VICTORY.
The enemy, finding we were not disposed to leave Atvatabar, began to
move down upon us once more in battle array. The royal fleet consisted
of seventy ships, the former thirty having been either sunk or
disabled by us. As for ourselves, the hurricane-deck, masts and
rigging had been hammered to pieces, but the hull was sound, the
sailors enthusiastic, and the terrorite guns unharmed and our spears
invincible.
As the enemy approached us their ships began to move wider apart, with
a view no doubt of circumnavigating us, and then close in upon the
_Polar King_ as before. Another squeeze of this kind might prove
fatal, consequently our plan was to keep the enemy at a safe distance
and on one side of us, and destroy his ships one by one with our guns
while out of range of his fire, if possible.
The admiral did us the favor of keeping around his ship half a dozen
vessels by way of protection, and in this manner drew near. We were
determined to bring the engagement to a close as soon as possible by
striking the enemy a terrible blow. As soon as their vessels drew
within range we struck the central group with a shell from the giant
gun. The explosion worked a tremendous havoc among the congregated
vessels, but without waiting to learn its full effect I ordered twenty
shells to be fired into the central mass in quick succession.
The result was appalling. The great want of gravity caused a vast
irregular mountain of ships and water to be piled high in the air. We
could hear the shrieks of drowning and dismembered fletyemings.
Volumes of water shot to tremendous heights, became detached from the
main mass, and floated in the air for a time in liquid globes.
It was some time before the whirl of wrecked ships and angry water,
filled with perhaps thousands of wing-jackets, subsided to the level
of the ocean again. The ships sank beneath the water, on which floated
hundreds of dead bodies. Those fletyemings who had escaped accident or
death, headed by Admiral Jolar, who was still alive, formed themselves
into a compact mass as they hovered over the scene of the disaster for
a final hand-to-hand attack. Re-enforced by thousands of fletyemings
from the then unharmed vessels, they approached with yells of
"Bhoolmakar!" Finding their ships useless, they were determined to
fling themselves in heroic sacrifice upon us in such numbers as to
crush us.
This was precisely their most dangerous form of attack, but we could
only await their coming. As the living mass of men approached we
saluted them with another discharge of shells, which exploded in the
very heart of the unfortunate host. The carnage was dreadful, and
hundreds of dead bodies fell into the sea. Admiral Jolar was killed,
and without their leader the fletyemings became demoralized. Ere they
could rally again, we were about to fire another round of shells, when
Rear Admiral Gerolio, with a few fletyemings, left the main mass under
a flag of truce and approached us.
We were nothing loath to receive their message. Alighting on deck, the
rear admiral informed me that owing to the loss of their admiral they
were disposed to cease fighting provided I would leave the country
forthwith.
"Then," said I, "you wish to report that you defeated us by driving us
from the country?"
"I shall report that it was a mutual cessation of hostilities," said
he.
"It has cost us too much to give up the fight now," I said. "One of us
must surrender."
"Do you surrender, then, to His Majesty Aldemegry Bhoolmakar, King of
Atvatabar?" eagerly inquired the rear admiral.
"Do you surrender to Her Majesty Lyone, Queen of Atvatabar?" I
replied.
"We make no such surrender," said he, very much surprised to know that
Lyone had been proclaimed queen. "If we cannot conquer you by force of
arms we have ships enough to starve you into submission."
"We care nothing for your ships," I replied, "we will destroy them one
by one."
"You may sink our ships," said the rear admiral, "but you will never
conquer our fletyemings. We will begin a hand-to-hand conflict that
will not cease until you and your entire crew are killed or are our
prisoners."
"The truce is at an end," I replied. "Return to your ships
immediately."
The rear-admiral and his staff rose on their wings, and in a short
time regained the cloud of naval warriors that hung in the air half a
mile away.
During the truce the ships of the enemy had drawn nearer and at once
opened fire upon us.
