When the Sleeper wakes -- -_When!_ - -He turned his eyes full of merriment along the passage. -His face changed, the whole man changed, -became rigid. The other two turned swiftly at his -exclamation and stood motionless. Their faces -assumed an expression of consternation, an expression -that deepened into awe. - -Suddenly Graham's knees bent beneath him, his arm -against the pillar collapsed limply, he staggered -forward and fell upon his face. - -CHAPTER IV - -THE SOUND OF A TUMULT - -Graham's last impression before he fainted was of -a clamorous ringing of bells. He learnt afterwards that -he was insensible, hanging between life and death, for -the better part of an hour. When he recovered his -senses, he was back on his translucent couch, and -there was a stirring warmth at heart and throat. The -dark apparatus, he perceived, had been removed from -his arm, which was bandaged. The white framework -was still about him, but the greenish transparent -substance that had filled it was altogether gone. A man -in a deep violet robe, one of those who had been on -the balcony, was looking keenly into his face. - -Remote but insistent was a clamour of bells and -confused sounds, that suggested to his mind the -picture of a great number of people shouting together. -Something seemed to fall across this tumult, a -door suddenly closed. - -Graham moved his head. "What does this all -mean?" he said slowly. "Where am I?" - -He saw the red-haired man who had been first to -discover him. A voice seemed to be asking what he -had said, and was abruptly stilled. - -The man in violet answered in a soft voice, speaking -English with a slightly foreign accent, or so at least -it seemed to the Sleeper's ears, "You are quite safe. - -You were brought hither from where you fell asleep. -It is quite safe. You have been here some time -- -sleeping. In a trance." - -He said something further that Graham could not -hear, and a little phial was handed across to him. -Graham felt a cooling spray, a fragrant mist played -over his forehead for a moment, and his sense of -refreshment increased. He closed his eyes in satisfaction. - -"Better?" asked the man in violet, as Graham's -eyes reopened. He was a pleasant-faced man of -thirty, perhaps, with a pointed flaxen beard, and a -clasp of gold at the neck of his violet robe. - -"Yes," said Graham. - -"You have been asleep some time. In a cataleptic -trance. You have heard? Catalepsy? It may seem -strange to you at first, but I can assure you everything -is well." - -Graham did not answer, but these words served -their reassuring purpose. His eyes went from face -to face of the three people about him. They were -regarding him strangely. He knew he ought to be -somewhere in Cornwall, but he could not square these -things with that impression. - -A matter that had been in his mind during his last -waking moments at Boscastle recurred, a thing resolved -upon and somehow neglected. He cleared his -throat. - -"Have you wired my cousin?" he asked. "E. -Warming, 27, Chancery Lane?" - -They were all assiduous to hear. But he had to -repeat it. "What an odd _blurr_ in his accent!" -whispered the red-haired man. "Wire, sir?" said the -young man with the flaxen beard, evidently puzzled. - -"He means send an electric telegram," volunteered -the third, a pleasant-faced youth of nineteen or twenty. -The flaxen-bearded man gave a cry of comprehension. -"How stupid of me! You may be sure everything -shall be done, sir," he said to Graham. "I am afraid -it would be difficult to -- wire to your cousin. He is -not in London now. But don't trouble about arrangements -yet; you have been asleep a very long time and -the important thing is to get over that, sir." (Graham -concluded the word was sir, but this man pronounced -it "Sire.") - -"Oh!" said Graham, and became quiet. - -It was all very puzzling, but apparently these people -in unfamiliar dress knew what they were about. Yet -they were odd and the room was odd. It seemed he -was in some newly established place. He had a sudden -flash of suspicion. Surely this wasn't some hall -of public exhibition! If it was he would give Warming -a piece of his mind. But it scarcely had that -character. And in a place of public exhibition he -would not have discovered himself naked. - -Then suddenly, quite abruptly, he realised what had -happened. There was no perceptible interval of suspicion, -no dawn to his knowledge. Abruptly he -knew that his trance had lasted for a vast interval; as -if by some processes of thought reading he interpreted -the awe in the faces that peered into his. He looked -at them strangely, full of intense emotion. It seemed -they read his eyes. He framed his lips to speak and -could not. A queer impulse to hide his knowledge -came into his mind almost at the moment of his discovery. -He looked at his bare feet, regarding then -silently. His impulse to speak passed. He was -trembling exceedingly. - -They gave him some pink fluid with a greenish -fluorescence and a meaty taste, and the assurance of -returning strength grew. - -"That -- that makes me feel better," he said -hoarsely, and there were murmurs of respectful -approval. He knew now quite clearly. He made to -speak again, and again he could not. - -He pressed his throat and tried a third time. - -"How long?" he asked in a level voice. "How long -have I been asleep?" - -"Some considerable time," said the flaxen-bearded -man, glancing quickly at the others. - -"How long?" - -"A very long time." - -"Yes -- yes," said Graham, suddenly testy. "But -I want -- Is it -- it is -- some years? Many years? -There was something -- I forget what. I feel -- -confused. But you --" He sobbed. "You need -not fence with me. How long -- ?" - -He stopped, breathing irregularly. He squeezed -his eyes with his knuckles and sat waiting for an -answer. - -They spoke in undertones. - -"Five or six?" he asked faintly. "More?" - -"Very much more than that." - -"Morel" - -"More." - -He looked at them and it seemed as though imps -were twitching the muscles of his face. He looked -his question. - -"Many years," said the man with the red beard. - -Graham struggled into a sitting position. He -wiped a rheumy tear from his face with a lean hand. -"Many years!" he repeated. He shut his eyes tight, -opened them, and sat looking about him, from one -unfamiliar thing to another. - -"How many years?" he asked. - -"You must be prepared to be surprised." - -"Well?" - -"More than a gross of years." - -He was irritated at the strange word. "More than -a _what_?" - -Two of them spoke together. Some quick remarks -that were made about "decimal" he did not catch. - -"How long did you say?" asked Graham. "How -long? Don't look like that. Tell me." - -Among the remarks in an undertone, his ear caught -six words: "More than a couple of centuries." - - -_"What?"_ he cried, turning on the youth who he -thought had spoken. "Who says -- ? What was -that? A couple of centuries!" - -"Yes," said the man with the red beard. "Two -hundred years." - -Graham repeated the words. He had been prepared -to hear of a vast repose, and yet these concrete -centuries defeated him. - -"Two hundred years," he said again, with the figure -of a great gulf opening very slowly in his mind; and -then, "Oh, but -- !" - -They said nothing. - -"You -- did you say -- ?" - -"Two hundred years. Two centuries of years," -said the man with the red beard. - -There was a pause. Graham looked at their faces -and saw that what he had heard was indeed true. - -"But it can't be," he said querulously. "I am -dreaming. Trances. Trances don't last. That is not -right -- this is a joke you have played upon me! Tell -me -- some days ago, perhaps, I was walking along -the coast of Cornwall -- ?" - -His voice failed him. - -The man with the flaxen beard hesitated. "I'm -not very strong in history, sir," he said weakly, and -glanced at the others. - -"That was it, sir," said the youngster. "Boscastle, -in the old Duchy of Cornwall -- it's in the southwest -country beyond the dairy meadows. There is a house -there still. I have been there." - -"Boscastle!" Graham turned his eyes to the -youngster. "That was it -- Boscastle. Little Boscastle. -I fell asleep -- somewhere there. I don't -exactly remember. I don't exactly remember." - -He pressed his brows and whispered, "More than -two hundred years!" - -He began to speak quickly with a twitching face, -but his heart was cold within him. "But if it is two -hundred years, every soul I know, every human being -that ever I saw or spoke to before I went to sleep, -must be dead." - -They did not answer him. - -"The Queen and the Royal Family, her Ministers, -of Church and State. High and low, rich and poor, one -with another --" - -"Is there England still?" - -"That's a comfort! Is there London?" -E "This _is_ London, eh? And you are my assistant -- -custodian; assistant-custodian. And these -- ? Eh? -Assistant-custodians to?" - -He sat with a gaunt stare on his face. "But why -am I here? No! Don't talk. Be quiet. Let me --" - -He sat silent, rubbed his eyes, and, uncovering them, -found another little glass of pinkish fluid held towards -him. He took the dose. It was almost immediately -sustaining. Directly he had taken it he began to weep -naturally and refreshingly. - -Presently he looked at their faces, suddenly laughed -through his tears, a little foolishly. "But -- two -- -hun -- dred -- years!" he said. He grimaced hysterically -and covered up his face again. - -After a space he grew calm. He sat up, his hands -hanging over his knees in almost precisely the same -attitude in which Isbister had found him on the cliff -at Pentargen. His attention was attracted by a thick -domineering voice, the footsteps of an advancing personage. -"What are you doing? Why was I not -warned? Surely you could tell? Someone will suffer -for this. The man must be kept quiet. Are the -doorways closed? All the doorways? He must be kept -perfectly quiet. He must not be told. Has he been -told anything?" - -The man with the fair beard made some inaudible -remark, and Graham looking over his shoulder saw -approaching a very short, fat, and thickset beardless -man, with aquiline nose and heavy neck and chin. -Very thick black and slightly sloping eyebrows that -almost met over his nose and overhung deep grey -eyes, gave his face an oddly formidable expression. -He scowled momentarily at Graham and then his -regard returned to the man with the flaxen beard. -"These others," he said in a voice of extreme -irritation. "You had better go." - -"Go?" said the red-bearded man. - -"Certainly -- go now. But see the doorways are -closed as you go." - -The two men addressed turned obediently, after one -reluctant glance at Graham, and instead of going -through the archway as he expected, walked straight -to the dead wall of the apartment opposite the archway. -And then came a strange thing; a long strip -of this apparently solid wall rolled up with a snap, -hung over the two retreating men and fell again, and -immediately Graham was alone with the new comer -and the purple-robed man with the flaxen beard. - -For a space the thickset man took not the slightest -notice of Graham, but proceeded to interrogate the -other -- obviously his subordinate -- upon the treatment -of their charge. He spoke clearly, but in -phrases only partially intelligible to Graham. The -awakening seemed not only a matter of surprise but -of consternation and annoyance to him. He was evidently -profoundly excited. - -"You must not confuse his mind by telling him -things," he repeated again and again. "You must not -confuse his mind." - -His questions answered, he turned quickly and eyed -the awakened sleeper with an ambiguous expression. - -"Feel queer?" he asked. - -"Very." - -"The world, what you see of it, seems strange to -you?" - -"I suppose I have to live in it, strange as it seems." - -"I suppose so, now." - -"In the first place, hadn't I better have some -clothes?" - -"They --" said the thickset man and stopped, and -the flaxen-bearded man met his eye and went away. -"You will very speedily have clothes," said the thickset -man. - -"Is it true indeed, that I have been asleep two -hundred -- ?" asked Graham. - -"They have told you that, have they? Two hundred -and three, as a matter of fact." - -Graham accepted the indisputable now with raised -eyebrows and depressed mouth. He sat silent for a -moment, and then asked a question, "Is there a mill -or dynamo near here?" He did not wait for an -answer. "Things have changed tremendously, I -suppose?" he said. - -"What is that shouting?" he asked abruptly. - -"Nothing," said the thickset man impatiently. -"It's people. You'll understand better later -- perhaps. -As you say, things have changed." He spoke -shortly, his brows were knit, and he glanced about -him like a man trying to decide in an emergency. -"We must get you clothes and so forth, at any rate. - -Better wait here until some can come. No one will -come near you. You want shaving." - -Graham rubbed his chin. - -The man with the flaxen beard came back towards -them, turned suddenly, listened for a moment, lifted -his eyebrows at the older man, and hurried off through -the archway towards the balcony. The tumult of -shouting grew louder, and the thickset man turned and -listened also. He cursed suddenly under his breath, -and turned his eyes upon Graham with an unfriendly -expression. It was a surge of many voices, rising and -falling, shouting and screaming, and once came a -sound like blows and sharp cries, and then a snapping -like the crackling of dry sticks. Graham -strained his ears to draw some single thread of sound -from the woven tumult. - -Then he perceived, repeated again and again, a -certain formula. For a time he doubted his ears. But -surely these were the words: "Show us the Sleeper! -Show us the Sleeper!" - -The thickset man rushed suddenly to the archway. - -"Wild!" he cried, "How do they know? Do they -know? Or is it guessing?" - -There was perhaps an answer. - -"I can't come," said the thickset man; "I have _him_ -to see to. But shout from the balcony." - -There was an inaudible reply. - -"Say he is not awake. Anything! I leave it to -you." - -He came hurrying back to Graham. "You must -have clothes at once," he said. "You cannot stop -here -- and it will be impossible to --" - -He rushed away, Graham shouting unanswered -questions after him. In a moment he was back. - -"I can't tell you what is happening. It is too complex -to explain. In a moment you shall have your -clothes made. Yes -- in a moment. And then I can -take you away from here. You will find out our -troubles soon enough." - -"But those voices. They were shouting -- ?" - -"Something about the Sleeper -- that's you. They -have some twisted idea. I don't know what it is. I -know nothing." - -A shrill bell jetted acutely across the indistinct mingling -of remote noises, and this brusque person sprang -to a little group of appliances in the corner of the -room. He listened for a moment, regarding a ball of -crystal, nodded, and said a few indistinct words; then -he walked to the wall through which the two men had -vanished. It rolled up again like a curtain, and he -stood waiting. - -Graham lifted his arm and was astonished to find -what strength the restoratives had given him. He -thrust one leg over the side of the couch and then the -other. His head no longer swam. He could scarcely -credit his rapid recovery. He sat feeling his limbs. - -The man with the flaxen beard re-entered from the -archway, and as he did so the cage of a lift came -sliding down in front of the thickset man, and a lean, -grey-bearded man, carrying a roll, and wearing a -tightly-fitting costume of dark green, appeared therein. - -"This is the tailor," said the thickset man with an -introductory gesture." It will never do for you to -wear that black. I cannot understand how it got here. -But I shall. I shall. You will be as rapid as possible?" -he said to the tailor. - -The man in green bowed, and, advancing, seated -himself by Graham on the bed. His manner was -calm, but his eyes were full of curiosity. "You will -find the fashions altered, Sire," he said. He glanced -from under his brows at the thickset man. - -He opened the roller with a quick movement, and a -confusion of brilliant fabrics poured out over his knees. -"You lived, Sire, in a period essentially cylindrical -- -the Victorian. With a tendency to the hemisphere in -hats. Circular curves always. Now --" He flicked -out a little appliance the size and appearance of a -keyless watch, whirled the knob, and behold -- a little -figure in white appeared kinetoscope fashion on the -dial, walking and turning. The tailor caught up a -pattern of bluish white satin. "That is my conception -of your immediate treatment," he said. - -The thickset man came and stood by the shoulder -of Graham. - -"We have very little time," he said. - -"Trust me," said the tailor. "My machine follows. -What do you think of this?" - -"What is that?" asked the man from the nineteenth -century. - -"In your days they showed you a fashion-plate," -said the tailor," but this is our modern development -See here." The little figure repeated its evolutions, -but in a different costume. "Or this," and with a -click another small figure in a more voluminous type -of robe marched on to the dial. The tailor was very -quick in his movements, and glanced twice towards -the lift as he did these things. - -It rumbled again, and a crop-haired anaemic lad -with features of the Chinese type, clad in coarse -pale blue canvas, appeared together with a complicated -machine, which he pushed noiselessly on -little castors into the room. Incontinently the little -kinetoscope was dropped, Graham was invited to -stand in front of the machine and the tailor -muttered some instructions to the crop-haired lad, -who answered in guttural tones and with words -Graham did not recognise. The boy then went -to conduct an incomprehensible monologue in the -corner, and the tailor pulled out a number of slotted -arms terminating in little discs, pulling them out until -the discs were flat against the body of Graham, one -at each shoulder blade, one at the elbows, one at the -neck and so forth, so that at last there were, perhaps, -two score of them upon his body and limbs. At the -same time, some other person entered the room by the -lift, behind Graham. The tailor set moving a mechanism -that initiated a faint-sounding rhythmic movement -of parts in the machine, and in another moment he was -knocking up the levers and Graham was released. The -tailor replaced his cloak of black, and the man with -the flaxen beard proffered him a little glass of some -refreshing fluid. Graham saw over the rim of the -glass a pale-faced young man regarding him with a -singular fixity. - - -The thickset man had been pacing the room fretfully, -and now turned and went through the archway -towards the balcony, from which the noise of a distant -crowd still came in gusts and cadences. The cropheaded -lad handed the tailor a roll of the bluish satin -and the two began fixing this in the mechanism in a -manner reminiscent of a roll of paper in a nineteenth -century printing machine. Then they ran the entire -thing on its easy, noiseless bearings across the room -to a remote corner where a twisted cable looped rather -gracefully from the wall. They made some connexion -and the machine became energetic and swift. - -"What is that doing?" asked Graham, pointing -with the empty glass to the busy figures and trying -to ignore the scrutiny of the new comer. "Is that -- -some sort of force -- laid on?" - -"Yes," said the man with the flaxen beard. - -"Who is that?" He indicated the archway behind -him. - -The man in purple stroked his little beard, hesitated, -and answered in an undertone, "He is Howard, your -chief guardian. You see, Sire, -- it's a little difficult -to explain. The Council appoints a guardian and -assistants. This hall has under certain restrictions -been public. In order that people might satisfy themselves. -We have barred the doorways for the first -time. But I think -- if you don't mind, I will leave -him to explain." - -"Odd" said Graham. "Guardian? Council?" -Then turning his back on the new comer, he asked -in an undertone, "Why is this man glaring at me? -Is he a mesmerist?" - -"Mesmerist! He is a capillotomist." - -"Capillotomist!" - -"Yes -- one of the chief. His yearly fee is sixdoz -lions." - -It sounded sheer nonsense. Graham snatched at -the last phrase with an unsteady mind. "Sixdoz -lions?" he said. - -"Didn't you have lions? I suppose not. You had -the old pounds? They are our monetary units." - -"But what was that you said -- sixdoz?" - -"Yes. Six dozen, Sire. Of course things, even -these little things, have altered. You lived in the days -of the decimal system, the Arab system -- tens, and -little hundreds and thousands. We have eleven -numerals now. We have single figures for both ten -and eleven, two figures for a dozen, and a dozen dozen -makes a gross, a great hundred, you know, a dozen -gross a dozand, and a dozand dozand a myriad. Very -simple?" - -"I suppose so," said Graham. "But about this -cap -- what was it?" - -The man with the flaxen beard glanced over his -shoulder. - -"Here are your clothes!" he said. Graham turned -round sharply and saw the tailor standing at his elbow -smiling, and holding some palpably new garments over -his arm. The crop-headed boy, by means of one -finger, was impelling the complicated machine towards -the lift by which he had arrived. Graham stared at -the completed suit. "You don't mean to say -- !" - -"Just made," said the tailor. He dropped the garments -at the feet of Graham, walked to the bed on -which Graham had so recently been lying, flung out -the translucent mattress, and turned up the looking -glass. As he did so a furious bell summoned the -thickset man to the corner. The man with the flaxen -beard rushed across to him and then hurried out by -the archway. - -The tailor was assisting Graham into a dark purple -combination garment, stockings, vest, and pants in -one, as the thickset man came back from the corner -to meet the man with the flaxen beard returning from -the balcony. They began speaking quickly in an -undertone, their bearing had an unmistakable quality -of anxiety. Over the purple under-garment came a I -complex but graceful garment of bluish white, and I -Graham was clothed in the fashion once more and saw -himself, sallow-faced, unshaven and shaggy still, but -at least naked no longer, and in some indefinable -unprecedented way graceful. - -"I must shave," he said regarding himself in the -glass. - -"In a moment," said Howard. - -The persistent stare ceased. The young man closed -his eyes, reopened them, and with a lean hand -extended, advanced on Graham. Then he stopped, -with his hand slowly gesticulating, and looked about -him. - -"A seat," said Howard impatiently, and in a moment -the flaxen-bearded man had a chair behind Graham. -"Sit down, please," said Howard. - -Graham hesitated, and in the other hand of the wildeyed -man he saw the glint of steel. - -"Don't you understand, Sire?" cried the flaxen-bearded -man with hurried politeness. "He is going -to cut your hair." - -"Oh!" cried Graham enlightened. "But you -called him -- - -"A capillotomist -- precisely! He is one of the -finest artists in the world." - -Graham sat down abruptly. The flaxen-bearded -man disappeared. The capillotomist came forward -with graceful gestures, examined Graham's ears and -surveyed him, felt the back of his head, and would -have sat down again to regard him but for Howard's -audible impatience. Forthwith with rapid movements -and a succession of deftly handled implements he -shaved Graham's chin, clipped his moustache, and cut -and arranged his hair. All this he did without a word, -with something of the rapt air of a poet inspired. And -as soon as he had finished Graham was handed a pair -of shoes. - -Suddenly a loud voice shouted -- it seemed from a -piece of machinery in the corner -- "At once -- at -once. The people know all over the city. Work is -being stopped. Work is being stopped. Wait for -nothing, but come." - -This shout appeared to perturb Howard exceedingly. -By his gestures it seemed to Graham that he -hesitated between two directions. Abruptly he went -towards the corner where the apparatus stood about -the little crystal ball. As he did so the undertone of -tumultuous shouting from the archway that had continued -during all these occurrences rose to a mighty -sound, roared as if it were sweeping past, and fell -again as if receding swiftly. It drew Graham after it -with an irresistible attraction. He glanced at the -thickset man, and then obeyed his impulse. In two -strides he was down the steps and in the passage, and, -in a score he was out upon the balcony upon which | -the three men had been standing. - -CHAPTER V - -THE MOVING WAYS - -He went to the railings of the balcony and stared -upward. An exclamation of surprise at his appearance, -and the movements of a number of people came -from the spacious area below. - -His first impression was of overwhelming architecture. -The place into which he looked was an aisle of -Titanic buildings, curving spaciously in either direction. -Overhead mighty cantilevers sprang together -across the huge width of the place, and a tracery of -translucent material shut out the sky. Gigantic -globes of cool white light shamed the pale sunbeams -that filtered down through the girders and wires. -Here and there a gossamer suspension bridge dotted -with foot passengers flung across the chasm and the -air was webbed with slender cables. A cliff of edifice - - -hung above him, he perceived as he glanced upward, -and the opposite facade was grey and dim and broken -by great archings, circular perforations, balconies, -buttresses, turret projections, myriads of vast windows, -and an intricate scheme of architectural relief. -Athwart these ran inscriptions horizontally and -obliquely in an unfamiliar lettering. Here and there -close to the roof cables of a peculiar stoutness were -fastened, and drooped in a steep curve to circular -openings on the opposite side of the space, and even -as Graham noted these a remote and tiny figure of a -man clad in pale blue arrested his attention. This little -figure was far overhead across the space beside the -higher fastening of one of these festoons, hanging -forward from a little ledge of masonry and handling some -well-nigh invisible strings dependent from the line. -Then suddenly, with a swoop that sent Graham's heart -into his mouth, this man had rushed down the curve -and vanished through a round opening on the hither -side of the way. Graham had been looking up as he -came out upon the balcony, and the things he saw -above and opposed to him had at first seized his -attention to the exclusion of anything else. Then suddenly -he discovered the roadway! It was not a roadway at -all, as Graham understood such things, for in the -nineteenth century the only roads and streets were -beaten tracks of motionless earth, jostling rivulets of -vehicles between narrow footways. But this roadway -was three hundred feet across, and it moved; it moved, -all save the middle, the lowest part. For a moment, -the motion dazzled his mind. Then he understood. - -Under the balcony this extraordinary roadway ran -swiftly to Graham's right, an endless flow rushing -along as fast as a nineteenth century express train, an -endless platform of narrow transverse overlapping -slats with little interspaces that permitted it to follow -the curvatures of the street. Upon it were seats, and -here and there little kiosks, but they swept by too -swiftly for him to see what might be therein. From -this nearest and swiftest platform a series of others -descended to the centre of the space. Each moved to -the right, each perceptibly slower than the one above -it, but the difference in pace was small enough to permit -anyone to step from any platform to the one adjacent, -and so walk uninterruptedly from the swiftest to -the motionless middle way. Beyond this middle way -was another series of endless platforms rushing with -varying pace to Graham's left. And seated in crowds -upon the two widest and swiftest platforms, or stepping -from one to another down the steps, or swarming -over the central space, was an innumerable and -wonderfully diversified multitude of people. - -"You must not stop here," shouted Howard suddenly -at his side. "You must come away at once." - -Graham made no answer. He heard without hearing. -The platforms ran with a roar and the people -were shouting. He perceived women and girls with -flowing hair, beautifully robed, with bands crossing -between the breasts. These first came out of the -confusion. Then he perceived that the dominant note -in that kaleidoscope of costume was the pale blue that -the tailor's boy had worn. He became aware of cries -of "The Sleeper. What has happened to the Sleeper?" -and it seemed as though the rushing platforms before -him were suddenly spattered with the pale buff of -human faces, and then still more thickly. He saw -pointing fingers. He perceived that the motionless -central area of this huge arcade just opposite to the -balcony was densely crowded with blue-clad people. -Some sort of struggle had sprung into life. People -seemed to be pushed up the running platforms on either -side, and carried away against their will. They would -spring off so soon as they were beyond the thick of -the confusion, and run back towards the conflict. - -"It is the Sleeper. Verily it is the Sleeper," shouted -voices. "That is never the Sleeper," shouted -others. More and more faces were turned to him. At -the intervals along this central area Graham noted -openings, pits, apparently the heads of staircases going -down with people ascending out of them and -descending into them. The struggle it seemed centred -about the one of these nearest to him. People were -running down the moving platforms to this, leaping -dexterously from platform to platform. The clustering -people on the higher platforms seemed to divide -their interest between this point and the balcony. A -number of sturdy little figures clad in a uniform of -bright red, and working methodically together, were -employed it seemed in preventing access to this -descending staircase. About them a crowd was rapidly -accumulating. Their brilliant colour contrasted vividly -with the whitish-blue of their antagonists, for the -struggle was indisputable. - -He saw these things with Howard shouting in his -ear and shaking his arm. And then suddenly Howard -was gone and he stood alone. - -He perceived that the cries of "The Sleeper" grew -in volume, and that the people on the nearer platform -were standing up. The nearer swifter platform he -perceived was empty to the right of him, and far -across the space the platform running in the opposite -direction was coming crowded and passing away bare. -With incredible swiftness a vast crowd had gathered -in the central space before his eyes; a dense swaying -mass of people, and the shouts grew from a fitful crying -to a voluminous incessant clamour: "The Sleeper!" -The Sleeper!" and yells and cheers, a waving of garments -and cries of "Stop the ways!" They were also -crying another name strange to Graham. It sounded -like "Ostrog." The slower platforms were soon thick -with active people, running against the movement so -as to keep themselves opposite to him. - -"Stop the ways," they cried. Agile figures ran up -swiftly from the centre to the swift road nearest to him, -were borne rapidly past him, shouting strange, -unintelligible things, and ran back obliquely to the central -way. One thing he distinguished: "It is indeed the -Sleeper. It is indeed the Sleeper," they testified. - -For a space Graham stood without a movement. -Then he became vividly aware that all this concerned -him. He was pleased at his wonderful popularity, he -bowed, and, seeking a gesture of longer range, waved -his arm. He was astonished at the violence of uproar -that this provoked. The tumult about the descending -stairway rose to furious violence. He became aware -of crowded balconies, of men sliding along ropes, of -men in trapeze-like seats hurling athwart the space. -He heard voices behind him, a number of people -descending the steps through the archway; he suddenly -perceived that his guardian Howard was back -again and gripping his arm painfully, and shouting -inaudibly in his ear. - -He turned, and Howard's face was white. "Come -back," he heard. "They will stop the ways. The -whole city will be in confusion." - -He perceived a number of men hurrying along the -passage of blue pillars behind Howard, the red-haired -man, the man with the flaxen beard, a tall man in vivid -vermilion, a crowd of others in red carrying staves, and -all these people had anxious eager faces. - -"Get him away," cried Howard. - -"But why?" said Graham. "I don't see --" - -"You must come away!" said the man in red in a -resolute voice. His face and eyes were resolute, too. -Graham's glances went from face to face, and he was -suddenly aware of that most disagreeable flavour in -life, compulsion. Some one gripped his arm.... -He was being dragged away. It seemed as though the -tumult suddenly became two, as if half the shouts that -had come in from this wonderful roadway had sprung -into the passages of the great building behind him. -Marvelling and confused, feeling an impotent desire -to resist, Graham was half led, half thrust, along the -passage of blue pillars, and suddenly he found himself -alone with Howard in a lift and moving swiftly -upward. - -CHAPTER VI - -THE HALL OF THE ATLAS - -From the moment when the tailor had bowed his -farewell to the moment when Graham found himself -in the lift, was altogether barely five minutes. And -as yet the haze of his vast interval of sleep hung about -him, as yet the initial strangeness of his being alive -at all in this remote age touched everything with wonder, -with a sense of the irrational, with something of -the quality of a realistic dream. He was still detached, -an astonished spectator, still but half involved in life. -What he had seen, and especially the last crowded -tumult, framed in the setting of the balcony, had a -spectacular turn, like a thing witnessed from the box -of a theatre. "I don't understand," he said. "What -was the trouble? My mind is in a whirl. Why were -they shouting? What is the danger?" - -"We have our troubles," said Howard. His eyes -avoided Graham's enquiry. "This is a time of unrest. -And, in fact, your appearance, your waking just now, -has a sort of connexion --" - -He spoke jerkily, like a man not quite sure of his -breathing. He stopped abruptly. - -"I don't understand," said Graham. - -"It will be clearer later," said Howard. - -He glanced uneasily upward, as though he found the -progress of the lift slow. - -"I shall understand better, no doubt, when I have -seen my way about a little," said Graham puzzled. "It. -will be -- it is bound to be perplexing. At present it is -all so strange. Anything seems possible. Anything -In the details even. Your counting, I understand, is -different." - -The lift stopped, and they stepped out into a narrow -but very long passage between high walls, along -which ran an extraordinary number of tubes and big -cables. - -"What a huge place this is!" said Graham. "Is it -all one building? What place is it?" - -"This is one of the city ways for various public -services. Light and so forth." - -"Was it a social trouble -- that -- in the great -roadway place? How are you governed? Have you -still a police?" -"Several," said Howard. - -"Several?" - -"About fourteen." - -"I don't understand." - -"Very probably not. Our social order will probably -seem very complex to you. To tell you the truth, I -don't understand it myself very clearly. Nobody does. -You will, perhaps -- bye and bye. We have to go to -the Council." - -Graham's attention was divided between the urgent -necessity of his inquiries and the people in the -passages and halls they were traversing. For a moment -his mind would be concentrated upon Howard and -the halting answers he made, and then he would lose -the thread in response to some vivid unexpected -impression. Along the passages, in the halls, half the -people seemed to be men in the red uniform. The pale -blue canvas that had been so abundant in the aisle of -moving ways did not appear. Invariably these men -looked at him, and saluted him and Howard as they -passed. - -He had a clear vision of entering a long corridor, -and there were a number of girls sitting on low seats -and as though in a class. He saw no teacher, but only -a novel apparatus from which he fancied a voice proceeded. -The girls regarded him and his conductor, he -thought, with curiosity and astonishment. But he was -hurried on before he could form a clear idea of the -gathering. He judged they knew Howard and not -himself, and that they wondered who he was. This -Howard, it seemed, was a person of importance. But -then he was also merely Graham's guardian. That -was odd. - -There came a passage in twilight, and into this passage -a footway hung so that he could see the feet and -ankles of people going to and fro thereon, but no -more of them. Then vague impressions of galleries -and of casual astonished passers-by turning round to -stare after the two of them with their red-clad guard. - -The stimulus of the restoratives he had taken was -only temporary. He was speedily fatigued by this -excessive haste. He asked Howard to slacken his -speed. Presently he was in a lift that had a window -upon the great street space, but this was glazed and -did not open, and they were too high for him to see -the moving platforms below. But he saw people going -to and fro along cables and along strange, frail-looking -ridges. - -And thence they passed across the street and at a vast -height above it. They crossed by means of a narrow -bridge closed in with glass, so clear that it made him -giddy even to remember it. The floor of it also was -of glass. From his memory of the cliffs between New -Quay and Boscastle, so remote in time, and so recent -in his experience, it seemed to him that they must be -near four hundred feet above the moving ways. He -stopped, looked down between his legs upon the -swarming blue and red multitudes, minute and -fore-shortened, struggling and gesticulating still towards -the little balcony far below, a little toy balcony, it -seemed, where he had so recently been standing. A -thin haze and the glare of the mighty globes of light -obscured everything. A man seated in a little open-work -cradle shot by from some point still higher than -the little narrow bridge, rushing down a cable as -swiftly almost as if he were falling. Graham stopped -involuntarily to watch this strange passenger vanish -in a great circular opening below, and then his eyes -went back to the tumultuous struggle. - -Along one of the swifter ways rushed a thick crowd -of red spots. This broke up into individuals as it -approached the balcony, and went pouring down the -slower ways towards the dense struggling crowd on -the central area. These men in red appeared to be -armed with sticks or truncheons; they seemed to be -striking and thrusting. A great shouting, cries of -wrath, screaming, burst out and came up to Graham, -faint and thin. "Go on," cried Howard, laying hands -on him. - -Another man rushed down a cable. Graham suddenly -glanced up to see whence he came, and beheld -through the glassy roof and the network of cables and -girders, dim rhythmically passing forms like the vans -of windmills, and between them glimpses of a remote -and pallid sky. Then Howard had thrust him forward -across the bridge, and he was in a little narrow passage -decorated with geometrical patterns. - -"I want to see more of that," cried Graham, -resisting. - -"No, no," cried Howard, still gripping his arm. - -"This way. You must go this way." And the men in -red following them seemed ready to enforce his orders. - -Some negroes in a curious wasp-like uniform of black -and yellow appeared down the passage, and one hastened -to throw up a sliding shutter that had seemed -a door to Graham, and led the way through it. -Graham found himself in a gallery overhanging the -end of a great chamber. The attendant in black and -yellow crossed this, thrust up a second shutter and -stood waiting. - -This place had the appearance of an ante-room. He -saw a number of people in the central space, and at -the opposite end a large and imposing doorway at the -top of a flight of steps, heavily curtained but giving a -glimpse of some still larger hall beyond. He perceived -white men in red and other negroes in black and yellow -standing stiffly about those portals. - -As they crossed the gallery he heard a whisper from -below, "The Sleeper," and was aware of a turning of -heads, a hum of observation. They entered another -little passage in the wall of this ante-chamber, and -then he found himself on an iron-railed gallery of -metal that passed round the side of the great hall he -had already seen through the curtains. He entered -the place at the corner, so that he received the fullest -impression of its huge proportions. The black in the -wasp uniform stood aside like a well-trained servant, -and closed the valve behind him. - -Compared with any of the places Graham had see -thus far, this second hall appeared to be decorate -with extreme richness. On a pedestal at the remote -end, and more brilliantly lit than any other object, was -a gigantic white figure of Atlas, strong and strenuous, -the globe upon his bowed shoulders. It was the first -thing to strike his attention, it was so vast, so patiently -and painfully real, so white and simple. Save for this -figure and for a dais in the centre, the wide floor of the -place was a shining vacancy. The dais was remote -in the greatness of the area; it would have looked a -mere slab of metal had it not been for the group of -seven men who stood about a table on it, and gave an -inkling of its proportions. They were all dressed in -white robes, they seemed to have arisen that moment -from their seats, and they were regarding Graham -steadfastly. At the end of the table he perceived the -glitter of some mechanical appliances. - -Howard led him along the end gallery until they -were opposite this mighty labouring figure. Then he -stopped. The two men in red who had followed them -into the gallery came and stood on either hand of -Graham. - -"You must remain here," murmured Howard, "for -a few moments," and, without waiting for a reply, -hurried away along the gallery. - -"But, _why?_" began Graham. - -He moved as if to follow Howard, and found his -path obstructed by one of the men in red. "You have -to wait here, Sire," said the man in red. - -_"Why?"_ - -"Orders, Sire." - -"Whose orders?" - -"Our orders, Sire." - -Graham looked his exasperation. - -"What place is this?" he said presently. "Who -are those men?" - -"They are the lords of the Council, Sire." - -"What Council?" - -"_The_ Council." - -"Oh!" said Graham, and after an equally ineffectual -attempt at the other man, went to the railing and -stared at the distant men in white, who stood watching -him and whispering together. - -The Council? He perceived there were now eight, -though how the newcomer had arrived he had not -observed. They made no gestures of greeting; they -stood regarding him as in the nineteenth century a -group of men might have stood in the street regarding -a distant balloon that had suddenly floated into view. -What council could it be that gathered there, that little -body of men beneath the significant white Atlas, -secluded from every eavesdropper in this impressive -spaciousness? And why should he be brought to -them, and be looked at strangely and spoken of -inaudibly? Howard appeared beneath, walking -quickly across the polished floor towards them. As he -drew near he bowed and performed certain peculiar -movements, apparently of a ceremonious nature. -Then he ascended the steps of the dais, and stood by -the apparatus at the end of the table. - -Graham watched that visible inaudible conversation. -Occasionally, one of the white-robed men would -glance towards him. He strained his ears in vain. -The gesticulation of two of the speakers became -animated. He glanced from them to the passive faces of -his attendants. . . . When he looked again Howard -was extending his hands and moving his head like a -man who protests. He was interrupted, it seemed, by -one of the white-robed men rapping the table. - -The conversation lasted an interminable time to -Graham's sense. His eyes rose to the still giant at -whose feet the Council sat. Thence they wandered -at last to the walls of the hall. It was decorated in -long painted panels of a quasi-Japanese type, many -of them very beautiful. These panels were grouped -in a great and elaborate framing of dark metal, which -passed into the metallic caryatidae of the galleries, and -the great structural lines of the interior. The facile -grace of these panels enhanced the mighty white effort -that laboured in the centre of the scheme. Graham's -eyes came back to the Council, and Howard was -descending the steps. As he drew nearer his features -could be distinguished, and Graham saw that he was -flushed and blowing out his cheeks. His countenance -was still disturbed when presently he reappeared along -the gallery. - -"This way," he said concisely, and they went on in -silence to a little door that opened at their approach. -The two men in red stopped on either side of this door. -Howard and Graham passed in, and Graham, glancing -back, saw the white-robed Council still standing in a -close group and looking at him. Then the door closed -behind him with a heavy thud, and for the first time -since his awakening he was in silence. The floor, even, -was noiseless to his feet. - -Howard opened another door, and they were in the -first of two contiguous chambers furnished in white -and green. "What Council was that?" began Graham. -"What were they discussing? What have -they to do with me?" Howard closed the door carefully, -heaved a huge sigh, and said something in an -undertone. He walked slanting ways across the room -and turned, blowing out his cheeks again. "Ugh!" -he grunted, a man relieved. - -Graham stood regarding him. - -"You must understand," began Howard abruptly, -avoiding Graham's eyes, "that our social order is -very complex. A half explanation, a bare unqualified -statement would give you false impressions. As a -matter of fact -- it is a case of compound interest -partly -- your small fortune, and the fortune of your -cousin Warming which was left to you -- and certain -other beginnings -- have become very considerable. -And in other ways that will be hard for you to understand, -you have become a person of significance -- of -very considerable significance -- involved in the -world's affairs." - -He stopped. - -"Yes?" said Graham. - -"We have grave social troubles." - -"Yes?" - -"Things have come to such a pass that, in fact, -is advisable to seclude you here." - -"Keep me prisoner!" exclaimed Graham. - -"Well -- to ask you to keep in seclusion." - -Graham turned on him. "This is strange!" he -said. - -"No harm will be done you." - -"No harm!" - -"But you must be kept here --" - -"While I learn my position, I presume." - -"Precisely." - -"Very well then. Begin. Why _harm?_" - -"Not now." - -"Why not?" - -"It is too long a story, Sire." - -"All the more reason I should begin at once. You -say I am a person of importance. What was that -shouting I heard? Why is a great multitude shouting -and excited because my trance is over, and who are -the men in white in that huge council chamber?" - -"All in good time, Sire," said Howard. "But not -crudely, not crudely. This is one of those flimsy times -when no man has a settled mind. Your awakening. -No one expected your awakening. The Council is -consulting." - -"What council?" - -"The Council you saw." - -Graham made a petulant movement. "This is not -right," he said. "I should be told what is happening. - -"You must wait. Really you must wait." - -Graham sat down abruptly. "I suppose since I -have waited so long to resume life," he said, "that I -must wait a little longer." - -"That is better," said Howard. "Yes, that is much -better. And I must leave you alone. For a space. -While I attend the discussion in the Council. -I am sorry." - -He went towards the noiseless door, hesitated and -vanished. - -Graham walked to the door, tried it, found it securely -fastened in some way he never came to understand, -turned about, paced the room restlessly, made -the circuit of the room, and sat down. He remained -sitting for some time with folded arms and knitted -brow, biting his finger nails and trying to piece -together the kaleidoscopic impressions of this first -hour of awakened life; the vast mechanical spaces, the -endless series of chambers and passages, the great -struggle that roared and splashed through these -strange ways, the little group of remote unsympathetic -men beneath the colossal Atlas, Howard's mysterious -behaviour. There was an inkling of some vast inheritance -already in his mind -- a vast inheritance perhaps -misapplied -- of some unprecedented importance -and opportunity. What had he to do? And this -room's secluded silence was eloquent of imprisonment! - -It came into Graham's mind with irresistible conviction -that this series of magnificent impressions was -a dream. He tried to shut his eyes and succeeded, -but that time-honoured device led to no awakening. - -Presently he began to touch and examine all the -unfamiliar appointments of the two small rooms in -which he found himself. - -In a long oval panel of mirror he saw himself and -stopped astonished. He was clad in a graceful costume -of purple and bluish white, with a little greyshot -beard trimmed to a point, and his hair, its blackness -streaked now with bands of grey, arranged over his -forehead in an unfamiliar but graceful manner. He -seemed a man of five-and-forty perhaps. For a -moment he did not perceive this was himself. - -A flash of laughter came with the recognition. "To -call on old Warming like this!" he exclaimed, "and -make him take me out to lunch!" - -Then he thought of meeting first one and then -another of the few familiar acquaintances of his early -manhood, and in the midst of his amusement realised -that every soul with whom he might jest had died -many score of years ago. The thought smote him -abruptly and keenly; he stopped short, the expression -of his face changed to a white consternation. - -The tumultuous memory of the moving platforms -and the huge facade of that wonderful street reasserted -itself. The shouting multitudes came back clear and -vivid, and those remote, inaudible, unfriendly councilors -in white. He felt himself a little figure, very -small and ineffectual, pitifully conspicuous. And all -about him, the world was -- strange. - -CHAPTER VII - -IN THE SILENT ROOMS - -Presently Graham resumed his examination of his -apartments. Curiosity kept him moving in spite of -his fatigue. The inner room, he perceived, was high, -and its ceiling dome shaped', with an oblong aperture -in the centre, opening into a funnel in which a wheel - - -of broad vans seemed to be rotating, apparently driving -the air up the shaft. The faint humming note of -its easy motion was the only clear sound in that quiet -place. As these vans sprang up one after the other, -Graham could get transient glimpses of the sky. He -was surprised to see a star. - -This drew his attention to the fact that the bright -lighting of these rooms was due to a multitude of very -faint glow lamps set about the cornices. There were -no windows. And he began to recall that along all -the vast chambers and passages he had traversed with -Howard he had observed no windows at all. Had -there been windows? There were windows on the -street indeed, but were they for light? Or was the -whole city lit day and night for evermore, so that -there was no night there? - -And another thing dawned upon him. There was -no fireplace in either room. Was the season summer, -and were these merely summer apartments, or was -the whole City uniformly heated or cooled? He became -interested in these questions, began examining -the smooth texture of the walls, the simply constructed -bed, the ingenious arrangements by which the labour -of bedroom service was practically abolished. And -over everything was a curious absence of deliberate -ornament, a bare grace of form and colour, that he -found very pleasing to the eye. There were several -very comfortable chairs, a light table on silent runners -carrying several bottles of fluids and glasses, and two -plates bearing a clear substance like jelly. Then he -noticed there were no books, no newspapers, no -writing materials. "The world has changed indeed," he -said. - -He observed one entire side of the outer room was -set with rows of peculiar double cylinders inscribed -with green lettering on white that harmonized With -the decorative scheme of the room, and in the centre -of this side projected a little apparatus about a yard -square and having a white smooth face to the room. A -chair faced this. He had a transitory idea that these -cylinders might be books, or a modern substitute for -books, but at first it did not seem so. - -The lettering on the cylinders puzzled him. At first -sight it seemed like Russian. Then he noticed a -suggestion of mutilated English about certain of the -words. - - "oi Man huwdbi Kin" - -forced itself on him as "The Man who would be -King." "Phonetic spelling," he said. He remembered -reading a story with that title, then he recalled -the story vividly, one of the best stories in the world. -But this thing before him was not a book as he -understood it. He puzzled out the titles of two adjacent -cylinders. 