no one on board; though, I suppose, the people were really boxed up and
out of sight.'
Tom looked cautiously round, as if doubtful whether there were any
hidden listeners. Then he came close to Gerald, and said in a whisper,
'But I see one on 'em! 'E were a-peepin' out o' a porthole! Nobody but
me was lookin', an' as soon as 'e see me 'e bobbed back.'
'Well, who was it?' Gerald asked, impressed by Tom's manner. 'Any one
we--you or I--know?'
Tom nodded portentously.
'Ay, ay, sir; one who ain't no frien' o' yourn--the one ye call the
Ogre--an' a jolly good name for 'im too!'
'Are you sure--quite sure, Tom? This may be a serious matter! You
should not say such a thing unless you are absolutely certain.'
'As sure as I am that me 'ead be on me shoulders, sir. The ugly swab!
As if anybody could mistake 'is phizog!'
Gerald reflected a while, then said, 'Say nothing to any one else about
this, Tom. Keep your own counsel. There may be nothing in it, and if
you talk it may get you into trouble.'
'Ay, ay, sir! I shall be dumb about it onless ye tells me t' speak.'
Presently a loud flourish of trumpets and sounds of shouting and a
general commotion announced that the king himself was approaching.
Monck led the visitors to a post of vantage outside the palace, from
which they could obtain a good view.
The sun was near to setting, and its beams cast a lurid glow over the
scene--redder than any sunset they had ever seen on Earth.
Below them was a vast plain with a few low hills, upon and round which
was the great city of Ivenia, looking vast and glorious, with
magnificent buildings extending in one direction pile upon pile almost
as far as the eye could see. On the other side lay the sea, glistening
like molten copper.
The king's air-yacht--larger and more beautiful even than the one they
had come in--was seen rising majestically towards them, surrounded by
hundreds of smaller air-craft, their decorations glittering and
sparkling in the sun's red beams. There was no booming of cannon, as
would be the case with us, but a loud, musical, humming sound, which was
curiously agreeable to the ear.
When in due course Ivanta landed upon the height, a few of the craft
accompanying him landed also, and from them poured out a stream of
people splendidly arrayed, who trooped after him in procession to attend
the reception in the palace.
This was a repetition upon a larger scale, so to speak, of the function
at which Prince Alondra had presided, Ivanta this time occupying the
throne himself, with the young prince beside him. As before, places of
honour were given to the strangers, amongst whom the Zuanstrooms were
now included; and the proceedings were even more enthusiastic and of
longer duration, winding up with a grand banquet. It would take too
long to describe all that followed. It must suffice to say that the two
chums voted it the most wonderful entertainment that they had ever heard
of or that imagination could picture; and when at last they lay down
together for their night's rest they were both about tired out.
Now, however, that the dazzling excitement of this wonderful day was
over, and they were once more alone and quiet, the memory of their
narrow escape from death and of what Tom Clinch had said came back to
Gerald's mind like the proverbial skeleton of the feast.
He had had a talk with Monck about it, and had been rather snubbed for
his pains. The engineer said he had seen Kazzaro go with his master on
board the large ex-warship which he had pointed out as serving now as
Agrando's private yacht. Therefore, the Ogre could not possibly have
been where Clinch said he was.
And Monck had ended the talk by rather curtly advising Gerald not to
hunt for mares' nests, and warning him to be careful not to mention such
suspicions to any one else.
'We shall make inquiries and find out who the people were who so nearly
ran us down,' Monck assured him; 'and they will be called to account for
their reckless navigation of the air. But I do not myself believe that
there was anything more than carelessness, nor that Kazzaro could have
been on board.'
Gerald felt a little sore at the engineer's blunt refusal to believe
honest Tom Clinch; and Jack sympathised with him, and tried to comfort
him by declaring that he agreed with his view.