A well-aimed shot struck us under the water-line, penetrating our
armor, and going clean through the side of the vessel. The central
compartment rapidly filled with water. It was a fatal blow, for
although the fore and aft compartments would keep the ship from
sinking, yet it soon put out our boiler fires and left us a helpless
hulk upon the water. The main deck, containing our terrorite guns, was
on a level with the water, and a quantity of terrorite and gunpowder
rendered useless. We were in a terrible position, for our small stock
of available ammunition would be soon exhausted. The enemy soon
discovered the effect of their blow, and closed around us like
vultures hastening to their prey. We suffered a terrible bombardment,
that killed more of our men, and finally the fletyemings closed around
us in swarms to annihilate us.
Resolved to sell our lives dearly, we received them with a discharge
of our magazine guns. They quickly rallied and renewed their attack,
but as long as our ammunition lasted were afraid to come to close
quarters. At last we drew our revolvers and the hand-to-hand conflict
began. Some of the sailors used their cutlasses with good effect. We
had proof that the magnetic spears in close quarters were terrible
weapons. As I saw my men falling around me I felt that the game was
up. I thought of Lyone, and the thought would not let me surrender. I
was already wounded in the shoulder and body, and stunned, while the
enemy was swarming in greater numbers than ever. Must we surrender?
Suddenly, at that moment, a shell came screaming through the air and
exploded above the ship, right among the wayleals, killing twenty or
more.
Merciful heavens! Can the enemy, after all, fire shells at us? But why
use them when the fight is practically over, and why fire them among
his own wayleals? Another and another shell exploded among the
wayleals around us, and finally a regular tornado of them exploded all
around the _Polar King_, putting the enemy completely to flight.
As soon as the air was cleared around us, I saw to my intense
astonishment two friendly vessels, one of which bore the flag of the
United States and the other the flag of England, firing shells at the
enemy. I then knew the cause of our deliverance, and shouted for joy.
My men--all that were alive--rose and cheered our comrades from the
outer world! The excitement was overpowering! We could only, amid
tears of joy, salute them and signal them to keep up the fight. We
were saved!
A well-aimed shot from the Englishman sank still another vessel. This
fresh disaster received from the strangers seemed to completely
unnerve the enemy, for, strange to say, every ship afloat struck its
colors in surrender! It was well that the rear-admiral did so, for it
would have been only a question of time until his whole fleet would
have been destroyed.
The fletyemings retreated to their ships, and in a short time the
gold-plated ship of Rear-Admiral Gerolio, under the flag of truce,
came alongside our vessel. The rear-admiral and his staff came on
board, and delivered up his sword in token of surrender.
"You surrender to me as admiral of Her Majesty Lyone, Queen of
Atvatabar?" I said.
"I do," said the rear-admiral, "and am willing to devote my services
to the cause of her majesty."
"Will your fletyemings as well as yourself swear allegiance to Queen
Lyone and her cause?"
"We swear it!" yelled the fletyemings of the rear-admiral's ship, and,
at a signal from their leader, the flag of the new queen took the
place of the flag of his deposed majesty, King Aldemegry Bhoolmakar.
In a moment the entire fleet exhibited the flag of her holiness as the
symbol of their new allegiance. This was a gratifying victory, as it
procured for our cause more than sixty fully manned vessels of war and
twenty-five thousand fletyemings.
Lyone was mistress of the seas!
"How came you to surrender at this juncture?" I inquired of the
rear-admiral.
"Well, sir," he replied, "we have already lost more men and ships than
if we had been engaged with an enemy similarly armed and having as
many vessels as ourselves, and when the strange vessels came to your
assistance we saw it was useless to prolong the fight. We saw that
with your terrible weapons you were invincible. You can destroy us and
we cannot destroy you, therefore I concluded, as rear-admiral of the
fleet and successor to Admiral Jolar, who was killed in battle, that
it was throwing life away to continue the fight. I saw, furthermore,
that with you as the champion of the goddess her cause would succeed,
and I wanted to be the first to render homage to her majesty."
"You have acted well," I replied, "and to reward your action, I now,
in the name of her majesty, appoint and proclaim you rear-admiral of
the fleet of Lyone, Queen of Atvatabar."