'The Heart of Darkness,' he had -never heard of before nor 'The Madonna of the -Future' -- no doubt if they were indeed stories, they -were by post Victorian authors. - -He puzzled over this peculiar cylinder for some time -and replaced it. Then he turned to the square apparatus -and examined that. He opened a sort of lid -and found one of the double cylinders within, and -on the upper edge a little stud like the stud of an -electric bell. He pressed this and a rapid clicking -began and ceased. He became aware of voices and -music, and noticed a play of colour on the smooth -front face. He suddenly realised what this might be, -and stepped back to regard it. - -On the flat surface was now a little picture, very -vividly coloured, and in this picture were figures that -moved. Not only did they move, but they were conversing -in clear small voices. It was exactly like -reality viewed through an inverted opera glass and -heard through a long tube. His interest was seized -at once by the situation, which presented a man pacing -up and down and vociferating angry things to a pretty -but petulant woman. Both were in the picturesque -costume that seemed so strange to Graham. "I have -worked," said the man, "but what have you been -doing?" - -"Ah!" said Graham. He forgot everything else, -and sat down in the chair. Within five minutes he -heard himself named, heard "when the Sleeper wakes," -used jestingly as a proverb for remote postponement, -and passed himself by, a thing remote and incredible. -But in a little while he knew those two people like -intimate friends. - -At last the miniature drama came to an end, and -the square face of the apparatus was blank again. - -It was a strange world into which he had been permitted -to see, unscrupulous, pleasure seeking, energetic, -subtle, a world too of dire economic struggle; -there were allusions he did not understand, incidents -that conveyed strange suggestions of altered moral -ideals, flashes of dubious enlightenment. The blue -canvas that bulked so largely in his first impression -of the city ways appeared again and again as the -costume of the common people. He had no doubt the -story was contemporary, and its intense realism was -undeniable. And the end had been a tragedy that -oppressed him. He sat staring at the blankness. - -He started and rubbed his eyes. He had been so -absorbed in the latter-day substitute for a novel, that -he awoke to the little green and white room with more -than a touch of the surprise of his first awakening. - -He stood up, and abruptly he was back in his own -wonderland. The clearness of the kinetoscope drama -passed, and the struggle in the vast place of streets, -the ambiguous Council, the swift phases of his waking -hour, came back. These people had spoken of the -Council with suggestions of a vague universality of -power. And they had spoken of the Sleeper; it had -not really struck him vividly at the time that he was -the Sleeper. He had to recall precisely what they had -said. - -He walked into the bedroom and peered up through -the quick intervals of the revolving fan. As the fan -swept round, a dim turmoil like the noise of machinery -came in rhythmic eddies. All else was silence. - - -Though the perpetual day still irradiated his apartments, -he perceived the little intermittent strip of sky -was now deep blue -- black almost, with a dust of -little stars. - -He resumed his examination of the rooms. He -could find no way of opening the padded door, no bell -nor other means of calling for attendance. His feeling -of wonder was in abeyance; but he was curious, -anxious for information. He wanted to know exactly -how he stood to these new things. He tried to compose -himself to wait until someone came to him. -Presently he became restless and eager for information, -for distraction, for fresh sensations. - -He went back to the apparatus in the other room, -and had soon puzzled out the method of replacing the -cylinders by others. As he did so, it came into his -mind that it must be these little appliances had fixed -the language so that it was still clear and understandable -after two hundred years. The haphazard cylinders -he substituted displayed a musical fantasia. At -first it was beautiful, and then it was sensuous. He -presently recognized what appeared to him to be an -altered version of the story of Tannhauser. The music -was unfamiliar. But the rendering was realistic, and -with a contemporary unfamiliarity. Tannhauser did -not go to a Venusberg, but to a Pleasure City. What -was a Pleasure City? A dream, surely, the fancy of -a fantastic, voluptuous writer. - -He became interested, curious. The story developed -with a flavour of strangely twisted sentimentality. -Suddenly he did not like it. He liked it less as it -proceeded. - -He had a revulsion of feeling. These were no pictures, -no idealisations, but photographed realities. He -wanted no more of the twenty-second century Venusberg. -He forgot the part played by the model in -nineteenth century art, and gave way to an archaic -indignation. He rose, angry and half ashamed at himself -for witnessing this thing even in solitude. He -pulled forward the apparatus, and with some violence -sought for a means of stopping its action. Something -snapped. A violet spark stung and convulsed his -arm and the thing was still. When he attempted next -day to replace these Tannhauser cylinders by another -pair, he found the apparatus broken.... - -He struck out a path oblique to the room and paced -to and fro, struggling with intolerable vast impressions. -The things he had derived from the cylinders -and the things he had seen, conflicted, confused him. -It seemed to him the most amazing thing of all that -in his thirty years of life he had never tried to shape -a picture of these coming times. "We were making -the future," he said, "and hardly any of us troubled -to think what future we were making. And here it is!" - -"What have they got to, what has been done? How -do I come into the midst of it all?" The vastness of -street and house he was prepared for, the multitudes of -people. But conflicts in the city ways! And the systematised -sensuality of a class of rich men! - -He thought of Bellamy, the hero of whose Socialistic -Utopia had so oddly anticipated this actual experience. -But here was no Utopia, no Socialistic state. -He had already seen enough to realise that the ancient -antithesis of luxury, waste and sensuality on the one -hand and abject poverty on the other, still prevailed. -He knew enough of the essential factors of life to -understand that correlation. And not only were the -buildings of the city gigantic and the crowds in the -street gigantic, but the voices he had heard in the -ways, the uneasiness of Howard, the very atmosphere -spoke of gigantic discontent. What country was he -in? Still England it seemed, and yet strangely -"un-English." His mind glanced at the rest of the -world, and saw only an enigmatical veil. - -He prowled about his apartment, examining everything -as a caged animal might do. He felt very tired, -felt that feverish exhaustion that does not admit of rest. -He listened for long spaces under the ventilator to -catch some distant echo of the tumults he felt must be -proceeding in the city. - -He began to talk to himself. "Two hundred and -three years!" he said to himself over and over again, -laughing stupidly. "Then I am two hundred and -thirty-three years old! The oldest inhabitant. Surely -they haven't reversed the tendency of our time and -gone back to the rule of the oldest. My claims are -indisputable. Mumble, mumble. I remember the Bulgarian -atrocities as though it was yesterday. 'Tis a -great age! Ha ha!" He was surprised at first to -hear himself laughing, and then laughed again deliberately -and louder. Then he realised that he was -behaving foolishly. "Steady," he said. "Steady!" - -His pacing became more regular. "This new -world," he said. "I don't understand it. _Why?_ . . . -But it is all _why!_" - -"I suppose they can fly and do all sorts of things -Let me try and remember just how it began." - -He was surprised at first to find how vague the -memories of his first thirty years had become. He -remembered fragments, for the most part trivial -moments, things of no great importance that he had -observed. His boyhood seemed the most accessible -at first, he recalled school books and certain lessons -in mensuration. Then he revived the more salient -features of his life, memories of the wife long since -dead, her magic influence now gone beyond corruption, -of his rivals and friends and betrayers, of the -swift decision of this issue and that, and then of his, -last years of misery, of fluctuating resolves, and at last -of his strenuous studies. In a little while he perceived -he had it all again; dim perhaps, like metal long laid -aside, but in no way defective or injured, capable of -re-polishing. And the hue of it was a deepening misery. -Was it worth re-polishing? By a miracle he had -been lifted out of a life that had become intolerable. - -He reverted to his present condition. He wrestled -with the facts in vain. It became an inextricable tangle. -He saw the sky through the ventilator pink with -dawn. An old persuasion came out of the dark recesses -of his memory. "I must sleep," he said. It -appeared as a delightful relief from this mental distress -and from the growing pain and heaviness of his -limbs. He went to the strange little bed, lay down and -was presently asleep. - -He was destined to become very familiar indeed -with these apartments before he left them, for he -remained imprisoned for three days. During that time -no one, except Howard, entered his prison. The marvel -of his fate mingled with and in some way minimised -the marvel of his survival. He had awakened -to mankind it seemed only to be snatched away into -this unaccountable solitude. Howard came regularly -with subtly sustaining and nutritive fluids, and light -and pleasant foods, quite strange to Graham. He -always closed the door carefully as he entered. On -matters of detail he was increasingly obliging, but the -bearing of Graham on the great issues that were evidently -being contested so closely beyond the soundproof -walls that enclosed him, he would not elucidate. -He evaded, as politely as possible, every question on -the position of affairs in the outer world. - -And in those three days Graham's incessant -thoughts went far and wide. All that he had seen, -all this elaborate contrivance to prevent him seeing, -worked together in his mind. Almost every possible -interpretation of his position he debated -- even as it -chanced, the right interpretation. Things that presently -happened to him, came to him at last credible, -by virtue of this seclusion. When at length the -moment of his release arrived, it found him prepared. - -Howard's bearing went far to deepen Graham's -impression of his own strange importance; the door -between its opening and closing seemed to admit with -him a breath of momentous happening. His enquiries -became more definite and searching. Howard -retreated through protests and difficulties. The awakening -was unforeseen, he repeated; it happened to -have fallen in with the trend of a social convulsion. - -"To explain it I must tell you the history of a gross -and a half of years," protested Howard. - -"The thing is this," said Graham. "You are -afraid of something I shall do. In some way I am -arbitrator -- I might be arbitrator." - -"It is not that. But you have -- I may tell you -this much -- the automatic increase of your property -puts great possibilities of interference in your hands. -And in certain other ways you have influence, with -your eighteenth century notions." - -"Nineteenth century," corrected Graham. - -"With your old world notions, anyhow, ignorant -as you are of every feature of our State." - -"Am I a fool?" - -"Certainly not." - -"Do I seem to be the sort of man who would act -rashly?" - -"You were never expected to act at all. No one -counted on your awakening. No one dreamt you -would ever awake. The Council had surrounded you -with antiseptic conditions. As a matter of fact, we -thought that you were dead -- a mere arrest of decay. -And -- but it is too complex. We dare not suddenly --- while you are still half awake." - -"It won't do," said Graham. "Suppose it is as -you say -- why am I not being crammed night and -day with facts and warnings and all the wisdom of the -time to fit me for my responsibilities? Am I any -wiser now than two days ago, if it is two days, when I -awoke?" - -Howard pulled his lip. - -"I am beginning to feel -- every hour I feel more -clearly -- a sense of complex concealment of which -you are the salient point. Is this Council, or committee, -or whatever they are, cooking the accounts of -my estate? Is that it?" - -"That note of suspicion --" said Howard. - -"Ugh!" said Graham. "Now, mark my words, it -will be ill for those who have put me here. It will be -ill. I am alive. Make no doubt of it, I am alive. -Every day my pulse is stronger and my mind clearer -and more vigorous. No more quiescence. I am a -man come back to life. And I want to _live_ --" - -"_Live!_" - -Howard's face lit with an idea. He came towards -Graham and spoke in an easy confidential tone. - -"The Council secludes you here for your good. -You are restless. Naturally -- an energetic man! -You find it dull here. But we are anxious that everything -you may desire -- every desire -- every sort of -desire . . . There may be something. Is there -any sort of company?" - -He paused meaningly. - -"Yes," said Graham thoughtfully. "There is." - -"Ah! _Now!_ We have treated you neglectfully." - -"The crowds in yonder streets of yours." - -"That," said Howard, "I am afraid -- . But --" - -Graham began pacing the room. Howard stood -near the door watching him. The implication of Howard's -suggestion was only half evident to Graham -Company? Suppose he were to accept the proposal, -demand some sort of _company_? Would there be any -possibilities of gathering from the conversation o£ this -additional person some vague inkling of the struggle -that had broken out so vividly at his waking moment? -He meditated again, and the suggestion took colour. -He turned on Howard abruptly. - -"What do you mean by company?" - -Howard raised his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. -"Human beings," he said, with a curious smile on his -heavy face. - -"Our social ideas," he said, "have a certain increased -liberality, perhaps, in comparison with your -times. If a man wishes to relieve such a tedium as -this -- by feminine society, for instance. We think it -no scandal. We have cleared our minds of formulae. -There is in our city a class, a necessary class, no longer -despised -- discreet --" - -Graham stopped dead. - -"It would pass the time," said Howard. "It is a -thing I should perhaps have thought of before, but, -as a matter of fact, so much is happening --" - -He indicated the exterior world. - -Graham hesitated. For a moment the figure of a -possible woman that his imagination suddenly created -dominated his mind with an intense attraction. Then -he flashed into anger. - -"No I" he shouted. - -He began striding rapidly up and down the room. - -"Everything you say, everything you do, convinces -me -- of some great issue in which I am concerned. -I do not want to pass the time, as you call it. Yes, I -know. Desire and indulgence are life in a sense -- -and Death! Extinction! In my life before I slept -I had worked out that pitiful question. I will not -begin again. There is a city, a multitude -- . And -meanwhile I am here like a rabbit in a bag." - -His rage surged high. He choked for a moment -and began to wave his clenched fists. He gave way -to an anger fit, he swore archaic curses. His gestures -had the quality of physical threats. - -"I do not know who your party may be. I am in -the dark, and you keep me in the dark. But I know -this, that I am secluded here for no good purpose. -For no good purpose. I warn you, I warn you of the -consequences. Once I come at my power --" - -He realised that to threaten thus might be a danger -to himself. He stopped. Howard stood regarding -him with a curious expression. - -"I take it this is a message to the Council," said -Howard. - -Graham had a momentary impulse to leap upon the -man, fell or stun him. It must have shown upon his -face; at any rate Howard's movement was quick. In -a second the noiseless door had closed again, and the -man from the nineteenth century was alone. - -For a moment he stood rigid, with clenched hands -half raised. Then he flung them down. "What a fool -I have been!" he said, and gave way to his anger again, -stamping about the room and shouting curses. -For a long time he kept himself in a sort of frenzy, -raging at his position, at his own folly, at the knaves -who had imprisoned him. He did this because he -did not want to look calmly at his position. He clung -to his anger -- because he was afraid of Fear. - -Presently he found himself reasoning with himself -This imprisonment was unaccountable, but no doubt -the legal forms -- new legal forms -- of the time permitted -it. It must, of course, be legal. These people -were two hundred years further on in the march of -civilisation than the Victorian generation. It was not -likely they would be less -- humane. Yet they had -cleared their minds of formulae! Was humanity a -formula as well as chastity? - -His imagination set to work to suggest things that -might be done to him. The attempts of his reason to -dispose of these suggestions, though for the most part -logically valid, were quite unavailing. "Why should -anything be done to me?" - -"If the worst comes to the worst," he found himself -saying at last, "I can give up what they want. -But what do they want? And why don't they ask me -for it instead of cooping me up?" - -He returned to his former preoccupation with the -Council's possible intentions. He began to reconsider -the details of Howard's behaviour, sinister glances, -inexplicable hesitations. Then, for a time, his mind -circled about the idea of escaping from these rooms; -but whither could he escape into this vast, crowded -world? He would be worse off than a Saxon yeoman -suddenly dropped into nineteenth century London. -And besides, how could anyone escape from these -rooms? - -"How can it benefit anyone if harm should happen -to me?" - -He thought of the tumult, the great social trouble -of which he was so unaccountably the axis. A text, -irrelevant enough and yet curiously insistent, came -floating up out of the darkness of his memory. This -also a Council had said: - -"It is expedient for us that one man should die for -the people." - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE ROOF SPACES - -As the fans in the circular aperture of the inner room -rotated and permitted glimpses of the night, dim -sounds drifted in thereby. And Graham, standing -underneath, wrestling darkly with the unknown powers -that imprisoned him, and which he had now deliberately -challenged, was startled by the sound of a -voice. - -He peered up and saw in the intervals of the rotation, -dark and dim, the face and shoulders of a man -regarding him. When a dark hand was extended, the -swift van struck it, swung round and beat on with a -little brownish patch on the edge of its thin blade, and -something began to fall therefrom upon the floor, -dripping silently. - -Graham looked down, and there were spots of blood -at his feet. He looked up again in a strange excitement. -The figure had gone. - -He remained motionless -- his every sense intent -upon the flickering patch of darkness, for outside it -was high night. He became aware of some faint, remote, -dark specks floating lightly through the outer -air. They came down towards him, fitfully, eddyingly, -and passed aside out of the uprush from the -fan. A gleam of light flickered, the specks flashed -white, and then the darkness came again. Warmed -and lit as he was, he perceived that it was snowing -within a few feet of him. - -Graham walked across the room and came back -to the ventilator again. He saw the head of a man -pass near. There was a sound of whispering. Then -a smart blow on some metallic substance, effort, -voices, and the vans stopped. A gust of snowflakes -whirled into the room, and vanished before they -touched the floor. "Don't be afraid," said a voice. - -Graham stood under the van. "Who are you?" -he whispered. - -For a moment there was nothing but a swaying of the -fan, and then the head of a man was thrust cautiously -into the opening. His face appeared nearly inverted -to Graham; his dark hair was wet with dissolving -flakes of snow upon it. His arm went up into the -darkness holding something unseen. He had a youthful -face and bright eyes, and the veins of his forehead -were swollen. He seemed to be exerting himself to -maintain his position. - -For several seconds neither he nor Graham spoke. - -"You were the Sleeper?" said the stranger at last. - -"Yes," said Graham. "What do you want with -me?" - -"I come from Ostrog, Sire." - -"Ostrog?" - -The man in the ventilator twisted his head round -so that his profile was towards Graham. He appeared -to be listening. Suddenly there was a hasty exclamation, -and the intruder sprang back just in time to - - -escape the sweep of the released fan. And when -Graham peered up there was nothing visible but the -slowly falling snow. - -It was perhaps a quarter of an hour before anything -returned to the ventilator. But at last came the same -metallic interference again; the fans stopped and the -face reappeared. Graham had remained all this time -in the same place, alert and tremulously excited. - -"Who are you? What do you want?" he said. - -"We want to speak to you, Sire," said the intruder. - -"We want -- I can't hold the thing. We have been -trying to find a way to you these three days." - -"Is it rescue?" whispered Graham. "Escape?" - -"Yes, Sire. If you will." - -"You are my party -- the party of the Sleeper?" - -"Yes, Sire." - -"What am I to do?" said Graham. - -There was a struggle. The stranger's arm appeared, -and his hand was bleeding. His knees came into view -over the edge of the funnel. "Stand away from me," -he said, and he dropped rather heavily on his hands -and one shoulder at Graham's feet. The released -ventilator whirled noisily. The stranger rolled over, -sprang up nimbly and stood panting, hand to a bruised -shoulder, and with his bright eyes on Graham. - -"You are indeed the Sleeper," he said. "I saw -you asleep. When it was the law that anyone might -see you." - -"I am the man who was in the trance," said Graham. -"They have imprisoned me here. I have been -here since I awoke -- at least three days." - -The intruder seemed about to speak, heard something, -glanced swiftly at the door, and suddenly left -Graham and ran towards it, shouting quick incoherent -words. A bright wedge of steel flashed in his hand, -and he began tap, tap, a quick succession of blows -upon the hinges. "Mind!" cried a voice. "Oh!" -The voice came from above. - -Graham glanced up, saw the soles of two feet, -ducked, was struck on the shoulder by one of them, -and a heavy weight bore him to the earth. He fell on -his knees and forward, and the weight went over his -head. He knelt up and saw a second man from above -seated before him. - -"I did not see you, Sire," panted the man. He rose -and assisted Graham to arise. "Are you hurt, Sire?" -he panted. A succession of heavy blows on the ventilator -began, something fell close to Graham's face, -and a shivering edge of white metal danced, fell over, -and lay flat upon the floor. - -"What is this?" cried Graham, confused and looking -at the ventilator. "Who are you? What are you -going to do? Remember, I understand nothing." - -"Stand back," said the stranger, and drew him -from under the ventilator as another fragment of metal -fell heavily. - -"We want you to come, Sire," panted the newcomer, -and Graham glancing at his face again, saw -a new cut had changed from white to red on his -forehead, and a couple of little trickles of blood starting -therefrom. "Your people call for you." - -"Come where? My people?" - -"To the hall about the markets. Your life is in -danger here. We have spies. We learned but just -in time. The Council has decided -- this very day -- -either to drug or kill you. And everything is ready. -The people are drilled, the wind-vane police, the engineers, -and half the way-gearers are with us. We have -the halls crowded -- shouting. The whole city shouts -against the Council. We have arms." He wiped the -blood with his hand. "Your life here is not worth --" -"But why arms?" - -"The people have risen to protect you, Sire. -What?" - -He turned quickly as the man who had first come -down made a hissing with his teeth. Graham saw -the latter start back, gesticulate to them to conceal -themselves, and move as if to hide behind the opening -door. - -As he did so Howard appeared, a little tray in one -hand and his heavy face downcast. He started, looked -up, the door slammed behind him, the tray tilted -sideways, and the steel wedge struck him behind the ear. -He went down like a felled tree, and lay as he fell -athwart the floor of the outer room. The man who -had struck him bent hastily, studied his face for a -moment, rose, and returned to his work at the door. - -"Your poison!" said a voice in Graham's ear. - -Then abruptly they were in darkness. The innumerable -cornice lights had been extinguished. Graham saw -the aperture of the ventilator with ghostly -snow whirling above it and dark figures moving hastily. -Three knelt on the van. Some dim thing -- a -ladder was being lowered through the opening, and -a hand appeared holding a fitful yellow light. - -He had a moment of hesitation. But the manner -of these men, their swift alacrity, their words, marched -so completely with his own fears of the Council, with -his idea and hope of a rescue, that it lasted not a -moment. And his people awaited him! - -"I do not understand," he said, "I trust. Tell me -what to do." - -The man with the cut brow gripped Graham's arm. - -"Clamber up the ladder," he whispered. "Quick. -They will have heard --" - -Graham felt for the ladder with extended hands, put -his foot on the lower rung, and, turning his head, saw -over the shoulder of the nearest man, in the yellow -flicker of the light, the first-comer astride over Howard -and still working at the door. Graham turned to -the ladder again, and was thrust by his conductor and -helped up by those above, and then he was standing -on something hard and cold and slippery outside the -ventilating funnel. - -He shivered. He was aware of a great difference -in the temperature. Half a dozen men stood about -him, and light flakes of snow touched hands and face -and melted. For a moment it was dark, then for a -flash a ghastly violet white, and then everything was -dark again. - -He saw he had come out upon the roof of the vast -city structure which had replaced the miscellaneous -houses, streets and open spaces of Victorian London. -The place upon which he stood was level, with huge -serpentine cables lying athwart it in every direction. -The circular wheels of a number of windmills loomed -indistinct and gigantic through the darkness and snowfall, -and roared with a varying loudness as the fitful -white light smote up from below, touched the snow -eddies with a transient glitter, and made an evanescent -spectre in the night; and here and there, low down! -some vaguely outlined wind-driven mechanism flickered -with livid sparks. - -All this he appreciated in a fragmentary manner as -his rescuers stood about him. Someone threw a thick -soft cloak of fur-like texture about him, and fastened -it by buckled straps at waist and shoulders. Things -were said briefly, decisively. Someone thrust him -forward. - -Before his mind was yet clear a dark shape gripped -his arm. "This way," said this shape, urging him -along, and pointed Graham across the flat roof in the -direction of a dim semicircular haze of light. Graham -obeyed. - -"Mind!" said a voice, as Graham stumbled against -a cable. "Between them and not across them," said -the voice. And, "We must hurry." - -"Where are the people?" said Graham. "The -people you said awaited me?" - -The stranger did not answer. He left Graham's -arm as the path grew narrower, and led the way with -rapid strides. Graham followed blindly. In a minute -he found himself running. "Are the others coming?" -he panted, but received no reply. His companion -glanced back and ran on. They came to a sort -of pathway of open metal-work, transverse to the direction -they had come, and they turned aside to follow -this. Graham looked back, but the snowstorm had -hidden the others. - -"Come on!" said his guide. Running now, they -drew near a little windmill spinning high in the air. -"Stoop," said Graham's guide, and they avoided an -endless band running roaring up to the shaft of the -vane. "This way!" and they were ankle deep in a -gutter full of drifted thawing snow, between two low -walls of metal that presently rose waist high. "I will -go first," said the guide. Graham drew his cloak -about him and followed. Then suddenly came a narrow -abyss across which the gutter leapt to the snowy -darkness of the further side. Graham peeped over the -side once and the gulf was black. For a moment he -regretted his flight. He dared not look again, and his -brain spun as he waded through the half liquid snow. - -Then out of the gutter they clambered and hurried -across a wide flat space damp with thawing snow, -and for half its extent dimly translucent to lights that -went to and fro underneath. He hesitated at this -unstable looking substance, but his guide ran on -unheeding, and so they came to and clambered up -slippery steps to the rim of a great dome of glass. -Round this they went. Far below a number of people -seemed to be dancing, and music filtered through the -dome. . . . Graham fancied he heard a shouting -through the snowstorm, and his guide hurried him on -with a new spurt of haste. They clambered panting to -a space of huge windmills, one so vast that only the -lower edge of its vans came rushing into sight and -rushed up again and was lost in the night and the -snow. They hurried for a time through the colossal -metallic tracery of its supports, and came at last above -a place of moving platforms like the place into which -Graham had looked from the balcony. They crawled -across the sloping transparency that covered this street -of platforms, crawling on hands and knees because of -the slipperiness of the snowfall. - -For the most part the glass was bedewed, and Graham -saw only hazy suggestions of the forms below, -but near the pitch of the transparent roof the glass was -clear, and he found himself looking sheerly down upon -it all. For awhile, in spite of the urgency of his -guide, he gave way to vertigo and lay spread-eagled -on the glass, sick and paralysed. Far below, mere -stirring specks and dots, went the people of the unsleeping -city in their perpetual daylight, and the moving -platforms ran on their incessant journey. Messengers -and men on unknown businesses shot along -the drooping cables and the frail bridges were crowded -with men. It was like peering into a gigantic glass -hive, and it lay vertically below him with only a tough -glass of unknown thickness to save him from a fall. -The street showed warm and lit, and Graham was wet -now to the skin with thawing snow, and his feet were -numbed with cold. For a space he could not move. - -"Come on!" cried his guide, with terror in his voice. -"Come on!" - -Graham reached the pitch of the roof by an effort. - -Over the ridge, following his guide's example, he -turned about and slid backward down the opposite -slope very swiftly, amid a little avalanche of snow -While he was sliding he thought of what would happen -if some broken gap should come in his way. At the -edge he stumbled to his feet ankle deep in slush -thanking heaven for an opaque footing again. His -guide was already clambering up a metal screen to a -level expanse. - -Through the spare snowflakes above this loomed -another line of vast windmills, and then suddenly the -amorphous tumult of the rotating wheels was pierced -with a deafening sound. It was a mechanical shrilling -of extraordinary intensity that seemed to come simultaneously -from every point of the compass. - -"They have missed us already!" cried Graham's -guide in an accent of terror, and suddenly, with a -blinding flash, the night became day. - -Above the driving snow, from the summits of the -wind-wheels, appeared vast masts carrying globes of -livid light. They receded in illimitable vistas in every -direction. As far as his eye could penetrate the snowfall -they glared. - -"Get on this," cried Graham's conductor, and -thrust him forward to a long grating of snowless -metal that ran like a band between two slightly -sloping expanses of snow. It felt warm to Graham's -benurrled feet, and a faint eddy of steam rose from it. - -"Come on!" shouted his guide ten yards off, and, -without waiting, ran swiftly through the incandescent -glare towards the iron supports of the next range of -wind-wheels. Graham, recovering from his astonishment, -followed as fast, convinced of his imminent -capture. - -In a score of seconds they were within a tracery of -glare and black shadows shot with moving bars -beneath the monstrous wheels. Graham's conductor -ran on for some time, and suddenly darted sideways -and vanished into a black shadow in the corner of the -foot of a huge support. In another moment Graham -was beside him. - -They cowered panting and stared out. - -The scene upon which Graham looked was very -wild and strange. The snow had now almost ceased; -only a belated flake passed now and again across the -picture. But the broad stretch of level before them -was a ghastly white, broken only by gigantic masses -and moving shapes and lengthy strips of impenetrable -darkness, vast ungainly Titans of shadow. All about -them, huge metallic structures, iron girders, inhumanly -vast as it seemed to him, interlaced, and the -edges of wind-wheels, scarcely moving in the lull, I -passed in great shining curves steeper and steeper up -into a luminous haze. Wherever the snow-spangled -light struck down, beams and girders, and incessant -bands running with a halting, indomitable resolution -passed upward and downward into the black. And -with all that mighty activity, with an omnipresent -sense of motive and design, this snow-clad desolation -of mechanism seemed void of all human presence save -themselves, seemed as trackless and deserted and -unfrequented by men as some inaccessible Alpine -snowfield. - -"They will be chasing us," cried the leader. "We -are scarcely halfway there yet. Cold as it is we must -hide here for a space -- at least until it snows more -thickly again." - -His teeth chattered in his head. - -"Where are the markets?" asked Graham staring -out. "Where are all the people?" - -The other made no answer. - - -"Look!" whispered Graham, crouched close, and -became very still. - -The snow had suddenly become thick again, and -sliding with the whirling eddies out of the black pit -of the sky came something, vague and large and very -swift. It came down in a steep curve and swept round, -wide wings extended and a trail of white condensing -steam behind it, rose with an easy swiftness and went -gliding up the air, swept horizontally forward in a -wide curve, and vanished again in the steaming specks -of snow. And, through the ribs of its body, Graham -saw two little men, very minute and active, searching -the snowy areas about him, as it seemed to him, with -field glasses. For a second they were clear, then hazy -through a thick whirl of snow, then small and distant, -and in a minute they were gone. - -"Now!" cried his companion. "Come!" - -He pulled Graham's sleeve, and incontinently the -two were running headlong down the arcade of ironwork -beneath the wind-wheels. Graham, running -blindly, collided with his leader, who had turned back -on him suddenly. He found himself within a dozen -yards of a black chasm. It extended as far as he -could see right and left. It seemed to cut off their -progress in either direction. - -"Do as I do," whispered his guide. He lay down -and crawled to the edge, thrust his head over and -twisted until one leg hung. He seemed to feel for -something with his foot, found it, and went sliding -over the edge into the gulf. His head reappeared. -"It is a ledge," he whispered. "In the dark all the -way along. Do as I did." - -Graham hesitated, went down upon all fours, -crawled to the edge, and peered into a velvety blackness. -For a sickly moment he had courage neither -to go on nor retreat, then he sat and hung his leg -down, felt his guide's hands pulling at him, had a -horrible sensation of sliding over the edge into the -unfathomable, splashed, and felt himself in a slushy -gutter, impenetrably dark. - -"This way," whispered the voice, and he began -crawling along the gutter through the trickling thaw, -pressing himself against the wall. They continued -along it for some minutes. He seemed to pass through -a hundred stages of misery, to pass minute after minute -through a hundred degrees of cold, damp, and exhaustion. -In a little while he ceased to feel his hands and -feet. - -The gutter sloped downwards. He observed that -they were now many feet below the edge of the buildings. -Rows of spectral white shapes like the ghosts -of blind-drawn windows rose above them. They came -to the end of a cable fastened above one of these white -windows, dimly visible and dropping into impenetrable -shadows. Suddenly his hand came against his guide's. - -"Still!" whispered the latter very softly. - -He looked up with a start and saw the huge wings -of the flying machine gliding slowly and noiselessly -overhead athwart the broad band of snow-flecked grey-blue -sky. In a moment it was hidden again. - -"Keep still; they were just turning." - -For awhile both were motionless, then Graham's -companion stood up, and reaching towards the fastenings -of the cable fumbled with some indistinct tackle. - -"What is that?" asked Graham. - -The only answer was a faint cry. The man crouched -motionless. Graham peered and saw his face dimly. -He was staring down the long ribbon of sky, and -Graham, following his eyes, saw the flying machine -small and faint and remote. Then he saw that the -wings spread on either side, that it headed towards -them, that every moment it grew larger. It was following -the edge of the chasm towards them. - -The man's movements became convulsive. He -thrust two cross bars into Graham's hand. Graham -could not see them, he ascertained their form by feeling. -They were slung by thin cords to the cable. On -the cord were hand grips of some soft elastic substance. -"Put the cross between your legs," whispered -the guide hysterically, "and grip the holdfasts. -Grip tightly, grip!" - -Graham did as he was told. - -"Jump," said the voice. "In heaven's name, -jump!" - -For one momentous second Graham could not -speak. He was glad afterwards that darkness hid his -face. He said nothing. He began to tremble violently. -He looked sideways at the swift shadow that -swallowed up the sky as it rushed upon him. - -"Jump! Jump -- in God's name! Or they will have -us," cried Graham's guide, and in the violence of his -passion thrust him forward. - -Graham tottered convulsively, gave a sobbing cry, -a cry in spite of himself, and then, as the flying -machine swept over them, fell forward into the pit of -that darkness, seated on the cross wood and holding -the ropes with the clutch of death. Something -cracked, something rapped smartly against a wall. -He heard the pulley of the cradle hum on its rope. -He heard the aeronauts shout. He felt a pair of knees -digging into his back.... He was sweeping -headlong through the air, falling through the air. All -his strength was in his hands. He would have -screamed but he had no breath. - -He shot into a blinding light that made him grip -the tighter. He recognised the great passage with -the running ways, the hanging lights and interlacing -girders. They rushed upward and by him. He had -a momentary impression of a great circular aperture -yawning to swallow him up. - -He was in the dark again, falling, falling, gripping -with aching hands, and behold! a clap of sound, a -burst of light, and he was in a brightly lit hall with a -roaring multitude of people beneath his feet. The -people! His people! A proscenium, a stage rushed -up towards him, and his cable swept down to a circular -aperture to the right of this. He felt he was travelling -slower, and suddenly very much slower. He -distinguished shouts of "Saved! The Master. He is -safe!" The stage rushed up towards him with rapidly -diminishing swiftness. Then -- - -He heard the man clinging behind him shout as if -suddenly terrified, and this shout was echoed by a -shout from below. He felt that he was no longer -gliding along the cable but falling with it. There was -a tumult of yells, screams and cries. He felt something -soft against his extended hand, and the impact -of a broken fall quivering through his arm. . . - -He wanted to be still and the people were lifting -him. He believed afterwards he was carried to the -platform and given some drink, but he was never sure. -He did not notice what became of his guide. When -his mind was clear again he was on his feet; eager -hands were assisting him to stand. He was in a -big alcove, occupying the position that in his previous -experience had been devoted to the lower boxes. If -this was indeed a theatre. - -A mighty tumult was in his ears, a thunderous roar, -the shouting of a countless multitude." It is the -Sleeper! The Sleeper is with us!" - -"The Sleeper is with us! The Master -- the -Owner! The Master is with us. He is safe." - -Graham had a surging vision of a great hall crowded -with people. He saw no individuals, he was conscious -of a froth of pink faces, of waving arms and garments, -he felt the occult influence of a vast crowd pouring -over him, buoying him up. There were balconies, -galleries, great archways giving remoter perspectives, -and everywhere people, a vast arena of people, densely -packed and cheering. Across the nearer space lay -the collapsed cable like a huge snake. It had been -cut by the men of the flying machine at its upper end, -and had crumpled down into the hall. Men seemed -to be hauling this out of the way. But the whole -effect was vague, the very buildings throbbed and -leapt with the roar of the voices. - -He stood unsteadily and looked at those about him. -Someone supported him by one arm. "Let me go -into a little room," he said, weeping; "a little room," -and could say no more. A man in black stepped forward, -took his disengaged arm. He was aware of -officious men opening a door before him. Someone -guided him to a seat. He staggered. He sat down -heavily and covered his face with his hands; he was -trembling violently, his nervous control was at an end. -He was relieved of his cloak, he could not remember -how; his purple hose he saw were black with wet. -People were running about him, things were happening, -but for some time he gave no heed to them. - -He had escaped. A myriad of cries told him that. -He was safe. These were the people who were on his -side. For a space he sobbed for breath, and then he -sat still with his face covered. The air was full of -the shouting of innumerable men. - -CHAPTER IX - -THE PEOPLE MARCH - -He became aware of someone urging a glass of clear -fluid upon his attention, looked up and discovered this -was a dark young man in a yellow garment. He took -the dose forthwith, and in a moment he was glowing. -A tall man in a black robe stood by his shoulder, and -pointed to the half open door into the hall. This man -was shouting close to his ear and yet what was said -was indistinct because of the tremendous uproar from -the great theatre. Behind the man was a girl in a -silvery grey robe, whom Graham, even in this confusion, -perceived to be beautiful. Her dark eyes, full -of wonder and curiosity,-were fixed on him, her lips -trembled apart. A partially opened door gave a -glimpse of the crowded hall, and admitted a vast -uneven tumult, a hammering, clapping and shouting -that died away and began again, and rose to a thunderous -pitch, and so continued intermittently all the time -that Graham remained in the little room. He watched -the lips of the man in black and gathered that he was -making some clumsy explanation. - -He stared stupidly for some moments at these things -and then stood up abruptly; he grasped the arm of this -shouting person. - -"Tell me!" he cried. "Who am I? Who am I?" - -The others came nearer to hear his words. "Who -am I?" His eyes searched their faces. - -"They have told him nothing!" cried the girl. - -"Tell me, tell me!" cried Graham. - -"You are the Master of the Earth. You are owner -of half the world." - -He did not believe he heard aright. He resisted -the persuasion. He pretended not to understand, not -to hear. He lifted his voice again. "I have been -awake three days -- a prisoner three days. I judge -there is some struggle between a number of people in -this city -- it is London?" - -"Yes," said the younger man. - -"And those who meet in the great hall with the -white Atlas? How does it concern me? In some -way it has to do with me. Why, I don't know. -Drugs? It seems to me that while I have slept the -world has gone mad. I have gone mad." - -"Who are those Councillors under the Atlas? Why -should they try to drug me?" - -"To keep you insensible," said the man in yellow. - -"To prevent your interference." - -"But _why?_" - -"Because _you_ are the Atlas, Sire," said the man in -yellow. "The world is on your shoulders. They -rule it in your name." - -The sounds from the hall had died into a silence -threaded by one monotonous voice. Now suddenly, -trampling on these last words, came a deafening -tumult, a roaring and thundering, cheer crowded on -cheer, voices hoarse and shrill, beating, overlapping, -and while it lasted the people in the little room could -not hear each other shout. - -Graham stood, his intelligence clinging helplessly -to the thing he had just heard. "The Council," he -repeated blankly, and then snatched at a name that -had struck him. "But who is Ostrog?" he said. - -"He is the organiser -- the organiser of the revolt. -Our Leader -- in your name." - -"In my name? -- And you? Why is he not -here?" - -"He -- has deputed us. I am his brother -- his -half-brother, Lincoln. He wants you to show yourself -to these people and then come on to him. That is -why he has sent. He is at the wind-vane offices -directing. The people are marching." - -"In your name," shouted the younger man. "They -have ruled, crushed, tyrannised. At last even --" - -"In my name! My name! Master?" - -The younger man suddenly became audible in a -pause of the outer thunder, indignant and vociferous, -a high penetrating voice under his red aquiline nose -and bushy moustache. "No one expected you to -wake. No one expected you to wake. They were -cunning. Damned tyrants! But they were taken by -surprise. They did not know whether to drug you, -hypnotise you, kill you." - -Again the hall dominated everything. - -"Ostrog is at the wind-vane offices ready -- . Even -now there is a rumour of fighting beginning." - - -The man who had called himself Lincoln came close -to him. "Ostrog has it planned. Trust him. We -have our organisations ready. We shall seize the -flying stages -- . Even now he may be doing that. -Then --" - -"This public theatre," bawled the man in yellow, -"is only a contingent. We have five myriads of -drilled men --" - -"We have arms," cried Lincoln. "We have plans. -A leader. Their police have gone from the streets -and are massed in the --" (inaudible). "It is now or -never. The Council is rocking -- They cannot trust -even their drilled men --" - -"Hear the people calling to you!" - -Graham's mind was like a night of moon and swift -clouds, now dark and hopeless, now clear and ghastly. -He was Master of the Earth, he was a man sodden -with thawing snow. Of all his fluctuating impressions -the dominant ones presented an antagonism; on the -one hand was the White Council, powerful, disciplined, -few, the White Council from which he had just -escaped; and on the other, monstrous crowds, packed -masses of indistinguishable people clamouring his -name, hailing him Master. The other side had -imprisoned him, debated his death. These shouting -thousands beyond the little doorway had rescued him. -But why these things should be so he could not -understand. - -The door opened, Lincoln's voice was swept away -and drowned, and a rush of people followed on the -heels of the tumult. These intruders came towards -him and Lincoln gesticulating. The voices without -explained their soundless lips. "Show us the Sleeper, -show us the Sleeper!" was the burden of the uproar -Men were bawling for "Order! Silence!" - -Graham glanced towards the open doorway, and -saw a tall, oblong picture of the hall beyond, a -waving, incessant confusion of crowded, shouting faces, -men and women together, waving pale blue garments, -extended hands. Many were standing, one man in -rags of dark brown, a gaunt figure, stood on the seat -and waved a black cloth. He met the wonder and -expectation of the girl's eyes. What did these people -expect from him. He was dimly aware that the -tumult outside had changed its character, was in some -way beating, marching. His own mind, too, changed. -for a space he did not recognise the influence that -was transforming him. But a moment that was near -to panic passed. He tried to make audible inquiries -of what was required of him. - -Lincoln was shouting in his ear, but Graham was -deafened to that. All the others save the woman -gesticulated towards the hall. He perceived what had -happened to the uproar. The whole mass of people -was chanting together. It was not simply a song, the -voices were gathered together and upborne by a torrent -of instrumental music, music like the music of -an organ, a woven texture of sounds, full of trumpets, -full of flaunting banners, full of the march and -pageantry of opening war. And the feet of the people -were beating time -- tramp, tramp. - -He was urged towards the door. He obeyed -mechanically. The strength of that chant took hold -of him, stirred him, emboldened him. The hall opened -to him, a vast welter of fluttering colour swaying to -the music. - -"Wave your arm to them," said Lincoln. "Wave -your arm to them." - -"This," said a voice on the other side," he must -have this. "Arms were about his neck detaining him -in the doorway, and a black subtly-folding mantle -hung from his shoulders. He threw his arm free of this -and followed Lincoln. He perceived the girl in grey -close to him, her face lit, her gesture onward. For -the instant she became to him, flushed and eager as -she was, an embodiment of the song. He emerged -in the alcove again. Incontinently the mounting waves -of the song broke upon his appearing, and flashed up -into a foam of shouting. Guided by Lincoln's hand -he marched obliquely across the centre of the stage -facing the people. - -The hall was a vast and intricate space -- galleries, -balconies, broad spaces of amphitheatral steps, and -great archways. Far away, high up, seemed the -mouth of a huge passage full of struggling humanity. -The whole multitude was swaying in congested masses. -Individual figures sprang out of the tumult, impressed -him momentarily, and lost definition again. Close to -the platform swayed a beautiful fair woman, carried -by three men, her hair across her face and brandishing -a green staff. Next this group an old careworn man -in blue canvas maintained his place in the crush with -difficulty, and behind shouted a hairless face, a great -cavity of toothless mouth. A voice called that -enigmatical word "Ostrog." All his impressions were -vague save the massive emotion of that trampling -song. The multitude were beating time with their -feet -- marking time, tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp. -The green weapons waved, flashed and slanted. Then -he saw those nearest to him on a level space before -the stage were marching in front of him, passing -towards a great archway, shouting "To the Council!" -Tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp. He raised his arm, and -the roaring was redoubled. He remembered he had -to shout "March!" His mouth shaped inaudible -heroic words. He waved his arm again and pointed -to the archway, shouting "Onward!" They were no -longer marking time, they were marching; tramp, -tramp, tramp, tramp. In that host were bearded men, -old men, youths, fluttering robed bare-armed women, -girls. Men and women of the new age! Rich robes, -grey rags fluttered together in the whirl of their -movement amidst the dominant blue. A monstrous black -banner jerked its way to the right. He perceived a -blue-clad negro, a shrivelled woman in yellow, then a -group of tall fair-haired, white-faced, blue-clad men -pushed theatrically past him. He noted two Chinamen. -A tall, sallow, dark-haired, shining-eyed youth, -white clad from top to toe, clambered up towards the -platform shouting loyally, and sprang down again and -receded, looking backward. Heads, shoulders, hands -clutching weapons, all were swinging with those -marching cadences. - -Faces came out of the confusion to him as he stood -there, eyes met his and passed and vanished. Men -gesticulated to him, shouted inaudible personal things. -Most of the faces were flushed, but many were ghastly -white. And disease was there, and many a hand that -waved to him was gaunt and lean. Men and women -of the new age! Strange and incredible meeting! As - - -the broad stream passed before him to the right, -tributary gangways from the remote uplands of the hall -thrust downward in an incessant replacement of people; -tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp. The unison of the -song was enriched and complicated by the massive -echoes of arches and passages. Men and women -mingled in the ranks; tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp. -The whole world seemed marching. Tramp, tramp, -tramp, tramp; his brain was tramping. The garments -waved onward, the faces poured by more abundantly. - - -Tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp; at Lincoln's pressure -he turned towards the archway, walking unconsciously -in that rhythm, scarcely noticing his movement for the -melody and stir of it. The multitude, the gesture and -song, all moved in that direction, the flow of people -smote downward until the upturned faces were below -the level of his feet. He was aware of a path before -him, of a suite about him, of guards and dignities, and -;Lincoln on his right hand. Attendants intervened, -and ever and again blotted out the sight of the -multitude to the left. Before him went the backs of the -guards in black -- three and three and three. He was -marched along a little railed way, and crossed above -the archway, with the torrent dipping to flow beneath, -and shouting up to him. He did not know whither -he went; he did not want to know. He glanced back -across a flaming spaciousness of hall. Tramp, tramp, -tramp, tramp. - -CHAPTER X - -THE BATTLE OF THE DARKNESS - -He was no longer in the hall. He was marching -along a gallery overhanging one of the great streets -of the moving platforms that traversed the city. -Before him and behind him tramped his guards. The -whole concave of the moving ways below was a -congested mass of people marching, tramping to the left, -shouting, waving hands and arms, pouring along a -huge vista, shouting as they came into view, shouting -as they passed, shouting as they receded, until the -globes of electric light receding in perspective dropped -down it seemed and hid the swarming bare heads. -Tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp. - -The song roared up to Graham now, no longer -upborne by music, but coarse and noisy, and the -beating of the marching feet, tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp, -interwove with a thunderous irregularity of footsteps -from the undisciplined rabble that poured along the -higher ways. - -Abruptly he noted a contrast. The buildings on -the opposite side of the way seemed deserted, the -cables and bridges that laced across the aisle were -empty and shadowy. It came into Graham's mind -that these also should have swarmed with people. - -He felt a curious emotion -- throbbing -- very fast! -He stopped again. The guards before him marched -on; those about him stopped as he did. He saw the -direction of their faces. The throbbing had something -to do with the lights. He too looked up. - -At first it seemed to him a thing that affected the -lights simply, an isolated phenomenon, having no -bearing on the things below. Each huge globe of -blinding whiteness was as it were clutched, compressed -in a systole that was followed by a transitory diastole, -and again a systole like a tightening grip, darkness, -light, darkness, in rapid alternation. - -Graham became aware that this strange behaviour -of the lights had to do with the people below. The -appearance of the houses and ways, the appearance -of the packed masses changed, became a confusion of -vivid lights and leaping shadows. He saw a multitude -of shadows had sprung into aggressive existence, -seemed rushing up, broadening, widening, growing -with steady swiftness -- to leap suddenly back and -return reinforced. The song and the tramping had -ceased. The unanimous march, he discovered, was -arrested, there were eddies, a flow sideways, shouts of -"The