'Depend upon it, Tom would not be likely to make a mistake in such a
matter,' Jack agreed. 'He is an old sailor, and is as sharp as a needle
in a case of emergency like that. My own opinion--strictly, of course,
between ourselves--is that that imp of evil we call the Ogre was there,
and that he deliberately tried to run us down and to kill us all,
including the king's son. You will remember my saying I believed that
some understanding existed between the Ogre and Zuanstroom. I am still
positive that I was right, and that there is some sinister mischief
brewing. Mr Monck may disbelieve it and laugh at the idea if he chooses
to, but don't you feel sore, old chap. I am afraid he will wish
by-and-by that he had treated our hints more seriously.'
Gerald shivered. 'I would rather it should turn out that it is Monck
who is right and we who are wrong,' he returned. 'It's horrible to
think that we have come all this way, and incurred so many risks, only
to meet with plots and murderous attempts. It used not to be so in my
dreams,' he added moodily. 'I wonder why it should be so now? Mr Monck
gave us to understand that we were coming to a place where there were no
more wars, where King Ivanta reigned in peace and security, beloved by
all his subjects. Why does it not seem to be as he led us to believe?
Are we the cause? Is it due simply to the fact that the Zuanstrooms
don't like us--that they are angry because we came, or jealous because
the king shows more favour to you than he does to Silas?'
'No; I don't think it is our fault,' said Jack, with decision.
'Zuanstroom has brought with him the biggest cargo of diamonds ever
seen; and, as Mr Armeath said, trouble was sure to follow. Now, dismiss
it from your thoughts, old chap, and go to sleep.'
'I will; and perhaps some of the old dreams about the stars will come
back to me,' Gerald finished, with a sigh. 'I hope, if they do, there
will be no diamonds there!'
*CHAPTER XV.*
*HUNTING THE GREAT MARS EAGLE.*
The time that followed upon their arrival on Mars was a period of great
enjoyment for the two chums. The gloomy feeling which had been caused
by their narrow escape upon that first day quickly passed away and was
now almost forgotten.
Agrando and the Ogre stayed at home in their own country, and the chums
saw and heard nothing of them. Zuanstroom and his son went their own
way, for the most part making friends with the nobles and the chief
citizens, and seemingly bent only upon the acquisition of useful
knowledge concerning the country they were in and its inhabitants.
Gerald and Jack, on the other hand, became the daily companions of the
young prince; and the three grew more friendly and intimate as the weeks
passed by.
Alondra showed himself a charming host in his behaviour towards his
young guests, and did all he could to make their stay pleasant. He took
them about, showing and explaining such things as were new to them and
likely to excite their interest, and in particular initiating them into
the mysteries of the Martian sports and pastimes. In some of these, as
has been related, the two lads had already made themselves proficient
during the voyage; but those had necessarily been only of such a kind as
were possible in a comparatively confined space.
To attempt to tell of the many strange things the visitors met with, the
novel and surprising sights they saw, and all their curious experiences,
would, however, extend this narrative to too great a length. It is only
possible to relate some of the more noteworthy.
The one great marvel of the place--naturally, the one which had first
attracted their attention, and which was always in evidence--was the
fact that everybody went about in the air. No one ever thought of
travelling far in any other manner; no other kind of mechanical
locomotion was to be seen, except as regards the transport of heavy
goods. These were still carried to and fro on railways of various
kinds, or on other motor vehicles--'slow, old-fashioned affairs,' as
Alondra called them--or still slower 'electric ships.' None of these,
Monck explained, could travel at a faster rate than a hundred miles or
so an hour--reckoning miles as we do on Earth, and that was far too slow
to suit the Martians of to-day.
'Fancy any one travelling at such an absurdly slow speed!' observed
Alondra, laughing at the idea. 'Yet, ages ago, in what some here call
the good, old-fashioned days, people, even upon the longest journeys,
had to be content with crawling about our world no faster than that! We
can travel far more quickly now, in our racing air-yachts, and I suppose
that on your planet, which we know is bigger than ours, you travel more
swiftly still?'
Gerald thought of some of our old-fashioned, slow-going railways, and
blushed. 'I am sorry to have to confess that we do not,' he returned, a
little shamefacedly. He did not like having to admit at every turn how
far his native Earth was 'behind the age,' as things were understood in
Mars. But it was constantly the case, nevertheless.