This announcement was received with frantic cheers by the sailors of
both vessels.
Now that I was master of the sea, I intended to immediately extend my
operations to the cause of the queen on land, and assuming the dignity
of admiral, appointed Captain Wallace of the _Polar King_ also
rear-admiral of the fleet.
This announcement was received with the firing of guns and tremendous
cheers.
"Rear-Admiral Wallace, Rear-Admiral Gerolio, and myself," I said to
the sailors, "will determine the question of who will become the
remaining high naval officers, and now that the battle is over, let us
see that our wounded are properly cared for and all ships afloat put
in proper repair."
It was a glorious victory!
All this time the two cruisers who so fortunately arrived in time to
turn the tide of battle in our favor were rapidly approaching us,
firing guns in honor of our victory. I acknowledged their arrival, as
well as their valuable services, by having the royal fleet drawn up in
double file, between which lay the _Polar King_, and ordering every
vessel to give the strangers a salute of one hundred guns.
My anxiety to learn more of our allies was so great that I despatched
two of my most active wing-jackets to the strange vessels to procure
accurate information concerning them and their object in visiting the
interior world. The wayleals returned with the information that the
vessels were the United States ship of discovery _Mercury_, commanded
by Captain Adams, and the English ship of discovery _Aurora Borealis_,
commanded by Sir John Forbes. Both were fitted out by their respective
governments to explore the interior world consequent on the report of
Boatswain Dunbar and Seaman Henderson, the only survivors of the
twelve men who left the _Polar King_ when in the Polar Gulf. The
respective commanders, officers and men of the incoming vessels were
delighted to know that the _Polar King_ was not only safe, but had
discovered Atvatabar, and that its commander was at present king of
the realm. This was the substance of the despatches sent me by Captain
Adams and Commander Forbes, and addressed, "To Lexington White, Esq.,
Commander of the _Polar King_." Captain Adams stated that Boatswain
Dunbar was on board his vessel as pilot, accompanied by Seaman
Henderson.
Owing to the waterlogged condition of the _Polar King_, we could only
wait the arrival of the vessels. When near at hand, a simultaneous
salute of guns reverberated upon the sea, which must have been heard
in all Atvatabar. Amid the smoke and noise of the roaring guns, steam
launches had put off from the _Mercury_ and _Aurora Borealis_, and in
a very short time the commanders of both vessels stood upon the deck
of the _Polar King_, accompanied by their respective officers. I
embraced Captain Adams and Commander Forbes, and introduced the
strangers to Rear-Admiral Wallace, Rear-Admiral Gerolio and staff, who
were no less delighted and surprised than myself to receive visitors
from the outer world. When the commanders reached the deck of the
_Polar King_ the cheers of the American and British sailors, mingled
with the shouts of our fletyemings, made a soul-stirring scene.
In fact, I was already beginning to think the outer world a more or
less mythical place, and thought the doctrine of reincarnation had an
illustration or proof in myself. After all, the outer world really
existed, and, strange as it seemed to the Atvatabarese, there was
really an outer sun and live beings like themselves, only physically
more vigorous.
It was necessary to set out at once for Kioram, as the _Polar King_
was in a sinking condition.
Every man had been either killed or wounded. We made a total loss of
sixty men, including the ten who left the ship in the Polar Gulf, thus
making the entire company of the _Polar King_ but fifty souls.
As for the ship, her plating was burst apart in many places and full
of started bolts, caused by missiles of the enemy. The central
compartment was filled with water, and the masts, sails, smoke-stack
and hurricane-deck were practically destroyed.
Many of the guns were not struck once in the entire fight, and were
ready for active service any moment. The terrorite battery was
partially submerged, but still in good condition.
Captain Adams and Sir John Forbes both craved the honor of towing the
_Polar King_ into port, to which I willingly assented.
As admiral, I at once assumed command of the fleet, which I ordered to
make sail for Kioram without delay. The fleet fell behind in good
order, and followed the _Polar King_, bearing the victorious flag of
the queen.