lights!" Voices were crying together one -thing. "The lights!" cried these voices. "The -lights!" He looked down. In this dancing death -of the lights the area of the street had suddenly -become a monstrous struggle. The huge white globes -became purple-white, purple with a reddish glow, -flickered, flickered faster and faster, fluttered between light -and extinction, ceased to flicker and became mere -fading specks of glowing red in a vast obscurity. In ten -seconds the extinction was accomplished, and there -was only this roaring darkness, a black monstrosity -that had suddenly swallowed up those glittering -myriads of men. - -He felt invisible forms about him; his arms were -gripped. Something rapped sharply against his shin. -A voice bawled in his ear, "It is all right -- all right." - -Graham shook off the paralysis of his first astonishment. -He struck his forehead against Lincoln's and -bawled, "What is this darkness?" - -"The Council has cut the currents that light the -city. We must wait -- stop. The people will go on. -They will --" - -His voice was drowned. Voices were shouting, -"Save the Sleeper. Take care of the Sleeper." A -guard stumbled against Graham and hurt his hand by -an inadvertent blow of his weapon. A wild tumult -tossed and whirled about him, growing, as it seemed, -louder, denser, more furious each moment. Fragments -of recognisable sounds drove towards him, were -whirled away from him as his mind reached out to -grasp them. Voices seemed to be shouting conflicting -orders, other voices answered. There were suddenly -a succession of piercing screams close beneath them. - -A voice bawled in his ear, "The red police," and -receded forthwith beyond his questions. - -A crackling sound grew to distinctness, and there -with a leaping of faint flashes along the edge of the -further ways. By their light Graham saw the heads -and bodies of a number of men, armed with weapons -like those of his guards, leap into an instant's dim -visibility. The whole area began to crackle, to flash with -little instantaneous streaks of light, and abruptly the -darkness rolled back like a curtain. - -A glare of light dazzled his eyes, a vast seething -expanse of struggling men confused his mind. A -shout, a burst of cheering, came across the ways. He -looked up to see the source of the light. A man hung -far overhead from the upper part of a cable, holding by -a rope the blinding star that had driven the darkness -back. He wore a red uniform. - -Graham's eyes fell to the ways again. A wedge of -red a little way along the vista caught his eye. He -saw it was a dense mass of red-clad men jammed -the higher further way, their backs against the pitiless -cliff of building, and surrounded by a dense crowd of -antagonists. They were fighting. Weapons flashed -and rose and fell, heads vanished at the edge of the -contest, and other heads replaced them, the little -flashes from the green weapons became little jets of -smoky grey while the light lasted. - -Abruptly the flare was extinguished and the ways -were an inky darkness once more, a tumultuous -mystery. - -He felt something thrusting against him. He was -being pushed along the gallery. Someone was -shouting -- it might be at him. He was too confused to -hear. He was thrust against the wall, and a number of -people blundered past him. It seemed to him that his -guards were struggling with one another. - -Suddenly the cable-hung star-holder appeared again, -and the whole scene was white and dazzling. The -band of red-coats seemed broader and nearer; its apex -was half-way down the ways towards the central aisle. -And raising his eyes Graham saw that a number of -these men had also appeared now in the darkened -lower galleries of the opposite building, and were firing -over the heads of their fellows below at the boiling -confusion of people on the lower ways. The meaning -of these things dawned upon him. The march of the -people had come upon an ambush at the very outset. -Thrown into confusion by the extinction of the lights -they were now being attacked by the red police. Then -he became aware that he was standing alone, that his -guards and Lincoln were along the gallery in the -direction along which he had come before the darkness -fell. He saw they were gesticulating to him wildly, -running back towards him. A great shouting came -from across the ways. Then it seemed as though the -whole face of the darkened building opposite was lined -and speckled with red-clad men. And they were pointing -over to him and shouting. "The Sleeper! Save -the Sleeper!" shouted a multitude of throats. - -Something struck the wall above his head. He -looked up at the impact and saw a star-shaped splash -of silvery metal. He saw Lincoln near him. Felt his -arm gripped. Then, pat, pat; he had been missed -twice. - -For a moment he did not understand this. The -street was hidden, everything was hidden, as he looked. -The second flare had burned out. - -Lincoln had gripped Graham by the arm, was -lugging him along the gallery. "Before the next -light!" he cried. His haste was contagious. -Graham's instinct of self-preservation overcame the -paralysis of his incredulous astonishment. He became for -a time the blind creature of the fear of death. He ran, -stumbling because of the uncertainty of the darkness, -blundered into his guards as they turned to run with -him. Haste was his one desire, to escape this perilous -gallery upon which he was exposed. A third glare -came close on its predecessors. With it came a great -shouting across the ways, an answering tumult from -the ways. The red-coats below, he saw, had now -almost gained the central passage. Their countless -faces turned towards him, and they shouted. The -white facade opposite was densely stippled with red. -All these wonderful things concerned him, turned upon -him as a pivot. These were the guards of the Council -attempting to recapture him. - -Lucky it was for him that these shots were the first -fired in anger for a hundred and fifty years. He heard -bullets whacking over his head, felt a splash of molten -metal sting his ear, and perceived without looking that -the whole opposite facade, an unmasked ambuscade of -red police, was crowded and bawling and firing at him. - -Down went one of his guards before him, and Graham, -unable to stop, leapt the writhing body. - -In another second he had plunged, unhurt, into a -black passage, and incontinently someone, coming, it -may be, in a transverse direction, blundered violently -into him. He was hurling down a staircase in absolute -darkness. He reeled, and was struck again, and -came against a wall with his hands. He was crushed -by a weight of struggling bodies, whirled round, and -thrust to the right. A vast pressure pinned him. He -could not breathe, his ribs seemed cracking. He felt -a momentary relaxation, and then the whole mass of -people moving together, bore him back towards the -great theatre from which he had so recently come. - -There were moments when his feet did not touch the -ground. Then he was staggering and shoving. He -heard shouts of "They are coming!" and a muffled -cry close to him. His foot blundered against -something soft, he heard a hoarse scream under foot. He -heard shouts of "The Sleeper!" but he was too -confused to speak. He heard the green weapons -crackling. For a space he lost his individual will, -became an atom in a panic, blind, unthinking, mechanical. -He thrust and pressed back and writhed in the -pressure, kicked presently against a step, and found -himself ascending a slope. And abruptly the faces all -about him leapt out of the black, visible, ghastly-white -and astonished, terrified, perspiring, in a livid glare. -One face, a young man's, was very near to him, not -twenty inches away. At the time it was but a passing -incident of no emotional value, but afterwards it came -back to him in his dreams. For this young man, -wedged upright in the crowd for a time, had been shot -and was already dead. - -A fourth white star must have been lit by the man -on the cable. Its light came glaring in through vast -windows and arches and showed Graham that he was -now one of a dense mass of flying black figures pressed -back across the lower area of the great theatre. This -time the picture was livid and fragmentary slashed -and barred with black shadows. He saw that quite -near to him the red guards were fighting their way -through the people. He could not tell whether they -saw him. He looked for Lincoln and his guards. He -saw Lincoln near the stage of the theatre surrounded -in a crowd of black-badged revolutionaries, lifted up -and staring to and fro as if seeking him. Graham -perceived that he himself was near the opposite edge of -the crowd, that behind him, separated by a barrier, -sloped the now vacant seats of the theatre. A sudden -idea came to him, and he began fighting his way -towards the barrier. As he reached it the glare came -to an end. - -In a moment he had thrown off the great cloak that -not only impeded his movements but made him -conspicuous, and had slipped it from his shoulders. He -heard someone trip in its folds. In another he was -scaling the barrier and had dropped into the blackness -on the further side. Then feeling his way he came to -the lower end of an ascending gangway. In the darkness -the sound of firing ceased and the roar of feet and -voices lulled. Then suddenly he came to an unexpected -step and tripped and fell. As he did so pools -and islands amidst the darkness about him leapt to -vivid light again, the uproar surged louder and the -glare of the fifth white star shone through the vast -fenestrations of the theatre walls. - -He rolled over among some seats, heard a shouting -and the whirring rattle of weapons, struggled up and -was knocked back again, perceived that a number of -black-badged men were all about him firing at the rebels -below, leaping from seat to seat, crouching among the -seats to reload. Instinctively he crouched amidst the -seats, as stray shots ripped the pneumatic cushions and -cut bright slashes on their soft metal frames. -Instinctively he marked the direction of the gangways, the -most plausible way of escape for him so soon as the -veil of darkness fell again. - -A young man in faded blue garments came vaulting -over the seats. "Hullo!" he said, with his flying feet -within six inches of the crouching Sleeper's face. - -He stared without any sign of recognition, turned -to fire, fired, and, shouting, "To hell with the Council!" -was about to fire again. Then it seemed to Graham -that the half of this man's neck had vanished. A -drop of moisture fell on Graham's cheek. The green -weapon stopped half raised. For a moment the man -stood still with his face suddenly expressionless, then -he began to slant forward. His knees bent. Man and -darkness fell together. At the sound of his fall Graham -rose up and ran for his life until a step down to -the gangway tripped him. He scrambled to his feet, -turned up the gangway and ran on. - -When the sixth star glared he was already close to -the yawning throat of a passage. He ran on the -swifter for the light, entered the passage and turned a -corner into absolute night again. He was knocked -sideways, rolled over, and recovered his feet. He -found himself one of a crowd of invisible fugitives -pressing in one direction. His one thought now was -their thought also; to escape out of this fighting. He -thrust and struck, staggered, ran, was wedged tightly, -lost ground and then was clear again. - -For some minutes he was running through the darkness -along a winding passage, and then he crossed -some wide and open space, passed down a long incline, -and came at last down a flight of steps to a level place. -Many people were shouting, "They are coming! The -guards are coming. They are firing. Get out of the -fighting. The guards are firing. It will be safe in -Seventh Way. Along here to Seventh Way!" There -were women and children in the crowd as well as men. -Men called names to him. The crowd converged on -an archway, passed through a short throat and -emerged on a wider space again, lit dimly. The black -figures about him spread out and ran up what seemed -in the twilight to be a gigantic series of steps. He - -followed. The people dispersed to the right and left. -. . . He perceived that he was no longer in a -crowd. He stopped near the highest step. Before -him, on that level, were groups of seats and a little -kiosk. He went up to this and, stopping in the shadow -of its eaves, looked about him panting. - -Everything was vague and gray, but he recognised -that these great steps were a series of platforms of the -"ways," now motionless again. The platform slanted -up on either side, and the tall buildings rose beyond, -vast dim ghosts, their inscriptions and advertisements -indistinctly seen, and up through the girders and -cables was a faint interrupted ribbon of pallid sky. A -number of people hurried by. From their shouts and -voices, it seemed they were hurrying to join the -fighting. Other less noisy figures flitted timidly among the -shadows. - -From very far away down the street he could hear -the sound of a struggle. But it was evident to him -that this was not the street into which the theatre -opened. That former fight, it seemed, had suddenly -dropped out of sound and hearing. And -- grotesque -thought! -- they were fighting for him! - -For a space he was like a man who pauses in the -reading of a vivid book, and suddenly doubts what he -has been taking unquestioningly. At that time he had -little mind for details; the whole effect was a huge -astonishment. Oddly enough, while the flight from -the Council prison, the great crowd in the hall, and -the attack of the red police upon the swarming people -were clearly present in his mind, it cost him an effort -to piece in his awakening and to revive the meditative -interval of the Silent Rooms. At first his memory -leapt these things and took him back to the cascade -at Pentargen quivering in the wind, and all the sombre -splendours of the sunlit Cornish coast. The contrast -touched everything with unreality. And then the gap -filled, and he began to comprehend his position. - -It was no longer absolutely a riddle, as it had been -in the Silent Rooms. At least he had the strange, -bare outline now. He was in some way the owner of -half the world, and great political parties were fighting -to possess him. On the one hand was the White Council, -with its red police, set resolutely, it seemed, on the -usurpation of his property and perhaps his murder; on -the other, the revolution that had liberated him, with -this unseen "Ostrog" as its leader. And the whole -of this gigantic city was convulsed by their struggle. -Frantic development of his world! "I do not understand," -he cried. "I do not understand!" - -He had slipped out between the contending parties -into this liberty of the twilight. What would happen -next? What was happening? He figured the redclad -men as busily hunting him, driving the blackbadged -revolutionists before them. - -At any rate chance had given him a breathing space. -He could lurk unchallenged by the passers-by, and -watch the course of things. His eye followed up the -intricate dim immensity of the twilight buildings, and -it came to him as a thing infinitely wonderful, that -above there the sun was rising, and the world was lit -and glowing with the old familiar light of day. In a -little while he had recovered his breath. His clothing -had already dried upon him from the snow. - -He wandered for miles along these twilight ways, -speaking to no one, accosted by no one -- a dark -figure among dark figures -- the coveted man out of -the past, the inestimable unintentional owner of half -the world. Wherever there were lights or dense -crowds, or exceptional excitement he was afraid of -recognition, and watched and turned back or went up -and down by the middle stairways, into some transverse -system of ways at a lower or higher level. And -though he came on no more fighting, the whole city -stirred with battle. Once he had to run to avoid a -marching multitude of men that swept the street. -Everyone abroad seemed involved. For the most part -they were men, and they carried what he judged were -weapons. It seemed as though the struggle was -concentrated mainly in the quarter of the city from which -he came. Ever and again a distant roaring, the remote -suggestion of that conflict, reached his ears. Then his -caution and his curiosity struggled together. But his -caution prevailed, and he continued wandering away -from the fighting -- so far as he could judge. He -went unmolested, unsuspected through the dark. -After a time he ceased to hear even a remote echo of -the battle, fewer and fewer people passed him, until at -last the Titanic streets became deserted. The -frontages of the buildings grew plain and harsh; he seemed -to have come to a district of vacant warehouses. -Solitude crept upon him -- his pace slackened. - -He became aware of a growing fatigue. At times -he would turn aside and seat himself on one of the -numerous seats of the upper ways. But a feverish -restlessness, the knowledge of his vital implication in -his struggle, would not let him rest in any place for -long. Was the struggle on his behalf alone? - -And then in a desolate place came the shock of an -earthquake -- a roaring and thundering -- a mighty -wind of cold air pouring through the city, the smash -of glass, the slip and thud of falling masonry -- a -series of gigantic concussions. A mass of glass and -ironwork fell from the remote roofs into the middle -gallery, not a hundred yards away from him, and in -the distance were shouts and running. He, too, was -startled to an aimless activity, and ran first one way -and then as aimlessly back. - -A man came running towards him. His self-control -returned. "What have they blown up?" asked the -man breathlessly. "That was an explosion," and before -Graham could speak he had hurried on. - -The great buildings rose dimly, veiled by a perplexing -twilight, albeit the rivulet of sky above was now -bright with day. He noted many strange features, -understanding none at the time; he even spelt out -many of the inscriptions in Phonetic lettering. But -what profits it to decipher a confusion of odd-looking -letters resolving itself, after painful strain of eye and -mind, into "Here is Eadhamite," or, "Labour Bureau -- -Little Side?" Grotesque thought, that in all -probability some or all of these cliff-like houses were -his! - -The perversity of his experience came to him vividly. -In actual fact he had made such a leap in time -as romancers have imagined again and again. And -that fact realised, he had been prepared, his mind had, -as it were, seated itself for a spectacle. And no -spectacle, but a great vague danger, unsympathetic -shadows and veils of darkness. Somewhere through -the labyrinthine obscurity his death sought him. -Would he, after all, be killed before he saw? It might -be that even at the next shadowy corner his destruction -ambushed. A great desire to see, a great longing -to know, arose in him. - -He became fearful of corners. It seemed to him -that there was safety in concealment. Where could -he hide to be inconspicuous when the lights returned? -At last he sat down upon a seat in a recess on one -of the higher ways, conceiving he was alone there. - -He squeezed his knuckles into his weary eyes. -Suppose when he looked again he found the dark through -of parallel ways and that intolerable altitude of edifice, -gone? Suppose he were to discover the whole story -of these last few days, the awakening, the shouting -multitudes, the darkness and the fighting, a -phantasmagoria, a new and more vivid sort of dream. It -must be a dream; it was so inconsecutive, so -reasonless. Why were the people fighting for him? Why -should this saner world regard him as Owner and -Master? - -So he thought, sitting blinded, and then he looked -again, half hoping in spite of his ears to see some -familiar aspect of the life of the nineteenth century, to -see, perhaps, the little harbour of Boscastle about him, -the cliffs of Pentargen, or the bedroom of his home. -But fact takes no heed of human hopes. A squad -of men with a black banner tramped athwart the -nearer shadows, intent on conflict, and beyond rose -that giddy wall of frontage, vast and dark, with the dim -incomprehensible lettering showing faintly on its face. - -"It is no dream," he said, "no dream." And he -bowed his face upon his hands. - -CHAPTER XI - -THE OLD MAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING - -He was startled by a cough close at hand. - -He turned sharply, and peering, saw a small, -hunched-up figure sitting a couple of yards off in the -shadow of the enclosure. - -"Have ye any news?" asked the high-pitched -wheezy voice of a very old man. - -Graham hesitated." None," he said. - -"I stay here till the lights come again," said the old -man." These blue scoundrels are everywhere -- -everywhere." - -Graham's answer was inarticulate assent. He tried -to see the old man but the darkness hid his face. He -wanted very much to respond, to talk, but he did not -know how to begin. - -"Dark and damnable," said the old man suddenly. -"Dark and damnable. Turned out of my room among -all these dangers." - -"That's hard," ventured Graham. "That's hard on -you." - -"Darkness. An old man lost in the darkness. And -all the world gone mad. War and fighting. The -police beaten and rogues abroad. Why don't they -bring some negroes to protect us? . . . No more -dark passages for me. I fell over a dead man." - -"You're safer with company," said the old man, "if -it's company of the right sort," and peered frankly. -He rose suddenly and came towards Graham. - -Apparently the scrutiny was satisfactory. The old -man sat down as if relieved to be no longer alone. -"Eh!" he said, "but this is a terrible time! War and -fighting, and the dead lying there -- men, strong men, -dying in the dark. Sons! I have three sons. God -knows where they are tonight." - -The voice ceased. Then repeated quavering: "God -knows where they are tonight." - -Graham stood revolving a question that should not -betray his ignorance. Again the old man's voice -ended the pause. - -"This Ostrog will win," he said. "He will win. And -what the world will be like under him no one can -tell. My sons are under the wind-vanes, all three. -One of my daughters-in-law was his mistress for a -while. His mistress! Were not common people. -Though they've sent me to wander tonight and take -my chance. . . . I knew what was going on. Before -most people. But this darkness! And to fall -over a dead body suddenly in the dark!" - -His wheezy breathing could be heard. - -"Ostrog!" said Graham. - -"The greatest Boss the world has ever seen," said -the voice. - -Graham ransacked his mind. "The Council has few -friends among the people," he hazarded. - -"Few friends. And poor ones at that. They've -had their time. Eh! They should have kept to the -clever ones. But twice they held election. And -Ostrog. And now it has burst out and nothing can -stay it, nothing can stay it. Twice they rejected -Ostrog -- Ostrog the Boss. I heard of his rages at -the time -- he was terrible. Heaven save them! For -nothing on earth can now, he has raised the Labour -Companies upon them. No one else would have -dared. All the blue canvas armed and marching! He -will go through with it. He will go through." - -He was silent for a little while. "This Sleeper," he -said, and stopped. - -"Yes," said Graham. "Well?" - -The senile voice sank to a confidential whisper, the -dim, pale face came close. "The real Sleeper --" - -"Yes," said Graham. - -"Died years ago." - -"What?" said Graham, sharply. - -"Years ago. Died. Years ago." - -"You don't say so!" said Graham. - -"I do. I do say so. He died. This Sleeper who's -woke up -- they changed in the night. A poor, -drugged insensible creature. But I mustn't tell all I -know. I mustn't tell all I know." - -For a little while he muttered inaudibly. His secret -was too much for him. "I don't know the ones that -put him to sleep -- that was before my time -- but I -know the man who injected the stimulants and woke -him again. It was ten to one -- wake or kill. Wake -or kill. Ostrog's way." - -Graham was so astonished at these things that he -had to interrupt, to make the old man repeat his -words, to re-question vaguely, before he was sure of -the meaning and folly of what he heard. And his -awakening had not been natural! Was that an old -man's senile superstition, too, or had it any truth in it? -Feeling in the dark corners of his memory, he presently -came on something that might conceivably be -an impression of some such stimulating effect. It -dawned upon him that he had happened upon a lucky -encounter, that at last he might learn something of -the new age. The old man wheezed a while and spat, -and then the piping, reminiscent voice resumed: - -"The first time they rejected him. I've followed -it all." - -"Rejected whom?" said Graham. "The Sleeper?" - -"Sleeper? No. Ostrog. He was terrible -- terrible! -And he was promised then, promised certainly -the next time. Fools they were -- not to be more -afraid of him. Now all the city's his millstone, and -such as we dust ground upon it. Dust ground upon -it. Until he set to work -- the workers cut each other's -throats, and murdered a Chinaman or a Labour policeman -at times, and left the rest of us in peace. Dead -bodies! Robbing! Darkness! Such a thing hasn't -been this gross of years. Eh! -- but 'tis ill on small -folks when the great fall out! It's ill." - -"Did you say -- there had not been what? -- for -a gross of years?" - -"Eh?" said the old man. - -The old man said something about clipping his -words, and made him repeat this a third time. "Fighting -and slaying, and weapons in hand, and fools bawling -freedom and the like," said the old man. "Not in -all my life has there been that. These are like the old -days -- for sure -- when the Paris people broke out -- -three gross of years ago. That's what I mean hasn't -been. But it's the world's way. It had to come back. -I know. I know. This five years Ostrog has been -working, and there has been trouble and trouble, and -hunger and threats and high talk and arms. Blue canvas -and murmurs. No one safe. Everything sliding -and slipping. And now here we are! Revolt and -fighting, and the Council come to its end." - -"You are rather well-informed on these things," -said Graham. - -"I know what I hear. It isn't all Babble Machine -with me." - -"No," said Graham, wondering what Babble -Machine might be. "And you are certain this Ostrog --- you are certain Ostrog organised this rebellion and -arranged for the waking of the Sleeper? Just to assert -himself -- because he was not elected to the Council? - -"Everyone knows that, I should think," said the old -man. "Except -- just fools. He meant to be master -somehow. In the Council or not. Everyone who -knows anything knows that. And here we are with -dead bodies lying in the dark! Why, where have you -been if you haven't heard all about the trouble -between Ostrog and the Verneys? And what do you -think the troubles are about? The Sleeper? Eh? -You think the Sleeper's real and woke of his own -accord -- eh?" - -"I'm a dull man, older than I look, and forgetful," -said Graham." Lots of things that have happened -- -especially of late years -- . If I was the Sleeper, to tell -you the truth, I couldn't know less about them." - -"Eh!" said the voice." Old, are you? You don't -sound so very old! But its not everyone keeps his -memory to my time of life -- truly. But these -notorious things! But you're not so old as me -- not -nearly so old as me. Well! I ought not to judge -other men by myself, perhaps. I'm young -- for so -old a man. Maybe you're old for so young." - -"That's it," said Graham. "And I've a queer history. -I know very little. And history! Practically I -know no history. The Sleeper and Julius Caesar are -all the same to me. It's interesting to hear you talk -of these things." - -"I know a few things," said the old man. "I know -a thing or two. But -- . Hark!" - -The two men became silent, listening. There was -heavy thud, a concussion that made their seat shiver. -The passers-by stopped, shouted to one another. The -old man was full of questions; he shouted to a man -who passed near. Graham, emboldened by his example, -got up and accosted others. None knew what had -happened. - -He returned to the seat and found the old man -muttering vague interrogations in an undertone. For -a while they said nothing to one another. - -The sense of this gigantic struggle, so near and yet -so remote oppressed Graham's imagination. Was -this old man right, was the report of the people right, -and were the revolutionaries winning? Or were they -all in error, and were the red guards driving all before -them? At any time the flood of warfare might pour -into this silent quarter of the city and seize upon him -again. It behooved him to learn all he could while -there was time. He turned suddenly to the old man -with a question and left it unsaid. But his motion -moved the old man to speech again. - -"Eh! but how things work together!" said the old -man." This Sleeper that all the fools put their trust -in! I've the whole history of it -- I was always a good -one for histories. When I was a boy - I'm that old -- -I used to read printed books. You'd hardly think it. -Likely you've seen none -- they rot and dust so -- and -the Sanitary Company burns them to make ashlarite. -But they were convenient in their dirty way. Oh I -learnt a lot. These new-fangled Babble Machines -- -they don't seem new-fangled to you, eh? -- they're -easy to hear, easy to forget. But I've traced all the -Sleeper business from the first." - - -"You will scarcely believe it," said Graham slowly, -"I'm so ignorant -- I've been so preoccupied in my -own little affairs, my circumstances have been so odd --- I know nothing of this Sleeper's history. Who -was he?" - -"Eh!" said the old man. "I know. I know. He -was a poor nobody, and set on a playful woman, poor -soul! And he fell into a trance. There's the old -things they had, those brown things -- silver -photographs -- still showing him as he lay, a gross and a -half years ago -- a gross and a half of years." - -"Set on a playful woman, poor soul," said Graham -softly to himself, and then aloud, "Yes -- well! go on." - -"You must know he had a cousin named Warming -a solitary man without children, who made a big fortune -speculating in roads -- the first Eadhamite roads. -But surely you've heard? No? Why? He bought -all the patent rights and made a big company. In -those days there were grosses of grosses of separate -businesses and business companies. Grosses of -grosses! His roads killed the railroads -- the old -things -- in two dozen years; he bought up and Eadhamited' -the tracks. And because he didn't want to -break up his great property or let in shareholders, he -left it all to the Sleeper, and put it under a Board of -Trustees that he had picked and trained. He knew -then the Sleeper wouldn't wake, that he would go on -sleeping, sleeping till he died. He knew that quite -well! And plump! a man in the United States, who -had lost two sons in a boat accident, followed that up -with another great bequest. His trustees found themselves -with a dozen myriads of lions'-worth or more -of property at the very beginning." - -"What was his name?" - -"Graham." - -"No, I mean -- that American's." - -"Isbister." - -"Isbister!" cried Graham. "Why, I don't even -know the name." - -"Of course not," said the old man. "Of course not. -People don't learn much in the schools nowadays. -But I know all about him. He was a rich American -who went from England, and he left the Sleeper even -more than Warming. How he made it? That I don't -know. Something about pictures by machinery. But -he made it and left it, and so the Council had its start. -It was just a council of trustees at first." - -"And how did it grow?" - -"Eh! -- but you're not up to things. Money -attracts money -- and twelve brains are better than -one. They played it cleverly. They worked politics -with money, and kept on adding to the money by -working currency and tariffs. They grew -- they -grew. And for years the twelve trustees hid the -growing of the Sleeper's estate, under double names and -company titles and all that. The Council spread by -title deed, mortgage, share, every political party, -every newspaper, they bought. If you listen to the old -stories you will see the Council growing and growing -Billions and billions of lions at last -- the Sleeper's -estate. And all growing out of a whim -- out of this -Warming's will, and an accident to Isbister's sons. - -"Men are strange," said the old man. "The strange, -thing to me is how the Council worked together so -long. As many as twelve. But they worked in cliques -from the first. And they've slipped back. In my -young days speaking of the Council was like an ignorant -man speaking of God. We didn't think they could -do wrong. We didn't know of their women and all -that! Or else I've got wiser. - -"Men are strange," said the old man. "Here are -you, young and ignorant, and me -- sevendy years old, -and I might reasonably be forgetting -- explaining it -all to you short and clear. - -"Sevendy," he said, "sevendy, and I hear and see -- -hear better than I see. And reason clearly, and keep -myself up to all the happenings of things. Sevendy! - -"Life is strange. I was twaindy before Ostrog was -a baby. I remember him long before he'd pushed his -way to the head of the Wind Vanes Control. I've -seen many changes. Eh! I've worn the blue. And at -last I've come to see this crush and darkness and -tumult and dead men carried by in heaps on the ways. -And all his doing! All his doing!" - -His voice died away in scarcely articulate praises of -Ostrog - -Graham thought. "Let me see," he said, "if I have -it right." - -He extended a hand and ticked off points upon his -fingers. "The Sleeper has been asleep --" - -"Changed," said the old man. - -"Perhaps. And meanwhile the Sleeper's property -grew in the hands of Twelve Trustees, until it -swallowed up nearly all the great ownership of the -world. The Twelve Trustees -- by virtue of this property -have become virtually masters of the world. -Because they are the paying power -- just as the old -English Parliament used to be --" - -"Eh!" said the old man. "That's so -- that's a -good comparison. You're not so --" - -"And now this Ostrog -- has suddenly revolutionised -the world by waking the Sleeper -- whom no one -but the superstitious, common people had ever dreamt -would wake again -- raising the Sleeper to claim his -property from the Council, after all these years." - -The old man endorsed this statement with a cough. -"It's strange," he said, "to meet a man who learns -these things for the first time tonight." - -"Aye," said Graham, "it's strange." - -"Have you been in a Pleasure City?" said the old -man. "All my life I've longed --" He laughed. -"Even now," he said, "I could enjoy a little fun. -Enjoy seeing things, anyhow. "He mumbled a -sentence Graham did not understand. - -"The Sleeper -- when did he awake?" said Graham -suddenly. - -"Three days ago." - -"Where is he?" - -"Ostrog has him. He escaped from the Council not -four hours ago. My dear sir, where were you at the -time? He was in the hall of the markets -- where the -fighting has been. All the city was screaming about -it. All the Babble Machines! Everywhere it was -shouted. Even the fools who speak for the Council -were admitting it. Everyone was rushing off to see -him -- everyone was getting arms. Were you drunk -or asleep? And even then! But you're joking! -Surely you're pretending. It was to stop the shouting -of the Babble Machines and prevent the people gathering -that they turned off the electricity -- and put this -damned darkness upon us. Do you mean to say -- ?" - -"I had heard the Sleeper was rescued," said Graham. -"But -- to come back a minute. Are you sure -Ostrog has him?" - -"He won't let him go," said the old man. - -"And the Sleeper. Are you sure he is not genuine? -I have never heard --" - -"So all the fools think. So they think. As if there -wasn't a thousand things that were never heard. I -know Ostrog too well for that. Did I tell you? In -a way I'm a sort of relation of Ostrog's. A sort of -relation. Through my daughter-in-law." - - -"I suppose --" - -"Well?" - -"I suppose there's no chance of this Sleeper asserting -himself. I suppose he's certain to be a puppet -- -in Ostrog's hands or the Council's, as soon as the -struggle is over." - -"In Ostrog's hands -- certainly. Why shouldn't he -be a puppet? Look at his position. Everything done -for him, every pleasure possible. Why should he want -to assert himself?" - -"What are these Pleasure Cities?" said Graham, -abruptly. - -The old man made him repeat the question. When -at last he was assured of Graham's words, he nudged -him violently. "That's too much," said he. "You're -poking fun at an old man. I've been suspecting you -know more than you pretend." - -"Perhaps I do," said Graham. "But no! why -should I go on acting? No, I do not know what a -Pleasure City is." - -The old man laughed in an intimate way. - -"What is more, I do not know how to read your letters, -I do not know what money you use, I do not -know what foreign countries there are. I do not know -where I am. I cannot count. I do not know -where to get food, nor drink, nor shelter." - -"Come, come," said the old man, "if you had a -glass of drink, now, would you put it in your ear or -your eye?" - -"I want you to tell me all these things." - -"He, he! Well, gentlemen who dress in silk must -have their fun." A withered hand caressed Graham's -arm for a moment." Silk. Well, well! But, all the -same, I wish I was the man who was put up as the -Sleeper. He'll have a fine time of it. All the pomp -and pleasure. He's a queer looking face. When they -used to let anyone go to see him, I've got tickets and -been. The image of the real one, as the photographs -show him, this substitute used to be. Yellow. But -he'll get fed up. It's a queer world. Think of the luck -of it. The luck of it. I expect he'll be sent to Capri. -It's the best fun for a greener." - -His cough overtook him again. Then he began -mumbling enviously of pleasures and strange delights. -"The luck of it, the luck of it! All my life I've been in -London, hoping to get my chance." - -"But you don't know that the Sleeper died," said -Graham, suddenly. - -The old man made him repeat his words. - -"Men don't live beyond ten dozen. It's not in the -order of things," said the old man. "I'm not a fool. -Fools may believe it, but not me." - -Graham became angry with the old man's assurance. -"Whether you are a fool or not," he said, "it happens -you are wrong about the Sleeper." - -"Eh?" - -"You are wrong about the Sleeper. I haven't told -you before, but I will tell you now. You are wrong -about the Sleeper." - -"How do you know? I thought you didn't know -anything -- not even about Pleasure Cities." - -Graham paused. - -"You don't know," said the old man. "How are -you to know? It's very few men --" - -"I _am_ the Sleeper." - -He had to repeat it. - -There was a brief pause. "There's a silly thing to -say, sir, if you'll excuse me. It might get you into -trouble in a time like this," said the old man. -Graham, slightly dashed, repeated his assertion. - -"I was saying I was the Sleeper. That years and -years ago I did, indeed, fall asleep, in a little -stonebuilt village, in the days when there were hedgerows, -and villages, and inns, and all the countryside cut up -into little pieces, little fields. Have you never heard -of those days? And it is I -- I who speak to you -- -who awakened again these four days since." - -"Four days since! -- the Sleeper! But they've got -the Sleeper. They have him and they won't let him -go. Nonsense! You've been talking sensibly enough -up to now. I can see it as though I was there. There -will be Lincoln like a keeper just behind him; they -won't let him go about alone. Trust them. You're a -queer fellow. One of these fun pokers. I see now why -you have been clipping your words so oddly, but --" - -He stopped abruptly, and Graham could see his -gesture. - -"As if Ostrog would let the Sleeper run about -alone! No, you're telling that to the wrong man -altogether. Eh! as if I should believe. What's your -game? And besides, we've been talking of the -Sleeper." - -Graham stood up." Listen," he said. "I am the -Sleeper." - -"You're an odd man," said the old man, "to sit -here in the dark, talking clipped, and telling a lie of -that sort. But --" - -Graham's exasperation fell to laughter. "It is -preposterous," he cried. "Preposterous. The dream -must end. It gets wilder and wilder. Here am I -- in -this damned twilight -- I never knew a dream in twilight -before -- an anachronism by two hundred years -and trying to persuade an old fool that I am myself, -and meanwhile -- Ugh!" - -He moved in gusty irritation and went striding. In -a moment the old man was pursuing him. "Eh! but -don't go!" cried the old man. "I'm an old fool, I -know. Don't go. Don't leave me in all this darkness." - -Graham hesitated, stopped. Suddenly the folly of -telling his secret flashed into his mind. - -"I didn't mean to offend you -- disbelieving you," -said the old man coming near. "It's no manner of -harm. Call yourself the Sleeper if it pleases you. - - -'Tis a foolish trick" - -Graham hesitated, turned abruptly and went on his -way. - -For a time he heard the old man's hobbling pursuit -and his wheezy cries receding. But at last the darkness -swallowed him, and Graham saw him no more. - -CHAPTER XII - -OSTROG - -Graham could now take a clearer view of his position. -For a long time yet he wandered, but after the -talk of the old man his discovery of this Ostrog was -clear in his mind as the final inevitable decision. One -thing was evident, those who were at the headquarters -of the revolt had succeeded very admirably in -suppressing the fact of his disappearance. But every -moment he expected to hear the report of his death -or of his recapture by the Council. - -Presently a man stopped before him. "Have you -heard?" he said. - -"No!" said Graham starting. - -"Near a dozand," said the man, "a dozand men!" -and hurried on. - -A number of men and a girl passed in the darkness, -gesticulating and shouting: "Capitulated! Given -up!" A dozand of men." "Two dozand of men." -"Ostrog, Hurrah! Ostrog, Hurrah!" These cries -receded, became indistinct. - -Other shouting men followed. For a time his attention -was absorbed in the fragments of speech he heard. -He had a doubt whether all were speaking English. -Scraps floated to him, scraps like Pigeon English, like -'nigger' dialect, blurred and mangled distortions. He -dared accost no one with questions. The -impression the people gave him jarred altogether with his -preconceptions of the struggle and confirmed the old -man's faith in Ostrog. It was only slowly he could -bring himself to believe that all these people were -rejoicing at the defeat of the Council, that the Council -which had pursued him with such power and vigour -was after all the weaker of the two sides in conflict. -And if that was so, how did it affect him? Several -times he hesitated on the verge of fundamental questions. -Once he turned and walked for a long way -after a little man of rotund inviting outline, but he -was unable to master confidence to address him. - -It was only slowly that it came to him that he might -ask for the "wind-vane offices," whatever the -"wind-vane offices" might be. His first enquiry simply -resulted in a direction to go on towards Westminster. -His second led to the discovery of a short cut in which -he was speedily lost. He was told to leave the ways -to which he had hitherto confined himself knowing -no other means of transit -- and to plunge down one -of the middle staircases into the blackness of a -crossway. Thereupon came some trivial adventures; chief -of these an ambiguous encounter with a gruff-voiced -invisible creature speaking in a strange dialect that -seemed at first a strange tongue, a thick flow of speech -with the drifting corpses of English words therein, -the dialect of the latter-day vile. Then another voice -drew near, a girl's voice singing, "tralala tralala." -She spoke to Graham, her English touched with something -of the same quality. She professed to have lost -her sister, she blundered needlessly into him he -thought, caught hold of him and laughed. But a -word of vague remonstrance sent her into the unseen -again. - -The sounds about him increased. Stumbling people -passed him, speaking excitedly. "They have surrendered!" -"The Council! Surely not the Council!" -"They are saying so in the Ways." The passage -seemed wider. Suddenly the wall fell away. He was -in a great space and people were stirring remotely. -He inquired his way of an indistinct figure. "Strike -straight across," said a woman's voice. He left his -guiding wall, and in a moment had stumbled against -a little table on which were utensils of glass. Graham's -eyes, now attuned to darkness, made out a -long vista with pallid tables on either side. He went -down this. At one or two of the tables he heard a -clang of glass and a sound of eating. There were people -then cool enough to dine, or daring enough to -steal a meal in spite of social convulsion and darkness. -Far off and high up he presently saw a pallid -light of a semi-circular shape. As he approached this, -a black edge came up and hid it. He stumbled at -steps and found himself in a gallery. He heard a -sobbing, and found two scared little girls crouched -by a railing. These children became silent at the -near sound of feet. He tried to console them, but -they were very still until he left them. Then as he -receded he could hear them sobbing again. - -Presently he found himself at the foot of a staircase -and near a wide opening. He saw a dim twilight -above this and ascended out of the blackness into a -street of moving Ways again. Along this a disorderly -swarm of people marched shouting. They were singing -snatches of the song of the revolt, most of them -out of tune. Here and there torches flared creating -brief hysterical shadows. He asked his way and was -twice puzzled by that same thick dialect. His third -attempt won an answer he could understand. He was -two miles from the wind-vane offices in Westminster, -but the way was easy to follow. - -When at last he did approach the district of the -wind-vane offices it seemed to him, from the cheering -processions that came marching along the Ways, from -the tumult of rejoicing, and finally from the restoration -of the lighting of the city, that the overthrow of the -Council must already be accomplished. And still no -news of his absence came to his ears. - -The re-illumination of the city came with startling -abruptness. Suddenly he stood blinking, all about -him men halted dazzled, and the world was incandescent. -The light found him already upon the outskirts -of the excited crowds that choked the Ways near -the wind-vane offices, and the sense of visibility and -exposure that came with it turned his colourless -intention of joining Ostrog to a keen anxiety. - -For a time he was jostled, obstructed, and endangered -by men hoarse and weary with cheering his -name, some of them bandaged and bloody in his -cause. The frontage of the wind-vane offices was -illuminated by some moving picture, but what it was he -could not see, because in spite of his strenuous attempts -the density of the crowd prevented his approaching it. -From the fragments of speech he caught, he judged -it conveyed news of the fighting about the Council -House. Ignorance and indecision made him slow and -ineffective in his movements. For a time he could -not conceive how he was to get within the unbroken -facade of this place. He made his way slowly into -the midst of this mass of people, until he realised that -the descending staircase of the central Way led to the -interior of the buildings. This gave him a goal, but -the crowding in the central path was so dense that it -was long before he could reach it. And even then -he encountered intricate obstruction, and had an hour -of vivid argument first in this guard room and then -in that before he could get a note taken to the one -man of all men who was most eager to see him. His -story was laughed to scorn at one place, and wiser for -that, when at last he reached a second stairway he professed -simply to have news of extraordinary importance -for Ostrog. What it was he would not say. -They sent his note reluctantly. For a long time he -waited in a little room at the foot of the lift shaft, and -thither at last came Lincoln, eager, apologetic, -astonished. He stopped in the doorway scrutinising -Graham, then rushed forward effusively. - -"Yes," he cried. "It is you. And you are not -dead!" - -Graham made a brief explanation. - -"My brother is waiting," explained Lincoln. "He -is alone in the wind-vane offices. We feared you had -been killed in the theatre. He doubted -- and things -are very urgent still in spite of what we are telling -them _there_ -- or he would have come to you." - -They ascended a lift, passed along a narrow passage, -crossed a great hall, empty save for two hurrying -messengers, and entered a comparatively little room, whose -only furniture was a long settee and a large oval disc -of cloudy, shifting grey, hung by cables from the wall. -There Lincoln left Graham for a space, and he - -remained alone without understanding the shifting -smoky shapes that drove slowly across this disc. - -His attention was arrested by a sound that began -abruptly. It was cheering, the frantic cheering of a -vast but very remote crowd, a roaring exultation. -This ended as sharply as it had begun, like a sound -heard between the opening and shutting of a door. -In the outer room was a noise of hurrying steps and -a melodious clinking as if a loose chain was running -over the teeth of a wheel. - -Then he heard the voice of a woman, the rustle of -unseen garments. "It is Ostrog!" he heard her say. -A little bell rang fitfully, and then everything was still -again. - -Presently came voices, footsteps and movement -without. The footsteps of some one person detached -itself from the other sounds and drew near, firm, -evenly measured steps. The curtain lifted slowly. A -tall, white-haired man, clad in garments of cream -coloured silk, appeared, regarding Graham from under -his raised arm. - -For a moment the white form remained holding the -curtain, then dropped it and stood before it. Graham's -first impression was of a very broad forehead, very -pale blue eyes deep sunken under white brows, an -aquiline nose, and a heavily-lined resolute mouth. The -folds of flesh over the eyes, the drooping of the -corners of the mouth contradicted the upright bearing, -and said the man was old. Graham rose to his feet -instinctively, and for a moment the two men stood -in silence, regarding each other. - -"You are Ostrog?" said Graham. - -"I am Ostrog." - -"The Boss?" - -"So I am called." - -Graham felt the inconvenience of the silence. "I -have to thank you chiefly, I understand, for my safety," -he said presently. - -"We were afraid you were killed," said Ostrog. - -"Or sent to sleep again -- for ever. We have been -doing everything to keep our secret -- the secret of -your disappearance. Where have you been? How -did you get here?" - -Graham told him briefly. - -Ostrog listened in silence. - -He smiled faintly. "Do you know what I was -doing when they came to tell me you had come?" - -"How can I guess?" - -"Preparing your double." - -"My double?" - -"A man as like you as we could find. We were -going to hypnotise him, to save him the difficulty of -acting. It was imperative. The whole of this revolt -depends on the idea that you are awake, alive, and with -us. Even now a great multitude of people has gathered -in the theatre clamouring to see you. They do -not trust . . . You know, of course -- something -of your position?" - -"Very little," said Graham. - -"It is like this." Ostrog walked a pace or two -into the room and turned. "You are absolute owner," -he said, "of more than half the world. As a result -of that you are practically King. Your powers are -limited in many intricate ways, but you are the figure -head, the popular symbol of government. This White -Council, the Council of Trustees as it is called" - -"I have heard the vague outline of these things." - -"I wondered." - -"I came upon a garrulous old man." - -"I see . . . Our masses -- the word comes -from your days -- you know of course, that we still -have masses -- regard you as our actual ruler. Just -as a great number of people in your days regarded the -Crown as the ruler. They are discontented -- the -masses all over the earth -- with the rule of your -Trustees. For the most part it is the old discontent, -the old quarrel of the common man with his -commonness -- the misery of work and discipline and unfitness. -But your Trustees have ruled ill. In certain -matters, in the administration of the Labour Companies, -for example, they have been unwise. They -have given endless opportunities. Already we of the -popular party were agitating for reforms -- when your -waking came. Came! If it had been contrived it -could not have come more opportunity." He smiled. -"The public mind, making no allowance for your -years of quiescence, had already hit on the thought -of waking you and appealing to you, and -- Flash!" - -He indicated the outbreak by a gesture, and Graham -moved his head to show that he understood. - -"The Council muddled -- quarreled. They always -do. They could not decide what to do with you. -You know how they imprisoned you?" - -"I see. I see. And now -- we win?" - -"We win. Indeed we win. Tonight, in five swift -hours. Suddenly we struck everywhere. The windvane -people, the Labour Company and its millions, -burst the bonds. We got the pull of the aeropiles." - -He paused. "Yes," said Graham, guessing that -aeropile meant flying machine. - -"That was, of course, essential. Or they could -have got away. All the city rose, every third man -almost was in it! All the blue, all the public services, -save only just a few aeronauts and about half the red -police. You were rescued, and their own police of -the Ways -- not half of them could be massed at the -Council House -- have been broken up, disarmed or -killed. All London is ours -- now. Only the Council -House remains. - -"Half of those who remain to them of the red -police were lost in that foolish attempt to recapture -you. They lost their heads when they lost you. They -flung all they had at the theatre. We cut them off -from the Council House there. Truly tonight has -been a night of victory. Everywhere your star has -blazed. A day ago -- the White Council ruled as it -has ruled for a gross of years, for a century and a half -of years, and then, with only a little whispering, a -covert arming here and there, suddenly -- So!" - -"I am very ignorant," said Graham. "I suppose -- . -I do not clearly understand the conditions -of this fighting. If you could explain. Where is the -Council? Where is the fight?" - -Ostrog stepped across the room, something clicked, -and suddenly, save for an oval glow, they were in -darkness. For a moment Graham was puzzled. - -Then he saw that the cloudy grey disc had taken -depth and colour, had assumed the appearance of an -oval window looking out upon a strange unfamiliar -scene. - -At the first glance he was unable to guess what this -scene might be. It was a daylight scene, the daylight -of a wintry day, grey and clear. Across the picture -and halfway as it seemed between him and the remoter -view, a stout