Once more we are on the sea; two days from Nhu-Yok. Our decision was
a sudden one. Nofuhl, in an evil moment, found among those accursed
plates a map of the country, and thereupon was seized with an
unreasoning desire to visit a town called "Washington." I wavered and
at last consented, foolishly I believe, for the crew are loud for
Persia. And this town is inland on a river. He says it was their
finest city, the seat of Government, the capital of the country.
Grip-til-lah swears he can find it if the map is truthful. Ja-khaz
still eats by himself.
This afternoon we reclined upon the deck, the Zlotuhb drifting gently
in a southerly direction. Land could be seen on the starboard bow, a
faint strip along the western horizon.
It was about the middle of the afternoon, while passing the ruins of a
gigantic tower--perhaps a lighthouse--that Nofuhl, of a sudden,
clambered hastily to his feet and looked about him. Then he called to
Grip-til-lah, asking how many leagues we were from the harbor of
Nhu-Yok. Grip-til-lah's reply I forget, but it filled the old man with
a gentle excitement. I observed an unwonted sparkle in his eyes, also
a quivering of the fingers as he pointed to the ocean around about,
and exclaimed--
"Beneath us, the bottom of the sea is covered with iron ships--the
wrecks of stupendous navies--the mightiest of all human history!"
At once we all became interested.
"What navies?" I inquired. "And what compassed their destruction?
Was it a battle?"
Nofuhl.
A battle of whose magnitude no Persian has conception; a conflict in
which the sea was tossed and the heavens rent by thunderings of iron
monsters. Any one of them would have blown to atoms a fleet of
Zlotuhbs.
Ad-el-pate.
Verily! A tale easier told than believed. But I would readily
venture my head in the Zlotuhb against any of these nursery-tale
wonders.
Nofuhl.
And with wisdom. For the loss of thy brain. Ad-el-pate, could not
affect the nature of thy speech.
Whereupon there was laughter, and Ad-el-pate held his peace.
Khan-li.
But tell us of this battle, O Nofuhl. I remember now to have read
about it at college. These details of ancient history I am prone to
forget. How came it about?
Nofuhl.
I have spoken of the Mehrikans being a greedy race. And their greed,
at last, resulted in this war. By means of one-sided laws of their
own making they secured for themselves a lion's share of all profits
from the world's commerce. This checked the prosperity of other
nations, until at last the leading powers of Europe combined in
self-defence against this all-absorbing greed. They collected an
armada the like of which was never imagined, neither before nor since.
Then, across the ocean, came the iron host. And here, upon this very
spot where we are floating, they met the Mehrikan ships.
Khan-li.
How many ships in all?
Nofuhl.
The Mehrikans had eighty heavy ships of iron, with a number of smaller
craft. The allies had two hundred and forty heavy battleships, all of
iron. They also had smaller craft for divers purposes.
Khan-li.
Allah! A bad prospect for our greedy friends! And being a nation of
traders they had no liking, probably, for the perils of war.
Nofuhl.
As to that historians differ. According to the Mehrikans themselves
they were mighty warriors. But certain writers of that period give a
different impression. Noz-yt-ahl is sure they were cowards, weak in
body as in spirit, but often favored by fortune. In my opinion, this
battle throws considerable light upon that matter.
A day like this, it was, also in June, as the Europeans, coming
northward along the coast to seize Nhu-Yok, met the Mehrikan Admiral
Nev-r-sai-di with his eighty ships. And the struggle was short.
Khan-li.
Verily, I can believe it! With three ships to one I would give the
Europeans about half a day--a summer afternoon like this--to send
the greedy ones to the bottom.
Nofuhl.
Thy guess is good, O Prince, as to the hours of fighting. It lasted
just one summer afternoon. But the Mehrikans it was who sent their
enemies to the bottom. And the sea beneath our feet is strewn with
iron hulks.
Khan-li.
Bismillah! If that be a true tale--and I doubt it not--these
greedy ones were not so contemptible, at least when there was profit
in it.
Lev-el-Hedyd.
At what period did this occur?
Nofuhl.
Early in the twentieth century. I cannot recall the date, but it was
never forgotten by the Mehrikans. Surely a just pride, for on that day
they accomplished wonders. The Admiral Nev-r-sai-di on his ship the
Ztazenztrypes was at one time surrounded by a dozen German men-of-
war. And lo! he demolished all! And of Frank and Russyan vessels he
put an end to as many more; also sundry Talyans and British.
Lev-el-Hedyd.
Bismillah! But that was good! What, O Nofuhl, is the Persian of that
name Ztazenztrypes?
Nofuhl.
None can tell with certainty. To the Mehrikans it signified victory,
or something similar.
Other miracles were achieved by the Mehrikans that day. Nofli-zon-mee,
a little craft with a pointed prow, jammed holes in nearly a score of
monster ships, and the waters closed over them. There figured also a
long and narrow boat of Mehrikan devising, the Yankyd-Oodl. This
astonishing machine sailed to and fro among the foreign ships
upsetting all traditions. Much glory befell her commander, the Captain
Hoorai-boiz.
Grip-til-lah.
And how many ships did the Mehrikans lose?
Nofuhl.
Reports are contradictory. According to one of their own writers of
the period they suffered no loss whatever in vessels. Yet at the same
time he asserts, "We gave them Haleklumbya," which must be the name of
a ship.
Khan-li.
A gallant fight! But can you explain how such an inferior people
could become heroic of a sudden?
Nofuhl.
According' to 'Ardfax, an early British historian, they were addicted
to surprising feats upon the water. And this statement is borne out by
a Spanish admiral, Offulbad-shoota, who maintains that the Mehrikans,
being a godless people, were aided by the devil.