They sailed about almost daily in the young prince's yacht--the one
which had carried them up to the king's palace the first day--and they
were astounded at the speed she attained in the air. No doubt, as Jack
remarked, the marvellous _Ivenia_ must have travelled immeasurably
faster, or they would have been years upon their journey instead of
months. But they had scarcely been aware of her real speed, because
they had passed no object near enough to give any idea of the actual
rate at which they were being whirled through space.
It happened that the prince's air-yacht had been named after our Earth.
She was called _Lokris_, which, as has been already made known, was the
name by which the Martians knew our planet.
'She was built shortly after my father's return from his first visit to
your world,' Alondra explained; 'and I felt so interested in all he had
to tell me about it that I called her by that name.'
At times there were 'air-regattas,' at which races were arranged for
various classes of airships and flying-machines. The prizes at these
were valuable and were eagerly competed for, and the _Lokris_ was
frequently one of the competitors. In these contests the young prince
showed himself a skilful and daring navigator of the air; and sometimes,
when the two chums accompanied him, they had some exciting experiences,
as the competing yachts whirled along, often neck and neck, at almost
incredible speed. At such times it was often the most
venturesome--almost, one might say, the most reckless--who came in
winners.
Alondra was delighted to discover that in his two visitors he had gained
sailing companions after his own heart. He took special pains to teach
them to assist him in the handling of the yacht, and they soon grew
expert. Then the two sailors were instructed, and took the place of the
former crew; and the five became celebrated for their skilful and
fearless manoeuvring and for the number of races they won.
Tom Clinch and Bob Reid entered into the spirit of the thing with great
gusto, and soon proved themselves as clever in the air as ever they had
been in the handling of sailing-boats on the water at home. And when
the prizes began to come in--half of which Alondra allotted to them, the
other half being distributed in charity--their satisfaction and delight
may well be imagined.
It should be explained that these Earth-born assistants gained a
considerable advantage from the fact, which has already been noted, that
their muscles were stronger comparatively than those of the natives.
Thus the four on board the _Lokris_ could do the work of nearly double
the number of Martians--and as in this kind of racing the work was often
heavy, and required considerable physical exertion, the saving in weight
effected by carrying a smaller crew made an important difference.
But the great sport of the Martians, it presently appeared, was
eagle-hunting. A species of eagle, very much larger than any on Earth,
had their eyries amongst some mountain peaks in a wild district some
distance away. In regard to size, the visitors found that birds were
larger on the average, while some animals were often smaller, than those
species on our earth which correspond to them. Certainly these
eagles--known by the name of krondos--were gigantic birds, swift and
very high flyers, and terribly savage, powerful creatures when attacked.
Doubtless they would have been exterminated long ago but for the fact
that they had been expressly preserved for the purposes of sport, just
as foxes are in England.
Packs of smaller tame eagles, of a different breed, were trained to hunt
them. Assisted by these, a party of Martian nobles would sally forth in
their air-yachts and chase the formidable giant eagles from peak to
peak, following them in their circling flights into the upper air or
their dizzy downward swoops, until some expert hunter-aeronaut contrived
to throw a net over the quarry and capture it alive.
That was, briefly, the general procedure, Monck explained; but, as he
further remarked, it did not always come off as per programme.
Sometimes the krondos assumed the offensive against the hunters; and
cases had been even known of their dragging men out of the airships and
carrying them off, or dashing them down upon the rocks below.
'The king has arranged for a grand krondo-hunt to-morrow, in your
honour!' Alondra one day informed the chums. 'We must be astir early in
the morning. You are to come with me in my yacht. Now you will see
some truly royal sport. Our air-yacht races are but as a children's game
compared with this!'
It came to pass, accordingly, that at dawn a great procession of
air-craft, headed by the king in his own yacht--known as the
_Nelda_--started off in the beams of the rising sun for the district
which was the haunt of the great birds.
An hour's run brought them to the hunting-ground, and the chums thought
they had never seen a more desolate tract. Great, rocky cliffs and
heights, and soaring mountain-peaks above, with dark, gloomy ravines and
valleys below, were its chief features--truly a suitable region for the
ferocious winged monsters they were in search of.
Alondra was the first to sight one of the creatures; and, following the
rules of the hunt, turned his yacht quickly and dashed away in pursuit.