cable of twisted white wire stretched -vertically. Then he perceived that the rows of great -windwheels he saw, the wide intervals, the occasional -gulfs of darkness, were akin to those through which -he had fled from the Council House. He distinguished -an orderly file of red figures marching across an open -space between files of men in black, and realised before -Ostrog spoke that he was looking down on the upper -surface of latter-day London. The overnight snows -had gone. He judged that this mirror was some modern -replacement of the camera obscura, but that -matter was not explained to him. He saw that though -the file of red figures was trotting from left to right, -yet they were passing out of the picture to the left. -He wondered momentarily, and then saw that the -picture was passing slowly, panorama fashion, across -the oval. - -"In a moment you will see the fighting," said -Ostrog at his elbow. "Those fellows in red you -notice are prisoners. This is the roof space of -London -- all the houses are practically continuous now. -The streets and public squares are covered in. The -gaps and chasms of your time have disappeared." - -Something out of focus obliterated half the picture. -Its form suggested a man. There was a gleam of -metal, a flash, something that swept across the oval, -as the eyelid of a bird sweeps across its eye, and the -picture was clear again. And now Graham beheld -men running down among the wind-wheels, pointing -weapons from which jetted out little smoky flashes. -They swarmed thicker and thicker to the right, -gesticulating -- it might be they were shouting, but of -that the picture told nothing. They and the -windwheels passed slowly and steadily across the field of -the mirror. - -"Now," said Ostrog, "comes the Council House," -and slowly a black edge crept into view and gathered -Graham's attention. Soon it was no longer an edge -but a cavity, a huge blackened space amidst the -clustering edifices, and from it thin spires of smoke rose -into the pallid winter sky. Gaunt ruinous masses of -the building, mighty truncated piers and girders, rose -dismally out of this cavernous darkness. And over -these vestiges of some splendid place, countless -minute men were clambering, leaping, swarming. - -"This is the Council House," said Ostrog. "Their -last stronghold. And the fools wasted enough -ammunition to hold out for a month in blowing up the -buildings all about them -- to stop our attack. You -heard the smash? It shattered half the brittle glass -in the city." - -And while he spoke, Graham saw that beyond this -sea of ruins, overhanging it and rising to a great -height, was a ragged mass of white building. This -mass had been isolated by the ruthless destruction of -its surroundings. Black gaps marked the passages -the disaster had torn apart; big halls had been slashed -open and the decoration of their interiors showed -dismally in the wintry dawn, and down the jagged wall -hung festoons of divided cables and twisted ends of -lines and metallic rods. And amidst all the vast -details moved little red specks, the red-clothed -defenders of the Council. Every now and then faint flashes -illuminated the bleak shadows. At the first sight it -seemed to Graham that an attack upon this isolated -white building was in progress, but then he perceived -that the party of the revolt was not advancing, but -sheltered amidst the colossal wreckage that encircled -this last ragged stronghold of the red-garbed men, was -keeping up a fitful firing. - -And not ten hours ago he had stood beneath the -ventilating fans in a little chamber within that remote -building wondering what was happening in the world! - -Looking more attentively as this warlike episode -moved silently across the centre of the mirror, Graham -saw that the white building was surrounded on -every side by ruins, and Ostrog proceeded to describe -in concise phrases how its defenders had sought by -such destruction to isolate themselves from a storm. -He spoke of the loss of men that huge downfall had -entailed in an indifferent tone. He indicated an -improvised mortuary among the wreckage showed -ambulances swarming like cheese-mites along a -ruinous groove that had once been a street of moving ways. -He was more interested in pointing out the parts of -the Council House, the distribution of the besiegers. -In a little while the civil contest that had convulsed -London was no longer a mystery to Graham. It was -no tumultuous revolt had occurred that night, no -equal warfare, but a splendidly organised _coup d'etat_. -Ostrog's grasp of details was astonishing; he seemed -to know the business of even the smallest knot of -black and red specks that crawled amidst these places. - -He stretched a huge black arm across the luminous -picture, and showed the room whence Graham had -escaped, and across the chasm of ruins the course of -his flight. Graham recognised the gulf across which -the gutter ran, and the wind-wheels where he had -crouched from the flying machine. The rest of his -path had succumbed to the explosion. He looked -again at the Council House, and it was already half -hidden, and on the right a hillside with a cluster of -domes and pinnacles, hazy, dim and distant, was -gliding into view. - -"And the Council is really overthrown?" he said. - -"Overthrown," said Ostrog. - -"And I -- . Is it indeed true that I?" - -"You are Master of the World." - -"But that white flag --" - -"That is the flag of the Council -- the flag of the -Rule of the World. It will fall. The fight is over. -Their attack on the theatre was their last frantic -struggle. They have only a thousand men or so, and some -of these men will be disloyal. They have little -ammunition. And we are reviving the ancient arts. We are -casting guns." - -"But -- help. Is this city the world?" - -"Practically this is all they have left to them of -their empire. Abroad the cities have either revolted -with us or wait the issue. Your awakening has -perplexed them, paralysed them." - -"But haven't the Council flying machines? Why -is there no fighting with them?" - -"They had. But the greater part of the aeronauts -were in the revolt with us. They wouldn't take the -risk of fighting on our side, but they would not stir -against us. We had to get a pull with the aeronauts. -Quite half were with us, and the others knew it. -Directly they knew you had got away, those looking -for you dropped. We killed the man who shot at -you -- an hour ago. And we occupied the flying -stages at the outset in every city we could, and so -stopped and captured the airplanes, and as for the -little flying machines that turned out -- for some did -- -we kept up too straight and steady a fire for them to -get near the Council House. If they dropped they -couldn't rise again, because there's no clear space -about there for them to get up. Several we have -smashed, several others have dropped and surrendered, -the rest have gone off to the Continent to find a -friendly city if they can before their fuel runs out. -Most of these men were only too glad to be taken -prisoner and kept out of harm's way. Upsetting in a -flying machine isn't a very attractive prospect. There's -no chance for the Council that way. Its days are -done." - -He laughed and turned to the oval reflection again -to show Graham what he meant by flying stages. -Even the four nearer ones were remote and obscured -by a thin morning haze. But Graham could perceive -they were very vast structures, judged even by the -standard of the things about them. - -And then as these dim shapes passed to the left -there came again the sight of the expanse across which -the disarmed men in red had been marching. And -then the black ruins, and then again the beleaguered -white fastness of the Council. It appeared no longer -a ghostly pile, but glowing amber in the sunlight, for -a cloud shadow had passed. About it the pigmy -struggle still hung in suspense, but now the red -defenders were no longer firing. - -So, in a dusky stillness, the man from the nineteenth -century saw the closing scene of the great -revolt, the forcible establishment of his rule. With a -quality of startling discovery it came to him that this -was his world, and not that other he had left behind; -that this was no spectacle to culminate and cease; that -in this world lay whatever life was still before him, lay -all his duties and dangers and responsibilities. He -turned with fresh questions. Ostrog began to answer -them, and then broke off abruptly. "But these things -I must explain more fully later. At present there are --- duties. The people are coming by the moving -ways towards this ward from every part of the city -- -the markets and theatres are densely crowded. You -are just in time for them. They are clamouring to -see you. And abroad they want to see you. Paris, -New York, Chicago, Denver, Capri -- thousands of -cities are up and in a tumult, undecided, and -clamouring to see you. They have clamoured that you should -be awakened for years, and now it is done they will -scarcely believe --" - -But surely -- I can't go . . ." - -Ostrog answered from the other side of the room, 1. -and the picture on the oval disc paled and vanished ' -as the light jerked back again." There are -kinetotele-photographs," he said. "As you bow to the -people here -- all over the world myriads of myriads of -people, packed and still in darkened halls, will see you -also. In black and white, of course -- not like this. -And you will hear their shouts reinforcing the shouting -in the hall. - -"And there is an optical contrivance we shall use," -said Ostrog, "used by some of the posturers and -women dancers. It may be novel to you. You stand -in a very bright light, and they see not you but a -magnified image of you thrown on a screen -- so that -even the furtherest man in the remotest gallery can, -if he chooses, count your eyelashes." - -Graham clutched desperately at one of the questions -in his mind. "What is the population of London?" - -"Eight and twaindy myriads." - -"Eight and what?" - -"More than thirty-three millions." - -These figures went beyond Graham's imagination -"You will be expected to say something," said -Ostrog. "Not what you used to call a Speech, but -what our people call a Word -- just one sentence, six -or seven words. Something formal. If I might -suggest -- ' I have awakened and my heart is with you.' -That is the sort of thing they want." - -"What was that?" asked Graham. - -"'I am awakened and my heart is with you.' And -bow -- bow royally. But first we must get you black -robes -- for black is your colour. Do you mind? -And then they will disperse to their homes." - -Graham hesitated. "I am in your hands," he said. - -Ostrog was clearly of that opinion. He thought -for a moment, turned to the curtain and called brief -directions to some unseen attendants. Almost immediately -a black robe, the very fellow of the black robe -Graham had worn in the theatre, was brought. And -as he threw it about his shoulders there came from -the room without the shrilling of a high-pitched bell. -Ostrog turned in interrogation to the attendant, then -suddenly seemed to change his mind, pulled the -curtain aside and disappeared. - -For a moment Graham stood with the deferential -attendant listening to Ostrog's retreating steps. -There was a sound of quick question and answer and -of men running. The curtain was snatched back and -Ostrog reappeared, his massive face glowing with -excitement. He crossed the room in a stride, clicked -the room into darkness, gripped Grahams arm and -pointed to the mirror. - -"Even as we turned away," he said. - -Graham saw his index finger, black and colossal, -above the mirrored Council House. For a moment -he did not understand. And then he perceived that -the flagstaff that had carried the white banner was -bare. - -"Do you mean -- ?" he began. - -"The Council has surrendered. Its rule is at an -end for evermore." - -"Look!" and Ostrog pointed to a coil of black that -crept in little jerks up the vacant flagstaff, unfolding -as it rose. - -The oval picture paled as Lincoln pulled the curtain -aside and entered. - -"They are clamourous," he said. - -Ostrog kept his grip of Graham's arm. - -"We have raised the people," he said. "We have -given them arms. For today at least their wishes -must be law." - -Lincoln held the Curtain open for Graham and -Ostrog to pass through. - -On his way to the markets Graham had a transitory -glance of a long narrow white-walled room in which -men in the universal blue canvas were carrying -covered things like biers, and about which men in medical -purple hurried to and fro. From this room came -groans and wailing. He had an impression of an -empty blood-stained couch, of men on other couches, -bandaged and blood-stained. It was just a glimpse -from a railed footway and then a buttress hid the place -and they were going on towards the markets. - -The roar of the multitude was near now: it leapt to -thunder. And, arresting his attention, a fluttering of -black banners, the waving of blue canvas and brown -rags, and the swarming vastness of the theatre near -the public markets came into view down a long -passage. The picture opened out. He perceived they -were entering the great theatre of his first appearance, -the great theatre he had last seen as a chequer-work -of glare and blackness in his flight from the red police. -This time he entered it along a gallery at a level high -above the stage. The place was now brilliantly -lit again. He sought the gangway up which he had -fled, but he could not tell it from among its dozens of -fellows; nor could he see anything of the smashed - - -seats, deflated cushions, and such like traces of -the fight because of the density of the people. Except -the stage the whole place was closely packed. Looking -down the effect was a vast area of stippled pink, -each dot a still upturned face regarding him. At his -appearance with Ostrog the cheering died away, the -singing died away, a common interest stilled and -unified the disorder. It seemed as though every -individual of those myriads was watching him. - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE END OF THE OLD ORDER - - -So far as Graham was able to judge, it was near -midday when the white banner of the Council fell. -But some hours had to elapse before it was possible -to effect the formal capitulation, and so after he had -spoken his "Word" he retired to his new apartments -in the wind-vane offices. The continuous excitement -of the last twelve hours had left him inordinately -fatigued, even his curiosity was exhausted; for a space -he sat inert and passive with open eyes, and for a space -he slept. He was roused by two medical attendants, -come prepared with stimulants to sustain him through -the next occasion. After he had taken their drugs -and bathed by their advice in cold water, he felt a -rapid return of interest and energy, and was presently -able and willing to accompany Ostrog through several -miles (as it seemed) of passages, lifts, and slides to the -closing scene of the White Council's rule. - -The way ran deviously through a maze of buildings. -They came at last to a passage that curved about, and -showed broadening before him an oblong opening, -clouds hot with sunset, and the ragged skyline of the -ruinous Council House. A tumult of shouts came -drifting up to him. In another moment they had come -out high up on the brow of the cliff of torn buildings -that overhung the wreckage. The vast area opened -to Graham's eyes, none the less strange and wonderful -for the remote view he had had of it in the oval mirror. - -This rudely amphitheatral space seemed now the -better part of a mile to its outer edge. It was gold -lit on the left hand, catching the sunlight, and below -and to the right clear and cold in the shadow. Above -the shadowy grey Council House that stood in the -midst of it, the great black banner of the surrender -still hung in sluggish folds against the blazing sunset. -Severed rooms, halls and passages gaped strangely, -broken masses of metal projected dismally from the -complex wreckage, vast masses of twisted cable -dropped like tangled seaweed, and from its base came -a tumult of innumerable voices, violent concussions, -and the sound of trumpets. All about this great white -pile was a ring of desolation; the smashed and -blackened masses, the gaunt foundations and ruinous lumber -of the fabric that had been destroyed by the -Council's orders, skeletons of girders, Titanic masses of wall, -forests of stout pillars. Amongst the sombre wreckage -beneath, running water flashed and glistened, and -far away across the space, out of the midst of a vague -vast mass of buildings, there thrust the twisted end of -a water-main, two hundred feet in the air, -thunderously spouting a shining cascade. And everywhere -great multitudes of people. - -Wherever there was space and foothold, people -swarmed, little people, small and minutely clear, except -where the sunset touched them to indistinguishable -gold. They clambered up the tottering walls, they -clung in wreaths and groups about the high-standing -pillars. They swarmed along the edges of the circle -of ruins. The air was full of their shouting, and -were pressing and swaying towards the central space. - -The upper storeys of the Council House seemed -deserted, not a human being was visible. Only the -drooping banner of the surrender hung heavily against -the light. The dead were within the Council House, -or hidden by the swarming people, or carried away. -Graham could see only a few neglected bodies in gaps -and corners of the ruins, and amidst the flowing water. - -"Will you let them see you, Sire?" said Ostrog. -"They are very anxious to see you." - -Graham hesitated, and then walked forward to -where the broken verge of wall dropped sheer. He I -stood looking down, a lonely, tall, black figure against -the sky. - -Very slowly the swarming ruins became aware of -him. And as they did so little bands of black-uniformed -men appeared remotely, thrusting through the -crowds towards the Council House. He saw little -black heads become pink, looking at him, saw by that -means a wave of recognition sweep across the space. -It occurred to him that he should accord them some -recognition. He held up his arm, then pointed to the -Council House and dropped his hand. The voices -below became unanimous, gathered volume, came up -to him as multitudinous wavelets of cheering. - -The western sky was a pallid bluish green, and -Jupiter shone high in the south, before the capitulation -was accomplished. Above was a slow insensible -change, the advance of night serene and beautiful; -below was hurry, excitement, conflicting orders, -pauses, spasmodic developments of organisation, a -vast ascending clamour and confusion. Before the -Council came out, toiling perspiring men, directed by -a conflict of shouts, carried forth hundreds of those -who had perished in the hand-to-hand conflict within -those long passages and chambers. - -Guards in black lined the way that the Council -would come, and as far as the eye could reach into the -hazy blue twilight of the ruins, and swarming now at -every possible point in the captured Council House -and along the shattered cliff of its circumadjacent -buildings, were innumerable people, and their voices -even when they were not cheering, were as the soughing -of the sea upon a pebble beach. Ostrog had -chosen a huge commanding pile of crushed and overthrown -masonry, and on this a stage of timbers and -metal girders was being hastily constructed. Its -essential parts were complete, but humming and -clangorous machinery still glared fitfully in the -shadows beneath this temporary edifice. - -The stage had a small higher portion on which -Graham stood with Ostrog and Lincoln close beside him, -a little in advance of a group of minor officers. A -broader lower stage surrounded this quarter deck, and -on this were the black-uniformed guards of the revolt -armed with the little green weapons whose very names -Graham still did not know. Those standing about -him perceived that his eyes wandered perpetually from -the swarming people in the twilight ruins about him -to the darkling mass of the White Council House, -whence the Trustees would presently come, and to -the gaunt cliffs of ruin that encircled him, and so back -to the people. The voices of the crowd swelled to a -deafening tumult. - -He saw the Councillors first afar off in the glare of -one of the temporary lights that marked their path, -a little group of white figures blinking in a black -archway. In the Council House they had been in darkness. -He watched them approaching, drawing nearer -past first this blazing electric star and then that; the -minatory roar of the crowd over whom their power -had lasted for a hundred and fifty years marched along -beside them. As they drew still nearer their faces -came out weary, white and anxious. He saw -them blinking up through the glare about him and -Ostrog. He contrasted their strange cold looks in the -Hall of Atlas.. .. Presently he could recognise -several of them; the man who had rapped the table at -Howard, a burly man with a red beard, and one -delicate-featured, short, dark man with a peculiarly long -skull. He noted that two were whispering together -and looking behind him at Ostrog. Next there came -a tall, dark and handsome man, walking downcast. -Abruptly he glanced up, his eyes touched Graham for -a moment, and passed beyond him to Ostrog. The -way that had been made for them was so contrived that -they had to march past and curve about before they -came to the sloping path of planks that ascended to -the stage where their surrender was to be made. - -"The Master, the Master! God and the Master," -shouted the people." To hell with the Council!" -Graham looked at their multitudes, receding beyond -counting into a shouting haze, and then at Ostrog -beside him, white and steadfast and still. His eye -went again to the little group of White Councillors. -And then he looked up at the familiar quiet stars -overhead. The marvellous element in his fate was -suddenly vivid. Could that be his indeed, that little life -in his memory two hundred years gone by -- and this -as well? - -CHAPTER XIV - -FROM THE CROW'S NEST - -And so after strange delays and through an avenue -of doubt and battle, this man from the nineteenth -century came at last to his position at the head of that -complex world. - -At first when he rose from the long deep sleep that -followed his rescue and the surrender of the Council, -he did not recognise his surroundings. By an effort -he gained a clue in his mind, and all that had -happened came back to him, at first with a quality of -insincerity like a story heard, like something read out -of a book. And even before his memories were clear, -the exultation of his escape, the wonder of his -prominence were back in his mind. He was owner of half -the world; Master of the Earth. This new great age -was in the completest sense his. He no longer hoped -to discover his experiences a dream; he became -anxious now to convince himself that they were real. - -An obsequious valet assisted him to dress under the -direction of a dignified chief attendant, a little man -whose face proclaimed him Japanese, albeit he spoke -English like an Englishman. From the latter he -learnt something of the state of affairs. Already the -revolution was an accepted fact; already business was -being resumed throughout the city. Abroad the -downfall of the Council had been received for the most -part with delight. Nowhere was the Council popular, -and the thousand cities of Western America, after two -hundred years still jealous of New York, London, and -the East, had risen almost unanimously two days -before at the news of Graham's imprisonment. Paris -was fighting within itself. The rest of the world hung -in suspense. - -While he was breaking his fast, the sound of a -telephone bell jetted from a corner, and his chief -attendant called his attention to the voice of Ostrog making -polite enquiries. Graham interrupted his refreshment -to reply. Very shortly Lincoln arrived, and Graham -at once expressed a strong desire to talk to people and -to be shown more of the new life that was opening -before him. Lincoln informed him that in three hours' -time a representative gathering of officials and their -wives would be held in the state apartments of the -wind-vane Chief. Graham's desire to traverse the -ways of the city was, however, at present impossible, -because of the enormous excitement of the people. -It was, however, quite possible for him to take a bird's -eye view of the city from the crow's nest of the -windvane keeper. To this accordingly Graham was -conducted by his attendant. Lincoln, with a graceful -compliment to the attendant, apologised for not -accompanying them, on account of the present -pressure of administrative work. - -Higher even than the most gigantic wind-wheels -hung this crow's nest, a clear thousand feet above the -roofs, a little disc-shaped speck on a spear of metallic -filigree, cable stayed. To its summit Graham was -drawn in a little wire-hung cradle. Halfway down -the frail-seeming stem was a light gallery about which -hung a cluster of tubes -- minute they looked from -above -- rotating slowly on the ring of its outer rail. -These were the specula, _en rapport_ with the wind-vane -keeper's mirrors, in one of which Ostrog had shown -him the coming of his rule. His Japanese attendant -ascended before him and they spent nearly an hour -asking and answering questions. - -It was a day full of the promise and quality of -spring. The touch of the wind warmed. The sky -was an intense blue and the vast expanse of London -shone dazzling under the morning sun. The air was -clear of smoke and haze, sweet as the air of a mountain -glen. - -Save for the irregular oval of ruins about the House -of the Council and the black flag of the surrender that -fluttered there, the mighty city seen from above -showed few signs of the swift revolution that had, to -his imagination, in one night and one day, changed -the destinies of the world. A multitude of people still -swarmed over these ruins, and the huge openwork -stagings in the distance from which started in times of -peace the service of aeroplanes to the various great -cities of Europe and America, were also black with -the victors. Across a narrow way of planking raised -on trestles that crossed the ruins a crowd of workmen -were busy restoring the connection between the cables -and wires of the Council House and the rest of the -city, preparatory to the transfer thither of Ostrog's -headquarters from the Wind-Vane buildings. - -For the rest the luminous expanse was undisturbed. -So vast was its serenity in comparison with the areas -of disturbance, that presently Graham, looking beyond -them, could almost forget the thousands of men lying -out of sight in the artificial glare within the -quasi-subterranean labyrinth, dead or dying of the overnight -wounds, forget the improvised wards with the hosts of -surgeons, nurses, and bearers feverishly busy, forget, -indeed,' all the wonder, consternation and novelty -under the electric lights. Down there in the hidden -ways of the anthill he knew that the revolution -triumphed, that black everywhere carried the day, black -favours, black banners, black festoons across the -streets. And out here, under the fresh sunlight, -beyond the crater of the fight, as if nothing had -happened to the earth, the forest of Wind Vanes that had -grown from one or two while the Council had ruled, -roared peacefully upon their incessant duty. - -Far away, spiked, jagged and indented by the wind -vanes, the Surrey Hills rose blue and faint; to the -north and nearer, the sharp contours of Highgate and -Muswell Hill were similarly jagged. And all over the -countryside, he knew, on every crest and hill, where -once the hedges had interlaced, and cottages, churches, -inns, and farmhouses had nestled among their trees, -wind wheels similar to those he saw and bearing like -vast advertisements, gaunt and distinctive -symbols of the new age, cast their whirling shadows and -stored incessantly the energy that flowed away -incessantly through all the arteries of the city. And -underneath these wandered the countless flocks and herds -of the British Food Trust with their lonely guards and -keepers. - -Not a familiar outline anywhere broke the cluster -of gigantic shapes below. St. Paul's he knew -survived, and many of the old buildings in Westminster, -embedded out of sight, arched over and covered in -among the giant growths of this great age. The -Themes, too, made no fall and gleam of silver -to break the wilderness of the city; the thirsty -water mains drank up every drop of its waters -before they reached the walls. Its bed and estuary -scoured and sunken, was now a canal of sea water -and a race of grimy bargemen brought the heavy -materials of trade from the Pool thereby beneath the -very feet of the workers. Faint and dim in the -eastward between earth and sky hung the clustering masts -of the colossal shipping in the Pool. For all the -heavy traffic, for which there was no need of haste, -came in gigantic sailing ships from the ends of the -earth, and the heavy goods for which there was -urgency in mechanical ships of a smaller swifter sort. - -And to the south over the hills, came vast aqueducts -with sea water for the sewers and in three separate -directions, ran pallid lines -- the roads, stippled with -moving grey specks. On the first occasion that offered -he was determined to go out and see these roads. -That would come after the flying ship he was presently -to try. His attendant officer described them as a pair -of gently curving surfaces a hundred yards wide, each -one for the traffic going in one direction, and made of -a substance called Eadhamite -- an artificial substance, -so far as he could gather, resembling toughened glass. -Along this shot a strange traffic of narrow rubber-shod -vehicles, great single wheels, two and four wheeled -vehicles, sweeping along at velocities of from one to -six miles a minute. Railroads had vanished; a few -embankments remained as rust-crowned trenches here -and there. Some few formed the cores of Eadhamite -ways. - -Among the first things to strike his attention had -been the great fleets of advertisement balloons and -kites that receded in irregular vistas northward and -southward along the lines of the aeroplane journeys. -No aeroplanes were to be seen. Their passages had -ceased, and only one little-seeming aeropile circled -high in the blue distance above the Surrey Hills, an -unimpressive soaring speck. - -A thing Graham had already learnt, and which he -found very hard to imagine, was that nearly all the -towns in the country, and almost all the villages, had -disappeared. Here and there only, he understood, -some gigantic hotel-like edifice stood amid square -miles of some single cultivation and preserved the -name of a town -- as Bournemouth, Wareham, or -Swanage. Yet the officer had speedily convinced him -how inevitable such a change had been. The old -order had dotted the country with farmhouses, and -every two or three miles was the ruling landlord's -estate, and the place of the inn and cobbler, the -grocer's shop and church -- the village. Every eight -miles or so was the country town, where lawyer, corn -merchant, wool-stapler, saddler, veterinary surgeon, -doctor, draper, milliner and so forth lived. Every -eight miles -- simply because that eight mile marketing -journey, four there and back, was as much as was -comfortable for the farmer. But directly the railways -came into play, and after them the light railways, and -all the swift new motor cars that had replaced waggons -and horses, and so soon as the high roads began to -be made of wood, and rubber, and Eadhamite, and -all sorts of elastic durable substances -- the necessity -of having such frequent market towns disappeared. -And the big towns grew. They drew the worker with -the gravitational force of seemingly endless work, the -employer with their suggestions of an infinite ocean of -labour. - -And as the standard of comfort rose, as the complexity -of the mechanism of living increased life in -the country had become more and more costly, or -narrow and impossible. The disappearance of vicar -and squire, the extinction of the general practitioner -by the city specialist, had robbed the village of its last -touch of culture. After telephone, kinematograph -and phonograph had replaced newspaper, book, -schoolmaster, and letter, to live outside the range of -the electric cables was to live an isolated savage. In -the country were neither means of being clothed nor -fed (according to the refined conceptions of the time), -no efficient doctors for an emergency, no company -and no pursuits. - -Moreover, mechanical appliances in agriculture -made one engineer the equivalent of thirty labourers. -So, inverting the condition of the city clerk in the -days when London was scarce inhabitable because of -the coaly foulness of its air, the labourers now came -hurrying by road or air to the city and its life and -delights at night to leave it again in the morning. -The city had swallowed up humanity; man had entered -upon a new stage in his development. First had come -the nomad, the hunter, then had followed the agriculturist -of the agricultural state, whose towns and cities -and ports were but the headquarters and markets of -the countryside. And now, logical consequence of -an epoch of invention, was this huge new aggregation -of men. Save London, there were only four other -cities in Britain -- Edinburgh, Portsmouth, -Manchester and Shrewsbury. Such things as these, simple -statements of fact though they were to contemporary -men, strained Graham's imagination to picture. And -when he glanced "over beyond there" at the strange -things that existed on the Continent, it failed him -altogether. - -He had a vision of city beyond city, cities on great -plains, cities beside great rivers, vast cities along the -sea margin, cities girdled by snowy mountains. Over -a great part of the earth the English tongue was -spoken; taken together with its Spanish American and -Hindoo and Negro and "Pidgin" dialects, it was the -everyday language of two-thirds of the people of the -earth. On the Continent, save as remote and curious -survivals, three other languages alone held sway -- -German, which reached to Antioch and Genoa and -jostled Spanish-English at Gdiz, a Gallicised Russian -which met the Indian English in Persia and Kurdistan -and the "Pidgin" English in Pekin, and French still -clear and brilliant, the language of lucidity, which -shared the Mediterranean with the Indian English and -German and reached through a negro dialect to the -Congo. - -And everywhere now, through the city-set earth, -save in the administered "black belt" territories of -the tropics, the same cosmopolitan social organisation - - -prevailed, and everywhere from Pole to Equator his -property and his responsibilities extended. The whole -world was civilised; the whole world dwelt in cities; -the whole world was property. Over the British -Empire and throughout America his ownership was -scarcely disguised, Congress and Parliament were -usually regarded as antique, curious gatherings. And -even in the two Empires of Russia and Germany, the -influence of his wealth was conceivably of enormous -weight. There, of course, came problems -- possibilities, -but, uplifted as he was, even Russia and Germany -seemed sufficiently remote. And of the quality of the -black belt administration, and of what that might mean -for him he thought, after the fashion of his former -days, not at all. That it should hang like a threat over -the spacious vision before him could not enter his -nineteenth century mind. But his mind turned at once -from the scenery to the thought of a vanished dread. -"What of the yellow peril?" he asked and Asano made -him explain. The Chinese spectre had vanished. -Chinaman and European were at peace. The twentieth -century had discovered with reluctant certainty that -the average Chinaman was as civilised, more moral, -and far more intelligent than the average European -serf, and had repeated on a gigantic scale the -fraternisation of Scot and Englishman that happened in the -seventeenth century. As Asano put it; "They thought -it over. They found we were white men after all." -Graham turned again to the view and his thoughts -took a new direction. - -Out of the dim south-west, glittering and strange, -voluptuous, and in some way terrible, shone those -Pleasure Cities, of which the kinematograph-phonograph -and the old man in the street had spoken. -Strange places reminiscent of the legendary Sybaris, -cities of art and beauty, mercenary art and mercenary -beauty, sterile wonderful cities of motion and music, -whither repaired all who profited by the fierce, -inglorious, economic struggle that went on in the glaring -labyrinth below. - -Fierce he knew it was. How fierce he could judge -from the fact that these latter-day people referred back -to the England of the nineteenth century as the figure -of an idyllic easy-going life. He turned his eyes to -the scene immediately before him again, trying to -conceive the big factories of that intricate maze. - -Northward he knew were the potters, makers not -only of earthenware and china, but of the kindred -pastes and compounds a subtler mineralogical -chemistry had devised; there were the makers of statuettes -and wall ornaments and much intricate furniture; -there too were the factories where feverishly -competitive authors devised their phonograph discourses and -advertisements and arranged the groupings and -developments for their perpetually startling and novel -kinematographic dramatic works. Thence, too, flashed -the world-wide messages, the world-wide falsehoods of -the news-tellers, the chargers of the telephonic -machines that had replaced the newspapers of the past. - -To the westward beyond the smashed Council -House were the voluminous offices of municipal control -and government; and to the eastward, towards -the port, the trading quarters, the huge public markets, -the theatres, houses of resort, betting palaces, miles of -billiard saloons, baseball and football circuses, wild -beast rings and the innumerable temples of the -Christian and quasi-Christian sects, the Mahomedans, -Buddhists, Gnostics, Spook Worshippers, the Incubus -Worshippers, the Furniture Worshippers, and so -forth; and to the south again a vast manufacture of -textiles, pickles, wines and condiments. And from -point to point tore the countless multitudes along the -roaring mechanical ways. A gigantic hive, of which -the winds were tireless servants, and the ceaseless -wind-vanes an appropriate crown and symbol. - -He thought of the unprecedented population that -had been sucked up by this sponge of halls and -galleries -- the thirty-three million lives that were -playing out each its own brief ineffectual drama below -him, and the complacency that the brightness of the -day and the space and splendour of the view, and above -all the sense of his own importance had begotten, -dwindled and perished. Looking down from this -height over the city it became at last possible to -conceive this overwhelming multitude of thirty-three -millions, the reality of the responsibility he would take -upon himself, the vastness of the human Maelstrom -over which his slender kingship hung. - -He tried to figure the individual life. It astonished -him to realise how little the common man had changed -in spite of the visible change in his conditions. Life -and property, indeed, were secure from violence almost -all over the world, zymotic diseases, bacterial diseases -of all sorts had practically vanished, everyone had a -sufficiency of food and clothing, was warmed in the -city ways and sheltered from the weather -- so much -the almost mechanical progress of science and the -physical organisation of society had accomplished. -But the crowd, he was already beginning to discover, -was a crowd still, helpless in the hands of demagogue -and organiser, individually cowardly, individually -swayed by appetite, collectively incalculable. The -memory of countless figures in pale blue canvas came -before his mind. Millions of such men and women -below him, he knew, had never been out of the city, -had never seen beyond the little round of unintelligent -grudging participation in the world's business, and -unintelligent dissatisfied sharing in its tawdrier -pleasures. He thought of the hopes of his vanished -contemporaries, and for a moment the dream of London -in Morris's quaint old _News from Nowhere_, and the -perfect land of Hudson's beautiful _Crystal Age_- appeared -before him in an atmosphere of infinite loss. -He thought of his own hopes. - -For in the latter days of that passionate life that lay -now so far behind him, the conception of a free and -equal manhood had become a very real thing to him. -He had hoped, as indeed his age had hoped, rashly -taking it for granted, that the sacrifice of the many -to the few would some day cease, that a day was near -when every child born of woman should have a fair -and assured chance of happiness. And here, after two -hundred years, the same hope, still unfulfilled, cried -passionately through the city. After two hundred -years, he knew, greater than ever, grown with the city -to gigantic proportions, were poverty and helpless -labour and all the sorrows of his time. - -Already he knew something of the history of the -intervening years. He had heard now of the moral -decay that had followed the collapse of supernatural -religion in the minds of ignoble man, the decline of -public honour, the ascendency of wealth. For men -who had lost their belief in God had still kept their -faith in property, and wealth ruled a venial world. - -His Japanese attendant, Asano, in expounding the -political history of the intervening two centuries, drew -an apt image from a seed eaten by insect parasites. -First there is the original seed, ripening vigorously -enough. And then comes some insect and lays an egg -under the skin, and behold! in a little while the seed -is a hollow shape with an active grub inside that has -eaten out its substance. And then comes some secondary -parasite, some ichneumon fly, and lays an egg -within this grub, and behold! that, too, is a hollow -shape, and the new living thing is inside its predecessor's -skin which itself is snug within the seed coat. -And the seed coat still keeps its shape, most people -think it a seed still, and for all one knows it may still -think itself a seed, vigorous and alive. "Your -Victorian kingdom," said Asano, "was like that -- -kingship with the heart eaten out. "The landowners -- -the barons and gentry -- began ages ago with King -John; there were lapses, but they beheaded King -Charles, and ended practically with King George -mere husk of a king . . . the real power in the -hands of their parliament. But the Parliament -- the -organ of the land-holding tenant-ruling gentry -- did -not keep its power long. The change had already -come in the nineteenth century. The franchises had -been broadened until it included masses of ignorant -men, "urban myriads," who went in their featureless -thousands to vote together. And the natural -consequence of a swarming constituency is the rule of the -party organisation. Power was passing even in the -Victorian time to the party machinery, secret, -complex, and corrupt. Very speedily power was in the -hands of great men of business who financed the -machines. A time came when the real power and -interest of the Empire rested visibly between the two -party councils, ruling by newspapers and electoral -organisations -- two small groups of rich and able -men, working at first in opposition, then presently -together. - -There was a reaction of a genteel ineffectual sort. -There were numberless books in existence, Asano said, -to prove that -- the publication of some of them was -as early as Graham's sleep -- a whole literature of -reaction in fact. The party of the reaction seems to -have locked itself into its study and rebelled with -unflinching determination -- on paper. The urgent -necessity of either capturing or depriving the party -councils of power is a common suggestion underlying -all the thoughtful work of the early twentieth century, -both in America and England. In most of these -things America was a little earlier than England, -though both countries drove the same way. - -That counter-revolution never came. It could -never organise and keep pure. There was not enough -of the old sentimentality, the old faith in righteousness, -left among men. Any organisation that became -big enough to influence the polls became complex -enough to be undermined, broken up, or bought outright -by capable rich men. Socialistic and Popular, -Reactionary and Purity Parties were all at last mere -Stock Exchange counters, selling their principles to -pay for their electioneering. And the great concern -of the rich was naturally to keep property intact, the -board clear for the game of trade. Just as the feudal -concern had been to keep the board clear for hunting -and war. The whole world was exploited, a battle -field of businesses; and financial convulsions, the -scourge of currency manipulation, tariff wars, made -more human misery during the twentieth century -- -because the wretchedness was dreary life instead of -speedy death -- than had war, pestilence and famine, in -the darkest hours of earlier history. - -His own part in the development of this time he -now knew clearly enough. Through the successive -phases in the development of this mechanical -civilisation, aiding and presently directing its development, -there had grown a new power, the Council, the board -of his trustees. At first it had been a mere chance -union of the millions of Isbister and Warming, a -mere property holding company, the creation of two -childless testators' whims, but the collective talent of -its first constitution had speedily guided it to a vast -influence, until by title deed, loan and share, under a -hundred disguises and pseudonyms it had ramified -through the fabric of the American and English -States. - -Wielding an enormous influence and patronage, the -Council had early assumed a political aspect; and in -its development it had continually used its wealth to -tip the beam of political decisions and its political -advantages to grasp yet more and more wealth. At -last the party organisations of two hemispheres were -in its hands; it became an inner council of political -control. Its last struggle was with the tacit alliance -of the great Jewish families. But these families were -linked only by a feeble sentiment, at any time -inheritance might fling a huge fragment of their resources to -a minor, a woman or a fool, marriages and legacies -alienated hundreds of thousands at one blow. The -Council had no such breach in its continuity. -Steadily, steadfastly it grew. - -The original Council was not simply twelve men of -exceptional ability; they fused, it was a council of -genius. It struck boldly for riches, for political -influence, and the two subserved each other. With -amazing foresight it spent great sums of money on the -art of flying, holding that invention back against an -hour foreseen. It used the patent laws, and a thousand -half-legal expedients, to hamper all investigators -who refused to work with it. In the old days it never -missed a capable man. It paid his price. Its policy -in those days was vigorous -- unerring, and against it -as it grew steadily and incessantly was only the chaotic -selfish rule of the casually rich. In a hundred years -Graham had become almost exclusive owner of -Africa, of South America, of France, of London, of -England and all its influence -- for all practical -purposes, that is -- a power in North America -- then the -dominant power in America. The Council bought -and organised China, drilled Asia, crippled the Old -World empires, undermined them financially, fought -and defeated them. - -And this spreading usurpation of the world was so -dexterously performed -- a proteus -- hundreds of -banks, companies, syndicates, masked the Council's -operations -- that it was already far advanced before -common men suspected the tyranny that had come. -The Council never hesitated, never faltered. Means of -communication, land, buildings, governments, municipalities, -the territorial companies of the tropics, every -human enterprise, it gathered greedily. And it drilled -and marshalled its men, its railway police, its roadway -police, its house guards, and drain and cable guards, -its hosts of land-workers. Their unions it did not -fight, but it undermined and betrayed and bought -them. It bought the world at last. And, finally, its -culminating stroke was the introduction of flying. - -When the Council, in conflict with the workers in -some of its huge monopolies, did something flagrantly -illegal and that without even the ordinary civility of -bribery, the old Law, alarmed for the profits of its -complaisance, looked about it for weapons. But there -were no more armies, no fighting navies; the age of -Peace had' come. The only possible war ships were -the great steam vessels of the Council's Navigation -Trust. The police forces they controlled; the police of -the railways, of the ships, of their agricultural estates, -their time-keepers and order-keepers, outnumbered -the neglected little forces of the old country and -municipal organisations ten to one. And they produced -flying machines. There were men alive still who could -remember the last great debate in the London House -of Commons -- the legal party, the party against the -Council was in a minority, but it made a desperate -fight -- and how the members came crowding out upon -the terrace to see these great unfamiliar winged -shapes circling quietly overhead. The Council had -soared to its power. The last sham of a democracy -that had permitted unlimited irresponsible property -was at an end. - -Within one hundred and fifty years of Graham's -falling asleep, his Council had thrown off its disguises and -ruled openly, supreme in his name. Elections had -become a cheerful formality, a septennial folly, an -ancient unmeaning custom; a social Parliament as -ineffectual as the convocation of the Established -Church in Victorian times assembled now and then; -and a legitimate King of England, disinherited, -drunken and witless, played foolishly in a second-rate -music-hall. So the magnificent dream of the nineteenth -century, the noble project of universal individual -liberty and universal happiness, touched by a -disease of honour, crippled by a superstition of -absolute property, crippled by the religious feuds that had -robbed the common citizens of education, robbed men -of standards of conduct, and brought the sanctions -of morality to utter contempt, had worked itself -out in the face of invention and ignoble enterprise, -first to a warring plutocracy, and finally to the -rule of a supreme plutocrat. His Council at last had -ceased even to trouble to have its decrees endorsed by -the constitutional authorities, and he a motionless, -sunken, yellow-skinned figure had lain, neither dead -nor living, recognisably and immediately Master of the -Earth. And awoke at last to find himself -- Master of -that inheritance! Awoke to stand under the cloudless -empty sky and gaze down upon the greatness of his -dominion. - -To what end had he awakened? Was this city, this -hive of hopeless toilers, the final refutation of his -ancient hopes? Or was the fire of liberty, the fire that -had blazed and waned in the years of his past life, still -smouldering below there? He thought of the stir and -impulse of the song of the revolution. Was that song -merely the trick of a demagogue, to be forgotten when -its purpose was served? Was the hope that still stirred -within him only the memory of abandoned things, the -vestige of a creed outworn? Or had it a wider meaning, -an import interwoven with the destiny of man? -To what end had he awakened, what was there for him -to do? Humanity was spread below him like a map. -He thought of the millions and millions of humanity -following each other unceasingly for ever out of the -darkness of non-existence into the darkness of death. -To what end? Aim there must be, but it transcended -his power of thought. He saw for the first time clearly -his own infinite littleness, saw stark and terrible the -tragic contrast of human strength and the craving of -the human heart. For that little while he knew himself -for the petty accident he was, and knew therewith the -greatness of his desire. And suddenly his littleness -was intolerable, his aspiration was intolerable, and -there came to him an irresistible impulse to pray. And -he prayed. He prayed vague, incoherent, contradictory -things, his soul strained up through time and -space and all the fleeting multitudinous confusion of -being, towards something -- he scarcely knew what -- -towards something that could comprehend his striving -and endure. - -A man and a woman were far below on a roof space -to the southward enjoying the freshness of the morning -air. The man had brought out a perspective glass -to spy upon the Council House and he was showing -her how to use it. Presently their curiosity was satisfied, -they could see no traces of bloodshed from their -position, and after a survey of the empty sky she came -round to the crow's nest. And there she saw two little -black figures, so small it was hard to believe they were -men, one who watched and one who gesticulated with -hands outstretched to the silent emptiness of Heaven. - -She handed the glass to the man. He looked and -exclaimed: - -"I believe it is the Master. Yes. I am sure. It is -the Master!" - -He lowered the glass and looked at her. "Waving -his hands about almost as if he was praying. I wonder -what he is up to. Worshipping the sun? There -weren't Parses in this country in his time, were -there?" - -He looked again. "He's stopped it now. It was a -chance attitude, I suppose." He put down the glass -and became meditative. "He won't have anything to -do but enjoy himself -- just enjoy himself. Ostrog will -boss the show of course. Ostrog will have to, because -of keeping all these Labourer fools in bounds. Them -and their song! And got it all by sleeping, dear eyes --- just sleeping. It's a wonderful world." - -CHAPTER XV - -PROMINENT PEOPLE - -The state apartments of the Wind Vane Keeper -would have seemed astonishingly intricate to Graham -had he entered them fresh from his nineteenth century -life, but already he was growing accustomed to the scale -of the new time. They can scarcely be described as -halls and rooms, seeing that a complicated system of -arches, bridges, passages and galleries divided and -united every part of the great space. He came out -through one of the now familiar sliding panels upon a. -plateau of landing at the head of a flight of very broad -and gentle steps, with men and women far more -brilliantly dressed than any he had hitherto seen -ascending and descending. From this position he -looked down a vista of intricate ornament in lustreless -white and mauve and purple, spanned by bridges that -seemed wrought of porcelain and filigree, and terminating -far off in a cloudy mystery of perforated screens. - -Glancing upward, he saw tier above tier of ascending -galleries with faces looking down upon him. The -air was full of the babble of innumerable voices and of -a music that descended from above, a gay and exhilarating -music whose source he never discovered. - -The central aisle was thick with people, but by no -means uncomfortably crowded; altogether that assembly -must