A VISIT FROM THE INHABITANTS OF PLUTUSIA.
How long we slept it is impossible to say. We must have remained in
slumber at least three days after the great excitement of our voyage
so far. The direct cause of my awaking was a loud noise on deck, and
on coming up to learn the cause, I saw Flathootly shaking his fist at
two strange flying men who hovered over the ship.
"Bad luck to ye," shouted Flathootly, "if iver I get a grip of ye
again you won't sail away so swately after jabbin' me in the neck like
that."
"Flathootly!" I cried, "what's the meaning of this? Were those men on
board ship? Had you hold of them?"
"Begorra, sorr," he replied, holding his hand over a slight wound in
his neck, "I was slaping as swately as a child when I felt something
tickling me nose. I got up to see what was the matther wid me, and
sure enough found thim two rascals prowlin' about the deck. Whin they
saw me making a move they jumped back and roosted on the rail. I
wanted to catch howlt of wan of thim as a curiosity and I goes up to
the short fellow, an' says I, quite honey like: 'Good-marnin', sorr!
Could you give me a match to loight me pipe?' an' before the fellow
had time to know where he was I had howlt of him, wings an' all. Why,
he was as weak as wather, and I was knocking his head on the deck to
kape him quiet, whin the other fellow let fly and stuck his spear in
me neck, and whin I was trying to catch the second fellow the first
fellow got away. Be jabers, the next time I get the grip on either of
thim his mutton's cooked."
"I fear, Flathootly," said I, "you will never catch either of them
again. Don't you see they have got wings and can fly wherever they
like beyond reach?"
The two men that flew around the ship were strange beings. Their
complexions were bright yellow and their hair black. They were not
above five and a half feet in height, but possessed athletic frames.
Their wings were long polished blades of metal of a gleaming white,
like gigantic oars, which were moved by some powerful force (possibly
electricity) quite independent of the body. Their aerial blades
flashed and whirled in the sunlight with blinding rapidity. Their
attire consisted of what appeared to be leather tights covering the
legs, of a pale yellow tint with crimson metallic embroidery. The
dynamo and wings were fastened to a crimson jacket of unique shape
that supported the body in flight. Their heads were protected by white
metal helmets, and they wore tightly-fitting metal boots, reaching
half way up to the knee, the metal being arranged in overlapping
scales. Each flying man was armed with a spear and shields. The _tout
ensemble_ was a picture of agility and grace.
The sailors, now thoroughly awake, gave expression to loud
exclamations of surprise at the sight of the two strange flying men
wheeling around the ship overhead. Professor Starbottle thought that
the strangers must belong to some wealthy and civilized country, for
men in a savage state would be incapable of inventing such powers of
flight and presenting so ornate an appearance.
"They are soldiers," said Professor Rackiron; "see the spears and
shields they wear."
"They're bloody pirates!" said Flathootly. "It was the long fellow
that stabbed me."
"You're all right," said the doctor to Flathootly. "Thank your stars
the spear wasn't poisoned, or you would be a dead man."
"Be the powers, I'll have that fellow yet," said the master-at-arms.
"I'm going to take a jump, and, be me sowl, wan of thim fellows 'll
get left."
The strangers were now flying quite close to the ship, and Flathootly
unexpectedly gave a tremendous spring into the air. He would have
caught one of the aerial men for certain, but they, having wings,
foiled him by simply moving out of the line of the Irishman's flight.
Flathootly dropped into the sea about a quarter of a mile away, and
would probably have been drowned had it not been for the generosity of
the strangers themselves. One of the flying men, hastening to the
rescue, caught him by the hair of the head and lifted him out of the
water. Flathootly caught the stranger by one of his legs and held on
like grim death. The flying man brought his burden right over the ship
and attempted to drop Flathootly on deck, who shouted, "I hev him,
boys! I hev him! Catch howlt of us, some of you!" Immediately a dozen
sailors leaped up, and, grasping the winged man and his burden,
brought both successfully down to the deck.
Seeing himself overpowered, the stranger submitted to his captivity
with as good a grace as possible. We removed his shield and spear,
and, merely tying a rope to his leg to secure our prize, gave him the
freedom of the ship.
He sulked for a long time, and maintained an animated conversation
with his free companion in a language whose meaning none of us
understood. He finally condescended to eat some of the food we set
before him, and his companion came near enough to take a glass of
wine from his captive brother and drink it with evident relish.
[Illustration: ONE OF THE FLYING MEN CAUGHT FLATHOOTLY BY THE HAIR OF
THE HEAD, AND LIFTED HIM OUT OF THE WATER.]
Flathootly was so far friendly disposed to his assailant as to offer
him a glass of ship's rum. The stranger to our surprise did not refuse
it, but, putting the glass to his lips, quaffed its contents at a
single draught. When he became more accustomed to his surroundings we
ventured to examine his curious equipment.
Upon examination we found that the wings of our captive were simply
large aerial oars, about four and a half feet in length and three feet
wide at the widest part, tapering down to a few inches wide at the
dynamo that moved them. Such small extent of surface evidently
required an enormous force to propel a man in rapid flight. We found
the dynamo to consist of a central wheel made to revolve by the
attraction of a vast occult force evolved from the contact of two
metals, one being of a vermilion color and the other of a bright green
tint, that constituted the cell of the apparatus. No acid was
required, nor did the contact of the metal produce any wasting of
their substance. A colossal current of mysterious magnetism made the
wheel revolve, the current being guided in its work by an automatic
insulation of one hemisphere of the wheel.
I put one hand on the dynamo and made a gesture of inquiry with the
other, whereupon our strange friend said, "Nojmesedi!" Was this the
name of the new force we had discovered, or the name of the flying
apparatus as a whole? Before we could settle the point our friend
became communicative, and, smiting his breast, said:
"Plothoy, wayleal ar Atvatabar!"
With the right hand he pointed to a continent rising above us, its
mighty features being clearly visible to the naked eye.