He was wearing, as it happened, through a fancy of his own, his new
flying-dress. Why, exactly, the chums who were with him did not know;
though he had hinted mysteriously at some new experiment he was desirous
of trying.
As the _Lokris_ shot upwards, and then swerved to round a towering peak,
something went wrong with one of the revolving spirals; and Gerald, as
he had done before in a similar case, climbed up the mast to try to
right it.
In the meantime, the speed was checked, and the craft passed closer to
the rock than had been intended.
Other yachts, which had turned aside to follow, were catching them up;
and Alondra, who did not like this, was shouting excited instructions to
Gerald, when there came a loud rushing of wings as two immense dark
forms rose unexpectedly from off the rock and sailed upwards within a
few yards of him. One of the giant birds swung round in a narrow
circle, poised, and then swooped down upon the busy worker on the top of
the mast.
So sudden and unlooked for was the rush, so powerful the clutch which
gripped him, that Gerald was forced from his hold; and a moment later
the bird, with its prey, was seen either flying or falling headlong down
towards the valley, thousands of feet below.
A great shout of horror and dismay went up from the spectators; but,
even as the cries were heard, a glistening, shining figure flashed from
the side of the yacht.
Alondra had dived through the air after his friend!
*CHAPTER XVI.*
*IN DIRE PERIL.*
As Alondra disappeared over the side of the _Lokris_, Jack made a dart
at the controlling-gear and began handling the levers. They were placed
on a raised platform or bridge situated in the bow, in such a position
as to give the best all-round view for directing and managing the craft.
He had seen that Gerald had cleared the spiral just before he had been
attacked by the giant eagle, and that everything, therefore, was now
again in working order. Just before leaping off, Alondra had paused a
second to give him a look which said as plainly as words could have
done, 'I leave you in charge;' and Jack acted promptly upon the unspoken
wish.
'Hold tight, everybody!' he shouted, and a moment later the airship
plunged downward.
The _Nelda_, carrying King Ivanta and his party, had turned and dived
too; and the two airships came close together, and raced for a while
side by side in their swift descent.
King Ivanta was directing his own craft, and he made signs to Jack,
indicating in dumb show his line of action.
Below them, and, as yet, far ahead, could be seen the feathered monster
bearing off his prey, in what was now a more gradual downward sweep.
Alondra could be seen, too, in close pursuit behind.
Jack understood Ivanta's meaning, and the two airships parted
company--one going off to the right and the other to the left.
Then followed a most strange and terribly exciting chase.
The desolate valley at its farther end opened out, and there, away in
the distance, could be seen a sheet of water forming an extensive lake.
It was the object of the pursuers to drive the krondo in that direction.
This required very delicate and careful manoeuvring. If, on the one
hand, the bird were pressed too closely, it might drop its prey upon the
rocks beneath, which would mean for Gerald certain death. On the other
hand, it was advisable to force it to fly its hardest, so that it would
have no leisure to peck at its victim _en route_. Once it was over the
water, Alondra, who had armed himself with his trident, would probably
be able to deal with it.
All this King Ivanta had conveyed to Jack in pantomime, for no words
could be heard amidst the rush through the air as the airships plunged
madly downwards. Jack had been quick to divine what was intended, and
now took his share in the hunt accordingly.
The krondo, however, also seemed to guess what its pursuers were trying
to do, and it exhibited a desire to balk them by making for one or other
of the rocky precipices which rose like colossal walls on either side of
the valley. Every time it tried to do this, the king on the one side,
or Jack on the other, immediately swept round to head it off.
Behind them came a number of other airships, which had formed now into
more or less orderly ranks, some above and some below. Their occupants
were watching all that took place with breathless interest, and held
themselves ready to close up if the bird should elude the leading
pursuers and break back.
The position was rendered yet more difficult by the appearance of four
other krondos, which swooped down with blood-curdling screams, and
followed the first one, quite ready and willing to fight it on their own
account for the possession of its prize.
In one respect this, perhaps, was an advantage, as it had the effect of
causing the robber to hold on to its prey more obstinately, and rendered
it less likely to drop it. But there was also the danger of the other
krondos closing round and pecking Gerald to death amongst them.