have numbered many thousands. They were -brilliantly, even fantastically dressed, the men as -fancifully as the women, for the sobering influence of the -Puritan conception of dignity upon masculine dress -had long since passed away. The hair of the men, too, -though it was rarely worn long, was commonly curled -in a manner that suggested the barber, and baldness -had vanished from the earth. Frizzy straight-cut -masses that would have charmed Rossetti abounded, -and one gentleman, who was pointed out to Graham -under the mysterious title of an "amorist", wore his -hair in two becoming plaits a la Marguerite. The -pigtail was in evidence; it would seem that citizens of -Chinese extraction were no longer ashamed of their -race. There was little uniformity of fashion apparent -in the forms of clothing worn. The more shapely -men displayed their symmetry in trunk hose, and -here were puffs and slashes, and there a cloak -and there a robe. The fashions of the days of -Leo the Tenth were perhaps the prevailing influence, -but the aesthetic conceptions of the far east -were also patent. Masculine embonpoint, which, -in Victorian times, would have been subjected to the -tightly buttoned perils, the ruthless exaggeration of -tight-legged tight-armed evening dress, now formed -but the basis of a wealth of dignity and drooping folds. -Graceful slenderness abounded' also. To Graham, a -typically stiff man from a typically stiff period, not only -did these men seem altogether too graceful in person, -but altogether too expressive in their vividly -expressive faces. They gesticulated, they expressed surprise, -interest, amusement, above all, they expressed the -emotions excited in their minds by the ladies about -them with astonishing frankness. Even at the first -glance it was evident that women were in a great -majority. - -The ladies in the company of these gentlemen displayed -in dress, bearing and manner alike, less -emphasis and more intricacy. Some affected a classical -simplicity of robing and subtlety of fold, after the -fashion of the First French Empire, and flashed -conquering arms and shoulders as Graham passed. -Others had closely-fitting dresses without seam or belt -at the waist, sometimes with long folds falling from the -shoulders. The delightful confidences of evening -dress had not been diminished by the passage of two -centuries. - -Everyone's movements seemed graceful. Graham -remarked to Lincoln that he saw men as Raphael's -cartoons walking, and Lincoln told him that the -attainment of an appropriate set of gestures was part of -every rich person's education. The Master's entry was -greeted with a sort of tittering applause, but these -people showed their distinguished manners by not -crowding upon him nor annoying him by any persistent -scrutiny, as he descended the steps towards the floor of -the aisle. - -He had already learnt from Lincoln that these were -the leaders of existing London society; almost every -person there that night was either a powerful official -or the immediate connexion of a powerful official. -Many had returned from the European Pleasure Cities -expressly to welcome him. The aeronautic authorities, -whose defection had played a part in the overthrow -of the Council only second to Graham's were -very prominent, and so, too, was the Wind Vane Control. -Amongst others there were several of the more -prominent officers of the Food Trust; the controller of -the European Piggeries had a particularly melancholy -and interesting countenance and a daintily cynical -manner. A bishop in full canonicals passed athwart -Graham's vision, conversing with a gentleman dressed -exactly like the traditional Chaucer, including even the -laurel wreath. - -"Who is that?" he asked almost involuntarily - -"The Bishop of London," said Lincoln. - -"No -- the other, I mean." - -"Poet Laureate." - -"You still?" - -"He doesn't make poetry, of course. He's a cousin -of Wotton -- one of the Councillors. But he's one of -the Red Rose Royalists -- a delightful club -- and they -keep up the tradition of these things." - -"Asano told me there was a King." - -"The King doesn't belong. They had to expel him. -It's the Stuart blood, I suppose; but really --" - -"Too much?" - -"Far too much." - -Graham did not quite follow all this, but it seemed -part of the general inversion of the new age. He -bowed condescendingly to his first introduction. It -was evident that subtle distinctions of class prevailed -even in this assembly, that only to a small proportion -of the guests, to an inner group, did Lincoln consider -it appropriate to introduce him. This first introduction -was the Master Aeronaut, a man whose suntanned -face contrasted oddly with the delicate complexions -about him. Just at present his critical defection -from the Council made him a very important person indeed. - -His manner contrasted very favourably, according -to Graham's ideas, with the general bearing. He -made a few commonplace remarks, assurances of -loyalty and frank inquiries about the Master's health. -His manner was breezy, his accent lacked the easy -staccato of latter-day English. He made it admirably -clear to Graham that he was a bluff "aerial dog" -- he -used that phrase -- that there was no nonsense about -him, that he was a thoroughly manly fellow and -old-fashioned at that, that he didn't profess to know much, -and that what he did not know was not worth knowing -He made a manly bow, ostentatiously free from obsequiousness -and passed. - -"I am glad to see that type endures," said Graham - -"Phonographs and kinematographs," said Lincoln, -a little spitefully. "He has studied from the life." -Graham glanced at the burly form again. It was oddly -reminiscent. - -"As a matter of fact we bought him," said Lincoln. -"Partly. And partly he was afraid of Ostrog -Everything rested with him." - -He turned sharply to introduce the -Surveyor-General of the Public School Trust. This person -was a willowy figure in a blue-grey academic gown, he -beamed down upon Graham through _pince-nez_ of a -Victorian pattern, and illustrated his remarks by -gestures of a beautifully manicured hand. Graham was -immediately interested in this gentleman's functions, -and asked him a number of singularly direct questions. -The Surveyor-General seemed quietly amused at the -Master's fundamental bluntness. He was a little -vague as to the monopoly of education his Company -possessed; it was done by contract with the syndicate -that ran the numerous London Municipalities, but he -waxed enthusiastic over educational progress since the -Victorian times. "We have conquered Cram," he -said, "completely conquered Cram -- there is not an -examination left in the world. Aren't you glad?" - -"How do you get the work done?" asked Graham. - -"We make it attractive -- as attractive as possible. -And if it does not attract then -- we let it go. We cover -an immense field." - -He proceeded to details, and they had a lengthy -conversation. The Surveyor-General mentioned the -names of Pestalozzi and Froebel with profound -respect, although he displayed no intimacy with their -epoch-making works. Graham learnt that University -Extension still existed in a modified form. "There is -a certain type of girl, for example," said the -Surveyor-General, dilating with a sense of his usefulness, "with -a perfect passion for severe studies -- when they are not -too difficult you know. We cater for them by the -thousand. At this moment," he said with a -Napoleonic touch, "nearly five hundred phonographs -are lecturing in different parts of London on the -influence exercised by Plato and Swift on the love affairs -of Shelley, Hazlitt, and Burns. And afterwards they -write essays on the lectures, and the names in order of -merit are put in conspicuous places. You see how -your little germ has grown? The illiterate middle-class -of your days has quite passed away." - -"About the public elementary schools," said -Graham. "Do you control them?" - -The Surveyor-General did, "entirely." Now, -Graham, in his later democratic days, had taken a keen -interest in these and his questioning quickened. Certain -casual phrases that had fallen from the old man -with whom he had talked in the darkness recurred to -him. The Surveyor-General, in effect, endorsed the -old man's words. "We have abolished Cram," he -said, a phrase Graham was beginning to interpret as -the abolition of all sustained work. The Surveyor-General -became sentimental. "We try and make the -elementary schools very pleasant for the little -children. They will have to work so soon. Just a few -simple principles -- obedience -- industry." - -"You teach them very little?" - -"Why should we? It only leads to trouble and discontent. -We amuse them. Even as it is -- there are -troubles -- agitations. Where the labourers get the -ideas, one cannot tell. They tell one another. There -are socialistic dreams -- anarchy even! Agitators will -get to work among them. I take it -- I have always -taken it -- that my foremost duty is to fight against -popular discontent. Why should people be made -unhappy?" - -"I wonder," said Graham thoughtfully. "But there -are a great many things I want to know." - -Lincoln, who had stood watching Graham's face -throughout the conversation, intervened. "There are -others," he said in an undertone. - -The Surveyor-General of schools gesticulated himself -away. "Perhaps," said Lincoln, intercepting a -casual glance, "you would like to know some of these -ladies?" - -The daughter of the Manager of the Piggeries of -the European Food Trust was a particularly charming -little person with red hair and animated blue eyes. -Lincoln left him awhile to converse with her, and she -displayed herself as quite an enthusiast for the "dear -old times," as she called them, that had seen the -beginning of his trance. As she talked she smiled, and her -eyes smiled in a manner that demanded reciprocity. - -"I have tried," she said, "countless times -- to -imagine those old romantic days. And to you they -are memories. How strange and crowded the world -must seem to you! I have seen photographs and pictures -of the old times, the little isolated houses built of -bricks made out of burnt mud and all black with soot -from your fires, the railway bridges, the simple -advertisements, the solemn savage Puritanical men in -strange black coats and those tall hats of theirs, iron -railway trains on iron bridges overhead, horses and -cattle, and even dogs running half wild about the -streets. And suddenly, you have come into this!" - -"Into this," said Graham. - -"Out of your life -- out of all that was familiar." - -"The old life was not a happy one," said Graham. -"I do not regret that." - -She looked at him quickly. There was a brief pause. -She sighed encouragingly. "No?" - -"No," said Graham. "It was a little life -- and -unmeaning. But this -- . We thought the world -complex and crowded and civilised enough. Yet I see --- although in this world I am barely four days old -- -looking back on my own time, that it was a queer, -barbaric time -- the mere beginning of this new order. -The mere beginning of this new order. You will find -it hard to understand how little I know." - -"You may ask me what you like," she said, smiling -at him. - -"Then tell me who these people are. I'm still very -much in the dark about them. It's puzzling. Are -there any Generals?" - -"Men in hats and feathers?" - -"Of course not. No. I suppose they are the men -who control the great public businesses. Who is that -distinguished looking man?" - -"That? He's a most important officer. That is -Morden. He is managing director of the Antibilious -Pill Company. I have heard that his workers sometimes -turn out a myriad myriad pills a day in the -twenty-four hours. Fancy a myriad myriad!" - -"A myriad myriad. No wonder he looks proud," -said Graham. "Pills! What a wonderful time it is! -That man in purple?" - -"He is not quite one of the inner circle, you know. -But we like him. He is really clever and very amusing. -He is one of the heads of the Medical Faculty of -our London University. All medical men, you know, -are shareholders in the Medical Faculty Company, -and wear that purple. You have to be -- to be qualified. -But of course, people who are paid by fees for -doing something --" She smiled away the social -pretensions of all such people. - -"Are any of your great artists or authors here?" - -"No authors. They are mostly such queer people -- -and so preoccupied about themselves. And they -quarrel so dreadfully! They will fight, some of them, for -precedence on staircases! Dreadful isn't it? But I -think Wraysbury, the fashionable capillotomist, is -here. From Capri." - -"Capillotomist," said Graham. "Ah! I remember. -An artist! Why not?" - -"We have to cultivate him," she said apologetically. -"Our heads are in his hands." She smiled. - -Graham hesitated at the invited compliment, but his -glance was expressive. "Have the arts grown with -the rest of civilised things?" he said. "Who are your -great painters?" - -She looked at him doubtfully. Then laughed. -"For a moment," she said, "I thought you meant --" -She laughed again. "You mean, of course, those -good men you used to think so much of because they -could cover great spaces of canvas with oil-colours? -Great oblongs. And people used to put the things in -gilt frames and hang them up in rows in their square -rooms. We haven't any. People grew tired of that -sort of thing." - -"But what did you think I meant?" - -She put a finger significantly on a cheek whose glow -was above suspicion, and smiled and looked very arch -and pretty and inviting. "And here," and she -indicated her eyelid. - -Graham had an adventurous moment. Then a -grotesque memory of a picture he had somewhere -seen of Uncle Toby and the Widow flashed across his -mind. An archaic shame came upon him. He -became acutely aware that he was visible to a great -number of interested people. "I see," he remarked -inadequately. He turned awkwardly away from her, -fascinating facility. He looked about him to meet a -number of eyes that immediately occupied themselves -with other things. Possibly he coloured a little. -"Who is that talking with the lady in saffron?" he -asked, avoiding her eyes. - -The person in question he learnt was one of the -great organisers of the American theatres just fresh -from a gigantic production at Mexico. His face -reminded Graham of a bust of Caligula. Another -striking looking man was the Black Labour Master. -The phrase at the time made no deep impression, but -afterwards it recurred; -- the Black Labour Master? -The little lady, in no degree embarrassed, pointed out -to him a charming little woman as one of the -subsidiary wives of the Anglican Bishop of London. She -added encomiums on the episcopal courage -- hitherto -there had been a rule of clerical monogamy -- "neither -a natural nor an expedient condition of things. Why -should the natural development of the affections be -dwarfed and restricted because a man is a priest?" - -"And, bye the bye," she added, "are you an -Anglican?" Graham was on the verge of hesitating -inquiries about the status of a "subsidiary wife," -apparently an euphemistic phrase, when Lincoln's return -broke off this very suggestive and interesting conversation. -They crossed the aisle to where a tall man in -crimson, and two charming persons in Burmese costume -(as it seemed to him) awaited him diffidently. -From their civilities he passed to other presentations. - -In a little while his multitudinous impressions -began to organise themselves into a general effect. At -first the glitter of the gathering had raised all the -democrat in Graham; he had felt hostile and satirical. But -it is not in human nature to resist an atmosphere of -courteous regard. Soon the music, the light, the play -of colours, the shining arms and shoulders about him, -the touch of hands, the transient interest of smiling -faces, the frothing sound of skillfully modulated voices, -the atmosphere of compliment, interest and respect, -had woven together into a fabric of indisputable pleasure. -Graham for a time forgot his spacious resolutions. -He gave way insensibly to the intoxication of -me position that was conceded him, his manner -became less conscious, more convincingly regal, his -feet walked assuredly, the black robe fell with a bolder -fold and pride ennobled his voice. After all this was -a brilliant interesting world. - -His glance went approvingly over the shifting -colours of the people, it rested here and there in kindly -criticism upon a face. Presently it occurred to him -that he owed some apology to the charming little person -with the red hair and blue eyes. He felt guilty of -a clumsy snub. It was not princely to ignore her -advances, even if his policy necessitated their rejection. -He wondered if he should see her again. And -suddenly a little thing touched all the glamour of this -brilliant gathering and changed its quality. - -He looked up and saw passing across a bridge of -porcelain and looking down upon him, a face that was -almost immediately hidden, the face of the girl he had -seen overnight in the little room beyond the theatre -after his escape from the Council. And she was looking -with much the same expression of curious expectation, -of uncertain intentness, upon his proceedings. -For the moment he did not remember when he had -seen her, and then with recognition came a vague -memory of the stirring emotions of their first -encounter. But the dancing web of melody about him kept -the air of that great marching song from his memory. - -The lady to whom he was talking repeated her -remark, and Graham recalled himself to the -quasiregal flirtation upon which he was engaged. - -But from that moment a vague restlessness, a feeling -that grew to dissatisfaction, came into his mind. -He was troubled as if by some half forgotten duty, by -the sense of things important slipping from him amidst -this light and brilliance. The attraction that these -bright ladies who crowded about him were beginning -to exercise ceased. He no longer made vague and -clumsy responses to the subtly amorous advances that -he was now assured were being made to him, and his -eyes wandered for another sight of that face that had -appealed so strongly to his sense of beauty. But he -did not see her again until he was awaiting Lincoln's -return to leave this assembly. In answer to his request -Lincoln had promised that an attempt should be made -to fly that afternoon, if the weather permitted. He had -gone to make certain necessary arrangements. - -Graham was in one of the upper galleries in -conversation with a bright-eyed lady on the subject of -Eadhamite -- the subject was his choice and not hers. -He had interrupted her warm assurances of personal -devotion with a matter-of-fact inquiry. He found her, -as he had already found several other latter-day -women that night, less well informed than charming. -Suddenly, struggling against the eddying drift of -nearer melody, the song of the Revolt, the great song -he had heard in the Hall, hoarse and massive, came -beating down to him. - -He glanced up startled, and perceived above him an -_oeil de boeuf_ through which this song had come, and -beyond, the upper courses of cable, the blue haze, and -the pendant fabric of the lights of the public ways. He -heard the song break into a tumult of voices and cease. -But now he perceived quite clearly the drone and -tumult of the moving platforms and a murmur of -many people. He had a vague persuasion that he -could not account for, a sort of instinctive feeling that -outside in the ways a huge crowd' must be watching -this place in which their Master amused himself. He -wondered what they might be thinking. - -Though the song had stopped so abruptly, though -the special music of this gathering reasserted itself, the -motif of the marching song, once it had begun, -lingered in his mind. - -The bright-eyed lady was still struggling with the -mysteries of Eadhamite when he perceived the girl he -had seen in the theatre again. She was coming now -along the gallery towards him; he saw her first before -she saw him. She was dressed in a faintly luminous -grey, her dark hair about her brows was like a cloud, -and as he saw her the cold light from the circular -opening into the ways fell upon her downcast face. - -The lady in trouble about the Eadhamite saw the -change in his expression, and grasped her opportunity -to escape. Would you care to know that girl, Sire?" -she asked boldly. "She is Helen Wotton -- a niece of -Ostrog's. She knows a great many serious things. -She is one of the most serious persons alive. I am -sure you will like her." - -In another moment Graham was talking to the girl, -and the bright-eyed lady had fluttered away. - -"I remember you quite well," said Graham. "You -were in that little room. When all the people were -singing and beating time with their feet. Before I -walked across the Hall." - -Her momentary embarrassment passed. She -looked up at him, and her face was steady. "It was -wonderful," she said, hesitated, and spoke with a -sudden effort. "All those people would have died for you, -Sire. Countless people did die for you that night." - -Her face glowed. She glanced swiftly aside to see -that no other heard her words. - -Lincoln appeared some way off along the gallery, -making his way through the press towards them. She -saw him and turned to Graham strangely eager, with -a swift change to confidence and intimacy. "Sire," -she said quickly, "I cannot tell you now and here. But -the common people are very unhappy; they are -oppressed -- they are misgoverned. Do not forget the -people, who faced death -- death that you might live." - -"I know nothing --" began Graham. - -"I cannot tell you now." - -Lincoln's face appeared close to them. He bowed -an apology to the girl. - -"You find the new world pleasant, Sire?" asked -Lincoln, with smiling deference, and indicating the space -and splendour of the gathering by one comprehensive -gesture." At any rate, you find it changed." - -"Yes," said Graham, "changed. And yet, after all, -not so greatly changed." - -"Wait till you are in the air," said Lincoln. "The -wind has fallen; even now an aeropile awaits you." - -The girl's attitude awaited dismissal. - -Graham glanced at her face, was on the verge of a -question, found a warning in her expression, bowed to -her and turned to accompany Lincoln. - - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE AEROPHILE - -For a while, as Graham went through the passages -of the Wind-Vane offices with Lincoln, he was -preoccupied. But, by an effort, he attended to the things -which Lincoln was saying. Soon his preoccupation -vanished. Lincoln was talking of flying. Graham had -a strong desire to know more of this new human -attainment. He began to ply Lincoln with questions. -He had followed the crude beginnings of aerial -navigation very keenly in his previous life; he was -delighted to find the familiar names of Maxim and -Pilcher, Langley and Chanute, and, above all, of the aerial -proto-martyr Lillienthal, still honoured by men. - -Even during his previous life two lines of investigation -had pointed clearly to two distinct types of -contrivance as possible, and both of these had been -realised. On the one hand was the great engine-driven -aeroplane, a double row of horizontal floats -with a big aerial screw behind, and on the other the -nimbler aeropile. The aeroplanes flew safely only in a -calm or moderate wind, and sudden storms, occurrences -that were now accurately predictable, rendered -them for all practical purposes useless. They were -built of enormous size -- the usual stretch of wing -being six hundred feet or more, and the length of the -fabric a thousand feet. They were for passenger -traffic alone. The lightly swung car they carried was -from a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet in length. -It Was hung in a peculiar manner in order to minimise -the complex vibration that even a moderate wind produced, -and for the same reason the little seats within -the car -- each passenger remained seated during the -voyage -- were slung with great freedom of movement. -The starting of the mechanism was only possible -from a gigantic car on the rail of a specially -constructed stage. Graham had seen these vast stages, -the flying stages, from the crow's nest very well. Six -huge blank areas they were, with a giant "carrier" -stage on each. - -The choice of descent was equally circumscribed, an -accurately plane surface being needed for safe grounding. -Apart from the destruction that would have been -caused by the descent of this great expanse of sail and -metal, and the impossibility of its rising again, the -concussion of an irregular surface, a tree-set hillside, for -instance, or an embankment, would be sufficient to -pierce or damage the framework, to smash the ribs of -the body, and perhaps kill those aboard. - -At first Graham felt disappointed with these cumbersome -contrivances, but he speedily grasped the fact -that smaller machines would have been unremunerative, -for the simple reason that their carrying power -would be disproportionately diminished with diminished -size. Moreover, the huge size of these things -enabled them -- and it was a consideration of primary -importance -- to traverse the air at enormous speeds, -and so run no risks of unanticipated weather. The -briefest journey performed, that from London to -Paris, took about three-quarters of an hour, but the -velocity attained was not high; the leap to New York -occupied about two hours, and by timing oneself carefully -at the intermediate stations it was possible in -quiet weather to go around the world in a day. - -The little aeropiles (as for no particular reason they -were distinctively called) were of an altogether -different type. Several of these were going to and fro in -the air. They were designed to carry only one or two -persons, and their manufacture and maintenance was -so costly as to render them the monopoly of the richer -sort of people. Their sails, which were brilliantly -coloured, consisted only of two pairs of lateral air -floats in the same plane, and of a screw behind. Their -small size rendered a descent in any open space neither -difficult nor disagreeable, and it was possible to attach -pneumatic wheels or even the ordinary motors for terrestrial -tragic to them, and so carry them to a convenient -starting place. They required a special sort of -swift car to throw them into the air, but such a car -was efficient in any open place clear of high buildings -or trees. Human aeronautics, Graham perceived, -were evidently still a long way behind the instinctive -gift of the albatross or the fly-catcher. One great -influence that might have brought the aeropile to a -more rapid perfection had been withheld; these -inventions had never been used in warfare. The last great -international struggle had occurred before the -usurpation of the Council. - -The Flying Stages of London were collected -together in an irregular crescent on the southern side -of the river. They formed three groups of two each -and retained the names of ancient suburban hills or -villages. They were named in order, Roehampton, -Wimbledon Park, Streatham, Norwood, Blackheath, -and Shooter's Hill. They were uniform structures -rising high above the general roof surfaces. Each was -about four thousand yards long and a thousand broad, -and constructed of the compound of aluminium and -iron that had replaced iron in architecture. Their -higher tiers formed an openwork of girders through -which lifts and staircases ascended. The upper -surface was a uniform expanse, with portions -- the -starting carriers -- that could be raised and were then able -to run on very slightly inclined rails to the end of the -fabric. Save for any aeropiles or aeroplanes that were -in port these open surfaces were kept clear for arrivals. - -During the adjustment of the aeroplanes it was the -custom for passengers to wait in the system of -theatres, restaurants, news-rooms, and places of pleasure -and indulgence of various sorts that interwove with the -prosperous shops below. This portion of London was -in consequence commonly the gayest of all its -districts, with something of the meretricious gaiety of a -seaport or city of hotels. And for those who took a -more serious view of aeronautics, the religious -quarters had flung out an attractive colony of devotional -chapels, while a host of brilliant medical establishments -competed to supply physical preparatives for the -journey. At various levels through the mass of chambers -and passages beneath these, ran, in addition to the -main moving ways of the city which laced and -gathered here, a complex system of special passages -and lifts and slides, for the convenient interchange of -people and luggage between stage and stage. And a -distinctive feature of the architecture of this section -was the ostentatious massiveness of the metal piers -and girders that everywhere broke the vistas and -spanned the halls and passages, crowding and twining -up to meet the weight of the stages and the weighty -impact of the aeroplanes overhead. - -Graham went to the flying stages by the public ways. -He was accompanied by Asano, his Japanese attendant. -Lincoln was called away by Ostrog, who was -busy with his administrative concerns. A strong -guard of the Wind-Vane police awaited the Master -outside the Wind-Vane offices, and they cleared a -space for him on the upper moving platform. His -passage to the flying stages was unexpected, -nevertheless a considerable crowd gathered and followed -him to his destination. As he went along, he could -hear the people shouting his name, and saw numberless -men and women and children in blue come swarming -up the staircases in the central path, gesticulating -and shouting. He could not hear what they shouted. -He was struck again by the evident existence of a -vulgar dialect among the poor of the city. When at last -he descended, his guards were immediately surrounded -by a dense excited crowd. Afterwards it -occurred to him that some had attempted to reach him -with petitions. His guards cleared a passage for him -with difficulty. - -He found an aeropile in charge of an aeronaut -awaiting him on the westward stage. Seen close this -mechanism was no longer small. As it lay on its -launching carrier upon the wide expanse of the flying -stage, its aluminium body skeleton was as big as the -hull of a twenty-ton yacht. Its lateral supporting sails -braced and stayed with metal nerves almost like the -nerves of a bee's wing, and made of some sort of -glassy artificial membrane, cast their shadow over -many hundreds of square yards. The chairs for the -engineer and his passenger hung free to swing by a -complex tackle, within the protecting ribs of the -frame and well abaft the middle. The passenger's -chair was protected by a wind-guard and guarded -about with metallic rods carrying air cushions. It -could, if desired, be completely closed in, but Graham -was anxious for novel experiences, and desired that it -should be left open. The aeronaut sat behind a glass -that sheltered his face. The passenger could secure -himself firmly in his seat, and this was almost -unavoidable on landing, or he could move along by means of -a little rail and rod to a locker at the stem of the -machine, where his personal luggage, his wraps and -restoratives were placed, and which also with the seats, -served as a makeweight to the parts of the central -engine that projected to the propeller at the stern. - -The engine was very simple in appearance. Asano, -pointing out the parts of this apparatus to him, told -him that, like the gas-engine of Victorian days, it was -of the explosive type, burning a small drop of a substance -called "fomile" at each stroke. It consisted -simply of reservoir and piston about the long fluted -crank of the propeller shaft. So much Graham saw of -the machine. - -The flying stage about him was empty save for -Asano and their suite of attendants. Directed by the -aeronaut he placed himself in his seat. He then drank -a mixture containing ergot -- a dose, he learnt, invariably -administered to those about to fly, and designed -to counteract the possible effect of diminished air -pressure upon the system. Having done so, he declared -himself ready for the journey. Asano took the empty -glass from him, stepped through the bars of the hull, -and stood below on the stage waving his hand. -Suddenly he seemed to slide along the stage to the right -and vanish. - -The engine was beating, the propeller spinning, and -for a second the stage and the buildings beyond were -gliding swiftly and horizontally past Graham's eye; -then these things seemed to tilt up abruptly. He -gripped the little rods on either side of him -instinctively. He felt himself moving upward, heard the air -whistle over the top of the wind screen. The -propeller screw moved round with powerful rhythmic -impulses -- one, two, three, pause; one, two, three -- -which the engineer controlled very delicately. The -machine began a quivering vibration that continued -throughout the flight, and the roof areas seemed -running away to starboard very quickly and growing -rapidly smaller. He looked from the face of the engineer -through the ribs of the machine. Looking sideways, -there was nothing very startling in what he saw --- a rapid funicular railway might have given the same -sensations. He recognised the Council House and the -Highgate Ridge. And then he looked straight down -between his feet. - -For a moment physical terror possessed him, a -passionate sense of insecurity. He held tight. For a -second or so he could not lift his eyes. Some hundred -feet or more sheer below him was one of the big -windvanes of south-west London, and beyond it the -southernmost flying stage crowded with little black dots. -These things seemed to be falling away from him. -For a second he had an impulse to pursue the earth. -He set his teeth, he lifted his eyes by a muscular effort, -and the moment of panic passed. - -He remained for a space with his teeth set hard, his -eyes staring into the sky. Throb, throb, throb -- beat, -went the engine; throb, throb, throb, -- beat. -He gripped his bars tightly, glanced at the aeronaut, -and saw a smile upon his sun-tanned face. He smiled -in return -- perhaps a little artificially. "A little -strange at first," he shouted before he recalled his -dignity. But he dared not look down again for some -time. He stared over the aeronaut's head to where a -rim of vague blue horizon crept up the sky. For a -little while he could' not banish the thought of possible -accidents from his mind. Throb, throb, throb -- beat; -suppose some trivial screw went wrong in that -supporting engine! Suppose -- ! He made a grim -effort to dismiss all such suppositions. After a while -they did at least abandon the foreground of his -thoughts. And up he went steadily, higher and higher -into the clear air. - -Once the mental shock of moving unsupported -through the air was over, his sensations ceased to be -unpleasant, became very speedily pleasurable. He had -been warned of air sickness. But he found the -pulsating movement of the aeropile as it drove up the faint -south-west breeze was very little in excess of the -pitching of a boat head on to broad rollers in a moderate -gale, and he was constitutionally a good sailor. And -the keenness of the more rarefied air into which they -ascended produced a sense of lightness and exhilaration. -He looked up and saw the blue sky above -fretted with cirrus clouds. His eye came cautiously -down through the ribs and bars to a shining flight of -white birds that hung in the lower sky. For a space -he watched these. Then going lower and less apprehensively, -he saw the slender figure of the Wind-Vane -keeper's crow's nest shining golden in the sunlight and -growing smaller every moment. As his eye fell with -more confidence now, there came a blue line of hills, -and then London, already to leeward, an intricate -space of roofing. Its near edge came sharp and clear, -and banished his last apprehensions in a shock of surprise. -For the boundary of London was like a wall, -like a cliff, a steep fall of three or four hundred feet, a -frontage broken only by terraces here and there, a - - -complex decorative facade. - -That gradual passage of town into country through -an extensive sponge of suburbs, which was so -characteristic a feature of the great cities of the nineteenth -century, existed no longer. Nothing remained of it -but a waste of ruins here, variegated and dense with -thickets of the heterogeneous growths that had once -adorned the gardens of the belt, interspersed among -levelled brown patches of sown ground, and verdant -stretches of winter greens. The latter even spread -among the vestiges of houses. But for the most part -the reefs and skerries of ruins, the wreckage of -suburban villas, stood among their streets and roads, queer -islands amidst the levelled expanses of green and -brown, abandoned indeed by the inhabitants years -since, but too substantial, it seemed', to be cleared out -of the way of the wholesale horticultural mechanisms -of the time. - -The vegetation of this waste undulated and frothed -amidst the countless cells of crumbling house walls, -and broke along the foot of the city wall in a surf of -bramble and holly and ivy and teazle and tall grasses. -Here and there gaudy pleasure palaces towered amidst -the puny remains of Victorian times, and cable ways -slanted to them from the city. That winter day they -seemed deserted. Deserted, too, were the artificial -gardens among the ruins. The city limits were indeed -as sharply defined as in the ancient days when the -gates were shut at nightfall and the robber foreman -prowled to the very walls. A huge semi-circular throat -poured out a vigorous traffic upon the Eadhamite -Bath Road. So the first prospect of the world beyond -the city flashed on Graham, and dwindled. And when -at last he could look vertically downward again, he -saw below him the vegetable fields of the Thames -valley -- innumerable minute oblongs of ruddy brown, -intersected by shining threads, the sewage ditches. - -His exhilaration increased rapidly, became a sort of -intoxication. He found himself drawing deep breaths -of air, laughing aloud, desiring to shout. After a time -that desire became too strong for him, and he shouted. - -The machine had now risen as high as was customary -with aeropiles, and they began to curve about -towards the south. Steering, Graham perceived, was -effected by the opening or closing of one or two thin -strips of membrane in one or other of the otherwise -rigid wings, and by the movement of the whole engine -backward or forward along its supports. The -aeronaut set the engine gliding slowly forward along its -rail and opened the valve of the leeward wing until the -stem of the aeropile was horizontal and pointing -southward. And in that direction they drove with a slight -list to leeward, and with a slow alternation of -movement, first a short, sharp ascent and' then a long -downward glide that was very swift and pleasing. -During these downward glides the propellor was -inactive altogether. These ascents gave Graham a -glorious sense of successful effort; the descents -through the rarefied air were beyond all experience. -He wanted never to leave the upper air again. - -For a time he was intent upon the minute details of -the landscape that ran swiftly northward beneath him. -Its minute, clear detail pleased him exceedingly. He -was impressed by the ruin of the houses that had once -dotted the country, by the vast treeless expanse of -country from which all farms and villages had gone, -save for crumbling ruins. He had known the thing -was so, but seeing it so was an altogether different -matter. He tried to make out places he had known -within the hollow basin of the world below, but at first -he could distinguish no data now that the Thames valley -was left behind. Soon, however, they were driving over -a sharp chalk hill that he recognised as the Guildford -Hog's Back, because of the familiar outline of the -gorge at its eastward end, and because of the ruins of -the town that rose steeply on either lip of this gorge. -And from that he made out other points, Leith Hill, -the sandy wastes of Aldershot, and so forth. The -Downs escarpment was set with gigantic slow-moving -wind-wheels. Save where the broad Eadhamite -Portsmouth Road, thickly dotted with rushing shapes, -followed the course of the old railway, the gorge of the -Wey was choked with thickets. - -The whole expanse of the Downs escarpment, so far -as the grey haze permitted him to see, was set with -wind-wheels to which the largest of the city was but a -younger brother. They stirred with a stately motion -before the south-west wind. And here and there were -patches dotted with the sheep of the British Food -Trust, and here and there a mounted shepherd made a -spot of black. Then rushing under the stern of the -aeropile came the Wealden Heights, the line of -Hindhead, Pitch Hill, and Leith Hill, with a second row of -wind-wheels that seemed striving to rob the downland -whirlers of their share of breeze. The purple heather -was speckled with yellow gorse, and on the further -side a drove of black oxen stampeded before a -couple of mounted men. Swiftly these swept behind, -and dwindled and lost colour, and became scarce -moving specks that were swallowed up in haze. - -And when these had vanished in the distance -Graham heard a peewit wailing close at hand. He -perceived he was now above the South Downs, -and staring over his shoulder saw the battlements -of Portsmouth Landing Stage towering over the -ridge of Portsdown Hill. In another moment there -came into sight a spread of shipping like floating -cities, the little white cliffs of the Needles dwarfed and -sunlit, and the grey and glittering waters of the narrow -sea. They seemed to leap the Solent in a moment, -and in a few seconds the Isle of Wight was running -past, and then beneath him spread a wider and wide -extent of sea, here purple with the shadow of a cloud, -here grey, here a burnished mirror, and here a spread -of cloudy greenish blue. The Isle of Wight grew -smaller and smaller. In a few more minutes a strip of -grey haze detached itself from other strips that were -clouds, descended out of the sky and became a coastline --- sunlit and pleasant -- the coast of northern -France. It rose, it took colour, became definite and -detailed, and the counterpart of the Downland of -England was speeding by below. - -In a little time, as it seemed, Paris came above the -horizon, and hung there for a space, and sank out of -sight again as the aeropile circled about to the north -again. But he perceived the Eiffel Tower still -standing, and beside it a huge dome surmounted by a -pinpoint Colossus. And he perceived, too, though he did -not understand it at the time, a slanting drift of smoke. -The aeronaut said something about "trouble in the -underways," that Graham did not heed at the time. -But he marked the minarets and towers and slender -masses that streamed skyward above the city -windvanes, and knew that in the matter of grace at least -Paris still kept in front of her larger rival. And even -as he looked a pale blue shape ascended very swiftly -from the city like a dead leaf driving up before a gale. -It curved round and soared towards them growing -rapidly larger and larger. The aeronaut was saying -something. "What?" said Graham, loath to take his -eyes from this. "Aeroplane, Sire," bawled the -aeronaut pointing. - -They rose and curved about northward as it drew -nearer. Nearer it came and nearer, larger and larger. -The throb, throb, throb -- beat, of the aeropile's -flight, that had seemed so potent and so swift, -suddenly appeared slow by comparison with this -tremendous rush. How great the monster seemed, how -swift and steady! It passed quite closely beneath -them, driving along silently, a vast spread of -wirenetted translucent wings, a thing alive. Graham had a -momentary glimpse of the rows and rows of wrapped-up -passengers, slung in their little cradles behind -wind-screens, of a white-clothed engineer crawling -against the gale along a ladder way, of spouting -engines beating together, of the whirling wind screw, -and of a wide waste of wing. He exulted in the sight. -And in an instant the thing had passed. - -It rose slightly and their own little wings swayed -in the rush of its flight. It fell and grew smaller. -Scarcely had they moved, as it seemed, before it was -again only a flat blue thing that dwindled in the sky. -This was the aeroplane that went to and fro between -London and Paris. In fair weather and in peaceful -times it came and went four times a day. - -They beat across the Channel, slowly as it seemed -now, to Graham's enlarged ideas, and Beachy Head -rose greyly to the left of them. - -"Land," called the aeronaut, his voice small against -the whistling of the air over the wind-screen. - -"Not yet," bawled Graham, laughing. "Not land -yet. I want to learn more of this machine." - -"I meant --" said the aeronaut. - -"I want to learn more of this machine," repeated -Graham. - -"I'm coming to you," he said, and had flung himself -free of his chair and taken a step along the guarded -rail between them. He stopped for a moment, and -his colour changed and his hands tightened. Another -step and he was clinging close to the aeronaut. He -felt a weight on his shoulder, the pressure of the air. -His hat was a whirling speck behind. The wind came -in gusts over his wind-screen and blew his hair in -streamers past his cheek. The aeronaut made some -hasty adjustments for the shifting of the centres of -gravity and pressure. - -"I want to have these things explained," said -Graham." What do you do when you move that engine -forward?" - -The aeronaut hesitated. Then he answered, "They -are complex, Sire." - -"I don't mind," shouted Graham. "I don't mind." - -There was a moment's pause." Aeronautics is the -secret -- the privilege --" - -"I know. But I'm the Master, and I mean to -know." He laughed, full of this novel realisation of -power that was his gift from the upper air. - -The aeropile curved about, and the keen fresh wind -cut across Graham's face and his garment lugged at -his body as the stem pointed round to the west. The -two men looked into each other's eyes. - -"Sire, there are rules --" - -"Not where I am concerned," said Graham. "You -seem to forget." - -The aeronaut scrutinised his face. "No," he said. -"I do not forget, Sire. But in all the earth -- no man -who is not a sworn aeronaut -- has ever a chance. -They come as passengers --" - -"I have heard something of the sort. But I'm not -going to argue these points. Do you know why I -have slept two hundred years? To fly!" - -"Sire," said the aeronaut, "the rules -- if I break -the rules --" - -Graham waved the penalties aside. - -"Then if you will watch me --" - -"No," said Graham, swaying and gripping tight as -the machine lifted its nose again for an ascent. -"That's not my game. I want to do it myself. Do -it myself if I smash for it! No! I will. See. I am -going to clamber by this to come and share your -seat. Steady! I mean to fly of my own accord if -I smash at the end of it. I will have something to pay -for my sleep. Of all other things -- . In my past it -was my dream to fly. Now -- keep your balance." - -"A dozen spies are watching me, Sire!" - -Graham's temper was at end. Perhaps he chose it -should be. He swore. He swung himself round the -intervening mass of levers and the aeropile swayed. - -"Am I Master of the earth?" he said. "Or is your -Society? Now. Take your hands off those levers, -and hold my wrists. Yes -- so. And now, how do -we turn her nose down to the glide?" - -"Sire," said the aeronaut. - -"What is it?" - -"You will protect me?" - -"Lord! Yes! If I have to burn London. Now!" - -And with that promise Graham bought his first lesson -in aerial navigation. "It's clearly to your advantage, -this journey," he said with a loud laugh -- for the air -was like strong wine -- "to teach me quickly and well. -Do I pull this? Ah! So! Hullo!" - -"Back, Sire! Back!" - -"Back -- right. One -- two -- three -- good -God! Ah! Up she goes! But this is living!" - -And now the machine began to dance the strangest -figures in the air. Now it would sweep round a spiral -of scarcely a hundred yards diameter, now it would -rush up into the air and swoop down again, steeply, -swiftly, falling like a hawk, to recover in a rushing loop -that swept it high again. In one of these descents -it seemed driving straight at the drifting park of -balloons in the southeast, and only curved about and -cleared them by a sudden recovery of dexterity. The -extraordinary swiftness and smoothness of the motion, -the extraordinary effect of the rarefied air upon his -constitution, threw Graham into a careless fury. - -But at last a queer incident came to sober him, to -send him flying down once more to the crowded life -below with all its dark insoluble riddles. As he -swooped, came a tap and something flying past, and -a drop like a drop of rain. Then as he went on down -he saw something like a white rag whirling down in -his wake. "What was that?" he asked. "I did not -see." - -The aeronaut glanced, and then clutched at the -lever to recover, for they were sweeping down. When -the aeropile was rising again he drew a deep breath -and replied. "That," and he indicated the white - - -thing still fluttering down, "was a swan." - -"I never saw it," said Graham. - -The aeronaut made no answer, and Graham saw -little drops upon his forehead. - -They drove horizontally while Graham clambered -back to the passenger's place out of the lash of the -wind. And then came a swift rush down, with the -wind-screw whirling to check their fall, and the flying -stage growing broad and dark before them. The sun, -sinking over the chalk hills in the west, fell with them, -and left the sky a blaze of gold. - -Soon men could be seen as little specks. He heard -a noise coming up to meet him, a noise like the sound -of waves upon a pebbly beach, and saw that the roofs -about the flying stage were dark with his people -rejoicing over his safe return. A dark mass was -crushed together under the stage, a darkness stippled -with innumerable faces, and quivering with the minute -oscillation of waved white handkerchiefs and waving -hands. - - -CHAPTER XVII - - -THREE DAYS - - -Lincoln awaited Graham in an apartment beneath -the flying stages. He seemed curious to learn all that -had happened, pleased to hear of the extraordinary -delight and interest which Graham took in flying -Graham was in a mood of enthusiasm. "I must learn -to fly," he cried. "I must master that. I pity all poor -souls who have died without this opportunity. The -sweet swift air! It is the most wonderful experience -in the world." - -"You will find our new times full of wonderful -experiences," said Lincoln. "I do not know what you -will care to do now. We have music that may seem -novel." - -"For the present," said Graham, "flying holds me. -Let me learn more of that. Your aeronaut was saying -there is some trades union objection to one's learning." - -"There is, I believe," said Lincoln. "But for -you -- ! If you would' like to occupy yourself with -that, we can make you a sworn aeronaut tomorrow." - -Graham expressed his wishes vividly and talked of -his sensations for a while. "And as for affairs," he -asked abruptly. "How are things going on?" - -Lincoln waved affairs aside. "Ostrog will tell you -that tomorrow," he said. "Everything is settling -down. The Revolution accomplishes itself all over -the world. Friction is inevitable here and there, of -course; but your rule is assured. You may rest secure -with things in Ostrog's hands." - -"Would it be possible for me to be made a sworn -aeronaut, as you call it, forthwith -- before I sleep?" -said Graham, pacing. "Then I could be at it the very -first thing tomorrow again. - -"It would be possible," said Lincoln thoughtfully. -"Quite possible. Indeed, it shall be done." He -laughed." I came prepared to suggest amusements, -but you have found one for yourself. I will telephone -to the aeronautical offices from here and we will return -to your apartments in the Wind-Vane Control. By -the time you have dined the aeronauts will be able to -come. You don't think that after you have dined, you -might prefer -- ?" He paused. - -"Yes," said Graham. - -"We had prepared a show of dancers -- they have -been brought from the Capri theatre." - -"I hate ballets," said Graham, shortly. "Always -did. That other -- . That's not what I want to see. -We had dancers in the old days. For the matter of -that, they had them in ancient Egypt. But flying --" - -"True," said Lincoln. "Though our dancers --" - -"They can afford to wait," said Graham; "they can -afford to wait. I know. I'm not a Latin. There's -questions I want to ask some expert -- about your -machinery. I'm keen. I want no distractions." - -"You have the world to choose from," said Lincoln; -"whatever you want is yours." - -Asano appeared, and under the escort of a strong -guard they returned through the city streets to -Graham's apartments. Far larger crowds had assembled to -witness his return than his departure had gathered, and -the shouts and cheering of these masses of people -sometimes drowned Lincoln's answers to the endless -questions Graham's aerial journey had suggested. At -first Graham had acknowledged the cheering and cries -of the crowd by bows and gestures, but Lincoln -warned him that such a recognition would be -considered incorrect behaviour. Graham, already a little -wearied by rhythmic civilities, ignored his subjects for -the remainder of his public progress. - -Directly they arrived at his apartments Asano departed -in search of kinematographic renderings of -machinery in motion, and Lincoln despatched Graham's -commands for models of machines and small -machines to illustrate the various mechanical advances -of the last two centuries. The little group of -appliances for telegraphic communication attracted the -Master so strongly that his delightfully prepared -dinner, served by a number of charmingly dexterous -girls, waited for a space. The habit of smoking had -almost ceased from the face of the earth, but when he -expressed a wish for that indulgence, inquiries were -made and some excellent cigars were discovered in -Florida, and sent to him by pneumatic dispatch while -the dinner was still in progress. Afterwards came the -aeronauts, and a feast of ingenious wonders in the -hands of a latter-day engineer. For the time, at any -rate, the neat dexterity of counting and numbering -machines, building machines, spinning engines, patent -doorways, explosive motors, grain and water elevators, -slaughter-house machines and harvesting appliances, -was more fascinating to Graham than any -bayadere. "We were savages," was his refrain, "we -were savages. We were in the stone age -- compared -with this. . . . And what else have you?" - -There came also practical psychologists with some -very interesting developments in the art of hypnotism. -The names of Milne Bramwell, Fechner, Liebault, -William James, Myers and Gurney, he found, bore a -value now that would have astonished their -contemporaries. Several practical applications of -psychology were now in general use; it had largely -superseded drugs, antiseptics and anaesthetics in -medicine; was employed by almost all who had any need of -mental concentration. A real enlargement of human -faculty seemed to have been effected in this direction. -The feats of "calculating boys," the wonders, as Graham -had been wont to regard them, of mesmerisers, -were now within the range of anyone who could afford -the services of a skilled hypnotist. Long ago the old -examination methods in education had been destroyed -by these expedients. Instead of years of study, candidates -had substituted a few weeks of trances, and -during the trances expert coaches had simply to repeat -all the points necessary for adequate answering, adding -a suggestion of the post hypnotic recollection of -these points. In process mathematics particularly, this -aid had been of singular service, and it was now -invariably invoked by such players of chess and games -of manual dexterity as were still to be found. In fact, -all operations conducted under finite rules, of a -quasi-mechanical sort that is, were now systematically -relieved from the wanderings of imagination and emotion, -and brought to an unexampled pitch of accuracy. -Little children of the labouring classes, so soon as they -were of sufficient age to be hypnotised, were thus -converted into beautifully punctual and trustworthy -machine minders, and released forthwith from the -long, long thoughts of youth. Aeronautical pupils, -who gave way to giddiness, could be relieved from -their imaginary terrors. In every street were -hypnotists ready to print permanent memories upon the -mind. If anyone desired to remember a name, a series -of numbers, a song or a speech, it could be done by -this method, and conversely memories could be -effaced, habits removed, and desires eradicated -- a -sort of psychic surgery was, in fact, in general use. -Indignities, humbling experiences, were thus forgotten, -amorous widows would obliterate their previous -husbands, angry lovers release themselves from their -slavery. To graft desires, however, was still impossible, -and the facts of thought transference were yet -unsystematised. The psychologists illustrated their -expositions with some astounding experiments in mnemonics -made through the agency of a troupe of pale-faced -children in blue. - -Graham, like most of the people of his former time, -distrusted the hypnotist, or he might then and there -have eased his mind of many painful preoccupations. -But in spite of Lincoln's assurances he held to the old -theory that to be hypnotised was in some way the -surrender of his personality, the abdication of his will. At -the banquet of wonderful experiences that was beginning, -he wanted very keenly to remain absolutely -himself. - -The next day, and another day, and yet another day -passed in such interests as these. Each day Graham -spent many hours in the glorious entertainment of -flying. On the third day he soared across middle -France, and within sight of the snow-clad Alps. These -vigorous exercises gave him restful sleep, and each day -saw a great stride in his health from the spiritless -anaemia of his first awakening. And whenever he was -not in the air, and awake, Lincoln was assiduous in the -cause of his amusement; all that was novel and curious -in contemporary invention was brought to him, until -at last his appetite for novelty was well-nigh glutted. -One might fill a dozen inconsecutive volumes with the -strange things they exhibited. Each afternoon he held -his court for an hour or so. He speedily found his -interest in his contemporaries becoming personal and -intimate. At first he had been alert chiefly for -unfamiliarity and peculiarity; any foppishness in their -dress, any discordance with his preconceptions of -nobility in their status and manners had jarred upon -him, and it was remarkable to him how soon that -strangeness and the faint hostility that arose from it, -disappeared; how soon he came to appreciate the true -perspective of his position, and see the old Victorian -days remote and quaint. He found himself particularly -amused by the red-haired daughter of the Manager -of the European Piggeries. On the second day -after dinner he made the acquaintance of a latter-day -dancing girl, and found her an astonishing artist. And -after that, more hypnotic wonders. On the third day -Lincoln was moved to suggest that the Master should -repair to a Pleasure City, but this Graham declined, -nor would he accept the services of the hypnotists in -his aeronautical experiments. The link of locality held -him to London; he found a perpetual wonder in -topographical identifications that he would have missed -abroad. "Here -- or a hundred feet below here," he -could say, "I used to eat my midday cutlets during -my London University days. Underneath here was -Waterloo and the perpetual hunt for confusing trains. -Often have I stood waiting down there, bag in hand, -and stared up into the sky above the forest of signals, -little thinking I should walk some day a hundred yards -in the air. And now in that very sky that was once a -grey smoke canopy, I circle in an aeropile." - -During those three days Graham was so occupied -with such distractions that the vast political -movements in progress outside his quarters had but a small -share of his attention. Those about him told him -little. Daily came Ostrog, the Boss, his Grand Vizier, -his mayor of the palace, to report in vague terms the -steady establishment of his rule; "a little trouble" - - -soon to be settled in this city, "a slight disturbance" -in that. The song of the social revolt came to him no -more; he never learned that it had been forbidden in -the municipal limits; and all the great emotions of the -crow's nest slumbered in his mind. - -But on the second and third of the three days -he found himself, in spite of his interest in the -daughter of the Pig Manager, or it may be by, -reason of the thoughts her conversation suggested, -remembering the girl Helen Wotton, who had -spoken to him so oddly at the Wind-Vane -Keeper's gathering. The impression she had made was a -deep one, albeit the incessant surprise of novel -circumstances had kept him from brooding upon it for a -space. But now her memory was coming to its own. -He wondered what she had meant by those broken -half-forgotten sentences; the picture of her eyes and -the earnest passion of her face became more vivid as -his mechanical interests faded. Her beauty came -compellingly between him and certain immediate -temptations of ignoble passion. But he did not see her again -until three full days were past. - -CHAPTER XVIII - -GRAHAM REMEMBERS - -She came upon him at last in a little gallery that -ran from the Wind Vane Offices toward his state -apartments. The gallery was long and narrow, with a -series of recesses, each with an arched fenestration that -looked upon a court of palms. He came upon her -suddenly in one of these recesses. She was seated. -She turned her head at the sound of his footsteps and -started at the sight of him. Every touch of colour -vanished from her face. She rose instantly, made a -step toward him as if to address him, and hesitated. -He stopped and stood still, expectant. Then he perceived -that a nervous tumult silenced her, perceived -too, that she must have sought speech with him to be -waiting for him in this place. - -He felt a regal impulse to assist her. "I have wanted -to see you," he said. "A few days ago you wanted -to tell me something -- you wanted to tell me of the -people. What was it you had to tell me?" - -She looked at him with troubled eyes. - -"You said the people were unhappy?" - -For a moment she was silent still. - -"It must have seemed strange to you," she said -abruptly. - -"It did. And yet --" - -"It was an impulse." - -"Well?" - -"That is all." - -She looked at him with a face of hesitation. She -spoke with an effort. "You forget," she said, drawing -a deep breath. - -"What?" - -"The people --" - -"Do you mean -- ?" - -"You forget the people." - -He looked interrogative. - -"Yes. I know you are surprised. For you do not -understand what you are. You do not know the things -that are happening." - -"Well?" - -"You do not understand." - -"Not clearly, perhaps. But -- tell me." - -She turned to him with sudden resolution." It is -so hard to explain. I have meant to, I have wanted to. -And now -- I cannot. I am not ready with words. -But about you -- there is something. It is Wonder. -Your sleep -- your awakening. These things are -miracles. To me at least -- and to all the common -people. You who lived and suffered and died, you -who were a common citizen, wake again, live again, to -find yourself Master almost of the earth." - -"Master of the earth," he said. "So they tell me. -But try and imagine how little I know of it." - -"Cities -- Trusts -- the Labour Company --" - -"Principalities, powers, dominions -- the power and -the glory. Yes, I have heard them shout. I know. -I am Master. King, if you wish. With Ostrog, the -Boss --" - -He paused. - -She turned upon him and surveyed his face with a -curious scrutiny. "Well?" - -He smiled. "To take the responsibility." - -"That is what we have begun to fear." For a moment -she said no more. "No," she said slowly. "You will -take the responsibility. You will take the -responsibility. The people look to you." - -She spoke softly." Listen! For at least half the -years of your sleep -- in every generation -- multitudes -of people, in every generation greater multitudes -of people, have prayed that you might awake -- -prayed." - -Graham moved to speak and did not. - -She hesitated, and a faint colour crept back to her -cheek. "Do you know that you have been to myriads --- King Arthur, Barbarossa -- the King who would -come in his own good time and put the world right for -them?" - -"I suppose the imagination of the people --" - -"Have you not heard our proverb, 'When the -Sleeper wakes?' While you lay insensible and motionless -there -- thousands came. Thousands. Every -first of the month you lay in state with a white robe -upon you and the people filed by you. When I was a -little girl I saw you like that, with your face white and -calm." - -She turned her face from him and looked steadfastly -at the painted wall before her. Her voice fell. "When -I was a little girl I used to look at your face. . . .it -seemed to me fixed and waiting, like the patience of -God." - -"That is what we thought of you," she said. "That -is how you seemed to us." - -She turned shining eyes to him, her voice was clear -and strong." In the city, in the earth, a myriad -myriad men and women are waiting to see what you -will do, full of strange incredible expectations." - -"Yes?" - -"Ostrog -- no one -- can take that responsibility." - -Graham looked at her in surprise, at her face lit -with emotion. She seemed at first to have spoken with -an effort, and to have fired herself by speaking. - -"Do you think," she said, "that you who have lived -that little life so far away in the past, you who have -fallen into and risen out of this miracle of sleep -- do -you think that the wonder and reverence and hope of -half the world has gathered about you only that you -may live another little life? . . . That you may -shift the responsibility to any other man?" - -"I know how great this kingship of mine is," he -said haltingly. "I know how great it seems. But is it -real? It is incredible -- dreamlike. Is it real, or is -it only a great delusion?" - -"It is real," she said; "if you dare." - -"After all, like all kingship, my kingship is Belief. -It is an illusion in the minds of men." - -"If you dare!" she said. - -"But --" - - - -"Countless men," she said, "and while it is in their -minds -- they will obey." - -"But I know nothing. That is what I had in mind. -I know nothing. And these others -- the Councillors, -Ostrog. They are wiser, cooler, they know so much, -every detail. And, indeed, what are these miseries of -which you speak? What am I to know? Do you -mean --" - -He stopped blankly. - -"I am still hardly more than a girl," she said. "But -to me the world seems full of wretchedness. The world -has altered since your day, altered very strangely. I -have prayed that I might see you and tell you these -things. The world has changed. As if a canker had -seized it -- and robbed life of -- everything worth -having." - -She turned a flushed face upon him, moving suddenly. -"Your days were the days of freedom. Yes -- -I have thought. I have been made to think, for my -life -- has not been happy. Men are no longer free -- -no greater, no better than the men of your time. That -is not all. This city -- is a prison. Every city now is -a prison. Mammon grips the key in his hand. -Myriads, countless myriads, toil from the cradle to -the grave. Is that right? Is that to be -- for ever? -Yes, far worse than in your time. All about us, beneath -us, sorrow and pain. All the shallow delight of -such life as you find about you, is separated by just a -little from a life of wretchedness beyond any telling -Yes, the poor know it -- they know they suffer. These -countless multitudes who faced death for you two -nights since -- ! You owe your life to them." - -"Yes," said Graham, slowly. "Yes. I owe my -life to them." - -"You come," she said, "from the days when this -new tyranny of the cities was scarcely beginning. -It is a tyranny -- a tyranny. In your days the -feudal war lords had gone, and the new lordship of -wealth had still to come. Half the men in the world -still lived out upon the free countryside. The cities -had still to devour them. I have heard the stories -out of the old books -- there was nobility! Common -men led lives of love and faithfulness then -- they -did a thousand things. And you -- you come from -that time." - -"It was not -- . But never mind. How is it -now -- ?" - -"Gain and the Pleasure Cities! Or slavery -- unthanked, -unhonoured, slavery." - -"Slavery!" he said. - -"Slavery." - -"You don't mean to say that human beings are -chattels." - -"Worse. That is what I want you to know, what -I want you to see. I know you do not know. They -will keep things from you, they will take you presently -to a Pleasure City. But you have noticed men and -women and children in pale blue canvas, with thin -yellow faces and dull eyes?" - -"Everywhere." - -"Speaking a horrible dialect, coarse and weak." - -"I have heard it." - -"They are the slaves -- your slaves. They are the -slaves of the Labour Company you own." - -"The Labour Company! In some way -- that is -familiar. Ah! now I remember. I saw it when I was -wandering about the city, after the lights returned, -great fronts of buildings coloured pale blue. Do you -really mean -- ?" - -"Yes. How can I explain it to you? Of course -the blue uniform struck you. Nearly a third of our -people wear it -- more assume it now every day. This -Labour Company has grown imperceptibly." - -"What is this Labour Company?" asked Graham. - -"In the old times, how did you manage with starving -people?" - -"There was the workhouse -- which the parishes -maintained." - -"Workhouse! Yes -- there was something. In -our history lessons. I remember now. The Labour -Company ousted the workhouse. It grew -- partly -- -out of something -- you, perhaps, may remember it -- -an emotional religious organisation called the -Salvation Army -- that became a business company. In the -first place it was almost a charity. To save people -from workhouse rigours. Now I come to think of it, -it was one of the earliest properties your Trustees -acquired. They bought the Salvation Army and reconstructed -it as this. The idea in the first place was to -give work to starving homeless people." - -"Yes." - -"Nowadays there are no workhouses, no refuges -and charities, nothing but that Company. Its offices -are everywhere. That blue is its colour. And any -man, woman or child who comes to be hungry and -weary and with neither home nor friend nor resort, -must go to the Company in the end -- or seek some -way of death. The Euthanasy is beyond their means --- for the poor there is no easy death. And at any -hour in the day or night there is food, shelter and a -blue uniform for all comers -- that is the first -condition of the Company s incorporation -- and in return -for a day's shelter the Company extracts a day's work, -and then returns the visitor's proper clothing and -sends him or her out again." - -"Yes?" - -"Perhaps that does not seem so terrible to you. In -your days men starved in your streets. That was bad. -But they died -- men. These people in blue -- . The -proverb runs: 'Blue canvas once and ever.' The -Company trades in their labour, and it has taken care -to assure itself of the supply. People come to -it starving and helpless -- they eat and sleep for -a night and day, they -work for a day, and at the -end of the day they go out again. If they have worked -well they have a penny or so -- enough for a -theatre or a cheap dancing place, or a kinematograph -story, or a dinner or a bet. They wander about after -that is spent. Begging is prevented by the police of -the ways. Besides, no one gives. They come back -again the next day or the day after -- brought back -by the same incapacity that brought them first. At -last their proper clothing wears out, or their rags get -so shabby that they are ashamed. Then they must -work for months to get fresh. If they want fresh. A -great number of children are born under the -Company's care. The mother owes them a month -thereafter -- the children they cherish and educate until -they are fourteen, and they pay two years' service. -You may be sure these children are educated for the -blue canvas. And so it is the Company works." - -"And none are destitute in the city?" - -"None. They are either in blue canvas or in -prison." - -"If they will not work?" - -"Most people will work at that pitch, and the -Company has powers. There are stages of unpleasantness -in the work -- stoppage of food -- and a man or -woman who has refused to work once is known by a -thumb-marking system in the Company's offices all -over the world. Besides, who can leave the city -poor? To go to Paris costs two Lions. And for -insubordination there are the prisons -- dark and -miserable -- out of sight below. There are prisons now for -many things." - -"And a third of the people wear this blue canvas?" - -"More than a third. Toilers, living without pride or -delight or hope, with the stories of Pleasure Cities -ringing in their ears, mocking their shameful lives, their -privations and hardships. Too poor even for the -Euthanasy, the rich man's refuge from life. Dumb, -crippled millions, countless millions, all the world -about, ignorant of anything but limitations and -unsatisfied desires. They are born, they are thwarted and -they die. That is the state to which we have come." - -For a space Graham sat downcast. - -"But there has been a revolution," he said. "All -these things will be changed." Ostrog --" - -"That is our hope. That is the hope of the world. -But Ostrog will not do it. He is a politician. To him -it seems things must be like this. He does not mind. -He takes it for granted. All the rich, all the influential, -all who are happy, come at last to take these miseries -for granted. They use the people in their politics, -they live in ease by their degradation. But you --- you who come from a happier age -- it is to you the -people look. To you." - -He looked at her face. Her eyes were bright with -unshed tears. He felt a rush of emotion. For a moment -he forgot this city, he forgot the race, and all -those vague remote voices, in the immediate humanity -of her beauty. - -"But what am I to do?" he said with his eyes upon -her. - -"Rule," she answered, bending towards him and -speaking in a low tone. "Rule the world as it has -never been ruled, for the good and happiness of men. -For you might rule it -- you could rule it. - -"The people are stirring. All over the world the -people are stirring. It wants but a word -- but a -word from you -- to bring them all together. Even -the middle sort of people are restless unhappy. - -"They are not telling you the things that are -happening. The people will not go back to their -drudgery -- they refuse to be disarmed. Ostrog has -awakened something greater than he dreamt of -- he -has awakened hopes." - -His heart was beating fast. He tried to seem judicial, - -to weigh considerations. - -"They only want their leader," she said. - -"And then?" - -"You could do what you would; -- the world is -yours." - -He sat, no longer regarding her. Presently he -spoke." The old dreams, and the thing I have -dreamt, liberty, happiness. Are they dreams? -Could one man -- one man -- ?" His voice sank and ceased. - -"Not one man, but all men -- give them only a -leader to speak the desire of their hearts." - -He shook his head, and for a time there was silence. - -He looked up suddenly, and their eyes met. "I -have not your faith," he said." I have not your youth. -I am here with power that mocks me. No -- let me -speak. I want to do -- not right -- I have not the -strength for that -- but something rather right than -wrong. It will bring no millennium, but I am resolved -now that I will rule. What you have said has -awakened me. . . . You are right. Ostrog must -know his place. And I will learn -- . . . . One -thing I promise you. This Labour slavery shall end." - -"And you will rule?" - -"Yes. Provided -- . There is one thing." - -"Yes?" - -"That you will help me." - -"I! -- a girl!" - -"Yes. Does it not occur to you I am absolutely -alone?" - -She started and for an instant her eyes had pity. -"Need you ask whether I will help you?" she said. - -She stood before him, beautiful, worshipful, and her -enthusiasm and the greatness of their theme was like -a great gulf fixed between them. To touch her, to -clasp her hand, was a thing beyond hope. "Then -I will rule indeed," he said slowly. "I will rule-" -He paused. "With you." - -There came a tense silence, and then the beating -a clock striking the hour. She made him no answer. -Graham rose. - -"Even now," he said, "Ostrog will be waiting." He -hesitated, facing her. "When I have asked him certain -questions -- . There is much I do not know. It may -be, that I will go to see with my own eyes the things -of which you have spoken. And when I return -- ?" - -"I shall know of your going and coming. I will -wait for you here again." - -He stood for a moment regarding her. - -"I knew," she said, and stopped. - -He waited, but she said no more. They regarded -one another steadfastly, questioningly, and then he -turned from her towards the Wind Vane office. - -CHAPTER XIX - -OSTROG'S POINT OF VIEW - -Graham found Ostrog waiting to give a formal account -of his day's stewardship. On previous occasions he -had passed over this ceremony as speedily as possible, -in order to resume his aerial experiences, but now he -began to ask quick short questions. He was very -anxious to take up his empire forthwith. Ostrog -brought flattering reports of the development of -affairs abroad. In Paris and Berlin, Graham -perceived that he was saying, there had been -trouble, not organised resistance indeed, but -insubordinate proceedings. "After all these years," -said Ostrog, when Graham pressed enquiries, -"the Commune has lifted its head again. That -is the real nature of the struggle, to be explicit." -But order had been restored in these cities. Graham, -the more deliberately judicial for the stirring emotions -he felt, asked if there had been any fighting. "A -little," said Ostrog. "In one quarter only. But the -Senegalese division of our African agricultural police -- -the Consolidated African Companies have a very well -drilled police -- was ready, and so were the aeroplanes. -We expected a little trouble in the continental cities, -and in America. But things are very quiet in America. -They are satisfied with the overthrow of the Council -For the time." - - -"Why should you expect trouble?" asked Graham -abruptly. - -"There is a lot of discontent -- social discontent." - -"The Labour Company?" - -"You are learning," said Ostrog with a touch of -surprise. "Yes. It is chiefly the discontent with the -Labour Company. It was that discontent supplied -the motive force of this overthrow -- that and your -awakening." - -"Yes?" - -Ostrog smiled. He became explicit. "We had to -stir up their discontent, we had to revive the old ideals -of universal happiness -- all men equal -- all men -happy -- no luxury that everyone may not share -- -ideas that have slumbered for two hundred years. You -know that? We had to revive these ideals, impossible -as they are -- in order to overthrow the Council. And -now --" - -"Well?" - -"Our revolution is accomplished, and the Council -is overthrown, and people whom we have stirred up -remain surging. There was scarcely enough -fighting . . . We made promises, of course. It is -extraordinary how violently and rapidly this vague -out-of-date humanitarianism has revived and spread. -We who sowed the seed even, have been astonished. -In Paris, as I say -- we have had to call in a little -external help." - -"And here?" - -"There is trouble. Multitudes will not go back -to work. There is a general strike. Half the -factories are empty and the people are swarming in the -Ways. They are talking of a Commune. Men in silk -and satin have been insulted in the streets. The blue -canvas is expecting all sorts of things from you.... -Of course there is no need for you to trouble. We -are setting the Babble Machines to work with counter -suggestions in the cause of law and order. We must -keep the grip tight; that is all." - -Graham thought. He perceived a way of asserting -himself. But he spoke with restraint. - -"Even to the pitch of bringing a negro police," he -said. - -"They are useful," said Ostrog. "They are fine -loyal brutes, with no wash of ideas in their heads -- -such as our rabble has. The Council should have had -them as police of the Ways, and things might have been -different. Of course, there is nothing to fear except -rioting and wreckage. You can manage your own -wings now, and you can soar away to Capri if there -is any smoke or fuss. We have the pull of all the -great things; the aeronauts are privileged and rich, the -closest trades union in the world, and so are the -engineers of the wind vanes. We have the air, and the -mastery of the air is the mastery of the earth. No one of -any ability is organising against us. They have no -leaders -- only the sectional leaders of the secret -society we organised before your very opportune -awakening. Mere busy bodies and sentimentalists they -are and bitterly jealous of each other. None of them is -man enough for a central figure. The only trouble will -be a disorganised upheaval. To be frank -- that may -happen. But it won't interrupt your aeronautics. -The days when the People could make revolutions are -past." - -"I suppose they are," said Graham. "I suppose -they are." He mused. "This world of yours has -been full of surprises to me. In the old days we -dreamt of a wonderful democratic life, of a time when -all men would be equal and happy." - -Ostrog looked at him steadfastly. "The day of -democracy is past," he said. "Past for ever. That -day began with the bowmen of Crecy, it ended when -marching infantry, when common men in masses -ceased to win the battles of the world, when costly -cannon, great ironclads, and strategic railways became -the means of power. To-day is the day of wealth. -Wealth now is power as it never was power before -- -it commands earth and sea and sky. All power is for -those who can handle wealth.... You must -accept facts, and these are facts. The world for the -Crowd! The Crowd as Ruler! Even in your days -that creed had been tried and condemned. To-day it -has only one believer -- a multiplex, silly one -- the -mall in the Crowd." - -Graham did not answer immediately. He stood lost -in sombre preoccupations. - -"No," said Ostrog." The day of the common man -is past. On the open countryside one man is as good -as another, or nearly as good. The earlier aristocracy -had a precarious tenure of strength and audacity. -They were tempered -- tempered. There were -insurrections, duels, riots. The first real aristocracy, -the first permanent aristocracy, came in with castles -and armour, and vanished before the musket and bow. -But this is the second aristocracy. The real one. -Those days of gunpowder and democracy were only -an eddy in the stream. The common man now is a -helpless unit. In these days we have this great - - -machine of the city, and an organisation complex -beyond his understanding." - -"Yet," said Graham, "there is something resists, -something you are holding down -- something that -stirs and presses." - -"You will see," said Ostrog, with a forced smile that - - -would brush these difficult questions aside. "I have -not roused the force to destroy myself -- trust me." - -"I wonder," said Graham. - -Ostrog stared. - -"Must the world go this way?" said Graham, with -his emotions at the speaking point. "Must it indeed - - -go in this way? Have all our hopes been vain?" - -"What do you mean?" said Ostrog. "Hopes?" - -"I came from a democratic age. And I find an -aristocratic tyranny!" - -"Well, -- but you are the chief tyrant." - -Graham shook his head. - -"Well," said Ostrog, "take the general question. -It is the way that change has always travelled. -Aristocracy, the prevalence of the best -- the suffering and -extinction of the unfit, and so to better things." - -"But aristocracy! those people I met --" - -"Oh! not those!" said Ostrog. "But for the most -part they go to their death. Vice and pleasure! They -have no children. That sort of stuff will die out. If -the world keeps to one road, that is, if there is no -turning back. An easy road to excess, convenient -Euthanasia for the pleasure seekers singed in the -flame, that is the way to improve the race!" - -"Pleasant extinction," said Graham. "Yet -- ." -He thought for an instant." There is that other thing --- the Crowd, the great mass of poor men. Will that -die out? That will not die out. And it suffers, its -suffering is a force that even you --" - -Ostrog moved impatiently, and when he spoke, he -spoke rather less evenly than before. - -"Don't you trouble about these things," he said. -Everything will be settled in a few days now. The -Crowd is a huge foolish beast. What if it does not -die out? Even if it does not die, it can still be tamed -and driven. I have no sympathy with servile men. -You heard those people shouting and singing two -nights ago. They were taught that song. If you -had taken any man there in cold blood and asked -why he shouted, he could not have told you. They -think they are shouting for you, that they are loyal -and devoted to you. Just then they were ready to -slaughter the Council. To-day -- they are already -murmuring against those who have overthrown the -Council." - -"No, no," said Graham. "They shouted because -their lives were dreary, without joy or pride, and -because in me -- in me -- they hoped." - -"And what was their hope? What is their hope? -What right have they to hope? They work ill and -they want the reward of those who work well. The -hope of mankind -- what is it? That some day the -Over-man may come, that some day the inferior, the -weak and the bestial may be subdued or eliminated. -Subdued if not eliminated. The world is no place for -the bad, the stupid, the enervated. Their duty -- it's -a fine duty too! -- is to die. The death of the failure! -That is the path by which the beast rose to manhood, -by which man goes on to higher things." - -Ostrog took a pace, seemed to think, and turned on -Graham. "I can imagine how this great world state -of ours seems to a Victorian Englishman. You regret -all the old forms of representative government -- their -spectres still haunt the world, the voting councils and -parliaments and all that eighteenth century tomfoolery -You feel moved against our Pleasure Cities. I might -have thought of that, -- had I not been busy. But you -will learn better. The people are mad with envy -- they -would be in sympathy with you. Even in the streets -now, they clamour to destroy the Pleasure Cities. -But the Pleasure Cities are the excretory organs -of the State, attractive places that year after year draw -together all that is weak and vicious, all that is -lascivious and lazy, all the easy roguery of the world, to a -graceful destruction. They go there, they have their -time, they die childless, all the pretty silly lascivious -women die childless, and mankind is the better. If -the people were sane they would not envy the rich - - -their way of death. And you would emancipate the -silly brainless workers that we have enslaved, and try -to make their lives easy and pleasant again. Just -as they have sunk to what they are fit for. "He -smiled a smile that irritated Graham oddly. "You - - -will learn better. I know those ideas; in my boyhood -I read your Shelley and dreamt of Liberty. There is -no liberty, save wisdom and self control. Liberty is -within -- not without. It is each man's own affair. -Suppose -- which is impossible -- that these swarming -yelping fools in blue get the upper hand of us, what -then? They will only fall to other masters. So long -as there are sheep Nature will insist on beasts of prey. -It would mean but a few hundred years' delay. The -coming of the aristocrat is fatal and assured. The end -will be the Over-man -- for all the mad protests of -humanity. Let them revolt, let them win and kill me -and my like. Others will arise -- other masters. The -end will be the same." - -"I wonder," said Graham doggedly. - -For a moment he stood downcast. - -"But I must see these things for myself," he said, -suddenly assuming a tone of confident mastery. -"Only by seeing can I understand. I must learn. -That is what I want to tell you, Ostrog. I do not -want to be King in a Pleasure City; that is not my, -pleasure. I have spent enough time with aeronautics --- and those other things. I must learn how people -live now, how the common life has developed. Then I -shall understand these things better. I must learn -how common people live -- the labour people more -especially -- how they work, marry, bear children, -die --" - -"You get that from our realistic novelists," -suggested Ostrog, suddenly preoccupied. - -"I want reality," said Graham, "not realism." - -"There are difficulties," said Ostrog, and thought. - -"On the whole perhaps -- - -"I did not expect -- . - -"I had thought -- . And yet, perhaps -- . You say -you want to go through the Ways of the city and see -the common people." - -Suddenly he came to some conclusion. "You -would need to go disguised," he said. "The city is -intensely excited, and the discovery of your presence -among them might create a fearful tumult. Still this -wish of yours to go into this city -- this idea of -yours -- . Yes, now I think the thing over it seems to -me not altogether -- . It can be contrived. If you -would really find an interest in that! You are, of -course, Master. You can go soon if you like. A -disguise for this excursion Asano will be able to manage. -He would go with you. After all it is not a bad idea -of yours." - -"You will not want to consult me in any matter?" -asked Graham suddenly, struck by an odd suspicion. - -"Oh, dear no! No! I think you may trust affairs -to me for a time, at any rate," said Ostrog, smiling. -"Even if we differ --" - -Graham glanced; at him sharply. - -"There is no fighting likely to happen soon?" he -asked abruptly. - -"Certainly not." - -"I have been thinking about these negroes. I don't -believe the people intend any hostility to me, and, after -all, I am the Master. I do not want any negroes -brought to London. It is an archaic prejudice perhaps, -but I have peculiar feelings about Europeans and -the subject races. Even about Paris --" - -Ostrog stood watching him from under his drooping -brows." I am not bringing negroes to London," -he said slowly." But if --" - -"You are not to bring armed negroes to London, -whatever happens," said Graham. "In that matter I -am quite decided." - -Ostrog, after a pause, decided not to speak, and -bowed deferentially. - -CHAPTER XX - -IN THE CITY WAYS - -And that night, unknown and unsuspected, Graham, -dressed in the costume of an inferior wind-vane -official keeping holiday, and accompanied by Asano in -Labour Company canvas, surveyed the city through -which he had wandered when it was veiled in darkness. -But now he saw it lit and waking, a whirlpool of life. -In spite of the surging and swaying of the forces of -revolution, in spite of the unusual discontent, -the mutterings of the greater struggle of which the first revolt -was but the prelude, the myriad streams of commerce -still flowed wide and strong. He knew now something -of the dimensions and quality of the new age, but -he was not prepared for the infinite surprise of the -detailed view, for the torrent of colour and vivid -impressions that poured past him. - -This was his first real contact with the people of -these latter days. He realised that all that had gone -before, saving his glimpses of the public theatres and -markets, had had its element of seclusion, had been a -movement within the comparatively narrow political -quarter, that all his previous experiences had revolved -immediately about the question of his own position. -But here was the city at the busiest hours of night, the -people to a large extent returned to their own immediate -interests, the resumption of the real informal life, -he common habits of the new time. - -They emerged at first into a street whose opposite -ways were crowded with the blue canvas liveries. This -swarm Graham saw was a portion of a procession -- -it was odd to see a procession parading the city seated -They carried banners of coarse red stuff with red -letters. "No disarmament," said the banners, for the -most part in crudely daubed letters and with variant -spelling, and "Why should we disarm?" "No disarming." -"No disarming." Banner after banner -went by, a stream of banners flowing past, and at last -at the end, the song of the revolt and a noisy band of -strange instruments." They all ought to be at work," -said Asano. "They have had no food these two days, -or they have stolen it." - -Presently Asano made a detour to avoid the congested -crowd that gaped upon the occasional passage -of dead bodies from hospital to a mortuary, the -gleanings after death's harvest of the first revolt. - -That night few people were sleeping, everyone was -abroad. A vast excitement, perpetual crowds perpetually -changing, surrounded Graham; his mind was confused -and darkened by an incessant tumult, by the -cries and enigmatical fragments of the social struggle -that was as yet only beginning. Everywhere festoons -and banners of black and strange decorations, -intensified the quality of his popularity. -Everywhere he caught snatches of that crude thick -dialect that served the illiterate class, the class, that is, -beyond the reach of phonograph culture, in their -common-place intercourse. Everywhere this trouble of -disarmament was in the air, with a quality of -immediate stress of which he had no inkling during his -seclusion in the Wind-Vane quarter. He perceived -that as soon as he returned he must discuss this with -Ostrog, this and the greater issues of which it was the -expression, in a far more conclusive way than he had -so far done. Perpetually that night, even in the earlier -hours of their wanderings about the city, the spirit -of unrest and revolt swamped his attention, to the -exclusion of countless strange things he might -otherwise have observed. - -This preoccupation made his impressions fragmentary. -Yet amidst so much that was strange and vivid, -no subject, however personal and insistent, could exert -undivided sway. There were spaces when the revolutionary -movement passed clean out of his mind, was -drawn aside like a curtain from before some startling -new aspect of the time. Helen had swayed his mind -to this intense earnestness of enquiry, but there came -times when she, even, receded beyond his conscious -thoughts. At one moment, for example, he found -they were traversing the religious quarter, for the easy -transit about the city afforded by the moving ways -rendered sporadic churches and chapels no longer -necessary -- and his attention was vividly arrested by -the facade of one of the Christian sects. - -They were travelling seated on one of the swift upper -ways, the place leapt upon them at a bend and advanced -rapidly towards them. It was covered with inscriptions -from top to base, in vivid white and blue, save where a -vast and glaring kinematograph transparency presented -a realistic New Testament scene, and where a -vast festoon of black to show that the popular religion -followed the popular politics, hung across the lettering -Graham had already become familiar with the phonotype -writing and these inscriptions arrested him, being -to his sense for the most part almost incredible -blasphemy. Among the less offensive were "Salvation on -the First Floor and turn to the Right." "Put your -Money on your Maker." "The Sharpest Conversion -in London, Expert Operators! Look Slippy!" -"What Christ would say to the Sleeper; -- Join the -Up-to-date Saints!" "Be a Christian -- without -hindrance to your present Occupation." "All the -Brightest Bishops on the Bench to-night and Prices as Usual." -"Brisk Blessings for Busy Business Men." - -"But this is appalling!" said Graham, as that deafening -scream of mercantile piety towered above them. - -"What is appalling?" asked his little officer, -apparently seeking vainly for anything unusual in this -shrieking enamel. - -"_This!_ Surely the essence of religion is reverence." - -"Oh _that!_" Asano looked at Graham. "Does it -shock you?" he said in the tone of one who makes a -discovery. "I suppose it would, of course. I had -forgotten. Nowadays the competition for attention is so -keen. and people simply haven't the leisure to attend to -their souls, you know, as they used to do." He smiled. -"In the old days you had quiet Sabbaths and the -countryside. Though somewhere I've read of Sunday -afternoons that --" - -"But, _that_," said Graham, glancing back at the -receding blue and white. "That is surely not the -only --" - -"There are hundreds of different ways. But, of -course, if a sect doesn't tell it doesn't pay. Worship -has moved with the times. There are high class sects -with quieter ways -- costly incense and personal -attentions and all that. These people are extremely -popular and prosperous. They pay several dozen lions for -those apartments to the Council -- to you, I should -say." - -Graham still felt a difficulty with the coinage, and -this mention of a dozen lions brought him abruptly -to that matter. In a moment the screaming temples -and their swarming touts were forgotten in this new -interest. A turn of a phrase suggested, and an answer -confirmed the idea that gold and silver were both -demonetised, that stamped gold which had begun its -reign amidst the merchants of Phoenicia was at last -dethroned. The change had been graduated but swift, -brought about by an extension of the system of -cheques that had even in his previous life already -practically superseded gold in all the larger business -transactions. The common traffic of the city, the common -currency indeed of all the world, was conducted by -means of the little brown, green and pink council -cheques for small amounts, printed with a blank payee. -Asano had several with him, and at the first -opportunity he supplied the gaps in his set. They were -printed not on tearable paper, but on a semi-transparent -fabric of silken, flexibility, interwoven with silk. -Across them all sprawled a facsimile of Graham's -signature, his first encounter with the curves and turns of -that familiar autograph for two hundred and three -years. - -Some intermediary experiences made no impression -sufficiently vivid to prevent the matter of the -disarmament claiming his thoughts again; a blurred picture -of a Theosophist temple that promised MIRACLES -in enormous letters of unsteady fire was least -submerged perhaps, but then came the view of the dining -hall in Northumberland Avenue. That interested him -very greatly. - -By the energy and thought of Asano he was able to -view this place from a little screened gallery reserved -for the attendants of the tables. The building was -pervaded by a distant muffled hooting, piping and -bawling, of which he did not at first understand the -import, but which recalled a certain mysterious -leathery voice he had heard after the resumption of the -lights on the night of his solitary wandering. - -He had grown accustomed now to vastness and -great numbers of people, nevertheless this spectacle -held him for a long time. It was as he watched the -table service more immediately beneath, and -interspersed with many questions and answers concerning -details, that the realisation of the full significance of -the feast of several thousand people came to him. - - -It was his constant surprise to find that points that -one might have expected to strike vividly at the very -outset never occurred to him until some trivial detail -suddenly shaped as a riddle and pointed to the obvious -thing he had overlooked. In this matter, for instance, -it had not occurred to him that this continuity of the -city, this exclusion of weather, these vast halls and -ways, involved the disappearance of the household; -that the typical Victorian "home," the little brick cell -containing kitchen and scullery, living rooms and -bedrooms, had, save for the ruins that diversified the -countryside, vanished as surely as the wattle hut. But -now he saw what had indeed been manifest from the -first, that London, regarded as a living place, was no -longer an aggregation of houses but a prodigious hotel, -an hotel with a thousand classes of accommodation, -thousands of dining halls, chapels, theatres, markets -and places of assembly, a synthesis of enterprises, of -which he chiefly was the owner. People had their -sleeping rooms, with, it might be, antechambers, -rooms that were always sanitary at least whatever the -degree of comfort and privacy, and for the rest they -lived much as many people had lived in the new-made -giant hotels of the Victorian days, eating, reading, -thinking, playing, conversing, all in places of public -resort, going to their work in the industrial quarters -of the city or doing business in their offices in the -trading section. - -He perceived at once how necessarily this state of -affairs had developed from the Victorian city. The -fundamental reason for the modern city had ever been -the economy of co-operation. The chief thing to prevent -the merging of the separate households in his -own generation was simply the still imperfect civilisation -of the people, the strong barbaric pride, passions, -and prejudices, the jealousies, rivalries, and violence -of the middle and lower classes, which had necessitated -the entire separation of contiguous households. But -the change, the taming of the people, had been in -rapid progress even then. In his brief thirty years of -previous life he had seen an enormous extension of -the habit of consuming meals from home, the casually -patronised horse-box coffee-house had given place to -the open and crowded Aerated Bread Shop for -instance, women's clubs had had their beginning, and -an immense development of reading rooms, lounges -and libraries had witnessed to the growth of social -confidence. These promises had by this time attained -to their complete fulfillment. The locked and barred -household had passed away. - -These people below him belonged, he learnt, to the -lower middle class, the class just above the blue -labourers, a class so accustomed in the Victorian -period to feed with every precaution of privacy that -its members, when occasion confronted them with a -public meal, would usually hide their embarrassment -under horseplay or a markedly militant demeanour. -But these gaily, if lightly dressed people below, albeit -vivacious, hurried and uncommunicative, were -dexterously mannered and certainly quite at their ease -with regard to one another. - -He noted a slight significant thing; the table, as -far as he could see, was and remained delightfully neat, -there was nothing to parallel the confusion, the -broadcast crumbs, the splashes of viand and condiment, the -overturned drink and displaced ornaments, which would -have marked the stormy progress of the Victorian meal. -The table furniture was very different. There were -no ornaments, no flowers, and the table was without a -cloth, being made, he learnt, of a solid substance -having the texture and appearance of damask. He -discerned that this damask substance was patterned with -gracefully designed trade advertisements. - -In a sort of recess before each diner was a complete -apparatus of porcelain and metal. There was one -plate of white porcelain, and by means of taps for hot -and cold volatile fluids the diner washed this himself -between the courses; he also washed his elegant white -metal knife and fork and spoon as occasion required. - -Soup and the chemical wine that was the common -drink were delivered by similar taps, and the remaining -covers travelled automatically in tastefully arranged -dishes down the table along silver rails. The diner -stopped these and helped himself at his discretion. -They appeared at a little door at one end of the table, -and vanished at the other. That turn of democratic -sentiment in decay, that ugly pride of menial souls, -which renders equals loth to wait on one another, was -very strong he found among these people. He was so -preoccupied with these details that it was only just as -he was leaving the place that he remarked the huge -advertisement dioramas that marched majestically -along the upper walls and proclaimed the most -remarkable commodities. - -Beyond this place they came into a crowded hall, -and he discovered the cause of the noise that had -perplexed him. They paused at a turnstile at which a -payment was made. - -Graham's attention was immediately arrested by a -violent, loud hoot, followed by a vast leathery voice. -"The Master is sleeping peacefully," it said vociferately. -"He is in excellent health. He is going to devote the -rest of his life to aeronautics. He says women are -more beautiful than ever. Galloop! Wow! Our -wonderful civilisation astonishes him beyond measure. -Beyond all measure. Galloop. He puts great trust -in Boss Ostrog, absolute confidence in Boss Ostrog. -Ostrog is to be his chief minister; is authorised to -remove or reinstate public officers -- all patronage will -be in his hands. All patronage in the hands of Boss -Ostrog! The Councillors have been sent back to their -own prison above the Council House." - -Graham stopped at the first sentence, and, looking -up, beheld a foolish trumpet face from which this was -brayed. This was the General Intelligence Machine. -For a space it seemed to be gathering breath, and a -regular throbbing from its cylindrical body was -audible. Then it trumpeted "Galloop, Galloop," and -broke out again. - -"Paris is now pacified. All resistance is over. -Galloop! The black police hold every position of -importance in the city. They fought with great bravery, -singing songs written in praise of their ancestors -by the poet Kipling. Once or twice they got out of -hand, and tortured and mutilated wounded and captured -insurgents, men and women. Moral -- don't go -rebelling. Haha! Galloop, Galloop! They are -lively fellows. Lively brave fellows. Let this be a lesson -to the disorderly banderlog of this city. Yah! -Banderlog! Filth of the earth! Galloop, Galloop!" - -The voice ceased. There was a confused murmur -of disapproval among the crowd. "Damned niggers." -A man began to harangue near them. "Is -this the Master's doing, brothers? Is this the -Master's doing?" - -"Black police!" said Graham." What is that? -You don't mean --" - -Asano touched his arm and gave him a warning -look, and forthwith another of these mechanisms I -screamed deafeningly and gave tongue in a shrill voice. -"Yahaha, Yahah, Yap! Hear a live paper yelp! -Live paper. Yaha! Shocking outrage in Paris. -Yahahah! The Parisians exasperated by the black -police to the pitch of assassination. Dreadful -reprisals. Savage times come again. Blood! Blood! -Yaha!" The nearer Babble Machine hooted stupendously, -"Galloop, Galloop," drowned the end of the -sentence, and proceeded in a rather flatter note than -before with novel comments on the horrors of disorder. -"Law and order must be maintained," said the nearer - - -Babble Machine. - -"But," began Graham. - -"Don't ask questions here," said Asano, "or you -will be involved in an argument." - -"Then let us go on," said Graham, "for I want to -know more of this." - -As he and his companion pushed their way through -the excited crowd that swarmed beneath these voices, -towards the exit, Graham conceived more clearly the -proportion and features of this room. Altogether, -great and small, there must have been nearly a thousand -of these erections, piping, hooting, bawling and -gabbling in that great space, each with its crowd of -excited listeners, the majority of them men dressed -in blue canvas. There were all sizes of machines, -from the little gossipping mechanisms that chuckled -out mechanical sarcasm in odd corners, through a -number of grades to such fifty-foot giants as that which -had first hooted over Graham. - -This place was unusually crowded, because of the -intense public interest in the course of affairs in Paris. -Evidently the struggle had been much more savage -than Ostrog had represented it. All the mechanisms -were discoursing upon that topic, and the repetition -of the people made the huge hive buzz with such -phrases as "Lynched policemen," "Women burnt -alive," "Fuzzy Wuzzy." "But does the Master allow -such things?" asked a man near him. "Is this the -beginning of the Master's rule?" - -Is _this_ the beginning of the Master's rule? For a -long time after he had left the place, the hooting, -whistling and braying of the machines pursued him; -"Galloop, Galloop," "Yahahah, Yaha, Yap! Yaha!" -Is this the beginning of the Master's rule? - -Directly they were out upon the ways he began to -question Asano closely on the nature of the Parisian -struggle. "This disarmament! What was their -trouble? What does it all mean?" Asano seemed -chiefly anxious to reassure him that it was "all right." -"But these outrages!" "You cannot have an omelette," -said Asano, "without breaking eggs. It is only -the rough people. Only in one part of the city. All -the rest is all right. The Parisian labourers are the -wildest in the world, except ours." - -"What! the Londoners?" - -"No, the Japanese. They have to be kept in order." -"But burning women alive!" - -"A Commune!" said Asano. "They would rob -you of your property. They would do away with -property and give the world over to mob rule. You -are Master, the world is yours. But there will be no -Commune here. There is no need for black police -here. - -"And every consideration has been shown. It is -their own negroes -- French speaking negroes. Senegal -regiments, and Niger and Timbuctoo." - -"Regiments?" said Graham, "I thought there was -only one -- ." - -"No," said Asano, and glanced at him. "There is -more than one." - -Graham felt unpleasantly helpless. - -"I did not think," he began and stopped abruptly -He went off at a tangent to ask for information -about these Babble Machines. For the most -part, the crowd present had been shabbily or even -raggedly dressed, and Graham learnt that so far as -the more prosperous classes were concerned, in all -the more comfortable private apartments of the city -were fixed Babble Machines that would speak directly -a lever was pulled. The tenant of the apartment -could connect this with the cables of any of the great -News Syndicates that he preferred. When he learnt -this presently, he demanded the reason of their -absence from his own suite of apartments. Asano -stared. "I never thought," he said. "Ostrog must -have had them