Suddenly a new factor was added. From the king's yacht quite a flock of
birds emerged and began flying about with shrill cries and hoarse calls.
These were Ivanta's tame eagles--small birds, comparatively speaking,
but still, in actual fact, strong creatures, which had been trained to
hunt their giant cousins.
At first they circled round and darted this way and that in seeming
confusion, no doubt dazzled by the light, for they had thus far been
kept hooded. But they quickly became accustomed to their surroundings,
and then a close observer might have seen that they were all watching
their master the king, as he stood plainly in view upon the prow of his
craft.
He waved his hands, and away they flew in a compact cloud, heading
straight for the four krondos, just as they were beginning to 'mob' the
one which was carrying Gerald.
Then ensued a battle-royal in mid-air, the sagacious, trained birds
dashing at the bigger ones and darting away again, harrying and worrying
them, as clever hounds will rush in at a wild boar, snap at it, and dart
away before the bigger beast has time to turn and rend them.
This attack of the trained birds had the effect of turning the pursuing
krondos from their intended purpose. They had now enough to do to
defend themselves; and clouds of feathers could be seen falling through
the air, testifying to the severity of the combat.
During the melee the first robber, glad of the opportunity of making its
escape with its prize, winged its way steadily onwards until at last it
was over the waters of the lake.
Here its speed grew perceptibly less, and it began to dip in its
flight--unmistakable signs that it was tiring. For, large and powerful
as the creature was, the weight it was carrying was bound to tell upon
it sooner or later.
The pursuing airships now came up, and while some forged on ahead, the
others closed round in such a manner as to hem the robber in.
Alondra, who had been following the heavily burdened thief without any
great effort, made a sudden spurt, and, sweeping round, passed close to
it. There was a flash of light, and a sharp, crackling sound.
[Illustration: There was a flash of light, and a sharp, crackling
sound.]
Then the spreading wings drooped, the gigantic bird seemed to stagger
and shrink, and finally it collapsed. Robber and prey fell together
into the lake, and the waters closed over them.
There were a few moments of anxious suspense. Was Gerald injured? Would
he be able to swim? These and similar questions were in the minds of the
spectators as they scanned the surface of the lake.
Jack had turned his airship downwards as he saw Alondra make his rush,
and a moment or two after the bird's fall the craft alighted on the
water and lay gently rocking within a few yards of the spot.
Jack and Clinch both sprang to the side, and there were two splashes as
they dived almost simultaneously.
Just, however, as they disappeared from sight beneath the water, two
other forms emerged. One was the krondo, which floated motionless; the
other was Gerald, who was swimming vigorously, seemingly none the worse
for what he had undergone.
A great cheer went up from the assembled crowd, which was renewed again
and again as first Jack and then Clinch reappeared, and, catching sight
of their friend, hastened towards him to offer their help.
Just then the king's yacht descended close to the swimmers; a ladder was
thrown from her side, and Ivanta himself stepped down and assisted them
to climb on hoard.
He soon satisfied himself by actual examination that no great harm had
been done. Gerald had some nasty scratches, and the muscles were
bruised in places; but otherwise he was unhurt, and was inclined to make
light of his adventure.
'It's an experience that no one on our own planet can boast of,' he
observed with a smile. 'No one since the days of Sindbad the Sailor has
ever been carried off by a bird.'
'I am thankful that it has been no worse, my lad,' said Ivanta, and in
his tone there was a note of deep and kindly feeling. 'It is an
unpleasant variation of our usual sport.'
'I confess I was on tenterhooks the whole time,' said Armeath, who was
one of the king's party, 'and I am more relieved than I can tell you.'
'Oh, it's all right, sir!' answered Gerald cheerfully. 'I am none the
worse, and I am quite ready to go on with the hunt. Don't let me spoil
your day's sport. Besides, I want to get a bit of my own back. Those
feathered brutes have hunted me; I want to hunt them before I 've done
with them!'
'So you shall!' returned the king. 'But you must first put on some dry
clothes. Go down to my cabin, and Alondra will find you a change.'