removed." - -Graham stared. "How was I to know?" he exclaimed. - -"Perhaps he thought they would annoy you," said -Asano. - -"They must be replaced directly I return," said -Graham after an interval. - -He found a difficulty in understanding that this -news room and the dining hall were not great central -places, that such establishments were repeated almost -beyond counting all over the city. But ever and -again during the night's expedition his ears, in some -new quarter would pick out from the tumult of the -ways the peculiar hooting of the organ of Boss -Ostrog, "Galloop, Galloop!" or the shrill "Yahaha, -Yaha, Yap! -- Hear a live paper yelp!" of its chief -rival. - -Repeated, too, everywhere, were such _creches_ as the -one he now entered. It was reached by a lift, and -by a glass bridge that flung across the dining hall -and traversed the ways at a slight upward angle. To -enter the first section of the place necessitated the -use of his solvent signature under Asano's direction. -They were immediately attended to by a man in a -violet robe and gold clasp, the insignia of practising -medical men. He perceived from this man's manner -that his identity was known, and proceeded to ask -questions on the strange arrangements of the place -without reserve. - -On either side of the passage, which was silent -and padded, as if to deaden the footfall, were narrow -little doors, their size and arrangement suggestive of -the cells of a Victorian prison. But the upper portion -of each door was of the same greenish transparent -stuff that had enclosed him at his awakening, -and within, dimly seen, lay, in every case, a very -young baby in a little nest of wadding. Elaborate -apparatus watched the atmosphere and rang a bell far -away in the central office at the slightest departure -from the optimum of temperature and moisture. A - - -system of such _creches_ had almost entirely replaced -the hazardous adventures of the old-world nursing. -The attendant presently called Graham's attention to -the wet nurses, a vista of mechanical figures, with -arms, shoulders and breasts of astonishingly realistic -modelling, articulation, and texture, but mere brass -tripods below, and having in the place of features a -flat disc bearing advertisements likely to be of interest -to mothers. - -Of all the strange things that Graham came upon -that night, none jarred more upon his habits of -thought than this place. The spectacle of the little -pink creatures, their feeble limbs swaying uncertainly -in vague first movements, left alone, without embrace -or endearment, was wholly repugnant to him. The -attendant doctor was of a different opinion. His -statistical evidence showed beyond dispute that in the -Victorian times the most dangerous passage of life -was the arms of the mother, that there human mortality -had ever been most terrible. On the other -hand this _creche_ company, the International Creche -Syndicate, lost not one-half per cent of the million -babies or so that formed its peculiar care. But Graham's -prejudice was too strong even for those figures. - -Along one of the many passages of the place they -presently came upon a young couple in the usual blue -canvas peering through the transparency and laughing -hysterically at the bald head of their first-born. -Graham's face must have showed his estimate of them, -for their merriment ceased and they looked abashed. -But this little incident accentuated his sudden -realisation of the gulf between his habits of thought and the -ways of the new age. He passed on to the crawling -rooms and the Kindergarten, perplexed and distressed. -He found the endless long playrooms were -empty! the latter-day children at least still spent their -nights in sleep. As they went through these, the little -officer pointed out the nature of the toys, developments -of those devised by that inspired sentimentalist - -Froebel. -There were nurses here, but much was -done by machines that sang and danced and dandled. - -Graham was still not clear upon many points. -"But so many orphans," he said perplexed, reverting -to a first misconception, and learnt again that they -were not orphans. - -So soon as they had left the _creche_ he began to -speak of the horror the babies in their incubating -cases had caused him. "Is motherhood gone?" he -said. "Was it a cant? Surely it was an instinct. -This seems so unnatural -- abominable almost." - -"Along here we shall come to the dancing place," -said Asano by way of reply. "It is sure to be -crowded. In spite of all the political unrest it will be -crowded. The women take no great interest in -politics -- except a few here and there. You will see the -mothers -- most young women in London are mothers. -In that class it is considered a creditable thing -to have one child -- a proof of animation. Few -middle class people have more than one. With the -Labour Company it is different. As for motherhood -They still take an immense pride in the children. -They come here to look at them quite often." - -"Then do you mean that the population of the -world -- ?" - -"Is falling? Yes. Except among the people under -the Labour Company. They are reckless -- ." - -The air was suddenly dancing with music, and down -a way they approached obliquely, set with gorgeous -pillars as it seemed of clear amethyst, flowed a -concourse of gay people and a tumult of merry cries and -laughter. He saw curled heads, wreathed brows, and -a happy intricate flutter of gamboge pass triumphant -across the picture. - -"You will see," said Asano with a faint smile -"The world has changed. In a moment you will see -the mothers of the new age. Come this way. We -shall see those yonder again very soon." - -They ascended a certain height in a swift lift, and -changed to a slower one. As they went on the music -grew upon them, until it was near and full and -splendid, and, moving with its glorious intricacies they -could distinguish the beat of innumerable dancing -feet. They made a payment at a turnstile, and -emerged upon the wide gallery that overlooked the -dancing place, and upon the full enchantment of -sound and sight. - -"Here," said Asano, "are the fathers and mothers -of the little ones you saw." - -The hall was not so richly decorated as that of the -Atlas, but saving that, it was, for its size, the most -splendid Graham had seen. The beautiful white limbed -figures that supported the galleries reminded -him once more of the restored magnificence of sculpture; -they seemed to writhe in engaging attitudes, -their faces laughed. The source of the music that -filled the place was hidden, and the whole vast shining -floor was thick with dancing couples. "Look at -them," said the little officer, "see how much they -show of motherhood." - -The gallery they stood upon ran along the upper -edge of a huge screen that cut the dancing hall on one -side from a sort of outer hall that showed through -broad arches the incessant onward rush of the city -ways. In this outer hall was a great crowd of less -brilliantly dressed people, as numerous almost as -those who danced within, the great majority wearing -the blue uniform of the Labour Company that was -now so familiar to Graham. Too poor to pass the -turnstiles to the festival, they were yet unable to keep -away from the sound of its seductions. Some of them -even had cleared spaces, and were dancing also, -fluttering their rags in the air. Some shouted as they -danced, jests and odd allusions Graham did not understand. -Once someone began whistling the refrain of -the revolutionary song, but it seemed as though that -beginning was promptly suppressed. The corner was -dark and Graham could not see. He turned to the -hall again. Above the caryatidae were marble busts -of men whom that age esteemed great moral emancipators -and pioneers; for the most part their names -were strange to Graham, though he recognised Grant -Allen, Le Gallienne, Nietzsche, Shelley and Goodwin. -Great black festoons and eloquent sentiments reinforced -the huge inscription that partially defaced the -upper end of the dancing place, and asserted that "The -Festival of the Awakening" was in progress. - -"Myriads are taking holiday or staying from work -because of that, quite apart from the labourers who -refuse to go back," said Asano. "These people are -always ready for holidays." - -Graham walked to the parapet and stood leaning -over, looking down at the dancers. Save for two or -three remote whispering couples, who had stolen -apart, he and his guide had the gallery to themselves. -A warm breath of scent and vitality came up to him. -Both men and women below were lightly clad, bare-armed, -open-necked, as the universal warmth of the -city permitted. The hair of the men was often a mass -of effeminate curls, their chins were always shaven, -and many of them had flushed or coloured cheeks. -Many of the women were very pretty, and all were -dressed with elaborate coquetry. As they swept by -beneath, he saw ecstatic faces with eyes half closed in -pleasure. - -"What sort of people are these?" he asked -abruptly. - -"Workers -- prosperous workers. What you -would have called the middle class. Independent -tradesmen with little separate businesses have vanished -long ago, but there are store servers, managers, -engineers of a hundred sorts. Tonight is a holiday -of course, and every dancing place in the city -will be crowded, and every place of worship." - -"But -- the women?" - -"The same. There's a thousand forms of work for -women now. But you had the beginning of the -independent working-woman in your days. Most women -are independent now. Most of these are married -more or less -- there are a number of methods of -contract -- and that gives them more money, and enables -them to enjoy themselves." - -"I see," said Graham looking at the flushed faces, -the flash and swirl of movement, and still thinking of -that nightmare of pink helpless limbs." And these -are -- mothers." - -"Most of them." - -"The more I see of these things the more complex -I find your problems. This, for instance, is a surprise. -That news from Paris was a surprise." - -In a little while he spoke again: - -"These are mothers. Presently, I suppose, I shall -get into the modern way of seeing things. I have old -habits of mind clinging about me -- habits based, I -suppose, on needs that are over and done with. Of -course, in our time, a woman was supposed not only -to bear children, but to cherish them, to devote herself -to them, to educate them -- all the essentials of moral -and mental education a child owed its mother. -Or went without. Quite a number, I admit, went -without. Nowadays, clearly, there is no more need -for such care than if they were butterflies. I see that! -Only there was an ideal -- that figure of a grave, -patient woman, silently and serenely mistress of a -home, mother and maker of men -- to love her was a -sort of worship --" - -He stopped and repeated, "A sort of worship." - -"Ideals change," said the little man, "as needs -change." - -Graham awoke from an instant reverie and Asano -repeated his words. Graham's mind returned to the -thing at hand. - -"Of course I see the perfect reasonableness of this -Restraint, soberness, the matured thought, the unselfish a -act, they are necessities of the barbarous state, the -life of dangers. Dourness is man's tribute to -unconquered nature. But man has conquered nature now -for all practical purposes -- his political affairs are -managed by Bosses with a black police -- and life is -joyous." - -He looked at the dancers again. "Joyous," he -said. - -"There are weary moments," said the little officer, -reflectively. - -"They all look young. Down there I should be -visibly the oldest man. And in my own time I should -have passed as middle-aged." - -"They are young. There are few old people in this -class in the work cities." - -"How is that?" - -"Old people's lives are not so pleasant as they used -to be, unless they are rich to hire lovers and helpers. -And we have an institution called Euthanasy." - -"Ah! that Euthanasy!" said Graham. "The easy -death?" - -"The easy death. It is the last pleasure. The -Euthanasy Company does it well. People will pay the -sum -- it is a costly thing -- long beforehand, go off to -some pleasure city and return impoverished and -weary, very weary." - -"There is a lot left for me to understand," said -Graham after a pause. "Yet I see the logic of it all. -Our array of angry virtues and sour restraints was the -consequence of danger and insecurity. The Stoic, the -Puritan, even in my time, were vanishing types. In -the old days man was armed against Pain, now he is -eager for Pleasure. There lies the difference. -Civilisation has driven pain and danger so far off -- for -well-to-do people. And only well-to-do people matter -now. I have been asleep two hundred years." - -For a minute they leant on the balustrading, following -the intricate evolution of the dance. Indeed the -scene was very beautiful. - -"Before God," said Graham, suddenly, "I would -rather be a wounded sentinel freezing in the snow than -one of these painted fools!" - -"In the snow," said Asano, "one might think -differently." - -"I am uncivilised," said Graham, not heeding him. -"That is the trouble. I am primitive -- Palaeolithic. -Their fountain of rage and fear and anger is sealed - - -and closed, the habits of a lifetime make them cheerful -and easy and delightful. You must bear with my -nineteenth century shocks and disgusts. These -people, you say, are skilled workers and so forth. And -while these dance, men are fighting -- men are dying -in Paris to keep the world -- that they may dance." - -Asano smiled faintly. "For that matter, men are -dying in London," he said. - -There was a moment's silence. - -"Where do these sleep?" asked Graham. - -"Above and below -- an intricate warren." - -"And where do they work? This is -- the domestic -life." - -"You will see little work to-night. Half the workers -are out or under arms. Half these people are keeping -holiday. But we will go to the work places if you -wish it." - -For a time Graham watched the dancers, then -suddenly turned away. "I want to see the workers. -I have seen enough of these," he said. - -Asano led the way along the gallery across the -dancing hall. Presently they came to a transverse -passage that brought a breath of fresher, colder air. - -Asano glanced at this passage as they went past, -stopped, went back to it, and turned to Graham with -a smile. "Here, Sire," he said, "is something -- will -be familiar to you at least -- and yet -- . But I will -not tell you. Come!" - -He led the way along a closed passage that presently -became cold. The reverberation of their feet told -that this passage was a bridge. They came into a -circular gallery that was glazed in from the outer -weather, and so reached a circular chamber which -seemed familiar, though Graham could not recall -distinctly when he had entered it before. In this was a -ladder -- the first ladder he had seen since his -awakening -- up which they went, and came into a -high, dark, cold place in which was another almost -vertical ladder. This they ascended, Graham still -perplexed. - -But at the top he understood, and recognized the -metallic bars to which he clung. He was in the cage -under the ball of St. Paul's. The dome rose but a -little way above the general contour of the city, -into the still twilight, and sloped away, shining -greasily under a few distant lights, into a circumambient -ditch of darkness. - -Out between the bars he looked upon the wind-clear -northern sky and saw the starry constellations -all unchanged. Capella hung in the west, Vega was -rising, and the seven glittering points of the Great -Bear swept overhead in their stately circle about the -Pole. - -He saw these stars in a clear gap of sky. To the -east and south the great circular shapes of -complaining wind-wheels blotted out the heavens, so that the -glare about the Council House was hidden. To the -south-west hung Orion, showing like a pallid ghost -through a tracery of iron-work and interlacing shapes -above a dazzling coruscation of lights. A bellowing -and siren screaming that came from the flying -stages warned the world that one of the aeroplanes -was ready to start. He remained for a space gazing -towards the glaring stage. Then his eyes went back -to the northward constellations. - -For a long time he was silent. "This," he said at -last, smiling in the shadow, "seems the strangest thing -of all. To stand in the dome of Saint Paul's and look -once more upon these familiar, silent stars!" - -Thence Graham was taken by Asano along devious -ways to the great gambling and business quarters -where the bulk of the fortunes in the city were lost -and made. It impressed him as a well-nigh interminable -series of very high halls, surrounded by tiers upon -tiers of galleries into which opened thousands of - - -offices, and traversed by a complicated multitude of -bridges, footways, aerial motor rails, and trapeze and -cable leaps. And here more than anywhere the note -of vehement vitality, of uncontrollable, hasty activity. -rose high. Everywhere was violent advertisement, -until his brain swam at the tumult of light and colour. -And Babble Machines of a peculiarly rancid tone were -abundant and filled the air with strenuous squealing -and an idiotic slang. "Skin your eyes and slide," -"Gewhoop, Bonanza," "Gollipers come and hark!" - -The place seemed to him to be dense with people -either profoundly agitated or swelling with obscure -cunning, yet he learnt that the place was comparatively -empty, that the great political convulsion of the -last few days had reduced transactions to an -unprecedented minimum. In one huge place were long -avenues of roulette tables, each with an excited, -undignified crowd about it; in another a -yelping Babel of white-faced women and red-necked -leathery-lunged men bought and sold the -shares of an absolutely fictitious business -undertaking which, every five minutes, paid a dividend of -ten per cent and cancelled a certain proportion of its -shares by means of a lottery wheel. - -These business activities were prosecuted with an -energy that readily passed into violence, and Graham -approaching a dense crowd found at its centre a couple -of prominent merchants in violent controversy with -teeth and nails on some delicate point of business -etiquette. Something still remained in life to be fought -for. Further he had a shock at a vehement -announcement in phonetic letters of scarlet flame, each twice -the height of a man, that "WE ASSURE THE PROPRAIET'R. -WE ASSURE THE PROPRAIET'R." - -"Who's the proprietor?" he asked. - -"You." - - - -"But what do they assure me?" he asked. "What -do they assure me?" - -"Didn't you have assurance?" - -Graham thought. "Insurance?" - -"Yes -- Insurance. I remember that was the older -word. They are insuring your life. Dozands of -people are taking out policies, myriads of lions are -being put on you. And further on other people are -buying annuities. They do that on everybody who is -at all prominent. Look there!" - -A crowd of people surged and roared, and Graham -saw a vast black screen suddenly illuminated in still -larger letters of burning purple. "Anuetes on the -Propraiet'r -- x 5 pr. G." The people began to boo -and shout at this, a number of hard breathing, -wildeyed men came running past, clawing with hooked -fingers at the air. There was a furious crush about a -little doorway. - -Asano did a brief calculation. "Seventeen per cent -per annum is their annuity on you. They would not -pay so much per cent if they could see you now, Sire. -But they do not know. Your own annuities used to -be a very safe investment, but now you are sheer -gambling, of course. This is probably a desperate -bid. I doubt if people will get their money." - -The crowd of would-be annuitants grew so thick -about them that for some time they could move neither -forward no backward. Graham noticed what appeared -to him to be a high proportion of women among the -speculators, and was reminded again of the economical -independence of their sex. They seemed remarkably -well able to take care of themselves in the crowd, -using their elbows with particular skill, as he learnt to -his cost. One curly-headed person caught in the -pressure for a space, looked steadfastly at him several -times, almost as if she recognized him, and then, -edging deliberately towards him, touched his hand - - -with her arm in a scarcely accidental manner, and -made it plain by a look as ancient as Chaldea that he -had found favour in her eyes. And then a lank, -grey-bearded man, perspiring copiously in a noble passion -of self-help, blind to all earthly things save that glaring, -bait, thrust between them in a cataclysmal rush towards -that alluring "x 5 pr. G." - -"I want to get out of this," said Graham to Asano. -"This is not what I came to see. Show me the -workers. I want to see the people in blue. These -parasitic lunatics --" - -He found himself wedged in a struggling mass c -people, and this hopeful sentence went unfinished. - -CHAPTER XXI - -THE UNDER SIDE - -From the Business Quarter they presently passed -by the running ways into a remote quarter of the city, -where the bulk of the manufactures was done. On -their way the platforms crossed the Thames twice, and -passed in a broad viaduct across one of the great roads -that entered the city from the North. In both cases -his impression was swift and in both very vivid. The -river was a broad wrinkled glitter of black sea water, -overarched by buildings, and vanishing either way into -a blackness starred with receding lights. A string of -black barges passed seaward, manned by blue-clad -men. The road was a long and very broad and high -tunnel, along which big-wheeled machines drove -noiselessly and swiftly. Here, too, the distinctive blue -of the Labour Company was in abundance. The -smoothness of the double tracks, the largeness and the -lightness of the big pneumatic wheels in proportion to -the vehicular body, struck Graham most vividly. One -lank and very high carriage with longitudinal metallic -rods hung with the dripping carcasses of many -hundred sheep arrested his attention unduly. Abruptly -the edge of the archway cut and blotted out the -picture. - -Presently they left the way and descended by a lift -and traversed a passage that sloped downward, and -so came to a descending lift again. The appearance -of things changed. Even the pretence of architectural -ornament disappeared, the lights diminished in -number and size, the architecture became more and -more massive in proportion to the spaces as the -factory quarters were reached. And in the dusty -biscuit-making place of the potters, among the felspar mills -in the furnace rooms of the metal workers, among the -incandescent lakes of crude Eadhamite, the blue -canvas clothing was on man, woman and child. - -Many of these great and dusty galleries were silent -avenues of machinery, endless raked out ashen furnaces -testified to the revolutionary dislocation, but -wherever there was work it was being done by slow-moving -workers in blue canvas. The only people not -in blue canvas were the overlookers of the work-places -and the orange-clad Labour Police. And fresh from -the flushed faces of the dancing halls, the voluntary -vigours of the business quarter, Graham could note -the pinched faces, the feeble muscles, and weary eyes -of many of the latter-day workers. Such as he saw at -work were noticeably inferior in physique to the few -gaily dressed managers and forewomen who were -directing their labours. The burly labourers of the -Victorian times had followed the dray horse and all -such living force producers, to extinction; the place of -his costly muscles was taken by some dexterous -machine. The latter-day labourer, male as well as -female, was essentially a machine-minder and feeder, -a servant and attendant, or an artist under direction. - -The women, in comparison with those Graham -remembered, were as a class distinctly plain and flat-chested. -Two hundred years of emancipation from -the moral restraints of Puritanical religion, two -hundred years of city life, had done their work in -eliminating the strain of feminine beauty and vigour from -the blue canvas myriads. To be brilliant physically -or mentally, to be in any way attractive or exceptional, -had been and was still a certain way of emancipation -to the drudge, a line of escape to the Pleasure City -and its splendours and delights, and at last to the -Euthanasy and peace. To be steadfast against such -inducements was scarcely to be expected of meanly -nourished souls. In the young cities of Graham's -former life, the newly aggregated labouring mass had -been a diverse multitude, still stirred by the tradition -of personal honour and a high morality; now it was -differentiating into a distinct class, with a moral and -physical difference of its own -- even with a dialect of -its own. - -They penetrated downward, ever downward, towards -the working places. Presently they passed underneath -one of the streets of the moving ways, and saw its -platforms running on their rails far overhead, and chinks -of white lights between the transverse slits. The -factories that were not working were sparsely lighted; -to Graham they and their shrouded aisles of giant -machines seemed plunged in gloom, and even where -work was going on the illumination was far less -brilliant than upon the public ways. - -Beyond the blazing lakes of Eadhamite he came to -the warren of the jewellers, and, with some difficulty -and by using his signature, obtained admission to -these galleries. They were high and dark, and rather -cold. In the first a few men were making ornaments -of gold filigree, each man at a little bench by himself, -and with a little shaded light. The long vista of light -patches, with the nimble fingers brightly lit and -moving among the gleaming yellow coils, and the -intent face like the face of a ghost, in each shadow -had the oddest effect. - -The work was beautifully executed, but without any -strength of modelling or drawing, for the most part -intricate grotesques or the ringing of the changes on -a geometrical motif. These workers wore a peculiar -white uniform without pockets or sleeves. They -assumed this on coming to work, but at night they -were stripped and examined before they left the -premises of the Company. In spite of every precaution, -the Labour policeman told them in a depressed -tone, the Company was not infrequently robbed. - -Beyond was a gallery of women busied in cutting -and setting slabs of artificial ruby, and next these were -men and women busied together upon the slabs of -copper net that formed the basis of cloisonne tiles. -Many of these workers had lips and nostrils a livid -white, due to a disease caused by a peculiar purple -enamel that chanced to be much in fashion. Asano -apologised to Graham for the offence of their faces, but -excused himself on the score of the convenience of this -route. "This is what I wanted to see," said Graham; -"this is what I wanted to see," trying to avoid a start -at a particularly striking disfigurement that suddenly -stared him in the face. - -"She might have done better with herself than -that," said Asano. - -Graham made some indignant comments. - -"But, Sire, we simply could not stand that stuff -without the purple," said Asano. "In your days -people could stand such crudities, they were nearer the -barbaric by two hundred years." - -They continued along one of the lower galleries of -this cloisonne factory, and came to a little bridge that -spanned a vault. Looking over the parapet, Graham -saw that beneath was a wharf under yet more tremendous -archings than any he had seen. Three -barges, smothered in floury dust, were being unloaded -of their cargoes of powdered felspar by a multitude -of coughing men, each guiding a little truck; the dust -filled the place with a choking mist, and turned the -electric glare yellow. The vague shadows of these -workers gesticulated about their feet, and rushed to -and fro against a long stretch of white-washed wall. -Every now and then one would stop to cough. - -A shadowy, huge mass of masonry rising out of the -inky water, brought to Graham's mind the thought of -the multitude of ways and galleries and lifts, that rose -floor above floor overhead between him and the sky. -The men worked in silence under the supervision of -two of the Labour Police; their feet made a hollow -thunder on the planks along which they went to and -fro. And as he looked at this scene, some hidden -voice in the darkness began to sing. - -"Stop that!" shouted one of the policemen, but the -order was disobeyed, and first one and then all the -white-stained men who were working there had taken -up the beating refrain, singing it defiantly, the Song -of the Revolt. The feet upon the planks thundered -now to the rhythm of the song, tramp, tramp, tramp. -The policeman who had shouted glanced at his fellow, -and Graham saw him shrug his shoulders. He made -no further effort to stop the singing. - -And so they went through these factories and places -of toil, seeing many painful and grim things. But -why should the gentle reader be depressed? Surely -to a refined nature our present world is distressing -enough without bothering ourselves about these -miseries to come. We shall not suffer anyhow. Our -children may, but what is that to us? That walk left on -Graham's mind a maze of memories, fluctuating pictures -of swathed halls, and crowded vaults seen through -clouds of dust, of intricate machines, the racing threads -of looms, the heavy beat of stamping machinery, the -roar and rattle of belt and armature, of ill-lit -subterranean aisles of sleeping places, illimitable vistas of -pin-point lights. And here the smell of tanning, and -here the reek of a brewery and here, unprecedented -reeks. And everywhere were pillars and cross archings -of such a massiveness as Graham had never before -seen, thick Titans of greasy, shining brickwork crushed -beneath the vast weight of that complex city world, -even as these anemic millions were crushed by its -complexity. And everywhere were pale features, lean -limbs, disfigurement and degradation. - -Once and again, and again a third time, Graham -heard the song of the revolt during his long, - - -unpleasant research in these places, and once he saw -a confused struggle down a passage, and learnt that -a number of these serfs had seized their bread before -their work was done. Graham was ascending towards -the ways again when he saw a number of blue-clad -children running down a transverse passage, and -presently perceived the reason of their panic in a -company of the Labour Police armed with clubs, -trotting towards some unknown disturbance. And -then came a remote disorder. But for the most part - - -this remnant that worked, worked hopelessly. All the -spirit that was left in fallen humanity was above in the -streets that night, calling for the Master, and valiantly -and noisily keeping its arms. - -They emerged from these wanderings and stood -blinking in the bright light of the middle passage of -the platforms again. They became aware of the -remote hooting and yelping of the machines of one of -the General Intelligence Offices, and suddenly came -men running, and along the platforms and about the -ways everywhere was a shouting and crying. Then -a woman with a face of mute white terror, and another -who gasped and shrieked as she ran. - -"What has happened now?" said Graham, puzzled, -for he could not understand their thick speech. Then -he heard it in English and perceived that the thing -that everyone was shouting, that men yelled to one -another, that women took up screaming, that was -passing like the first breeze of a thunderstorm, chill -and sudden through the city, was this: "Ostrog has -ordered the Black Police to London. The Black -Police are coming from South Africa. . . . The -Black Police. The Black Police." - -Asano's face was white and astonished; he hesitated, -looked at Graham's face, and told him the thing -he already knew. "But how can they know?" asked -Asano. - -Graham heard someone shouting. "Stop all work. -Stop all work," and a swarthy hunchback, ridiculously -gay in green and gold, came leaping down the platforms -toward him, bawling again and again in good -English, "This is Ostrog's doing, Ostrog, the Knave! -The Master is betrayed." His voice was hoarse and a -thin foam dropped from his ugly shouting mouth. He -yelled an unspeakable horror that the Black Police -had done in Paris, and so passed shrieking, "Ostrog -the Knave!" - -For a moment Graham stood still, for it had come -upon him again that these things were a dream. He -looked up at the great cliff of buildings on either side, -vanishing into blue haze at last above the lights, and -down to the roaring tiers of platforms, and the -shouting, running people who were gesticulating past. -"The Master is betrayed!" they cried. "The Master -is betrayed!" - -Suddenly the situation shaped itself in his mind real -and urgent. His heart began to beat fast and strong. - -"It has come," he said." I might have known. The -hour has come." - -He thought swiftly. "What am I to do?" - -"Go back to the Council House," said Asano. - -"Why should I not appeal -- ? The people are -here." - -"You will lose time. They will doubt if it is you. -But they will mass about the Council House. There -you will find' their leaders. Your strength is there -with them." - -"Suppose this is only a rumour?" - -"It sounds true," said Asano. - -"Let us have the facts," said Graham. - -Asano shrugged his shoulders. "We had better -get towards the Council House," he cried. "That is -where they will swarm. Even now the ruins may be -impassable." - -Graham regarded him doubtfully and followed him. - -They went up the stepped platforms to the swiftest -one, and there Asano accosted a labourer. The -answers to his questions were in the thick, vulgar -speech. - -"What did he say?" asked Graham. - -"He knows little, but he told me that the Black -Police would have arrived here before the people -knew -- had not someone in the Wind-Vane Offices -Learnt. He said a girl." - -"A girl? Not?" - -"He said a girl -- he did not know who she was. -Who came out from the Council House crying aloud, -and told the men at work among the ruins." - -And then another thing was shouted, something -that turned an aimless tumult into determinate movements, -it came like a wind along the street. "To your -Wards, to your Wards. Every man get arms. Every -man to his Ward!" - -CHAPTER XXII - - -THE STRUGGLE IN THE COUNCIL HOUSE - -As Asano and Graham hurried along to the ruins -about the Council House, they saw everywhere the -excitement of the people rising. "To your Wards -To your Wards!" Everywhere men and women in -blue were hurrying from unknown subterranean -employments, up the staircases of the middle path -- at -one place Graham saw an arsenal of the revolutionary -committee besieged by a crowd of shouting men, at -another a couple of men in the hated yellow uniform -of the Labour Police, pursued by a gathering crowd, -fled precipitately along the swift way that went in the -opposite direction. - -The cries of "To your Wards!" became at last a -continuous shouting as they drew near the -Government quarter. Many of the shouts were -unintelligible. "Ostrog has betrayed us," one man bawled in -a hoarse voice, again and again, dinning that refrain -into Graham's ear until it haunted him. This person -stayed close beside Graham and Asano on the swift -way, shouting to the people who swarmed on the lower -platforms as he rushed past them. His cry about - - -Ostrog alternated with some incomprehensible orders -Presently he went leaping down and disappeared. - -Graham's mind was filled with the din. His plans -were vague and unformed. He had one picture of -some commanding position from which he could -address the multitudes, another of meeting Ostrog face -to face. He was full of rage, of tense muscular -excitement, his hands gripped, his lips were pressed together. - -The way to the Council House across the ruins was -impassable, but Asano met that difficulty and took -Graham into the premises of the central post-office. -The post-office was nominally at work, but the -blue-clothed porters moved sluggishly or had stopped to -stare through the arches of their galleries at the -shouting men who were going by outside. "Every -man to his Ward! Every man to his Ward!" Here, -by Asano's advice, Graham revealed his identity. - -They crossed to the Council House by a cable -cradle. Already in the brief interval since the -capitulation of the Councillors a great change had been -wrought in the appearance of the ruins. The spurting -cascades of the ruptured sea water-mains had been -captured and tamed, and huge temporary pipes ran -overhead along a flimsy looking fabric of girders. The -sky was laced with restored cables and wires that -served the Council House, and a mass of new fabric -with cranes and other building machines going to and -fro upon it, projected to the left of the white pile. - -The moving ways that ran across this area had -been restored, albeit for once running under the open -sky. These were the ways that Graham had seen from -the little balcony in the hour of his awakening, not -nine days since, and the hall of his Trance had been on -the further side, where now shapeless piles of smashed -and shattered masonry were heaped together. - -It was already high day and the sun was shining -brightly. Out of their tall caverns of blue electric -light came the swift ways crowded with multitudes of -people, who poured off them and gathered ever denser -over the wreckage and confusion of the ruins. The -air was full of their shouting, and they were pressing -and swaying towards the central building. For the -most part that shouting mass consisted of shapeless -swarms, but here and there Graham could see that a -rude discipline struggled to establish itself. And every -voice clamoured for order in the chaos. "To your -Wards! Every man to his Ward!" - -The cable carried them into a hall which Graham -recognised as the ante-chamber to the Hall of the -Atlas, about the gallery of which he had walked days -ago with Howard to show himself to the vanished -Council, an hour from his awakening. Now the place -was empty except for two cable attendants. These -men seemed hugely astonished to recognise the -Sleeper in the man who swung down from the cross -seat. - -"Where is Helen Wotton?" he demanded. "Where -is Helen Wotton?" - -They did not know. - -"Then where is Ostrog? I must see Ostrog -forthwith. He has disobeyed me. I have come back to -take things out of his hands." Without waiting for -Asano, he went straight across the place, ascended the -steps at the further end, and, pulling the curtain aside, -found himself facing the perpetually labouring Titan. - -The hall was empty. Its appearance had changed -very greatly since his first sight of it. It had suffered -serious injury in the violent struggle of the first -outbreak. On the right hand side of the great figure the -upper half of the wall had been torn away for nearly -two hundred feet of its length, and a sheet of the same -glassy film that had enclosed Graham at his awakening -had been drawn across the gap. This deadened, but -did not altogether exclude the roar of the people outside. -"Wards! Wards! Wards!" they seemed to -be saying. Through it there were visible the beams -and supports of metal scaffoldings that rose and fell -according to the requirements of a great crowd of -workmen. An idle building machine, with lank arms -of red painted metal that caught the still plastic blocks -of mineral paste and swung them neatly into position, -stretched gauntly across this green tinted picture. On -it were still a number of workmen staring at the crowd -below. For a moment he stood regarding these -things, and Asano overtook him. - -"Ostrog," said Asano, "will be in the small offices -beyond there." The little man looked livid now and -his eyes searched Graham's face. - -They had scarcely advanced ten paces from the -curtain before a little panel to the left of the Atlas -rolled up, and Ostrog, accompanied by Lincoln and -followed by two black and yellow clad negroes, -appeared crossing the remote corner of the hall, -towards a second panel that was raised and open. -"Ostrog," shouted Graham, and at the sound of his -voice the little party turned astonished. - -Ostrog said something to Lincoln and advanced -alone. - -Graham was the first to speak. His voice was loud -and dictatorial. "What is this I hear?" he asked. -"Are you bringing negroes here -- to keep the people -down?" - -"It is none too soon," said Ostrog. "They have -been getting out of hand more and more, since the -revolt. I under-estimated --" - -"Do you mean that these infernal negroes are on -the way?" - -"On the way. As it is, you have seen the people -- -outside?" - -"No wonder! But -- after what was said. You -have taken too much on yourself, Ostrog." - -Ostrog said nothing, but drew nearer. - -"These negroes must not come to London," said -Graham. "I am Master and they shall not come." - -Ostrog glanced at Lincoln, who at once came -towards them with his two attendants close behind -him. "Why not?" asked Ostrog. - -"White men must be mastered by white men. -Besides --" - -"The negroes are only an instrument." - -"But that is not the question. I am the Master. I -mean to be the Master. And I tell you these negroes -shall not come." - -"The people --" - -"I believe in the people." - -"Because you are an anachronism. You are a man -out of the Past -- an accident. You are Owner -perhaps of half the property in the world. But you are -not Master. You do not know enough to be Master." - -He glanced at Lincoln again. "I know now what -you think -- I can guess something of what you mean -to do. Even now it is not too late to warn you. You - -dream of human equality -- of a socialistic order -- -you have all those worn-out dreams of the nineteenth -century fresh and vivid in your mind, and you would -rule this age that you do not understand." - -"Listen!" said Graham. "You can hear it -- a -sound like the sea. Not voices -- but a voice. Do -you altogether understand?" - -"We taught them that," said Ostrog. - -"Perhaps. Can you teach them to forget it? But -enough of this! These negroes must not come." - -There was a pause and Ostrog looked him in the -eyes. - -"They will," he said. - -"I forbid it," said Graham. - -"They have started." - -"I will not have it." - -"No," said Ostrog. "Sorry as I am to follow the -method of the Council -- . For your own good -- -you must not side with disorder. And now that -you are here -- . It was kind of you to come here." - -Lincoln laid his hand on Graham's shoulder. -Abruptly Graham realized the enormity of his blunder -in coming to the Council House. He turned towards -the curtains that separated the hall from the antechamber. -The clutching hand of Asano intervened. -In another moment Lincoln had grasped Graham's -cloak. - -He turned and struck at Lincoln's face, and incontinently -a negro had him by collar and arm. He -wrenched himself away, his sleeve tore noisily, and he -stumbled back, to be tripped by the other attendant. -Then he struck the ground heavily and he was staring -at the distant ceiling of the hall. - -He shouted, rolled over, struggling fiercely, clutched -an attendant's leg and threw him headlong, and -struggled to his feet. - -Lincoln appeared before him, went down heavily -again with a blow under the point of the jaw and lay -still. Graham made two strides, stumbled. And then -Ostrog's arm was round his neck, he was pulled over -backward, fell heavily, and his arms were pinned to the -ground. After a few violent efforts he ceased to -struggle and lay staring at Ostrog's heaving throat. - -"You -- are -- a prisoner," panted Ostrog, exulting. -"You -- were rather a fool -- to come back." - -Graham turned his head about and perceived -through the irregular green window in the walls of -the hall the men who had been working the building -cranes gesticulating excitedly to the people below them. -They had seen! - -Ostrog followed his eyes and started. He shouted -something to Lincoln, but Lincoln did not move. A -bullet smashed among the mouldings above the Atlas -The two sheets of transparent matter that had been -stretched across this gap were rent, the edges of the -torn aperture darkened, curved, ran rapidly towards -the framework, and in a moment the Council chamber -stood open to the air. A chilly gust blew in by the -gap, bringing with it a war of voices from the ruinous -spaces without, an elvish babblement, "Save the -Master!" "What are they doing to the Master?" -"The Master is betrayed!" - -And then he realised that Ostrog's attention was -distracted, that Ostrog's grip had relaxed, and, -wrenching his arms free, he struggled to his knees. -In another moment he had thrust Ostrog back, and -he was on one foot, his hand gripping Ostrog's throat, -and Ostrog's hands clutching the silk about his neck. -But now men were coming towards them from the -dais -- men whose intentions he misunderstood. He -had a glimpse of someone running in the distance -towards the curtains of the antechamber, and then -Ostrog had slipped from him and these newcomers -were upon him. To his infinite astonishment, they -seized him. They obeyed the shouts of Ostrog. - -He was lugged a dozen yards before he realised that -they were not friends -- that they were dragging him -towards the open panel. When he saw this he pulled -back, he tried to fling himself down, he shouted for -help with all his strength. And this time there were -answering cries. - -The grip upon his neck relaxed, and behold! in the -lower corner of the rent upon the wall, first one and -then a number of little black figures appeared shouting -and waving arms. They came leaping down from -the gap into the light gallery that had led to the Silent -Rooms. They ran along it, so near were they that -Graham could see the weapons in their hands, Then -Ostrog was shouting in his ear to the men who held -him, and once more he was struggling with all his -strength against their endeavours to thrust him towards -the opening that yawned to receive him. "They can't -come down," panted Ostrog. "They daren't fire. -It's all right." "We'll save him from them yet." - -For long minutes as it seemed to Graham that -inglorious struggle continued. His clothes were rent -in a dozen places, he was covered in dust, one hand -had been trodden upon. He could hear the shouts of -his supporters, and once he heard shots. He could -feel his strength giving way, feel his efforts wild and -aimless. But no help came, and surely, irresistibly, -that black, yawning opening came nearer. - -The pressure upon him relaxed and he struggled -up. He saw Ostrog's grey head receding and -perceived that he was no longer held. He turned about -and came full into a man in black. One of the green -weapons cracked close to him, a drift of pungent -smoke came into his face, and a steel blade flashed. -The huge chamber span about him. - -He saw a man in pale blue stabbing one of the black -and yellow attendants not three yards from his face. -Then hands were upon him again. - -He was being pulled in two, directions now. It -seemed as though people were shouting to him. He -wanted to understand and could not. Someone was -clutching about his thighs, he was being hoisted in -spite of his vigorous efforts. He understood suddenly, -he ceased to struggle. He was lifted up on men's -shoulders and carried away from that devouring panel. -Ten thousand throats were cheering. - -He saw men in blue and black hurrying after the -retreating Ostrogites and firing. Lifted up, he saw -now across the whole expanse of the hall beneath the -Atlas image, saw that he was being carried towards -the raised platform in the centre of the place. The far -end of the hall was already full of people running -towards him. They were looking at him and cheering. - -He became aware that a sort of body-guard -surrounded him. Active men about him shouted vague -orders. He saw close at hand the black moustached -man in yellow who had been among those who had -greeted him in the public theatre, shouting directions. -The hall was already densely packed with swaying -people, the little metal gallery sagged with a shouting -load, the curtains at the end had been torn away, and -the ante-chamber was revealed densely crowded. He -could scarcely make the man near him hear for the -tumult about them. "Where has Ostrog gone?" he -asked. - -The man he questioned pointed over the heads -towards the lower panels about the hall on the side -opposite the gap. They stood open and armed men, -blue clad with black sashes, were running through them -and vanishing into the chambers and passages beyond. -It seemed to Graham that a sound of firing drifted -through the riot. He was carried in a staggering -curve across the great hall towards an opening beneath -the gap. - -He perceived men working with a sort of rude -discipline to keep the crowd off him, to make a space clear -about him. He passed out of the hall, and saw a -crude, new wall rising blankly before him topped by -blue sky. He was swung down to his feet; someone -gripped his arm and guided him. He found the man -in yellow close at hand. They were taking him up a -narrow stairway of brick, and close at hand rose the -great red painted masses, the cranes and levers and -the still engines of the big building machine. - -He was at the top of the steps. He was hurried -across a narrow railed footway, and suddenly with a -vast shouting the amphitheatre of ruins opened again -before him. "The Master is with us! The Master! -The Master!" The shout swept athwart the lake of -faces like a wave, broke against the distant cliff of -ruins, and came back in a welter of cries. "The -Master is on our side!" - -Graham perceived that he was no longer encompassed -by people, that he was standing upon a little -temporary platform of white metal, part of a flimsy -seeming scaffolding that laced about the great mass -of the Council House. Over all the huge expanse -of the ruins, swayed and eddied the shouting people; -and here and there the black banners of the revolutionary -societies ducked and swayed and formed rare -nuclei of organisation in the chaos. Up the steep -stairs of wall and scaffolding by which his rescuers -had reached the opening in the Atlas Chamber, clung -a solid crowd, and little energetic black figures -clinging to pillars and projections were strenuous to induce -these congested masses to stir. Behind him, at a -higher point on the scaffolding, a number of men -struggled upwards with the flapping folds of a huge -black standard. Through the yawning gap in the -walls below him he could look down upon the packed -attentive multitudes in the Hall of the Atlas. The -distant flying stages to the south came out bright and -vivid, brought nearer as it seemed by an unusual -translucency of the air. A solitary aeropile beat up -from the central stage as if to meet the coming -aeroplanes. - -"What had become of Ostrog?" asked Graham, and -even as he spoke he saw that all eyes were turned -from him towards the crest of the Council House -building. He looked also in this direction of universal -attention. For a moment he saw nothing but the -jagged corner of a wall, hard and clear against the -sky. Then in the shadow he perceived the interior of -a room and recognised with a start the green and -white decorations of his former prison. And coming -quickly across this opened room and up to the very -verge of the cliff of the ruins came a little white clad -figure followed by two other smaller seeming figures -in black and yellow. He heard the man beside him -exclaim "Ostrog," and turned to ask a question. But -he never did, because of the startled exclamation of -another of those who were with him and a lank finger -suddenly pointing. He looked, and behold the -aeropile that had been rising from the flying stage -when last he had looked in that direction, was driving -towards them. The swift steady flight was still novel -enough to hold his attention. - -Nearer it came, growing rapidly larger and larger, -until it had swept over the further edge of the ruins -and into view of the dense multitudes below. It -drooped across the space and rose and passed -overhead, rising to clear the mass of the Council House, -a filmy translucent shape with the solitary aeronaut -peering down through its ribs. It vanished beyond -the skyline of the ruins. - -Graham transferred his attention to Ostrog. He -was signalling with his hands, and his attendants busy -breaking down the wall beside him. In another -moment the aeropile came into view again, a little -thing far away, coming round in a wide curve and -going slower. - -Then suddenly the man in yellow shouted: "What -are they doing? What are the people doing? Why -is Ostrog left there? Why is he not captured? They -will lift him -- the aeropile will lift him! Ah!" - -The exclamation was echoed by a shout from the -ruins. The rattling sound of the green weapons -drifted across the intervening gulf to Graham, and, -looking down, he saw a number of black and yellow -uniforms running along one of the galleries that lay -open to the air below the promontory upon which -Ostrog stood. They fired as they ran at men unseen, -and then emerged a number of pale blue figures in -pursuit. These minute fighting figures had the oddest -effect; they seemed as they ran like little model -soldiers in a toy. This queer appearance of a -house cut open gave that struggle amidst furniture -and passages a quality of unreality. It was perhaps -two hundred yards away from him, and very nearly -fifty above the heads in the ruins below. The black -and yellow men ran into an open archway, and turned -and fired a volley. One of the blue pursuers striding -forward close to the edge, flung up his arms, -staggered sideways, seemed to Graham's sense to hang -over the edge for several seconds, and fell headlong -down. Graham saw him strike a projecting corner, fly -out, head over heels, head over heels, and vanish -behind the red arm of the building machine. - -And then a shadow came between Graham and the -sun. He looked up and the sky was clear, but he -knew the aeropile had passed. Ostrog had vanished. -The man in yellow thrust before him, zealous and -perspiring, pointing and blatent. - -"They are grounding!" cried the man in yellow. -"They are grounding. Tell the people to fire at him. -Tell them to fire at him!" - -Graham could not understand. He heard loud -voices repeating these enigmatical orders. - -Suddenly over the edge of the ruins he saw the prow -of the aeropile come gliding and stop with a jerk. In -a moment Graham understood that the thing had -grounded in order that Ostrog might escape by it. -He saw a blue haze climbing out of the gulf, perceived -that the people below him were now firing up at the -projecting stem. - -A man beside him cheered hoarsely, and he saw -that the blue rebels had gained the archway that had -been contested by the men in black and yellow a -moment before, and were running in a continual -stream along the open passage. - -And suddenly the aeropile slipped over the edge of -the Council House and fell. It dropped, tilting at an -angle of forty-five degrees, and dropping so steeply -that it seemed to Graham, it seemed perhaps to most -of these below, that it could not possibly rise again. - -It fell so closely past him that he could see Ostrog -clutching the guides of the seat, with his grey hair -streaming; see the white-faced aeronaut wrenching -over the lever that drove the engine along its guides. -He heard the apprehensive vague cry of innumerable -men below. - -Graham clutched the railing before him and gasped. -The second seemed an age. The lower van of the -aeropile passed within an ace of touching the people, -who yelled and screamed and trampled one another -below. - -And then it rose. - -For a moment it looked as if it could not possibly -clear the opposite cliff, and then that it could not -possibly clear the wind-wheel that rotated beyond. - -And behold! it was clear and soaring, still heeling -sideways, upward, upward into the wind-swept sky. - -The suspense of the moment gave place to a fury of -exasperation as the swarming people realised that -Ostrog had escaped them. With belated activity they -renewed their fire, until the rattling wove into a roar, -until the whole area became dim and blue and the air -pungent with the thin smoke of their weapons. - -Too late! The aeropile dwindled smaller and -smaller, and curved about and swept gracefully -downward to the flying stage from which it had so lately -risen. Ostrog had escaped. - -For a while a confused babblement arose from the -ruins, and then the universal attention came back to -Graham, perched high among the scaffolding. He -saw the faces of the people turned towards him, heard -their shouts at his rescue. From the throat of the -ways came the song of the revolt spreading like a -breeze across that swaying sea of men. - -The little group of men about him shouted -congratulations on his escape. The man in yellow was -close to him, with a set face and shining eyes. And -the song was rising, louder and louder; tramp, tramp, -tramp, tramp. - -Slowly the realisation came of the full meaning of -these things to him, the perception of the swift change -in his position. Ostrog, who had stood beside him -whenever he had faced that shouting multitude before, -was beyond there -- the antagonist. There was no -one to rule for him any longer. Even the people -about him, the leaders and organisers of the multitude, -looked to see what he would do, looked to him to act, -awaited his orders. He was King indeed. His -puppet reign was at an end. - -He was very intent to do the thing that was -expected of him. His nerves and muscles were quivering, -his mind was perhaps a little confused, but he -felt neither fear nor anger. His hand that had been -trodden upon throbbed and was hot. He was a little -nervous about his bearing. He knew he was not -afraid, but he was anxious not to seem afraid. In his -former life he had often been more excited in playing -games of skill. He was desirous of immediate action, -he knew he must not think too much in detail of the -huge complexity of the struggle about him lest he -should be paralysed by the sense of its intricacy. -Over there those square blue shapes, the flying stages, -meant Ostrog; against Ostrog he was fighting for the -world. - -CHAPTER XXIII - -WHILE THE AEROPLANES WERE COMING - -For a time the Master of the Earth was not even -master of his own mind. Even his will seemed a will -not his own, his own acts surprised him and were but -a part of the confusion of strange experiences that -poured across his being. These things were definite, -the aeroplanes were coming, Helen Wotton had -warned the people of their coming, and he was Master -of the Earth. Each of these facts seemed struggling -for complete possession of his thoughts. They -protruded from a background of swarming halls, elevated -passages, rooms jammed with ward leaders in council -kinematograph and telephone rooms, and windows -looking out on a seething sea of marching men. The -man in yellow, and men whom he fancied were called -Ward Leaders, were either propelling him forward -or following him obediently; it was hard to tell. -Perhaps they were doing a little of both. Perhaps some -power unseen and unsuspected, propelled them all. -He was aware that he was going to make a proclamation -to the People of the Earth, aware of certain -grandiose phrases floating in his mind as the thing -he meant to say. Many little things happened, and -then he found himself with the man in yellow entering -a little room where this proclamation of his was to be -made. - -This room was grotesquely latter-day in its appointments. -In the centre was a bright oval lit by shaded -electric lights from above. The rest was in shadow, -and the double finely fitting doors through which he -came from the swarming Hall of the Atlas made the -place very still. The dead thud of these as they closed -behind him, the sudden cessation of the tumult in -which he had been living for hours, the quivering circle -of light, the whispers and quick noiseless movements -of vaguely visible attendants in the shadows, had -a strange effect upon Graham. The huge ears of a -phonographic mechanism gaped in a battery for his words, -the black eyes of great photographic cameras awaited -his beginning, beyond metal rods and coils glittered -dimly, and something whirled about with a droning -hum. He walked into the centre of the light, and his -shadow drew together black and sharp to a little blot -at his feet. - -The vague shape of the thing he meant to say was -already in his mind. But this silence, this isolation, -the sudden withdrawal from that contagious crowd, -this silent audience of gaping, glaring machines had -not been in his anticipation. All his supports seemed -withdrawn together; he seemed to have dropped into -this suddenly, suddenly to have discovered himself. In -a moment he was changed. He found that he now -feared to be inadequate, he feared to be theatrical, he -feared the quality of his voice, the quality of his wit, -astonished, he turned to the man in yellow with a -propitiatory gesture. "For a moment," he said, "I must -wait. I did not think it would be like this. I must -think of the thing I have to say. - -While he was still hesitating there came an agitated -messenger with news that the foremost aeroplanes were -passing over Arawan. - -"Arawan?" he said." Where is that? But anyhow, -they are coming. They will be here. When?" - -"By twilight." - -"Great God! In only a few hours. What news of -the flying stages?" he asked. - -"The people of the south-west wards are ready." - -"Ready!" - -He turned impatiently to the blank circles of the -lenses again. - -"I suppose it must be a sort of speech. Would to -God I knew certainly the thing that should be said! -Aeroplanes at Arawan! They must have started -before the main fleet. And the people only ready! -Surely . . ." - -"Oh! what does it matter whether I speak well or -ill?" he said, and felt the light grow brighter. - -He had framed some vague sentence of democratic -sentiment when suddenly doubts overwhelmed him. -His belief in his heroic quality and calling he found had -altogether lost its assured conviction. The picture of -a little strutting futility in a windy waste of -incomprehensible destinies replaced it. Abruptly it was -perfectly clear to him that this revolt against Ostrog was -premature, foredoomed to failure, the impulse of -passionate inadequacy against inevitable things. He -thought of that swift flight of aeroplanes like the swoop -of Fate towards him. He was astonished that he could -have seen things in any other light. In that final -emergency he debated, thrust debate resolutely aside, -determined at all costs to go through with the thing -he had undertaken. And he could find no word to -begin. Even as he stood, awkward, hesitating, with -an indiscrete apology for his inability trembling on his -lips, came the noise of many people crying out, the -running to and fro of feet. "Wait," cried someone, -and a door opened. "She is coming," said the voices. -Graham turned, and the watching lights waned. - -Through the open doorway he saw a slight grey -figure advancing across a spacious hall. His heart -leapt. It was Helen Wotton. Behind and about her -marched a riot of applause. The man in yellow came -out of the nearer shadows into the circle of light. - -"This is the girl who told us what Ostrog had -dune," he said. - -Her face was aflame, and the heavy coils of her -black hair fell about her shoulders. The folds of the -soft silk robe she wore streamed from her and floated -in the rhythm of her advance. She drew nearer and -nearer, and his heart was beating fast. All his doubts -were gone. The shadow of the doorway fell athwart -her face and she was near him. "You have not -betrayed us?" she cried. "You are with us?" - -"Where have you been?" said Graham. - -"At the office of the south-west wards. Until ten -minutes since I did not know you had returned. I -went to the office of the south-west wards to find the -Ward Leaders in order that they might tell the people." - -"I came back so soon as I heard -- ." - -"I knew," she cried, "knew you would be with us. -And it was I -- it was I that told them. They have -risen. All the world is rising. The people have -awakened. Thank God that I did not act in vain! -You are Master still." - -"You told them" he said slowly, and he saw that in -spite of her steady eyes her lips trembled and her -throat rose and fell. - -"I told them. I knew of the order. I was here. -I heard that the negroes were to come to London to -guard you and to keep the people down -- to keep -you a prisoner. And I stopped it. I came out and -told the people. And you are Master still." - -Graham glanced at the black lenses of the cameras, -the vast listening ears, and back to her face. "I am -Master still," he said slowly, and the swift rush of a -fleet of aeroplanes passed across his thoughts. - -"And you did this? You, who are the niece of -Ostrog." - -"For you," she cried. "For you! That you for -whom the world has waited should not be cheated of -your power." - -Graham stood for a space, wordless, regarding her. -His doubts and questionings had fled before her -presence. He remembered the things that he had meant -to say. He faced the cameras again and the light -about him grew brighter. He turned again towards -her. - -"You have saved me," he said; "you have saved -my power. And the battle is beginning. God knows. -what this night will see -- but not dishonour." - -He paused. He addressed himself to the unseen -multitudes who stared upon him through those -grotesque black eyes. At first he spoke slowly. -"Men and women of the new age," he said; "You -have arisen to do battle for the race. . . There -is no easy victory before us." - -He stopped to gather words. The thoughts that -had been in his mind before she came returned, but -transfigured, no longer touched with the shadow of a -possible irrelevance. "This night is a beginning," he -cried. "This battle that is coming, this battle that -rushes upon us to-night, is only a beginning. All your -lives, it may be, you must fight. Take no thought -though I am beaten, though I am utterly overthrown." - -He found the thing in his mind too vague for words. -He paused momentarily, and broke into vague -exhortations, and then a rush of speech came upon him. -Much that he said was but the humanitarian commonplace -of a vanished age, but the conviction of his voice -touched it to vitality. He stated the case of the old -days to the people of the new age, to the woman at -his side. "I come out of the past to you," he said, -"with the memory of an age that hoped. My age was -an age of dreams -- of beginnings, an age of noble -hopes; throughout the world we had made an end of -slavery; throughout the world we had spread the desire -and anticipation that wars might cease, that all men -and women might live nobly, in freedom and peace. -. . . So we hoped in the days that are past. And -what of those hopes? How is it with man after two -hundred years? - -"Great cities, vast powers, a collective greatness -beyond our dreams. For that we did not work, and -that has come. But how is it with the little lives that -make up this greater life? How is it with the common -lives? As it has ever been -- sorrow and labour, lives -cramped and unfulfilled, lives tempted by power, -tempted by wealth, and gone to waste and folly. The -old faiths have faded and changed, the new faith -- . -Is there a new faith?" - -Things that he had long wished to believe, he found -that he believed. He plunged at belief and seized it, -and clung for a time at her level. He spoke gustily, -in broken incomplete sentences, but with all his heart -and strength, of this new faith within him. He spoke -of the greatness of self-abnegation, of his belief in an -immortal life of Humanity in which we live and move -and have our being. His voice rose and fell, and the -recording appliances hummed their hurried applause, -dim attendants watched him out of the shadow. -Through all those doubtful places his sense of that -silent spectator beside him sustained his sincerity. -For a few glorious moments he was carried away; he -felt no doubt of his heroic quality, no doubt of his -heroic words, he had it all straight and plain. His -eloquence limped no longer. And at last he made an -end to speaking. "Here and now," he cried, "I make -my will. All that is mine in the world I give to the -people of the world. All that is mine in the world I -give to the people of the world. I give it to you, and -myself I give to you. And as God wills, I will live for -you, or I will die." - -He ended with a florid gesture and turned about. -He found the light of his present exaltation reflected -in the face of the girl. Their eyes met; her eyes were -swimming with tears of enthusiasm. They seemed to -be urged towards each other. They clasped hands -and stood gripped, facing one another, in an eloquent -silence. She whispered. "I knew," she whispered. -"I knew." He could not speak, he crushed her hand -in his. His mind was the theatre of gigantic passions. - - -The man in yellow was beside them. Neither had -noted his coming. He was saying that the south-west -wards were marching. "I never expected it so soon," -he cried. "They have done wonders. You must send -them a word to help them on their way." - -Graham dropped Helen's hand and stared at him -absent-mindedly. Then with a start he returned to -his previous preoccupation about the flying stages. - -"Yes," he said. "That is good, that is good." He -weighed a message. "Tell them; -- well done South -West." - -He turned his eyes to Helen Wotton again. His -face expressed his struggle between conflicting ideas. -"We must capture the flying stages," he explained. -"Unless we can do that they will land negroes. At all -costs we must prevent that." - -He felt even as he spoke that this was not what had -been in his mind before the interruption. He saw a -touch of surprise in her eyes. She seemed about to -speak and a shrill bell drowned her voice. - -It occurred to Graham that she expected him to lead -these marching people, that that was the thing he had -to do. He made the offer abruptly. He addressed -the man in yellow, but he spoke to her. He saw her -face respond. "Here I am doing nothing," he said. - -"It is impossible," protested the man in yellow. - -"It is a fight in a warren. Your place is here." - -He explained elaborately. He motioned towards -the room where Graham must wait, he insisted no other -course was possible. "We must know where you -are," he said. "At any moment a crisis may arise -needing your presence and decision. "The room was -a luxurious little apartment with news machines and -a broken mirror that had once been en _rapport_ with the -crow's nest specula. It seemed a matter of course to -Graham that Helen should stop with him. - -A picture had drifted through his mind of such a -vast dramatic struggle as the masses in the ruins had -suggested. But here was no spectacular battle-field -such as he imagined. Instead was seclusion -- and suspense. -It was only as the afternoon wore on that -he pieced together a truer picture of the fight that -was raging, inaudibly and invisibly, within four -miles of him, beneath the Roehampton stage. A -strange and unprecedented contest it was, a battle -that was a hundred thousand little battles, a battle -in a sponge of ways and channels, fought out -of sight of sky or sun under the electric glare, -fought out in a vast confusion by multitudes untrained -in arms, led chiefly by acclamation, multitudes -dulled by mindless labour and enervated by the -tradition of two hundred years of servile security -against multitudes demoralised by lives of venial privilege -and sensual indulgence. They had no artillery, -no differentiation into this force or that; the only -weapon on either side was the little green metal -carbine, whose secret manufacture and sudden -distribution in enormous quantities had been one of Ostrog's -culminating moves against the Council. Few had had -any experience with this weapon, many had never -discharged one, many who carried it came unprovided -with ammunition; never was wilder firing in the -history of warfare. It was a battle of amateurs, a -hideous experimental warfare, armed rioters fighting -armed rioters, armed rioters swept forward by the -words and fury of a song, by the tramping sympathy -of their numbers, pouring in countless myriads -towards the smaller ways, the disabled lifts, the -galleries slippery with blood, the halls and passages -choked with smoke, beneath the flying stages, to learn -there when retreat was hopeless the ancient mysteries -of warfare. And overhead save for a few sharpshooters -upon the roof spaces and for a few bands and -threads of vapour that multiplied and darkened towards -the evening, the day was a clear serenity. Ostrog it -seems had no bombs at command and in all the earlier -phases of the battle the aeropiles played no part. Not -the smallest cloud was there to break the empty -brilliance of the sky. It seemed as though it held itself -vacant until the aeroplanes should come. - -Ever and again there was news of these, drawing -nearer, from this Mediterranean port and then that, -and presently from the south of France. But of the -new guns that Ostrog had made and which were known -to be in the city came no news in spite of Graham's -urgency, nor any report of successes from the dense -felt of fighting strands about the flying stages. -Section after section of the Labour Societies reported itself -assembled, reported itself marching, and vanished from -knowledge into the labyrinth of that warfare What -was happening there? Even the busy ward leaders did -not know. In spite of the opening and closing of -doors, the hasty messengers, the ringing of bells and -the perpetual clitter-clack of recording implements, -Graham felt isolated, strangely inactive, inoperative. - -Their isolation seemed at times the strangest, the -most unexpected of all the things that had happened -since his awakening. It had something of the quality -of that inactivity that comes in dreams. A tumult, the -stupendous realisation of a world struggle between -Ostrog and himself, and then this confined quiet little -room with its mouthpieces and bells and broken -mirror! - -Now the door would be closed and they were alone -together; they seemed sharply marked off then from all -the unprecedented world storm that rushed together -without, vividly aware of one another, only concerned -with one another. Then the door would open again, -messengers would enter, or a sharp bell would stab -their quiet privacy, and it was like a window in a well -built brightly lit house flung open suddenly to a hurricane. -The dark hurry and tumult, the stress and -vehemence of the battle rushed in and overwhelmed -them. They were no longer persons but mere spectators, -mere impressions of a tremendous convulsion. -They became unreal even to themselves, miniatures of -personality, indescribably small, and the two antagonistic -realities, the only realities in being were first the -city, that throbbed and roared yonder in a belated -frenzy of defence and secondly the aeroplanes hurling -inexorably towards them over the round shoulder of -the world. - -At first their mood had been one of exalted confidence, -a great pride had possessed them, a pride in -one another for the greatness of the issues they had -challenged. At first he had walked the room eloquent -with a transitory persuasion of his tremendous destiny. -But slowly uneasy intimations of their coming -defeat touched his spirit. There came a long period in -which they were alone. He changed his theme, -became egotistical, spoke of the wonder of his sleep, of -the little life of his memories, remote yet minute and -clear, like something seen through an inverted -opera-glass, and all the brief play of desires and errors that -had made his former life. She said little, but the emotion -in her face followed the tones in his voice, and it -seemed to him he had at last a perfect understanding. -He reverted from pure reminiscence to that sense of -greatness she imposed upon him. "And through it -all, this destiny was before me," he said; "this vast -inheritance of which I did not dream." - -Insensibly their heroic preoccupation with the -revolutionary struggle passed to the question of their -relationship. He began to question her. She told him of -the days before his awakening, spoke with a brief -vividness of the girlish dreams that had given a bias -to her life, of the incredulous emotions his awakening -had aroused. She told him too of a tragic circumstance -of her girlhood that had darkened her life, - - -quickened her sense of injustice and opened her heart -prematurely to the wider sorrows of the world. For a -little time, so far as he was concerned, the great war -about them was but the vast ennobling background -to these personal things. - -In an instant these personal relations were submerged. -There came messengers to tell that a great -fleet of aeroplanes was rushing between the sky and -Avignon. He went to the crystal dial in the corner -and assured himself that the thing was so. He went -to the chart room and consulted a map to measure the -distances of Avignon, New Arawan, and London. He -made swift calculations. He went to the room of the -Ward Leaders to ask for news of the fight for the -stages -- and there was no one there. After a time he -came back to her. - -His face had changed. It had dawned upon him -that the struggle was perhaps more than half over, -that Ostrog was holding his own, that the arrival of -the aeroplanes would mean a panic that might leave -him helpless. A chance phrase in the message had -given him a glimpse of the reality that came. Each of -these soaring giants bore its thousand half savage -negroes to the death grapple of the city. Suddenly -his humanitarian enthusiasm showed flimsy. Only -two of the Ward Leaders were in their room, when -presently he repaired thither, the Hall of the Atlas -seemed empty. He fancied a change in the bearing -of the attendants in the outer rooms. A sombre -disillusionment darkened his mind. She looked at him -anxiously when he returned to her. - -"No news," he said with an assumed carelessness -in answer to her eyes. - -Then he was moved to frankness. "Or rather -- -bad news. We are losing. We are gaining no ground -and the aeroplanes draw nearer and nearer." - -He walked the length of the room and turned. - -"Unless we can capture those flying stages in the -next hour -- there will be horrible things. We shall -be beaten. - -"No!" she said. "We have justice -- we have the -people. We have God on our side." - -"Ostrog has discipline -- he has plans. Do you -know, out there just now I felt -- . When I heard that -these aeroplanes were a stage nearer. I felt as if I -were fighting the machinery of fate." - -She made no answer for a while. "We have done -right," she said at last. - -He looked at her doubtfully. "We have done what -we could. But does this depend upon us? Is it not -an older sin, a wider sin?" - -"What do you mean?" she asked. - -"These blacks are savages, ruled by force, used as -force. And they have been under the rule of the -whites two hundred years. Is it not a race quarrel? -The race sinned -- the race pays." - -"But these labourers, these poor people of -London -- !" - -"Vicarious atonement. To stand wrong is to share -the guilt." - -She looked keenly at him, astonished at the new -aspect he presented. - -Without came the shrill ringing of a bell, the sound -of feet and the gabble of a phonographic message. -The man in yellow appeared. "Yes?" said Graham. - -"They are at Vichy." - -"Where are the attendants who were in the great -Hall of the Atlas?" asked Graham abruptly. - -Presently the Babble Machine rang again. "We -may win yet," said the man in yellow, going out to it. -"If only we can find where Ostrog has hidden his -guns. Everything hangs on that now. Perhaps -this --" - -Graham followed him. But the only news was of -the aeroplanes. They had reached Orleans. - -Graham returned to Helen. "No news," he said -"No news." - -"And we can do nothing?" - -"Nothing." - -He paced impatiently. Suddenly the swift anger -that was his nature swept upon him. "Curse this -complex world!" he cried, "and all the inventions of -men! That a man must die like a rat in a snare and -never see his foe! Oh, for one blow! . . ." - -He turned with an abrupt change in his manner. -"That's nonsense," he said. "I am a savage." - -He paced and stopped. "After all London and -Paris are only two cities. All the temperate zone has -risen. What if London is doomed and Paris -destroyed? These are but accidents. "Again came -the mockery of news to call him to fresh enquiries. He -returned with a graver face and sat down beside her. - -"The end must be near," he said. "The people it -seems have fought and died in tens of thousands, the -ways about Roehampton must be like a smoked beehive. -And they have died in vain. They are still only -at the sub stage. The aeroplanes are near Paris. -Even were a gleam of success to come now, there -would be nothing to do, there would be no time to do -anything before they were upon us. The guns that -might have saved us are mislaid. Mislaid! Think of -the disorder of things! Think of this foolish tumult, -that cannot even find its weapons! Oh, for one -aeropile -- just one! For the want of that I am beaten. -Humanity is beaten and our cause is lost! My -kingship, my headlong foolish kingship will not last a -night. And I have egged on the people to fight -- ." - -"They would have fought anyhow." - -"I doubt it. I have come among them --" - -"No," she cried," not that. If defeat comes -- if -you die -- . But even that cannot be, it cannot be, -after all these years." - -"Ah! We have meant well. But -- do you indeed -believe -- ?" - -"If they defeat you," she cried, "you have spoken. -Your word has gone like a great wind through the -world, fanning liberty into a flame. What if the flame -sputters a little! Nothing can change the spoken -word. Your message will have gone forth. .. ." - -"To what end? It may be. It may be. You -know I said, when you told me of these things dear -God! but that was scarcely a score of hours ago! -- I -said that I had not your faith. Well -- at any rate -there is nothing to do now. . . ." - -"You have not my faith! Do you mean -- ? You -are sorry?" - -"No," he said hurriedly, "no! Before God -- no!" -His voice changed. "But -- . I think -- I have been -indiscreet. I knew little -- I grasped too hastily.. .." - -He paused. He was ashamed of this avowal. -"There is one thing that makes up for all. I have -known you. Across this gulf of time I have come to -you. The rest is done. It is done. With you, too, -it has been something more -- or something less --" - -He paused with his face searching hers, and without -clamoured the unheeded message that the aeroplanes -were rising into the sky of Amiens. - -She put her hand to her throat, and her lips were . -white. She stared before her as if she saw some -horrible possibility. Suddenly her features changed. -"Oh, but I have been honest!" she cried, and then, -"Have I been honest? I loved the world and freedom, -I hated cruelty and oppression. Surely it was -that." - -"Yes," he said, "yes. And we have done what it -lay in us to do. We have given our message, our -message! We have started Armageddon! But -now -- . Now that we have, it may be our last hour, -together, now that all these greater things are -done. . . ." - -He stopped. She sat in silence. Her face was a -white riddle. - -For a moment they heeded nothing of a sudden stir -outside, a running to and fro, and cries. Then -Helen started to an attitude of tense attention. "It -is -- ," she cried and stood up, speechless, incredulous, -triumphant. And Graham, too, heard. Metallic voices -were shouting "Victory!" Yes it was "Victory!" -He stood up also with the light of a desperate hope -in his eyes. - -Bursting through the curtains appeared the man in -yellow, startled and dishevelled with excitement. -"Victory," he cried, "victory! The people are winning. -Ostrog's people have collapsed." - -She rose. "Victory?" And her voice was hoarse -and faint. - -"What do you mean?" asked Graham. "Tell me! -What?" - -"We have driven them out of the under galleries at -Norwood, Streatham is afire and burning wildly, and -Roehampton is ours. Ours! -- and we have taken the -aeropile that lay thereon." - -For an instant Graham and Helen stood in silence, -their hearts were beating fast, they looked at one -another. For one last moment there gleamed in -Graham his dream of empire, of kingship, with Helen by -his side. It gleamed, and passed. - -A shrill bell rang. An agitated grey-headed man -appeared from the room of the Ward Leaders." It is -all over," he cried. - -"What matters it now that we have Roehampton? -The aeroplanes have been sighted at Boulogne!" - -"The Channel!" said the man in yellow. He calculated -swiftly." Half an hour." - -"They still have three of the flying stages," said the -old man. - -"Those guns?" cried Graham. - -"We cannot mount them -- in half an hour." - -"Do you mean they are found?" - -"Too late," said the old man. - -"If we could stop them another hour!" cried the -man in yellow. - -"Nothing can stop them now," said the old man. -they have near a hundred aeroplanes in the first -fleet." - -"Another hour?" asked Graham. - -"To be so near!" said the Ward Leader. "Now -that we have found those guns. To be so near -- . -If once we could get them out upon the roof spaces." - -"How long would that take?" asked Graham -suddenly. - -"An hour -- certainly." - -"Too late," cried the Ward Leader, "too late." - -"Is it too late?" said Graham. "Even now -- . -An hour!" - -He had suddenly perceived a possibility. He tried -to speak calmly, but his face was white. "There is -one chance. You said there was an aeropile -- ?" - -"On the Roehampton stage, Sire." - -"Smashed?" - -"No. It is lying crossways to the carrier. It might -be got upon the guides -- easily. But there is no -aeronaut -- ." - -Graham glanced at the two men and then at Helen. -He spoke after a long pause. "We have no -aeronauts?" - -"None." - -"The aeroplanes are clumsy," he said thoughtfully, -"compared with the aeropiles." - -He turned suddenly to Helen. His decision was -made. "I must do it." - -"Do what?" - -"Go to this flying stage -- to this aeropile." - -"What do you mean?" - -"I am an aeronaut. After all -- . Those days for -which you reproached me were not wasted." - -He turned to the old man in yellow. -"Put the aeropile upon the guides." - -The man in yellow hesitated. - -"What do you mean to do?" cried Helen. - -"This aeropile -- it is a chance -- ." - -"You don't mean -- ?" - -"To fight -- yes. To fight in the air. I have -thought before -- . An aeroplane is a clumsy thing. -A resolute man -- !" - -"But -- never since flying began --" cried the man -in yellow. - -"There has been no need. But now the time has -come. Tell them now -- send them my message -- to -put it upon the guides." - -The old man dumbly interrogated the man in yellow, -nodded, and hurried out. - -Helen made a step towards Graham. Her face was -white." But -- How can one fight? You will be -killed." - -"Perhaps. Yet, not to do it -- or to let someone -else attempt it -- ." - -He stopped, he could speak no more, he swept the -alternative aside by a gesture, and they stood looking -at one another. - -"You are right," she said at last in a low tone. -"You are right. If it can be done. . . -must go." - -Those days for -not altogether - -He moved a step towards her, and she stepped back, -her white face struggled against him and resisted him. -"No," she gasped. "I cannot bear -- . Go now." - -He extended his hands stupidly. She clenched her -fists. "Go now," she cried. "Go now." - -He hesitated and understood. He threw his hands -up in a queer half-theatrical gesture. He had no word -to say. He turned from her. - -The man in yellow moved towards the door with -clumsy belated tact. But Graham stepped past him. -He went striding through the room where the Ward -Leader bawled at a telephone directing that the aeropile -should be put upon the guides. - -The man in yellow glanced at Helen's still figure, -hesitated and hurried after him. Graham did not once -look back, he did not speak until the curtain of the -ante-chamber of the great hall fell behind him. Then -he turned his head with curt swift directions upon his -bloodless lips. - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE COMING OF THE AEROPLANES - -Two men in pale blue were lying in the irregular -line that stretched along the edge of the captured -Roehampton stage from end to end, grasping their -carbines and peering into the shadows of the stage called -Wimbledon Park. Now and then they spoke to one -another. They spoke the mutilated English of their -class and period. The fire of the Ostrogites had -dwindled and ceased, and few of the enemy had been -seen for some time. But the echoes of the fight that -was going on now far below in the lower galleries of -that stage, came every now and then between the -staccato of shots from the popular side. One of these -men was describing to the other how he had seen a -man down below there dodge behind a girder, and had -aimed at a guess and hit him cleanly as he dodged too -far "He's down there still," said the marksman. -"See that little patch. Yes. Between those bars." -A few yards behind them lay a dead stranger, face -upward to the sky, with the blue canvas of his jacket -smoldering in a circle about the neat bullet hole on -his chest. Close beside him a wounded man, with a -leg swathed about, sat with an expressionless face and -watched the progress of that burning. Gigantic behind -them, athwart the carrier lay the captured aeropile. - -"I can't see him now," said the second man in a ton -of provocation. - -The marksman became foul-mouthed and high-voiced in -his earnest endeavour to make things plain -And suddenly, interrupting him, came a noisy -shouting from the substage. - -"What's going on now," he said, and raised himself -on one arm to stare at the stairheads in the central -groove of the stage. A number of blue figures were -coming up these, and swarming across the stage to the -aeropile. - -"We don't want all these fools," said his friend. -"They only crowd up and spoil shots. What are they -after?" - -"Ssh! -- they're shouting something." - -The two men listened. The swarming new-comers -had crowded densely about the aeropile. Three Ward -Leaders, conspicuous by their black mantles and -badges, clambered into the body and appeared above -it. The rank and file flung themselves upon the vans, -gripping hold of the edges, until the entire outline of -the thing was manned, in some places three deep. One -of the marksmen knelt up. "They're putting it on the -carrier -- that's what they're after." - -He rose to his feet, his friend rose also. "What's -the good?" said his friend. "We've got no aeronauts." - -"That's what they're doing anyhow." He looked at -his rifle, looked at the struggling crowd, and suddenly -turning to the wounded man. "Mind these, mate," he -said, handing his carbine and cartridge belt; and in a -moment he was running towards the aeropile. For a -quarter of an hour he was a perspiring Titan, lugging, -thrusting, shouting and heeding shouts, and then the -thing was done, and he stood with a multitude of -others cheering their own achievement. By this time -he knew, what indeed everyone in the city knew, that -the Master, raw learner though he was, intended to fly -this machine himself, was coming even now to take -control of it, would let no other man attempt it. "He -who takes the greatest danger, he who bears the -heaviest burden, that man is King," so the Master -was reported to have spoken. And even as this -man cheered, and while the beads of sweat still -chased one another from the disorder of his hair, he -heard the thunder of a greater tumult, and in fitful -snatches the beat and impulse of the revolutionary -song. He saw through a gap in the people that a thick -stream of heads still poured up the stairway. "The -Master is coming," shouted voices, "the Master is -coming," and the crowd about him grew denser and -denser. He began to thrust himself towards the -central groove. "The Master is coming!" "The Sleeper, -the Master!" "God and the Master!" roared the -Voices. - -And suddenly quite close to him were the black uniforms -of the revolutionary guard, and for the first and -last time in his life he saw Graham, saw him quite -nearly. A tall, dark man in a flowing black robe, with -a white, resolute face and eyes fixed steadfastly before -him; a man who for all the little things about him -held neither ears nor eyes nor thoughts. . . . For -all his days that man remembered the passing of -Graham's bloodless face. In a moment it had gone and -he was fighting in the swaying crowd. A lad weeping -with terror thrust against him, pressing towards -the stairways, yelling "Clear for the aeropile!" The -bell that clears the flying stage became a loud -unmelodious clanging. - -With that clanging in his ears Graham drew near -the aeropile, marched into the shadow of its tilting -wing. He became aware that a number of people -about him were offering to accompany him, and waved -their offers aside. He wanted to think how one -started the engine. The bell clanged faster and faster, -and the feet of the retreating people roared faster and -louder. The man in yellow was assisting him to mount -through the ribs of the body. He clambered into the -aeronaut's place, fixing himself very carefully and -deliberately. What was it? The man in yellow was -pointing to two aeropiles driving upward in the -southern sky. No doubt they were looking for the coming -aeroplanes. That -- presently -- the thing to do now -was to start. Things were being shouted at him, -questions, warnings. They bothered him. He wanted to -think about the aeropile, to recall every item of his -previous experience. He waved the people from him, -saw the man in yellow dropping off through the ribs, -saw the crowd cleft down the line of the girders by his -gesture. - -For a moment he was motionless, staring at the -levers, the wheel by which the engine shifted, and all -the delicate appliances of which he knew so little. His -eye caught a spirit level with the bubble towards him, -and he remembered something, spent a dozen seconds -in swinging the engine forward until the bubble floated -in the centre of the tube. He noted that the people -were not shouting, knew they watched his deliberation. -A bullet smashed on the bar above his head. Who -fired? Was the line clear of people? He stood up to -see and sat down again. - -In another second the propeller was spinning, and -he was rushing down the guides. He gripped the -wheel and swung the engine back to lift the stem. -Then it was the people shouted. In a moment he was -throbbing with the quiver of the engine, and the shouts -dwindled swiftly behind, rushed down to silence. -The wind whistled over the edges of the screen, and -the world sank away from him very swiftly. - -Throb, throb, throb -- throb, throb, throb; up he -drove. He fancied himself free of all excitement, felt -cool and deliberate. He lifted the stem still more, -opened one valve on his left wing and swept round and -up. He looked down with a steady head, and up. One -of the Ostrogite aeropiles was driving across his course, -so that he drove obliquely towards it and would pass -below it at a steep angle. Its little aeronauts were -peering down at him. What did they mean to do? -His mind became active. One, he saw held a weapon -pointing, seemed prepared to fire. What did they -think he meant to do? In a moment he understood -their tactics, and his resolution was taken. His -momentary lethargy was past. He opened two more -valves to his left, swung round, end on to this hostile -machine, closed his valves, and shot straight at it, stem -and wind-screen shielding him from the shot. They -tilted a little as if to clear him. He flung up his stem. - -Throb, throb, throb -- pause -- throb, throb -- -he set his teeth, his face into an involuntary grimace, -and crash! He struck it! He struck upward beneath -the nearer wing. - -Very slowly the wing of his antagonist seemed to -broaden as the impetus of his blow turned it up. He -saw the full breadth of it and then it slid downward out -of his sight. - -He felt his stem going down, his hands tightened on -the levers, whirled and rammed the engine back. He -felt the jerk of a clearance, the nose of the machine -jerked upward steeply, and for a moment he seemed -to be lying on his back. The machine was reeling and -staggering, it seemed to be dancing on its screw. He -made a huge effort, hung for a moment on the levers, -and slowly the engine came forward again. He -was driving upward but no longer so steeply. He -gasped for a moment and flung himself at the -levers again. The wind whistled about him. One -further effort and he was almost level. He could -breathe. He turned his head for the first time to see -what had become of his antagonists. Turned back to -the levers for a moment and looked again. For a -moment he could have believed they were annihilated. -And then he saw between the two stages to the east -was a chasm, and down this something, a slender edge, -fell swiftly and vanished, as a sixpence falls down a -crack. - -At first he did not understand, and then a wild joy -possessed him. He shouted at the top of his voice, an -inarticulate shout, and drove higher and higher up the -sky. Throb, throb, throb, pause, throb, throb, throb. -"Where was the other aeropile?" he thought. "They -too -- ." As he looked round the empty heavens he -had a momentary fear that this machine had risen -above him, and then he saw it alighting on the -Norwood stage. They had meant shooting. To risk being -rammed headlong two thousand feet in the air was -beyond their latter-day courage. The combat was -declined. - -For a little while he circled, then swooped in a steep -descent towards the westward stage. Throb throb -throb, throb throb throb. The twilight was creeping -on apace, the smoke from the Streatham stage that had -been so dense and dark, was now a pillar of fire, and -all the laced curves of the moving ways and the -translucent roofs and domes and the chasms between the -buildings were glowing softly now, lit by the tempered -radiance of the electric light that the glare of the -way overpowered. The three efficient stages that the -Ostrogites held -- for Wimbledon Park was useless -because of the fire from Roehampton, and Streatham -was a furnace -- were glowing with guide lights for -the coming aeroplanes. As he swept over the Roehampton -stage he saw the dark masses of the people -thereon. He heard a clap of frantic cheering, heard a -bullet from the Wimbledon Park stage tweet through -the air, and went beating up above the Surrey wastes. -He felt a breath of wind from the south-west, and -lifted his westward wing as he had learnt to do, and -so drove upward heeling into the rare swift upper air. -Throb throb throb -- throb throb throb. - -Up he drove and up, to that pulsating rhythm, until -the country beneath was blue and indistinct, and London -spread like a little map traced in light, like the -mere model of a city near the brim of the horizon. -The south-west was a sky of sapphire over the -shadowy rim of the world, and ever as he drove upward the -multitude of stars increased. - -And behold! In the southward, low down and -glittering swiftly nearer, were two little patches of -nebulous light. And then two more, and then a nebulous -glow of swiftly driving shapes. Presently he -could count them. There were four and twenty. The -first fleet of aeroplanes had come! Beyond appeared -a yet greater glow. - -He swept round in a half circle, staring at this advancing -fleet. It flew in a wedge-like shape, a triangular flight -of gigantic phosphorescent shapes sweeping -nearer through the lower air. He made a swift calculation -of their pace, and spun the little wheel -that brought the engine forward. He touched -a lever and the throbbing effort of the engine -ceased. He began to fall, fell swifter and swifter. He -aimed at the apex of the wedge. He dropped like a -stone through the whistling air. It seemed scarce a -second from that soaring moment before he struck the -foremost aeroplane. - -No man of all that black multitude saw the coming -of his fate, no man among them dreamt of the hawk -that struck downward upon him out of the sky. Those -who were not limp in the agonies of air-sickness, were -craning their black necks and staring to see the filmy -city that was rising out of the haze, the rich and -splendid city to which "Massa Boss" had brought -their obedient muscles. Bright teeth gleamed and the -glossy faces shone. They had heard of Paris. They -knew they were to have lordly times among the "poor -white" trash. And suddenly Graham struck them. - -He had aimed at the body of the aeroplane, but at -the very last instant a better idea had flashed into his -mind. He twisted about and struck near the edge of -the starboard wing with all his accumulated weight. -He was jerked back as he struck. His prow went -gliding across its smooth expanse towards the rim. -He felt the forward rush of the huge fabric sweeping -him and his aeropile along with it, and for a moment -that seemed an age he could not tell what was happening. -He heard a thousand throats yelling, and -perceived that his machine was balanced on the edge -of the gigantic float, and driving down, down; glanced -over his shoulder and saw the backbone of the -aeroplane and the opposite float swaying up. He had -a vision through the ribs of sliding chairs, staring -faces, and hands clutching at the tilting guide bars. -The fenestrations in the further float flashed open as -the aeronaut tried to right her. Beyond, he saw a -second aeroplane leaping steeply to escape the whirl -of its heeling fellow. The broad area of swaying -wings seemed to jerk upward. He felt his aeropile -had dropped clear, that the monstrous fabric, clean -overturned, hung like a sloping wall above him. - -He did not clearly understand that he had struck -the side float of the aeroplane and slipped off, but he -perceived that he was flying free on the down glide -and rapidly nearing earth. What had he done? His -heart throbbed like a noisy engine in his throat and -for a perilous instant he could not move his levers -because of the paralysis of his hands. He wrenched -the levers to throw his engine back, fought for two -seconds against the weight of it, felt himself righting -driving horizontally, set the engine beating again. - -He looked upward and saw two aeroplanes glide -shouting far overhead, looked back, and saw the main -body of the fleet opening out and rushing upward and . . -outward; saw the one he had struck fall edgewise on -and strike like a gigantic knife-blade along the wind-wheels below it. - -He put down his stern and looked again. He drove -up heedless of his direction as he watched. He saw -the wind-vanes give, saw the huge fabric strike the -earth, saw its downward vans crumple with the weight -of its descent, and then the whole mass turned over -and smashed, upside down, upon the sloping wheels. -Throb, throb, throb, pause. Suddenly from the heaving -wreckage a thin tongue of white fire licked up -towards the zenith. And then he was aware of a -huge mass flying through the air towards him, and -turned upwards just in time to escape the charge -- if -it was a charge -- of a second aeroplane. It whirled -by below, sucked him down a fathom, and nearly -turned him over in the gust of its close passage. - -He became aware of three others rushing towards -him, aware of the urgent necessity of beating above -them. Aeroplanes were all about him, circling wildly -to avoid him, as it seemed. They drove past him, -above, below, eastward and westward. Far away to -the westward was the sound of a collision, and two -falling flares. Far away to the southward a second -squadron was coming. Steadily he beat upward. -Presently all the aeroplanes were below him, but for a -moment he doubted the height he had of them, and did -not swoop again. And then he came down upon a -second victim and all its load of soldiers saw him coming. -The big machine heeled and swayed as the fear maddened -men scrambled to the stern for their -weapons. A score of bullets sung through the air, and -there flashed a star in the thick glass wind-screen -that protected him. The aeroplane slowed and -dropped to foil his stroke, and dropped too low. Just -in time he saw the wind-wheels of Bromley hill rushing - - -up towards him, and spun about and up as the -aeroplane he had chased crashed among them. All its -voices wove into a felt of yelling. The great fabric -seemed to be standing on end for a second among the -heeling and splintering vans, and then it flew to pieces. -Huge splinters came flying through the air, its engines -burst like shells. A hot rush of flame shot overhead -into the darkling sky. - -"_Two!_" he cried, with a bomb from overhead bursting -as it fell, and forthwith he was beating up again. -A glorious exhilaration possessed him now, a giant -activity. His troubles about humanity, about his -inadequacy, were gone for ever. He was a man in battle -rejoicing in his power. Aeroplanes seemed radiating -from him in every direction, intent only upon avoiding -him, the yelling of their packed passengers came in -short gusts as they swept by. He chose his third -quarry, struck hastily and did but turn it on edge. It -escaped him, to smash against the tall cliff of London -wall. Flying from that impact he skimmed the darkling -ground so nearly he could see a frightened rabbit -bolting up a slope. He jerked up steeply, and found -himself driving over south London with the air about -him vacant. To the right of him a wild riot of signal -rockets from the Ostrogites banged tumultuously in -the sky. To the south the wreckage of half a dozen -air ships flamed, and east and west and north the air -ships fled before him. They drove away to the east -and north, and went about in the south, for they could -not pause in the air. In their present confusion any -attempt at evolution would have meant disastrous -collisions. He could scarcely realize the thing he had -done. In every quarter aeroplanes were receding. -They were receding. They dwindled smaller and -smaller. They were in flight! - -He passed two hundred feet or so above the Roehampton -stage. It was black with people and noisy -with their frantic shouting. But why was the Wimbledon -Park stage black and cheering, too? The -smoke and flame of Streatham now hid the three further -stages. He curved about and rose to see them -and the northern quarters. First came the square -masses of Shooter's Hill into sight from behind the -smoke, lit and orderly with the aeroplane that had -landed and its disembarking negroes. Then came -Blackheath, and then under the corner of the reek the -Norwood stage. On Blackheath no aeroplane had -landed but an aeropile lay upon the guides. Norwood -was covered by a swarm of little figures running -to and fro in a passionate confusion. Why? Abruptly -he understood. The stubborn defence of the flying -stages was over, the people were pouring into the -under-ways of these last strongholds of Ostrog's -usurpation. And then, from far away on the northern -border of the city, full of glorious import to him, came -a sound, a signal, a note of triumph, the leaden thud -of a gun. His lips fell apart, his face was disturbed -with emotion. - -He drew an immense breath. "They win," he -shouted to the empty air; "the people win!" The -sound of a second gun came like an answer. And -then he saw the aeropile on Blackheath was running -down its guides to launch. It lifted clean and rose. -It shot up into the air, driving straight southward and -away from him. - -In an instant it came to him what this meant. It -must needs be Ostrog in flight. He shouted and -dropped towards it. He had the momentum of his -elevation and fell slanting down the air and very -swiftly. It rose steeply at his approach. He allowed -for its velocity and drove straight upon it. - -It suddenly became a mere flat edge, and behold! he -was past it, and driving headlong down with all the -force of his futile blow. - -He was furiously angry. He reeled the engine back -along its shaft and went circling up. He saw Ostrog's -machine beating up a spiral before him. He rose -straight towards it, won above it by virtue of the -impetus of his swoop and by the advantage and -weight of a man. He dropped headlong -- dropped -and missed again! As he rushed past he saw the face -of Ostrog's aeronaut confident and cool and in -Ostrog's attitude a wincing resolution. Ostrog was -looking steadfastly away from him -- to the south. -He realized with a gleam of wrath how bungling his -flight must be. Below he saw the Croyden hills. He -jerked upward and once more he gained on his enemy. - -He glanced over his shoulder and his attention was -arrested by a strange thing. The eastward stage, the -one on Shooter's Hill, appeared to lift; a flash -changing to a tall grey shape, a cowled figure of smoke and - - -dust, jerked into the air. For a moment this cowled -figure stood motionless, dropping huge masses of -metal from its shoulders, and then it began to uncoil a -dense head of smoke. The people had blown it up, -aeroplane and all! As suddenly a second flash and -grey shape sprang up from the Norwood stage. And -even as he stared at this came a dead report, and the -air wave of the first explosion struck him. He was -flung up and sideways. - -For a moment the aeropile fell nearly edgewise with -her nose down, and seemed to hesitate whether to -overset altogether. He stood on his wind-shield -wrenching the wheel that swayed up over his head. -And then the shock of the second explosion took his -machine sideways. - -He found himself clinging to one of the ribs of his -machine, and the air was blowing past him and -upward. He seemed to be hanging quite still in the -air, with the wind blowing up past him. It occurred -to him that he was falling. Then he was sure that he -was falling. He could not look down. - -He found himself recapitulating with incredible -swiftness all that had happened since his awakening, -the days of doubt the days of Empire, and at last the -tumultuous discovery of Ostrog's calculated treachery. -he was beaten but London was saved. London was -saved! - -The thought had a quality of utter unreality. Who -was he? Why was he holding so tightly with his -hands? Why could he not leave go? In such a fall as -this countless dreams have ended. But in a moment -he would wake.... - -His thoughts ran swifter and swifter. He wondered -if he should see Helen again. It seemed so unreasonable -that he should not see her again. It _must_ be a -dream! Yet surely he would meet her. She at least -was real. She was real. He would wake and meet -her. - -Although he could not look at it, he was suddenly -aware that the earth was very near. - - - - - -THE END - -End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of When the Sleeper Wakes, by Wells - |